Hi there, first and foremost, I'm not dead. I haven't updated this site in seven months and in those seven months I've moved house, twice, got a job permanently and, quite frankly, put freelance journalism on the back burner. I'm not saying I won't be doing any more articles or listings ever again, not at all. I'm just mentally in a different place than where I was when I put this site together three years ago. But I've been mainly updating this site sparsely because I felt I had to, but it's just not the case. I'll have a passion for writing again in a few months or years, for sure, but not at the moment. Which brings me to where I am at, at the moment. For the past year I've bee umming and ahhing over the idea of trying to give radio DJing a shot. Now, I'm a very tentative person when it comes to trying new things and work at a very slow pace. I wanted to wet my feet in the water, so to speak, before announcing anything. I've worked on only my fourth ever show on Thursday and publically announced this on my Facebook and Twitter pages. I did a requests show in which people could request songs for me to play, and messed about a bit. My microphone is terrible at present and I'm still learning the ropes, but the reception of the show has been mixed to positive so far. Thanks for the support. Any feedback and constructive criticism is welcome. So, any DJing projects I do now, I'll be promoting on this website, and if you want to listen to the show, email me, or contact me on Facebook or Twitter and I'll tell you how you can listen to it. Please though, bear with me though, I'm not going to turn into some DJing wizard genius overnight. I'm learning how to do things and putting up with a shit microphone, I also know that I blow on the microphone at times but I'm working on it, so don't give me any shit about that okay?! Cool. So, if you've come here for any new articles, I'm really sorry to disappoint. You're more than welcome to look around and see any of my previous work over the last 10 years but at the moment, I'm moving in a different direction. If you're interested, please support me. I appreciate it. Until next time, take care. The Selection Show: 21/11/13 Track listing: Jermaine Stewart - We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off D-Train - You're the One For Me (Paul Hardcastle '85 Mix) Ellie Goulding - How Long Will I Love You Chris Isaak - Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing Foo Fighters - The Pretender Nine Inch Nails - Closer Tom Jones and the Stereophonics - Mama Told Me Not to Come Arcade Fire - Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains) Queen - Bicycle Race Aerosmith - Back in the Saddle Spinal Tap - Christmas with the Devil Total show running time: 00:53:23 On info on how to listen, email me! Other entries you might want to read:
It may lack the backbone from their previous work, but "Build a Rocket Boys!" is one of the happiest albums that's ever graced my ears.
Elbow's fifth album, "Build a Rocket Boys!" was released back in March and is the follow up to the magnificent album, "The Seldom Seen Kid", which was released three years ago. Elbow have been making music for over twenty years although they didn't release their first album until 2001. They remained relatively low key throughout their career, until "One Day Like This" blew up and became one of the most played songs throughout 2008 and 2009. This is their first major album release since that track became a monster hit. "Build a Rocket Boys!, like its predecessor, was nominated for a Mercury Music Award, although unlike "The Seldom Seen Kid", it didn't win the actual award.
As I said earlier, Elbow finally got a lot of recognition with their earlier effort. "The Seldom Seen Kid" was definitely their breakthrough album, and "One Day Like This" was a very important moment for the band, as they finally conquered the UK. Elbow have always been perceived as a very talented band, that represent a combination of bumbling Britain. However there was no more bumbling for the band after the success of their fourth major effort. They found it difficult lyrically to write about the things they had been writing before, due to a lot of their material being about a lack of success emotionally and financially at times. But at this point, they were finally successful; they got the recognition they received. So the band decided to change their lyrical approach for this album by drawing inspiration from their past and reflecting about how far they have come.
The album starts of with "The Birds", an eight minute prelude, which sets the tone nicely for the rest of the album. "The Birds" is a gentle song, which gives you the feeling of being carried nicely on a little journey. The song does build up as it goes on, but it feels welcoming, and makes you feel very warm on the inside. The album continues down this very soft route with "Lippy Kids", a song about the horrible perception Britain has on our youth, and how we're paranoid over these kids being dangerous when they're possibly scared themselves. Some critics have highlighted this as a major track in the album, although personally I think there's better. This was the third single released off this album by the way.
