The Mercyside 100: 2016 Edition

The Mercyside 100: 2016 Edition

Happy New Year people. For the last four years I've been calculating all my play counts on my personal media player, to see what songs I listen to the most. And then at the start of the next year I reveal what the 100 most listened to songs were that year. Last year I revealed The Mercyside 100 2015, the year before I did The Mercyside 100 2014 and of course the year before I did The Mercyside 100 2013 which was the first one. Click on those if you're interested in what I played most on those years.

This year I did The Mercyside 100 2016. Like last year the reason why I'm not doing this in radio show format is because there's a lot of entries in this list by a certain band called Slaves. Slaves are by far my favourite band at the moment and unfortunately, Mixcloud won't allow you to play more than three songs by one artist in the same show. And that means it's difficult, because, well, they appear a lot. Even more than last year even. Which is crazy!

I was going to make this into a playlist on YouTube but I can't do that either, because certain songs are not on YouTube which is frustrating.

So, in reverse order, here are is The Mercyside 100 2016! These are 100 songs I played more than anything else last year.

 

So, what was the most played song of the year for me? Here it is...

#1: Beauty Quest - Slaves ("Sugar Coated Bitter Truth", 2012)

 

So there we go! I hope you find some interesting entries in here, and if so, check them out on Youtube if you can, most of the songs are easily available on there. And if you don't like the band Slaves then this list clearly isn't for you! If there's something on this list you've not heard before and you end up really liking, let me know, comment below! I'd be happy to have gotten you into a song or an artist you've not heard before!

"Yellow text"
If you don't listen to The Mercy Side, my radio shows which you can find on Mixcloud, then you may not know that I reveal every month what was my "Song of the Month". Basically, those tracks where played more than any other track, on a particular month of 2016. Here's the list in order, with Youtube links attached:

January 2016: Live Like an Animal - Slaves
February 2016: Well Everybody's Fucking in a UFO - Rob Zombie
March 2016: Control (feat. Slaves) - Chase and Status
April 2016: The Sound of Silence - Disturbed
May 2016: OK - Slaves
June 2016: Leave it All Behind - Cult to Follow
July 2016: Miss Alissa - Eagles of Death Metal
August 2016: Spit it Out - Slaves
September 2016: People That You Meet - Slaves
October 2016: War Time - King 810
November 2016: Dig - Mudvayne
December 2016: NSFW - Psychostick

"Beauty Quest", my most played song of 2016 has never been Song of the Month. It's the first time a song has gotten to #1 without being Song of the Month since 2013, when "Rock and Roll (in a Black Hole) by Rob Zombie did it.

Multiple Artist Entries

Here's a list of artists with more than one entry in The Mercyside 100 2016:

24 Entries - Slaves
14 Entries - King 810
5 Entries - Saul Williams
4 Entries - The Fratellis, Nine Inch Nails
2 Entries - Arctic Monkeys, Eagles of Death Metal, Fear Factory, Foo Fighters, Leo Moracchioli

Multiple Album Entries

Here's a list of albums with more than one entry in The Mercyside 100 2015:

10 Entries - "Are You Satisfied?" by Slaves
8 Entries - "Memoirs of a Murderer" by King 810; "Take Control" by Slaves
5 Entries - "La Petite Mort or a Conversation With God" by King 810
4 Entries - "MartyrLoserKing" by Saul Williams
3 Entries - "Sugar Coated Bitter Truth" by Slaves
2 Entries - "AM" by Arctic Monkeys; "Costello Music" by The Fratellis

Here's some charts showing you how often songs appeared by the year, or decade...

Also, if you're interested, 53 songs on this list were not singles, which means that 47 of them were!

79% of songs on this list were from the last 6 years, down 1% from last year's statistic of 80% of songs being from the last 5 years.

Again I need to give a proper shoutout to King 810. Both King 810 and Slaves have been bands I haven't stopped listening to over the past two years. Both bands got played a heck of a lot in 2015, but both bands practically doubled their tallies this year. One reason is because they're brilliant bands but the second reason in fairness is because they've both released a new album last year. Both albums are very good. Clearly the message I'm giving you is listen to Slaves and listen to King 810, dammit!!

Well that's it from me at the moment, I'll be back at some point I'm sure with another website project! All the best and thanks for reading!

