Hey kids,
Fabulous game last night -- close until the very end, when the only turnover of the entire contest wound up being a huge play. When all is said and done and people look back on the list of great all-time quarterbacks, you may need to cue up the Tracy Porter interception when talking about why John Elway and Tom Brady were better quarterbacks than Peyton Manning. And this Super Bowl won't be remembered as an all-time classic, like the last two years were, or the Montana-to-Taylor game, or the Rams-Titans nailbiter, or the Scott Norwood miss. But it was solid. (Exceptional job also by CBS. If you needed any further proof that Phil Simms is the best color analyst not named Cris Collinsworth, look no further than his breakdown of the Lance Moore 2-point conversion. Expertly handled.)
But that's neither here nor there. On to the Super Bowl music: I seem to be in the majority in thinking that The Who's halftime show was a whole lot of Roger and Pete in the sound mixing (rightfully so -- they're the only two original members left), and that the performance continued the NFL's post-Nipplegate tradition of safe, non-controversial acts and song choices.
Wait. The Who? Safe?
Yes, and yes. I was pleasantly surprised that neither of my worst fears were realized during the 12-minute spectacle: first, that they stayed away from "My Generation," which is an inappropriate choice for 60-somethings to sing, mostly because the band was only one-for-four (Keith Moon) on the infamous line, "I hope I die before I get old." Second, Mr. Daltrey exercised extremely good judgment during "Who Are You" by refusing to come close to the "aaaah, who the .... are you!" line heard on the original recording. Such an occurrence would have involved either a tacky let-me-move-the-microphone-away-while-I-curse-just-for-the-hell-of-it moment, or a lengthy bleep by CBS, which would have robbed the performance of some of its integrity. No, this was a very, very tasteful halftime show -- no drum kits exploded and no guitars were smashed in the making. It wasn't in the league of either Bruce Springsteen last year or Tom Petty the year before, but considering these guys' ages, pretty respectable. (The post-9/11 U2 show is still the best in my opinion, by a Grand Canyon of a margin. And to be fair, the second-to-last commercial before halftime last night featured "My Generation," so it was there, kinda.)
That being said, here was the setlist:
"Pinball Wizard"
"Baba O'Riley"
"Who Are You"
"See Me, Feel Me"
"Won't Get Fooled Again"
It was a given that the three non-Tommy songs would be included, as they are not only the band's three most arena-ready tunes but the three themes to CBS's highly-profitable CSI franchise. And unfortunately, Pete Townshend revealed the setlist about two weeks before the show, so there was absolutely no element of surprise. That being said, I would have loved to have seen them open with "Who Are You" and then launch into a straight Who's Next medley, "Behind Blue Eyes" into "Bargain" into "Baba O'Riley" and then closing, of course, with "Won't Get Fooled Again." But I saw the original Broadway production of Tommy as a kid and I've seen the movie, so I appreciated the band's dip into history there. Before I heard Townshend's announcement, I was holding out hope for either "The Real Me" or "Magic Bus," but that's just personal preference.
If I had to pick a perfect, five-song Who playlist, though, here's what I would choose:
"Who Are You"
"1921" (from Tommy)
"Eminence Front"
"Love, Reign o'er Me"
"Baba O'Riley"
Ah, well. Guess iTunes and my own screaming and clapping for crowd noise will have to do.
-- pl
P.S. Queen Latifah's "America the Beautiful" was American, and beautiful, and also felt very contrived. Carrie Underwood, of American Idol fame, would have gotten a "pitchy" comment from Randy Jackson on her last note, but was otherwise spot-on with the National Anthem. Also, nice to see the 2010 HoF class a mere day after election, and did anybody else feel sorry for Len Dawson during his trophy march?
Monday, February 8, 2010
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Unfinished business...
Hi guys,
Happy New Year! It's been a few days...hopefully everybody's had a good holiday and is ready to start up again come Monday. I, however, will be in Florida for a week beginning Monday, so this may be the last blog post you get from me until probably the 12th. That being said, here is the long-promised Top 100 of the 2000's list in reverse ranking order.
