Hi all,
A somewhat shorter entry tonight for all you snowbound folk. If you're just joining us now, take time tonight to go back and read some previous entries of the countdown -- we are now down to the final five songs, two of which I am revealing in this post.
Well, no use stalling any more...let's get to it:
5. Aerosmith, "Jaded" [2001]
You're thinkin' so complicated/I've had it all up to here/But it's so overrated/Love and hate it, wouldn't trade it
Yeah, I know. Aerosmith is the last pure rock band represented on this list, and there's no way this is the best pure rock song of the decade. There's no way it's close to even being Aerosmith's best song. I could list ten better songs off the top of my head, and more if you gave me a few minutes. But that's neither here nor there.
You know, sometimes you remember a song for what it meant in the context of your life, as opposed to how good it actually is. "Jaded" came out at the end of my eighth-grade year, and I've routinely latched onto songs at certain transition points: the New Radicals' "You Get What You Give" when I started middle school, the Stones' "Gimme Shelter" when I started college. Let's be serious here, "Jaded" did benefit from extensive exposure. Aerosmith's last Top Ten hit, the boys famously performed it (in a really strange Britney Spears-and-N*SYNC medley) at halftime of Super Bowl XXXV.
And to reiterate, this is when I was a budding young drummer for the Valleyview Middle School Vikings. I went down to my basement, sat down at the kit and played the two-bar intro to "Jaded" more times than I can ever possibly remember, in the first few months after the song came out. (And then, proceeded to sing the opening guitar lick and ALL of Steven Tyler's vocals at the top of my lungs with no harmonic accompaniment.) I will say this -- even at their advanced age, it was one of Aerosmith's most tuneful songs. The melody is great, and the bridge brings the song right over the top...you can forgive Joe Perry's cliched, watery guitar solo if you so choose.
In any case, "Jaded" is here, on my list, at number five. It might not have made anyone else's favorite 100 songs, or 500 songs, or 2,000 songs, of this decade. But it's on my list, and I'm damn proud of that.
4. The Bens, "Bruised" [2004]
I went because you said you'd be there/A box of candy, smoke in your hair/When I didn't know, I didn't care/But now I know
If you ever find yourself at The College of New Jersey, and you can get over to Kendall Hall amidst all the habitual construction, and you finagle your way down to the basement, and then only if you walk around the entire perimeter of the building and get to the front door of the WTSR studios, AND if someone is in the on-air booth AND you are a pre-approved acquaintance of aforementioned someone, you might get a chance to peruse the "B" section of the station's back wall. And even after all that, you might miss the slim cardboard cover of The Bens' only release, an EP which saw a limited release of only 3,500 copies in January 2004. IF you have the good fortune to find it, you must have a programmable CD player, or else you'll have to get through the first three tracks, a bit of studio chatter, and a false start before you even hear the first proper notes of "Bruised." But I promise you, it's all worth it.
The Bens, of course, were a one-off collaboration between indie singer-songwriters Ben Folds, Ben Kweller and Ben Lee, the first and last of whom have already been represented on this list by solo offerings. The "supergroup's" self-titled EP was recorded during a mutual gathering and short Australian tour, and subsequently unleashed upon the world. And boy, am I glad it was.
"Bruised" begins with a lightly strummed acoustic guitar (a Folds sacrilege, save for the severely underrated "Emaline" from Naked Baby Photos) before Ben F. comes in with the keyboards. He's also doing the lead vocal for this one, and depending on where you can find the instrumentation information for this CD and whether or not you choose to believe it, he's playing the guitar and drums as well. Messrs. Kweller and Lee seem to take a back seat on this one, which is fine because this is just so clearly a Ben Folds song from beginning to end. (In fact, if the scenario I proposed to you in paragraph #1 seems too daunting, you can pick up a copy of Folds' 2006 compilation album supersunnyspeedgraphic: the lp, on which Ben F. reclaims the song for himself and does some ever-so-slight remixing.)
Lyrically, the song is profoundly provocative. Most of Ben Folds' songs deal with love leaving someone bruised (usually him) in one way or another, but this particular composition strips away the snarky attitude of stuff like "Gone" and "Song For The Dumped." What's left is a sensitive, desperate plea for reconciliation over three-quarters of the song, capped finally by the ultimate Folds diss: "Like I care." The song then builds around a chorus of wordless background vocals before crashing down just like Folds' emotionally exhausted protagonist.
And so I, too, am exhausted after expounding the virtues of the #4 and #5 songs on my list. Tomorrow, an entire entry devoted to song #3, an autobiographical track dealing with a celebrity custody battle. What will it be? Stay tuned...
-- pl
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Friday, December 18, 2009
Top 100 Favorite Songs of the 2000's (Part XIV)
Hey everybody,
After two weeks, we're finally down to the Top 10 of the list. From here, what I think is going to happen is that I'll do 10 through 6 today, then 5 and 4 tomorrow, and then #3 on Sunday, #2 on Monday and #1 on Tuesday. Then after Christmas, I'll start on a new topic (which I haven't quite decided on yet). The idea is to keep the blog going this time instead of crapping out after like, three days. I think I've done pretty good so far. So now, without further ado:
SONGS 10 THROUGH 5
10. matt pond PA, "Halloween" [2005]
Pardon the intrusion/Could we leave before it gets bad?/I might smash up all these windows/And set fire to the curtains
This song spent a long time as my de facto "favorite song of the decade," and as you'll soon see, it's one of only two that was released in the second half of the "aughts" and made it this high on the countdown. It still holds a place as the favorite song I played as a new release in four years of working at TCNJ's radio station, WTSR 91.3 FM (actually surprised I went this long without getting into my whole radio career, since it accounts for about one-third of the songs on this list). Anyway, "Halloween" is the leadoff track from mpPA's 2005 album, Several Arrows Later, which is in my opinion Pond's best work. (You can't really say "the band's best work," as Pond is constantly changing his instrumentation and musician lineup.) And true to its title, "Halloween" really does sound better in October and November than any other time of the year. It's essentially a song about self-doubt, the narrator wanting to say something but not finding any words that sound sensible or smart. The arrangement is appropriately delicate, led by acoustic guitar and violin, with a gentle backbeat and a piano-and-guitar lick that runs between every verse and chorus, before bringing the track to an end right at the five-minute mark. It's a really well-constructed song that will have you thinking -- and will want to make you listen to the rest of the album.
9. U2, "Beautiful Day" [2000]
What you don't have, you don't need it now/What you don't know, you can feel somehow
If there was an anthem of the decade, it was indisputably "Beautiful Day," which arrived in the first year of the 00's and signaled a return to form for the most anthemic rock band of the last quarter-century. After experimenting with different styles for much of the 90's, U2 had returned to prominence in 1998 with their remix of 1987 B-side "The Sweetest Thing." That set them up to drop All That You Can't Leave Behind within the first few months of the new millenium. And although it broke a string of American #1 albums for the group dating all the way back to The Joshua Tree in 1987 (peaking at #3), All That You Can't... was the first U2 album since Joshua whose singles were clearly the best tracks: "Elevation," "Walk On," "Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of," and "Beautiful Day." It would be silly of me to recap any of the musical or lyrical merits of "Beautiful Day" -- if you have never heard this song, where exactly have you been the last ten years? -- but its impact was undeniable. And if this statement is even worth anything anymore, the folks over at Rolling Stone also placed this song at #9 on their countdown of the best songs of the decade. So there.
8. Spymob, "2040" [2004]
They'll see them, smell them, hear them, feel them/Communicate as if they're there
No, it's not a typo, it's not a song about the year it was released. Spymob's "2040" is a futuristic look at the world in another decade of this century, with witty references to fads like lawn bowling and robot housemaids. Announcing the beginning of the Sitting Around Keeping Score album, Spymob's first project since providing backgrounds for N.E.R.D.'s 2002 debut, the band pulls out all the stops -- lots of, well, every instrument, as well as plenty of echoey backing vocals. The song is at a moderate, slightly swung tempo which kicks into another gear energy-wise at every chorus. There is a slight breakdown right before the transition into the last chorus, but it hardly kills the momentum. Perhaps more importantly, though, I would be remiss if I did not again mention WTSR here...if you were a TCNJ student and came to any of our live events in the past few years, "2040" was sure to be played at one point or another. And even if you've just listened to the station in the fairly recent past, you've heard this song; a snippet was used for WTSR's top-of-the-hour promo (with yours truly voicing the station ID) from September 2007 until earlier this year.
