#70 - "Tonight, Tonight" - The Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness - #6/7 - The most unique song by the Pumpkins, "Tonight" uses classical instruments mixed with contemporary guitar and drums to create an interesting atmosphere that Corgan's strange lyrics blends with perfectly.
#69 - "Someone's In The Wolf" - Queens Of The Stone Age - Lullabies To Paralyze - #16/16 - It was never released as a single but the largely instrumental "Wolf" is my favorite Queens song because of it's swirling guitars and pulsing beat.
#68 - "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" - The Beatles - The White Album - #21/22 - Eric Clapton guest-starred on this George Harrison-led classic which features many of my favorite Beatles lyrics and some of the best guitar work of the Beatles catalog.
#67 - "Piece Of My Heart" - Janis Joplin - Love, Janis - #3/3 - Very few vocals have every been as passionate as Janis' on this 60's classic which combined classic rock style with blues rock sentiment. The lyrics and performance are among the most intense ever recorded.
#66 - "The Times They Are A-Changin'" - Bob Dylan - The Times They Are A-Changin' - #13/15 - An iconic song of the 60's that can be looked back in retrospect as being an entirely accurate worldview that spoke not only to what had happened but also to what would happen down the line. Among the greatest protest songs ever written.
#65 - "Dream On" - Aerosmith - Aerosmith - #5/7 - Aerosmith's breakthrough song is a classic rock anthem highlighted by one of the greatest choruses of all-time. Not quite Aerosmith's best but it was definitely a sign of great things to come.
#64 - "Runnin' Down A Dream" - Tom Petty - Full Moon Fever - #15/17 - Some of Petty's best lyrics blends perfectly with the band's greatest guitar riff to create the ultimate top-down driving song of the classic rock era.
#63 - "Walk This Way" - Aerosmith - Toys In The Attic - #6/7 - One of the first rock songs to incorporate rap style verses along with the song's top-5 all-time guitar riffs to create one of the most creative songs of the 70's. The lyrics are pure smut, but that wasn't uncommon for the era.
#62 - "Us And Them" - Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon - #9/14 - Pink Floyd's war song is one of the most poignant and haunting war protest songs ever written. Like every other song on Dark Side, the music is sweeping and entrancing.
#61 - "Career Opportunities" - The Clash - Sandinista - #16/18 - Not one of the band's hits but one of the best punk songs anyway, "Career" is an intense rant about the miserable job market in England during the 70's. The song is, as always, dripping with sarcasm and sharp wit.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Top 1000 Bands #70-#61
70 - The Smiths - The band that influenced nearly every emo band around these days, The Smiths were led by the unique vocals of Morrissey and sarcastic but sometimes bleak lyrics.
69 - Weezer - They aren't half the band that they used to be, but among the major indie bands of the 90's and 21st century, Weezer was one of the most creative and the best crafter of hooks this side of Green Day.
68 - Eminem - The biggest name in rap during the last decade, Eminem mixed creative rhymes with his angry, bitter and sarcastic attack style to create a phenomenon without cheapening his act with novelty moves.
67 - And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead - One of the most underappreciated indie rock bands of the 90's, Trail Of Dead isn't as goth as their name leads you to believe. Their music actually reminds me a lot of Sonic Youth but heavier.
66 - Frank Black - After the break-up of the Pixies, Frank Black released a series of albums on his own and as frontman for various bands. While his solo work never lived up to his work with the Pixies, he still remains a great songwriter who is remarkably skilled at crafting hooks.
65 - Modest Mouse - They've been around since the mid 90's, but Modest Mouse made their first real splash on the indie rock scene in the early 21st Century. There were a few lead-up hits but their big break came with "Float On", an indie rock song that actually hit #1 on the billboard Modern Rock charts. The band has been red hot ever since releasing another great album with several big hits on it.
64 - The Screaming Trees - The lost grunge band of the 90's, Mark Lanegan and the Screaming Trees crafted great hooks but their music was apparantly to complicated for the average rock fans to grab onto it.
63 - Buddy Holly - One of the first big stars of rock n roll, Buddy Holly crafted simple songs and unforgettable hooks.
62 - The Velvet Underground - The original "ahead of their time" indie rock band, The Velvet Underground crafted their dark songs about New York's underbelly at least a decade before their brand of music would be popular.
61 - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - The best band in modern shoegaze, BRMC has put together a string of fantastic indie rock albums and carved a niche for themselves as the current chamion of their genre.
69 - Weezer - They aren't half the band that they used to be, but among the major indie bands of the 90's and 21st century, Weezer was one of the most creative and the best crafter of hooks this side of Green Day.
68 - Eminem - The biggest name in rap during the last decade, Eminem mixed creative rhymes with his angry, bitter and sarcastic attack style to create a phenomenon without cheapening his act with novelty moves.
67 - And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead - One of the most underappreciated indie rock bands of the 90's, Trail Of Dead isn't as goth as their name leads you to believe. Their music actually reminds me a lot of Sonic Youth but heavier.
66 - Frank Black - After the break-up of the Pixies, Frank Black released a series of albums on his own and as frontman for various bands. While his solo work never lived up to his work with the Pixies, he still remains a great songwriter who is remarkably skilled at crafting hooks.
65 - Modest Mouse - They've been around since the mid 90's, but Modest Mouse made their first real splash on the indie rock scene in the early 21st Century. There were a few lead-up hits but their big break came with "Float On", an indie rock song that actually hit #1 on the billboard Modern Rock charts. The band has been red hot ever since releasing another great album with several big hits on it.
64 - The Screaming Trees - The lost grunge band of the 90's, Mark Lanegan and the Screaming Trees crafted great hooks but their music was apparantly to complicated for the average rock fans to grab onto it.
63 - Buddy Holly - One of the first big stars of rock n roll, Buddy Holly crafted simple songs and unforgettable hooks.
62 - The Velvet Underground - The original "ahead of their time" indie rock band, The Velvet Underground crafted their dark songs about New York's underbelly at least a decade before their brand of music would be popular.
61 - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - The best band in modern shoegaze, BRMC has put together a string of fantastic indie rock albums and carved a niche for themselves as the current chamion of their genre.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Top 1000 Songs #80-#71
#80 - "I Will Follow" - U2 - Boy - #15/16 - The song that proved that U2 would one day change the world, "I Will Follow" is a punk / new wave hybrid with a great guitar riff and an excellent chorus.
#79 - "Cannonball" - The Breeders - Last Splash - #1/1 - The Breeders were a side project of Kim Deal of the Pixies, one of the most influential bands of the 80's. Strangely enough, "Cannonball" became a much bigger hit than any song the Pixies ever crafted and one of the most weirdly brilliant songs to ever become a pop hit.
#78 - "The Man Comes Around" - Johnny Cash - The American IV: The Man Comes Around - #6/6 - My favorite Johnny Cash song is also one of his last, a peppy yet drawling take on the apocalypse with a creepy scripture reading at the beginning of the song and a grizzled vocal performance from one of the true icons of rock n roll.
#77 - "For Whom The Bell Tolls" - Metallica - Ride The Lightning - #4/5 - The second-best Metallica album is a sweeping prog-metal nightmare about the horrors of war and the truth on the ground for it's soldiers. One of Metallica's slowest songs, but also one of their best.
#76 - "Black Hole Sun" - Soundgarden - Superunknkown - #11/11 - The song that made the band one of the biggest of the 90's, "Black Hole Sun" is notable not only for it's pulsing chorus, but also for outstanding guitar work and a trippy video that set the mood perfectly for the song.
#75 - "I Wanna Be Sedated" - The Ramones - We're Outta Here - #4/5 - The band's best 80's song, "Sedated" has a great hook and guitar work that drives the song from start to finish as well as one of punk's best choruses.
#74 - "Bitter Sweet Symphony" - The Verve - Bitter Sweet Symphony - #1/1 - Calling The Verve a one-hit wonder would be a disservice to the band, but this is definitely the song that they'll be remembered for. "Symphony" stands out as one of the great rock songs of the Brit-pop genre and one of the best of the 90's for that matter.
#73 - "Psycho Killer" - The Talking Heads - Talking Heads '77 - #10/10 - The darkest song of the punk era, "Psycho Killer" is a creepy new wave song that crawls into your brain and makes you look at the world through the eyes of a lunatic. Rock n roll at it's most creative and enthralling.
#72 - "White Rabbit" - Jefferson Airplane - Surrealistic Pillow - #3/3 - If the last song put you in the world of a serial killer, this one puts you in the mind of someone on an acid trip. Using references to Alice In Wonderland in their proper context, Grace Slick paints her band's two minute masterpiece with entrancing vocals and clever lyrical turns.
#71 - "Masters Of War" - Bob Dylan - The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan - #12/15 - Dylan's best protest song (and that's really saying something), "Masters Of War" is one of the most vicious protest songs against the men who start wars for their own benefit, saying that not even Jesus can forgive them for what they've done.
#79 - "Cannonball" - The Breeders - Last Splash - #1/1 - The Breeders were a side project of Kim Deal of the Pixies, one of the most influential bands of the 80's. Strangely enough, "Cannonball" became a much bigger hit than any song the Pixies ever crafted and one of the most weirdly brilliant songs to ever become a pop hit.
#78 - "The Man Comes Around" - Johnny Cash - The American IV: The Man Comes Around - #6/6 - My favorite Johnny Cash song is also one of his last, a peppy yet drawling take on the apocalypse with a creepy scripture reading at the beginning of the song and a grizzled vocal performance from one of the true icons of rock n roll.
#77 - "For Whom The Bell Tolls" - Metallica - Ride The Lightning - #4/5 - The second-best Metallica album is a sweeping prog-metal nightmare about the horrors of war and the truth on the ground for it's soldiers. One of Metallica's slowest songs, but also one of their best.
#76 - "Black Hole Sun" - Soundgarden - Superunknkown - #11/11 - The song that made the band one of the biggest of the 90's, "Black Hole Sun" is notable not only for it's pulsing chorus, but also for outstanding guitar work and a trippy video that set the mood perfectly for the song.
#75 - "I Wanna Be Sedated" - The Ramones - We're Outta Here - #4/5 - The band's best 80's song, "Sedated" has a great hook and guitar work that drives the song from start to finish as well as one of punk's best choruses.
#74 - "Bitter Sweet Symphony" - The Verve - Bitter Sweet Symphony - #1/1 - Calling The Verve a one-hit wonder would be a disservice to the band, but this is definitely the song that they'll be remembered for. "Symphony" stands out as one of the great rock songs of the Brit-pop genre and one of the best of the 90's for that matter.
#73 - "Psycho Killer" - The Talking Heads - Talking Heads '77 - #10/10 - The darkest song of the punk era, "Psycho Killer" is a creepy new wave song that crawls into your brain and makes you look at the world through the eyes of a lunatic. Rock n roll at it's most creative and enthralling.
#72 - "White Rabbit" - Jefferson Airplane - Surrealistic Pillow - #3/3 - If the last song put you in the world of a serial killer, this one puts you in the mind of someone on an acid trip. Using references to Alice In Wonderland in their proper context, Grace Slick paints her band's two minute masterpiece with entrancing vocals and clever lyrical turns.
#71 - "Masters Of War" - Bob Dylan - The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan - #12/15 - Dylan's best protest song (and that's really saying something), "Masters Of War" is one of the most vicious protest songs against the men who start wars for their own benefit, saying that not even Jesus can forgive them for what they've done.
Top 1000 Bands #80-#71
80 - Muse - Among my favorite modern rock bands, Muse is a sweeping, over the top band that rocks stadiums in a way unseen since the death of Freddie Mercury.
79 - The Eagles - The Eagles were just about the biggest stars of the classic rock era. In fact, their Greatest Hits album is the best selling album in American history. The band reaches for a certain strain of country-rock Americana, but their music is often deceptively sarcastic as well.
78 - Ozzy Osbourne - The Prince Of Darkness is far and away the biggest metal star of the last 25 years, cranking out hit after hit with his shrieking wail and knack for employing the best guitarists in the world. The first minute of "Crazy Train" might just be the best minute in rock n roll.
77 - Rush - Possibly the best and most popular band in the world that's not in the Hall Of Fame, Rush were one of the biggest bands of the late 70's and 80's, cranking out great album after great album of their weird prog rock / metal hybrid.
76 - Billy Joel - The Piano Man is one of the most successful singers in pop history, but to me he'll always be a brilliant songwriter who crafted songs that were brilliant but also fun to listen to.
75 - The Jesus And Mary Chain - The creators and perfect example of the shoegaze genre, a sludgy and distortion-heavy form of alt rock, The Jesus And Mary Chain created a long legacy of slow-burn classics that made them one of the best bands of the 80's.
74 - Coldplay - They'll be going up when I revise this list, but for now this is where the U2 of the 21st Century lands before the Viva la Vida masterpiece. Coldplay will never get the respect that their genre mates like Radiohead get, but when it comes to artistry, they're among the best.
73 - Death Cab For Cutie - Emo doesn't get any better than Death Cab. The songwriting is second only to Bright Eyes among contemporary bands and the melodies gel perfectly to make music that is both thought-provoking and moving.
72 - The Shins - The band that changed Zach Braff's life in Garden State has quickly become one of the best alt-rock bands of the past decade with their sweeping melodies, quirky lyrics and unique vocials.
71 - Husker Du - One of the great alt rock bands of the 80's that inspired thousands of follow-up bands, Husker Du never appealed to the masses commercially, but the bands that they did appeal to are among the most popular at this time.
79 - The Eagles - The Eagles were just about the biggest stars of the classic rock era. In fact, their Greatest Hits album is the best selling album in American history. The band reaches for a certain strain of country-rock Americana, but their music is often deceptively sarcastic as well.
78 - Ozzy Osbourne - The Prince Of Darkness is far and away the biggest metal star of the last 25 years, cranking out hit after hit with his shrieking wail and knack for employing the best guitarists in the world. The first minute of "Crazy Train" might just be the best minute in rock n roll.
77 - Rush - Possibly the best and most popular band in the world that's not in the Hall Of Fame, Rush were one of the biggest bands of the late 70's and 80's, cranking out great album after great album of their weird prog rock / metal hybrid.
76 - Billy Joel - The Piano Man is one of the most successful singers in pop history, but to me he'll always be a brilliant songwriter who crafted songs that were brilliant but also fun to listen to.
75 - The Jesus And Mary Chain - The creators and perfect example of the shoegaze genre, a sludgy and distortion-heavy form of alt rock, The Jesus And Mary Chain created a long legacy of slow-burn classics that made them one of the best bands of the 80's.
74 - Coldplay - They'll be going up when I revise this list, but for now this is where the U2 of the 21st Century lands before the Viva la Vida masterpiece. Coldplay will never get the respect that their genre mates like Radiohead get, but when it comes to artistry, they're among the best.
73 - Death Cab For Cutie - Emo doesn't get any better than Death Cab. The songwriting is second only to Bright Eyes among contemporary bands and the melodies gel perfectly to make music that is both thought-provoking and moving.
72 - The Shins - The band that changed Zach Braff's life in Garden State has quickly become one of the best alt-rock bands of the past decade with their sweeping melodies, quirky lyrics and unique vocials.
71 - Husker Du - One of the great alt rock bands of the 80's that inspired thousands of follow-up bands, Husker Du never appealed to the masses commercially, but the bands that they did appeal to are among the most popular at this time.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Top 1000 Songs #90-#81
#90 - "Loser" - Beck - Mellow Gold - #9/9 - The iconic slacker song of the 90's, "Loser" is a bizarre rap-folk hybrid that no one had ever heard before and no one has ever heard since. The lyrics almost seem free associated, but that's the charm of Beck.
#89 - "Revolution" - The Beatles - Past Masters - #20/22 - This is, of course, the rocked out version of the song rather than the version that appeared on the White Album. The song is insightful and exciting and showed that the Beatles could have lasted another decade if they weren't already falling apart.
#88 - "Janie Jones" - The Clash - The Clash - #15/18 - As debut songs go, "Janie Jones" was a knock-out punch of a hello, highlighted by lightning guitars and Joe Strummer's passionate singing, British punk was born with this strike from the blue.
#87 - "Monkey Wrench" - The Foo Fighters - The Colour And The Shape - #10/10 - What would be the band's best song became one of rock n roll's best songs with the insane shouting verse that Dave Grohl unleashes on the world, setting a bar so high that no karaoke performance will ever be able to do it justice. No artist has ever been a better at vocal-shredding than Grohl.
#86 - "Hurt" - Johnny Cash - The American IV: The Man Comes Around - #5/6 - There has never been a cover song as moving and significant as Johnny Cash's heart-rending cover of a decade-old Nine Inch Nails song. The song was the perfect cap to the career of one of rock's most important figures.
#85 - "Pump It Up" - Elvis Costello - This Year's Model - #9/11 - Elvis never got more adrenaline-fueled than on this rapid-fire punk New Wave missile launched from his best album. The throbbing guitar riff that drives this song is easily the most exciting of his career.
#84 - "B.O.B." - Outkast - Stankonia - #3/3 - One of the greatest rap songs ever written, "B.O.B." uses rapid-fire verses to build to an intense chorus. One of the best of the genre from the best rap group of the 21st century.
#83 - "Fell In Love With A Girl" - The White Stripes - White Blood Cells - #10/10 - The song that made The White Stripes the superstars that they are today was this two-minute adrenaline shot that announced garage rock as the dominant form of quality indie rock to this day.
#82 - "Dissident" - Pearl Jam - Vs. - #23/25 - The face-melting guitar solo that opens this song merges perfectly with the punk attitude Eddie Vedder delivers in the lyrics to make one of Pearl Jam's best songs.
#81 - "Paradise City" - Guns N Roses - Appetite For Destruction - #7/8 - One of the last great songs of the classic rock era, "Paradise City" has a wicked groove and great lyrics as it progresses from style to style utilizing more different switch-ups than any great song other than "Paradise By A Dashboard Light". Highlights include another classic solo from Slash and Axl's insane vocals. Also, what rock star dance is more well-known than the twisting and swaying move Axl uses in the video for this song?
#89 - "Revolution" - The Beatles - Past Masters - #20/22 - This is, of course, the rocked out version of the song rather than the version that appeared on the White Album. The song is insightful and exciting and showed that the Beatles could have lasted another decade if they weren't already falling apart.
#88 - "Janie Jones" - The Clash - The Clash - #15/18 - As debut songs go, "Janie Jones" was a knock-out punch of a hello, highlighted by lightning guitars and Joe Strummer's passionate singing, British punk was born with this strike from the blue.
#87 - "Monkey Wrench" - The Foo Fighters - The Colour And The Shape - #10/10 - What would be the band's best song became one of rock n roll's best songs with the insane shouting verse that Dave Grohl unleashes on the world, setting a bar so high that no karaoke performance will ever be able to do it justice. No artist has ever been a better at vocal-shredding than Grohl.
#86 - "Hurt" - Johnny Cash - The American IV: The Man Comes Around - #5/6 - There has never been a cover song as moving and significant as Johnny Cash's heart-rending cover of a decade-old Nine Inch Nails song. The song was the perfect cap to the career of one of rock's most important figures.
#85 - "Pump It Up" - Elvis Costello - This Year's Model - #9/11 - Elvis never got more adrenaline-fueled than on this rapid-fire punk New Wave missile launched from his best album. The throbbing guitar riff that drives this song is easily the most exciting of his career.
#84 - "B.O.B." - Outkast - Stankonia - #3/3 - One of the greatest rap songs ever written, "B.O.B." uses rapid-fire verses to build to an intense chorus. One of the best of the genre from the best rap group of the 21st century.
#83 - "Fell In Love With A Girl" - The White Stripes - White Blood Cells - #10/10 - The song that made The White Stripes the superstars that they are today was this two-minute adrenaline shot that announced garage rock as the dominant form of quality indie rock to this day.