100. Kaiser Chiefs, "Never Miss A Beat" [2008]
99. Minus the Bear, "Double Vision Quest" [2007]
98. The Hold Steady, "Sequestered In Memphis" [2008]
97. Spoon, "I Turn My Camera On" [2005]
96. John Legend, "Ordinary People" [2004]
95. Mika, "Stuck In The Middle" [2007]
94. Norah Jones, "Don't Know Why" [2002]
93. The Zutons, "Pressure Point" [2004]
92. Daft Punk, "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" [2001]
91. Lenny Kravitz, "Again" [2000]
99. Minus the Bear, "Double Vision Quest" [2007]
98. The Hold Steady, "Sequestered In Memphis" [2008]
97. Spoon, "I Turn My Camera On" [2005]
96. John Legend, "Ordinary People" [2004]
95. Mika, "Stuck In The Middle" [2007]
94. Norah Jones, "Don't Know Why" [2002]
93. The Zutons, "Pressure Point" [2004]
92. Daft Punk, "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" [2001]
91. Lenny Kravitz, "Again" [2000]
90. Amy Winehouse, "Tears Dry On Their Own" [2006]
89. The Dead Weather, "Treat Me Like Your Mother" [2009]
88. Snow Patrol, "Take Back The City" [2008]
87. Pinback, "Fortress" [2004]
86. Breaking Laces, "Shack Up SOS" [2005]
85. Dave Matthews Band, "Dreamgirl" [2005]
84. Beyonce feat. Jay-Z, "Crazy In Love" [2003]
83. Modern Skirts, "September Days" [2005]
82. Interpol, "Slow Hands" [2004]
81. Ted Leo + the Pharmacists, "Me And Mia" [2004]
89. The Dead Weather, "Treat Me Like Your Mother" [2009]
88. Snow Patrol, "Take Back The City" [2008]
87. Pinback, "Fortress" [2004]
86. Breaking Laces, "Shack Up SOS" [2005]
85. Dave Matthews Band, "Dreamgirl" [2005]
84. Beyonce feat. Jay-Z, "Crazy In Love" [2003]
83. Modern Skirts, "September Days" [2005]
82. Interpol, "Slow Hands" [2004]
81. Ted Leo + the Pharmacists, "Me And Mia" [2004]
80. The Goo Goo Dolls, "Let Love In" [2006]
79. Bruce Springsteen, "Working On A Dream" [2009]
78. The Kooks, "Sway" [2008]
77. matchbox twenty, "Disease" [2002]
76. U2, "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own" [2004]
75. The Flaming Lips, "Do You Realize??" [2002]
74. Hard-Fi, "Suburban Knights" [2007]
73. Coldplay, "Clocks" [2002]
72. Test Your Reflex, "Pieces Of The Sun" [2007]
71. Idlewild, "Love Steals Us From Loneliness" [2005]
79. Bruce Springsteen, "Working On A Dream" [2009]
78. The Kooks, "Sway" [2008]
77. matchbox twenty, "Disease" [2002]
76. U2, "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own" [2004]
75. The Flaming Lips, "Do You Realize??" [2002]
74. Hard-Fi, "Suburban Knights" [2007]
73. Coldplay, "Clocks" [2002]
72. Test Your Reflex, "Pieces Of The Sun" [2007]
71. Idlewild, "Love Steals Us From Loneliness" [2005]
70. Beyonce, "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)" [2008]
69. Fountains of Wayne, "Stacy's Mom" [2003]
68. Paul McCartney, "Dance Tonight" [2007]
67. Coldplay, "Viva La Vida" [2008]
66. Blue Scholars, "Ordinary Guys" [2007]
65. Maroon 5, "Won't Go Home Without You" [2007]
64. Red Hot Chili Peppers, "The Zephyr Song" [2002]
69. Fountains of Wayne, "Stacy's Mom" [2003]
68. Paul McCartney, "Dance Tonight" [2007]
67. Coldplay, "Viva La Vida" [2008]
66. Blue Scholars, "Ordinary Guys" [2007]
65. Maroon 5, "Won't Go Home Without You" [2007]
64. Red Hot Chili Peppers, "The Zephyr Song" [2002]
63. Franz Ferdinand, "Take Me Out" [2004]
62. The Feeling, "Fill My Little World" [2006]
61. John Mayer, "Bigger Than My Body" [2003]
62. The Feeling, "Fill My Little World" [2006]
61. John Mayer, "Bigger Than My Body" [2003]
60. James Morrison, "Nothing Ever Hurt Like You" [2008]
59. Butch Walker, "The Weight Of Her" [2008]
58. Death Cab for Cutie, "I Will Possess Your Heart" [2008]
57. Audioslave, "Like A Stone" [2002]
56. Red Hot Chili Peppers, "Dani California" [2006]
55. The Decemberists, "Here I Dreamt I Was An Architect" [2002]
59. Butch Walker, "The Weight Of Her" [2008]