One of those 'better' songs is the frustratingly catchy "With Love", which for me is a highlight of the album. Why frustratingly? Because this song is very reminiscent of church music; there's a full choir (the Halle Youth Choir) clapping and singing the chorus. I'm not anti-religion as such, but sometimes the idea of these beliefs frustrate me. But its a personal thing, and as I said, it's a very catch track, and the church inspirations aside, the song is great. It really stands out as a soft upbeat song that celebrates love in the finest way.
Next on the album is the highlight single of the album, "Neat Little Rows". Just to warn you, there is no "Grounds to Divorce"-esque track on this album, and this song continues on the soft gentle journey Elbow want to take us on. "Neat Little Rows" is definitely the most guitar driven track on the album, however it's not hard in any way, shape, or form. It has some edge to it in comparison to the other songs on the album, and is definitely the most approachable song for those who like indie and rock music.
One of my personal favourite tracks on this album is the great "The Night Will Always Win", which for the most part is a slow piano rhythm while lead singer Guy Garvey soothingly sings over it. It's a song that calls out to a missed but distant loved one, one that has long been attached to the past, never to be relevant to the future. It's quite harrowing but charming at the same time, with Garvey howling "I miss your stupid face" at two separate occasions in the track. I just really like this song and it's arguably the simplest in construction on the album. Not all songs have to be designed with complexity; a simple piano chord can do wonders at times. Another great track is the one that follows "The Night Will Always Win", a song called "High Ideals", which is another of the more upbeat tracks on the album.
"Open Arms" was the second single off the album and is a highlight in the latter stages of the album, with its football anthem-esque chorus, it definitely feels like a song to sing aloud, and is probably great to listen to live. The album's conclusion, "Dear Friends" defintiely feels like a goodbye song, in a way that makes you feel like you don't want to go, and you want the journey to continue. It wraps up the album nicely with an open letter of fondness.
It seems like it's just me when I say that I was disappointed overall with this album. Don't get me wrong it's good, but I just feel that it's lacking any strength in its sound. I mean I am a fan of Elbow and I know exactly what genre of music they are and what their fans expect from them, but personally, I just feel that such a mellow album needs a certain 'oomph' to it at times. "The Seldom Seen Kid" was a masterpiece, it was one of the best indie/alternative albums of the decade, if not the best. From start to finish it was brilliant, each song was easily detachable from eachother, yet glued together was one of the finest pieces of music the genre has seen. There was some great crackers on that album, my personal favourite being "The Fix"; and songs like that and "An Audience With the Pope" had a certain 'oomph' factor about them. This album for the most part lacks that; it lacks edge, it lacks a backbone. That backbone missing makes the album feel like a breeze pushing a leaf gently, rather than a sudden strong gush that is actually capable of taking the leaves off the tree. All softer indie/alternative bands have certain entries in their albums that show this edge; Radiohead do it, Coldplay do it, Arcade Fire do it. But in this album, Elbow barely show that side of themselves.
"Build a Rocket Boys!" is a good effort by Elbow, but in my eyes they haven't progressed much further than they did with "The Seldom Seen Kid". I don't know if they overexceeded themselves with that effort, or if it's just me being a little pedantic. It's probably the latter. But I think most Elbow fans can agree with me that this isn't their best work, but that it's still a solid effort. If you're new to Elbow my recommendation wouldn't be to start with this album, but an earlier release. There are two very good things I can say about this album; the first is that it's one of the happiest and most affectionate albums to grace my ears. Elbow seem to be in a great place in their career right now and you can feel their happiness and 'everything is rosy' thoughts in this album clearly. It makes a nice change to hearing all the negative lyrical work you hear more now than ever in music. To wrap up, the other good thing is that "Build a Rocket Boys!" is definitely an album to put on if you want to just sit back and relax to soothing alternative/piano rock. It's perfect for someone in that mindset, that's for sure.