#82 - "Dissident" - Pearl Jam - Vs. - #23/25 - The face-melting guitar solo that opens this song merges perfectly with the punk attitude Eddie Vedder delivers in the lyrics to make one of Pearl Jam's best songs.
#81 - "Paradise City" - Guns N Roses - Appetite For Destruction - #7/8 - One of the last great songs of the classic rock era, "Paradise City" has a wicked groove and great lyrics as it progresses from style to style utilizing more different switch-ups than any great song other than "Paradise By A Dashboard Light". Highlights include another classic solo from Slash and Axl's insane vocals. Also, what rock star dance is more well-known than the twisting and swaying move Axl uses in the video for this song?
Top 1000 Bands #90-#81
90 - Warren Zevon - One of the most creative songwriters in all of rock history, Zevon was never a tremendous success but his music was among the most influential ever made.
89 - Bad Religion - The 90's had a lot of political punk bands and Bad Religion was one of the best. They never broke through to the mainstream but to this day they continue to be one of the most consistent bands in all of rock n roll.
88 - The Thermals - One of the newest bands on the list, The Thermals are unknown to 99% of music fans but in just a few albums they've established themselves as one of my favorite punk acts with their dark wit and rapid fire guitars.
87 - Fiona Apple - A dynamic singer-songwriter who started her career out with a controversial music video and then later proved that she had a lot more substance to her music than people were willing to give her credit for. She doesn't release albums very frequently, but when she does they're usually among the year's best.
86 - The Dead Kennedys - The best of the 80's punk scene, The Dead Kennedys made irritating, angry politically-charged punk that sent-up the Reagan era and stuck a middle finger in the face of the free market yuppies that dominated the era.
85 - Wolfmother - The classic case of the one-album wonder (they broke up recently), Wolfmother released one of the best debut albums of all-time, a radio-friendly metal throwback that was amongst the best of it's genre since the glory days of Zeppelin and Sabbath.
84 - Van Morrison - One of the biggest stars of the 60's, Van Morrison has continued to use his dynamic voice to craft brilliant genre-jumping albums over the past four decades.
83 - The Strokes - A fairly new band on the scene, The Strokes are second only to The White Stripes in the garage rock revival movement of the 21st Century. Their background story doesn't do them any favors, but their riffs and lyrics more than make up the difference.
82 - Black Sabbath - Second only to Led Zeppelin in the early days of heavy metal, Black Sabbath was light years ahead of their time with their gloomy, apocalyptic black metal. Led by frontman Ozzy Osbourne the band used dark lyrics and sludgy riffs to create an atmospheric sound that launched 1000 bands.
81 - Sparta - The punk aspects of At The Drive-In are clearly represented in this offshot band who have released a handful of brilliant albums to date. The band sings with more passion than I've ever heard before and has the licks and lyrics to match.
89 - Bad Religion - The 90's had a lot of political punk bands and Bad Religion was one of the best. They never broke through to the mainstream but to this day they continue to be one of the most consistent bands in all of rock n roll.
88 - The Thermals - One of the newest bands on the list, The Thermals are unknown to 99% of music fans but in just a few albums they've established themselves as one of my favorite punk acts with their dark wit and rapid fire guitars.
87 - Fiona Apple - A dynamic singer-songwriter who started her career out with a controversial music video and then later proved that she had a lot more substance to her music than people were willing to give her credit for. She doesn't release albums very frequently, but when she does they're usually among the year's best.
86 - The Dead Kennedys - The best of the 80's punk scene, The Dead Kennedys made irritating, angry politically-charged punk that sent-up the Reagan era and stuck a middle finger in the face of the free market yuppies that dominated the era.
85 - Wolfmother - The classic case of the one-album wonder (they broke up recently), Wolfmother released one of the best debut albums of all-time, a radio-friendly metal throwback that was amongst the best of it's genre since the glory days of Zeppelin and Sabbath.
84 - Van Morrison - One of the biggest stars of the 60's, Van Morrison has continued to use his dynamic voice to craft brilliant genre-jumping albums over the past four decades.
83 - The Strokes - A fairly new band on the scene, The Strokes are second only to The White Stripes in the garage rock revival movement of the 21st Century. Their background story doesn't do them any favors, but their riffs and lyrics more than make up the difference.
82 - Black Sabbath - Second only to Led Zeppelin in the early days of heavy metal, Black Sabbath was light years ahead of their time with their gloomy, apocalyptic black metal. Led by frontman Ozzy Osbourne the band used dark lyrics and sludgy riffs to create an atmospheric sound that launched 1000 bands.
81 - Sparta - The punk aspects of At The Drive-In are clearly represented in this offshot band who have released a handful of brilliant albums to date. The band sings with more passion than I've ever heard before and has the licks and lyrics to match.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame Induction - December 2008
The following artists were inducted into my Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame in December 2008:
The Cars
The B-52's
Tori Amos
Heart
George Harrison
The Cars
The B-52's
Tori Amos
Heart
George Harrison
Top 1000 Songs #100-#91
#100 - "Just Like Heaven" - The Cure - Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me - #6/6 - The Cure's all-time hit, "Just Like Heaven" is one of the best alt-rock songs of the 80's and further proof that the Cure were far from the gloom and doom rockers people who saw them on MTV think that they are. The song is one of the sweetest and most moving love songs ever made.
#99 - "What It's Like" - Everlast - Whitey Ford Sings The Blues - #1/1 - What started out as a novelty act (white rapper...) with House of Pain remarkably became one of the darkest most politically relevant songs of the 90's when lead singer Everlast went out on his own with this song that called out the glass house stone throwers on all their biggest and most obvious hypocracies.
#98 - "Life Wasted" - Pearl Jam - Pearl Jam - #22/25 - Pearl Jam disappeared from the modern rock spotlight for a few years as they explored different artistic avenues (while still creating great music) but came roaring back to the mainstream with "World Wide Suicide" and this song, which is even better. The song is highlighted by a monster guitar riff to open the song and a blistering vocal performance from frontman Eddie Vedder.
#97 - "Get Off Of My Cloud" - The Rolling Stones - December's Children (And Everybody's) - #15/20 - At the intersection of the blues and rock n roll stand the Rolling Stones. The attitude displayed in this song with it's shout-out chorus and layered structure was at least a decade before it's time.
#96 - "Man In The Box" - Alice In Chains - Facelift - #8/8 - Alice In Chains was never really a grunge band, but they were from Seattle and got lumped in with the Nirvana-Pearl Jam crowd. This song, their best, actually pre-dates "Smells Like Teen Spirit" though and proves that the band would have been huge even if they didn't get lumped into the best trend in the history of rock n roll.
#95 - "One" - U2 - Achtung Baby - #14/16 - U2's best song since The Joshua Tree is a sweeping rock ballad that served as the glue that held the band's second-best album together and announced the band's second decade at the top of the rock heap.
#94 - "Breed" - Nirvana - Nevermind - #14/15 - Nirvana's most straight-forward punk song features a raging guitar riff and a blistering solo, making it one of the most intense adrenaline songs of all-time. Cobain plays his usual lyrical tricks, mixing up what otherwise could have become something of a meathead anthem.
#93 - "What's Going On" - Marvin Gaye - What's Going On - #2/2 - Motown's pop sound got a social conscience with this all-time classic from Marvin Gaye. The song served as an anthem for a generation during a time of turmoil and showed that Gaye's skills as a songwriter could be used to create political songs as well as pop songs.
#92 - "Jumpin' Jack Flash" - The Rolling Stones - Flashpoint - #16/20 - Another great guitar riff drives yet another all-time classic song from the Stones in the 60's. No band was better at blending the blues and R&B into an entirely new genre.
#91 - "Another Brick In The Wall" - Pink Floyd - The Wall - #8/14 - I'm doing a bit of radio re-editing on this track as I'm counting all three "Brick"'s as one epic song with all the small pieces in between as well. The songs belong together even if they didn't appear that way on the album. The songs tell a story about alienation, the ways we seperate ourselves from others and what conditions are necessary to make us so fucked up in the first place.
#99 - "What It's Like" - Everlast - Whitey Ford Sings The Blues - #1/1 - What started out as a novelty act (white rapper...) with House of Pain remarkably became one of the darkest most politically relevant songs of the 90's when lead singer Everlast went out on his own with this song that called out the glass house stone throwers on all their biggest and most obvious hypocracies.
#98 - "Life Wasted" - Pearl Jam - Pearl Jam - #22/25 - Pearl Jam disappeared from the modern rock spotlight for a few years as they explored different artistic avenues (while still creating great music) but came roaring back to the mainstream with "World Wide Suicide" and this song, which is even better. The song is highlighted by a monster guitar riff to open the song and a blistering vocal performance from frontman Eddie Vedder.
#97 - "Get Off Of My Cloud" - The Rolling Stones - December's Children (And Everybody's) - #15/20 - At the intersection of the blues and rock n roll stand the Rolling Stones. The attitude displayed in this song with it's shout-out chorus and layered structure was at least a decade before it's time.
#96 - "Man In The Box" - Alice In Chains - Facelift - #8/8 - Alice In Chains was never really a grunge band, but they were from Seattle and got lumped in with the Nirvana-Pearl Jam crowd. This song, their best, actually pre-dates "Smells Like Teen Spirit" though and proves that the band would have been huge even if they didn't get lumped into the best trend in the history of rock n roll.
#95 - "One" - U2 - Achtung Baby - #14/16 - U2's best song since The Joshua Tree is a sweeping rock ballad that served as the glue that held the band's second-best album together and announced the band's second decade at the top of the rock heap.
#94 - "Breed" - Nirvana - Nevermind - #14/15 - Nirvana's most straight-forward punk song features a raging guitar riff and a blistering solo, making it one of the most intense adrenaline songs of all-time. Cobain plays his usual lyrical tricks, mixing up what otherwise could have become something of a meathead anthem.
#93 - "What's Going On" - Marvin Gaye - What's Going On - #2/2 - Motown's pop sound got a social conscience with this all-time classic from Marvin Gaye. The song served as an anthem for a generation during a time of turmoil and showed that Gaye's skills as a songwriter could be used to create political songs as well as pop songs.
#92 - "Jumpin' Jack Flash" - The Rolling Stones - Flashpoint - #16/20 - Another great guitar riff drives yet another all-time classic song from the Stones in the 60's. No band was better at blending the blues and R&B into an entirely new genre.
#91 - "Another Brick In The Wall" - Pink Floyd - The Wall - #8/14 - I'm doing a bit of radio re-editing on this track as I'm counting all three "Brick"'s as one epic song with all the small pieces in between as well. The songs belong together even if they didn't appear that way on the album. The songs tell a story about alienation, the ways we seperate ourselves from others and what conditions are necessary to make us so fucked up in the first place.
Top 1000 #100-#91
100 - The Jam - A key band from the late 70's that made the transition from one of the best punk bands to one of the best New Wave bands. They didn't have the crossover appeal of The Clash, but they cranked out a lot of great songs and influenced a lot of artists.
99 - The Cars - They usually get lumped in with the other AOR bands of the 70's, but the truth of the matter was that the Cars were one of the first great New Wave artists to cross over to mainstream success. The band enjoyed a long string of hit singles before selling their soul to a devil named Mutt Lange.
98 - Hole - The band will always be associated with the death of Kurt Cobain, but independent of that situation, Hole was one of the best grunge/punk bands of the 90's. The band was driven primarily by the manic vocals of Courtney Love, one of rock's greatest insane frontmen, and the lyrics were co-written by 90's legends Kurt Cobain and Billy Corgan.
97 - Van Halen - One of the biggest rock bands of all-time, Van Halen has survived for three decades on the strength of the game-changing guitar virtuosity of founding member Eddie Van Halen. The band was aided in the 70's by the wildman antics of lead singer David Lee Roth and then later on by the radio-friendly Sammy Hagar. They were not helped in the least by 90's lead singer Gary Cherone, as no one has ever been helped by Gary Cherone. Seriously, when the band was inducted into the Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame, the inducted line-up included both Roth and Hagar as well as all other members of the band and 19 of their roadies. Cherone was not invited as the phrase "Gary Cherone" is actually the exact opposite of the phrase "Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame".
96 - Stevie Ray Vaughan - The guitar virtuoso who brought the blues back to rock n roll in the 1980's was shockingly snubbed for the Hall of Fame the first year he was eligible. The shock of the matter is that SRV is one of the most important and dynamic artists of the 80's and really, there weren't a whole lot of them.
95 - At The Drive-In - Yet another underappreciated alt-rock / punk bands of the late 90's, ATDI were set to become the heirs apparent to Rage Against The Machine as their artistic and commercial breakout came just as Rage was calling it quits. Unfortunately, Relationship Of Command was also the band's last album as their swirling emotionally-charged agit-punk eventually broke down into it's parts, forming new megabands The Mars Volta and Sparta.
94 - Bob Marley - When you think of reggae, you think of Bob Marley. No single artist more entirely encompasses his genre of music than Bob did, bringing his homeland's music to the world and changing the face of rock n roll forever.
93 - Chuck Berry - Elvis Presley always gets credited with being the "king of rock n roll", but without Chuck Berry, Elvis would be another country singer pretending he was Johnny Cash. Berry was one of the biggest stars in rock n roll in the late 50's and early 60's and created several of the most important songs of all time including "Johnny B. Goode" and "Rock N Roll Music".
92 - Cream - After the Yardbirds, Eric Clapton joined this supergroup, which was among the biggest bands of the 60's and one of the most important rock bands of all-time. The songs speak for themselves. Where would rock n roll be without "White Room" or "Crossroads" or "Sunshine Of Your Love"?
91 - Prince - One of the biggest pop stars of all-time, Prince cranked out hit after hit after hit after hit during the 80's and 90's before essentially disappearing off the face of the earth in the late 90's. Prince mixed filthy lyrics with pop beats from the 80's and a whole lot of funk on loan from James Brown himself to create a string of hits that sounds as fresh today as it did when it was made, unlike fellow 80's artists, most of whose music hasn't aged well in the least.
99 - The Cars - They usually get lumped in with the other AOR bands of the 70's, but the truth of the matter was that the Cars were one of the first great New Wave artists to cross over to mainstream success. The band enjoyed a long string of hit singles before selling their soul to a devil named Mutt Lange.
98 - Hole - The band will always be associated with the death of Kurt Cobain, but independent of that situation, Hole was one of the best grunge/punk bands of the 90's. The band was driven primarily by the manic vocals of Courtney Love, one of rock's greatest insane frontmen, and the lyrics were co-written by 90's legends Kurt Cobain and Billy Corgan.
97 - Van Halen - One of the biggest rock bands of all-time, Van Halen has survived for three decades on the strength of the game-changing guitar virtuosity of founding member Eddie Van Halen. The band was aided in the 70's by the wildman antics of lead singer David Lee Roth and then later on by the radio-friendly Sammy Hagar. They were not helped in the least by 90's lead singer Gary Cherone, as no one has ever been helped by Gary Cherone. Seriously, when the band was inducted into the Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame, the inducted line-up included both Roth and Hagar as well as all other members of the band and 19 of their roadies. Cherone was not invited as the phrase "Gary Cherone" is actually the exact opposite of the phrase "Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame".
96 - Stevie Ray Vaughan - The guitar virtuoso who brought the blues back to rock n roll in the 1980's was shockingly snubbed for the Hall of Fame the first year he was eligible. The shock of the matter is that SRV is one of the most important and dynamic artists of the 80's and really, there weren't a whole lot of them.
95 - At The Drive-In - Yet another underappreciated alt-rock / punk bands of the late 90's, ATDI were set to become the heirs apparent to Rage Against The Machine as their artistic and commercial breakout came just as Rage was calling it quits. Unfortunately, Relationship Of Command was also the band's last album as their swirling emotionally-charged agit-punk eventually broke down into it's parts, forming new megabands The Mars Volta and Sparta.
94 - Bob Marley - When you think of reggae, you think of Bob Marley. No single artist more entirely encompasses his genre of music than Bob did, bringing his homeland's music to the world and changing the face of rock n roll forever.
93 - Chuck Berry - Elvis Presley always gets credited with being the "king of rock n roll", but without Chuck Berry, Elvis would be another country singer pretending he was Johnny Cash. Berry was one of the biggest stars in rock n roll in the late 50's and early 60's and created several of the most important songs of all time including "Johnny B. Goode" and "Rock N Roll Music".
92 - Cream - After the Yardbirds, Eric Clapton joined this supergroup, which was among the biggest bands of the 60's and one of the most important rock bands of all-time. The songs speak for themselves. Where would rock n roll be without "White Room" or "Crossroads" or "Sunshine Of Your Love"?
91 - Prince - One of the biggest pop stars of all-time, Prince cranked out hit after hit after hit after hit during the 80's and 90's before essentially disappearing off the face of the earth in the late 90's. Prince mixed filthy lyrics with pop beats from the 80's and a whole lot of funk on loan from James Brown himself to create a string of hits that sounds as fresh today as it did when it was made, unlike fellow 80's artists, most of whose music hasn't aged well in the least.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Top 1000 Songs #110-#101
#110 - "Hallelujah" - Jeff Buckley - Grace - #1/1 - Leonard Cohen's classic is one of the most frequently covered songs in all of rock history, but it was Buckley's haunting version that became the most notable and most important, especially with it's added potency following Buckley's death.
#109 - "Karma Police" - Radiohead - OK Computer - #7/8 - One of Radiohead's biggest hits off of one of the greatest albums ever made, "Karma Police" proved to the world that Radiohead was more than just "Creep" and established them as the force in indie rock that they've remained to this day.
#108 - "Today" - The Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream - #5/7 - The first great song from The Smashing Pumpkins, "Today" is one of the band's most up-tempo song, though it's reportedly written about a character referring to "today" as "the greatest day" because it's the day he's decided to commit suicide.
#107 - "Ohio" - Crosby, Stills, Nash And Young - Crosby, Stills, And Nash - #3/3 - Among the greatest protest songs ever written, "Ohio" is also notable as one of the last Vietnam-era protest songs. The lyrics are short and simple and make their point perfectly, telling the story of the Kent St. Massacre and what it meant.
#106 - "Everything In It's Right Place" - Radiohead - Kid A - #8/8 - Radiohead reinvented themselves yet again with Kid A and this, the album's most important song, a dreamy journey into electronic music from indie rock's most reliable stars.
#105 - "Pride (In The Name Of Love)" - U2 - The Unforgettable Fire - #13/16 - This song, a tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr., was a signal of things to come from the band as they transitioned from a New Wave band with punk leanings to the biggest fucking band in the universe. The signs were all there, the bombast, the sweeping choruses, the bombastic guitar solos and the high-minded lyrics. Two years later? The Joshua Tree.
#104 - "Free Bird" - Lynyrd Skynyrd - Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd - #4/4 - One of classic rock's most famous songs, "Free Bird" has sweeping lyrics and the greatest instrumental section of any rock song ever. It's also one of the longest and most difficult, which is why every musician wants you to burst into flames when you request that they play it at their concert.
#103 - "Street Fighting Man" - The Rolling Stones - Beggar's Banquet - #14/20 - Classic rock meets proto-punk in this slice of English attitude from the Dark Side Beatles. Nothing says anarchy quite like starting a riot just because you're board.
#102 - "Have A Cigar" - Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here - #7/14 - The best industry-themed song, Pink Floyd's cynical take on the music industry tells the story of the band's first meeting with their record label, who actually asked the band which one of them was "Pink".
#101 - "When I Come Around" - Green Day - Dookie - #9/9 - Green Day's best song featured their best pre-Idiot lyrics, a great hook and what has to be easily their best guitar solo, a riff reminiscient of the best the Pixies had to offer.