For the latest updates on my work, follow me on Facebook and Twitter here!

My Top 100 Favourite Songs 2010-14 Edition: #12

#12 “Dance" by Saul Williams

Released: 5/5/11

Album: Volcanic Sunlight

Saul Williams is an artist I mention a lot on this website and personally because for me, there are fewer underrated artists around than him. He truly does transcend “genre”, because while he’s a poetic hip hop artist by trade, he mixes in so many genres like rock, electronic, industrial metal, African tribal music and even soul music from the seventies. This album, “Volcanic Sunlight” is a fantastic example of that (I’ve reviewed it actually for this website, you can read that here). And “Dance” for me, even if it is a single, is a huge highlight on the album. The video is gorgeous too. It’s strange actually because it doesn’t sound like anything else he has done before or since, it’s mainly an electronic hip hop track but I can’t even compare it to bands or artists in that genre. It’s truly a song you’ll have to hear, it’s so damn cool. And if you do listen to it and like it, please listen to his other shit, he’s a heck of an artist, a king of underground slam jam poetry hip-hop that mixes so much other styles of music into his art. And lyrically, he’s as good if not better than anyone else out there at the moment.

Here's the video if you want to hear it!

If you missed #13 go here.

For the latest updates on my work, including all my latest radio shows, follow me on Facebook and Twitter here!

My Top 100 Favourite Songs 2010-14 Edition: #96

#96. “Explain My Heart" – Saul Williams

Released: 28/1/11

Album: Volcanic Sunlight

This website is around 6 years old now. I've been writing for over a decade. I've been listening to Saul Williams for pretty much all that time. I'm finally going to be seeing him live, all being well, next month. And yet very few people still have heard of him. I have little impact on the music world unfortunately because if there's one artist I could try and convince people to try and give a chance, it's Saul Williams.

"Explain My Heart" isn't my favourite song by him, or my favourite single in this time frame we're covering. A fantastic song, with a great music video; "Explain My Heart" goes through the mental process of trying to understand one's ability to love and feel. Saul Williams has covered many genres in his career, from rap to rock, to industrial metal to hip-hop, to electronic music and African tribal music. This time round he mixes traditional African drum beats with his more modern hip hop musings. Please check it out.

Here's the music video if you want to hear it!

If you missed #97 go here.

For the latest updates on my work, including all my latest radio shows, follow me on Facebook and Twitter here!

My Top 100 Favourite Music Videos: #90

#90: "Dance" - Saul Williams
Release Date: 2011
Director: Cedric Blaisbois
Fun Fact: The song uses a sample from a song called "Disco 82", which was in a Bollywood film called Khud-Daar.

I've spoken about Saul Williams quite a few times on this website and have played some of his songs on my DJ shows but I find it a true shame that he's still relatively unheard of. He's one of my all time favourite artists and is definitely my favourite hip hop artist, just because what he brings to the table is so unique and ahead of the game (alternative hip hop is on the rise, but the style that's starting to come out, Saul Williams has been doing for at least fourteen years).

Anyways, the video itself is just a spectacle. It's not really groundbreaking or anything but I just love it. I just love seeing Saul Williams this way. He's a very serious man and he just looks like he's having one heck of a good time in this video. It's nice to see. Not to mention the man's makeup is gorgeous - and I'm straight! It's just a great video to watch visually, and definitely worth your time if you've not seen it before.

Here's the video for your enjoyment!

 

Click here to see #89 on the list or here for #91!

The Mercyside 100: #85 to #71

Welcome to Part 2 of 7. Today I reveal from #85 to #71 in what was the most played songs in 2013 on my personal media player.

Don't forget you can hear this list of songs as part of a DJ show here:

The Mercyside 100: #85 - #71 (15/1/14) by Johnny Mercyside on Mixcloud

Let's get straight to it, he's part two of the Mercyside 100, from #85 to #71!

#85: Children of the Grave

Artist: Black Sabbath

Album: Master of Reality

Released: 1971

#84: Holy Diver

Artist: Killswitch Engage

Album: As Daylight Dies

Released: 2006

#83: Drivel

Artist: The Union Underground

Album: An Education in Rebellion

Released: 2000

#82: The Ritual

Artist: Saul Williams

Album: The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust!

