#370 - "U-Mass" - The Pixies - Trompe Le Monde - #2/8 - The last great Pixies single, "U-Mass" is a riff-driven song with fantastic lyrics and the best loud-quiet dynamic the band that invented it ever put together.
#369 - "Pretty Noose" - Soundgarden - Down on The Upside - #3/11 - One of many great songs off of Soundgarden's best album, "Pretty Noose" is among the best grunge or metal songs of the 90's and features great lyrics.
#368 - "It Ain't Me Babe" - Bob Dylan - Another Side Of Bob Dylan - #7/15 - One of the first and best break-up songs of Dylan's career where he tears a woman's heart out every time the song hits it's chorus.
#367 - "Under My Thumb" - The Rolling Stones - Aftermath - #8/20 - A remarkably chaveunist song for the 1960's, "Under My Thumb" is a bitter rant about a man who breaks his woman's spirit. Very romantic stuff.
#366 - "Jerry Was A Race Car Driver" - Primus - Sailing The Seas Of Cheese - #1/1 - Primus' most popular and best song, "Jerry" features the best bass line of the mid 90's and a great build to a pummeling climax.
#365 - "My Hero" - The Foo Fighters - The Colour And The Shape - #8/10 - Unlike previous entry "Immortality", "My Hero" is actually about Cobain. Dave Grohl's tribute to his fallen bandmate is also the band's most radio-friendly song and features one of their best choruses.
#364 - "More Human Than Human" - White Zombie - Astro-Creep 2000 - #1/2 - White Zombie's biggest hit, though not quite their best song, "More Human" is a crunchy heavy metal nightmare that's among the greatest metal songs of the 90's.
#363 - "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)" - Bruce Springsteen - The Wild, The Innocent And The E-Street Shuffle - #7/11 - Springsteen's first great rock n roll epic, "Rosalita" is an "American Pie" level classic with multiple parts pushed together rock opera style to create one of the artist's most exciting and interesting songs.
#362 - "Mysterious Ways" - U2 - Achtung Baby - #7/16 - Riding high on the world-consuming success of The Joshua Tree and Rattle And Hum, "Mysterious Ways" announced the band's move into the alternative rock scene right as R.E.M. and Nirvana were starting to put the spotlight on the genre (talk about great timing). The song is a definite change in direction, though the band would later go to far in their pursuit of new songs, but that was long after this brilliant cut from yet another great album.
#361 - "I Won't Back Down" - Tom Petty - Full Moon Fever - #11/17 - Petty's iconic ballad about taking a stand for what you believe in is one of the iconic songs of the late 80's and features the best vocal performance of his career.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Top 1000 Artists #370-#361
370 - The Gin Blossoms - For about two year's time The Gin Blossoms were the biggest band in alternative rock, producing hit after hit in what seemed like an unstoppable march to the top of music. Then they disappeared... off the face of the earth. And they've never come back. They should have known better than to play that show for the Anasazi Indians.
369 - George Michael - George remains one of the biggest pop stars all over the world, but in the 80's he was one of the biggest entertainers in the United States with his hugely successful Faith album pushing hit after hit to the top of the charts.
368 - Monster Magnet - Monster Magnet is perhaps the most unique and original metal band to come around during the 90's, as they used elements of glam rock to pump up their straight-forward metal sound on hits like "Powertrippin''.
367 - Radio 4 - An indie dance rock band that made their biggest splash in the early 21st century during the garage rock revival that gave us The White Stripes and The Hives. Their music isn't quite as good as those new legends, but they're on the right track.
366 - The Happy Mondays - A Brit pop band that had a great deal of success in the early 90's with disco-infused dance rock hits that went on to inspire a large number of bands a few years down the road.
365 - Public Image Ltd. - After the Sex Pistols broke up Johnny Rotten formed PIL and managed to stay relevant as punk transitioned into New Wave.