#109 - "Karma Police" - Radiohead - OK Computer - #7/8 - One of Radiohead's biggest hits off of one of the greatest albums ever made, "Karma Police" proved to the world that Radiohead was more than just "Creep" and established them as the force in indie rock that they've remained to this day.
#108 - "Today" - The Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream - #5/7 - The first great song from The Smashing Pumpkins, "Today" is one of the band's most up-tempo song, though it's reportedly written about a character referring to "today" as "the greatest day" because it's the day he's decided to commit suicide.
#107 - "Ohio" - Crosby, Stills, Nash And Young - Crosby, Stills, And Nash - #3/3 - Among the greatest protest songs ever written, "Ohio" is also notable as one of the last Vietnam-era protest songs. The lyrics are short and simple and make their point perfectly, telling the story of the Kent St. Massacre and what it meant.
#106 - "Everything In It's Right Place" - Radiohead - Kid A - #8/8 - Radiohead reinvented themselves yet again with Kid A and this, the album's most important song, a dreamy journey into electronic music from indie rock's most reliable stars.
#105 - "Pride (In The Name Of Love)" - U2 - The Unforgettable Fire - #13/16 - This song, a tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr., was a signal of things to come from the band as they transitioned from a New Wave band with punk leanings to the biggest fucking band in the universe. The signs were all there, the bombast, the sweeping choruses, the bombastic guitar solos and the high-minded lyrics. Two years later? The Joshua Tree.
#104 - "Free Bird" - Lynyrd Skynyrd - Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd - #4/4 - One of classic rock's most famous songs, "Free Bird" has sweeping lyrics and the greatest instrumental section of any rock song ever. It's also one of the longest and most difficult, which is why every musician wants you to burst into flames when you request that they play it at their concert.
#103 - "Street Fighting Man" - The Rolling Stones - Beggar's Banquet - #14/20 - Classic rock meets proto-punk in this slice of English attitude from the Dark Side Beatles. Nothing says anarchy quite like starting a riot just because you're board.
#102 - "Have A Cigar" - Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here - #7/14 - The best industry-themed song, Pink Floyd's cynical take on the music industry tells the story of the band's first meeting with their record label, who actually asked the band which one of them was "Pink".
#101 - "When I Come Around" - Green Day - Dookie - #9/9 - Green Day's best song featured their best pre-Idiot lyrics, a great hook and what has to be easily their best guitar solo, a riff reminiscient of the best the Pixies had to offer.
Top 1000 Bands #110-#101
110 - The Ben Folds Five - One of the quirkiest songwriters of the 90's, Ben Folds created some of the best and most sarcastic singer-songwriter music ever made.
109 - Eric Clapton - Clapton has enjoyed a legendary career that few artists can match, but his solo work is his weakest in my opinion. That being said, it's still phenomenal and some of the best blues to come out of rock n roll in the last 30 years.
108 - Lynyrd Skynyrd - Southern rock doesn't get much better than Lynyrd Skynyrd. Aside from the long string of great songs, the band would be legendary if only from their two iconic songs: "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Free Bird".
107 - Simon And Garfunkel - Aside from Bob Dylan, there were no better examples of the folk genre than Simon And Garfunkel, a pair of the most brilliant songwriters of their generation who created songs that crossed over to the mainstream in ways the likes of Joan Baez never could.
106 - P.J. Harvey - One of the most dynamic singers of the 90's, P.J. Harvey's raw vocals and intense lyrics quickly established her as one of the greatest performers in all of alternative rock.
105 - Dinosaur Jr. - One of the best alternative rock bands of the 80's, Dinosaur Jr. was led by their legendary guitarist J. Mascis as they created some of the best guitar-driven alt-rock this side of Sonic Youth.
104 - The Allman Brothers - The finest band in all of Southern Rock, The Allman Brothers took blues rock and added their own style and accent to it, creating their own brand of the blues, highlighted by the all-time classic "Whippin' Post".
103 - Steely Dan - One of the biggest and best bands of the classic rock era, Steely Dan combined rock and soul styles to churn out a massive string of hits during the 70's.
102 - Fleetwood Mac - Rock's biggest dysfunctional family, Fleetwood Mac created one of the best albums of the classic rock era with Rumours. They never quite reached that high again in their career, but they still became one of the biggest bands of all-time.
101 - The Police - The most successful New Wave band of the 70's and 80's, The Police only had a few albums to their name, but they still managed to become one of the biggest bands of their generation with their reggae and punk inflected classic rock.
109 - Eric Clapton - Clapton has enjoyed a legendary career that few artists can match, but his solo work is his weakest in my opinion. That being said, it's still phenomenal and some of the best blues to come out of rock n roll in the last 30 years.
108 - Lynyrd Skynyrd - Southern rock doesn't get much better than Lynyrd Skynyrd. Aside from the long string of great songs, the band would be legendary if only from their two iconic songs: "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Free Bird".
107 - Simon And Garfunkel - Aside from Bob Dylan, there were no better examples of the folk genre than Simon And Garfunkel, a pair of the most brilliant songwriters of their generation who created songs that crossed over to the mainstream in ways the likes of Joan Baez never could.
106 - P.J. Harvey - One of the most dynamic singers of the 90's, P.J. Harvey's raw vocals and intense lyrics quickly established her as one of the greatest performers in all of alternative rock.
105 - Dinosaur Jr. - One of the best alternative rock bands of the 80's, Dinosaur Jr. was led by their legendary guitarist J. Mascis as they created some of the best guitar-driven alt-rock this side of Sonic Youth.
104 - The Allman Brothers - The finest band in all of Southern Rock, The Allman Brothers took blues rock and added their own style and accent to it, creating their own brand of the blues, highlighted by the all-time classic "Whippin' Post".
103 - Steely Dan - One of the biggest and best bands of the classic rock era, Steely Dan combined rock and soul styles to churn out a massive string of hits during the 70's.
102 - Fleetwood Mac - Rock's biggest dysfunctional family, Fleetwood Mac created one of the best albums of the classic rock era with Rumours. They never quite reached that high again in their career, but they still became one of the biggest bands of all-time.
101 - The Police - The most successful New Wave band of the 70's and 80's, The Police only had a few albums to their name, but they still managed to become one of the biggest bands of their generation with their reggae and punk inflected classic rock.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Top 1000 Songs #120-#111
#120 - "20th Century Boy" - T. Rex - Greatest Hits - #2/2 - One of glam rock's finest moments, "20th" is a fun song with a chorus so catchy that it's been featured in advertisements, even though it was never a hit in the United States.
#119 - "Blow Up The Outside World" - Soundgarden - Down On The Upside - #10/11 - The best Soundgarden song that didn't become a hit, "Blow Up" was a style and career culmination that combined elements of some of the band's best songs to create one of their career pinnacles.
#118 - "Would" - Alice In Chains - Dirt - #7/8 - One of the key songs on Alice's best album, "Would" builds slowly to a ballistic chorus and an incredibly intense ending.
#117 - "Come Together" - The Beatles - Abbey Road - #19/22 - The Beatles didn't last very much longer after this song came out, but it was one of their best with great verses and an excellent chorus, even if the band ignored the message of said chorus.
#116 - "Gimme Shelter" - The Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed - #13/20 - If you're wondering, I believe this song is featured in 75% of Martin Scorcese's movies and if not, it should be going forward. The Stones will forever be in the Beatles' shadow, but songs like this one indicate that the band was at least the Fab Four's equals and in some ways their superior as they were willing to go down the darker paths that the Beatles veered away from most of the time.
#115 - "Whippin' Post" - The Allman Brothers Band - Beginnings - #4/4 - A highlight of blues rock as a genre, "Whippin'" is a blistering "she done me wrong" story with great guitar licks and an intense chorus.
#114 - "Take Me Out" - Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand - #6/6 - The indie dance rock movement officially went mainstream with the success of this breakthrough hit from Franz Ferdinand. The peppy beat that drives the song through it's many verses is a highlight of the song that made Franz one of the biggest bands in indie rock to this day.
#113 - "Kashmir" - Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti - #21/24 - Zeppelin went prog with this all-time classic from Physical Graffiti. The riff is legendary, the crunchy sound is unstoppable and the crescendoes are a high point in the career of a band filled with such points.
#112 - "You Shook Me All Night Long" - AC/DC - Back In Black - #8/9 - AC/DC's signature song, though not their best, "You Shook" is one of classic rock's best and most important songs, bringing blues rock into a new era where it melded with metal and punk to create one of rock's most easily recognized songs.
#111 - "Sweet Home Alabama" - Lynyrd Skynyrd - What's Your Name - #3/4 - Speaking of easily recognized, "Sweet Home" is one of the most famous and beloved songs of the classic rock era, even if it's politics don't usually line up with the people who enjoy it. The opening is perhaps the most famous guitar riff in all of Southern Rock.
#119 - "Blow Up The Outside World" - Soundgarden - Down On The Upside - #10/11 - The best Soundgarden song that didn't become a hit, "Blow Up" was a style and career culmination that combined elements of some of the band's best songs to create one of their career pinnacles.
#118 - "Would" - Alice In Chains - Dirt - #7/8 - One of the key songs on Alice's best album, "Would" builds slowly to a ballistic chorus and an incredibly intense ending.
#117 - "Come Together" - The Beatles - Abbey Road - #19/22 - The Beatles didn't last very much longer after this song came out, but it was one of their best with great verses and an excellent chorus, even if the band ignored the message of said chorus.
#116 - "Gimme Shelter" - The Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed - #13/20 - If you're wondering, I believe this song is featured in 75% of Martin Scorcese's movies and if not, it should be going forward. The Stones will forever be in the Beatles' shadow, but songs like this one indicate that the band was at least the Fab Four's equals and in some ways their superior as they were willing to go down the darker paths that the Beatles veered away from most of the time.
#115 - "Whippin' Post" - The Allman Brothers Band - Beginnings - #4/4 - A highlight of blues rock as a genre, "Whippin'" is a blistering "she done me wrong" story with great guitar licks and an intense chorus.
#114 - "Take Me Out" - Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand - #6/6 - The indie dance rock movement officially went mainstream with the success of this breakthrough hit from Franz Ferdinand. The peppy beat that drives the song through it's many verses is a highlight of the song that made Franz one of the biggest bands in indie rock to this day.
#113 - "Kashmir" - Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti - #21/24 - Zeppelin went prog with this all-time classic from Physical Graffiti. The riff is legendary, the crunchy sound is unstoppable and the crescendoes are a high point in the career of a band filled with such points.
#112 - "You Shook Me All Night Long" - AC/DC - Back In Black - #8/9 - AC/DC's signature song, though not their best, "You Shook" is one of classic rock's best and most important songs, bringing blues rock into a new era where it melded with metal and punk to create one of rock's most easily recognized songs.
#111 - "Sweet Home Alabama" - Lynyrd Skynyrd - What's Your Name - #3/4 - Speaking of easily recognized, "Sweet Home" is one of the most famous and beloved songs of the classic rock era, even if it's politics don't usually line up with the people who enjoy it. The opening is perhaps the most famous guitar riff in all of Southern Rock.
Top 1000 Bands #120-#111
120 - Kanye West - One of the most promising artists in rap and R&B, Kanye West has released great albums one after another for the last five years, racking up an impressive set of awards and classic songs along the way.
119 - Belle And Sebastian - Although they're still somewhat obscure, B&S is one of the best indie rock bands of the 90's and were one of the most important influences on the emo music that heavily dominates indie rock today.
118 - Audioslave - They broke up after three albums, but they were easily the best of the supergroups to emerge in the early 21st century. With the lead singer of Soundgarden and the other members of Rage Against The Machine comprising an unbelievable line-up, Audioslave wasn't quite as great as they should have been, but with a string of top-shelf hits, they certainly weren't Asia either.
117 - Snow Patrol - The best band in Coldplay's genre that isn't Coldplay themselves, Snow Patrol will never get the credit they deserve, but they're among the modern era's best artists at combining brilliant lyrics with sweeping music.
116 - The Arctic Monkeys - A fun pop band that combines elements of Brit-pop with early punk and 21st century indie dance rock. They are one of the few British buzz-bands that lived up to the hype and didn't fizzle immediately in the spotlight.
115 - Patti Smith - One of the most important singers of the 1970's, Patti Smith combined the passion of Janis Joplin with the attitude and style of Joe Strummer to create an intense punk sound that always sounded right on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
114 - Incubus - Modern rock artists don't get much bigger these days than Incubus, who have released album after album of top-shelf mainstream rock with great guitar work.
113 - John Mellencamp - Mellencamp was essentially the rural answer to the more urban Bruce Springsteen. Unfortunately, his music was always stuck in Bruce's shadow and at no point did he ever equal or eclipse him. Nonetheless he's enjoyed a long career crafting solid albums from start to finish.
112 - The B-52s - The "other" Athens, GA band from the 80's, The B-52s are a weird combination of New Wave, disco and dance music that created some of the most distinct and unusual songs of the decade.
111 - Big Timber - The best band I've seen perform in Pierre, Big Timber has a classic rock sound that mixes elements of that genre with modern rock to create a sound that surprisingly hasn't caught on outside of the underground circuit.
119 - Belle And Sebastian - Although they're still somewhat obscure, B&S is one of the best indie rock bands of the 90's and were one of the most important influences on the emo music that heavily dominates indie rock today.
118 - Audioslave - They broke up after three albums, but they were easily the best of the supergroups to emerge in the early 21st century. With the lead singer of Soundgarden and the other members of Rage Against The Machine comprising an unbelievable line-up, Audioslave wasn't quite as great as they should have been, but with a string of top-shelf hits, they certainly weren't Asia either.
117 - Snow Patrol - The best band in Coldplay's genre that isn't Coldplay themselves, Snow Patrol will never get the credit they deserve, but they're among the modern era's best artists at combining brilliant lyrics with sweeping music.
116 - The Arctic Monkeys - A fun pop band that combines elements of Brit-pop with early punk and 21st century indie dance rock. They are one of the few British buzz-bands that lived up to the hype and didn't fizzle immediately in the spotlight.
115 - Patti Smith - One of the most important singers of the 1970's, Patti Smith combined the passion of Janis Joplin with the attitude and style of Joe Strummer to create an intense punk sound that always sounded right on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
114 - Incubus - Modern rock artists don't get much bigger these days than Incubus, who have released album after album of top-shelf mainstream rock with great guitar work.
113 - John Mellencamp - Mellencamp was essentially the rural answer to the more urban Bruce Springsteen. Unfortunately, his music was always stuck in Bruce's shadow and at no point did he ever equal or eclipse him. Nonetheless he's enjoyed a long career crafting solid albums from start to finish.
112 - The B-52s - The "other" Athens, GA band from the 80's, The B-52s are a weird combination of New Wave, disco and dance music that created some of the most distinct and unusual songs of the decade.
111 - Big Timber - The best band I've seen perform in Pierre, Big Timber has a classic rock sound that mixes elements of that genre with modern rock to create a sound that surprisingly hasn't caught on outside of the underground circuit.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Top 1000 Songs #130-#121
#130 - "Little Sister" - Queens Of The Stone Age - Lullabies To Paralyze - #14/16 - A thundering guitar riff drives the song from verse to verse peaking at the thundering chorus.
#129 - "Helter Skelter" - The Beatles - The White Album - #16/22 - A strangely controversial song thanks to Charles Manson, "Helter" is one of Lennon's best songs with it's rapid-fire guitars and passionate vocals driving the song throughout.
#128 - "Communication Breakdown" - Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin I - #20/24 - This song represents the exact moment that heavy metal went from a louder form of blues rock to a genre all itself with it's lightning guitar riff and insane shrieking vocals from front-man Robert Plant.
#127 - "Sick Sick Sick" - Queens Of The Stone Age - Era Vulgaris - #15/16 - The best song off of their most recent album, "Sick" is another rapid-fire slice of punk stoner rock from the masters of the genre.
#126 - "E-Pro" - Beck - Guero - #7/9 - One of the best songs of the new millennium, "E-Pro" features typically quirky lyrics from Beck and couples them with a fantastic chorus to make for his best song since the 90's.
#125 - "Fell On Black Days" - Soundgarden - Superunknown - #9/11 - The early 90's were a great time to be an alternative rock band and Soundgarden was one of the best, "Fell On Black Days" highlighted the band's Sabbath meets Zeppelin sound with it's dynamic vocals and thundering beat.
#124 - "Boys Don't Cry" - The Cure - Boys Don't Cry - #5/6 - Of all of the Cure's big hits, "Boys" strikes me as having the best hook and most breakthrough potential. It's not their best song, but it's definitely their most fun to listen to.
#123 - "Down In A Hole" - Alice In Chains - Dirt - #6/8 - A harrowing look at heroin addiction from a man destroyed by the drug, "Down" is one of the most disturbing and moving songs ever written.
#122 - "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away" - The Beatles - #18/22 - The Beatles were the greatest pop band of all-time when they met Bob Dylan, who supposedly introduced them to folk music... and marijuana... both of which would have a huge influence on their music, starting with this song, one of their best-written songs and a definite turning point in the career of the most important band in the history of rock n roll.
#121 - "Where It's At" - Beck - Odelay - #8/9 - One of the weirdest songs to ever become a hit, "Where" is a mix of indie rock and slacker rap that shifts from moment to moment making it almost completely indescribable.
#129 - "Helter Skelter" - The Beatles - The White Album - #16/22 - A strangely controversial song thanks to Charles Manson, "Helter" is one of Lennon's best songs with it's rapid-fire guitars and passionate vocals driving the song throughout.
#128 - "Communication Breakdown" - Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin I - #20/24 - This song represents the exact moment that heavy metal went from a louder form of blues rock to a genre all itself with it's lightning guitar riff and insane shrieking vocals from front-man Robert Plant.
#127 - "Sick Sick Sick" - Queens Of The Stone Age - Era Vulgaris - #15/16 - The best song off of their most recent album, "Sick" is another rapid-fire slice of punk stoner rock from the masters of the genre.
#126 - "E-Pro" - Beck - Guero - #7/9 - One of the best songs of the new millennium, "E-Pro" features typically quirky lyrics from Beck and couples them with a fantastic chorus to make for his best song since the 90's.
#125 - "Fell On Black Days" - Soundgarden - Superunknown - #9/11 - The early 90's were a great time to be an alternative rock band and Soundgarden was one of the best, "Fell On Black Days" highlighted the band's Sabbath meets Zeppelin sound with it's dynamic vocals and thundering beat.
#124 - "Boys Don't Cry" - The Cure - Boys Don't Cry - #5/6 - Of all of the Cure's big hits, "Boys" strikes me as having the best hook and most breakthrough potential. It's not their best song, but it's definitely their most fun to listen to.
#123 - "Down In A Hole" - Alice In Chains - Dirt - #6/8 - A harrowing look at heroin addiction from a man destroyed by the drug, "Down" is one of the most disturbing and moving songs ever written.
#122 - "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away" - The Beatles - #18/22 - The Beatles were the greatest pop band of all-time when they met Bob Dylan, who supposedly introduced them to folk music... and marijuana... both of which would have a huge influence on their music, starting with this song, one of their best-written songs and a definite turning point in the career of the most important band in the history of rock n roll.
#121 - "Where It's At" - Beck - Odelay - #8/9 - One of the weirdest songs to ever become a hit, "Where" is a mix of indie rock and slacker rap that shifts from moment to moment making it almost completely indescribable.
Top 1000 Bands #130-#121
130 - DMX - One of the millennium's best and most successful rappers, DMX's rough vocals and clever lyrics propelled him to the top of his game.
129 - Outkast - One of the most successful rap groups of all time, Outkast made a huge crossover to the pop charts with their Stankonia album and had one of the biggest pop songs ever with "Hey Ya".
128 - The Ponys - One of the best indie rock bands ever, The Ponys are probably on the radar of about 5 percent of music fans. Obscurity notwithstanding, the band has released great album after great album in the last decade and deserve a breakout in the near future.