Released: 2007

#81: Tarantula

Artist: Pendulum (feat. Fresh)

Album: Hold Your Colour

Released: 2005

#80: Dracula

Artist: Basement Jaxx

Album: None

Released: 2011

#79: Baby Got Back

Artist: Sir Mix-a-Lot

Album: Mack Daddy

Released: 1992

#78: Sax Man

Artist: The Lonely Island (with Jack Black)

Album: Incredibad

Released: 2009

#77: Bom Bom

Artist: Sam and the Womp

Album: None

Released: 2012

#76: Korea

Artist: PSY

Album: None

Released: 2012

#75: Pussy Liquor

Artist: Rob Zombie

Album: The House of 1000 Corpses Soundtrack

Released: 2003

#74: Pull Me Under

Artist: Dream Theater

Album: Images and Words

Released: 1992

#73: Vicarious

Artist: Tool

Album: 10,000 Days

Released: 2006

#72: I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For

Artist: Disturbed

Album: Asylum

Released: 2010

#71: House of the Rising Sun

Artist: The Animals

Album: The Animals

Released: 1964

...next week I'll be posting #70 to #66 so keep checking the site or directly at Mixcloud!

The Mercyside 100: #85 to #71: 15/1/14
Track listing:
Children of the Grave - Black Sabbath
Holy Diver - Killswitch Engage
Drivel - The Union Underground
The Ritual - Saul Williams
Tarantula - Pendulum (feat. Fresh)
Dracula - Basement Jaxx
Baby Got Back - Sir Mix-a-Lot
Sax Man - The Lonely Island (with Jack Black)
Bom Bom - Sam and the Womp
Korea - PSY
Pussy Liquor - Rob Zombie
Pull Me Under - Dream Theater
Vicarious - Tool
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - Disturbed
The House of the Rising Sun - The Animals
Total running time: 01:18:23

See other parts of this listing!

#100 to #86 | #85 to #71 | #70 to #56 | #55 to #41 | #40 to #26 | #25 to #11 | #10 to #1

Other entries you might want to read:
My Top 50 Favourite Video Game Villains - Listing
The Rock and Metal Double Feature Show Christmas Special (20/12/13) - DJ Show
Mercy Licks - March 2013 - Listing

For the latest updates on my work, follow me on Facebook and Twitter here!

Q&A with Johnny Mercyside: Part 5

Hey there, I've got no time to cover the football today unfortunately, and I'm away next week, so there's no Live Thoughts for two weeks. But I do have enough time today to quickly post the new Q&A, part 5, for your reading enjoyment if you want to get to know me a little more. These come from my Formspring account, which you can find here. These were answered a while ago, and I've changed the answers if the situation has changed since then. Enjoy.

Q: Exactly how ginger are you?

A: I am ginger by beard only, no where else. It's annoying that people call me ginger, because it is the only place I have ginger hair.

Q: Would you rather be a famous musician or a famous actor?

A: A famous musician, it was always something I wanted to do but never had any talent with.

Q: What do you wear in bed?

A: I usually wear some boxers and a pair of socks. I don't like having cold feet.

Q: Milk, white or dark chocolate?

A: I like all three, however milk is the best by some distance.

Q: Who's your favorite musician?

A: Trent Reznor, the guy is ridiculously talented. A second would probably Josh Homme, he also, is ridiculously talented.

Q: If you could instantly become fluent in another language, which language would you pick?

A: Spanish, it would be very useful to learn Spanish. It's quite a nice sounding language as well.

Q: When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A: You see, I never really knew what to be when I grew up, I always said an astronaut but I never really cared to be one really.

Q: Sneakers or sandals?

A: Trainers, or sneakers as the question says.

Q: Who's the most underrated musician?

A: Saul Williams, a great hip hop industrial political musician. Very serious, but very good.

Q: What household chore do you hate to do the most?

A: I hate them all, but probably the basic picking up crap off the floor, cleaning sides stuff.

Q: What one thing are you exceptionally bad at?

A: Getting out of bed.

Q: What's the best place near you to get a pizza?

A: I'm not as high on local pizzas as Pizza Hut or Dominos, and I'm a Pizza Hut guy, so I'd go with that.

Q: What's one food you'll never eat again?

A: Parsnips, ergh, they make me gag.