58. Death Cab for Cutie, "I Will Possess Your Heart" [2008]
57. Audioslave, "Like A Stone" [2002]
56. Red Hot Chili Peppers, "Dani California" [2006]
55. The Decemberists, "Here I Dreamt I Was An Architect" [2002]
54. Mae, "On Top" [2007]
53. Steely Dan, "Cousin Dupree" [2000]
52. Weezer, "Pork And Beans" [2008]
51. Kate Nash, "Mouthwash" [2008]
53. Steely Dan, "Cousin Dupree" [2000]
52. Weezer, "Pork And Beans" [2008]
51. Kate Nash, "Mouthwash" [2008]
50. Ben Folds, "Landed" [2005]
49. Bruce Springsteen, "Waitin' On A Sunny Day" [2002]
48. Radiohead, "Optimistic" [2000]
47. Art Brut, "Pump Up The Volume" [2007]
46. Barenaked Ladies, "Pinch Me" [2000]
45. 1990's, "See You At The Lights" [2007]
49. Bruce Springsteen, "Waitin' On A Sunny Day" [2002]
48. Radiohead, "Optimistic" [2000]
47. Art Brut, "Pump Up The Volume" [2007]
46. Barenaked Ladies, "Pinch Me" [2000]
45. 1990's, "See You At The Lights" [2007]
44. Lifehouse, "Hanging By A Moment" [2000]
43. Paul Westerberg, "Love You In The Fall" [2006]
42. Ryan Adams, "Two" [2007]
41. Maritime, "Tearing Up The Oxygen" [2006]
43. Paul Westerberg, "Love You In The Fall" [2006]
42. Ryan Adams, "Two" [2007]
41. Maritime, "Tearing Up The Oxygen" [2006]
40. Train, "Cab" [2006]
39. The Darkness, "I Believe In A Thing Called Love" [2003]
39. The Darkness, "I Believe In A Thing Called Love" [2003]
38. Bruce Springsteen, "My City Of Ruins" [acoustic version, 2001]
37. Coldplay, "The Scientist" [2002]
36. matchbox twenty, "Bent" [2000]
35. Maroon 5, "This Love" [2002]
34. John Mayer, "Vultures" [2006]
33. Fountains of Wayne, "Yolanda Hayes" [2007]
32. Death Cab for Cutie, "Crooked Teeth" [2005]
31. Elton John, "I Want Love" [2001]
37. Coldplay, "The Scientist" [2002]
36. matchbox twenty, "Bent" [2000]
35. Maroon 5, "This Love" [2002]
34. John Mayer, "Vultures" [2006]
33. Fountains of Wayne, "Yolanda Hayes" [2007]
32. Death Cab for Cutie, "Crooked Teeth" [2005]
31. Elton John, "I Want Love" [2001]
30. Dave Matthews Band, "Grey Street" [single version, 2002]
29. Incubus, "Dig" [2006]
28. Jimmy Eat World, "The Authority Song" [2001]
27. Keane, "Is It Any Wonder?" [2006]
26. Howie Day, "She Says" [acoustic version, 2002]
25. The Goo Goo Dolls, "Here Is Gone" [2002]
24. Dave Matthews Band, "The Space Between" [2001]
23. The Swell Season, "When Your Mind's Made Up" [2006]
22. Keane, "Somewhere Only We Know" [2004]
21. Ben Lee, "Catch My Disease" [2005]
29. Incubus, "Dig" [2006]
28. Jimmy Eat World, "The Authority Song" [2001]
27. Keane, "Is It Any Wonder?" [2006]
26. Howie Day, "She Says" [acoustic version, 2002]
25. The Goo Goo Dolls, "Here Is Gone" [2002]
24. Dave Matthews Band, "The Space Between" [2001]
23. The Swell Season, "When Your Mind's Made Up" [2006]
22. Keane, "Somewhere Only We Know" [2004]
21. Ben Lee, "Catch My Disease" [2005]
20. Rufus Wainwright, "Hallelujah" [2001]
19. Jason Mraz, "The Remedy (I Won't Worry)" [2002]
18. Jimmy Eat World, "The Middle" [2001]
17. Sara Bareilles, "Love Song" [2007]
16. Muse, "Starlight" [2006]
19. Jason Mraz, "The Remedy (I Won't Worry)" [2002]
18. Jimmy Eat World, "The Middle" [2001]
17. Sara Bareilles, "Love Song" [2007]
16. Muse, "Starlight" [2006]
15. Gnarls Barkley, "Crazy" [2006]
14. Nada Surf, "Do It Again" [2005]
13. Kings of Leon, "Sex On Fire" [2008]
12. OutKast, "Hey Ya!" [2003]
11. The Killers, "Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine" [2004]
14. Nada Surf, "Do It Again" [2005]
13. Kings of Leon, "Sex On Fire" [2008]
12. OutKast, "Hey Ya!" [2003]
11. The Killers, "Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine" [2004]
10. matt pond PA, "Halloween" [2005]
9. U2, "Beautiful Day" [2000]
8. Spymob, "2040" [2004]
7. Maroon 5, "Makes Me Wonder" [2007]
6. John Mayer, "No Such Thing" [single version, 2001]
9. U2, "Beautiful Day" [2000]
8. Spymob, "2040" [2004]
