#560 - "All Because Of You Days" - Echo And The Bunnymen - Siberia - The first of two Echo songs on the list, "All Because Of You Days" is the best song on the band's most recent album. It features a great chorus and great guitar work throughout.
#559 - "Pretend We're Dead" - L7 - Bricks Are Heavy - The first and only L7 song on the countdown is also the band's biggest hit and closest thing to a crossover as it has a great beat and a fantastic chorus.
#558 - "Atlantic City" - Bruce Springsteen - The River - The fifth of eleven Springsteen songs in the top 1000, "Atlantic City" highlights Bruce's great storytelling ability as his song paints almost as vivid a picture in less than 10 minutes as Robert Altman's film of the same name did in more than two hours.
#557 - "Live And Let Die" - Paul McCartney - Wings Over America - The second and highest-charting McCartney song on the list, "Live And Let Die" was easily the greatest James Bond theme ever created, featuring one of the great rock riffs of all time and Paul's best solo lyrics by far.
#556 - "Rocket Man (I Think It's Going To Be A Long, Long Time)" - Elton John - Honky Chateau - The fourth of eight Elton John songs on the list, "Rocket Man" is sort of Elton's response to David Bowie's "Space Oddity" as it also tells a science fiction story from a very personal perspective.
#555 - "Strawberry Fields Forever" - The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour - The tenth of twenty-two Beatles songs on the countdown, "Strawberry Fields" was one of the band's first ventures into psychedelic music and with it's backward playback, the song was one of the most innovative and inspiring songs of the 60's.
#554 - "Walk On The Wild Side" - Lou Reed - Walk On The Wild Side - The first and only Lou Reed song in the top 1000, "Walk On The Wild Side" is far and away Reed's best and most popular song as a solo artist with it's clever lyrics and trendsetting beat.
#553 - "Sweet Jane" - The Velvet Underground - Loaded - The sixth of seven Velvet songs on the list, "Sweet Jane" is the Velvet's most popular song with it's radio-friendly chorus and sweeping vocals.
#552 - "Positively 4th Street" - Bob Dylan - Biograph - The sixth of fifteen Dylan songs on the countdown, "4th Street" is Dylan at his most angry and bitter (and that's saying something) as he viciously attacks an ex or his former fans or his enemies or anyone and everyone who has ever pissed him off or betrayed him. This is possibly the greatest "fuck you" song ever written.
#551 - "Whip It" - Devo - Freedom Of Choice - The fourth of five Devo songs on the list, "Whip It" is the band's most popular song (enough to get them labeled as a one-hit wonder rather than a no-hit band) and features one of the quirkiest hooks of the 80's.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Top 1000 Artists #560-#551
560 - Carole King - One of the greatest pop songwriters of all-time, Carole King scored a tremendous hit with her debut album, "Tapestry", which is among the best-reviewed and best-selling albums of all-time.
559 - Steve Earle - The left-wing answer to country music, Steve Earle has made a modest career out of being the voice of protest in a genre that is so far to the right that it can't even walk without falling over and starting a war in Iraq.
558 - Belly - A middle-of-the-road 90's alternative band that had a couple of solid songs and a few hits, but never hit it big.
557 - Cursive - A fantastic underground indie band from Omaha who have several great albums, but no crossover success as of yet.
556 - Little Richard - One of the founding artists of rock n roll, Little Richard opened the door for many of the great artists of the 50's who had more crossover success.
555 - Smash Mouth - A pop-rock group with some indie cred, Smash Mouth created one of the great songs of the 90's with "Walkin' On The Sun" and has continued to have about one hit per year for the better part of a decade.
554 - The Runaways - The 70's punk band that got Joan Jett her start, The Runaways didn't stay together too long, but the managed to make one of the great punk songs of all-time with "Cherry Bomb".
553 - John Cafferty And The Beaver Brown Band - John Cafferty was on the verge of becoming a huge star with his Springsteen-knockoff sound and the hit soundtrack to Eddie And The Cruisers when all of a sudden they just disappeared off the face of the Earth.
552 - Cowboy Mouth - An 80's alternative band that had a huge hit when they managed to improve on the Velvet Underground's "Sweet Jane", the band has had a few less successful albums following their initial success, but they've still maintained a high level of quality.
551 - Janet Jackson - Michael's kid sister has become one of the biggest stars in pop music over the past 25 years. I'm not quite ready to expect her to be in the Hall Of Fame, but it really wouldn't be a surprise.
559 - Steve Earle - The left-wing answer to country music, Steve Earle has made a modest career out of being the voice of protest in a genre that is so far to the right that it can't even walk without falling over and starting a war in Iraq.
558 - Belly - A middle-of-the-road 90's alternative band that had a couple of solid songs and a few hits, but never hit it big.
557 - Cursive - A fantastic underground indie band from Omaha who have several great albums, but no crossover success as of yet.
556 - Little Richard - One of the founding artists of rock n roll, Little Richard opened the door for many of the great artists of the 50's who had more crossover success.
555 - Smash Mouth - A pop-rock group with some indie cred, Smash Mouth created one of the great songs of the 90's with "Walkin' On The Sun" and has continued to have about one hit per year for the better part of a decade.
