Best Moment: I love the intro video with "Tubthumping" by Chumbawamba. All the FMVs are unique in this game, compared to other football games anyway!
I played this a couple of weeks ago live on YouTube actually, in preparation for this year's World Cup. If you're interested in seeing what that was like, click here. Give us a subscribe while you're at it! This was the first FIFA game I played on the PS1. Of course I played them on the Mega drive as well, but this was the first time I'd seen a 3D football game. I remember borrowing it from a friend and just absolutely loving it. It was so innovative at the time for me, seeing the graphics, creating you're own players, winning a World Cup too. It was weird but also wonderful to see the camera angle actually in the correct place on the side of the pitch rather than vertically like back on the Mega Drive days. I remember seeing all the amazing FMVs showing you the stadiums in France, I'd never seen a football game do that before, and frankly, I've not seen it since either. EA Sports put a lot of effort into FIFA Road to World Cup 98, and you could argue they've never put so much effort into a football game since, because the improvements year upon year are minimal, or at least it feels that way!
If you're wanting to know what came in at #22 click here!
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I think "Tighten Up" was actually the first song I'd heard by The Black Keys. It was on FIFA 11 and I played that game a lot. At first I tolerated the song but, like a lot of songs on FIFA, you end up really liking them because you hear them so much on the Menus in the game. Like a lot of songs by The Black Keys, the song is mid-tempo with catchy a guitar riff. I can't put my finger on why I like this song as much as I do, but it's one of those songs I just like to sing along to... very badly! The song also won a Grammy and is actually one of their most successful songs to date. It's just a very good song basically!
It's funny, because for a long time I actually didn't know this song was Imagine Dragons! I heard this song a lot, and it ended up being one of this lovely radio friendly songs that you liked to listen to but didn't actually invest time to discovering more about, or at least that's what it was like for me. And then, someone requested the song on one of my radio shows and I was just like "oh my god, it's that song!". And the rest is history.
"On Top of the World" is simply just one of the happiest, positive thinking, lovely songs of the decade so far. Especially considering it's an indie track, it's just such an uplifting song, hence why it's been used a lot in the media, like in FIFA, a Samsung Galaxy advert and the movie The Incredible Burt Wonderstone. It's just a cool track that's very fresh and... just lovely.
Hey there, and welcome to a new section of my website. Due to not posting much at the moment this may well be the only section I might actually update regularly going forward. I just don't have the motivation to write much at the minute, I have a lot of other things I'm enjoying in life. I do have this to fall back on whenever I get some motivation, or something to do though. It's a hobby not a job! Anyway, this section is basically me revealing to you the ten songs I've been listening to the most every month. I've started tracking songs and how much I play them now, I'm a statistical nerd like that you see. Why have I done this? I really don't know, I just find it quite interesting to see what songs I listen to the most and when, and of course, to recommend them to you if you haven't heard them before. If this goes my way I might do an "end of year" list as well, but we'll see. So what are the Ten Mercy Licks of January 2013? Let's find out...
#10: "Sixteen Saltines" - Jack White This is definitely one of the best tracks of 2012. Jack White finally branches out on his own and his stuff sounds as fresh as anything he's ever done in honesty. The side projects he has done have been hit and miss, usually more hit to be fair, but still, this is a belter track that really shows the true talent of Mr White. Keep it going sir! #9: "She Bangs" - Ricky Martin Really Johnny Mercyside? Really? Ricky Martin? You? Listened to this very often last month? Yes, it's true. I have to be honest I have no shame in liking some cheesy pop nowadays. I used to avoid pop and RnB like a house on fire but now I've really relaxed my refrainment for the genres of music I usually dislike. This song came on in the pub when I went out for a drink with some awesome friends and we danced terribly to it. Since then I've enjoyed putting it on once in a while. It's a very catchy pop song. No embarassment about it! #8: "Gangnam Style" - PSY ...but of course. Yes I love "Gangnam Style" and yes I've played this song possibly more than any other song in the past half year. And yes, I still play it in January 2013. I can't help it. I just love the song, love the video and to be honest, love PSY. You have to hear some of his other stuff. "Gangnam Style" will probably be a one hit wonder for PSY but it really shouldn't be, because he's actually a lot more talented than that. Check his other stuff out if you get a chance. #7: "Blackout" - Linkin Park I love this song. It's become one of my favourite ever by Linkin Park. It's also another of the songs I've been playing a lot over the past few months. I first heard it on FIFA 11, like a lot of people. It's arguably the song responsible for me reigniting my interest in the band, as I wasn't really too high on their most recent stuff. It's just a brilliant track, and well worth a listen if you haven't