7. Maroon 5, "Makes Me Wonder" [2007]
I still don't have the reason/And you don't have the time/And it really makes me wonder if I ever gave a f*** about you
The entire rap genre notwithstanding, the above lyric is probably the best kiss-off of the decade. And it leads into one of the catchiest choruses this side of Hall & Oates, which is the band you must associate with "Makes Me Wonder" on first listen. In fact, almost all of It Won't Be Soon Before Long, Maroon 5's long-awaited second album, relies heavily on one influence or another: I've already detailed the similarities between "Won't Go Home Without You" and "Every Breath You Take," and "Nothing Lasts Forever" steals a page directly out of Stevie Wonder's playbook circa Fulfillingness' First Finale. But lyrically and musically, this is a direct re-write of H&O's "Maneater," except...it's about George Bush? What? What about all those lines in the first verse about...? Oh well. The sheer sonic exuberance of "Makes Me Wonder" sort of makes you gloss over the lyrics anyway, which is why everyone came so quickly out of their post-"This Love" shells when this song was released in the spring of 2007. As a result, "Makes Me Wonder" became the first non-Idol rock song to hit #1 on the Billboard charts in five-and-a-half years, and is now recognized as one of the iconic pop songs of the 2000's.
6. John Mayer, "No Such Thing" [single version, 2001]
I wanna run through the halls of my high school/I wanna scream at the top of my lungs
The reason I need to differentiate this version of "No Such Thing" from any other incarnation is that, yes, John Mayer had been kicking it around since the end of the previous decade, when he was an independent Atlanta-based artist and recorded an acoustic version for his 1999 EP Inside Wants Out. So the version that kicks off Mayer's first proper album, 2001's Room for Squares, is the one that's represented here. I don't need to tell you much about this song -- you've heard it before, you know about all the lyrics and the song construction and it was all over the radio and it made John Mayer a household name and it's at least ten times better than "Your Body Is A Wonderland." What should be noted is the evolution of Mayer's career since this first single. This is a guy who's played guitar alongside Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, B.B. King and the like. Who developed a fixation with Jimi Hendrix sometime around 2005 that he just won't let go of. And yet, tellingly, this still might be his best song. Sometimes innocence is the best thing new artists can have going for themselves...and now years later, when you hear the lyric about busting down the doors at a high school reunion, it's no wonder Jennifer Aniston's looking for someone a little more grown-up.
Alright folks, you know the drill! Back tomorrow for numbers four and five.
-- pl
After two weeks, we're finally down to the Top 10 of the list. From here, what I think is going to happen is that I'll do 10 through 6 today, then 5 and 4 tomorrow, and then #3 on Sunday, #2 on Monday and #1 on Tuesday. Then after Christmas, I'll start on a new topic (which I haven't quite decided on yet). The idea is to keep the blog going this time instead of crapping out after like, three days. I think I've done pretty good so far. So now, without further ado:
SONGS 10 THROUGH 5
10. matt pond PA, "Halloween" [2005]
Pardon the intrusion/Could we leave before it gets bad?/I might smash up all these windows/And set fire to the curtains
This song spent a long time as my de facto "favorite song of the decade," and as you'll soon see, it's one of only two that was released in the second half of the "aughts" and made it this high on the countdown. It still holds a place as the favorite song I played as a new release in four years of working at TCNJ's radio station, WTSR 91.3 FM (actually surprised I went this long without getting into my whole radio career, since it accounts for about one-third of the songs on this list). Anyway, "Halloween" is the leadoff track from mpPA's 2005 album, Several Arrows Later, which is in my opinion Pond's best work. (You can't really say "the band's best work," as Pond is constantly changing his instrumentation and musician lineup.) And true to its title, "Halloween" really does sound better in October and November than any other time of the year. It's essentially a song about self-doubt, the narrator wanting to say something but not finding any words that sound sensible or smart. The arrangement is appropriately delicate, led by acoustic guitar and violin, with a gentle backbeat and a piano-and-guitar lick that runs between every verse and chorus, before bringing the track to an end right at the five-minute mark. It's a really well-constructed song that will have you thinking -- and will want to make you listen to the rest of the album.
9. U2, "Beautiful Day" [2000]
What you don't have, you don't need it now/What you don't know, you can feel somehow
If there was an anthem of the decade, it was indisputably "Beautiful Day," which arrived in the first year of the 00's and signaled a return to form for the most anthemic rock band of the last quarter-century. After experimenting with different styles for much of the 90's, U2 had returned to prominence in 1998 with their remix of 1987 B-side "The Sweetest Thing." That set them up to drop All That You Can't Leave Behind within the first few months of the new millenium. And although it broke a string of American #1 albums for the group dating all the way back to The Joshua Tree in 1987 (peaking at #3), All That You Can't... was the first U2 album since Joshua whose singles were clearly the best tracks: "Elevation," "Walk On," "Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of," and "Beautiful Day." It would be silly of me to recap any of the musical or lyrical merits of "Beautiful Day" -- if you have never heard this song, where exactly have you been the last ten years? -- but its impact was undeniable. And if this statement is even worth anything anymore, the folks over at Rolling Stone also placed this song at #9 on their countdown of the best songs of the decade. So there.
8. Spymob, "2040" [2004]
They'll see them, smell them, hear them, feel them/Communicate as if they're there
No, it's not a typo, it's not a song about the year it was released. Spymob's "2040" is a futuristic look at the world in another decade of this century, with witty references to fads like lawn bowling and robot housemaids. Announcing the beginning of the Sitting Around Keeping Score album, Spymob's first project since providing backgrounds for N.E.R.D.'s 2002 debut, the band pulls out all the stops -- lots of, well, every instrument, as well as plenty of echoey backing vocals. The song is at a moderate, slightly swung tempo which kicks into another gear energy-wise at every chorus. There is a slight breakdown right before the transition into the last chorus, but it hardly kills the momentum. Perhaps more importantly, though, I would be remiss if I did not again mention WTSR here...if you were a TCNJ student and came to any of our live events in the past few years, "2040" was sure to be played at one point or another. And even if you've just listened to the station in the fairly recent past, you've heard this song; a snippet was used for WTSR's top-of-the-hour promo (with yours truly voicing the station ID) from September 2007 until earlier this year.
7. Maroon 5, "Makes Me Wonder" [2007]
I still don't have the reason/And you don't have the time/And it really makes me wonder if I ever gave a f*** about you
The entire rap genre notwithstanding, the above lyric is probably the best kiss-off of the decade. And it leads into one of the catchiest choruses this side of Hall & Oates, which is the band you must associate with "Makes Me Wonder" on first listen. In fact, almost all of It Won't Be Soon Before Long, Maroon 5's long-awaited second album, relies heavily on one influence or another: I've already detailed the similarities between "Won't Go Home Without You" and "Every Breath You Take," and "Nothing Lasts Forever" steals a page directly out of Stevie Wonder's playbook circa Fulfillingness' First Finale. But lyrically and musically, this is a direct re-write of H&O's "Maneater," except...it's about George Bush? What? What about all those lines in the first verse about...? Oh well. The sheer sonic exuberance of "Makes Me Wonder" sort of makes you gloss over the lyrics anyway, which is why everyone came so quickly out of their post-"This Love" shells when this song was released in the spring of 2007. As a result, "Makes Me Wonder" became the first non-Idol rock song to hit #1 on the Billboard charts in five-and-a-half years, and is now recognized as one of the iconic pop songs of the 2000's.