127 - The Dave Matthews Band - A hugely successful adult-contemporary / rock band from the 90's, the DMB cranked out hit after hit (and still do to this day) with a mix of jam band techniques and pop hooks.
126 - Public Enemy - The greatest rap group of all-time was also the most political, as Chuck D, Flava Flav and The Bomb Squad pulled no punches in who they went after or what they were willing to say and do to get their point across.
125 - The Arcade Fire - Among the hottest bands in all of indie rock, The Arcade Fire made a huge splash with their debut LP Funeral, which featured several of their best songs. Their follow-up bucked the trend of indie buzz bands by not just being as good as their debut, but even better. Expectations for their third album can only be described as unachievable.
124 - Pavement - Possibly the greatest band that never became popular, Pavement deserves to be measured along their indie rock cohorts like Nirvana, Radiohead and Pearl Jam, but due to lousy sales numbers will always be viewed as a strictly underground band that hipsters appreciate but average rock fans are completely unaware of.
123 - Tori Amos - One of the most dynamic voices of indie rock in the 90's, Tori Amos released a string of outstanding albums providing the indie rock cred to the Lillith Fair scene that was lacking in other artists in the genre.
122 - Jethro Tull - An acquired taste to be sure, if you can get past the weird instruments and strange lyrics, Jethro Tull is a great band with a lot of fun and interesting things to contribute to classic rock.
121 - James Brown - Without James Brown, their might not even be genres such as R&B, funk and hip hop. It's said that there isn't a single note of any of James Brown's songs that hasn't been sampled at some point. The reason for that? Brown's music is among the most exciting and innovative of all-time.
129 - Outkast - One of the most successful rap groups of all time, Outkast made a huge crossover to the pop charts with their Stankonia album and had one of the biggest pop songs ever with "Hey Ya".
128 - The Ponys - One of the best indie rock bands ever, The Ponys are probably on the radar of about 5 percent of music fans. Obscurity notwithstanding, the band has released great album after great album in the last decade and deserve a breakout in the near future.
127 - The Dave Matthews Band - A hugely successful adult-contemporary / rock band from the 90's, the DMB cranked out hit after hit (and still do to this day) with a mix of jam band techniques and pop hooks.
126 - Public Enemy - The greatest rap group of all-time was also the most political, as Chuck D, Flava Flav and The Bomb Squad pulled no punches in who they went after or what they were willing to say and do to get their point across.
125 - The Arcade Fire - Among the hottest bands in all of indie rock, The Arcade Fire made a huge splash with their debut LP Funeral, which featured several of their best songs. Their follow-up bucked the trend of indie buzz bands by not just being as good as their debut, but even better. Expectations for their third album can only be described as unachievable.
124 - Pavement - Possibly the greatest band that never became popular, Pavement deserves to be measured along their indie rock cohorts like Nirvana, Radiohead and Pearl Jam, but due to lousy sales numbers will always be viewed as a strictly underground band that hipsters appreciate but average rock fans are completely unaware of.
123 - Tori Amos - One of the most dynamic voices of indie rock in the 90's, Tori Amos released a string of outstanding albums providing the indie rock cred to the Lillith Fair scene that was lacking in other artists in the genre.
122 - Jethro Tull - An acquired taste to be sure, if you can get past the weird instruments and strange lyrics, Jethro Tull is a great band with a lot of fun and interesting things to contribute to classic rock.
121 - James Brown - Without James Brown, their might not even be genres such as R&B, funk and hip hop. It's said that there isn't a single note of any of James Brown's songs that hasn't been sampled at some point. The reason for that? Brown's music is among the most exciting and innovative of all-time.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Top 1000 Songs #140-#131
#140 - "My Generation" - The Who - The Who Sings My Generation - #5/9 - The song that kicked off the entire punk genre and did so more than a decade before the genre took off, "My Generation" was unique when it came out for it's attitude and the shock value of the generational shift that the song represented.
#139 - "Debaser" - The Pixies - Doolittle - #8/8 - The Pixies best song, "Debaser" is a shifting and fast alternative punk song with crazy lyrics and a killer chorus that signified the band's place at the top of the alt-rock mountain.
#138 - "Crazy Train" - Ozzy Osbourne - Blizzard Of Ozz - #3/3 - The critics had written Ozzy's career off after he left Black Sabbath, but he proved them wrong a thousand times over, starting right from the beginning of this, his first post-Sabbath hit, which takes off with a crazy "All Aboard" opening followed by Randy Rhodes' insane guitar shredding on one of the most memorable riffs in all of rock n roll. The lyrics are deceptive as they seem tame at first but on further listening reveal Ozzy's most political song since "War Pigs".
#137 - "About A Girl (Unplugged)" - Nirvana - MTV Unplugged In New York - #13/15 - Nirvana's first great song got a new round of appreciation when it was featured during the band's set on MTV Unplugged. By slowing the song down the lyrical brilliance of the song was highlighted and the song finally became the hit it deserved to be.
#136 - "God Only Knows" - The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds - #3/4 - One of the prettiest ballads ever written, "God" is one of the last great songs to come out of the 60's and a pinnacle of Brian Wilson's genius with it's sharp lyrics and harmony.
#135 - "The Weight" - The Band - Greatest Hits - #2/2 - One of the signature songs of the 1960's, "The Weight" is easily the Band's greatest song and one of the best written songs of all-time.
#134 - "Good Vibrations" - The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds - #4/4 - One of the craziest and most brilliant songs of the early classic rock era, "Good Vibrations" was a departure from most of the Beach Boys earlier surf-rock songs and an expansion into rock n roll excess that would inspire Sgt. Pepper's and an entire era of excessive self-indulgent rock.
#133 - "Break On Through (To The Other Side)" - The Doors - Strange Days - #10/10 - The greatest Doors song is also one of their shortest, proving that artistic indulgence can't always trump raw power. The song is also the band's most exciting and essentially their only fast-pace rocker.
#132 - "The Bitch Is Back" - Elton John - Caribou - #8/8 - Elton's best rock song is a fast-paced rager from the start with great lyrics and a particularly spectacular chorus.
#131 - "Thunder Road" - Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run - #10/11 - The "other" great song on Springsteen's classic Born To Run LP, "Thunder Road" is one of the great epic songs of classic rock as the Boss paints a vivid picture of life growing up in New Jersey and establishes himself as the heir apparent to Bob Dylan.
#139 - "Debaser" - The Pixies - Doolittle - #8/8 - The Pixies best song, "Debaser" is a shifting and fast alternative punk song with crazy lyrics and a killer chorus that signified the band's place at the top of the alt-rock mountain.
#138 - "Crazy Train" - Ozzy Osbourne - Blizzard Of Ozz - #3/3 - The critics had written Ozzy's career off after he left Black Sabbath, but he proved them wrong a thousand times over, starting right from the beginning of this, his first post-Sabbath hit, which takes off with a crazy "All Aboard" opening followed by Randy Rhodes' insane guitar shredding on one of the most memorable riffs in all of rock n roll. The lyrics are deceptive as they seem tame at first but on further listening reveal Ozzy's most political song since "War Pigs".
#137 - "About A Girl (Unplugged)" - Nirvana - MTV Unplugged In New York - #13/15 - Nirvana's first great song got a new round of appreciation when it was featured during the band's set on MTV Unplugged. By slowing the song down the lyrical brilliance of the song was highlighted and the song finally became the hit it deserved to be.
#136 - "God Only Knows" - The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds - #3/4 - One of the prettiest ballads ever written, "God" is one of the last great songs to come out of the 60's and a pinnacle of Brian Wilson's genius with it's sharp lyrics and harmony.
#135 - "The Weight" - The Band - Greatest Hits - #2/2 - One of the signature songs of the 1960's, "The Weight" is easily the Band's greatest song and one of the best written songs of all-time.
#134 - "Good Vibrations" - The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds - #4/4 - One of the craziest and most brilliant songs of the early classic rock era, "Good Vibrations" was a departure from most of the Beach Boys earlier surf-rock songs and an expansion into rock n roll excess that would inspire Sgt. Pepper's and an entire era of excessive self-indulgent rock.
#133 - "Break On Through (To The Other Side)" - The Doors - Strange Days - #10/10 - The greatest Doors song is also one of their shortest, proving that artistic indulgence can't always trump raw power. The song is also the band's most exciting and essentially their only fast-pace rocker.
#132 - "The Bitch Is Back" - Elton John - Caribou - #8/8 - Elton's best rock song is a fast-paced rager from the start with great lyrics and a particularly spectacular chorus.
#131 - "Thunder Road" - Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run - #10/11 - The "other" great song on Springsteen's classic Born To Run LP, "Thunder Road" is one of the great epic songs of classic rock as the Boss paints a vivid picture of life growing up in New Jersey and establishes himself as the heir apparent to Bob Dylan.
Top 1000 Bands #140-#131
140 - The Black Crowes - One of the biggest bands of the early 90's, The Black Crowes had a couple of huge albums in them before slowly fading away and establishing themselves as one of the last great classic rock bands.
139 - The Killers - One of the best bands of the 21st Century, The Killers established themselves with monster hits on the debut album including "Mr. Brightside" and moved forward with their next two albums, moving from genre to genre and advancing artistically along the way.
138 - Joni Mitchell - A survivor of the 70's singer-songwriter boom, Joni Mitchell has been one of the most consistently great performers over the years, as she continues to crank out acclaimed albums every couple of years or so.
137 - L7 - The best of the riot-grrl acts that moved into the grunge arena in the early 90's, L7 didn't have any big hits but created some of the most important albums of the decade.
136 - The Deftones - One of the premier metal bands of the 90's and beyond, the Deftones have been referred to as the "heavy metal Radiohead" in the past and with their consistent high-level output they've lived up to the title.
135 - Rise Against - The most popular of the political punk bands to emerge in the past few years, Rise Against has crossed over to the modern rock charts with their politically-charged but radio-friendly songs.
134 - The Electric Light Orchestra - A hugely successful classic rock band from the late 1970's, ELO churned out hit after hit in the dark years of disco before succombing to the nightmare of Xanadu and never recovering.
133 - Elvis Presley - Elvis was a hero to most, but he never meant... well that much to me, anyway. I enjoy a lot of his music, but most of it is too dated to hold any meaning to me. It's still hugely influential though and he's definitely one of the most important figures in music.
132 - The Grateful Dead - They'll never live up to the hype that their fanbase created for them, but they still are one of the most interesting and significant band of the 60's.
131 - Rancid - One of the best punk bands of the 90's, Rancid had several classic albums released in a row before breaking up recently. Other than Green Day they were the second best straight-up punk band of the era.
139 - The Killers - One of the best bands of the 21st Century, The Killers established themselves with monster hits on the debut album including "Mr. Brightside" and moved forward with their next two albums, moving from genre to genre and advancing artistically along the way.
138 - Joni Mitchell - A survivor of the 70's singer-songwriter boom, Joni Mitchell has been one of the most consistently great performers over the years, as she continues to crank out acclaimed albums every couple of years or so.
137 - L7 - The best of the riot-grrl acts that moved into the grunge arena in the early 90's, L7 didn't have any big hits but created some of the most important albums of the decade.
136 - The Deftones - One of the premier metal bands of the 90's and beyond, the Deftones have been referred to as the "heavy metal Radiohead" in the past and with their consistent high-level output they've lived up to the title.
135 - Rise Against - The most popular of the political punk bands to emerge in the past few years, Rise Against has crossed over to the modern rock charts with their politically-charged but radio-friendly songs.
134 - The Electric Light Orchestra - A hugely successful classic rock band from the late 1970's, ELO churned out hit after hit in the dark years of disco before succombing to the nightmare of Xanadu and never recovering.
133 - Elvis Presley - Elvis was a hero to most, but he never meant... well that much to me, anyway. I enjoy a lot of his music, but most of it is too dated to hold any meaning to me. It's still hugely influential though and he's definitely one of the most important figures in music.
132 - The Grateful Dead - They'll never live up to the hype that their fanbase created for them, but they still are one of the most interesting and significant band of the 60's.
131 - Rancid - One of the best punk bands of the 90's, Rancid had several classic albums released in a row before breaking up recently. Other than Green Day they were the second best straight-up punk band of the era.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Top 1000 Songs #150-#141
#150 - "Supernova" - Liz Phair - Whip-Smart - #1/1 - Not her biggest hit, but my favorite song from her catalog, "Supernova" has a great chorus and Phair's best lyrics.
#149 - "I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor" - The Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I Am Not - #3/3 - Usually bands that get hyped through the roof by the British rock media fail to live up to expectations, but The Arctic Monkeys are the exception. Their debut single (after about 50 EPs) is a hell of a ride with sharp lyrics building to one of the best choruses of the 21st Century.
#148 - "Time" - Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon - #6/14 - Dark Side Of The Moon is easily one of the greatest albums of all-time and "Time" is one of it's best songs. Dealing with a theme as grim as mortality, the song is predictably downbeat and somber, but one of the best-written songs of the 70's.
#147 - "Schism" - Tool - Lateralus - #8/9 - The centerpiece of Tool's official jump from mainstream metal into the world of prog, "Schism" can best be described as "crunchy" with it's spine-cracking beat, brilliant lyrics and epic build-up.
#146 - "19th Nervous Breakdown" - The Rolling Stones - Greatest Hits - #12/20 - One of the Stones' first great songs, "19th Nervous" is one of the most clever and satirical songs of the 60's and an early pre-cursor to the attitude-driven music the 70's would produce. The climax of the chorus is a highlight of classic rock.
#145 - "No One Knows" - Queens Of The Stone Age - Songs For The Deaf - #13/16 - The song that put Queens on the Modern Rock map, "No One Knows" is a slow-for-Queens song with a hell of a guitar lick driving it throughout.
#144 - "London Calling" - The Clash - London Calling - #14/18 - When history recalls The Clash 100 years from now, "London Calling" will be the song that is mentioned first. I prefer their earlier, punkier sound myself, but I can't deny that this song represents a high point on the career arc of one of the greatest bands of all-time.
#143 - "Where Is My Mind" - The Pixies - Surfer Rosa - #7/8 - The most famous song by The Pixies, thanks to it's inclusion at the end of Fight Club, "Where Is My Mind" is a very unusual song for the band, as they usually don't venture into the psychedelic, but considering how good this song was, it's surprising they didn't dip into the well more often.
#142 - "Iron Man" - Black Sabbath - Paranoid - #2/3 - And this would be the song where Black Sabbath invented heavy metal as we knew it through the 70's and 80's. From the creepy "I Am Iron Man" opening through the dark story told in the lyrics until the instrumental bridge in the second half of the song, this is one of many Sabbath songs that launched a thousand acts, many of whom would dominate popular music down the line.
#141 - "Ramble On" - Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin II - #19/24 - Usually when bands got all literary and wrote songs about science fiction stories the results are disastrous. In the case of "Ramble On", the exact opposite is true. Based on the Lord Of The Rings books, "Ramble On" is one of the greatest songs of classic rock and represented a clear direction change for the band from the slow blues rock of Zeppelin I to the faster stuff on II, a move that would ensure the band continued success for the rest of the decade.
#149 - "I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor" - The Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I Am Not - #3/3 - Usually bands that get hyped through the roof by the British rock media fail to live up to expectations, but The Arctic Monkeys are the exception. Their debut single (after about 50 EPs) is a hell of a ride with sharp lyrics building to one of the best choruses of the 21st Century.
#148 - "Time" - Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon - #6/14 - Dark Side Of The Moon is easily one of the greatest albums of all-time and "Time" is one of it's best songs. Dealing with a theme as grim as mortality, the song is predictably downbeat and somber, but one of the best-written songs of the 70's.
#147 - "Schism" - Tool - Lateralus - #8/9 - The centerpiece of Tool's official jump from mainstream metal into the world of prog, "Schism" can best be described as "crunchy" with it's spine-cracking beat, brilliant lyrics and epic build-up.
#146 - "19th Nervous Breakdown" - The Rolling Stones - Greatest Hits - #12/20 - One of the Stones' first great songs, "19th Nervous" is one of the most clever and satirical songs of the 60's and an early pre-cursor to the attitude-driven music the 70's would produce. The climax of the chorus is a highlight of classic rock.
#145 - "No One Knows" - Queens Of The Stone Age - Songs For The Deaf - #13/16 - The song that put Queens on the Modern Rock map, "No One Knows" is a slow-for-Queens song with a hell of a guitar lick driving it throughout.
#144 - "London Calling" - The Clash - London Calling - #14/18 - When history recalls The Clash 100 years from now, "London Calling" will be the song that is mentioned first. I prefer their earlier, punkier sound myself, but I can't deny that this song represents a high point on the career arc of one of the greatest bands of all-time.
#143 - "Where Is My Mind" - The Pixies - Surfer Rosa - #7/8 - The most famous song by The Pixies, thanks to it's inclusion at the end of Fight Club, "Where Is My Mind" is a very unusual song for the band, as they usually don't venture into the psychedelic, but considering how good this song was, it's surprising they didn't dip into the well more often.
#142 - "Iron Man" - Black Sabbath - Paranoid - #2/3 - And this would be the song where Black Sabbath invented heavy metal as we knew it through the 70's and 80's. From the creepy "I Am Iron Man" opening through the dark story told in the lyrics until the instrumental bridge in the second half of the song, this is one of many Sabbath songs that launched a thousand acts, many of whom would dominate popular music down the line.
#141 - "Ramble On" - Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin II - #19/24 - Usually when bands got all literary and wrote songs about science fiction stories the results are disastrous. In the case of "Ramble On", the exact opposite is true. Based on the Lord Of The Rings books, "Ramble On" is one of the greatest songs of classic rock and represented a clear direction change for the band from the slow blues rock of Zeppelin I to the faster stuff on II, a move that would ensure the band continued success for the rest of the decade.
Top 1000 Bands #150-#141
150 - Dire Straits - One of the biggest stars of the early 80's, Dire Straits was also one of the first big stars of MTV, back when MTV played rock videos, let alone videos at all.
149 - Liz Phair - An indie sensation from the start, Liz Phair struggled to live up to the early hype her first few albums promised. In the end, she never lived up to that promise, but along the way she still managed to have a sensational career.
148 - Echo And The Bunnymen - They'll be going up in my next evaluation, but for now, Echo falls in the top 150 of my list. Echo was one of the best bands of the early alternative era, cranking out epic new wave song after epic new wave song during the late 70's and early 80's.
147 - Rilo Kiley - From one of the best alternative bands of the past two one of the best in the present. Rilo Kiley is an alt-rock beast propelled forward by the vocals of Jenny Lewis and some of the most clever lyrics and hooks of the new century.
146 - The Eels - Another fantastic alt-rock band comes in at #146. The Eels are tragically anonymous, though they've put a lot of big hits on college rock and alternative rock radio over the years. They definitely deserve more attention than they've got, but that seems to be a reoccuring theme in modern rock music.
145 - The Decemberists - One of the most promising new indie rock bands on the scene, The Decemberists broke through onto the alt rock scene with their brilliant Rushmore send-up video to their best song "Sixteen Military Wives" and continued to improve their awareness with a gimmick rivalry with comedian Stephen Colbert. Their last few albums have been quirky, but brilliant and they've shown a lot of promise for the future.
144 - White Zombie - Possibly the biggest metal band of the 90's, White Zombie filled a gap created by the alt-rockification of Metallica during that decade. They only had a couple albums, but they carved their own niche in the genre that's carried on long after the band itself broke up.
143 - Blur - The loser of the Brit Pop battle, Blur never crossed over in America the way that Oasis did, but they still did manage to create some of the best albums of the 90's.