7. Maroon 5, "Makes Me Wonder" [2007]
6. John Mayer, "No Such Thing" [single version, 2001]
5. Aerosmith, "Jaded" [2001]
4. The Bens, "Bruised" [2004]
3. OutKast, "Ms. Jackson" [2000]
2. Barenaked Ladies, "Falling For The First Time" [2000]
1. Coldplay, "Yellow" [2000]
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Top 100 Favorite Songs of the 2000's (...the final part.)
Hello folks,
I want to sincerely thank you if you've read this far and followed me for any or all of the past 18 days. At some point over the Christmas weekend I will publish the list, in full, without descriptions, so that you can read on down from the bottom to the top. (I know -- sounds like bad grammar. It'll all become clear in a few days.) But now, to the business at hand.
As I was putting together this list about three weeks ago, I went through A LOT of music. Like I've mentioned before, about 400 songs were initially under consideration for placement on my countdown, and I had a real tough time cutting down the last 150. But as the top of the list began to come together, there was only one clear choice for the number-one spot. If you know my musical tastes, you know I'm a huge fan of this song, and that it's one of my favorite songs of any decade, not just this one. And so, it had to be.
And so, finally, I announce that my #1 favorite song of the last ten years is:
1. Coldplay, "Yellow" [2000]
I came along, I wrote a song for you/And all the things you do/And it was called "Yellow"
Like so many other classic, iconic songs on this list, it would be absolutely pointless for me to get into a long-winded discussion about the lyrical and sonic merits of "Yellow," a song everyone knows by heart even if they can't publicly cop to liking it. I can cop to it, however, and I must tell you that it belongs in at least my top 20 favorite songs of all time. As such, no other track on this countdown was even really close to the #1 ranking.
I talked about nuances yesterday. Well, this song has plenty of them, and if you've heard it enough times you can predict all the little distinctions that make "Yellow" what it is. But it's the first listen that really gets you. I don't remember where I was or what I was doing the first time I heard it on the radio -- strictly from the release date, I can tell you I was in eighth grade, but that's about it. I do, however, remember being charmingly intrigued by this little-band-that-could from Britain, with the falsetto-dominant lead singer and electric guitars that sounded too big for a band making their first major splash, and an out-of-nowhere chord on the last line of the song that totally made sense. I don't believe in a lot of theories, but music theory is definitely one of them. (Haha. Nerdy musician's joke.)
Also yesterday, I talked about the song's impact on my life. I'm not going to lie -- it helps to dig a song that every woman in the world likes, and so "Yellow" has been a major part of the last ten years for me for that reason. My buddy Greg used to say there was a certain quality about Sting's music that did something to the female sex...I won't repeat it here, but let's just say that that same quality runs through much of Coldplay's music and "Yellow" is no exception.
I think the final thing I want to emphasize about this song is its placement in the ever-expanding Coldplay canon. When you listen to Keane's "Somewhere Only We Know," you can hear "Yellow." Listen to "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol -- same thing. Listen to anything recent by Coldplay's major contemporaries, Oasis and Travis. "Yellow" is in there, too. To me, there even seems to be a spiritual give-and-take between Chris Martin and Bono; lots of the stuff on U2's How to Dismantle... album takes the "Yellow" blueprint.