364 - The Notorious B.I.G. - One of the greatest rappers of all-time, Biggie cranked out a few legendary albums before he was murdered. Fortunately, he had the sense to not continue releasing albums after his death, a lesson Tupac Shakur has yet to learn.
363 - Temple Of The Dog - The supergroup that didn't realize they were a supergroup, Temple Of The Dog featured both Chris Cornell and Eddie Vedder as well as other future members of Pearl Jam. The band only released one album in honor of a fallen grunge hero, but they still managed to produce two of grunge's greatest songs "Hunger Strike" and "Say Hello 2 Heaven".
362 - The Postal Service - Ben Hibbard of Death Cab For Cutie uses this band essentially as his A Perfect Circle and while the band isn't quite as successful as Death Cab they still managed to have a great deal of success in the indie electronic genre.
361 - Bauhaus - The most successful and popular goth rock band of the post-punk era in the early 80's, Bauhaus created a series of dark and gloomy masterpieces, highlighted by their epic signature song "Bela Lugosi's Dead".
369 - George Michael - George remains one of the biggest pop stars all over the world, but in the 80's he was one of the biggest entertainers in the United States with his hugely successful Faith album pushing hit after hit to the top of the charts.
368 - Monster Magnet - Monster Magnet is perhaps the most unique and original metal band to come around during the 90's, as they used elements of glam rock to pump up their straight-forward metal sound on hits like "Powertrippin''.
367 - Radio 4 - An indie dance rock band that made their biggest splash in the early 21st century during the garage rock revival that gave us The White Stripes and The Hives. Their music isn't quite as good as those new legends, but they're on the right track.
366 - The Happy Mondays - A Brit pop band that had a great deal of success in the early 90's with disco-infused dance rock hits that went on to inspire a large number of bands a few years down the road.
365 - Public Image Ltd. - After the Sex Pistols broke up Johnny Rotten formed PIL and managed to stay relevant as punk transitioned into New Wave.
364 - The Notorious B.I.G. - One of the greatest rappers of all-time, Biggie cranked out a few legendary albums before he was murdered. Fortunately, he had the sense to not continue releasing albums after his death, a lesson Tupac Shakur has yet to learn.
363 - Temple Of The Dog - The supergroup that didn't realize they were a supergroup, Temple Of The Dog featured both Chris Cornell and Eddie Vedder as well as other future members of Pearl Jam. The band only released one album in honor of a fallen grunge hero, but they still managed to produce two of grunge's greatest songs "Hunger Strike" and "Say Hello 2 Heaven".
362 - The Postal Service - Ben Hibbard of Death Cab For Cutie uses this band essentially as his A Perfect Circle and while the band isn't quite as successful as Death Cab they still managed to have a great deal of success in the indie electronic genre.
361 - Bauhaus - The most successful and popular goth rock band of the post-punk era in the early 80's, Bauhaus created a series of dark and gloomy masterpieces, highlighted by their epic signature song "Bela Lugosi's Dead".
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Top 1000 Songs #380-#371
#380 - "Medication" - Queens Of The Stone Age - Lullabies To Paralyze - #11/16 - The leanest and meanest song on Queens' best album, "Medication" has an intense guitar riff and a storming beat throughout.
#379 - "Life During Wartime" - The Talking Heads - Fear Of Music - #5/10 - Among the band's many hits, "Life During Wartime" is possibly the bleakest dance song of all-time, as it's searing lyrics carve their way through the Reagan era of phony prosperity.
#378 - "Folsom Prison Blues" - Johnny Cash - Back To Black - #4/6 - The song that made country cool and made Johnny Cash the biggest star in the genre, "Folsom Prison Blues" invented an entirely new style of music and helped to inspire a multitude of attitude-driven styles in the future.
#377 - "Love Will Tear Us Apart" - Joy Division - Substance - #2/2 - By far the biggest hit that Joy Division ever had, "Love Will Tear Us Apart" is the iconic post-punk song that along with Bauhaus' "Bela Lugosi's Dead" helped to launch a thousand goth rock bands in the early 80's.