6. John Mayer, "No Such Thing" [single version, 2001]
I wanna run through the halls of my high school/I wanna scream at the top of my lungs
The reason I need to differentiate this version of "No Such Thing" from any other incarnation is that, yes, John Mayer had been kicking it around since the end of the previous decade, when he was an independent Atlanta-based artist and recorded an acoustic version for his 1999 EP Inside Wants Out. So the version that kicks off Mayer's first proper album, 2001's Room for Squares, is the one that's represented here. I don't need to tell you much about this song -- you've heard it before, you know about all the lyrics and the song construction and it was all over the radio and it made John Mayer a household name and it's at least ten times better than "Your Body Is A Wonderland." What should be noted is the evolution of Mayer's career since this first single. This is a guy who's played guitar alongside Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, B.B. King and the like. Who developed a fixation with Jimi Hendrix sometime around 2005 that he just won't let go of. And yet, tellingly, this still might be his best song. Sometimes innocence is the best thing new artists can have going for themselves...and now years later, when you hear the lyric about busting down the doors at a high school reunion, it's no wonder Jennifer Aniston's looking for someone a little more grown-up.
Alright folks, you know the drill! Back tomorrow for numbers four and five.
-- pl
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Top 100 Favorite Songs of the 2000's (Part XIII)
Hey all,
Back to the grind today for five more songs on the list! This has been a really fun project and I hope you're all having a good time reading up on some nostalgia. And awaaaaay...we go:
SONGS 15 THROUGH 11
15. Gnarls Barkley, "Crazy" [2006]
Come on now, who do you/Who do you, who do you, who do you think you are?/Ha ha ha, bless your soul/You really think you're in control?
Gnarls Barkley is comprised of producer Danger Mouse (whose 2005 collaboration with MF Doom, appropriately called Danger Doom, almost yielded a spot on this list with "Old School") and singer Cee-Lo Green, whose previous project had been a 2004 solo album entitled Cee-Lo Green...Is The Soul Machine. They teamed up in 2006, derived their name from a certain former NBA star, took to naming their albums after classic TV series (St. Elsewhere, The Odd Couple), and began turning out one neo-soul gem after another. Cee-Lo's voice is perfect for this kind of thing; he's as raspy as Reverend Al Green, often with James Brown-type energy. That combination comes out in nearly all of Gnarls' best songs -- "Smiley Faces," "Who Cares?", "Run," "Going On," and the ridiculous "Transformer" -- but no song grooves better than "Crazy," a Top 5 hit on both sides of the Atlantic. "Crazy" revolves around a rubbery bass line, wall-of-sound background vocals, and an Italian opera sample that runs through the chorus. Add to that Cee-Lo's seamless falsetto and off-beat bits of humor sprinkled throughout the lyrics, and you have an instant classic that's guaranteed to be the life of the party.
14. Nada Surf, "Do It Again" [2005]
Maybe this weight was a gift/Like I had to see what I could lift
Years ago, the Beach Boys had a hit with a song called "Do It Again." That was also the name of Steely Dan's first hit in 1972. Nada Surf's composition has little to do with either of those tracks, save for the close Brian Wilson-type harmonies on the chorus...but make no mistake, it has an identity all its own. Starting with a fantastic bass-and-drums intro (no, not drum-n-bass, there's a difference), the arrangement expands to include a few slinky guitar lines during the verses and through the first chorus. Then at the middle eight, power chords explode as the beat becomes more syncopated, a theme that reoccurs at the very end of the song. Sorry to get so technical, but this ain't as simple as "Popular" or "Always Love." To whom does "Do It Again" owe thanks for its stellar, intricate production? None other that Death Cab for Cutie's Chris Walla, whose own solo work isn't as vibrant as his contributions on "Do It Again" and, moreover, the entire Weight Is A Gift album. Not to mention, there are some fantastic lyrics in this one (like the above couplet, which of course provides the title of the record). Generally considered to be the best song on The Weight Is A Gift, "Do It Again" takes its well-deserved place on this list at number 14.
13. Kings of Leon, "Sex On Fire" [2008]
Soft lips are open, knuckles are pale/Feels like you're dying, you're dying
Reaction to this song by critical bigwigs has been mixed. I love it, though, and so does most of the American and British general public as judged by radio airplay and sales. KoL's latest LP, Only By the Night, is propelled by this high-energy track and its follow-up single, the aching "Use Somebody." Forget trying to interpret the meaning -- if it's not about sex, as some claim it's not, then why is sex so obviously at the forefront of the lyrics? -- it's just a solid rock song. In fact, that's the biggest knock I've heard about this song, that it's just an ordinary rock tune. Uh, no one was asking the Followill brothers to write a sequel to "Stairway To Heaven." Sometimes, it's refreshing to appreciate music for what it is rather than what it isn't, to take notice of nuances like the chord change right before the second chorus. Or the way Caleb Followill continues to wail away over a lonely backbeat toward the conclusion of the song. Or the staccato instrumental stabs leading back into the last chorus. Yeah, I bet you didn't hear that while you were trying to figure out how "Sex On Fire" relates to God and life and space. Give me a break, people. It's a great song. I'm a simple guy. I don't need a lot of bells and whistles. Amen.
12. OutKast, "Hey Ya!" [2003]
Thank God for Mom and Dad/For sticking two together/'Cause we don't know how
A song that brought "shake it like a Polaroid picture" into the American lexicon and a video that made jazz hands fashionable again, "Hey Ya!" is the total package. Andre 3000 and Big Boi, after almost a decade building their rep, were probably the only people on Earth who could have afforded to come up with this silly creation and escape with their careers intact; remember, these are the same folks who brought you "Rosa Parks" and "B.O.B." So you'll excuse the slightly off-key vocals on the chorus, the toy synthesizers, the hiccuping beats, the shameless name-dropping, Andre's miscounting on the intro and needless affectation of stretching out every other word, and the ridiculous "daddy/Caddy" rhymes. You know why you'll excuse all of that? Because everything that's seemingly wrong with "Hey Ya!" for some strange, twisted reason, is somehow undeniably right. It was a fortuitous release: the right song, at the right time, by the right artist. Not to take anything away from the other songs mentioned, much less "The Way You Move," which was the other half of this double-A-side single, but "Hey Ya!" will go down as the most memorable OutKast track...if not necessarily the best. (hint hint)
11. The Killers, "Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine" [2004]
She said she loved me/But she had somewhere to go/She couldn't scream while I held her close/I swore I'd never let her go
Let me set the scene for you. A 17-year-old kid, a big fan of the 80's, has just listened to Duran Duran's 2004 Astronaut album for the first time. He's impressed by what the old boys can do after almost a decade apart, but knows there will never be another "Hungry Like The Wolf" from this band. Soon after, the same kid is bestowed a copy of the Killers' Hot Fuss. Oh, he's come across "Somebody Told Me" on the radio, and from what he's heard, a song called "Mr. Brightside" is going to be the next single. But he's not expecting much. Flash forward about 30 seconds later, to the opening drum fill of "Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine." The 17-year-old, always enamored with time travel, is back in 1981 and this is the best song since "Girls On Film." Only later will he listen to the lyrics -- it's about a murder, and two more songs will follow to complete the story -- because this particular experience is about the music. All about a synth, a hi-hat, a kick drum, and a punchy bass line. Years later, he'll recount the experience like the romantic that he is, proclaim "Jenny" still to be the best song on Hot Fuss, and place it on a countdown of his favorite songs of the decade. See where I'm going with this?
OK, that's enough writing for one day. See you tomorrow to close out the week with numbers ten through five!
-- pl
Back to the grind today for five more songs on the list! This has been a really fun project and I hope you're all having a good time reading up on some nostalgia. And awaaaaay...we go:
SONGS 15 THROUGH 11
15. Gnarls Barkley, "Crazy" [2006]
Come on now, who do you/Who do you, who do you, who do you think you are?/Ha ha ha, bless your soul/You really think you're in control?
Gnarls Barkley is comprised of producer Danger Mouse (whose 2005 collaboration with MF Doom, appropriately called Danger Doom, almost yielded a spot on this list with "Old School") and singer Cee-Lo Green, whose previous project had been a 2004 solo album entitled Cee-Lo Green...Is The Soul Machine. They teamed up in 2006, derived their name from a certain former NBA star, took to naming their albums after classic TV series (St. Elsewhere, The Odd Couple), and began turning out one neo-soul gem after another. Cee-Lo's voice is perfect for this kind of thing; he's as raspy as Reverend Al Green, often with James Brown-type energy. That combination comes out in nearly all of Gnarls' best songs -- "Smiley Faces," "Who Cares?", "Run," "Going On," and the ridiculous "Transformer" -- but no song grooves better than "Crazy," a Top 5 hit on both sides of the Atlantic. "Crazy" revolves around a rubbery bass line, wall-of-sound background vocals, and an Italian opera sample that runs through the chorus. Add to that Cee-Lo's seamless falsetto and off-beat bits of humor sprinkled throughout the lyrics, and you have an instant classic that's guaranteed to be the life of the party.