heard it before. #6: Zerstoren - Rammstein One of my favourite all time Rammstein songs. I recently got all of the Rammstein discography and was playing their stuff on random. I hadn't listened to of "Rosenrot" before then, so I'd never heard this song. When it came on random the song just blew me away. It's just such a fricking cool song, and is definitely one you need to hear if you haven't before. #5: "Gold on the Ceiling" - Black Keys Another band I can thank FIFA for igniting interest in. I was never big on the Black Keys until I heard "Tighten Up", then of course, I heard the amazing "Lonely Boy" and decided to get El Camino, and of course, this is one of the best songs on the album. It was released as a single too. It's just really cool, and shows why the Black Keys take a slightly different approach to their alternative rock than a lot of the other bands around nowadays. #4: "Salt in the Wounds" - Pendulum Read what I said about Rammstein and copy and paste. I recently got all of Pendulum's stuff and was pleasantly surprised to really like a lot of it, considering I'm not really into my drum 'n' bass, which a lot of the album material is. But "Salt in the Wounds" is just amazing. I even love the dubstep section towards the end of the song. I love blasting this track and adding some of the bass to it. It's just excellent. #3: "Electric Worry" - Clutch
I'd be lying to you if I told you I'd heard of Clutch more recently than the turn of the new year. Somehow the band have gone over my head. A friend suggested I look them up and this track was the first to be played. I later found out it was actually used in a lot of Left 4 Dead 2 advertising, so it's very possibly I'd heard this before. It's a really cool country/hard rock hybrid track that sounds fantastic. I'm definitely looking into getting into more Clutch soon. #2: "Go Right Ahead" - The Hives
I'm surprised to reveal I've listened this song the second most last month. But I must have done. It's a good track, it's a very safe track to be honest, for The Hives to release. It's nothing really special, but it still kicks enough ass to be noticed. I'm not trying to say it's a bad song, it's not, it's very good, and incredibly catchy, but in honesty The Hives have released far better than this in the past. #1: "We Like Them Girls" - Your Favourite Martian
Ah... Your Favourite Martian. If you've not heard, YFM are Ray William Johnson's music group. RWJ is the most subscribed man on Youtube, showcasing the best viral videos two days a week on his show "Equals Three". He's a very good presenter of the show, but I've found his group to be lacking in quality. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for people aspiring to go into different fields, try different things and if you have the time, money and know the right people to do it, go for it. I'm not a big fan of YFM though. But... I do LOVE this track. I love "We Like Them Girls", it's a very funny track, the video is not bad either, and it just sounds so good. The electronic music, RWJ's rapping ain't too bad on this song, but the best thing is the lyrics. The lyrics are just really funny. To be fair, I also love a girl with a functioning vagina. So, that's a wrap for today. I hope you've enjoyed this list. I shall be doing it every month. I'm sorry I don't post as much as I used to, but I'm in a very good place in my life right now, and just don't feel up to writing as much. I'm sure I'll return to a more frequent schedule in the future. Until next time, take care!
Hey there and welcome to my newest video game listing. I’ve
done a few large listings on this site, but not one on video games in general.
Today I start my homage to the Sega Mega Drive and its brilliance.
The Sega Mega Drive while not the first console I ever
played, was the first console I properly ever owned. I was a late comer to
games as well, only getting the Sega Mega Drive back in 1998 unbelievably. I
wasn’t that big on games until then, and even though the Mega Drive was mine
from 1998, I quickly appreciated its excellence. I may have played it later
than everyone else, but I approached each game like it was released when it was
released, because I never really dealt with games as good as those before. It
was a year later before I discovered late again, the Playstation, and moved
onto that console. But despite discovering the PS, I still played my Mega
Drive, discovered other games and appreciated them despite moving onto 3D games
with much bigger experiences. Overall the Playstation is definitely my
favourite console of all time, but the Mega Drive isn’t far behind. It truly
was a phenomenal console and deserves any praise it gets.
This is going to be a 50 day listing. Now I’ve been
reluctant to do another 50 day listing again after doing one 50 and one 100 day
listing in the past with mixed results, but I’ve decided I will make another
attempt at one. There are two reasons why I’m making this a 50 day listing; firstly
because I believe a list like this is worthy of 50 days coverage. It’s rare
that I do a 50 listing as I said; I’m reluctant to do them anymore, so I’m
going to pick and choose them wisely. This deserves it. Secondly, it’s because
of my personal situation; I’m going through a lot at the moment, just started a
new job, moved house, separated from my wife and we also have a newborn and our
near-four year old to take care of separately. I just don’t have the time to
write much at the moment, so the idea is to stretch this project forward and
hopefully make time in the 50 days to write more quality work.
Enough about that, here’s my Top 50 Favourite Mega Drive
games! Enjoy!