554 - The Runaways - The 70's punk band that got Joan Jett her start, The Runaways didn't stay together too long, but the managed to make one of the great punk songs of all-time with "Cherry Bomb".
553 - John Cafferty And The Beaver Brown Band - John Cafferty was on the verge of becoming a huge star with his Springsteen-knockoff sound and the hit soundtrack to Eddie And The Cruisers when all of a sudden they just disappeared off the face of the Earth.
552 - Cowboy Mouth - An 80's alternative band that had a huge hit when they managed to improve on the Velvet Underground's "Sweet Jane", the band has had a few less successful albums following their initial success, but they've still maintained a high level of quality.
551 - Janet Jackson - Michael's kid sister has become one of the biggest stars in pop music over the past 25 years. I'm not quite ready to expect her to be in the Hall Of Fame, but it really wouldn't be a surprise.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame Update
New Movies This Week
See It:
Run Fatboy Run - The film stars Simon Pegg of Shaun of the Dead fame, and while it's not from the same team as that movie or Hot Fuzz, but it's still worth a look.
Stop-Loss - An Iraq-themed movie with a great director and a great cast. The film's got decent reviews so far and I intend to see it as soon as I can.
21 - The reviews aren't great, but this looks like it could be a slick and passable film that's worth a couple hours of time.
Skip It:
Superhero Movie - Yet another mindless parody that lowers humor to the lowest common denominator. Is it May yet?
Run Fatboy Run - The film stars Simon Pegg of Shaun of the Dead fame, and while it's not from the same team as that movie or Hot Fuzz, but it's still worth a look.
Stop-Loss - An Iraq-themed movie with a great director and a great cast. The film's got decent reviews so far and I intend to see it as soon as I can.
21 - The reviews aren't great, but this looks like it could be a slick and passable film that's worth a couple hours of time.
Skip It:
Superhero Movie - Yet another mindless parody that lowers humor to the lowest common denominator. Is it May yet?
Modern Rock Update
Albums:
Gnarls Barkley debuted at #18 with their new album "The Odd Couple".
Modern / Mainstream Rock:
#1:
Modern: The Foo Fighters - "Long Road To Ruin"
Mainstream: Puddle Of Mudd - "Psycho"
Debuts:
Modern:
#17 Apocalypta - "I'm Not Jesus"
#19 10 Years - "Beautiful"
#20 Theory Of A Deadman - "So Happy"
Mainstream:
#19 Linkin Park - "Given Up"
Gnarls Barkley debuted at #18 with their new album "The Odd Couple".
Modern / Mainstream Rock:
#1:
Modern: The Foo Fighters - "Long Road To Ruin"
Mainstream: Puddle Of Mudd - "Psycho"
Debuts:
Modern:
#17 Apocalypta - "I'm Not Jesus"
#19 10 Years - "Beautiful"
#20 Theory Of A Deadman - "So Happy"
Mainstream:
#19 Linkin Park - "Given Up"
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Top 1000 Songs #570-#561
#570 - "Wild Night" - Van Morrison - Into The Mystic - The first of two Van Morrison songs on the list, "Wild Night" was one of the few up-tempo songs that the artist ever produced and one of his best written.
#569 - "Orange Crush" - R.E.M. - Green - The sixth of twelve R.E.M. songs on the countdown, "Orange Crush" was one of the band's big breakthrough's prior to "Losing My Religion" and features the focused style that made the band the band to beat in the late 80's and early 90's.
#568 - "Misty Mountain Hop" - Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV - The seventh of twenty-four Zeppelin songs on the list, "Misty" is by far the most Hobbit-heavy Zeppelin song and there have been quite a few and is driven by a piledriver crunch of a guitar lick.
#567 - "Big Me" - The Foo Fighters - Foo Fighters - The third of ten Foo Fighters songs in the top 1000, "Big Me" was the band's first single and a huge departure from expectations from the former Nivana drummer Dave Grohl.
#566 - "Celebrity Skin" - Hole - Celebrity Skin - The second of three Hole songs on the list, "Celebrity Skin" was written with help from Billy Corgan and is far different from the music of the band's first few albums. It's also one of the most biting satirical songs ever written.
#565 - "Start Me Up" - The Rolling Stones - Tattoo You - The fifth of twenty Stones songs on the countdown, "Start Me Up" is possibly the band's last truly great song before they slipped into self-parody. The song features a great guitar riff driving it from start to finish.
#564 - "Hey Jude" - The Beatles - Past Masters - The ninth of twenty-two Beatles songs on the list, "Hey Jude" was one of the last great songs that the band recorded before breaking up and while I've never been a fan of the extended ending to the song, the first half is brilliant.
#563 - "Roadhouse Blues" - The Doors - Morrison Hotel - The sixth of ten Doors songs in the top 1000, "Roadhouse" is the band's best blues song and one of the best drinking songs around.
