10. Christian Hansen and the Autistics, "Power Leopard" (2009)

Hometown: Edmonton, Alberta
Notable Songs: 'Cocaine Trade', 'Someone I Can Love', 'High School is Over'

This is one of those albums that you listen to, think you have an easy definition, and then realize it doesn't quite fit. I mean, this is obviously cheerful dance music, right?

Then you listen to the lyrics, and realize they're surprisingly dark considering the energetic nature of the beats. "Father Ray" is about church molestation; "Calypso Hippo" is about the overseas sex trade, and even the super upbeat "Cocaine Trade" is about the pointlessness of the mid nineties dance movement that this band is a nostalgic throwback to.

So what is Christian Hansen and the Autistics? For me, it's a band that frequently brings new readers to my blog. Everyone loves these cheerful throwbacks to the simpler times of nineties dance mixes and Rick Astley, after all.

If I had to settle on a definition, that's what I'd go with - Rick Astley with a better voice, better lyrics, and a bass line worth listening to. In other words, everything that Rick Astley is not, Christian Hansen is.

Aren't definitions tricky?