#376 - "Son Of A Preacher Man" - Dusty Springfield - Greatest Hits - #1/1 - One of the greatest songs ever written, "Son Of A" features some of my all-time favorite verses and a fantastic chorus.
#375 - "Know Your Enemy" - Rage Against The Machine - Rage Against The Machine - #5/12 - Featuring a guest vocal from future superstar Maynard James Keenan, "Know Your Enemy" was one of many outstanding tracks from Rage's debut album, one of the greatest debut albums ever made.
#374 - "Master Of Puppets" - Metallica - Master Of Puppets - #2/5 - Though the song sounds like two songs squished together, "Master Of Puppets" is actually one of the greatest metal songs ever written during the last great peak of metal as a genre in the early to mid 80's.
#373 - "Counting Bodies Like Sheep To The Rhythm Of The War Drums" - #2/3 - A Perfect Circle - Emotive - The legendary Nine Inch nails collaborator Danny Lohner remixed a previously obscure album from APC's first album into this crunchy heavy metal monstrosity
which ranks among the most frightening songs ever recorded.
#372 - "Better Living Through Chemistry" - Queens Of The Stone Age - Rated R - #12/16 - One of the first great QOTSA songs, "Better Living" is highlighted by a driving beat and great lyrics.
#371 - "The Dark Of The Matinee" - Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand - #4/6 - Another great chorus highlights yet another career highlight for the finest artists in all of indie dance rock.
#379 - "Life During Wartime" - The Talking Heads - Fear Of Music - #5/10 - Among the band's many hits, "Life During Wartime" is possibly the bleakest dance song of all-time, as it's searing lyrics carve their way through the Reagan era of phony prosperity.
#378 - "Folsom Prison Blues" - Johnny Cash - Back To Black - #4/6 - The song that made country cool and made Johnny Cash the biggest star in the genre, "Folsom Prison Blues" invented an entirely new style of music and helped to inspire a multitude of attitude-driven styles in the future.
#377 - "Love Will Tear Us Apart" - Joy Division - Substance - #2/2 - By far the biggest hit that Joy Division ever had, "Love Will Tear Us Apart" is the iconic post-punk song that along with Bauhaus' "Bela Lugosi's Dead" helped to launch a thousand goth rock bands in the early 80's.
#376 - "Son Of A Preacher Man" - Dusty Springfield - Greatest Hits - #1/1 - One of the greatest songs ever written, "Son Of A" features some of my all-time favorite verses and a fantastic chorus.
#375 - "Know Your Enemy" - Rage Against The Machine - Rage Against The Machine - #5/12 - Featuring a guest vocal from future superstar Maynard James Keenan, "Know Your Enemy" was one of many outstanding tracks from Rage's debut album, one of the greatest debut albums ever made.
#374 - "Master Of Puppets" - Metallica - Master Of Puppets - #2/5 - Though the song sounds like two songs squished together, "Master Of Puppets" is actually one of the greatest metal songs ever written during the last great peak of metal as a genre in the early to mid 80's.
#373 - "Counting Bodies Like Sheep To The Rhythm Of The War Drums" - #2/3 - A Perfect Circle - Emotive - The legendary Nine Inch nails collaborator Danny Lohner remixed a previously obscure album from APC's first album into this crunchy heavy metal monstrosity
which ranks among the most frightening songs ever recorded.
#372 - "Better Living Through Chemistry" - Queens Of The Stone Age - Rated R - #12/16 - One of the first great QOTSA songs, "Better Living" is highlighted by a driving beat and great lyrics.
#371 - "The Dark Of The Matinee" - Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand - #4/6 - Another great chorus highlights yet another career highlight for the finest artists in all of indie dance rock.
Top 1000 Bands #380-#371
380 - Woody Guthrie - One of the legends who gave birth to rock n roll, Woody Guthrie perfected the art of folk music, turning his songs into weapons against those who would seek to gain from the human misery of the depression.