#562 - "I'll Stick Around" - The Foo Fighters - Foo Fighters - The fourth of ten Foo Fighters songs on the list, "I'll Stick Around" was written by Dave Grohl about Courtney Love... and what an absolute bitch she is. The "I Don't Owe You Anything" breakdown towards the end of the song is an early sign of the "Screamed Verse" future that the band had coming down the road.
#561 - "Betterman" - Pearl Jam - Vitalogy - The ninth of twenty-five Pearl Jam songs on the countdown, "Betterman" is a sad and deeply moving song from the band's third album.
#569 - "Orange Crush" - R.E.M. - Green - The sixth of twelve R.E.M. songs on the countdown, "Orange Crush" was one of the band's big breakthrough's prior to "Losing My Religion" and features the focused style that made the band the band to beat in the late 80's and early 90's.
#568 - "Misty Mountain Hop" - Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV - The seventh of twenty-four Zeppelin songs on the list, "Misty" is by far the most Hobbit-heavy Zeppelin song and there have been quite a few and is driven by a piledriver crunch of a guitar lick.
#567 - "Big Me" - The Foo Fighters - Foo Fighters - The third of ten Foo Fighters songs in the top 1000, "Big Me" was the band's first single and a huge departure from expectations from the former Nivana drummer Dave Grohl.
#566 - "Celebrity Skin" - Hole - Celebrity Skin - The second of three Hole songs on the list, "Celebrity Skin" was written with help from Billy Corgan and is far different from the music of the band's first few albums. It's also one of the most biting satirical songs ever written.
#565 - "Start Me Up" - The Rolling Stones - Tattoo You - The fifth of twenty Stones songs on the countdown, "Start Me Up" is possibly the band's last truly great song before they slipped into self-parody. The song features a great guitar riff driving it from start to finish.
#564 - "Hey Jude" - The Beatles - Past Masters - The ninth of twenty-two Beatles songs on the list, "Hey Jude" was one of the last great songs that the band recorded before breaking up and while I've never been a fan of the extended ending to the song, the first half is brilliant.
#563 - "Roadhouse Blues" - The Doors - Morrison Hotel - The sixth of ten Doors songs in the top 1000, "Roadhouse" is the band's best blues song and one of the best drinking songs around.
#562 - "I'll Stick Around" - The Foo Fighters - Foo Fighters - The fourth of ten Foo Fighters songs on the list, "I'll Stick Around" was written by Dave Grohl about Courtney Love... and what an absolute bitch she is. The "I Don't Owe You Anything" breakdown towards the end of the song is an early sign of the "Screamed Verse" future that the band had coming down the road.
#561 - "Betterman" - Pearl Jam - Vitalogy - The ninth of twenty-five Pearl Jam songs on the countdown, "Betterman" is a sad and deeply moving song from the band's third album.
Top 1000 Bands #570-#561
570 - Babes In Toyland - A forgotten grunge band of the 90's, Babes in Toyland had a great out-of-control sound to their music.
569 - Elf Power - An indie rock band with a couple of solid albums so far, but no breakthrough hits.
568 - The Sun - A solid indie band with a great debut album to their credit.
567 - Mark Lanegan - The former lead singer of The Screaming Trees, Lanegan has released several solo albums and while most are too slow and gloomy for me, some of his songs are outstanding.
566 - Ocean Colour Scene - A Brit-pop band with prog leanings, Ocean Colour Scene has made great atmospheric music for the better part of a decade and a half.
565 - Switchfoot - A Christian rock band that's always one step shy of creating a truly great song, though many of their songs have come close over the years.
564 - Superchunk - A modern rock band that keeps looking for their breakthrough hit, though they have made several solid albums to date.
563 - Soul Coughing - One of the most acclaimed indie bands of the 90's, Soul Coughing had a unique and unusual sound that set them apart from their grunge competition.
562 - Three Doors Down - They aren't shit these days, but Three Doors Down's debut album was one of the best mainstream rock albums of the past few years.
561 - Days Of The New - The Alice In Chains knockoff band that owned an entire year in the late 90's before the lead singer's massive ego tore the band apart after the first taste of success.
569 - Elf Power - An indie rock band with a couple of solid albums so far, but no breakthrough hits.
568 - The Sun - A solid indie band with a great debut album to their credit.
567 - Mark Lanegan - The former lead singer of The Screaming Trees, Lanegan has released several solo albums and while most are too slow and gloomy for me, some of his songs are outstanding.
566 - Ocean Colour Scene - A Brit-pop band with prog leanings, Ocean Colour Scene has made great atmospheric music for the better part of a decade and a half.
565 - Switchfoot - A Christian rock band that's always one step shy of creating a truly great song, though many of their songs have come close over the years.
564 - Superchunk - A modern rock band that keeps looking for their breakthrough hit, though they have made several solid albums to date.
563 - Soul Coughing - One of the most acclaimed indie bands of the 90's, Soul Coughing had a unique and unusual sound that set them apart from their grunge competition.
562 - Three Doors Down - They aren't shit these days, but Three Doors Down's debut album was one of the best mainstream rock albums of the past few years.
561 - Days Of The New - The Alice In Chains knockoff band that owned an entire year in the late 90's before the lead singer's massive ego tore the band apart after the first taste of success.
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