#50 – Columns III
Released: 1993 (2008 in the UK)
Genre: Puzzle
Rating: ***1/2
Best Moment: Nothing particularly, it’s very colourful
though. Playing against up to 4 people can be fun.
Columns III probably missed most of you, if you lived in the
UK. It was released in America and Japan, and only saw release 15 years later
in the UK when released on the Virtual Console on the Wii. But... I confess. I
played this on Emulator. And it’s really good. Is it an improvement on Columns?
Yes, overall I’d say so actually. But it lacks the nostalgia and classic touch
that the original has. I’ve never played Columns II so I can’t comment on that,
but the third game was fun, as it added a more competitive element, whilst it
looked pretty damn gorgeous for 1993 graphics as the colours stand out really
well.
#49 - World Cup Italia '90
Released: 1990
Genre: Sports
Rating: ***1/2
Best Moment: When you score, and you get the still of a man
celebrating. It’s the same man each time, just with different skin colours and
jerseys. It’s truly awful but I love it.
That’s my opinion on this game in general
actually. It’s truly awful but I love it. This game has the privilege of being
the first Mega Drive game I ever played. As I said, I got my console in 1998
and it was part of the Mega 6 collection that had much better games on it too.
All six games make this list, and this is the lowest rated of the six. This
game is pretty poor overall, but then again, in 1990 there weren’t that many
good quality football games. That would be the case for a few years yet, before
FIFA really got off the map. But it’s still playable if not a little too easy
once you know how to play properly. It still has a good place in my heart and
is fun to stick on once in a while, for giggles more than anything else.
#48 – Virtua Fighter 2
Released: 1996
Genre: Fighting
Rating: ***1/2
Best Moment: Knocking your opponent out of the ring. It can
be difficult in the later difficulties and you feel pretty good when you pull
it off.
This game was released on the new Sega Saturn
console that was the hottest thing around at the time, but because the Mega
Drive was still really popular they released a version of it on there. It was
definitely inferior, but still packed a decent punch. The Virtua Fighter series
had a lot of fans, and still does, maybe I’m rating the game too low for some
of you on this list but it’s because I’m just not that big a fan of the series.
One thing though for certain, it’s possible this game had the best graphics of
any Mega Drive game due to its very late release in the life of the console and
its actual spot on the Sega Saturn.
#47 – Jurassic Park
Released: 1993
Genre: Action
Rating: ***3/4
Best Moment: Beating the first level! Seriously, this game
was so tough, playing it for the first time good luck beating the first level,
never mind progressing far on your first go!
This game was really good, really really good.
But it was tough as nails. It’s one of the hardest games I remember ever
playing. It was fun though, and they did the Jurassic Park film justice in
honesty. The dinosaurs are tough in different ways and the game looks fantastic.
The game is definitely worth a go if you haven’t played it before. But as I’ve
said a few times, it’s a really hard game!
#46 – Road Rash 3: Tour de Force
Released: 1995
Genre: Racing
Rating: ***3/4
Best Moment: Just knocking someone off their bike. It’s a great feeling; it’s what made Road Rash stand out from other motorbike games.
The
Road Rash games were all pretty decent, although the differences
between the three released on the Mega Drive was minimal. I remember
preferring the third one the most, as they had a good selection of
weapons, looked slickest and I liked the fact that there were 7 tracks
to race on but that you only go through 5 of them, depending on how you
play the game. It gave the never changing formula a bit of diversity, as
the games barely changed from one to another.
#45 - FIFA International Soccer
Released: 1993 Genre: Sports Rating: ***3/4 Best Moment: Scoring. Scoring was awesome as you ran towards
the crowd and look at the titantron which had some cool little images put
across it. You could also make random noises on screen by pressing the buttons
on your controller.
Ah, the FIFA series. So long and illustrious. But things
didn’t start off to great for the game series. Football quite simply, wasn’t a
very good video game in the 2D eras of video game history. But FIFA was very
successful despite this, mainly because of its brand name as the governing body
of world football. FIFA International Soccer can be called FIFA 94, not that it
matters, but the subsequent FIFA games barely changed anything in the blueprint
this game had. The graphics were almost identical, the teams were only slightly
updated. I know some of you may think, “yes but the same applies to FIFA now on
a yearly basis”, but trust me, enough tweaks are made per year nowadays in
comparison to the early days. That’s why the original, FIFA International
Soccer, is the only game in this list, as it’s the original and probably the
best.
#44 – Mega Bomberman
Released: 1994
Genre: Action
Rating: ***3/4
Best Moment: Timing is impeccable in this game, and when you
time to release that bomb on that enemy and they walk into it in the most
perfect of timing, you feel so good inside.