14. Nada Surf, "Do It Again" [2005]
Maybe this weight was a gift/Like I had to see what I could lift
Years ago, the Beach Boys had a hit with a song called "Do It Again." That was also the name of Steely Dan's first hit in 1972. Nada Surf's composition has little to do with either of those tracks, save for the close Brian Wilson-type harmonies on the chorus...but make no mistake, it has an identity all its own. Starting with a fantastic bass-and-drums intro (no, not drum-n-bass, there's a difference), the arrangement expands to include a few slinky guitar lines during the verses and through the first chorus. Then at the middle eight, power chords explode as the beat becomes more syncopated, a theme that reoccurs at the very end of the song. Sorry to get so technical, but this ain't as simple as "Popular" or "Always Love." To whom does "Do It Again" owe thanks for its stellar, intricate production? None other that Death Cab for Cutie's Chris Walla, whose own solo work isn't as vibrant as his contributions on "Do It Again" and, moreover, the entire Weight Is A Gift album. Not to mention, there are some fantastic lyrics in this one (like the above couplet, which of course provides the title of the record). Generally considered to be the best song on The Weight Is A Gift, "Do It Again" takes its well-deserved place on this list at number 14.
13. Kings of Leon, "Sex On Fire" [2008]
Soft lips are open, knuckles are pale/Feels like you're dying, you're dying
Reaction to this song by critical bigwigs has been mixed. I love it, though, and so does most of the American and British general public as judged by radio airplay and sales. KoL's latest LP, Only By the Night, is propelled by this high-energy track and its follow-up single, the aching "Use Somebody." Forget trying to interpret the meaning -- if it's not about sex, as some claim it's not, then why is sex so obviously at the forefront of the lyrics? -- it's just a solid rock song. In fact, that's the biggest knock I've heard about this song, that it's just an ordinary rock tune. Uh, no one was asking the Followill brothers to write a sequel to "Stairway To Heaven." Sometimes, it's refreshing to appreciate music for what it is rather than what it isn't, to take notice of nuances like the chord change right before the second chorus. Or the way Caleb Followill continues to wail away over a lonely backbeat toward the conclusion of the song. Or the staccato instrumental stabs leading back into the last chorus. Yeah, I bet you didn't hear that while you were trying to figure out how "Sex On Fire" relates to God and life and space. Give me a break, people. It's a great song. I'm a simple guy. I don't need a lot of bells and whistles. Amen.
12. OutKast, "Hey Ya!" [2003]
Thank God for Mom and Dad/For sticking two together/'Cause we don't know how
A song that brought "shake it like a Polaroid picture" into the American lexicon and a video that made jazz hands fashionable again, "Hey Ya!" is the total package. Andre 3000 and Big Boi, after almost a decade building their rep, were probably the only people on Earth who could have afforded to come up with this silly creation and escape with their careers intact; remember, these are the same folks who brought you "Rosa Parks" and "B.O.B." So you'll excuse the slightly off-key vocals on the chorus, the toy synthesizers, the hiccuping beats, the shameless name-dropping, Andre's miscounting on the intro and needless affectation of stretching out every other word, and the ridiculous "daddy/Caddy" rhymes. You know why you'll excuse all of that? Because everything that's seemingly wrong with "Hey Ya!" for some strange, twisted reason, is somehow undeniably right. It was a fortuitous release: the right song, at the right time, by the right artist. Not to take anything away from the other songs mentioned, much less "The Way You Move," which was the other half of this double-A-side single, but "Hey Ya!" will go down as the most memorable OutKast track...if not necessarily the best. (hint hint)
11. The Killers, "Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine" [2004]
She said she loved me/But she had somewhere to go/She couldn't scream while I held her close/I swore I'd never let her go
Let me set the scene for you. A 17-year-old kid, a big fan of the 80's, has just listened to Duran Duran's 2004 Astronaut album for the first time. He's impressed by what the old boys can do after almost a decade apart, but knows there will never be another "Hungry Like The Wolf" from this band. Soon after, the same kid is bestowed a copy of the Killers' Hot Fuss. Oh, he's come across "Somebody Told Me" on the radio, and from what he's heard, a song called "Mr. Brightside" is going to be the next single. But he's not expecting much. Flash forward about 30 seconds later, to the opening drum fill of "Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine." The 17-year-old, always enamored with time travel, is back in 1981 and this is the best song since "Girls On Film." Only later will he listen to the lyrics -- it's about a murder, and two more songs will follow to complete the story -- because this particular experience is about the music. All about a synth, a hi-hat, a kick drum, and a punchy bass line. Years later, he'll recount the experience like the romantic that he is, proclaim "Jenny" still to be the best song on Hot Fuss, and place it on a countdown of his favorite songs of the decade. See where I'm going with this?
OK, that's enough writing for one day. See you tomorrow to close out the week with numbers ten through five!
-- pl
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Top 100 Favorite Songs of the 2000's (Part XII)
Hi kiddles,
It's time for the real cream of the crop, the Top 20 songs of the decade. You know the rules, we start today with numbers 20 through 16. The explanations are a little bit longer today, but I think you'll enjoy. Here goes:
SONGS 20 THROUGH 16
20. Rufus Wainwright, "Hallelujah" [2001]
It goes like this, the fourth, the fifth/The minor fall, the major lift
As I hinted at yesterday, "Hallelujah" is indeed the only cover on this list -- and actually, it's become one of the most-covered songs of all time. Songwriting legend Leonard Cohen recorded the original version in 1984, and famous variations were done by John Cale in 1991 and the late Jeff Buckley (in what many consider to be the definitive reading) in 1994. In fact, Cale's version is the one which famously appeared in Shrek. Wainwright's recording is based off of the Cale version and can be found on the Shrek soundtrack, but not in the film itself. No sweat: the Canadian-American's take is the one most often associated with the movie, it's the artist's number-one Googled song lyric (though of course, he didn't write it), and along with an interpretation of "Across The Universe" from I Am Sam, "Hallelujah" assisted in introducing the general public to some of Wainwright's original material. Meanwhile, it's surpassed the perennial "Suzanne" as Cohen's most-beloved composition. A good way to start off this portion of the list.
19. Jason Mraz, "The Remedy (I Won't Worry)" [2002]
The remedy is the experience/This is a dangerous liaison/I say the comedy is that it's serious/This is a strange enough new play on words
Part of the reason why "The Remedy" is in this slot, and no other Jason Mraz songs even make the countdown, is because this first single for the likable singer-songwriter set an unmatchable blueprint. Was there anything else like this on the radio in 2002-2003? Moreover, after Mraz had set the bar so high, where was there to go but down? The most comparative situation I can think of is Barenaked Ladies' "One Week," which became that group's sole #1 hit in 1998. The big singles that followed, like "Pinch Me" and "Another Postcard," tried to duplicate the formula but couldn't replicate the spontaneity of hearing something completely new for the first time. Likewise, songs like "Wordplay" and even the ubiquitous "I'm Yours" fall a little bit short of "The Remedy"'s freshness factor. And, not to mention that pound for pound, Waiting for My Rocket to Come has to, has to, be mentioned in any discussion of the best albums of this decade. It's mighty difficult to reinvent a wheel once it gets rolling.