Q: If you could be invited to one person's birthday party, whose would it be?

A: Dave Grohl, I bet he has good birthday parties.

Q: If you could instantly become an expert at one style of dance, what style would you pick?

A: Breakdancing, I'm not huge on rap but I have respect for breakdancers.

Q: If you could attend any concert, what would it be?

A: Well number 1 on my list at the moment is The Queens of the Stone Age, who are great live from what I've seen and heard.

Q: Have you ever dreamt something that's stuck with you?

A: Good question, I've once mentioned about the dream I had as a boy that I woke up in, went to school and did normal things. It's a nothing dream really, but when I woke up as a little boy it was weird, I thought I was still dreaming. And to this day I contemplate if my life is a dream, and if I will wake up anytime being that little boy again. Very weird and possibly stupid, but that dream will stick with me until I, wake up.

Q: If you could change one thing about the world today what would it be and why?

A: Change, I'd probably go with the media, they influence so much, and make the world be percieved in such an incorrect way it's unbelievable. They also get involved in so much that doesn't concern them, or the public.

Q: Name one thing you couldn't live without.

A: It's difficult because I see things realistically, so I can't really say. I'd say my daughter, but losing her would make my life incredibally miserable, but I could still live.

Q: If you could date any celebrity, who would it be?

A: Zooey Deschanel, she seems like such a lovely lady, and she is so cute as well.

And that's it from me again today. I'll hopefully be back on Monday or Tuesday and either talk about the pending wrestling of Monday or to review "Alpocalypse" by Weird Al Yankovic. Just in case you missed it earlier you can follow me and ask me questions on my Formspring here. Have a good day.

For the latest updates on my work, 'like' me on Facebook here!

Music Album Review: Volcanic Sunlight by Saul Williams

New to Saul Williams? Get this album, it’s just a great album to pick up, play, and enjoy.

Saul Williams, while not new to the music scene by any stretch of the imagination, is still a bit of an enigma in the music world. He hasn’t, and still doesn’t, really fit into any hole when it comes to bracketing him in a genre. Yes he raps, but he also has industrial metal influences in his music. He also mixes punk, techno, dance, world music (particularly African tribal) and now, pop. Yes, “Volcanic Sunlight”, Williams’ fourth official album effort, is in large a pop album. But don’t let that move you away from this review, or this artist

The album starts with “Look to the Sun” which is a very interesting beginning as it begins with Saul Williams speaking poetry, similar to his other albums. But… he only really does it one more time in this album (on the track “Innocence”). That fact on its own tells you he’s changed things around here. One of Saul’s main strengths, his poetry, has taken a step back this time. The track itself however is decent, and gets you into the mood for the rest of the album.

One of the outstanding tracks on the album is “Give it Up”, and is a great example of this new direction Saul Williams as gone into. This isn’t industrial techno punk. This is soul music. “Give it Up” is like a modern day James Brown or Marvin Gaye. It’s a proper 1970’s soul/funk effort and it sounds grand.

Going back a few tracks on the album is track three, “Explain My Heart”, and this is definitely one of the strongest tracks on the album. It mixes that fantastic African music influence we spoke of earlier, and mixing it with a decent hip hop beat. Saul’s vocals are emphatic here, his howling of the lyrics “Explain My Heart” in the second verse are just great and the “Ba-ba-bee, ba-ba-baa” chant while that tribal music gets stronger and stronger is a very strong message musically. The music video is worth a look as well, but back onto the album review.

While “Explain My Heart” was revealed first, it’s an argument that “Dance” is the staple feature of the album. I use that term because to my knowledge, neither “Dance” nor “Explain My Heart” are singles. “Dance” is taking a completely different direction to “Explain My Heart”, “Explain My Heart” is very serious and has a completely pure bite to it. “Dance” is very happy, very cheery and makes you want to jig, to dance if you will. The music video for “Dance” takes this approach too. “Dance” sounds fantastic, mixing some electronic guitars and synthesisers to great effect while Saul Williams sings in a luring appealing manner for the ladies, a way that is arguably a first time for him in his career thus far, as the guy is usually very serious about his music. “Dance” changes all that round, the tone, the music and the appeal. It’s definitely more commercial… although I’ll get back to this point in a bit.

