Top 1000 Songs #250-#241

#250 - "Hey Ya" - Outkast - Speakerboxxx / The Love Below - #2/3 - One of the biggest pop songs of the 21st century, "Hey Ya" is a fun song that doesn't condescend to it's audience and remains clever and deep throughout.

#249 - "Got Me Wrong" - Alice In Chains - Sap - #4/8 - AiC never got better at acoustic music than they did on this song from their twin mid-career EPs. The lyrics are among their best and the chorus is outstanding.

#248 - "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" - U2 - The Joshua Tree - #12/16 - U2's biggest hit of the 80's, "Still" is a soaring top-of-the-world pop rock monstrosity of epic bombast and style.

#247 - "White Man In Hammersmith Palais" - The Clash - The Clash - #11/18 - The Clash were a band that loved world music and reggae in particular as evidenced by this brilliant cut from their debut album. The lyrics are full-on satire as the band was known for as the band lampooned the punk movement itself among other issues.

#246 - "Ring Of Fire" - Social Distortion - Social Distortion - #1/1 - Johnny Cash's last great song was a cover of Nine Inch Nail's "Hurt" (we'll get to that one later), but Social D's best song was their rousing punk cover of Johnny Cash's country classic "Ring Of Fire". As far as I'm concerned, this is the best performance this song has ever had, which really says something as the original is on my list as well.

#245 - "God Put A Smile Upon Your Face" - Coldplay - A Rush Of Blood To The Head - #5/6 - Coldplay's take on religion features their best song lyrics and some of their best musical accompaniment.

#244 - "Gigantic" - The Pixies - Surfer Rosa - #6/8 - While Frank Black is the most recognized member of the Pixies, Kim Deal was also something of a co-lead singer and this song was a showcase for her style and voice, a style we'd later see with The Breeders.

#243 - "I Can't Explain" - The Who - Meaty, Beaty, Big & Bouncy - #4/9 - The Who were light years ahead of their time and this song from the mid-60's was a great example as the clever lyrics and fast pace were an early indicator of the punk and new wave sound that would follow in their wake... 13 years later.

#242 - "Run" - Snow Patrol - Final Straw - #3/3 - From the ashes of Brit Pop a sub-genre emerged with bands like Coldplay, Keane and this band, Snow Patrol rising to the top. "Run" is one of the finest examples of this genre with it's moving lyrics and sweeping chorus.

#241 - "I Love Rock N Roll" - Joan Jett And The Blackhearts - I Love Rock N Roll - #3/3 - Back in the days when rock songs could top the pop charts, this cover of an old punk song became one of the biggest hits of the 80's. The song launched the riot-grrl movement that would reach it's peak years later in the early 90's.