142 - Paul Simon - After the break-up of Simon And Garfunkel, Paul Simon went solo and explored world music, bringing it to the masses in a way that no American artist had at that point. The songwriting wasn't quite as good as it used to be, but it's still stellar.
141 - Heart - The female Led Zeppelin, Heart tore into the classic rock era with shredding guitars and wicked lyrics, easily making them one of the biggest snubs at the Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame.
149 - Liz Phair - An indie sensation from the start, Liz Phair struggled to live up to the early hype her first few albums promised. In the end, she never lived up to that promise, but along the way she still managed to have a sensational career.
148 - Echo And The Bunnymen - They'll be going up in my next evaluation, but for now, Echo falls in the top 150 of my list. Echo was one of the best bands of the early alternative era, cranking out epic new wave song after epic new wave song during the late 70's and early 80's.
147 - Rilo Kiley - From one of the best alternative bands of the past two one of the best in the present. Rilo Kiley is an alt-rock beast propelled forward by the vocals of Jenny Lewis and some of the most clever lyrics and hooks of the new century.
146 - The Eels - Another fantastic alt-rock band comes in at #146. The Eels are tragically anonymous, though they've put a lot of big hits on college rock and alternative rock radio over the years. They definitely deserve more attention than they've got, but that seems to be a reoccuring theme in modern rock music.
145 - The Decemberists - One of the most promising new indie rock bands on the scene, The Decemberists broke through onto the alt rock scene with their brilliant Rushmore send-up video to their best song "Sixteen Military Wives" and continued to improve their awareness with a gimmick rivalry with comedian Stephen Colbert. Their last few albums have been quirky, but brilliant and they've shown a lot of promise for the future.
144 - White Zombie - Possibly the biggest metal band of the 90's, White Zombie filled a gap created by the alt-rockification of Metallica during that decade. They only had a couple albums, but they carved their own niche in the genre that's carried on long after the band itself broke up.
143 - Blur - The loser of the Brit Pop battle, Blur never crossed over in America the way that Oasis did, but they still did manage to create some of the best albums of the 90's.
142 - Paul Simon - After the break-up of Simon And Garfunkel, Paul Simon went solo and explored world music, bringing it to the masses in a way that no American artist had at that point. The songwriting wasn't quite as good as it used to be, but it's still stellar.
141 - Heart - The female Led Zeppelin, Heart tore into the classic rock era with shredding guitars and wicked lyrics, easily making them one of the biggest snubs at the Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Top 1000 Songs #160-#151
#160 - "Alive" - Pearl Jam - Ten - #21/25 - Pearl Jam's greatest guitar solo is contained towards the end of "Alive". "Alive" was also the first Pearl Jam song and one of their biggest hits.
#159 - "C'mon C'mon" - The Von Bondies - Pawn Shoppe Heart - #1/1 - As one-hit wonders go, this is one of the best. A garage rock throwback that's also the theme song of Rescue Me and features one of the most intense choruses of all-time.
#158 - "Lithium" - Nirvana - Nevermind - #12/15 - One of Nirvana's first great songs, "Lithium" starts out very slowly and then builds to an intense, raging chorus.
#157 - "New Slang" - The Shins - Oh, Inverted World - #3/3 - The song that changed Zach Braff's life in the movie Garden State, "New Slang" is one of the key songs of the indie rock millennium with it's clever lyrics and sweeping chorus.
#156 - "Something" - The Beatles - Abbey Road - #16/22 - George Harrison didn't write many songs for the Beatles, but when he did, they were fantastic, as illustrated by this brilliant love song.
#155 - "I Wanna Be Your Dog" - The Stooges - Raw Power - #3/5 - Easily the best use of sleighbells in a rock song, "I Wanna Be Your Dog" was an iconic song of the proto-punk genre with its subversive lyrics and pulsing sound.
#154 - "Brown Eyed Girl" - Van Morrison - Brown Eyed Girl - #2/2 - One of the most memorable pop rock songs of the 60's, "Brown" is catchy and has a universal appeal that made it popular everywhere from classic rock radio to proms.
#153 - "What Is And What Should Never Be" - Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin II - #18/24 - The song starts out pretty slowly, but the chorus is among Zeppelin's best and one of the best minutes in all of classic rock.
#152 - "Let's Stay Together" - Al Green - Let's Stay Together - #1/1 - The all-time R&B classic to end all R&B classics, Al Green's greatest hit features great lyrics and one of the greatest choruses ever.
#151 - "Float On" - Modest Mouse - Good News For People Who Love Bad News - #4/4 - The song that catapulted them to the forefront of the indie rock song, "Float On" actually hit #1 on the Modern Rock charts, one of the few truly indie songs to ever achieve such a feat. The peppy song with quirky verses also served as a launching point for a new tidal wave of fantastic indie rock that has dominated the millennium so far.
#159 - "C'mon C'mon" - The Von Bondies - Pawn Shoppe Heart - #1/1 - As one-hit wonders go, this is one of the best. A garage rock throwback that's also the theme song of Rescue Me and features one of the most intense choruses of all-time.
#158 - "Lithium" - Nirvana - Nevermind - #12/15 - One of Nirvana's first great songs, "Lithium" starts out very slowly and then builds to an intense, raging chorus.
#157 - "New Slang" - The Shins - Oh, Inverted World - #3/3 - The song that changed Zach Braff's life in the movie Garden State, "New Slang" is one of the key songs of the indie rock millennium with it's clever lyrics and sweeping chorus.
#156 - "Something" - The Beatles - Abbey Road - #16/22 - George Harrison didn't write many songs for the Beatles, but when he did, they were fantastic, as illustrated by this brilliant love song.
#155 - "I Wanna Be Your Dog" - The Stooges - Raw Power - #3/5 - Easily the best use of sleighbells in a rock song, "I Wanna Be Your Dog" was an iconic song of the proto-punk genre with its subversive lyrics and pulsing sound.
#154 - "Brown Eyed Girl" - Van Morrison - Brown Eyed Girl - #2/2 - One of the most memorable pop rock songs of the 60's, "Brown" is catchy and has a universal appeal that made it popular everywhere from classic rock radio to proms.
#153 - "What Is And What Should Never Be" - Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin II - #18/24 - The song starts out pretty slowly, but the chorus is among Zeppelin's best and one of the best minutes in all of classic rock.
#152 - "Let's Stay Together" - Al Green - Let's Stay Together - #1/1 - The all-time R&B classic to end all R&B classics, Al Green's greatest hit features great lyrics and one of the greatest choruses ever.
#151 - "Float On" - Modest Mouse - Good News For People Who Love Bad News - #4/4 - The song that catapulted them to the forefront of the indie rock song, "Float On" actually hit #1 on the Modern Rock charts, one of the few truly indie songs to ever achieve such a feat. The peppy song with quirky verses also served as a launching point for a new tidal wave of fantastic indie rock that has dominated the millennium so far.
Top 1000 Bands #160-#151
160 - Jane's Addiction - One of the biggest alternative bands before grunge broke, Jane's Addiction had huge hits with "Jane Says" and "Been Caught Stealing" along with some of the greatest albums of the 80's.
159 - Alice Cooper - The grandfather of shock rock, Alice Cooper was a very controversial figure in early rock n roll and a pioneer in stage presentation. He's also a surprisingly good songwriter and one of the most notable snubs in the Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame.
158 - David Byrne - The former lead singer of The Talking Heads, David Byrne has made a two-decade career out of a combination of New Wave and world music that is entirely unique and always fascinating.
157 - The Band - The former backing band of Bob Dylan went out on their own and created some of the signature music of 60's classic rock, including "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" and "The Weight".
156 - Joy Division - One of the biggest bands of the New Wave and post-punk era, Joy Division was poised to become one of the biggest alt-rock bands of all-time until the suicide of the lead singer Ian Curits broke the band up (the remaining members would form New Order) at the peak of their success. At the moment, Joy Division is one of the most relevant and influential bands on modern indie rock.
155 - X - One of the best punk bands of the punk and New Wave era, X never enjoyed the kind of success that they deserved, but they've still been a remarkably influential and important band in alternative music.
154 - Squeeze - Another overlooked New Wave band with a great track record, Squeeze released brilliant and weird single after single, creating some of the most interesting music of the early 80's.
153 - Fugazi - One of the most important hardcore punk bands Minor Threat broke up in the early 80's and Fugazi formed as a hard rock alternative band that kept the underground spirit alive while still cranking out great hits with mass appeal.
152 - A Perfect Circle - Maynard James Keenan's side project band has enjoyed a great deal of success with their radio-friendly metal tunes. By ditching the prog antics of Tool, APC isn't nearly as good MJK's original band, but it's still near the best music on the mainstream rock charts.
151 - Iron Maiden - One of the best metal bands of the 70's and 80's, Iron Maiden's always been a little too goofy to be taken seriously, but you can't deny the guitar skill and riffs involved in making their epic metal.
159 - Alice Cooper - The grandfather of shock rock, Alice Cooper was a very controversial figure in early rock n roll and a pioneer in stage presentation. He's also a surprisingly good songwriter and one of the most notable snubs in the Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame.
158 - David Byrne - The former lead singer of The Talking Heads, David Byrne has made a two-decade career out of a combination of New Wave and world music that is entirely unique and always fascinating.
157 - The Band - The former backing band of Bob Dylan went out on their own and created some of the signature music of 60's classic rock, including "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" and "The Weight".
156 - Joy Division - One of the biggest bands of the New Wave and post-punk era, Joy Division was poised to become one of the biggest alt-rock bands of all-time until the suicide of the lead singer Ian Curits broke the band up (the remaining members would form New Order) at the peak of their success. At the moment, Joy Division is one of the most relevant and influential bands on modern indie rock.
155 - X - One of the best punk bands of the punk and New Wave era, X never enjoyed the kind of success that they deserved, but they've still been a remarkably influential and important band in alternative music.
154 - Squeeze - Another overlooked New Wave band with a great track record, Squeeze released brilliant and weird single after single, creating some of the most interesting music of the early 80's.
153 - Fugazi - One of the most important hardcore punk bands Minor Threat broke up in the early 80's and Fugazi formed as a hard rock alternative band that kept the underground spirit alive while still cranking out great hits with mass appeal.
152 - A Perfect Circle - Maynard James Keenan's side project band has enjoyed a great deal of success with their radio-friendly metal tunes. By ditching the prog antics of Tool, APC isn't nearly as good MJK's original band, but it's still near the best music on the mainstream rock charts.
151 - Iron Maiden - One of the best metal bands of the 70's and 80's, Iron Maiden's always been a little too goofy to be taken seriously, but you can't deny the guitar skill and riffs involved in making their epic metal.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Top 1000 Songs #170-#161
#170 - "Head On" - The Jesus And Mary Chain - Automatic - #1/1 - It's hard to say whether this song is more famous than the Pixies' cover version, but I prefer this more somber version of the song in comparison to Frank and Co.'s frenetic version.
#169 - "Aenema" - Tool - Aenema - #7/9 - The epic climax to Tool's greatest album tells the story of the "big one" that finally sends California plummeting into the ocean, and based on MJK's take on the matter, that would be just fine by him.
#168 - "Losing My Religion" - R.E.M. - Out Of Time - #10/12 - The big breakthrough hit that sent R.E.M. to the top of the pop charts after years on the college rock scene, this song was a very important pivot point that kicked the door open for the alt rock explosion of the 90's.
#167 - "You Know You're Right" - Nirvana - Greatest Hits - #11/15 - The song was available for years before it became a radio sensation, but the last Nirvana song is also one of their best, showing an exciting new direction that the band never had a chance to explore.
#166 - "Paranoid" - Black Sabbath - Paranoid - #1/3 - The world had never heard anything like Black Sabbath when they tore into the hard rock scene, creating a dozen different varieties of metal and setting the scene for the future of the genre. With their classic "Paranoid", they created speed metal.
#165 - "Real Wild Child" - Iggy Pop - Blah Blah Blah - #2/5 - I don't think it's an Iggy original, but this song is still one of his signature post-Stooges songs with it's solid lyrics building up to a crazy chorus.
#164 - "Once In A Lifetime" - The Talking Heads - Remain In Light - #9/10 - One of the weirdest hit songs of the 80's, The Talking Heads created a New Wave sensation with their bizarre art-rock hit.
#163 - "Eleanor Rigby" - The Beatles - Revolver - #15/22 - You wouldn't think that a band as cheerful and pop-friendly as the Beatles would produce such a bleak and grim song as "Rigby", which is a song about a woman who dies alone and is buried by a preacher with no congregants, but they did, foreshadowing a darker turn that the band would take in the future.
#162 - "Ocean Breathes Salty" - Modest Mouse - Good News For People Who Love Bad News - #3/4 - Modest Mouse is the latest great band to come out of the Seattle alternative rock scene with their breakthrough album Good News. While "Float On" was the big hit, "Salty" was the important follow-up that sealed the band as a force of nature rather than a mere one-hit wonder. I didn't think this song was so great the first time I heard it, but like all Modest Mouse songs, it really grows on you the more you hear it.
#161 - "Born In The U.S.A." - Bruce Springsteen - Born In The U.S.A. - #9/11 - Although it was used by Ronald Reagan as a campaign song, "U.S.A." is actually a bleak and sarcastic view of life in Reagan's America for it's victims, the poor and disenfranchised.
#169 - "Aenema" - Tool - Aenema - #7/9 - The epic climax to Tool's greatest album tells the story of the "big one" that finally sends California plummeting into the ocean, and based on MJK's take on the matter, that would be just fine by him.
#168 - "Losing My Religion" - R.E.M. - Out Of Time - #10/12 - The big breakthrough hit that sent R.E.M. to the top of the pop charts after years on the college rock scene, this song was a very important pivot point that kicked the door open for the alt rock explosion of the 90's.
#167 - "You Know You're Right" - Nirvana - Greatest Hits - #11/15 - The song was available for years before it became a radio sensation, but the last Nirvana song is also one of their best, showing an exciting new direction that the band never had a chance to explore.
#166 - "Paranoid" - Black Sabbath - Paranoid - #1/3 - The world had never heard anything like Black Sabbath when they tore into the hard rock scene, creating a dozen different varieties of metal and setting the scene for the future of the genre. With their classic "Paranoid", they created speed metal.
#165 - "Real Wild Child" - Iggy Pop - Blah Blah Blah - #2/5 - I don't think it's an Iggy original, but this song is still one of his signature post-Stooges songs with it's solid lyrics building up to a crazy chorus.
#164 - "Once In A Lifetime" - The Talking Heads - Remain In Light - #9/10 - One of the weirdest hit songs of the 80's, The Talking Heads created a New Wave sensation with their bizarre art-rock hit.
#163 - "Eleanor Rigby" - The Beatles - Revolver - #15/22 - You wouldn't think that a band as cheerful and pop-friendly as the Beatles would produce such a bleak and grim song as "Rigby", which is a song about a woman who dies alone and is buried by a preacher with no congregants, but they did, foreshadowing a darker turn that the band would take in the future.
#162 - "Ocean Breathes Salty" - Modest Mouse - Good News For People Who Love Bad News - #3/4 - Modest Mouse is the latest great band to come out of the Seattle alternative rock scene with their breakthrough album Good News. While "Float On" was the big hit, "Salty" was the important follow-up that sealed the band as a force of nature rather than a mere one-hit wonder. I didn't think this song was so great the first time I heard it, but like all Modest Mouse songs, it really grows on you the more you hear it.
#161 - "Born In The U.S.A." - Bruce Springsteen - Born In The U.S.A. - #9/11 - Although it was used by Ronald Reagan as a campaign song, "U.S.A." is actually a bleak and sarcastic view of life in Reagan's America for it's victims, the poor and disenfranchised.
Top 1000 Bands #170-#161
170 - Janis Joplin - The legendary blues rock singer from the 60's, Joplin unfortunately died very early in her career, meaning that she didn't establish the track record she needed to chart higher on this list, though she did have an amazing run while it lasted.
169 - Supertramp - One of the biggest artists of the 70's, Supertramp gets a bad rap for it's goofy name, but the songwriting was actually very clever and the hooks are amazing.
168 - The Counting Crows - They aren't much these days, but their first two albums were sensational, in particular their second album, Recovering The Satellites.
167 - The Beastie Boys - One of the biggest rap artists of all-time, The Beastie Boys started out as more of a frat rock sort of band before branching out in more artistic directions, reaching a pinnacle with the song "Sabotage", which is one of the best rap-rock fusions ever.
166 - Rob Zombie - As a solo artist, Zombie didn't quite reach the artistic heights he did with White Zombie, but commercially and on the rock charts he achieved new levels of greatness with his radio-friendly glam metal.
165 - Garbage - Although they are insanely popular on XM radio, Garbage fell just short of absolute greatness in my opinion. They did have a reasonably long string of indie rock hits, but not very many of them rank as true classics.
164 - Sleater-Kinney - One of the greatest alt-rock acts of the 21st Century, Sleater-Kinney were part-grunge and part-punk with their heavy riffs and outstanding lyrics.
163 - Marilyn Manson - Carrying on the tradition of Alice Cooper and Ozzy Osbourne, Manson used shock rock as a genre to drive ignorant music non-fans insane with his parent-baiting gender-bending and religion-baiting. The funny thing is, for a few albums at least, he was actually really good at it. Antichrist Superstar is one of the best metal albums of the 90's, while Mechanical Animals is perhaps the best glam rock album since Ziggy Stardust.
162 - Frank Sinatra - Not so much of a rock star as a pre-cursor to the genre, Sinatra was a brilliant crooner who sang great songs with an attitude that would inspire generations of punks and rebels.
161 - Ted Nugent - The Motor City Madman hasn't done much in the last 30 years, but in the 60's and 70's he was one of the greatest guitar players and wildest singers in all of classic rock.
169 - Supertramp - One of the biggest artists of the 70's, Supertramp gets a bad rap for it's goofy name, but the songwriting was actually very clever and the hooks are amazing.
168 - The Counting Crows - They aren't much these days, but their first two albums were sensational, in particular their second album, Recovering The Satellites.
167 - The Beastie Boys - One of the biggest rap artists of all-time, The Beastie Boys started out as more of a frat rock sort of band before branching out in more artistic directions, reaching a pinnacle with the song "Sabotage", which is one of the best rap-rock fusions ever.
166 - Rob Zombie - As a solo artist, Zombie didn't quite reach the artistic heights he did with White Zombie, but commercially and on the rock charts he achieved new levels of greatness with his radio-friendly glam metal.
165 - Garbage - Although they are insanely popular on XM radio, Garbage fell just short of absolute greatness in my opinion. They did have a reasonably long string of indie rock hits, but not very many of them rank as true classics.
164 - Sleater-Kinney - One of the greatest alt-rock acts of the 21st Century, Sleater-Kinney were part-grunge and part-punk with their heavy riffs and outstanding lyrics.
163 - Marilyn Manson - Carrying on the tradition of Alice Cooper and Ozzy Osbourne, Manson used shock rock as a genre to drive ignorant music non-fans insane with his parent-baiting gender-bending and religion-baiting. The funny thing is, for a few albums at least, he was actually really good at it. Antichrist Superstar is one of the best metal albums of the 90's, while Mechanical Animals is perhaps the best glam rock album since Ziggy Stardust.
162 - Frank Sinatra - Not so much of a rock star as a pre-cursor to the genre, Sinatra was a brilliant crooner who sang great songs with an attitude that would inspire generations of punks and rebels.
161 - Ted Nugent - The Motor City Madman hasn't done much in the last 30 years, but in the 60's and 70's he was one of the greatest guitar players and wildest singers in all of classic rock.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Top 1000 Songs #180-#171
#180 - "Ziggy Stardust" - David Bowie - The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars - #8/10 - Bowie's most famous guitar riff is a highlight of this pivotal song in the artist's legendary, career-defining concept album that cast him in the title role and set the high-water mark for all glam-rock that would ever come to pass.