My personal favourite track is definitely “Girls on Saturn”, which is just this excellent pop/hip-hop track that is frustratingly catchy, in a style not too dissimilar to Cee Lo Green/Gnarls Barkley it just sounds so great. Some people don’t like labelling Saul Williams as rap as he doesn’t often rap, but rhymes. But in this track he most certainly raps and raps well. It’s just such a fantastic toe-tapper and is arguably the most commercial Saul Williams has gone so far.

So that’s twice I’ve used that word now. Commercial. And that’s the thing. Saul Williams hasn’t been commercial in his approach to his music, until this album. Don’t misunderstand me; some people attach the word ‘commercial’ to an artist that is selling out, that is going against their roots. Saul isn’t doing that in this album, he’s just trying something different. Is he trying to be more commercial or has it happened naturally? I can’t answer that question, all I know is that this is most approachable work yet. Put it this way, Saul Williams barely advertised this album, which is a shame as I reckon it would have done better than his previous work if he did because of this new approach.

The curtain call question simply is, has Saul Williams progressed with this album? After all, there’s an argument to be made that Saul Williams has always taken a step forward with his music career after every major release. My answer to this is no. Saul Williams hasn’t taken a step forward, but more a step sideways. He most certainly hasn’t taken a step backwards. “Volcanic Sunlight” is a new direction for Saul Williams, a more open, approachable direction, and one that new listeners should most certainly start with. If someone was to ask me to recommend them a Saul Williams album to start with, chances are I’d go with this now. It’s just so easy to pick this album up, play it, and just simply enjoy it. It’s a very entertaining album. No it’s not his best work, but it’s just a joy to think of Saul Williams actually enjoy recording music. He probably always has enjoyed recording music but some of his other albums are just daunting at times, they’re so dark, so heavy, you feel sometimes he uses music as escapism, not enjoyment. This is not that at all. This album has so much love, so much cheer, it’s a nice fresh approach. But I just can’t call it a step forward. But it should hopefully open new listeners to his music, while maintaining his current audience. Will fans of old like it? I reckon most of them will, although like me, prefer other albums.

“Volcanic Sunlight” is a fresh direction to Saul Williams, one I encourage if the poet/rapper wants to gain a larger audience.

Rating: ****1/4 stars

Stand out tracks: “Girls on Saturn”, “Dance”, “Give It Up”

Here's the music video for "Dance":

Mixtape: Best Collaborations in Music

Hey there, welcome to my new Mixtape. The Noughtie series aside, this is the first Mixtape I’ve done for this site. This is a Mixtape of my favourite collaborations in music. By collaboration, the definition I’ve used is a group and a singer, or two singers, who don’t work together on a regular basis, in the same song. There’s has to be at least two voices, for instance, as great as Mark Ronson’s version of “Just” is, he doesn’t sing so it’s not even in contention. Not familiar with my Mixtapes? Here are the rules of the Mixtape.

A Mixtape is a playlist of a certain genre, band or era. The list is generally 80 minutes long, the same length of a blank CD, with further recommendations if some of the songs aren't to your taste. Remember kids, downloading is wrong!

So with that out of the way, here are my favourite music collaborations!

1. I Just Had Sex - The Lonely Island and Akon
2. Stan – Eminem and Dido
3. SexyBack - Justin Timberlake and Timbaland
4. Walk This Way – Aerosmith and Run-DMC
5. Forgot About Dre - Dr. Dre and Eminem
6. Throw it on Me – Timbaland and The Hives
7. Another Way to Die - Jack White and Alicia Keys
8. Living Doll - Cliff Richard and The Young Ones
9. Under Pressure – Queen and David Bowie
10. Meds – Placebo and Alison Mosshart
11. This Mess We're In - PJ Harvey and Thom Yorke
12. Nightclubbing - David Bowie and Iggy Pop
13. Hands of Death - Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper
14. Break You Down – Godhead and Marilyn Manson
15. Points of Authority/99 Problems/One Step Closer - Linkin Park and Jay-Z
16. Act III Scene 2 (Shakespeare) - Saul Williams and Zach de la Rocha
17. Get It Up - Mindless Self Indulgence and Chantal Claret
18. I'm Afraid of Americans (V1) - David Bowie and Trent Reznor
19. Beelzeboss (The Final Showdown) - Tenacious D and Dave Grohl

