Johnny Mercyside

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Saturday, March 19, 2011

Noughtie: My 100 Favourite Songs of the Decade (Part 7)



To view part 1, click here.
To view part 2, click here.
To view part 3, click here.
To view part 4, click here.
To view part 5, click here.
To view part 6, click here.

Here we are, welcome to the Johnny Mercyside Top 40! It’s like the UK Top 40, but better. Of course I’d say that as it’s my biased list! Anyway, let’s get to it.

#40. “New Born” – Muse
Released: 5/6/01
Album: Origin of Symmetry
Listings: Best Riffs
Come on; is there a better song to start off a Top 40 with than this? The song I rated the best riff of the decade starts us off today and why the hell not? I absolutely love this song; I could listen to that riff all day any day (although it probably would get boring after a while). It’s definitely one of Muse’s best tracks, and if people want to listen to why Matt Bellamy was considered the best guitarist of the decade by Total Guitar, then listen to this. By the way, in that CD cover, is that guy giving out a yellow card?

#39. “B.Y.O.B.” – System of a Down
Released: 2/8/05
Album: Mezmerize
If there’s one big SOAD single I like more than Chop Suey! it’s this one. I loved B.Y.O.B., and was so excited for Mezmerize’s imminent release, so much that when this song got announced and got airplay, I really marked out. It’s a fantastic song, a very typical SOAD song, with frenetic guitars and Serj taking control of the verses. The big difference with this song is Daron starting to have more time as a singer, as he does the choruses and the “Blast off!” bit towards the end of the song. It’s a great song, a very strong political song, but even without the politics it sounds great.

#38. “Pin” – Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Released: 22/7/03
Album: Fever to Tell
I love “Pin”, it’s probably my favourite song by the band, it’s just 2 minutes of post-punk bliss. It wasn’t a big hit for the band, probably for this reason, but this was released when the Yeah Yeah Yeahs didn’t seem bothered about their mainstream attention. Karen’s vocals, combined with that buzz guitar just makes a fantastic track, a short one, but it wouldn’t be as good if it was extended any further. It’s just a good, no, a great song.

#37. “Chelsea Dagger” – The Fratellis
Released: 28/8/06
Album: Costello Music
I said in my “Best Albums” listing, I prefer “Here We Stand” to “Costello Music”, if minimally, but one thing that “Costello Music” did right was the singles. As an avid Fratellis fan, I’d be stupid if I didn’t say that if I hadn’t heard “Chelsea Dagger”, I wouldn’t be that big on the band. This song made the band, it was a huge hit, and is still heard even now, in football stadiums, on the radio. It was close to being put in my unbiased listing but it didn’t make the cut. The hook, the “do-do-do, do-do-do, do-do-do-do-do-do-do” is just so catchy. It’s a brilliant song, it’s just a shame that none of their other great songs get the same reception.

#36. “Michael” – Franz Ferdinand
Released: 16/8/04
Album: Franz Ferdinand
While “Take Me Out” will always remain Franz Ferdinand’s golden moment, I always preferred this. It’s my favourite single off their self-titled debut album, and I think it sounds great. The song’s lyrics have a distinct yet subtle feeling of homosexuality to it, and while Alex Kapranos has stated that the song is about two of his friends having a great time, sexually, in a dance club, he has never stated the gender of those two friends. It feels very homosexual, and the video is suggestive in that direction too. It doesn’t matter though, the song still sounds fantastic and it’s very catchy too. It’s one of Franz Ferdinand’s best songs in my opinion.

#35. “Seven Nation Army” – The White Stripes
Released: 7/3/03
Album: Elephant
Listings: Best Riffs, Best Videos
Another song that is probably not going to be beat in terms of popularity by a band. When people think of The White Stripes, they often think of this song. It was their golden moment, although they are still very popular, and definitely features in my unbiased listing. But why do I love this song so much? The same reason everyone does. The riff is so simple yet so catchy, and so memorable. The songs lyrics are great, and of course, the video helps too. I’ve just found out that this is the only song that’s made two different listings in the best riffs and videos. So there you go then!

#34. “Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!” – Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Released: 18/2/08
Album: Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!
Man this song is so cool. It’s probably Nick Cave’s biggest single since “Into My Arms”, which was released 11 years prior. Nick Cave never stopped making music in the 11 years between the tracks, but his popularity in mainstream music definitely waned. But he’s back with a bang, a sister project (Grinderman) and an elevated status of veteran/legend. Anyway, I went on a bit of a tangeant there! This is an awesome song, it sounds great and Nick Cave’s vocals are as smooth and poetic as usual. It’s just the way he does it though, that really cool way, his distinctive swagger really stands out in this track. It’s a piece of brilliance.

#33. “Psychosis Safari” – The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster
Released: 8/7/03
Album: Hörse of the Dög
Listings: Best Videos
“Hörse of the Dög” was full of two minute raw, punky gothabilly Halloween treats. Their second album, “The Royal Society”, was a more mainstream, pure, crisp album, with added maturity and more care into the product. However, “Psychosis Safari”, probably TEMBLD’s finest single format song, mixes the raw intensity, the punk/goth hybrid sound from the first album, with that of a song that could hit cracks into a mainstream audience, break new ground and ultimately get them some attention. That’s exactly what this song did, but they rarely capitalised on it. That doesn’t mean it’s not a good song though, it’s a phenomenal track, I absolutely adore it and love listening to it. TEMBLD at their best.

#32. “Fire” – Kasabian
Released: 1/6/09
Album: West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum
Kasabian’s biggest song to date (it got to #3) is also the song I choose as my favourite by the band. It was definitely one of the best songs of 2009, a year I found to be quite abysmal in truth. But “Fire” stood out very well in the pack. With the very distinctive Leicester vocals starting the track off, it turns into a song that merges indie with an ambient dance chorus. The chorus just sounds great and it’s definitely one of Kasabian’s best songs.

#31. “Low” – Foo Fighters
Released: 23/6/03
Album: One by One
Listings: Best Videos
This is the Foo Fighters only entry into the Top 100 (although The Pretender did come close), but this song is just so good. I put it down as the best video of the decade, but even if the video sucked, the song still stands high as a great quality track, one that is underrated. The Foo’s don’t play this often live, and if it wasn’t for the video it wouldn’t be remembered as a single much. It’s a real shame because it sounds fantastic. I love Taylor’s drums in this track, and the guitars are great too. I’ve never understood why this song wasn’t more popular, it doesn’t help that it was the third single mind.

That’s it for today, another 10 songs gone, 30 more remain. I hope you find some songs in this list that you have never heard before and think sound good, not all of these songs are popular and mainstream, so if I can get you into any bands that makes me a happy guy. Let me know if it becomes the case. Take care and see you tomorrow.

To view part 8, click here.
To view part 9, click here.
To view part 10, click here.

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