There were games in the Bomberman series
released before this and after this but for me, this is the best one. The plot
was simple enough, the graphics were colourful and bright, and the action and
powerups were good. The enemies and bosses were fun and diverse too. But the
Bomberman series has always had its flaws, and I’ve always thought while the
concept is good, it’s nothing really mind blowing. Also you can’t help hate
yourself when you screw up and trap yourself in a corner with a bomb. Man, very
few games make you feel like worse of a fool I can tell you! But Mega Bomberman
was pretty damn good, and I’d recommend this game in the series over any other.
Mistake!
#43 – Golden Axe III
Released: 1993 (2009 in the UK)
Genre: Beat ‘em Up
Rating: ***3/4
Best Moment: Even by the third game in the series, using the
magic is still awesome and is the highlights of the game.
The third Golden Axe game also wasn’t released
in the UK, until it was put on the Sega Mega Ultimate Collection a few years
ago. Yes... I also played this on emulator... am I a bad person? Anyway...
similar to other game series in this list, Golden Axe also suffers from a lack
of change in its sequels. Once again like other game series, Golden Axe’s
trilogy is great, none of the three games are bad, but very little separates
them. Golden Axe II isn’t in this list marginally, but the third was better and
the first was the best. The best thing that GA3 did was add pathways that you
could select and continue the game down. It made the game experience that bit
more personal as you could have had a different set of levels to progress
through one play through from the next. But the core game play never changed really,
and that’s why it’s this low in the listing.
#42 – Micro Machines
Released: 1993
Genre: Racing
Rating: ***3/4
Best Moment: Nothing beats the awesome air time you get on
certain jumps in a race. It just feels awesome. Also, using the tanks and
blowing up the other tanks by shooting them down was fun as hell.
Micro Machines was a great series of games. The
toy company really did have a great formula and a great concept in the early
part of the nineties. Unfortunately technology and 3D gaming occurred and their
style of game play died because it never fit in a modern video game
environment. But the top-down view made
the games a very interesting experience. The first in the series wasn’t the
best, but the formula was there and they just improved on that later on. The
first Micro Machines game is definitely worth playing though, it’s a damn good
game.
#41 – Columns
Released: 1990
Genre: Puzzle
Rating: ***3/4
Best Moment: When playing Arcade mode and you get the big
triple diamond jewels, they could be a real life saver and if placed on a
ground tile, you get a huge points boost!
Columns is a classic game. Sure, Tetris may be
the king of puzzle games, but if you had a Sega Mega Drive I’d be almost
certain you had played Columns at least once. It’s simple concept, very iconic
music inspired by Greek mythology and two player competitive play that made the
game so popular. Sure, it’s not the most original puzzle game ever, but it was
the most approachable and popular. And it ticks all the boxes that a puzzle
game should.
Finally, Kasabian have made a great album - "Velociraptor!" is their finest work to date.
“Velociraptor!” is Kasabian's fourth album, and was released last October, just over five months ago. Kasabian have been around for a while now, they're an established British band who have found the respect of the British public and have tried to break out to the States, with unfortunately little success. For me and a lot of people I know, Kasabian have been one of those bands who produce quality singles but their album material never keep up. Does "Velociraptor!" follow the same pattern? Here's my take on the album.
The album starts off with "Let's Roll Just Like We Used to", a great opener, it's catchy and full of the material that makes Kasabian one of the better indie bands in recent times. Tom Meighan's Leicester accent has always been the thing that make Kasabian stand out from the rest of the indie crowd, and it's prominent in this opening to the album.
The first single off the album is the second track, "Days Are Forgotten", which is a pretty damn cool track. I love the howling in the beginning of the track and as the choruses fade out. The song was also used on WWE's Pay-Per-View "Tables Ladders and Chairs", which was cool, being a wrestling fan, and it was also great to see Kasabian get some exposure over in America. "Days Are Forgotten" is not as good as some of the other singles in Kasabian's library but it still holds its own amongst them. It's a very good track.
Track three is also the third single off the album, "Goodbye Kiss", which, in my opinion, is easily one of Kasabian's weakest singles in their catalogue. Kasabian as I've said a few times produce fantastic singles, and they're usually very catchy. This song is different from most of their singles, as it's a slower, more bitter romantic track, something they don't do too often. This song was also used in the montage for Formula 1 at the end of the 2011 season.