379 - The Wallflowers - Jakob Dylan had a hell of a burden when he debuted with his band in the mid-90's: living down his father's legacy. He never really did, but his band did manage to create a series of fantastic rock songs in the Springsteen-Petty tradition before disappearing about five years in.
378 - The Temptations - The Motown legends who light the world on fire with a series of fantastic hits, though the beginning of the rock revolution did a lot to damage their long term prospects.
377 - Kasabian - An indie dance rock band that's achieved a fantastic amount of success in their native England, but not much stateside.
376 - Pink - One of the few pop singers who actually has some credibility to her music, Pink continues to surprise me with her savvy moves and smart lyrics.
375 - The English Beat - One of the best New Wave bands, The English Beat had a handful of hits on the alternative charts, though their unheard music adds a lot to their legacy.
374 - Moby - At one point in the late 90's and early 20th century, Moby was the hottest thing going in music as he used a series of great samples to temporarily make techno relevant as a musical genre. A few years later he was obscure again.
373 - The Ronettes - The best of the girl groups from the 1960's, The Ronettes had a string of amazing hits making them the biggest stars of R&B outside of Motown at the time.
372 - Joe Jackson - A New Wave underdog if there ever was one, Joe Jackson is largely unknown by the masses, but he has the most impressive track records for a New Wave solo artist outside of Elvis Costello.
371 - Sugar - The common knowledge about Husker Du is that they didn't make hooky pop rock music and that's why they didn't have any success. Well... Sugar features fantastic hooks through and through and they still weren't successful in a commercial way, which brings me to my theory on why Husker Du didn't sell a lot of records: People are idiots.
379 - The Wallflowers - Jakob Dylan had a hell of a burden when he debuted with his band in the mid-90's: living down his father's legacy. He never really did, but his band did manage to create a series of fantastic rock songs in the Springsteen-Petty tradition before disappearing about five years in.
378 - The Temptations - The Motown legends who light the world on fire with a series of fantastic hits, though the beginning of the rock revolution did a lot to damage their long term prospects.
377 - Kasabian - An indie dance rock band that's achieved a fantastic amount of success in their native England, but not much stateside.
376 - Pink - One of the few pop singers who actually has some credibility to her music, Pink continues to surprise me with her savvy moves and smart lyrics.
375 - The English Beat - One of the best New Wave bands, The English Beat had a handful of hits on the alternative charts, though their unheard music adds a lot to their legacy.
374 - Moby - At one point in the late 90's and early 20th century, Moby was the hottest thing going in music as he used a series of great samples to temporarily make techno relevant as a musical genre. A few years later he was obscure again.
373 - The Ronettes - The best of the girl groups from the 1960's, The Ronettes had a string of amazing hits making them the biggest stars of R&B outside of Motown at the time.
372 - Joe Jackson - A New Wave underdog if there ever was one, Joe Jackson is largely unknown by the masses, but he has the most impressive track records for a New Wave solo artist outside of Elvis Costello.
371 - Sugar - The common knowledge about Husker Du is that they didn't make hooky pop rock music and that's why they didn't have any success. Well... Sugar features fantastic hooks through and through and they still weren't successful in a commercial way, which brings me to my theory on why Husker Du didn't sell a lot of records: People are idiots.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Top 1000 Songs #390-#381
#390 - "Burning Down The House" - The Talking Heads - Speaking In Tongues - #4/10 - The most popular Talking Heads song (it was featured prominently in "Revenge Of The Nerds"), "Burning" is a bouncy new wave song with great lyrics and an outstanding chorus that propels the song from start to finish.
#389 - "Superman's Dead" - Our Lady Peace - Clumsy - #2/2 - Our Lady Peace's most popular and best song, "Superman's Dead" is a sharply-written modern rock classic the pulses throughout and has a great chorus.
#388 - "Riders On The Storm" - The Doors - L.A. Woman - #7/10 - One of the last great songs the band released before Jim Morrison's death, "Riders On The Storm" stands near the pinnacle of the classic rock genre with it's dark verses and musical accompaniment.