Rating: ***3/4 stars
Stand out tracks: "The Night Will Always Win", "Neat Little Rows", "With Love"
Here's the video for the first single, "Neat Little Rows":
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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. To view part 7, click here. To view part 8, click here. To view part 9, click here. To view part 10, click here. To view the winner, click here.
Hey everyone, I've finally posted the entire of the Noughtie series. The whole thing is nearly six months long, some would argue it's been too long, and in a way I definitely agree, but regardless, it's been a heck of a ride and I've enjoyed it. But some people still weren't sure where I was coming from with some of my suggestions. Some found them baffling. I want to draw a line behind both the Most Important Artists list and most importantly, the Most Important Songs list. At the end of this article is a list of 50 songs that in the end didn't make the 100. I'm revealing them as alternatives, but also to show you other songs that you could argue are also important. But let's hit some of this criticism head on.
The most frequent criticism I've had for my listing is for the word 'important'. It was difficult what word to choose to describe what I was trying to pinpoint in my listings, both important artists and songs. For the artists list, I was looking for the artists that have had an incredible amount of success throughout the decade, in the singles department and the albums department. Sales did have a say as well. It was primarily success in this country, but America also plays its part and worldwide success. In the end Nickelback was my choice for #1, a band I personally really REALLY dislike but you'd be an idiot if you were ignorant to their success and popularity. I pissed off a lot of people with that decision, mainly because I found out there's a lot of people who dislike Nickelback as much as I do. They haven't gone away, they haven't dipped in popularity, they had huge hits in the US and the UK, they have sold a ridiculous amount of albums.
Consistently throughout the decade, Nickelback made hit after hit after hit. Their albums were always well received. Their songs were always on the radio, or on music television. As far as I'm concerned, frustratingly, they are the most prominent band of the decade.
My intention was to balance all the criterias that define what is a good or successful artist, this include success, hits, memorable songs, albums, critics and fans, all of it. That's what makes it important. And that's what I felt I achieved.
I want to talk about some artists that didn't make the important artist listing. Someone mentioned it being quite a disgrace that I never put The Strokes down in the important artist listing. I can see why they would think The Strokes deserve a mention, I mean they definitely have the critics love them. But how popular are they commercially? Also throughout the decade? I can't say they performed much in the second half of the decade. Chart success is important, if you like it or not. And it played a part in my listing. Another band that follows a similar vein is The Streets, although they did get a #1 hit (which featured in my 100 Important Songs). Same applies to The Libertines, and Arcade Fire. Arcade Fire, and another band that do this is Fleet Foxes, they sell albums, but they don't do well with singles. This is a broad search in terms of consistency in the decade, album sales, single sales, critical and commercial success, and their songs standing out as being memorable in the decade. Arcade Fire and Fleet Foxes are what I call album bands, they produce critically praised albums, they have a cult fan base. They don't have mainstream popularity, unfortunately Nickleback do.
There's a band that I've not drawn much attention to in this entire series that I need to address. That band is Radiohead. Now Radiohead is a difficult one for me, because while you can argue that Radiohead are an 'album band' not too dissimilar to Arcade Fire, they do sell music well. They're a band who have broke through the critic favourites yet uncommercially successful barrier, and have done so for some time. They are also a band that released material throughout the decade. But... how many of the songs released in this decade really stand out? I mean personally, one of my favourite songs by them is "2+2=5", but when did you last hear it? I can't say any Radiohead single released in this decade gets much airplay anymore, if any. "Just" gets played much more, so does "Paranoid Android" "Street Spirit" and "Just". The songs from this decade just don't stand out much, in terms of prominence unfortunately.
Some people say that Radiohead deserve immediate entry because they were the first major band to release their album for free on the internet, and this was a major event in music history, so therefore that makes the band important. It's a good point no doubt, but the Important Artists listing wasn't about a history lesson, it was about consistency throughout the decade, a mixture of consistent success in the album and singles chart as well as the impact they had. And... on the grand scale of things, Radiohead as a band didn't make much of an impact. Their decision to release their 'In Rainbows' album for free is most certainly an important moment, and it was extremely innovative, but that doesn't take away that Radiohead didn't really stand out much in this decade.