After track three are five brilliant tracks. The middle of this album is fantastic. Track four is "La Fee Verte", possibly my favourite song on the album. It's excellently similar to The Beatles, and it's sung by guitarist Sergio Pizzorno, and his vocals are surprisingly fantastic. I'm not going to pick favourites in terms of vocals on the album, Tom and Sergio both bring different styles to the album and they're both welcome in my opinion. That being said this song is just awesome. It's crafted beautifully and sung so well. I love it. Track five is the title track, "Velociraptor!", by some distance the shortest track on the album but it packs some excellent punch. It's similar to a lot of their singles actually, although it's a bit more fast paced. I'm surprised this hasn't been released as a single yet. It's catchy, a little funky and just sounds really cool in general. Nothing more really needs to be said about it really!
The sixth track, "Acid Turkish Bath" is also sung by the guitarist Sergio and once again it's another well sung, well balanced track. But this time the vocals aren't what makes the song, it's the drums and the violin. This song for me shows the band expanding their horizons a little. Kasabian use an orchestra and this is the first track on the album where you can definitely here it. I really like this song and it's one of my favourites on the album again. Track seven is "I Hear Voices", which sounds good for the most part, but the one thing I really dislike about it is the frustrating new indie/modern new wave electronic music that they've decided to put in the song. It's a personal pet peeve, but I hate this new indie/electronica hybrid that's been around recently, like MGMT and Foster the People. That sound is a sound that I really hate, and to see Kasabian use it annoyed me slightly. But the song otherwise is really good, I like the chorus a lot.
After that is the second single off the album "Re-wired", which is fine. All three singles on this album are quite good but they pale in comparison to some of the stuff they've released in the past 9 years. "Re-wired" sounds good on this album, but when you compare it to some of the great tracks Kasabian have released as singles in the past, like "Empire", "Club Foot" and "Fire", it just doesn't sound like it's on the same level.
But the rest of the album keeps up with these singles very well. "Velociraptor!" the album, is great. I've already said that some of my favourite tracks on this album are the non-singles, and it's true. Because the singles aren't as good as the older material, yet the album quality is much better, the album is overall a very balanced piece of music. It's a strange situation, but the singles lacking in quality a little makes the rest of the album stand out, which is great. This album is critically Kasabian's best work. I'm not the only person who has said this, many critics have and it's true. "Velociraptor!" is their finest work to date.
The rest of the album drops the quality down a little notch, but the best of the three end tracks is the penultimate track, "Switchblade Smiles", which has been used on the new FIFA 12 game (and also part of my "Best of FIFA Trax Mixtape, you can read that here), as well as on Match of the Day 2. This is the most electronic Kasabian have become, and it's not in an annoying indietronica/modern new wave way like in "I Hear Voices", it really kicks ass with the electronic guitars and the electronica music. It's almost Muse-esque, which is a compliment I swear.
Overall "Velociraptor!" is a great album. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's by far Kasabian's best effort and the album songs are good tracks and support the singles well. It's a balanced album, that tries new things while keeps the elements that make Kasabian stand out a little from all the other indie bands. "Velociraptor!" is Kasabian's finest work to date and well worth a listen if you enjoy Kasabian's singles by norm, and want to get one of their albums. Kasabian usually fail to deliver the goods on their albums, but they've proved me and a lot of other critics wrong. "Velociraptor!" is a cracker of an album, and well worth the risk if you're thinking of purchasing their album.
Rating: ****1/4 stars
Stand out tracks: "La Fee Verte", "Velociraptor!", "Acid Turkish Bath"
Here's the music video for the first single, "Days Are Forgotten":
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Hey there, welcome to my newest Mixtape. This one is paying homage to the music of the FIFA football games, something that has been a constant source of decent sound for some time. Now, if you know me personally or have been following my work on this site, you'll know that I love my metal. My interest in indie is nothing on metal, and don't get me started on dance music, electronic, RnB or ambience. These other genres for the most part don't interest me. But they are always evident in the FIFA games and quite often the songs that are chosen year upon year are great. So what I'm hoping you'll see in today's list is a different side to my musical tastes.
Not familiar with my Mixtapes? Here are the rules.
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!
Okay, before I start, I'd like to say two things. Firstly, FIFA didn't really have long and productive soundtracks on their games until FIFA 2004 came out, and while certain games before it had one or two popular tracks, nothing was really substantial until then. Secondly, I haven't played every FIFA game. I've played most of them, so one or two games are missing from the list. But I cover most of the games, and I think you can appreciate the amount of games that are actually covered here. Enjoy!
And that's my playlist. If you like the genres mentioned above and haven't heard some of these songs give them a listen, the videos all link to Youtube where possible. I'm starting to run dry on ideas at the moment for future Mixtapes, so if you have any other ideas comment below, with some suggestions and I might cover them. That's it from me today, have a good night.
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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.
20 songs to go. Here are what I consider are the 20 most important songs of the decade, from #20 to #11. Enjoy.