#179 - "Instant Karma!" - John Lennon - Shaved Fish - #4/5 - The climactic verse of this brilliant song's chorus "And We All Shine On, Like The Moon and the Stars And The Sun" has to be one of the most famous and significant lyrics in classic rock history. Easily one of John's finest solo songs, though still a ways behind the best, which we'll see later... much later.
#178 - "Respect" - Aretha Franklin - Respect - #2/2 - The most famous "feminist" song in rock n roll (the song was written by Otis Redding and actually was very sexist), "Respect" is Aretha's best song and one of the best songs of the 1960's.
#177 - "Good Fortune" - P.J. Harvey - Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea - #4/4 - Harvey's best song is also her most electric, with a chorus that highlights the best aspects of her wild, desperate music.
#176 - "Here's Your Future" - The Thermals - The Body, The Blood, The Machine - #1/1 - For a band that most people have never heard of, The Thermals may be the best political punk band in the world at the moment. This song, which uses biblical stories to point out religion's failings, is by far their most intense and melodical.
#175 - "Fallen" - Franz Ferdinand - You Could Have It So Much Better - #5/6 - The best song off of FF's second album, "Fallen" starts out with a killer riff and builds to a faster and even better riff for the chorus. This is about as good as indie dance punk has ever gotten.
#174 - "Good Times Bad Times" - Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin I - #17/24 - One of Zeppelin's best straight-forward blues rock songs, "Good Times" combines a monster riff with clever lyrics and an outstanding chorus.
#173 - "Creep" - Radiohead - Pablo Honey - #6/8 - Radiohead's "Smells Like Teen Spirit", "Creep" was a megahit that brought the band to the front of the alt-rock scene and became so popular that it almost destroyed the band. No song better embraces teen angst than this one.
#172 - "One Armed Scissor" - At The Drive-In - Relationship Of Command - #3/3 - ATDI's best song was the hit that should have made the band the heirs to the just broken-up Rage Against The Machine. The song has a strong political theme, great lyrics and a monster chorus full of passion and desperation. Of course, they broke up a few days after they became stars, so it never did work out for the band, but the greatness remains.
#171 - "Lake Of Fire (Unplugged)" - Nirvana - MTV Unplugged In New York - #10/15 - The biggest new song off of Nirvana's last "real" album, "Lake Of Fire" is a cover of an old Meat Puppets song, though let's face it, by now Kurt's laid permanent claim to the song with it's dark lyrics and strange chorus.
#179 - "Instant Karma!" - John Lennon - Shaved Fish - #4/5 - The climactic verse of this brilliant song's chorus "And We All Shine On, Like The Moon and the Stars And The Sun" has to be one of the most famous and significant lyrics in classic rock history. Easily one of John's finest solo songs, though still a ways behind the best, which we'll see later... much later.
#178 - "Respect" - Aretha Franklin - Respect - #2/2 - The most famous "feminist" song in rock n roll (the song was written by Otis Redding and actually was very sexist), "Respect" is Aretha's best song and one of the best songs of the 1960's.
#177 - "Good Fortune" - P.J. Harvey - Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea - #4/4 - Harvey's best song is also her most electric, with a chorus that highlights the best aspects of her wild, desperate music.
#176 - "Here's Your Future" - The Thermals - The Body, The Blood, The Machine - #1/1 - For a band that most people have never heard of, The Thermals may be the best political punk band in the world at the moment. This song, which uses biblical stories to point out religion's failings, is by far their most intense and melodical.
#175 - "Fallen" - Franz Ferdinand - You Could Have It So Much Better - #5/6 - The best song off of FF's second album, "Fallen" starts out with a killer riff and builds to a faster and even better riff for the chorus. This is about as good as indie dance punk has ever gotten.
#174 - "Good Times Bad Times" - Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin I - #17/24 - One of Zeppelin's best straight-forward blues rock songs, "Good Times" combines a monster riff with clever lyrics and an outstanding chorus.
#173 - "Creep" - Radiohead - Pablo Honey - #6/8 - Radiohead's "Smells Like Teen Spirit", "Creep" was a megahit that brought the band to the front of the alt-rock scene and became so popular that it almost destroyed the band. No song better embraces teen angst than this one.
#172 - "One Armed Scissor" - At The Drive-In - Relationship Of Command - #3/3 - ATDI's best song was the hit that should have made the band the heirs to the just broken-up Rage Against The Machine. The song has a strong political theme, great lyrics and a monster chorus full of passion and desperation. Of course, they broke up a few days after they became stars, so it never did work out for the band, but the greatness remains.
#171 - "Lake Of Fire (Unplugged)" - Nirvana - MTV Unplugged In New York - #10/15 - The biggest new song off of Nirvana's last "real" album, "Lake Of Fire" is a cover of an old Meat Puppets song, though let's face it, by now Kurt's laid permanent claim to the song with it's dark lyrics and strange chorus.
Top 1000 Bands #180-#171
180 - Television - One of the most important bands of the 70's, Television bridged the alt-rock gap between The Velvet Underground and Sonic Youth and were also the most influential band of the '77 NYC scene.
179 - The Rollins Band - I actually like the Rollins Band better than Black Flag, which is probably a pretty unique point of view. The music is somewhat more complete and mature than the early punk music the band started their career out with.
178 - Joan Osborne - Osborne is best known for her mega-hit "One Of Us", but she's actually been one of the most consistent artists in all of alternative pop, creating great album after great album.
177 - Alanis Morissette - One of the best-selling female artists of the 90's, Alanis became a sensation after the release of her debut album. It's been downhill since then, but she still cranks out decent albums every couple of years.
176 - Collective Soul - One of the biggest bands in modern rock history, Collective Soul isn't known for writing flashy songs or legendary albums, but they have cranked out hit after hit for nearly 15 years now and have never descended to the depths their contemporaries have to keep their careers going.
175 - Our Lady Peace - Another great band from the 90's that never got the appreciation that they deserve. They had a few big hits, but they were one of the more consistent bands of the last twenty years and should have had a lot more.
174 - Marvin Gaye - One of the biggest stars of the Motown era, Marvin Gaye reached the stratosphere in the 70's and early 80's with a string of hits such as "What's Going On" and "Sexual Healing".
173 - Aretha Franklin - The Queen of Soul, Aretha enjoyed one of the most successful careers in all of pop music with a four decade long run at the top of R&B.
172 - The Mars Volta - One of two bands to emerge from the break-up of At The Drive-In, The Mars Volta is the best prog metal band of their generation and may one day be the best ever. Their music is bizarre and definitely an acquired taste, but if you can appreciate their greatness, it's well worth the effort.
171 - Parliament Funkadelic - One of the greatest funk bands of all-time, Bootsy Collins and George Clinton's massive funk-rock collective created some of the best music of the 70's and some of the best funk ever.
179 - The Rollins Band - I actually like the Rollins Band better than Black Flag, which is probably a pretty unique point of view. The music is somewhat more complete and mature than the early punk music the band started their career out with.
178 - Joan Osborne - Osborne is best known for her mega-hit "One Of Us", but she's actually been one of the most consistent artists in all of alternative pop, creating great album after great album.
177 - Alanis Morissette - One of the best-selling female artists of the 90's, Alanis became a sensation after the release of her debut album. It's been downhill since then, but she still cranks out decent albums every couple of years.
176 - Collective Soul - One of the biggest bands in modern rock history, Collective Soul isn't known for writing flashy songs or legendary albums, but they have cranked out hit after hit for nearly 15 years now and have never descended to the depths their contemporaries have to keep their careers going.
175 - Our Lady Peace - Another great band from the 90's that never got the appreciation that they deserve. They had a few big hits, but they were one of the more consistent bands of the last twenty years and should have had a lot more.
174 - Marvin Gaye - One of the biggest stars of the Motown era, Marvin Gaye reached the stratosphere in the 70's and early 80's with a string of hits such as "What's Going On" and "Sexual Healing".
173 - Aretha Franklin - The Queen of Soul, Aretha enjoyed one of the most successful careers in all of pop music with a four decade long run at the top of R&B.
172 - The Mars Volta - One of two bands to emerge from the break-up of At The Drive-In, The Mars Volta is the best prog metal band of their generation and may one day be the best ever. Their music is bizarre and definitely an acquired taste, but if you can appreciate their greatness, it's well worth the effort.
171 - Parliament Funkadelic - One of the greatest funk bands of all-time, Bootsy Collins and George Clinton's massive funk-rock collective created some of the best music of the 70's and some of the best funk ever.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
October Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame
I'd like to welcome the following bands into my Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame after being inducted in October 2008:
Franz Ferdinand
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Frank Black
Joni Mitchell
Deep Purple
Franz Ferdinand
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Frank Black
Joni Mitchell
Deep Purple
Top 1000 Songs #190-#181
#190 - "Dear God" - XTC - Skylarking - #2/2 - The atheist theme song is a clever and insightful letter to God written by people who clearly feel they need to use every argument imaginable in a song the probably doesn't even run for four minutes, but makes a concise argument nonetheless.
#189 - "Judith" - A Perfect Circle - Mer De Noms - #3/3 - Although it wasn't intended, this song makes a perfect companion piece with "Dear God". They both basically say the same thing, but while that song comes from a point of sadness and disappointment, this song comes from a point of anger and rage, as it deals more with the religious than religion itself.
#188 - "In Bloom" - Nirvana - Nevermind - #9/15 - The downside of mainstream appeal is that your music will be enjoyed not only by a target audience that understands what it means but also by a bunch of imbeciles who only like the hooks and how good the songs sound when buzzed on cheap beer. This song deals with the imbeciles and you know what? They love the song just to same, being imbeciles and all.
#187 - "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" - Bob Dylan - Pat Garrett And Billy The Kid Soundtrack - #10/15 - One of Dylan's best songs of the 70's, "Knockin'" is among the most popular and most covered songs of the classic rock era, with it's clever lyrics and somber tone.
#186 - "What Do I Get" - The Buzzcocks - Operators Manual - #2/2 - The Buzzcocks never get the credit they deserve, but with this song they made one of the definitive punk songs of the 1970's. They lyrics are sharp and the chorus is as poppy as punk ever got.
#185 - "When The President Talks To God (Live)" - Bright Eyes - Motion Sickness - One of the msot shocking performances in the history of Jay Leno's The Tonight Show, "President" is the boldest and most jarring protest song against the Bush Administration. In a few short minutes, Connor Oberst lays out every argument against Bush imaginable and lays his crooked administration low like a surgeon with a scalpel.
#184 - "Just" - Radiohead - The Bends - #5/8 - Before they became the leading providers of art-rock, Radiohead enjoyed a string of hits on the alternative charts, with "Just" being among the best. The chorus, in particular, was a solid indicator not only of where the band had been before but also where they'd be headed in the future.
#183 - "Blowin' In The Wind" - Bob Dylan - The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan - #11/15 - The song that kicked off the protest rock genre and legitimized folk music and brought it to the masses, the song provided one of the most important lyrics of all-time: "How many roads must a man walk down, before you can call him a man?"
#182 - "Back In The U.S.S.R." - The Beatles - The White Album - #14/22 - The Beatles' borrowed segments from The Beach Boys' "California Girls" and used them to take satirical jabs at Mother Russia. They also managed to create one of their peppiest and most fun rock songs since their early days as a Chuck Berry cover band.
#181 - "Ruby Tuesday" - The Rolling Stones - Flowers - #11/20 - The Stones weren't known for their ballads, but they were certainly skilled at creating them. "Ruby" is one of their bigger pop songs with it's fantastic chorus, but it's also a very well-written song and very moving.
#189 - "Judith" - A Perfect Circle - Mer De Noms - #3/3 - Although it wasn't intended, this song makes a perfect companion piece with "Dear God". They both basically say the same thing, but while that song comes from a point of sadness and disappointment, this song comes from a point of anger and rage, as it deals more with the religious than religion itself.
#188 - "In Bloom" - Nirvana - Nevermind - #9/15 - The downside of mainstream appeal is that your music will be enjoyed not only by a target audience that understands what it means but also by a bunch of imbeciles who only like the hooks and how good the songs sound when buzzed on cheap beer. This song deals with the imbeciles and you know what? They love the song just to same, being imbeciles and all.
#187 - "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" - Bob Dylan - Pat Garrett And Billy The Kid Soundtrack - #10/15 - One of Dylan's best songs of the 70's, "Knockin'" is among the most popular and most covered songs of the classic rock era, with it's clever lyrics and somber tone.
#186 - "What Do I Get" - The Buzzcocks - Operators Manual - #2/2 - The Buzzcocks never get the credit they deserve, but with this song they made one of the definitive punk songs of the 1970's. They lyrics are sharp and the chorus is as poppy as punk ever got.
#185 - "When The President Talks To God (Live)" - Bright Eyes - Motion Sickness - One of the msot shocking performances in the history of Jay Leno's The Tonight Show, "President" is the boldest and most jarring protest song against the Bush Administration. In a few short minutes, Connor Oberst lays out every argument against Bush imaginable and lays his crooked administration low like a surgeon with a scalpel.
#184 - "Just" - Radiohead - The Bends - #5/8 - Before they became the leading providers of art-rock, Radiohead enjoyed a string of hits on the alternative charts, with "Just" being among the best. The chorus, in particular, was a solid indicator not only of where the band had been before but also where they'd be headed in the future.
#183 - "Blowin' In The Wind" - Bob Dylan - The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan - #11/15 - The song that kicked off the protest rock genre and legitimized folk music and brought it to the masses, the song provided one of the most important lyrics of all-time: "How many roads must a man walk down, before you can call him a man?"
#182 - "Back In The U.S.S.R." - The Beatles - The White Album - #14/22 - The Beatles' borrowed segments from The Beach Boys' "California Girls" and used them to take satirical jabs at Mother Russia. They also managed to create one of their peppiest and most fun rock songs since their early days as a Chuck Berry cover band.
#181 - "Ruby Tuesday" - The Rolling Stones - Flowers - #11/20 - The Stones weren't known for their ballads, but they were certainly skilled at creating them. "Ruby" is one of their bigger pop songs with it's fantastic chorus, but it's also a very well-written song and very moving.
Top 1000 Bands #190-#181
190 - Madonna - The Queen of Pop, Madonna had hit after hit during the 80's and 90's, eventually becoming one of the few pure pop artists to be inducted into the Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame.
189 - Michael Jackson - And here's the King Of Pop, who during the 80's was the biggest star in pop music, though now he's best known as something akin to a carnival freak.
188 - Korn - One of the biggest stars of the nu-metal genre, Korn enjoyed a string of albums that were among the best of the late 90's. They aren't quite what they used to be, but most bands from the 90's aren't.
187 - New Order - New Order rose from the ashes of Joy Division and while they never got the acclaim that their original band did, they were among the biggest hitmakers of the New Wave 80's.
186 - They Might Be Giants - The original quirky pop rock band, They Might Be Giants have made a 20+ year career out of their fun and unusual sound.
185 - ZZ Top - One of the biggest blues rock bands of the classic rock era, ZZ Top hit a career high-point in the early 80's with their Eliminator album, which made them one of the biggest rock bands in the world.
184 - The Buzzcocks - One of the most overlooked bands of the 70's punk scene, The Buzzcocks created two of punk's best songs "What Do I Get" and "Ever Fallen In Love".
183 - Placebo - A weird band to be sure, Placebo was one of the best bands of the alt rock 90's. Their sound isn't for all tastes, but to be sure they were unique and interesting at all time.
182 - Faith No More - One of the first bands to mix rock and rap into their sound, Faith No more enjoyed a lot of underground success before cracking the pop charts with "Epic".
181 - Depeche Mode - A consistent and solid band that has a surprisingly large fanbase, Depeche Mode is best known for a string of hits that they had in the 80's and early 90's, but they've been among the best artists in New Wave throughout the past few decades.
189 - Michael Jackson - And here's the King Of Pop, who during the 80's was the biggest star in pop music, though now he's best known as something akin to a carnival freak.
188 - Korn - One of the biggest stars of the nu-metal genre, Korn enjoyed a string of albums that were among the best of the late 90's. They aren't quite what they used to be, but most bands from the 90's aren't.
187 - New Order - New Order rose from the ashes of Joy Division and while they never got the acclaim that their original band did, they were among the biggest hitmakers of the New Wave 80's.
186 - They Might Be Giants - The original quirky pop rock band, They Might Be Giants have made a 20+ year career out of their fun and unusual sound.
185 - ZZ Top - One of the biggest blues rock bands of the classic rock era, ZZ Top hit a career high-point in the early 80's with their Eliminator album, which made them one of the biggest rock bands in the world.
184 - The Buzzcocks - One of the most overlooked bands of the 70's punk scene, The Buzzcocks created two of punk's best songs "What Do I Get" and "Ever Fallen In Love".
183 - Placebo - A weird band to be sure, Placebo was one of the best bands of the alt rock 90's. Their sound isn't for all tastes, but to be sure they were unique and interesting at all time.
182 - Faith No More - One of the first bands to mix rock and rap into their sound, Faith No more enjoyed a lot of underground success before cracking the pop charts with "Epic".
181 - Depeche Mode - A consistent and solid band that has a surprisingly large fanbase, Depeche Mode is best known for a string of hits that they had in the 80's and early 90's, but they've been among the best artists in New Wave throughout the past few decades.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Top 1000 Songs #200-#191
#200 - "Common People" - Pulp - Different Class - #1/1 - The song is probably better-known in average circles because of the cover William Shatner did a few years back, but to music fans, it's widely regarded as one of the sharpest and most intelligent songs of the 90's. It kicks a lot of ass, too.
#199 - "Guerilla Radio" - Rage Against The Machine - The Battle Of Los Angeles - #10/12 - Political punk doesn't get much better than this classic propelled by it's legendary opening guitar lick and Zach's bomb-throwing lyrics.
#198 - "Set Me Free" - Velvet Revolver - Contraband - #2/2 - Talk about hitting a home run in your first at-bat! VR never had another song as fun and exciting as the first glimpse we had of the band on this song, featured prominently in the soundtrack of the original Hulk film.
#197 - "Prison Sex" - Tool - Undertow - #6/9 - One of Tool's first big hits, "Prison Sex" is a crunchy prog nightmare with clever lyrics and frighteningly dark guitarwork.
#196 - "How Soon Is Now?" - The Smiths - Meat Is Murder - #2/2 - One of the classic alternative epics of the 80's, The Smiths were never better than they were on this landmark song.
#195 - "Tears In Heaven (Unplugged)" - Eric Clapton - Unplugged - #4/4 - The saddest and most moving song in Clapton's catalog is also his best and this version of the song is gutwrenchingly personal in a way the studio version could never be.
#194 - "For What It's Worth" - Buffalo Springfield - Buffalo Springfield - #1/1 - Perhaps the best and most significant one-hit wonder song ever created, "For What It's Worth" is one of the defining songs of the 1960's and one of the best-written songs of all-time.
#193 - "Sunshine Of Your Love" - Cream - Disraeli Gears - #4/5 - Featuring one of the great guitar licks of the electric guitar's best era, "Sunshine Of Your Love" is a legendary classic rock song that defined the psychedelic rock genre.
#192 - "God Save The Queen" - The Sex Pistols - Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols - #3/4 - The song that made punk rock seem dangerous and scary, "God Save The Queen" was a brutal attack on the Queen of England, who at the time was still regarded as a significant figure in world events. The song got the band widely banned and gave them a reputation as the most avant garde band of the rock era.
#191 - "Rearviewmirror" - Pearl Jam - Vs. - #20/25 - If any song ever defined the concept of the slow build, it was "Rearviewmirror", a song that starts out slowly, but subtly accelerates until it reaches it's climax, when it's pulsing at a full-on pace that rivals the speed of PJ's "Spin The Black Circle". The song was never a big hit, but it's still regarded as a classic nonetheless.