18. Jimmy Eat World, "The Middle" [2001]
It just takes some time/Little girl, you're in the middle of the ride/Everything, everything will be just fine/Everything, everything will be alright
The song that broke Jimmy Eat World into the mainstream, and deservedly so. The crime is that it has to fight for space on another one of the decade's best records, Bleed American (retooled as a self-titled album after 9/11), with epics like "A Praise Chorus," "Sweetness," and "The Authority Song," which has already shown up on this list. Some bands (see: Del Amitri) are resentful of that One Big Song (see: "Roll To Me") that every teenager in America knows the words to, and that Mom and Dad can tap their feet to as well. JEW shouldn't be the least bit ashamed of "The Middle," an absolutely perfect power-pop song which was the early part of 2002...in fact, the song's momentum carried right into that summer, when -- hey! guess what? -- there's an almost blissful surf-guitar solo right where the middle eight should be. Great overall guitar work, tasteful keyboards, a singalong chorus...this song has it all. Without a doubt one of the most definitive tracks of the last ten years.
17. Sara Bareilles, "Love Song" [2007]
I'm not gonna write you a love song/'Cause you asked for it/'Cause you need one, you see
What many people lose after the first line of that chorus (by the way, one of the catchiest to come around in a long time) is the story behind rest of the lyrics. It's not a love song, of course, not by any stretch of the imagination. Bareilles was asked by her record label to basically write a hit...or else. In other words, to write a "make or break" song for her recording career, as also depicted in the chorus. This had been done before -- Bruce Springsteen allegedly wrote "Dancing In The Dark" under the same ultimatum. And even this style of song had been attempted previously -- Ben Folds' "One Down" is a humorous look at record company quotas. But Ben and Bruce were already well-established by the time those songs were written; never had an artist's first real hit been constructed under such a scenario. Which makes the Folds-like piano intro, the soaring chorus, and the persistent, desperate, yet undeniably sunny feel of the track all the more incredible. Sorry I couldn't wax poetic about a song with like, a more interesting title, but there you have it.
16. Muse, "Starlight" [2006]
I'll never let you go/If you promise not to fade away/Never fade away
Aside from breathing new life into the Buddy Holly "not fade away" tradition, Muse created a track which is equal parts shamelessly energetic and intentionally over-the-top. Those of you who are only familiar with the Guitar Hero track "Knights of Cydonia" really owe yourselves a favor and should check this one out. It's not a lyrically provocative song, and there's nothing innovative about its structure or production, but I know few songs that get me in a better mood. It's essentially Coldplay redux, a more underground version of "Clocks" or "In My Place." The surprising part is toward the climax of the song, when -- just when you think the track's momentum is about to go through the roof -- the drums drop out and lead singer Matt Bellamy reduces to almost a whisper, building back up to a repetition of the opening guitar riff. After this, Bellamy pleads the refrain over and over until the song, having miraculously run out of energy, suddenly stops. It's the only truly unexpected turn in what I can only accurately describe as just a remarkably solid, unquestionably emotional song.
Back tomorrow with songs 15 through 11!
-- pl
It's time for the real cream of the crop, the Top 20 songs of the decade. You know the rules, we start today with numbers 20 through 16. The explanations are a little bit longer today, but I think you'll enjoy. Here goes:
SONGS 20 THROUGH 16
20. Rufus Wainwright, "Hallelujah" [2001]
It goes like this, the fourth, the fifth/The minor fall, the major lift
As I hinted at yesterday, "Hallelujah" is indeed the only cover on this list -- and actually, it's become one of the most-covered songs of all time. Songwriting legend Leonard Cohen recorded the original version in 1984, and famous variations were done by John Cale in 1991 and the late Jeff Buckley (in what many consider to be the definitive reading) in 1994. In fact, Cale's version is the one which famously appeared in Shrek. Wainwright's recording is based off of the Cale version and can be found on the Shrek soundtrack, but not in the film itself. No sweat: the Canadian-American's take is the one most often associated with the movie, it's the artist's number-one Googled song lyric (though of course, he didn't write it), and along with an interpretation of "Across The Universe" from I Am Sam, "Hallelujah" assisted in introducing the general public to some of Wainwright's original material. Meanwhile, it's surpassed the perennial "Suzanne" as Cohen's most-beloved composition. A good way to start off this portion of the list.
19. Jason Mraz, "The Remedy (I Won't Worry)" [2002]
The remedy is the experience/This is a dangerous liaison/I say the comedy is that it's serious/This is a strange enough new play on words
Part of the reason why "The Remedy" is in this slot, and no other Jason Mraz songs even make the countdown, is because this first single for the likable singer-songwriter set an unmatchable blueprint. Was there anything else like this on the radio in 2002-2003? Moreover, after Mraz had set the bar so high, where was there to go but down? The most comparative situation I can think of is Barenaked Ladies' "One Week," which became that group's sole #1 hit in 1998. The big singles that followed, like "Pinch Me" and "Another Postcard," tried to duplicate the formula but couldn't replicate the spontaneity of hearing something completely new for the first time. Likewise, songs like "Wordplay" and even the ubiquitous "I'm Yours" fall a little bit short of "The Remedy"'s freshness factor. And, not to mention that pound for pound, Waiting for My Rocket to Come has to, has to, be mentioned in any discussion of the best albums of this decade. It's mighty difficult to reinvent a wheel once it gets rolling.
18. Jimmy Eat World, "The Middle" [2001]
It just takes some time/Little girl, you're in the middle of the ride/Everything, everything will be just fine/Everything, everything will be alright
The song that broke Jimmy Eat World into the mainstream, and deservedly so. The crime is that it has to fight for space on another one of the decade's best records, Bleed American (retooled as a self-titled album after 9/11), with epics like "A Praise Chorus," "Sweetness," and "The Authority Song," which has already shown up on this list. Some bands (see: Del Amitri) are resentful of that One Big Song (see: "Roll To Me") that every teenager in America knows the words to, and that Mom and Dad can tap their feet to as well. JEW shouldn't be the least bit ashamed of "The Middle," an absolutely perfect power-pop song which was the early part of 2002...in fact, the song's momentum carried right into that summer, when -- hey! guess what? -- there's an almost blissful surf-guitar solo right where the middle eight should be. Great overall guitar work, tasteful keyboards, a singalong chorus...this song has it all. Without a doubt one of the most definitive tracks of the last ten years.
17. Sara Bareilles, "Love Song" [2007]
I'm not gonna write you a love song/'Cause you asked for it/'Cause you need one, you see
What many people lose after the first line of that chorus (by the way, one of the catchiest to come around in a long time) is the story behind rest of the lyrics. It's not a love song, of course, not by any stretch of the imagination. Bareilles was asked by her record label to basically write a hit...or else. In other words, to write a "make or break" song for her recording career, as also depicted in the chorus. This had been done before -- Bruce Springsteen allegedly wrote "Dancing In The Dark" under the same ultimatum. And even this style of song had been attempted previously -- Ben Folds' "One Down" is a humorous look at record company quotas. But Ben and Bruce were already well-established by the time those songs were written; never had an artist's first real hit been constructed under such a scenario. Which makes the Folds-like piano intro, the soaring chorus, and the persistent, desperate, yet undeniably sunny feel of the track all the more incredible. Sorry I couldn't wax poetic about a song with like, a more interesting title, but there you have it.
16. Muse, "Starlight" [2006]
I'll never let you go/If you promise not to fade away/Never fade away
Aside from breathing new life into the Buddy Holly "not fade away" tradition, Muse created a track which is equal parts shamelessly energetic and intentionally over-the-top. Those of you who are only familiar with the Guitar Hero track "Knights of Cydonia" really owe yourselves a favor and should check this one out. It's not a lyrically provocative song, and there's nothing innovative about its structure or production, but I know few songs that get me in a better mood. It's essentially Coldplay redux, a more underground version of "Clocks" or "In My Place." The surprising part is toward the climax of the song, when -- just when you think the track's momentum is about to go through the roof -- the drums drop out and lead singer Matt Bellamy reduces to almost a whisper, building back up to a repetition of the opening guitar riff. After this, Bellamy pleads the refrain over and over until the song, having miraculously run out of energy, suddenly stops. It's the only truly unexpected turn in what I can only accurately describe as just a remarkably solid, unquestionably emotional song.
Back tomorrow with songs 15 through 11!
-- pl
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Top 100 Favorite Songs of the 2000's (Part XI)
Hi everybody,
Thanks for reading so far! I'm getting some great feedback, and I appreciate the comments on both the blog and Facebook. (And if I hadn't neglected Twitter like, six months ago, the links would be there too. Maybe it's time to resurrect.)