Another criticism I've had in both listings was Green Day's part. Some felt that I made Green Day seem like their success was more significant in this decade than in the last. It's a valid opinion. "Dookie" was a huge hit in the early nineties, it's no doubt. The singles off that album are still played today. But I just feel "American Idiot" had a bigger impact in all faces of music, and also, as much as it sucks, pop culture. The 'emo' fad is horrible and can't be ignored. I'm sorry I have to say it, but Green Day played their part in that. Their 'modern punk' was just that on Dookie, 'modern punk'. But this new 'emo' genre that was surfacing around this time, was all new. And that's why I think ten, twenty years down the line, "American Idiot", the song and the album, will be forever seen as the band's biggest work. I didn't say finest, I said biggest. It'll go down as their important album.
Now was I wrong to use the word 'important'? The more I think about it, the more I might be wrong to have used it. What I define before you might not be important, some say it should be just successful. But if I were to make a listing of the most successful songs and bands, then I can just pull out a load of facts and stats to do with commercial success. So that's why I refrained from using that word, and I still think it's the wrong word. I sometimes think using 'impactful' might be a better word. These bands and artists are what I believe will create a legacy for this decade that has passed. Bands like Arcade Fire won't be remembered in ten, twenty, thirty years time, neither will Sigur Ros. Unless they have a freak surprise hit, in which they will then get the fame they arguably deserve, they will fade away. One of my favourite bands from the eighties is Bauhaus. You barely hear their music now. Yet they are arguably responsible for goth rock and metal of today. But you hear of The Smiths, The Cure and Metallica don't you? I hope this makes sense a little. Is 'impactful' the right word?
Moving on to the Important Songs listing, the idea behind the 100 songs is that it is an unbiased list of songs that were popular, successful, well received and have longevity going into this decade. It's not a list of my favourite songs and there are many songs in this list that I don't like. This listing is about many things, which tally up to the important 100 songs of the decade, in my opinion. The listing is about its impact on the decade, the awards it may or may not have won, its chart success predominantly in Britain but also in America, and other countries too. But most importantly, this is a list about what songs will be played from the last decade, in the decades of the future.
It sucks to say it, some people hate the fact that popularity of a song comes into this listing, but sales are important, it’s a form of measuring stick of success. It’s not the be or end of, but if your song was successful, chances are it will be remembered for years to come.
I set a single cap of three singles per artist, so that a lot of artists would get a chance for a song on the list. I also tried to cover all ten years of the decade, instead of concentrating on the early part of the decade. Take for example, "All the Small Things" by Blink-182, is pretty much a rock classic now. You'll hear this song played many years down the line as one of the biggest and best songs from this decade. I'd put money on it. But that song is currently eleven years old. Yet higher up in the listing was "You've Got the Love" by Florence and the Machine. Am I saying that as of right now, "All the Small Things" is a less important song than "You've Got the Love"? Not necessarily. But I needed to cover all ten years, and in an unbiased fashion. The former song as I said is eleven years old, the latter is only two. There's nine years of airplay between the tracks. So keep that in mind if you look at the listing again. Tomorrow I'm going to run down a load of stats, you'll see that there's a fair bit of balance between the ten years of music, I mean some years have more songs than others, but one thing is for certain is that all ten years have been considered to some degree.
Another thing to think about. Think of what songs are always played from the eighties. Those new wave tracks? Those post punk tracks? Those electronica songs? And what of the nineties? Brit-pop? Boybands? Girlbands? Dance music? This is what this listing is about. What songs people will associate with this decade, for good or for bad, is what this listing is about. I'm predicting what songs will be played for many years from now. What songs will be played on the radio when people reminisce about the decade gone past? What songs will be available on a CD, or a more advanced music playing device, as the "Best of the Naughties"? That's what this listing is about.
Trying to put them into an order that respected all ten years of the decade AND on vibes that I feel from critics and music fans, from rock and metal (with alternative rap and dance) was a difficult task. I hope you all respect that if you look through the list again.