#199 - "Guerilla Radio" - Rage Against The Machine - The Battle Of Los Angeles - #10/12 - Political punk doesn't get much better than this classic propelled by it's legendary opening guitar lick and Zach's bomb-throwing lyrics.
#198 - "Set Me Free" - Velvet Revolver - Contraband - #2/2 - Talk about hitting a home run in your first at-bat! VR never had another song as fun and exciting as the first glimpse we had of the band on this song, featured prominently in the soundtrack of the original Hulk film.
#197 - "Prison Sex" - Tool - Undertow - #6/9 - One of Tool's first big hits, "Prison Sex" is a crunchy prog nightmare with clever lyrics and frighteningly dark guitarwork.
#196 - "How Soon Is Now?" - The Smiths - Meat Is Murder - #2/2 - One of the classic alternative epics of the 80's, The Smiths were never better than they were on this landmark song.
#195 - "Tears In Heaven (Unplugged)" - Eric Clapton - Unplugged - #4/4 - The saddest and most moving song in Clapton's catalog is also his best and this version of the song is gutwrenchingly personal in a way the studio version could never be.
#194 - "For What It's Worth" - Buffalo Springfield - Buffalo Springfield - #1/1 - Perhaps the best and most significant one-hit wonder song ever created, "For What It's Worth" is one of the defining songs of the 1960's and one of the best-written songs of all-time.
#193 - "Sunshine Of Your Love" - Cream - Disraeli Gears - #4/5 - Featuring one of the great guitar licks of the electric guitar's best era, "Sunshine Of Your Love" is a legendary classic rock song that defined the psychedelic rock genre.
#192 - "God Save The Queen" - The Sex Pistols - Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols - #3/4 - The song that made punk rock seem dangerous and scary, "God Save The Queen" was a brutal attack on the Queen of England, who at the time was still regarded as a significant figure in world events. The song got the band widely banned and gave them a reputation as the most avant garde band of the rock era.
#191 - "Rearviewmirror" - Pearl Jam - Vs. - #20/25 - If any song ever defined the concept of the slow build, it was "Rearviewmirror", a song that starts out slowly, but subtly accelerates until it reaches it's climax, when it's pulsing at a full-on pace that rivals the speed of PJ's "Spin The Black Circle". The song was never a big hit, but it's still regarded as a classic nonetheless.
Top 1000 Bands #200-#190
200 - The Traveling Wilburys - The greatest supergroup of all-time, The Traveling Wilburys featured Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty, George Harrison and Jeff Lynne (ELO). The band didn't stay together for very long, breaking up with Orbision's death, but they put together some of the best country rock of all-time.
199 - The Doobie Brothers - One of the biggest acts of the 70's, the Doobie Brothers had hit after hit, making their mark as one of the most popular bands of the classic rock era, if not necessarily one of the greatest.
198 - Pulp - The forgotten band of the Brit-pop era, Pulp created one of the greatest songs of all-time with their bitter and sarcastic "Common People". They had a lot of other great songs, but that was their big hit.
197 - Bob Seger - No artist was more prolific during the 70's than Bob Seger, who had what seems like 40 classic rock hits between 1970 and 1979 alone. I'm not sure why I ranked Seger so low, but he should go up the next time around because while many of his songs are irritating, some are brilliant.
196 - Blondie - Blondie was a great New Wave band from the NYC '77 scene before becoming one of the biggest bands of the 80's when they started fusing New Wave with disco, making them one of the stars of the early years of MTV.
195 - Primal Scream - One of many great bands to rise from the ashes of the Stone Roses, Primal Scream has branched off in many different directions, failing at some, but succeeding wildly at most, making them one of the best bands of the post-Brit Pop era.
194 - Motorhead - The first great speed metal band, Motorhead inspired an entire generation of metalheads with their rapid-fire guitars and bad-ass attitude.
193 - Paul McCartney - The most commercially successful Beatle, McCartney mixed solo records in with his work with Wings to create some of the most annoying songs of all-time, but also some of the greatest.
192 - Jay-Z - One of the greatest and most popular rappers of all-time, Jay-Z has built an empire on the strength of his unique style and extraordinary lyrical skills.
191 - Stevie Wonder - One of the great survivors of Motown, Stevie Wonder is a living legend who's been topping the charts for over forty years now, moving seamlessly from Motown to funk to rock n roll.
199 - The Doobie Brothers - One of the biggest acts of the 70's, the Doobie Brothers had hit after hit, making their mark as one of the most popular bands of the classic rock era, if not necessarily one of the greatest.
198 - Pulp - The forgotten band of the Brit-pop era, Pulp created one of the greatest songs of all-time with their bitter and sarcastic "Common People". They had a lot of other great songs, but that was their big hit.
197 - Bob Seger - No artist was more prolific during the 70's than Bob Seger, who had what seems like 40 classic rock hits between 1970 and 1979 alone. I'm not sure why I ranked Seger so low, but he should go up the next time around because while many of his songs are irritating, some are brilliant.
196 - Blondie - Blondie was a great New Wave band from the NYC '77 scene before becoming one of the biggest bands of the 80's when they started fusing New Wave with disco, making them one of the stars of the early years of MTV.
195 - Primal Scream - One of many great bands to rise from the ashes of the Stone Roses, Primal Scream has branched off in many different directions, failing at some, but succeeding wildly at most, making them one of the best bands of the post-Brit Pop era.
194 - Motorhead - The first great speed metal band, Motorhead inspired an entire generation of metalheads with their rapid-fire guitars and bad-ass attitude.
193 - Paul McCartney - The most commercially successful Beatle, McCartney mixed solo records in with his work with Wings to create some of the most annoying songs of all-time, but also some of the greatest.
192 - Jay-Z - One of the greatest and most popular rappers of all-time, Jay-Z has built an empire on the strength of his unique style and extraordinary lyrical skills.
191 - Stevie Wonder - One of the great survivors of Motown, Stevie Wonder is a living legend who's been topping the charts for over forty years now, moving seamlessly from Motown to funk to rock n roll.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Top 1000 Songs #210-#201
#210 - "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)" - Marilyn Manson - Smells Like Children - #4/4 - Manson's first hit is also his best, as his cover of the Eurythmics' 80's classic is creepy beyond belief and intense to the point of being frightening.
#209 - "Across The Universe" - The Beatles - Let It Be - #13/22 - This trippy and sweeping song was one of the Beatles' last great hits. The song has been covered multiple times over the years, but no one has ever topped the Fab Four's original version.
#208 - "Everybody Knows" - Leonard Cohen - I'm Your Man - #3/3 - One of the most sarcastic songs ever written, "Everybody Knows" is Cohen's most brilliant song with clever lyrics and a pulsing beat throughout.
#207 - "Oliver's Army" - Elvis Costello - Armed Forces - #8/11 - Speaking of sarcastic, is there any man in rock history who did it better than Elvis Costello? This song, from his punk period, is a classic example of that attitude.
#206 - "Wolf Like Me" - T.V. On The Radio - Return Cookie Mountain - #1/1 - With it's pounding beat, weird vocals and intense lyrics, "Wolf Like Me" might be the best song of the 21st Century so far, even though you've probably never heard it on the radio.
#205 - "November Rain" - Guns N Rose - Use Your Illusion I - #6/8 - The piano solo at the start, the insane video, the story told within the lyrics, the breakdown at the end, and most of all the legendary guitar solo towards the end of the song (there are actually several great guitar solos in this epic tune). All of thse elements add up to the last great song from one of the last great rock bands of the classic rock era before alternative and indie bands took over.
#204 - "Head Like A Hole" - Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine - #6/7 - The first great song in the career of one of the best bands of the 90's, "Head Like A Hole" is a song about rebelling against power and authority, a common theme in the band's catalog, but it's the passion and intensity that makes this song great.
#203 - "Rooster" - Alice In Chains - Dirt - #5/8 - AIC tells the story of a band member's Vietnam War hero father, a sad and sweeping epic that defined grunge at a time when the genre was just gaining traction at the time this song came around.
#202 - "This Is Radio Clash" - The Clash - Greatest Hits - #13/18 - The Clash experimented with many genres of music throughout their career and this song is no exception, as it uses elements of the brand new at the time hip hop genre to enhance this track and make it legendary.
#201 - "Foxy Lady" - The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Are You Experienced? - #8/9 - Hendrix crafts yet another legendary guitar hook in this song, one of the most famous hooks of all-time actually. They lyrics aren't all that impresive, but the way the song is constructed with the incredible hook serving as the backbone more than makes up for any lyrical shortcomings the song may have.
#209 - "Across The Universe" - The Beatles - Let It Be - #13/22 - This trippy and sweeping song was one of the Beatles' last great hits. The song has been covered multiple times over the years, but no one has ever topped the Fab Four's original version.
#208 - "Everybody Knows" - Leonard Cohen - I'm Your Man - #3/3 - One of the most sarcastic songs ever written, "Everybody Knows" is Cohen's most brilliant song with clever lyrics and a pulsing beat throughout.
#207 - "Oliver's Army" - Elvis Costello - Armed Forces - #8/11 - Speaking of sarcastic, is there any man in rock history who did it better than Elvis Costello? This song, from his punk period, is a classic example of that attitude.
#206 - "Wolf Like Me" - T.V. On The Radio - Return Cookie Mountain - #1/1 - With it's pounding beat, weird vocals and intense lyrics, "Wolf Like Me" might be the best song of the 21st Century so far, even though you've probably never heard it on the radio.
#205 - "November Rain" - Guns N Rose - Use Your Illusion I - #6/8 - The piano solo at the start, the insane video, the story told within the lyrics, the breakdown at the end, and most of all the legendary guitar solo towards the end of the song (there are actually several great guitar solos in this epic tune). All of thse elements add up to the last great song from one of the last great rock bands of the classic rock era before alternative and indie bands took over.
#204 - "Head Like A Hole" - Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine - #6/7 - The first great song in the career of one of the best bands of the 90's, "Head Like A Hole" is a song about rebelling against power and authority, a common theme in the band's catalog, but it's the passion and intensity that makes this song great.
#203 - "Rooster" - Alice In Chains - Dirt - #5/8 - AIC tells the story of a band member's Vietnam War hero father, a sad and sweeping epic that defined grunge at a time when the genre was just gaining traction at the time this song came around.
#202 - "This Is Radio Clash" - The Clash - Greatest Hits - #13/18 - The Clash experimented with many genres of music throughout their career and this song is no exception, as it uses elements of the brand new at the time hip hop genre to enhance this track and make it legendary.
#201 - "Foxy Lady" - The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Are You Experienced? - #8/9 - Hendrix crafts yet another legendary guitar hook in this song, one of the most famous hooks of all-time actually. They lyrics aren't all that impresive, but the way the song is constructed with the incredible hook serving as the backbone more than makes up for any lyrical shortcomings the song may have.
Top 1000 Bands #210-#201
210 - Wilco - The biggest stars of the alt country scene, Wilco has created some of the most important indie rock albums of all-time.
209 - The New Pornographers - A pop-flavored indie band that produces great album after great album and serves as a launching pad for the solo careers of the many talented members of the band.
208 - The Flaming Lips - One of the quirkiest rock bands of all-time, the Lips struck gold with their Yoshimi concept album.
207 - Guided By Voices - Even if they only had one good song on each of their 953 albums and EP's, Guided By Voices would be one of the great alternative bands of all-time. By my count, they have approximately 1.1, so they're good to go.
206 - Jefferson Airplane - One of the biggest bands of the 60's, Jefferson Airplane had huge hits with "Somebody To Love" and "White Rabbit" before taking one bad trip too many and ending up as some sort of abomination called Jefferson Starship.
205 - Todd Snider - One of the best folk singers of his generation, Todd Snider has released a long series of clever and entertaining country folk albums over the past decade.
204 - Sheryl Crow - She's fallen on hard times recently, but back in the 90's, Crow was an innovative, creative and interesting artist who produced quality hit after hit. She doesn't anymore.
203 - The Offspring - Surprisingly, The Offspring is still around and making chart-clobbering hits. Ignore the stupid novelty songs and focus on the punk lyrics and rapid-fire guitars that have been the cornerstone of the band for nearly 20 years.
202 - Social Distortion - You wouldn't think that country and punk would go together very well, but Social Distortion blended them together to make some of the most unique and clever songs of the 80's.
201 - The Sounds - Another great indie band that no one has ever heard of, The Sounds have released a series of brilliant albums, but no major breakthrough as of yet.
209 - The New Pornographers - A pop-flavored indie band that produces great album after great album and serves as a launching pad for the solo careers of the many talented members of the band.
208 - The Flaming Lips - One of the quirkiest rock bands of all-time, the Lips struck gold with their Yoshimi concept album.
207 - Guided By Voices - Even if they only had one good song on each of their 953 albums and EP's, Guided By Voices would be one of the great alternative bands of all-time. By my count, they have approximately 1.1, so they're good to go.
206 - Jefferson Airplane - One of the biggest bands of the 60's, Jefferson Airplane had huge hits with "Somebody To Love" and "White Rabbit" before taking one bad trip too many and ending up as some sort of abomination called Jefferson Starship.
205 - Todd Snider - One of the best folk singers of his generation, Todd Snider has released a long series of clever and entertaining country folk albums over the past decade.
204 - Sheryl Crow - She's fallen on hard times recently, but back in the 90's, Crow was an innovative, creative and interesting artist who produced quality hit after hit. She doesn't anymore.
203 - The Offspring - Surprisingly, The Offspring is still around and making chart-clobbering hits. Ignore the stupid novelty songs and focus on the punk lyrics and rapid-fire guitars that have been the cornerstone of the band for nearly 20 years.
202 - Social Distortion - You wouldn't think that country and punk would go together very well, but Social Distortion blended them together to make some of the most unique and clever songs of the 80's.
201 - The Sounds - Another great indie band that no one has ever heard of, The Sounds have released a series of brilliant albums, but no major breakthrough as of yet.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Top 1000 Songs #220-#211
#220 - "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting" - Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - #7/8 - For a piano driven pop star, Elton John came up with a couple song that genuinely rocked, and this one is the best, as it was even bad-ass enough to be covered by the likes of Kid Rock, who murdered it for it's trouble.
#219 - "The Killing Moon" - Echo And The Bunnymen - Ocean Rain - #2/2 - "The Killing Moon" was Echo's epic song and though it's been overlooked as a classic rock hit, the song's influence on modern alternative band is well-known.
#218 - "Changes" - Tupac Shakur - Greatest Hits - #1/1 - Shakur is widely regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all-time and this was easily his best song. Unfortunately for Mr. Shakur, he never did live to see a black President, though it looks like the rest of us will.
#217 - "You Really Got Me" - The Kinks - You Really Got Me - #1/1 - The opening riff on this song is one of the founding moments of rock n roll as the band that was years ahead of its time cranked out what would turn out to be their best and most well-known songs.
#216 - "Bomb Track" - Rage Against The Machine - Rage Against The Machine - #9/12 - One of the first Rage songs was also one of their best as the song kicks off with a brilliant Morello lick and carries on through one of Zach's best rants.
#215 - "Rebel Rebel" - David Bowie - Diamond Dogs - #7/10 - Another of Bowie's great songs from the best period of his career (mid-70's), "Rebel" features sharp lyrics and a fantastic backing beat.
#214 - "Sexx Laws" - Beck - Midnite Vultures - #6/9 - Beck is well-known for his funky sound and it never got funkier than this late-90's hit.
#213 - "One Way Or Another" - Blondie - One Way Or Another - #2/2 - Blondie is best-known for their pop turn in the early 80's, but "One Way" is their best song and it comes from their New York days back when they were embracing New Wave rather than Disco as their musical base.
#212 - "Black Dog" - Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV - #16/24 - Zeppelin borrowed from the old Fleetwood Mac song "Oh Well" to create one of their most popular songs, the blues rock classic built around the riff from hell.
#211 - "Ty Cobb" - Soundgarden - Down On The Upside - #8/11 - Although the song has probably never been played on the radio, it's among the band's most exciting songs and one of the few driving and fast songs in Soundgarden's catalog.
#219 - "The Killing Moon" - Echo And The Bunnymen - Ocean Rain - #2/2 - "The Killing Moon" was Echo's epic song and though it's been overlooked as a classic rock hit, the song's influence on modern alternative band is well-known.
#218 - "Changes" - Tupac Shakur - Greatest Hits - #1/1 - Shakur is widely regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all-time and this was easily his best song. Unfortunately for Mr. Shakur, he never did live to see a black President, though it looks like the rest of us will.
#217 - "You Really Got Me" - The Kinks - You Really Got Me - #1/1 - The opening riff on this song is one of the founding moments of rock n roll as the band that was years ahead of its time cranked out what would turn out to be their best and most well-known songs.
#216 - "Bomb Track" - Rage Against The Machine - Rage Against The Machine - #9/12 - One of the first Rage songs was also one of their best as the song kicks off with a brilliant Morello lick and carries on through one of Zach's best rants.
#215 - "Rebel Rebel" - David Bowie - Diamond Dogs - #7/10 - Another of Bowie's great songs from the best period of his career (mid-70's), "Rebel" features sharp lyrics and a fantastic backing beat.
#214 - "Sexx Laws" - Beck - Midnite Vultures - #6/9 - Beck is well-known for his funky sound and it never got funkier than this late-90's hit.
#213 - "One Way Or Another" - Blondie - One Way Or Another - #2/2 - Blondie is best-known for their pop turn in the early 80's, but "One Way" is their best song and it comes from their New York days back when they were embracing New Wave rather than Disco as their musical base.
#212 - "Black Dog" - Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV - #16/24 - Zeppelin borrowed from the old Fleetwood Mac song "Oh Well" to create one of their most popular songs, the blues rock classic built around the riff from hell.
#211 - "Ty Cobb" - Soundgarden - Down On The Upside - #8/11 - Although the song has probably never been played on the radio, it's among the band's most exciting songs and one of the few driving and fast songs in Soundgarden's catalog.
Top 1000 Bands #220-#211
220 - Lou Reed - After the Velvet Underground broke up, Lou Reed started a solo career that for a brief period in the 70's rivaled David Bowie as the king of alternative classic rock. He only had one big hit "Walk On The Wild Side", but created a series of brilliant albums.
219 - The MC5 - One of the founding fathers of punk, The MC5 pre-dated Rage Against The Machine by nearly twenty years with their politically-themed agit-punk. They didn't have the hits that Rage had, but they were clearly one of their major inspirations.
218 - Morrissey - The former lead singer of The Smiths, Morrissey enjoyed one of the most successful careers in modern rock history, releasing hit after hit. For my money, he produced a large quantity of great songs, but after awhile they started to sound like the same song over and over again.
217 - The Moody Blues - One of the best bands not to be inducted into the Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame, The Moody Blues have never been a flashy band or a particularly influential band, but they have made a career out of creating interesting songs of high quality spanning from the early 60's through the 80's.
216 - Maximo Park - Another one of those unknown indie rock bands who would be huge if the music industry wasn't terrified of music that exists outside of their comfort zone. Maximo Park has released two brilliant CDs that have unfortunately been buried under a landslide of pop and rap metal.
215 - The Beta Band - A great indie rock band from the late 90's. They released a series of rock solid EPs before breaking up, but they never broke through.
214 - Ted Leo And The Pharmacists - I'm starting to notice a theme here, as Ted Leo is yet another great indie band that most people have never heard of. They've also been around for awhile, so you just gotta wonder what's up with the industry that they don't want good music to be heard.
213 - Traffic - One of the best and most overlooked bands of the early classic rock era, Steve Winwood and his band Traffic crafted great album after great album back in the 60's.