#20. "When You Were Young" - The Killers Released: 18/09/06 Album: Sam's Town Accolades: Nominated for Best Rock Song at the Grammys, #4 in Triple J's Hottest 100 of 2006, #37 in XFM's 100 Greatest Songs of All Time, Nominated for Best Track at the Shockwaves NME Awards Appearances: Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (video game), SingStar Amped (video game), Rock Band (video game) Chart Positions: UK - #2, US - #14 (#1 in Modern Rock Tracks Chart), Best Elsewhere - Australia and New Zealand - #10 After the amazing success of "Hot Fuss", The Killers surely knew that the next album had to have an impact for them to maintain their major success in the UK, and further stamp their feet in their homeland of the US. "When You Were Young", the lead single off the second album, did exactly that. Sure it's not as catchy and dancy as "Somebody Told Me", and it's not as indie rock as "Mr. Brightside", but there was something nice and fresh about "When You Were Young". The band mention a huge Bruce Springsteen inspiration going into the studio for "Sam's Town" and you can definitely feel it in this track. It was remarkably successful, it's still their highest charting song here in the UK, despite there being just one more song by the band that I think tops it. You'll see that song further into the Top 20.
#19. "The Scientist" - Coldplay Released: 4/11/02 Album: A Rush of Blood to the Head Chart Positions: UK - #10, US - #18 (in Modern Rock Tracks Chart), Best Elsewhere - Poland - #1 No accolades, no appearances. In fact at the time, it wasn't that huge in sales either. Yet I don't think that many songs by Coldplay have had the long term impact this song has. "The Scientist" has longevity that emphasises what this list is about. This list is about many things, it's about chart successs and sales, it's about accolades. It's about how often the song appears in other media. But most importantly, these are the songs that I'm predicting will still be played in 10, 20, 30 years time from now. And I'm telling you, this song will be played for many years to come. "The Scientist" isn't an energetic song, it isn't a foot tapper. But the melody, the piano, the memorable chorus, the video, everything about it is iconic. This is arguably THE Coldplay song of the decade. I say arguably, as I think there is one more song by the band that has more importance. You'll see that song soon.
#18. "Take Me Out" - Franz Ferdinand Released: 12/1/04 Album: Franz Ferdinand Accolades:
#1 in Village Voice Pazz and Jop's Best of 2004, #1 Triple J's Hottest
100 of 2004, #100 in Triple J's Hottest 100 of All Time, #41 in Q
Magazine's 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks, #34 in Q Magazine's Best Songs by
British Bands, #6 in Q Magazine's 100 Greatest Indie Anthems, #16 in
NME's 50 Greatest Indie Anthems Ever, #7 in MTV2's Greatest Indie
Anthems Ever, #44 in Pitchfork Media's Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s, #327
in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time Appearances:
Sony PSP (handheld consone advertisement), NHL 2005 (video game),
Madden NFL 2005 (video game), Sports Tonight (sports TV show), Guitar
Hero (video game), Guitar Hero Smash Hits (video game), SingStar Party
(video game), SingStar Pop (video game), Just Dance 2 (video game),
Dance Dance Revolution Universe 2 (video game), Rock Band (video game),
Hancock (movie trailer), PBS Kids GO! (childrens education
advertisment), Meet the Fockers (movie trailer) Chart Positions: UK - #3, US - #6 (#3 in Modern Rock Tracks Chart), Best Elsewhere - Canada - #7 Finally!
A song with LOADS of accolades and appearances! I haven't had a song
with this many entries in both sections for a while, I was starting to
lose faith! Seriously though, it's hard to deny how much of an impact
this song made. An arguement can be made that this song started the Art
Rock revival (Radiohead aside of course), with bands like Art Brut, Bloc
Party and Athlete rising afterwards. And the song was so damn catchy as
well. Franz Ferdinand won't beat this track in terms of impact,
although on a personal level I prefer other tracks. The best thing about
"Take Me Out" was that it pretty much at the time came out of nowhere.
It got a small amount of airplay before it gor released, and then all of
a sudden it just got more and more popular as the week went on. It
ended up getting to #3, but I reckon it would have gone straight to #1
if they promoted it earlier. Regardless, this song is a classic now I'd
say.
#17. "Viva la Vida" - Coldplay Released: 25/5/08 Album: Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends Accolades:
Winner of the Song of the Year at the Grammys, Nominated for Record of
the Year at the Grammys, #9 in Rolling Stone's 100 Best Songs of 2008,
#2 in Rolling Stone's Readers Best Songs of 2008, #5 in Blender's Top
144 Songs of 2008, #8 in Village Voice Pazz and Jop's Best of 2008 Appearances:
iPod (portable media advertisment), iTunes (digital media
advertisment), Medium (TV series), 90210 (TV series), Moving in America
(radio show), A Favorita (TV series), The Simpsons (TV series), Chart Positions: UK - #1, US - #1 (#3 in Modern Rock Tracks Chart), Best Elsewhere - Czech Republic and Slovakia - #1 This
song got to #1 in America. It's the first British song that got to #1
in America since 1996, when the Spice Girls got there with "Wannabe".