Today, I just want to address a few fun facts and some possible shortcomings of the list. It's nearly impossible to squeeze every great song over a ten-year period into a list of 100; my 80's list (which might see publication here in the future) had to be whittled down from about 750 to 500 before I was content with its placings.
So I guess that's my first apology: if you know me, I often joke that I don't listen to any music made after 1990. That's not entirely true, of course, but there's a reason why this list stands at only 100. First of all, like I explained earlier, this was possibly the most diverse decade in popular music history. Therefore, I couldn't quite wrap my head around all the different genres and styles that emerged.
I know that contemporary rap and R&B both get the shaft on this list. I know, I know. There's no Eminem, no Usher, no Nelly, no Kanye -- can we deny the impact of any of these artists over the last ten years? I've picked up on a few songs that could have cracked this list (Alicia Keys' "Fallin'," which was huge, along with her 2009 "Empire State Of Mind" with Jay-Z), but I'm still overall happy with the way it turned out.
The second thing is, when you make a list at the end of a decade, you're automatically shortchanging the end of that decade when it comes to the impact of an artist or song. If I were to remake this list in five years, Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift would probably make it, and songs like Kings of Leon's "Use Somebody" would have found their way to placement as well.
Which brings me to the first fact of today's post. Here is the year-by-year breakdown of songs on the list (and remember, it's by release year, which is why some songs that may turn out to be this year's biggest hits haven't even been considered yet)...
2000: 10 songs
2001: 9
2002: 14
2003: 5
2004: 11
2005: 10
2006: 13
2007: 15
2008: 11
2009: 2
So you can clearly see what I mean, some years skew the list more than others. This might also give you a little bit of a hint as to what the final 20 songs, the front end of the list, might look like. To help you out even more with that, here's a list of the top artists represented on the list...
Coldplay: 4 songs
Dave Matthews Band, Maroon 5, John Mayer, and Bruce Springsteen: 3 each
Many, many others: 2 songs (this includes both Ben Folds and Ben Lee, who have only one solo song each on the list but...well, I'll keep you guessing)
And that's that. As far as the actual quality of the music goes, I averaged each year's individual song placings together and the year with the "best" music is 2001, which yielded a mean ranking of #29. The only other years to shake out with an average placing of #50 or better were 2000 (#33) and 2006 (#43).
I should tell you, before I close out today's post, that cover songs were mostly ignored for this list. The only cover to make the cut actually leads off tomorrow's post, when we pick up at #20. What will it be? Stay tuned...
-- pl
Thanks for reading so far! I'm getting some great feedback, and I appreciate the comments on both the blog and Facebook. (And if I hadn't neglected Twitter like, six months ago, the links would be there too. Maybe it's time to resurrect.)
Today, I just want to address a few fun facts and some possible shortcomings of the list. It's nearly impossible to squeeze every great song over a ten-year period into a list of 100; my 80's list (which might see publication here in the future) had to be whittled down from about 750 to 500 before I was content with its placings.
So I guess that's my first apology: if you know me, I often joke that I don't listen to any music made after 1990. That's not entirely true, of course, but there's a reason why this list stands at only 100. First of all, like I explained earlier, this was possibly the most diverse decade in popular music history. Therefore, I couldn't quite wrap my head around all the different genres and styles that emerged.
I know that contemporary rap and R&B both get the shaft on this list. I know, I know. There's no Eminem, no Usher, no Nelly, no Kanye -- can we deny the impact of any of these artists over the last ten years? I've picked up on a few songs that could have cracked this list (Alicia Keys' "Fallin'," which was huge, along with her 2009 "Empire State Of Mind" with Jay-Z), but I'm still overall happy with the way it turned out.
The second thing is, when you make a list at the end of a decade, you're automatically shortchanging the end of that decade when it comes to the impact of an artist or song. If I were to remake this list in five years, Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift would probably make it, and songs like Kings of Leon's "Use Somebody" would have found their way to placement as well.
Which brings me to the first fact of today's post. Here is the year-by-year breakdown of songs on the list (and remember, it's by release year, which is why some songs that may turn out to be this year's biggest hits haven't even been considered yet)...
2000: 10 songs
2001: 9
2002: 14
2003: 5
2004: 11
2005: 10
2006: 13
2007: 15
2008: 11
2009: 2
So you can clearly see what I mean, some years skew the list more than others. This might also give you a little bit of a hint as to what the final 20 songs, the front end of the list, might look like. To help you out even more with that, here's a list of the top artists represented on the list...
Coldplay: 4 songs
Dave Matthews Band, Maroon 5, John Mayer, and Bruce Springsteen: 3 each
Many, many others: 2 songs (this includes both Ben Folds and Ben Lee, who have only one solo song each on the list but...well, I'll keep you guessing)
And that's that. As far as the actual quality of the music goes, I averaged each year's individual song placings together and the year with the "best" music is 2001, which yielded a mean ranking of #29. The only other years to shake out with an average placing of #50 or better were 2000 (#33) and 2006 (#43).
I should tell you, before I close out today's post, that cover songs were mostly ignored for this list. The only cover to make the cut actually leads off tomorrow's post, when we pick up at #20. What will it be? Stay tuned...
-- pl
Monday, December 14, 2009
Top 100 Favorite Songs of the 2000's (Part X)
Hey everybody,
Here it is, the next installment of the countdown. Today will cover numbers 30 through 21, after which we'll take a figurative day off and then switch to a slightly different format for the final 20 songs. (This is all detailed in yesterday's post.) I should tell you that, as we get closer and closer to the top, some of my preferred artists and bands may start to emerge; that's only natural with a list of this style. I say this because, in today's list of ten, two bands have two listed songs each. Who are they, and what are the songs? Read on...
SONGS 30 THROUGH 21
30. Dave Matthews Band, "Grey Street" [single version, 2002]
And though it's red blood bleeding from her now/It feels like cold blue ice in her heart/When all the colors mix together to grey
Shorter than the polished version on Busted Stuff, and livelier than the rough version from The Lillywhite Sessions, the "Grey Street" single was all over the radio in the second half of 2002 (you know, back when people still listened to the radio).
29. Incubus, "Dig" [2006]
So when weakness turns my ego up/I know you'll count on the me from yesterday
It took a long time for this song to grow on me, but it's now far surpassed every other Incubus single ("Drive" and "Wish You Were Here," of course, being the other main contenders) as my favorite song by the group. The great lyrics, never obvious and definitely thought-provoking, turned the tables for me.
28. Jimmy Eat World, "The Authority Song" [2001]
Honesty or mystery?/Tell me, I'm not scared anymore/I got no secret purpose/I don't seem obvious, do I?
One of the many standouts on Bleed American, an extremely influential and powerful album, "The Authority Song" benefits from backup vocalist Rachel Haden's echoed harmonies, as well as the inherent name-dropping involved with naming one song after another song (John Cougar Mellencamp's 1983 hit "Authority Song").
27. Keane, "Is It Any Wonder?" [2006]
Is it any wonder I'm tired?/Is it any wonder that I feel uptight?/Is it any wonder I don't know what's right?
I'm a songwriter, so I instantly notice unique elements that stick out in new songs. So, a warning, the electronically-processed keyboards that announce the first ten seconds of "Is It Any Wonder?" may startle you. After that, Keane settles into a U2-esque groove, mixed with old Tears for Fears chord changes. The song centers around the dual topics of the band's success after Hopes and Fears, and their views on President Bush's failures.
26. Howie Day, "She Says" [acoustic version, 2002]
And when she says she wants somebody else/I hope you know she doesn't mean you
For anybody who heard too much of Howie Day's biggest hit, "Collide," or wasn't quite on board with the heavily-produced version of "She Says" on Stop All The World Now, check out his original recording of the latter song on his debut album Australia. "She Says" actually dates back to the year 2000, when Day first performed it live and it was included on the independent release of Australia.