212 - The Violent Femmes - One of the biggest names in college rock and alternative music in the 80's, The Violent Femmes created a shitload of brilliant underground hits at a time long before their music would be appreciated fully.
211 - XTC - One of the best and most controversial New Wave bands of the 80's, XTC at the very least produced two of the best attacks on religion and the way it affects people with "Dear God" and "The Ballad Of Peter Pumpkinhead", among their many political hits during the Reagan years.
219 - The MC5 - One of the founding fathers of punk, The MC5 pre-dated Rage Against The Machine by nearly twenty years with their politically-themed agit-punk. They didn't have the hits that Rage had, but they were clearly one of their major inspirations.
218 - Morrissey - The former lead singer of The Smiths, Morrissey enjoyed one of the most successful careers in modern rock history, releasing hit after hit. For my money, he produced a large quantity of great songs, but after awhile they started to sound like the same song over and over again.
217 - The Moody Blues - One of the best bands not to be inducted into the Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame, The Moody Blues have never been a flashy band or a particularly influential band, but they have made a career out of creating interesting songs of high quality spanning from the early 60's through the 80's.
216 - Maximo Park - Another one of those unknown indie rock bands who would be huge if the music industry wasn't terrified of music that exists outside of their comfort zone. Maximo Park has released two brilliant CDs that have unfortunately been buried under a landslide of pop and rap metal.
215 - The Beta Band - A great indie rock band from the late 90's. They released a series of rock solid EPs before breaking up, but they never broke through.
214 - Ted Leo And The Pharmacists - I'm starting to notice a theme here, as Ted Leo is yet another great indie band that most people have never heard of. They've also been around for awhile, so you just gotta wonder what's up with the industry that they don't want good music to be heard.
213 - Traffic - One of the best and most overlooked bands of the early classic rock era, Steve Winwood and his band Traffic crafted great album after great album back in the 60's.
212 - The Violent Femmes - One of the biggest names in college rock and alternative music in the 80's, The Violent Femmes created a shitload of brilliant underground hits at a time long before their music would be appreciated fully.
211 - XTC - One of the best and most controversial New Wave bands of the 80's, XTC at the very least produced two of the best attacks on religion and the way it affects people with "Dear God" and "The Ballad Of Peter Pumpkinhead", among their many political hits during the Reagan years.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Top 1000 Songs #230-#221
#230 - "Clocks" - Coldplay - A Rush Of Blood To The Head - #6/6 - The best song by one of the millennium's biggest hitmakers, "Clocks" is one of the century's best-written songs and features one of the most moving beginning riffs of all-time.
#229 - "Heart-Shaped Box" - Nirvana - In Utero - #7/15 - The best song off of Nirvana's last official album, "Heart-Shaped Box" features one of the band's best choruses and an insane video.
#228 - "Sixteen Military Wives" - The Decemberists - Picaresque - #1/1 - The Decemberists' only song on the countdown, "Sixteen" is a razor-sharp satirical take on America's foreign policy and academics.
#227 - "Space Oddity" - David Bowie - Space Oddity - #6/10 - Bowie's breakthrough song was recorded several years earlier but didn't become a hit until it was re-released to take advantage of the release of 2001: A Space Odyssey and the moonwalk. The song paints a vivid picture and tells an entire movie worth of story in only a few minutes of music.
#226 - "Tom Sawyer" - Rush - Moving Pictures - #3/3 - Rush's biggest brush with mainstream success is also their best song as the bombastic guitars and sharp lyrics of this song brought them from the classic rock 70's into their more prominent role in mainstream rock during the 80's.
#225 - "Come As You Are" - Nirvana - Nevermind - #8/15 - Nirvana's "ballad" or at least their slowest song, "Come As You Are" is yet another brilliantly written song from the band that brought indie rock to the mainstream.
#224 - "Should I Stay Or Should I Go" - The Clash - Combat Rock - #12/18 - One of the band's biggest and last hits, "Should I Stay" was a classic New Wave song, though it did betray the band's political history by being an essentially straight-forward relationship song.
#223 - "Hurricane" - Bob Dylan - Greatest Hits - #9/15 - Bob Dylan essentially wrote a novel about boxer Reubin "Hurricane" Carter and turned it into an epic song that tells the story of how Carter was falsely incarcerated for a murder he didn't commit. Carter was later released from prison.
#222 - "Bohemian Like You" - The Dandy Warhols - Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia - #2/2 - The Warhols never crafted a better riff or a better song than "Bohemian Like You", their pulse-pounding late-90's classic.
#221 - "All The Young Dudes" - Mott The Hoople - All The Young Dudes - #1/1 - Lesson #1 of becoming a successful rock band: When David Bowie offers you a song, you take the song. Hoople was always a talented glam-rock band but they had never scored a hit until David Bowie offered them their choice of this or his classic "Suffragette City". The band chose "Dudes" and the rest was history. They never did have another big hit, but "Dudes" was a big enough hit to leave a mark on classic rock forever.
#229 - "Heart-Shaped Box" - Nirvana - In Utero - #7/15 - The best song off of Nirvana's last official album, "Heart-Shaped Box" features one of the band's best choruses and an insane video.
#228 - "Sixteen Military Wives" - The Decemberists - Picaresque - #1/1 - The Decemberists' only song on the countdown, "Sixteen" is a razor-sharp satirical take on America's foreign policy and academics.
#227 - "Space Oddity" - David Bowie - Space Oddity - #6/10 - Bowie's breakthrough song was recorded several years earlier but didn't become a hit until it was re-released to take advantage of the release of 2001: A Space Odyssey and the moonwalk. The song paints a vivid picture and tells an entire movie worth of story in only a few minutes of music.
#226 - "Tom Sawyer" - Rush - Moving Pictures - #3/3 - Rush's biggest brush with mainstream success is also their best song as the bombastic guitars and sharp lyrics of this song brought them from the classic rock 70's into their more prominent role in mainstream rock during the 80's.
#225 - "Come As You Are" - Nirvana - Nevermind - #8/15 - Nirvana's "ballad" or at least their slowest song, "Come As You Are" is yet another brilliantly written song from the band that brought indie rock to the mainstream.
#224 - "Should I Stay Or Should I Go" - The Clash - Combat Rock - #12/18 - One of the band's biggest and last hits, "Should I Stay" was a classic New Wave song, though it did betray the band's political history by being an essentially straight-forward relationship song.
#223 - "Hurricane" - Bob Dylan - Greatest Hits - #9/15 - Bob Dylan essentially wrote a novel about boxer Reubin "Hurricane" Carter and turned it into an epic song that tells the story of how Carter was falsely incarcerated for a murder he didn't commit. Carter was later released from prison.
#222 - "Bohemian Like You" - The Dandy Warhols - Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia - #2/2 - The Warhols never crafted a better riff or a better song than "Bohemian Like You", their pulse-pounding late-90's classic.
#221 - "All The Young Dudes" - Mott The Hoople - All The Young Dudes - #1/1 - Lesson #1 of becoming a successful rock band: When David Bowie offers you a song, you take the song. Hoople was always a talented glam-rock band but they had never scored a hit until David Bowie offered them their choice of this or his classic "Suffragette City". The band chose "Dudes" and the rest was history. They never did have another big hit, but "Dudes" was a big enough hit to leave a mark on classic rock forever.
Top 1000 Bands #230-#221
230 - The Goo Goo Dolls - Another band that takes a lot of flack for the direction they've taken recently, The Goo Goo Dolls were actually a decent alternative band until they hit it big with that damn "Iris" song that destroyed their career.
229 - Art Brut - They're still pretty underground, but Art Brut has put together several solid albums, establishing themselves as the heirs apparent to the legacy of the Sex Pistols.
228 - INXS - There weren't many bigger bands in the 80's than INXS. A lot of their music was pretty lame, but several times each album they created a song that was pure New Wave genius.
227 - Interpol - One of the hottest bands in indie rock at the moment, Interpol has built a huge reputation with three rock solid albums in a row, each one building on the last.
226 - Kings Of Leon - One of the best indie rock bands of the past few years, Kings Of Leon created a series of brilliant songs on their first few albums before taking a more serious direction on their last two. Critics say that they're better now, but I disagree. Their new stuff is solid, but there aren't any "Molly's Chambers" or "The Bucket"'s in their new direction.
225 - Blue Oyster Cult - The band that's infamous for the "more cowbell" sketch on SNL, BOC is actually a solid heavy metal outfit from the 70's that had great songs like "Godzilla" and "Astronomy" on top of their mega-hits "Don't Fear The Reaper" and "Burnin' For You".
224 - Sublime - The biggest stars of the ska boom of the mid-to-late 90's, Sublime released their breakthrough album shortly after the death of their lead singer. The band had the dignity to break-up, but they still became legends due to the excellence of the music the recorded.
223 - The Steve Miller Band - One of the biggest hitmakers of the 1970's, The Steve Miller Band was never artistically acclaimed but they did create some of the most beloved and most fun songs of the classic rock era.
222 - The Barenaked Ladies - Another quirky band from the late 90's comes in at #222 as the Barenaked Ladies rode the success of their fun but weird songs to hit after hit.
221 - Leonard Cohen - One of the greatest songwriters of all-time, Leonard Cohen wrote brilliant song after brilliant song but never got the recognition he deserved until he was finally inducted into the Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame in 2007.
229 - Art Brut - They're still pretty underground, but Art Brut has put together several solid albums, establishing themselves as the heirs apparent to the legacy of the Sex Pistols.
228 - INXS - There weren't many bigger bands in the 80's than INXS. A lot of their music was pretty lame, but several times each album they created a song that was pure New Wave genius.
227 - Interpol - One of the hottest bands in indie rock at the moment, Interpol has built a huge reputation with three rock solid albums in a row, each one building on the last.
226 - Kings Of Leon - One of the best indie rock bands of the past few years, Kings Of Leon created a series of brilliant songs on their first few albums before taking a more serious direction on their last two. Critics say that they're better now, but I disagree. Their new stuff is solid, but there aren't any "Molly's Chambers" or "The Bucket"'s in their new direction.
225 - Blue Oyster Cult - The band that's infamous for the "more cowbell" sketch on SNL, BOC is actually a solid heavy metal outfit from the 70's that had great songs like "Godzilla" and "Astronomy" on top of their mega-hits "Don't Fear The Reaper" and "Burnin' For You".
224 - Sublime - The biggest stars of the ska boom of the mid-to-late 90's, Sublime released their breakthrough album shortly after the death of their lead singer. The band had the dignity to break-up, but they still became legends due to the excellence of the music the recorded.
223 - The Steve Miller Band - One of the biggest hitmakers of the 1970's, The Steve Miller Band was never artistically acclaimed but they did create some of the most beloved and most fun songs of the classic rock era.
222 - The Barenaked Ladies - Another quirky band from the late 90's comes in at #222 as the Barenaked Ladies rode the success of their fun but weird songs to hit after hit.
221 - Leonard Cohen - One of the greatest songwriters of all-time, Leonard Cohen wrote brilliant song after brilliant song but never got the recognition he deserved until he was finally inducted into the Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame in 2007.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Top 1000 Songs #240-#231
#240 - "Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground" - The White Stripes - White Blood Cells - #9/10 - This song established Jack White as one of the great guitarists of his generation and put the White Stripes at the end of the pack for 21st century bands with their driving beats and quirky lyrics.
#239 - "(The Staircase) Mystery" - Siouxsie And The Banshees - The Scream - #4/4 - They'll probably never be inducted into the Hall of Fame and in fact they'll probably never even be recognized for the legends that they are, but Siouxsie and the Banshees were one of the founders of the New Wave and indie rock movement and this driving and dramatic song is the best example of their brilliance.
#238 - "Girlfriend Is Better" - The Talking Heads - Speaking In Tongues - #8/10 - Although this song is not widely known as one of the Heads' biggest hits, "Better" is one of my favorites because of it's chorus and it's association with the concert performance film "Stop Making Sense".
#237 - "Killing In The Name Of" - Rage Against The Machine - Rage Against The Machine - #8/12 - One of the slower and crunchier songs of the Rage catalog, "Killing" is a brutal punk metal song with great lyrics and the usual guitar brilliance of Tom Morello.
#236 - "One Of Us" - Joan Osborne - Relish - #2/2 - The song that made her famous, "One Of Us" is one of the best-written and most thought-provoking songs of the 90's.
#235 - "My Girl" - The Temptations - "My Girl" - #1/1 - The all-time Motown classic from the label's best band, "My Girl" remains one of the great songs of the early days of rock n roll.
#234 - "Rape Me" - Nirvana - In Utero - #6/15 - The song borrows "Teen Spirit"'s guitar riff (originally borrowed from "More Than A Feeling"), but the breakdown towards the end was straight from Nirvana's late period, also known as 1994.
#233 - "Bastards Of Young" - The Replacements - Tim - #4/4 - The 'Mat's greatest song and one of their few songs to really take it up a notch, "Bastards" was the closest the band came to a breakthrough song. Hopefully they'll someday get the appreciation that they deserve, but barring a longshot induction into the RNR HOF, it seems unlikely.
#232 - "The Beautiful People" - Marilyn Manson - Antichrist Superstar - #3/4 - Manson's biggest hit and his closest brush with respectability, "Beautiful" features a monster riff and great 90's-style alienation lyrics coupled with a screamingly great chorus.
#231 - "You Could Be Mine" - Guns N Roses - Use Your Illusion II - #5/8 - The last great GNR song, "You Could Be Mine" combined the sweeping grandeur of the band's earlier hits with Axl's best signature breakdown in the last third of the song to make a brilliant last grab at greatness before Mr. Bailey destroyed the band.
#239 - "(The Staircase) Mystery" - Siouxsie And The Banshees - The Scream - #4/4 - They'll probably never be inducted into the Hall of Fame and in fact they'll probably never even be recognized for the legends that they are, but Siouxsie and the Banshees were one of the founders of the New Wave and indie rock movement and this driving and dramatic song is the best example of their brilliance.
#238 - "Girlfriend Is Better" - The Talking Heads - Speaking In Tongues - #8/10 - Although this song is not widely known as one of the Heads' biggest hits, "Better" is one of my favorites because of it's chorus and it's association with the concert performance film "Stop Making Sense".
#237 - "Killing In The Name Of" - Rage Against The Machine - Rage Against The Machine - #8/12 - One of the slower and crunchier songs of the Rage catalog, "Killing" is a brutal punk metal song with great lyrics and the usual guitar brilliance of Tom Morello.
#236 - "One Of Us" - Joan Osborne - Relish - #2/2 - The song that made her famous, "One Of Us" is one of the best-written and most thought-provoking songs of the 90's.
#235 - "My Girl" - The Temptations - "My Girl" - #1/1 - The all-time Motown classic from the label's best band, "My Girl" remains one of the great songs of the early days of rock n roll.
#234 - "Rape Me" - Nirvana - In Utero - #6/15 - The song borrows "Teen Spirit"'s guitar riff (originally borrowed from "More Than A Feeling"), but the breakdown towards the end was straight from Nirvana's late period, also known as 1994.
#233 - "Bastards Of Young" - The Replacements - Tim - #4/4 - The 'Mat's greatest song and one of their few songs to really take it up a notch, "Bastards" was the closest the band came to a breakthrough song. Hopefully they'll someday get the appreciation that they deserve, but barring a longshot induction into the RNR HOF, it seems unlikely.
#232 - "The Beautiful People" - Marilyn Manson - Antichrist Superstar - #3/4 - Manson's biggest hit and his closest brush with respectability, "Beautiful" features a monster riff and great 90's-style alienation lyrics coupled with a screamingly great chorus.
#231 - "You Could Be Mine" - Guns N Roses - Use Your Illusion II - #5/8 - The last great GNR song, "You Could Be Mine" combined the sweeping grandeur of the band's earlier hits with Axl's best signature breakdown in the last third of the song to make a brilliant last grab at greatness before Mr. Bailey destroyed the band.
Top 1000 Bands #240-#231
240 - The Libertines - One of the best of the "next big thing" bands that England has fixated on over the past 10 years, The Libertines are famous for their Sex Pistols style songs and Pete Doherty's amazing survival through the greatest crash and burn in rock history that didn't end in the artist's death. Yet.
239 - Velvet Revolver - STP lead singer Scott Weiland teamed up with all the members of Guns N Roses who weren't completely insane to create one of the best supergroups of the 21st Century. Granted, they were no Audioslave, but they did put together some of the best rock songs of the decade.
238 - Black Flag - The biggest name in 80's hardcore punk, Black Flag were fronted by Henry Rollins, one of the most intense singers in rock history and created some of the best punk of the decade.
237 - Peter Gabriel - The former lead singer of Genesis went solo and became one of the biggest and most innovative artists of the 80's with hits like "Sledgehammer" and "In Your Eyes".
236 - Joan Jett - The original riot-grrl, Jett left the Runaways and formed the Blackhearts after a brief solo career. The artist is most famous for her hit "Bad Reputation" and the Blackhearts' "I Love Rock N Roll" and "I Hate Myself (For Loving You)".
235 - The 88 - One of the most underground of underground bands, The 88 have released great song after great song while only getting attention on TV shows who seem to love their songs for some unexplained reason.
234 - Bush - From their fake-Nirvana debut album through a decade-long career near the top of the mainstream rock charts with hit after hit. Many of the hits were average at best, but the band frequently achieved a higher level of quality.
233 - Against Me! - The underground political agi-punk band that went mainstream and produced one of the best albums of 2007, Against Me! gave truth to the lie that DIY bands can't get rich without giving up on quality.
232 - Cake - Of the quirky bands that filled the rock void between grunge and the garage revival, Cake managed to achieve a much higher level of quality from song to song than bands like Presidents of USA or Barenaked Ladies, at times reaching absolute greatness on songs like "The Distance" or "Short Skirt, Long Jacket".
231 - T.V. On The Radio - The band is well on it's way up the charts the next time I revise this list as their new album is fantastic, but this ranking is based on the success of their previous albums and in particular their achievement on "Wolf Like Me", one of the best songs of this century.
239 - Velvet Revolver - STP lead singer Scott Weiland teamed up with all the members of Guns N Roses who weren't completely insane to create one of the best supergroups of the 21st Century. Granted, they were no Audioslave, but they did put together some of the best rock songs of the decade.
238 - Black Flag - The biggest name in 80's hardcore punk, Black Flag were fronted by Henry Rollins, one of the most intense singers in rock history and created some of the best punk of the decade.
237 - Peter Gabriel - The former lead singer of Genesis went solo and became one of the biggest and most innovative artists of the 80's with hits like "Sledgehammer" and "In Your Eyes".
236 - Joan Jett - The original riot-grrl, Jett left the Runaways and formed the Blackhearts after a brief solo career. The artist is most famous for her hit "Bad Reputation" and the Blackhearts' "I Love Rock N Roll" and "I Hate Myself (For Loving You)".
235 - The 88 - One of the most underground of underground bands, The 88 have released great song after great song while only getting attention on TV shows who seem to love their songs for some unexplained reason.
234 - Bush - From their fake-Nirvana debut album through a decade-long career near the top of the mainstream rock charts with hit after hit. Many of the hits were average at best, but the band frequently achieved a higher level of quality.
233 - Against Me! - The underground political agi-punk band that went mainstream and produced one of the best albums of 2007, Against Me! gave truth to the lie that DIY bands can't get rich without giving up on quality.
232 - Cake - Of the quirky bands that filled the rock void between grunge and the garage revival, Cake managed to achieve a much higher level of quality from song to song than bands like Presidents of USA or Barenaked Ladies, at times reaching absolute greatness on songs like "The Distance" or "Short Skirt, Long Jacket".
231 - T.V. On The Radio - The band is well on it's way up the charts the next time I revise this list as their new album is fantastic, but this ranking is based on the success of their previous albums and in particular their achievement on "Wolf Like Me", one of the best songs of this century.
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