That on its own is a remarkable achievement, and Coldplay should be damn
proud of that. I touched on this on my Most Important Artists of the Decade
listing, where I said Coldplay got closer and closer to the #1 spot in
the UK and the US, but they kept failing. When this song came out, I
don't know why, but it just felt right. Man, I don't really like this
band but I can see why this song was so successful. It just sounds so
pure, it's the buildup of all the Coldplay songs built into one track.
The classical music, Chris Martin's vocals, the chanting, the song
manages to be beautiful and catchy at the same time, and it's hard for a
song to do that. So all in all, I'm happy we got another band to break
America officially, regardless if I like them or not.
#16. "Seven Nation Army" - The White Stripes Released: 7/3/03 Album: Elephant Accolades:
Winner of the Best Rock Song at the Grammys, #6 in Rolling Stone's 50
Best Songs of the Decade, #8 in Q Magazine's 100 Best Guitar Tracks, #5
in NME's 50 Greatest Tracks of the Decade, #75 in VH1's Greatest Hard
Rock Songs, #21 in Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All
Time, #20 in Triple J's Hottest 100 of All Time, #30 in Pitchfork
Media's Top 500 Songs of the 2000s, #2 in Observer Music Monthly's 75
Songs of the Decade, #2 in Channel V Australia's Top 1000 Songs of the
2000s, #1 in Consequence of Sound's Top Rock Tracks of the 2000s, #1 in
WFNX Radio's Top Rock Tracks of the 2000s, #286 in Rolling Stone's Top
500 Greatest Songs of All Time, #1 in Rhapsody's Top 100 Tracks of the
Decade Appearances: Democracy Now! (news program) Listings: Best Riffs, Best Videos, Top 100 Songs of the Decade Chart Positions: UK - #7, US - #76 (#1 in Alternative Songs Chart), Best Elsewhere - Germany - #4 Wow.
So far in this listing no song has got THAT many accolades. Even though
I've only put one appearance down, it's important to note that this
song was a HUGE anthem in the FIFA World Cup in 2006. Loads of different
fans from many different countries world wide sung the tune to this in
the crouds, it was amazing. It's also important to note that on a
personal note, this song has featured in FOUR of my categories now,
which are my favourite riffs, my favourite music videos, my personal top
100, and now, the unbiased top 100. No other song has done that on this
website. In fact, just in case you wanted to know, this song is the
last song that is featured both on the biased and unbiased listings. So
why is this song so well received? It's just a simple guitar riff that
is played over and over again. The truth is that I have no idea really,
it's just so fricking catchy, the lyrics are quite smart, that guitar
riff is just beautiful despite it being so simple, and while I try not
to use music videos as reason for each entry, the music video is just as
simple a concept as the guitar riff, but equally as effective. It's
just quite simply, a piece of genius this song. I honestly don't think
The White Stripes will top this effort popularity wise. It's just
perfect.
#15. "All Summer Long" - Kid Rock Released: 5/4/08 Album: Rock 'n' Roll Jesus Appearances: WWE Backlash 2008 (wrestling pay-per-view) Chart Positions: UK
- #1, US - #23 (#4 in Hot Country Songs Chart), Best Elsewhere
- Australia, Austria, Europe, Germany, Ireland and Switzerland - #1 Getting
to #1 in 6 different countries is impressive on any scale and Kid Rock
did just that with this huge summer hit. If you listened to music much
in the summer of 2008 then you simply couldn't get rid of this song, if
you like it or not. With it's riff that was borrowed from "Sweet Home
Alabama", and its general warm lyrics about having a good time in the
summer (Kid Rock manages not to be so crude in this track) it was just
universally popular with a lot of people. It wasn't musically his finest
piece, hell I don't think he even put much effort into the track but
that's probably the key, Kid Rock just got everything right with this
song, he didn't need to overload it. It's just a nice summer song.