Martin and the band are quick to dismiss the music from Parachutes, but it's still my favorite Coldplay record. I don't know what it is, I mean, maybe I'm not musically sophisticated enough for Viva la Vida. But I do know that some songs kill momentum when placed on an album. "Yellow," in spite of itself, is not one of them. Most of the standout tracks on Parachutes come in the first half, and "Yellow" arrives right in the middle of the proceedings. Not only does it automatically enhance the quality of the rest of the album, it also makes you realize just how good the previous four songs were as well, and that this is a band to be reckoned with. That's a unique effect.
And so, we come to the end of my list. Share your thoughts on this or any of the previous postings, and I'd like to know some of your favorites. Have a great Christmas and I'll catch you all again sometime this weekend. Thanks!
-- pl
I want to sincerely thank you if you've read this far and followed me for any or all of the past 18 days. At some point over the Christmas weekend I will publish the list, in full, without descriptions, so that you can read on down from the bottom to the top. (I know -- sounds like bad grammar. It'll all become clear in a few days.) But now, to the business at hand.
As I was putting together this list about three weeks ago, I went through A LOT of music. Like I've mentioned before, about 400 songs were initially under consideration for placement on my countdown, and I had a real tough time cutting down the last 150. But as the top of the list began to come together, there was only one clear choice for the number-one spot. If you know my musical tastes, you know I'm a huge fan of this song, and that it's one of my favorite songs of any decade, not just this one. And so, it had to be.
And so, finally, I announce that my #1 favorite song of the last ten years is:
1. Coldplay, "Yellow" [2000]
I came along, I wrote a song for you/And all the things you do/And it was called "Yellow"
Like so many other classic, iconic songs on this list, it would be absolutely pointless for me to get into a long-winded discussion about the lyrical and sonic merits of "Yellow," a song everyone knows by heart even if they can't publicly cop to liking it. I can cop to it, however, and I must tell you that it belongs in at least my top 20 favorite songs of all time. As such, no other track on this countdown was even really close to the #1 ranking.
I talked about nuances yesterday. Well, this song has plenty of them, and if you've heard it enough times you can predict all the little distinctions that make "Yellow" what it is. But it's the first listen that really gets you. I don't remember where I was or what I was doing the first time I heard it on the radio -- strictly from the release date, I can tell you I was in eighth grade, but that's about it. I do, however, remember being charmingly intrigued by this little-band-that-could from Britain, with the falsetto-dominant lead singer and electric guitars that sounded too big for a band making their first major splash, and an out-of-nowhere chord on the last line of the song that totally made sense. I don't believe in a lot of theories, but music theory is definitely one of them. (Haha. Nerdy musician's joke.)
Also yesterday, I talked about the song's impact on my life. I'm not going to lie -- it helps to dig a song that every woman in the world likes, and so "Yellow" has been a major part of the last ten years for me for that reason. My buddy Greg used to say there was a certain quality about Sting's music that did something to the female sex...I won't repeat it here, but let's just say that that same quality runs through much of Coldplay's music and "Yellow" is no exception.
I think the final thing I want to emphasize about this song is its placement in the ever-expanding Coldplay canon. When you listen to Keane's "Somewhere Only We Know," you can hear "Yellow." Listen to "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol -- same thing. Listen to anything recent by Coldplay's major contemporaries, Oasis and Travis. "Yellow" is in there, too. To me, there even seems to be a spiritual give-and-take between Chris Martin and Bono; lots of the stuff on U2's How to Dismantle... album takes the "Yellow" blueprint.
Martin and the band are quick to dismiss the music from Parachutes, but it's still my favorite Coldplay record. I don't know what it is, I mean, maybe I'm not musically sophisticated enough for Viva la Vida. But I do know that some songs kill momentum when placed on an album. "Yellow," in spite of itself, is not one of them. Most of the standout tracks on Parachutes come in the first half, and "Yellow" arrives right in the middle of the proceedings. Not only does it automatically enhance the quality of the rest of the album, it also makes you realize just how good the previous four songs were as well, and that this is a band to be reckoned with. That's a unique effect.