25. The Goo Goo Dolls, "Here Is Gone" [2002]
I thought I lost you somewhere/But you were never really ever there at all
Some people discredit Gutterflower because the singles weren't quite up to par with those from GGD's previous release, 1998's Dizzy Up The Girl. But in my opinion, "Here Is Gone" is every bit as good as "Slide," and if we're going to get into Gutterflower's merits anyway, "Big Machine" could have easily made this list too.
24. Dave Matthews Band, "The Space Between" [2001]
These fickle, fuddled words confuse me/Like "Will it rain today?"
This line baffled me for about three years before I finally gave up trying to understand what Dave meant. Harsher than "Crash Into Me" yet in a way even more delicate than "Satellite," it's the band's best ballad, and probably their biggest qualifiable hit.
23. The Swell Season, "When Your Mind's Made Up" [2006]
So, if you ever want something/And you call, call/Then I'll come running
The Frames' Glen Hansard and his ex-girlfriend Marketa Irglova comprise The Swell Season, a side project which resulted in the acclaimed 2007 movie Once, which is where I first heard "When Your Mind's Made Up." The scene in which Guy (Hansard) and Girl (Irglova) record this song, in full, is one of the most moving cinematic sequences in a long time.
22. Keane, "Somewhere Only We Know" [2004]
Oh simple thing, where have you gone?/I'm getting old and I need someone to rely on
Just like John Lennon begat Oasis, and Oasis begat Coldplay, Coldplay's early-decade success spawned a large number of imitators, the foremost of which is Keane. A piano-led trio, the band struck gold with this, the leadoff track of their debut album Hopes and Fears. Soaring vocals by Tom Chaplin and a driving piano riff by composer Tim Rice-Oxley are the endearing characteristics of one of 2004's signature songs.
21. Ben Lee, "Catch My Disease" [2005]
They don't play me on the radio/But that's the way I like it
The Australian Ben (stay tuned for later on in this list) provides, appropriately, one of the most infectious songs in recent decades using simple instrumentation: a glockenspiel, an acoustic guitar, handclaps, and a barroom chorus. The innocence of the lyrics culminates in the final verse, where Lee name-drops Good Charlotte, Sleepy Jackson and Beyonce before exuberantly proclaiming the final line as seen above.
Alrighty folks, that's it. Gotta run, and I'll get back to the posts tomorrow! Gonna be throwing some statistics your way about some of the artists and years represented on the list.
-- pl
Here it is, the next installment of the countdown. Today will cover numbers 30 through 21, after which we'll take a figurative day off and then switch to a slightly different format for the final 20 songs. (This is all detailed in yesterday's post.) I should tell you that, as we get closer and closer to the top, some of my preferred artists and bands may start to emerge; that's only natural with a list of this style. I say this because, in today's list of ten, two bands have two listed songs each. Who are they, and what are the songs? Read on...
SONGS 30 THROUGH 21
30. Dave Matthews Band, "Grey Street" [single version, 2002]
And though it's red blood bleeding from her now/It feels like cold blue ice in her heart/When all the colors mix together to grey
Shorter than the polished version on Busted Stuff, and livelier than the rough version from The Lillywhite Sessions, the "Grey Street" single was all over the radio in the second half of 2002 (you know, back when people still listened to the radio).
29. Incubus, "Dig" [2006]
So when weakness turns my ego up/I know you'll count on the me from yesterday
It took a long time for this song to grow on me, but it's now far surpassed every other Incubus single ("Drive" and "Wish You Were Here," of course, being the other main contenders) as my favorite song by the group. The great lyrics, never obvious and definitely thought-provoking, turned the tables for me.
28. Jimmy Eat World, "The Authority Song" [2001]
Honesty or mystery?/Tell me, I'm not scared anymore/I got no secret purpose/I don't seem obvious, do I?
One of the many standouts on Bleed American, an extremely influential and powerful album, "The Authority Song" benefits from backup vocalist Rachel Haden's echoed harmonies, as well as the inherent name-dropping involved with naming one song after another song (John Cougar Mellencamp's 1983 hit "Authority Song").
27. Keane, "Is It Any Wonder?" [2006]
Is it any wonder I'm tired?/Is it any wonder that I feel uptight?/Is it any wonder I don't know what's right?
I'm a songwriter, so I instantly notice unique elements that stick out in new songs. So, a warning, the electronically-processed keyboards that announce the first ten seconds of "Is It Any Wonder?" may startle you. After that, Keane settles into a U2-esque groove, mixed with old Tears for Fears chord changes. The song centers around the dual topics of the band's success after Hopes and Fears, and their views on President Bush's failures.
26. Howie Day, "She Says" [acoustic version, 2002]
And when she says she wants somebody else/I hope you know she doesn't mean you
For anybody who heard too much of Howie Day's biggest hit, "Collide," or wasn't quite on board with the heavily-produced version of "She Says" on Stop All The World Now, check out his original recording of the latter song on his debut album Australia. "She Says" actually dates back to the year 2000, when Day first performed it live and it was included on the independent release of Australia.
25. The Goo Goo Dolls, "Here Is Gone" [2002]
I thought I lost you somewhere/But you were never really ever there at all
Some people discredit Gutterflower because the singles weren't quite up to par with those from GGD's previous release, 1998's Dizzy Up The Girl. But in my opinion, "Here Is Gone" is every bit as good as "Slide," and if we're going to get into Gutterflower's merits anyway, "Big Machine" could have easily made this list too.
24. Dave Matthews Band, "The Space Between" [2001]
These fickle, fuddled words confuse me/Like "Will it rain today?"
This line baffled me for about three years before I finally gave up trying to understand what Dave meant. Harsher than "Crash Into Me" yet in a way even more delicate than "Satellite," it's the band's best ballad, and probably their biggest qualifiable hit.
23. The Swell Season, "When Your Mind's Made Up" [2006]
So, if you ever want something/And you call, call/Then I'll come running
The Frames' Glen Hansard and his ex-girlfriend Marketa Irglova comprise The Swell Season, a side project which resulted in the acclaimed 2007 movie Once, which is where I first heard "When Your Mind's Made Up." The scene in which Guy (Hansard) and Girl (Irglova) record this song, in full, is one of the most moving cinematic sequences in a long time.
22. Keane, "Somewhere Only We Know" [2004]
Oh simple thing, where have you gone?/I'm getting old and I need someone to rely on
Just like John Lennon begat Oasis, and Oasis begat Coldplay, Coldplay's early-decade success spawned a large number of imitators, the foremost of which is Keane. A piano-led trio, the band struck gold with this, the leadoff track of their debut album Hopes and Fears. Soaring vocals by Tom Chaplin and a driving piano riff by composer Tim Rice-Oxley are the endearing characteristics of one of 2004's signature songs.
21. Ben Lee, "Catch My Disease" [2005]
They don't play me on the radio/But that's the way I like it
The Australian Ben (stay tuned for later on in this list) provides, appropriately, one of the most infectious songs in recent decades using simple instrumentation: a glockenspiel, an acoustic guitar, handclaps, and a barroom chorus. The innocence of the lyrics culminates in the final verse, where Lee name-drops Good Charlotte, Sleepy Jackson and Beyonce before exuberantly proclaiming the final line as seen above.
Alrighty folks, that's it. Gotta run, and I'll get back to the posts tomorrow! Gonna be throwing some statistics your way about some of the artists and years represented on the list.
-- pl
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Top 100 Favorite Songs of the 2000's (Part IX)
Hi kids,
Sorry for today's delayed entry...bad weather + other projects + cooking a big dinner + watching football pushed my involvement in the blog to this point of the evening. No sweat, though. Here come the next ten songs in the countdown:
SONGS 40 THROUGH 31
40. Train, "Cab" [2006]
This new rhythm I pursue/Is just my getting over you/Telling myself that I need to
Pat Monahan, Train's lead singer and main composer, gained a lot of fans (including myself) with the 1999 smash "Meet Virginia." He lost me somewhere around 2003's My Private Nation album. "Cab," a piano ballad reminiscent of an Americanized Crowded House, re-established my status as a closet Train fan. (Thanks, Pat.)