Want some alternatives? Here’s five more:

1. The Omen - DMX and Marilyn Manson
2. Gold Digger - Kanye West and Jamie Foxx
3. Where the Wild Roses Grow - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Kylie Minogue
4. The Ballad of Queen Bee and Baby Duck - The Eagles of Death Metal and Brody Dalle
5. Jackson - Johnny Cash and June Carter

Well I hope you like this list. I’ve covered rap, rock and metal here, which is good. There will be songs you like, and songs you don’t. I think in a list as diverse as this, everyone’s going to have a different personal list. If you’ve heard and liked stuff by some of these artists but have not heard these particular collaborations, check them out, they’re all good songs, well I think so anyway!

Do you have any suggestions for Mixtapes? I don't like doing artist Mixtapes to often, so a certain era, genre or distinctive element (like this collaborations one) is what I prefer. Any suggestions are welcome in the comments section below. Until next time, take care.

Bitesize: #4

Hey everyone,

This is my first Bitesize post since December. I basically just run down a few things that are on my mind about anything. It's just a merge of interests into one.

First I'd like to talk about the Liverpool vs Sunderland match that was on today. In our first match in the Premier League we drew 1-1, with Suarez getting our goal. He missed a penalty earlier in what was a god awful miss. He redeemed himself though. Our first half performance was excellent, you wouldn't have thought that four of the eleven players on the pitch were making their official debut. We passed the ball around nicely and Charlie Adam was definitely the catalyst in the middle which makes me happy. But the second half performance left a lot to be desired and we conceded a goal which should have been avoided. Don't get me wrong it was an excellent goal that they scored, but we probably could have done something about it before it got to their player. We're going against Arsenal next week and we really could have done with a win here. Getting three points next week is going to be a harder task, and to think about us drawing or losing against the Gunners is horrible considering it would mean a pretty bad start to the campaign. Let's remain optimistic though.

In wrestling news Summerslam is on Sunday and I can't wait to watch it on Monday. John Cena vs CM Punk is obviously the main event and rightfully so. But let's not take anything away from Randy Orton and Christian, who have definitely had the feud of the year so far. I've talked a lot about Cena and Punk, here and here to be exact. Christian and Randy Orton have been having stellar ****+ star matches for months now and this match, which could possibly end the entire feud, could be the pick of the bunch. The No Holds Barred element makes it a fresh encounter and as a fan I desperately want to see Christian retain. Edge could be involved in the match, who knows. Summerslam is a PPV I'm really looking forward to, although it's unlikely as a 3 hour production, to match last month's Money in the Bank PPV. It should be good nevertheless.

In video games, the game I'm looking to getting next is the full HD port of Resident Evil 4 on the XBox 360. I've played it on the PS2 and the Wii already, yet now that I have a full HD TV, I really look forward to playing that game on it, it's easily one of the best games ever made and to see the graphics polished up and to get achievements on it is worth the pennies I'll put towards it. Who knows, I might review it? I haven't reviewed a Resi game ever before. I've been thinking of doing a Resi 5 review but it's never been done for one reason or another. In article news, I'm preparing a Resident Evil article, it should be up in the next week or so. I'm not going to reveal anything else on it yet though. Stay tuned.

In music, I have an abundance of music albums that I want to review. The first being Radiohead's King of Limbs, but I also have albums by the Foo Fighters, Saul Williams and Jon Fratelli that I'd like to put my thoughts to soon. Writing album reviews is always the hardest thing for me personally. I always struggle to write how I feel about the sound of music. I can easily tell the difference between a good and a bad album in my head, but getting it down in text isn't always an easy thing. But these pieces should be done at some point or another, with the Radiohead album review up first, once again, in the next week or so.

I haven't felt too good recently, I've been ill with some coldy fluey thing. Again. In the middle of summer it really sucks. But writing isn't too much of a problem, as long as I keep the keyboard clean naturally. It's just contagious, as I know a few people have had this before me. Hey ho.

Well that's my bitesize post done.  I'll be back in a few days with either the Resident Evil article, or the Radiohead one. Who knows what will come first, I've got them both pretty much finished, I just need to touch them up a bit before releasing them into the wild. What? You're all savage wolves! Don't deny it! Anyway, until next time, take care.