And so, we come to the end of my list. Share your thoughts on this or any of the previous postings, and I'd like to know some of your favorites. Have a great Christmas and I'll catch you all again sometime this weekend. Thanks!
-- pl
Monday, December 21, 2009
Top 100 Favorite Songs of the 2000's (Part XVII)
Hey all,
Two more to go in the countdown, and #2 is about a 180-degree turn from #3. Such is the nature of this list, which (if I've done everything right) has brought back some of this decade's best musical memories for you. On we go to the penultimate track...
2. Barenaked Ladies, "Falling For The First Time" [2000]
I'm so cool, too bad I'm a loser/I'm so smart, too bad I can't get anything figured out
What's intriguing about music is how you can find nuances and details where you least expect them. It's the major-seventh chord right after this opening line that's the most musically intriguing element of "Falling For The First Time," off BNL's 2000 album Maroon. It's not a detail that had to be there, but it enhances the song's charm every so slightly. "Falling" was the third and last single released from Maroon (the first was "Pinch Me," found elsewhere on this list), and commercially it was the least successful. But as you might have figured out by now, my countdown isn't necessarily a popularity contest.
The lead singer on this number is Ed Robertson, he of the gentle voice and acoustic guitar strumming (as opposed to the more rough-around-the-edges Stephen Page, who left the group earlier this year). Someday, in some other blog post, I'll probably do an entire breakdown of the similarities between Barenaked Ladies and one of my all-time guilty pleasure bands, Fleetwood Mac, but just suffice it to say Robertson is the Christine McVie of the Ladies. (And you say, "Who?" Exactly.) In any case, Ed lends just the right touch and inflection to these lyrics -- most of BNL's most famous songs deal with self-contradicting, self-deprecating wannabes, but none more endearingly than this song. Not to mention, it was their most blatant exploration of this particular theme since at least 1996's "Shoe Box."
And when I say self-contradicting, that's precisely what the lyrics do, as you can see from the sample I gave. Those are the first two lines of the song, and things only get wackier and wittier from there. But the real treat is the bridge, which features a rotating series of associative phrases, most of which build off the end of the previous one. This section comes around twice, with the first leading to another seventh chord and quick stop in the momentum, before drummer Tyler Stewart (just one of many underrated rock drummers to come around in the last 20 years) picks up the pace again for a final verse/chorus/middle-eight progression. From there, the song finally comes to a halt amidst a wall of feedback, a typically quirky BNL ending.
Now that I've covered the technical aspects of the song, let me explain to you exactly why "Falling For The First Time" is ranked so high.
Let me say, unapologetically, that I'm a romantic through and through. And so tomorrow's entry, my #1 favorite song of the decade and unquestionably one of the greatest breakthrough singles of all time (hint hint), was a song I listened to a lot at various points in various friendships, courtships, relationships, etc. over the years. But at many of the same times I listened to song #1, it was song #2 that served as my unofficial theme song. It's fun to pretend you're cool, you're smooth, you've got it all together, but the truth is all out there when you're a little white boy from New Jersey. (BNL's from Canada, so in keeping with that logic, you can easily understand the genesis of the song.) Anyway, most of the top songs on this countdown meant a lot to me on a lot of levels, and "Falling For The First Time" is no exception.
See you tomorrow, everybody!
-- pl
Two more to go in the countdown, and #2 is about a 180-degree turn from #3. Such is the nature of this list, which (if I've done everything right) has brought back some of this decade's best musical memories for you. On we go to the penultimate track...
2. Barenaked Ladies, "Falling For The First Time" [2000]
I'm so cool, too bad I'm a loser/I'm so smart, too bad I can't get anything figured out
What's intriguing about music is how you can find nuances and details where you least expect them. It's the major-seventh chord right after this opening line that's the most musically intriguing element of "Falling For The First Time," off BNL's 2000 album Maroon. It's not a detail that had to be there, but it enhances the song's charm every so slightly. "Falling" was the third and last single released from Maroon (the first was "Pinch Me," found elsewhere on this list), and commercially it was the least successful. But as you might have figured out by now, my countdown isn't necessarily a popularity contest.
