Top 1000 Songs #780-#771

#780 - "The Letter" - Joe Cocker - Greatest Hits - The first of three Joe Cocker songs on the countdown (all covers), "The Letter" is a 50's song that Cocker livened up early in his career.

#779 - "Phantom Limb" - The Shins - Wincing The Night Away - The second of three Shins songs on the list, "Phantom Limb" was the first song released on the band's follow-up album after Garden State made them one of the top bands in indie rock. Fortunately for them, the song and the album it's on are both outstanding, so they didn't fall victim to the expectations gauntlet that crushes so many young bands.

#778 - "Chelsea Dagger" - The Fratellis - Costello Music - The second single from their debut album (and the second and final song on the countdown), is an improvement on "Flathead" and one of the most up-tempo songs of the 21st Century.

#777 - "In Like The Rose" - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Take Them On On Your Own - The first of three BRMC songs on the countdown, "Rose" features the band at their Mary Chain shoegazer best, with grinding verses and an intense chorus.

#776 - "Darts Of Pleasure" - Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand - The second of six Franz Ferdinand songs in the top 1000, "Darts" is a lesser-known track from their debut album and features one of their best hooks, which is saying a lot for this band.

#775 - "The Rat" - The Walkmen - Bows And Arrows - The first and only Walkmen song on the list, "The Rat" is one of the best songs from the garage rock revival of the early 21st century. It's got all the garage rock basics going for it: great lyrics, simple beat and rapid tempo.

#774 - "6th Avenue Heartache" - The Wallflowers - Bringing Down The Horse - The only Wallflowers song on the list, "Heartache" is Jakob Dylan at his Springsteen-esque best. The band seemed ready to take over the charts in 1996, but after a great debut album, they sort of disappeared.

#773 - "Time Is Running Out" - Muse - Absolution - The third of five Muse songs on the countdown, "Time" was the band's breakthrough it as they went from great band no one had heard of to great band that people who listen to good music have heard of but no one else has.

#772 - "Driftwood" - Travis - The Man Who - The only Travis song on the top 1000, "Driftwood" was the best ballad of the second wave of Brit-pop that hit in the late 90's.

#771 - "Because The Night" - 10,000 Maniacs - Campfire Songs - The only song by 10,000 Maniacs on the list is unique as a song that didn't do much for the original artist (Springsteen), but essentially made the careers of two artists that have covered it (Maniacs and Patti Smith). There was a time in the early 90's when it looked like the Maniacs would be the next REM. That time passed quickly, but it did still happen.