I'd also like to mention about the appearances and accolades of each song. I chose the order of the listing before I checked out the appearances and accolades, so I think it's only fair to explain that they didn't affect my charting, they were there to emphasise why each song is important, in different ways. It was also to bulk out each entry.
Some songs people felt should have been higher. One was "Last Nite" by The Stokes, or just Strokes songs in general. In fairness I think The Strokes deserve more praise than I gave them in the singles listing, especially "Last Nite". If I were to redo the list some time, it's something I'm open to doing in the future, I think I'd put some more emphasis on this band and that song.
Another song was "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley. Someone said that this song should be very high, if not #1, based on the fact that it was downloads alone that got the song to #1 in the UK charts, a first for this country. While that was a very important landmark in the decade historically, I feel there are other songs that will be played more, remembered more, and thought of more in the decades to come. But I do, once again, feel it should merit a higher place on the listing.
An artist that didn't get one song in the Top 100 was Eminem. Now there's a few reasons for that. The first was that I felt that all the big hits from Eminem's career were released in years where I felt there were big rock and metal songs also released. I prioritised rock, indie and metal over rap and dance, as these are popular genres with alternative fans. Eminem had many big hits in his career, and tomorrow when I release the "50 runner ups", you'll see what songs marginally mised out of the Top 100. You might find this to be a lame excuse, but at the time it made sense. Once again looking back on it, Eminem deserves at least one placement in this decade listing.
To emphasise, the only thing I'm trying to refrain from is dance, pop and RnB, unless it has an alternative audience (eg Eminem, The Prodigy). I'm predominantly sticking to indie, rock, punk, and metal and any subgenre around these genres.
One song that got under people's skins was "All Summer Long" by Kid Rock, which got to #15 in my list. I don't like "All Summer Long". It's a shit song. "All Summer Long" got to #1 in 6 different countries. How many other songs on this listing to to #1 in 6 different countries? Not many.
Sorry this post is in note form but there are was a lot of criticism for a lot of different things to do with these aspects of my work. And while I don't mind criticism (as long as it's constructive) I want to try and get people to understand where I'm coming from. I don't want to just concentrate on the critisicm, I've had a lot of praise for my efforts on this project and also some of the decisions I've made on route. It's not all bad, in fact it's mainly been good, the site is still quite new and this project has brought a lot of attention to my work so I'm happy about that. I just want to you all to understand this project, if you understand and still disagree then that's fine by me. The least I can do is explain where I'm coming from.
So there you go. I hope you understand the logic behind some of the decisions I made. There are songs on this list that you don't like. There are songs on this list I despise. But they were successful, they are thought of well by other people. Don't be ignorant to other people's feelings. Respect that some people like Nickelback, or other artists that are debated to be crap.
To finalise, here are the 50 'rejects' that didn't make the Top 100. Keep in mind these songs also work with the three song cap (for instance, Coldplay had three songs in the Top 100 so I didn't have any more songs by them in the listing). They're in order of what year they were released.