The lead singer on this number is Ed Robertson, he of the gentle voice and acoustic guitar strumming (as opposed to the more rough-around-the-edges Stephen Page, who left the group earlier this year). Someday, in some other blog post, I'll probably do an entire breakdown of the similarities between Barenaked Ladies and one of my all-time guilty pleasure bands, Fleetwood Mac, but just suffice it to say Robertson is the Christine McVie of the Ladies. (And you say, "Who?" Exactly.) In any case, Ed lends just the right touch and inflection to these lyrics -- most of BNL's most famous songs deal with self-contradicting, self-deprecating wannabes, but none more endearingly than this song. Not to mention, it was their most blatant exploration of this particular theme since at least 1996's "Shoe Box."
And when I say self-contradicting, that's precisely what the lyrics do, as you can see from the sample I gave. Those are the first two lines of the song, and things only get wackier and wittier from there. But the real treat is the bridge, which features a rotating series of associative phrases, most of which build off the end of the previous one. This section comes around twice, with the first leading to another seventh chord and quick stop in the momentum, before drummer Tyler Stewart (just one of many underrated rock drummers to come around in the last 20 years) picks up the pace again for a final verse/chorus/middle-eight progression. From there, the song finally comes to a halt amidst a wall of feedback, a typically quirky BNL ending.
Now that I've covered the technical aspects of the song, let me explain to you exactly why "Falling For The First Time" is ranked so high.
Let me say, unapologetically, that I'm a romantic through and through. And so tomorrow's entry, my #1 favorite song of the decade and unquestionably one of the greatest breakthrough singles of all time (hint hint), was a song I listened to a lot at various points in various friendships, courtships, relationships, etc. over the years. But at many of the same times I listened to song #1, it was song #2 that served as my unofficial theme song. It's fun to pretend you're cool, you're smooth, you've got it all together, but the truth is all out there when you're a little white boy from New Jersey. (BNL's from Canada, so in keeping with that logic, you can easily understand the genesis of the song.) Anyway, most of the top songs on this countdown meant a lot to me on a lot of levels, and "Falling For The First Time" is no exception.
See you tomorrow, everybody!
-- pl
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Top 100 Favorite Songs of the 2000's (Part XVI)
Hi everybody,
Well, it's about that time again. Time for me to take up some space on the interwebs and bring you my favorite songs of this past decade. Ninety-seven have gone down so far; three to go, with each getting its own entry. Hope you've enjoyed the list -- not to say everyone will agree with everything, but I think it's an interesting project nonetheless.
And here we go with today's post:
3. OutKast, "Ms. Jackson" [2000]
Me and your daughter/Got a special thing goin' on/You say it's puppy love/We say it's full grown
In 1997, singer Erykah Badu gave birth to Seven Sirius Benjamin, her son with OutKast's Andre 3000. The couple's subsequent breakup, which resulted in a somewhat fractured upbringing for the toddler, provided the inspiration for "Ms. Jackson," which first appeared on OutKast's now-legendary 2000 album Stankonia. A few points that should be made clear right off the bat: number one, "Ms. Jackson" is rivaled by few rap songs in terms of its crossover appeal through the years. And number two, without any further qualification to this statement, it is truly one of the most creative and distinctive singles in the entire history of recorded popular music. Period.
On OutKast's previous album, 1998's Aquemini, the song "Rosa Parks" had garnered national attention for its reference to factual events (as in, "ah ha, hush that fuss, everybody move to the back of the bus") and its obvious name-dropping, which led to a lawsuit against the group's record company by Parks herself. For "Ms. Jackson," Andre and Big Boi decided to keep their allusions a bit more veiled -- though anyone who followed celebrity gossip back in 2000 knew exactly what the song was about. I'll admit that I didn't know the subject matter until about three years later; I thought it had something to do with Janet Jackson, who in an early single once asked men to refer to her as "Ms. Jackson, if you're nasty." Indeed, how naive and silly I was.
Built both rhythmically and melodically around a modification of Wagner's "Bridal Chorus," the chorus of "Ms. Jackson" is directed at Badu's mother, apologizing for the transgressions of the breakup and its consequences on Seven's childhood. This hook contains a Michael Jackson-like "Hooo!" and the line "I am for real" in falsetto, surrounded by two conventionally-sung phrases. All three lines of the chorus are instantly memorable, and together they might be the most well-constructed hook of the decade.