#387 - "Jeremy" - Pearl Jam - Ten - #16/25 - Pearl Jam's most widely-regarded song (though not their biggest hit), "Jeremy" is best known for it's bleak lyrics and pitch-black and haunting video. The song also features a great guitar solo.
#386 - "Enter Sandman" - Metallica - Metallica (The Black Album) - #1/5 - Metallica's best-known song represents the peak of the band's popularity and also the point when the band began to realize they didn't have to try so hard to be successful, leading to future albums of diminishing quality.
#385 - "Truckin'" - The Grateful Dead - American Beauty - #2/3 - The best Dead song of the 70's, "Truckin'" features the band's best lyrics and a great travelogue type story from the band's mid-career tours. This is also the song that provided one of rock's most famous lyrics: "What a long, strange trip it's been".
#384 - "The One I Love" - R.E.M. - Document - #9/12 - "The One I Love" is not a love song. In fact, it's quite the opposite. What it is, however, is the song that broke R.E.M. through to the mainstream, signaling a turning point in a grim period of time for rock n roll, the 1980's.
#383 - "Houses Of The Holy" - Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti - #13/24 - Yet another new style for Zeppelin in this mid-career hit, as the band starts to mess around with heavier sounds again, but doesn't quite commit the way that they do on the remainder of their masterpiece Physical Graffiti.
#382 - "Middle Of The Road" - The Pretenders - Learning To Crawl - #5/5 - The best song the Pretenders have to offer, "Middle Of The Road" features the band's best lyrics and was the closest thing the band ever came to a straight-up punk song.
#381 - "Whatever Happened To My Rock N Roll (Punk Song)" - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - #3/3 - One of the best rock bands that almost no one has ever heard of, BRMC are the best advocates of shoegaze-infused rock n roll since The Jesus And Mary Chain and this is their best song to date.
#389 - "Superman's Dead" - Our Lady Peace - Clumsy - #2/2 - Our Lady Peace's most popular and best song, "Superman's Dead" is a sharply-written modern rock classic the pulses throughout and has a great chorus.
#388 - "Riders On The Storm" - The Doors - L.A. Woman - #7/10 - One of the last great songs the band released before Jim Morrison's death, "Riders On The Storm" stands near the pinnacle of the classic rock genre with it's dark verses and musical accompaniment.
#387 - "Jeremy" - Pearl Jam - Ten - #16/25 - Pearl Jam's most widely-regarded song (though not their biggest hit), "Jeremy" is best known for it's bleak lyrics and pitch-black and haunting video. The song also features a great guitar solo.
#386 - "Enter Sandman" - Metallica - Metallica (The Black Album) - #1/5 - Metallica's best-known song represents the peak of the band's popularity and also the point when the band began to realize they didn't have to try so hard to be successful, leading to future albums of diminishing quality.
#385 - "Truckin'" - The Grateful Dead - American Beauty - #2/3 - The best Dead song of the 70's, "Truckin'" features the band's best lyrics and a great travelogue type story from the band's mid-career tours. This is also the song that provided one of rock's most famous lyrics: "What a long, strange trip it's been".
#384 - "The One I Love" - R.E.M. - Document - #9/12 - "The One I Love" is not a love song. In fact, it's quite the opposite. What it is, however, is the song that broke R.E.M. through to the mainstream, signaling a turning point in a grim period of time for rock n roll, the 1980's.
#383 - "Houses Of The Holy" - Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti - #13/24 - Yet another new style for Zeppelin in this mid-career hit, as the band starts to mess around with heavier sounds again, but doesn't quite commit the way that they do on the remainder of their masterpiece Physical Graffiti.
#382 - "Middle Of The Road" - The Pretenders - Learning To Crawl - #5/5 - The best song the Pretenders have to offer, "Middle Of The Road" features the band's best lyrics and was the closest thing the band ever came to a straight-up punk song.