Girl All the Bad Guys Want - Bowling
for Soup
The Real Slim Shady - Eminem
One Step Closer - Linkin
Park
Original Prankster - The
Offspring
One More Time - Daft
Punk
Purple Hills - D12
Beautiful Day - U2
With Arms Wide Open - Creed
It's My Life - Bon
Jovi
Hate to Say I Told You So - The
Hives
Weapon of Choice - Fatboy
Slim
Buck Rodgers - Feeder
Burn Baby Burn - Ash
Toxicity - System
of a Down
Somewhere Only We Know - Keane
No One Knows - The Queens
of the Stone Age
Sk8er Boi - Avril
Lavigne
Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous - Good Charlotte
Too Bad - Nickleback
The Hindu Times - Oasis
Without Me - Eminem
Can't Stop - Red
Hot Chili Peppers
Faint - Linkin Park
Jerk it Out - Ceasars
Stacy's Mom - Fountains
of Wayne
mOBSCENE - Marilyn
Manson
Underdog - Kasabian
Do You Want To - Franz
Ferdinand
Vertigo - U2
I'm Not Jesus - Apocalyptica
The Importance of Being Idle - Oasis
Spitfire - The Prodigy
Lyla - Oasis
Woman - Wolfmother
Roses - OutKast
Here it Goes Again - OK
Go
Dani California - Red
Hot Chili Peppers
White and Nerdy - Weird
Al Yankovic
Hard Rock Hallelujah - Lordi
Goodbye Mr A - The
Hoosiers
Zero - Yeah Yeah
Yeahs
Baby Fratelli - The
Fratellis
A Beautiful Lie - 30
Seconds to Mars
Saturday Superhouse - Biffy
Clyro
Granite - Pendulum
Since U Been Gone - A
Day to Remember
No You Girls - Franz
Ferdinand
Ignorance - Paramore
We Made You - Eminem
Rusted From the Rain - Billy
Talent
Overall this has been a great experience. I really enjoyed this project. So much in fact, I'm going to start going backwards through the years, starting with 1999. But it won't be done in the same style as this Noughtie series. You'll see it when it happens. Stay tuned. Tomorrow I'll be back with the final FINAL piece to do with this project, and that's a load of statistics and fact to do with the Noughtie 100. I hope to see you then.
To view a full archived stats index of the songs listed, click here.
Welcome to the final chapter of the Noughtie series! This is part 22 of 22. But this listing is longer than all the other 21 parts combined. Why? Because I'm going to talk about one song at a time, and explain its impact on the decade. I'm going to say why I chose each song to represent the decade. The hundred songs I'm about to go through, if none of them existed, the decade wouldn't have been as impactful. That doesn't mean better, but it wouldn't have been as relevant.
So these songs, are all important. Some are rock, some a metal. Some are alternative rap and dance. But they're all important. And they've all had different amounts of success. I don't like all the songs. But I'd be silly if I didn't mention them. They weren't all #1 hits. Some didn't even chart in the UK. But I believe that somewhere down the line, these 100 songs have had a significant impact on the decade and deserve to be raised and praised. That's my job. I just hope that you all agree!
So to emphasise, I don't like all of these songs. You, won't like all of these songs. But chances are, you will have heard them, or at least if you're a fan of that particular genre. For instance, if you like your metal, you will have heard all the metal songs in this list, and if not, where have you been? Same applies to the indie fans out there. Let's just get to the list.
So it's one song per day, for the next one hundred days. Here's #100.
#100. "Rebellion (Lies)" - Arcade Fire Released: 12/9/05 Album: Funeral Acolades: #29 in NME's Greatest Indie Anthems Ever, #380 in Blender's 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born, #69 in Pitchfork's Top 500 Tracks of the 2000's, #9 in NME's Best of the 2000's Appearances: Six Feet Under (TV Series), Product Red (advertisement) Chart Positions: UK - #33, US - #131, Best elsewhere - Ireland - #16 I don't like Arcade Fire. I don't rate them. But it would be silly of me to talk about the last decade in music without mentioning them. They had a mini-Radiohead-esque impact on the decade. By that I mean every album that this band has released, has been met to critical acclaim. Their album sales have been decent too. Yet... their singles aren't prominent. Their singles don't penetrate the charts. Their songs aren't often played. But if there was one song that had to be chosen in terms of popularity and impact, it's Rebellion (Lies).
#99. "Shut Me Up" - Mindless Self Indulgence Released: 12/9/06 Album: You'll Rebel to Anything Listings: Best Videos, Top 100 Favourite Songs of the Decade Chart Positions: US - #1 (in Dance charts) Okay, this song hasn't got any major accolades of any kind. I don't think many metal songs will do. This is probably the most debatable entry in the entire list, as it barely charted. But I do believe this song is important. It's important for the band. It kick started their rise to mainstream popularity. This song also is played in many metal clubs now, it's become a cult hit really. I can see this song being played a lot in the next ten years, not on the radios, but in clubs. It's a really good metal anthem and I believe MSI will continue to get more popular in the next decade, and this is the sign of things to come. I could be wrong though, and this song may (unfortunately) be forgotten. We'll see!