The verses feature some fantastic rapping, with of course the wonderful one-liners that Andre and Big Boi have become famous for as songwriters. These include: "Let her know her grandchild is a baby, and not a paycheck," "Yes, I will be present on the first day of school and graduation," and the priceless "Cheating, beating, in the end to the G they be the same thing." Of course (and forgive me if I go all James Lipton on you here for a minute, folks), the most oft-repeated line outside of the chorus has become an irreplaceable American colloquialism, a la The Sandlot: "Forever? Forever ever? Forever ever?"
There is really not that much more to say about "Ms. Jackson." It is without question the most entertaining rap song of the 2000's, and even though OutKast hasn't majorly impacted the music world for nearly six years now, their legacy is secure because of songs like this. Proving that in many cases, true stories make the best songs, Andre 3000's baby mama's mama makes "Ms. Jackson" a once-in-a-lifetime track.
Tomorrow -- and I promise I'll get to it earlier on in the day -- song #2. (Not to be confused with the hockey-arena staple, "Song 2" by Blur, which came out in 1997.) It's from the same year as this one, and the album from which the song comes has already produced another entry on this list. Any thoughts?
-- pl
Well, it's about that time again. Time for me to take up some space on the interwebs and bring you my favorite songs of this past decade. Ninety-seven have gone down so far; three to go, with each getting its own entry. Hope you've enjoyed the list -- not to say everyone will agree with everything, but I think it's an interesting project nonetheless.
And here we go with today's post:
3. OutKast, "Ms. Jackson" [2000]
Me and your daughter/Got a special thing goin' on/You say it's puppy love/We say it's full grown
In 1997, singer Erykah Badu gave birth to Seven Sirius Benjamin, her son with OutKast's Andre 3000. The couple's subsequent breakup, which resulted in a somewhat fractured upbringing for the toddler, provided the inspiration for "Ms. Jackson," which first appeared on OutKast's now-legendary 2000 album Stankonia. A few points that should be made clear right off the bat: number one, "Ms. Jackson" is rivaled by few rap songs in terms of its crossover appeal through the years. And number two, without any further qualification to this statement, it is truly one of the most creative and distinctive singles in the entire history of recorded popular music. Period.
On OutKast's previous album, 1998's Aquemini, the song "Rosa Parks" had garnered national attention for its reference to factual events (as in, "ah ha, hush that fuss, everybody move to the back of the bus") and its obvious name-dropping, which led to a lawsuit against the group's record company by Parks herself. For "Ms. Jackson," Andre and Big Boi decided to keep their allusions a bit more veiled -- though anyone who followed celebrity gossip back in 2000 knew exactly what the song was about. I'll admit that I didn't know the subject matter until about three years later; I thought it had something to do with Janet Jackson, who in an early single once asked men to refer to her as "Ms. Jackson, if you're nasty." Indeed, how naive and silly I was.
Built both rhythmically and melodically around a modification of Wagner's "Bridal Chorus," the chorus of "Ms. Jackson" is directed at Badu's mother, apologizing for the transgressions of the breakup and its consequences on Seven's childhood. This hook contains a Michael Jackson-like "Hooo!" and the line "I am for real" in falsetto, surrounded by two conventionally-sung phrases. All three lines of the chorus are instantly memorable, and together they might be the most well-constructed hook of the decade.
The verses feature some fantastic rapping, with of course the wonderful one-liners that Andre and Big Boi have become famous for as songwriters. These include: "Let her know her grandchild is a baby, and not a paycheck," "Yes, I will be present on the first day of school and graduation," and the priceless "Cheating, beating, in the end to the G they be the same thing." Of course (and forgive me if I go all James Lipton on you here for a minute, folks), the most oft-repeated line outside of the chorus has become an irreplaceable American colloquialism, a la The Sandlot: "Forever? Forever ever? Forever ever?"
There is really not that much more to say about "Ms. Jackson." It is without question the most entertaining rap song of the 2000's, and even though OutKast hasn't majorly impacted the music world for nearly six years now, their legacy is secure because of songs like this. Proving that in many cases, true stories make the best songs, Andre 3000's baby mama's mama makes "Ms. Jackson" a once-in-a-lifetime track.
Tomorrow -- and I promise I'll get to it earlier on in the day -- song #2. (Not to be confused with the hockey-arena staple, "Song 2" by Blur, which came out in 1997.) It's from the same year as this one, and the album from which the song comes has already produced another entry on this list. Any thoughts?
-- pl
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Top 100 Favorite Songs of the 2000's (Part XV)
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
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
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
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