#381 - "Whatever Happened To My Rock N Roll (Punk Song)" - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - #3/3 - One of the best rock bands that almost no one has ever heard of, BRMC are the best advocates of shoegaze-infused rock n roll since The Jesus And Mary Chain and this is their best song to date.
Top 1000 Bands #390-#381
390 - Lars Frederiksen And The Bastards - One of many successful Rancid side projects, The Bastards infused politics and anger into Rancid's poppy punk style to create a solid throwback sound to glory days of punk.
389 - Elastica - One of the best British indie rock bands around, Elastica enjoyed a great deal of success during their run in the mid 90's.
388 - Sweet - A strange mix of glam and metal produced a string of classic rock hits for the band Sweet, including "Fox On The Run" and the all-time cover favorite "Ballroom Blitz".
387 - Stephen Lynch - A comedian singer-songwriter with a couple albums full of great song parodies and originals.
386 - K.T. Tunstall - A modern day singer-songwriter who most expected to be a one-hit wonder after the runaway success of her first single "Black Horse And A Cherry Tree", Tunstall has instead crafted a series of hits spread out among her highly successful first two albums.
385 - Bob Mould - The lead singer of Husker Du and Sugar has enjoyed a long and successful career as a solo artist. No crossover hits as of yet, but solid albums abound.
384 - Lenny Kravitz - His career has fallen on hard times as of late, but in the mid to late 90's, Kravitz churned out hit after hit while borrowing heavily from Jimi Hendrix and other 60's artists.
383 - Ministry - One of the best metal bands of the 90's, Ministry got their start as a goth rock sort of new wave band in the 80's. Fortunately, they improved dramatically on that strange false start and created some of the best metal of their generation.
382 - King's X - A hard rock juggernaut that hasn't nearly achieved the success that they deserve, King's X has combined various styles of rock dating all the way back to the blues to create a series of great albums over the years.
381 - Fall Out Boy - One of the most popular pop bands around at the moment, Fall Out Boy doesn't make particularly great songs but like similar bands Sugar Ray or Maroon 5, they craft their songs around fantastic pop hooks.
389 - Elastica - One of the best British indie rock bands around, Elastica enjoyed a great deal of success during their run in the mid 90's.
388 - Sweet - A strange mix of glam and metal produced a string of classic rock hits for the band Sweet, including "Fox On The Run" and the all-time cover favorite "Ballroom Blitz".
387 - Stephen Lynch - A comedian singer-songwriter with a couple albums full of great song parodies and originals.
386 - K.T. Tunstall - A modern day singer-songwriter who most expected to be a one-hit wonder after the runaway success of her first single "Black Horse And A Cherry Tree", Tunstall has instead crafted a series of hits spread out among her highly successful first two albums.
385 - Bob Mould - The lead singer of Husker Du and Sugar has enjoyed a long and successful career as a solo artist. No crossover hits as of yet, but solid albums abound.
384 - Lenny Kravitz - His career has fallen on hard times as of late, but in the mid to late 90's, Kravitz churned out hit after hit while borrowing heavily from Jimi Hendrix and other 60's artists.
383 - Ministry - One of the best metal bands of the 90's, Ministry got their start as a goth rock sort of new wave band in the 80's. Fortunately, they improved dramatically on that strange false start and created some of the best metal of their generation.
382 - King's X - A hard rock juggernaut that hasn't nearly achieved the success that they deserve, King's X has combined various styles of rock dating all the way back to the blues to create a series of great albums over the years.
381 - Fall Out Boy - One of the most popular pop bands around at the moment, Fall Out Boy doesn't make particularly great songs but like similar bands Sugar Ray or Maroon 5, they craft their songs around fantastic pop hooks.
Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame Update
Inducted into my Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame in June 2008:
The Deftones
White Zombie
Motorhead
Lou Reed
Blue Oyster Cult
Pages will be updated soon.
The Deftones
White Zombie
Motorhead
Lou Reed
Blue Oyster Cult
Pages will be updated soon.
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