#98. "Grounds for Divorce" - Elbow Released: 10/3/08 Album: The Seldom Seen Kid Accolades: Ivor Novello Award for Best Contemporary Song Appearances: Left 4 Dead (video game advertisement), Burn After Reading (movie advertisement), Top Gear (TV series), House MD (TV Series), Rescue Me (TV Series), DiRT 2 (video game), Hairy Bikers Food Tour of Britain (TV Series), The Apprentice (TV Series) Listings: Best Riffs, Top 100 Favourite Songs of the Decade Chart Positions: UK - #19 That's a lot of appearances of this song in the media. Video games and TV series' galore. I told you before, it's that riff. It's just fantastic, it stands out so much. Elbow have finally stepped out of their shell in recent years, with this song being one of the reasons. The other reason is later on in this listing. But Elbow seem to be evolving in the mainstream charts, and I can see them continuing in this vein of form when they relase more new material. "Grounds for Divorce" is a fantastic song and it was also the one that started to turn heads... finally.
#97. "The Kill" - 30 Seconds to Mars Released: 24/1/06 Album: A Beautiful Lie Accolades: #1 in AOL's Top Alternative Songs of the Decade, Winner of Kerrang Award's Best Single of 2007, Appearances: The Invisible (movie), Without a Trace (TV Series), 2007 MTV Movie Awards, Hollyoaks (TV Series), Rock Band (video game), Guitar Hero World Tour (video game) Chart Positions: UK - #28, US - #65 (#3 in Alternative Charts), Best elsewhere - Canada - #1 It's funny as I'm counting down this list how many accolades the songs win. I didn't plan this list accolade wise, but it's nice to see the songs I'm choosing being respected by the music press and peers. It means I'm doing my job properly. Anyway, this song won a lot more awards for its music video, but I'm not including music video accolades, purely the song as a single. But to be fair, it won a damn good amount in that respect as well. The Kill was the song that started to get Jared Leto's second career moving. An actor by trade, he tried his talents in music and this was the breakthrough single. The video, homage to The Shining, definitely helped. I personally can't stand this band or this song, but kudos, it won a lot and easily justifies its place in this list.
#96. "Bodies" - Drowning Pool Released: 5/6/01 Album: Sinner Appearances: WWF Summerslam (wrestling pay-per-view), WWE One Night Stand (wrestling pay-per-view), WWE December to Disember (wrestling pay-per-view), ECW on Sci-Fi (TV Series), Xtreme Freelance Alliance (racing team), Arena Football (video game), Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear (video game), The Punisher (movie trailer), Jason X (movie trailer), Daredevil (movie trailer), The One (movie), Rambo (movie), xXx (movie), UFC Ultimate Knockouts 2 (fighting pay-per-view), Guitar Hero: Warrors of Rock (video game), Stop-Loss (movie), United States Marine Corps (armed forces advertisement), Popular (TV Series), Generation Kill (TV Series), Shane Charwin (UFC fighter entrance theme), Rock Band (video game), True Blood (TV Series), Dementium: The Ward (video game advertisement), Skins (TV Series) Listings: Top 100 Favourite Songs of the Decade Chart Positions: UK - #35, US - #119 (#6 in Mainstream Rock Charts) Wow. That's a lot of appearances. It's the most so far in this list. But no accolades. What a shame. Obviously I put it at #1 in my personal list but thats not an accolade, I'm a freelance journalist. But regardless of no accolades to its name, "Bodies" was a phenomenal metal anthem. The song has been used in psychological operations too due to its heavy metal and its arguably controversial lyrics ("Let the bodies hit the floor") but it's also been used as a motivational song for armed forces. Either way it's a song that really pumps up blood and adrenalyn and sounds fantastic. It's easily one of the most important heavy metal songs of the decade.