39. The Darkness, "I Believe In A Thing Called Love" [2003]
I wanna kiss you every minute, every hour, every day
Looking back, for sentimental reasons this was probably the most important song of my entire junior year of high school, as well as the fall semester of my sophomore year at college. Yet it's not even the best Darkness song -- that honour goes to "Get Your Hands Off My Woman," too X-rated for this list.
38. Bruce Springsteen, "My City Of Ruins" [acoustic version, 2001]
The boarded-up windows, the hustlers and thieves/While my brother's down on his knees
Given the full gospel treatment on The Rising, this instant Bruce classic is on the list for its premiere version, an acoustic-guitar-and-harmonica offering which led off "America: A Tribute To Heroes," the post-9/11 telethon held on the evening of September 14, 2001.
37. Coldplay, "The Scientist" [2002]
Questions of science, science and progress/Do not speak as loud as my heart
Back before Coldplay became The Biggest Band Ever (meaning last year, so even up through 2005's "Fix You"), Chris Martin and company used to be able to write epic ballads that didn't sound epic. Also, Sting now officially becomes the most "quoted" songwriter on this list; Martin almost certainly copped the "science and progress" bit from 1993's "If I Ever Lose My Faith In You."
36. matchbox twenty, "Bent" [2000]
Can you help me, I'm bent/I'm so scared that I'll never get put back together
"Bent" opens like something out of 1985: minor-key, echoing, with lots of space and electronics. And then, it becomes a brilliantly overblown mash-up of "Push" and "Real World." Rob Thomas recycles more than almost any other pop songwriter, but he does it well.
35. Maroon 5, "This Love" [2002]
And her heart is breaking in front of me/I have no choice, 'cause I won't say goodbye anymore
I got tired of this song around the end of 2004, after I'd heard it for the millionth time. Then right before Maroon 5's second album came out in the summer of 2007, I decided it was finally time to listen to "This Love" again. It's a great song. (...and yeah, it's totally, totally OK to like Maroon 5. 'Cause I said so.)
34. John Mayer, "Vultures" [2006]
Then I'll come through like I do/When the world keeps testing me, testing me, testing me
Although it's not one of Mayer's more popular tracks, it's at a perfect walking tempo, which made it unofficially the most-played song on my iPod going back and forth to college classes -- first in its skeletal John Mayer Trio version, and then in the '06 studio recording.
33. Fountains of Wayne, "Yolanda Hayes" [2007]
She puts down my file/Stares at me a while/And I swear I see her crack a little smile
Ironic, eh? That someone who's had as much vehicular drama as me, should put a song about a DMV worker on the list? Must be the synthesized horn section.
32. Death Cab for Cutie, "Crooked Teeth" [2005]
You're so cute when you're slurring your speech/But they're closing the bar, and they want us to leave
I'll never forget the exact moment I began to entertain the delusion that I had indie cred. November 2006, walking past a TV tuned to MTVu, showing the "Crooked Teeth" video. "AAAAH, I KNEW ABOUT THIS SONG FOURTEEN MONTHS AGO!"
31. Elton John, "I Want Love" [2001]
I can't love, shot full of holes/Don't feel nothing, I just feel cold
In what will probably come to be known as Sir Elton's last great radio hit, the man who -- along with lyric partner Bernie Taupin -- tackled so many intensely emotional and personal issues through the years in song ("Someone Saved My Life Tonight," "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word," "Empty Garden") delivers his most sincere statement in over a decade. Hakuna matata.
Alright, there's tonight's contributions. Let me explain a little bit about the list going forward. Tomorrow will be the last entry with ten songs (#30-21), after which I'll take a day off to enlighten all the readers with statistics and diversions about the songs on the list. Then, starting with the Top 20, I'll reveal five songs at a time with extended explanations. And after that, probably the final three songs or so will get their own entries. Hope you've been enjoying everything so far -- keep reading!
-- pl
Sorry for today's delayed entry...bad weather + other projects + cooking a big dinner + watching football pushed my involvement in the blog to this point of the evening. No sweat, though. Here come the next ten songs in the countdown:
SONGS 40 THROUGH 31
40. Train, "Cab" [2006]
This new rhythm I pursue/Is just my getting over you/Telling myself that I need to
Pat Monahan, Train's lead singer and main composer, gained a lot of fans (including myself) with the 1999 smash "Meet Virginia." He lost me somewhere around 2003's My Private Nation album. "Cab," a piano ballad reminiscent of an Americanized Crowded House, re-established my status as a closet Train fan. (Thanks, Pat.)
39. The Darkness, "I Believe In A Thing Called Love" [2003]
I wanna kiss you every minute, every hour, every day
Looking back, for sentimental reasons this was probably the most important song of my entire junior year of high school, as well as the fall semester of my sophomore year at college. Yet it's not even the best Darkness song -- that honour goes to "Get Your Hands Off My Woman," too X-rated for this list.
38. Bruce Springsteen, "My City Of Ruins" [acoustic version, 2001]
The boarded-up windows, the hustlers and thieves/While my brother's down on his knees
Given the full gospel treatment on The Rising, this instant Bruce classic is on the list for its premiere version, an acoustic-guitar-and-harmonica offering which led off "America: A Tribute To Heroes," the post-9/11 telethon held on the evening of September 14, 2001.
37. Coldplay, "The Scientist" [2002]
Questions of science, science and progress/Do not speak as loud as my heart
Back before Coldplay became The Biggest Band Ever (meaning last year, so even up through 2005's "Fix You"), Chris Martin and company used to be able to write epic ballads that didn't sound epic. Also, Sting now officially becomes the most "quoted" songwriter on this list; Martin almost certainly copped the "science and progress" bit from 1993's "If I Ever Lose My Faith In You."
36. matchbox twenty, "Bent" [2000]
Can you help me, I'm bent/I'm so scared that I'll never get put back together
"Bent" opens like something out of 1985: minor-key, echoing, with lots of space and electronics. And then, it becomes a brilliantly overblown mash-up of "Push" and "Real World." Rob Thomas recycles more than almost any other pop songwriter, but he does it well.
35. Maroon 5, "This Love" [2002]
And her heart is breaking in front of me/I have no choice, 'cause I won't say goodbye anymore
I got tired of this song around the end of 2004, after I'd heard it for the millionth time. Then right before Maroon 5's second album came out in the summer of 2007, I decided it was finally time to listen to "This Love" again. It's a great song. (...and yeah, it's totally, totally OK to like Maroon 5. 'Cause I said so.)
34. John Mayer, "Vultures" [2006]
Then I'll come through like I do/When the world keeps testing me, testing me, testing me
Although it's not one of Mayer's more popular tracks, it's at a perfect walking tempo, which made it unofficially the most-played song on my iPod going back and forth to college classes -- first in its skeletal John Mayer Trio version, and then in the '06 studio recording.
33. Fountains of Wayne, "Yolanda Hayes" [2007]
She puts down my file/Stares at me a while/And I swear I see her crack a little smile
Ironic, eh? That someone who's had as much vehicular drama as me, should put a song about a DMV worker on the list? Must be the synthesized horn section.
32. Death Cab for Cutie, "Crooked Teeth" [2005]
You're so cute when you're slurring your speech/But they're closing the bar, and they want us to leave
I'll never forget the exact moment I began to entertain the delusion that I had indie cred. November 2006, walking past a TV tuned to MTVu, showing the "Crooked Teeth" video. "AAAAH, I KNEW ABOUT THIS SONG FOURTEEN MONTHS AGO!"
31. Elton John, "I Want Love" [2001]
I can't love, shot full of holes/Don't feel nothing, I just feel cold
In what will probably come to be known as Sir Elton's last great radio hit, the man who -- along with lyric partner Bernie Taupin -- tackled so many intensely emotional and personal issues through the years in song ("Someone Saved My Life Tonight," "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word," "Empty Garden") delivers his most sincere statement in over a decade. Hakuna matata.
Alright, there's tonight's contributions. Let me explain a little bit about the list going forward. Tomorrow will be the last entry with ten songs (#30-21), after which I'll take a day off to enlighten all the readers with statistics and diversions about the songs on the list. Then, starting with the Top 20, I'll reveal five songs at a time with extended explanations. And after that, probably the final three songs or so will get their own entries. Hope you've been enjoying everything so far -- keep reading!
-- pl
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