#14. "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" - The Darkness Released: 17/3/03 Album: Permission to Land Accolades:
#47 in Q Magazine's 101 Greatest Guitar Tracks, #493 in Blenders
Magazine's 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born, #276 in Pitchfork's
500 Top Tracks of the 2000s, #94 in VH1's Best Hard Rock Songs Appearances:
Karaoke Revolution Volume 2 (video game), Guitar Hero On Tour: Decades
(video game), The Bill (TV series), Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason
(movie), SingStar (video game) Chart Positions: UK - #2, US - #35 (in Mainstream Rock Tracks Chart), Best Elsewhere - Ireland - #5 Regardless
of how badly The Darkness fell from their hill back halfway through the
decade, this song was a huge hit. It was the pinnacle of success, it
was the song that if you would choose if you had to describe the band
with a single track. The ridiculous falsetto, the awfully cheesy video,
the leotards, the Queen-esque guitar solos, the lyrics about cheesy
love, everything. It's what The Darkness was. And it was only denied the
#1 spot by the huge RnB hit "Where is the Love?" by the Black Eyed
Peas. The Darkness really set the bar with this track, unfortunately for
them it was a bar they were never able to reach again (unless an
amazing comeback proves me otherwise). Either way, the song is still
definitely well thought of by many people.
#13. "All the Small Things" - Blink-182 Released: 18/1/00 Album: Enema of the State Appearances:
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV series), Charlie's Angels (movie),
Clockstoppers (movie), Rock Band (video game), Guitar Hero 5 (video
game), Guitar Hero: On Tour (video game), Rock Revolution (video game) Listings: Best Videos Chart Positions: UK - #2, US - #6 (#1 in Alternative Songs Chart), Best Elsewhere - Austria - #4 Well
this song is a classic. It really is. The reason why it's not higher is
because I need to spread 10 years evenly. This song is just oozing of
pop punk. It'll forever be known for its video, where the band take the
piss out of boybands to fantastic comical effect. But the song itself,
in its simplicity, is just a charming teenage boy's track. And there's
nothing wrong with that. When I think about how I made this listing, I
thought about predicting what songs will be played from the decade in
10, 20, 30 years time. And this song fits into that category. No
dispute. This song is a classic, it will never go away. And kudos to
Blink-182 for that.
#12. "Somebody Told Me" - The Killers Released: 15/3/04 Album: Hot Fuss Accolades:
#9 in XFM's Top 100 Songs of the Decade, #4 in Triple J's Hottest 100
of 2004, #60 in Absolute Radio's 100 Best Songs of the Decade, #41 in
NME's 100 Greatest Tracks of the Decade, Nominated for Best Rock Track
at the Grammys, Nominated for Best Alternative/Rock Dance Track at the
International Dance Music Awards Appearances: Rocky Balboa (movie), Rock Revolution (video game), DJ Hero (video game) Chart Positions: UK - #3, US - #51 (#3 in Hot Modern Rracks Chart), Best Elsewhere - Poland - #1 Another
song that you pretty much call a classic now. The Killers started their
very successful career with this indie belter. "Somebody Told Me" got
very high for a debut rock song, and it still pretty much remains the
song to beat for the band in terms of impact. They've had hit after hit
after hit, yet they've not shook this song away as being THE song to
represent The Killers. "Human", "When You Were Young" and "Mr
Brightside", all great tracks, but in my eyes are inferior in importance
in comparison to this song. Look at those accolades, this song is rated
highly by the NME, Triple J, Absolute Radio and XFM, four highly
reputable music critics.
#11. "Valerie" - The Zutons / Mark Ronson Released: 19/6/06 / 15/10/07 Album: Tired of Hanging Around / Version Accolades: Nominated for Best British Single at the BRIT Awards Appearances: 2006 FIFA World Cup (football coverage), 27 Dreses (movie) Chart Positions: UK - #9, Best Elsewhere - Ireland - #32 / UK - #2, Best Elsewhere - Holland - #1 Yeah
this song only got to #1 in one country, but what you may not have
known is that this song got to #1 in Holland, then they released an
acoustic version, and they both versions the iTunes #1 and #2 spots.
That was the Mark Ronson version by the way. But
before that, The Zutons released the original version. Now the original
was a surprise hit, it was the second single off the album and it more
than matched the first single ("Why Don't You Give Me Your Love". It's
by far their biggest hit.
But... let's
be honest, it's the Mark Ronson version that made this song just
marginally miss a place in my Top 10. It was just huge. He really made
the song his own. Amy Winehouse's vocals were perfect for the song, and
the chirpy music was just splendid. I bet The Zutons love AND hate Mark
Ronson for completely picking their song to pieces and remodelling it in
his image. But it was an incredible cover version, and the amazing this
is that it was only released ay ear later. It wasn't an old track
rehashed, it was a recent song that got reworked, and the quality
between the two is ridiculously obvious. Mark Ronson solidified his
reputation immensely after this song.
Top
10 time tomorrow. We're almost there. It may have took a long time for
us to get here, but I've enjoyed it and I hope you have. What song will
be in the Top 10? Make your predictions in the comment section below.
Have a good night.
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.