#95. "Rabbit Heart (Raise it Up)" - Florence and the Machine Released: 21/6/09 Album: Lungs Appearances: Sky Sports (sports channel advertisement), Accolades: Single of the Week in Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 Show Listings: Top 100 Favourite Songs of the Decade Chart Positions: UK - #12, Best elsewhere - Ireland - #41 Although lacking in accolades and appearances, this song was a major breakthrough hit for Florence. It just missed out in the Top 10 and considering the style of song, with its folk and seventies glam inspirations, it's not a song that you'd expect to chart that well. But Florence's name was growing and her music was being played more. This coincided with that rise in popularity and the song became her sown seeds growing. It's a great song as well, and I think it will be remembered well going into the next decade as Florence's first hit.
#94. "Sing" - Travis Released: 28/5/01 Album: The Invisible Band Appearances: The Taking of Pelham 123 (movie) Chart Positions: UK - #3, US - #37 (Hot Modern Rock Tracks), Best elsewhere - France - #2 Yes the French like "Sing". I'm not surprised to be honest as it's a lovely song. I mean it's not my cup of tea but I can tolerate it when it comes on the radio. And that it does. It's still a very significant song in music, a modern rock classic to be honest. It's the song that Travis will always be known for, and the video as well is very famous. It was a hit in many different countries and definitely deserves a mention in this list. I'm surprised it hasn't won any accolades of any kind as it's the kind of song you'd expect to see on many listings. Maybe people associate it with the nineties, I don't know.
#93. "99 Problems" - Jay-Z Released: 27/4/04 Album: The Black Album Accolades: #14 in Pitchfork's Top 500 songs of the 2000's, #2 in Rolling Stone's Top 100 songs of the 00's, #172 in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, Best Rap Performance in the Grammy Awards, Appearances: Mr Deeds (movie), The Office (TV Series), Torchwood (TV Series), Casualty (TV Series), Chart Positions: UK - #12, US - #30 (#10 in the Hot Rap Tracks), Best elsewhere - Germany - #67 This is paying homage to rock and metal, but I'm putting in dance and rap tracks that fit in with an alternative audience. So that's why Jay-Z gets the nod here. This song is an instant rap classic. The song is so well received that when Jay-Z did Glastonbury four years after the song's release, it actually re-emerged in the UK Charts (it got to #35). It says it all really. The video also is fantastic. It's possibly Jay-Z highlight moment, although there are a few other songs that people can debate with. Big kudos to Jay-Z with this song.
#92. "Wires" - Athlete Released: 17/1/05 Album: Tourist Appearances: The Vampire Diaries (TV Series) Chart Positions: UK - #4 It's started to become a bit of a forgotten song recently, but there was a time when Athlete were considered to be one of England's best new prospects on the indie scene. "Wires" has since become a song that still gets played quite regularly, but has got the repuation of being a song that people know, but can't remember the name of the band. It's only been five years yet this song has a late nineties feel to it, and will continue to play, obscurely, into the next decade.
#91. "Slither" - Velvet Revolver Released: 24/5/04 Album: Contraband Accolades: Best Hard Rock Performance in the Grammy Awards (nomination), #85 in VH1's Best Hard Rock Songs of All Time Appearances: Victoria's Secret (clothes retailer advertisement), Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (video game) Chart Positions: UK - #35, US - #56 (#1 in Mainstream Rock Tracks Chart), Best elsewhere - Norway - #12 I'm certainly not surprised this song charted as fantastically as it did in Norway, they like their metal and while this isn't a metal track per se, it's a kickass hard rock song that sounds fantastic. It's probably going to be their most well known song, I can't see them beating this. The song is as perfect as a hard rock song can be, it's got a great riff courtesy of Slash, Scott Weiland's vocals sound great, and the video has hot women in it. What else do you need? It's a great hard rock song, one that really will be considered a highlight of the decade in this genre of music.
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. To view part 7, click here. To view part 8, click here. To view part 9, click here. To view part 10, click here. To view the winner, click here. To view my methods and explanations, click here. To view a full archived stats index of the songs listed, click here.
