15. Yeah Yeah Yeahs "Zero"

So get your leather on

I can't think of another song released this year that is more about sex but also not about sex than the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' "Zero." Karen O's seductively invites you to get your leather on, Nick Zinner's guitar tremble with palpable energy, almost with anticipation, then O breathily cries crying, crying, crying, oh oh / can you climb, climb, climb higher? Oh my. Whether the zero O sings to is a would be lover, an outcast, a subculture, what have you, there's no sugarcoating it: you're a zero / what's your name? no one's gonna ask you. The euphoric release of climbing your way to the top is epitomized in the dizzying synths, crunched out glam guitars, and a pulsating beat as O's coos give way to ecstasy. Being a zero never sounded so good.