My Top 100 Favourite Songs 2010-14 Edition: #35

#35. "Figure it Out" – Serj Tankian

Released: 1/5/12

Album: Harakiri

When I think of Serj Tankian's solo career I hate to say it but I don't think it's been that great. I'm not knocking his ability to make good songs or that he's a bad musician or anything, but I just look at his solo career on one side, and look at his System of a Down career on the other side and see just a massive difference in quality.

But with "Figure it Out", on first glance, you ACTUALLY think it's System of a Down. It's probably the most "SOAD" Serj has sounded doing his solo career. And that certainly isn't a bad thing... unless it makes your heart ache because of how much you wish SOAD would make more music again. If you haven't heard "Figure it Out" because you've rejected Serj's solo career and you love SOAD, if there's one song you need to give a chance it's this one. You won't regret it.

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

If you missed #36 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: #90

#90. “Rebellion" – Linkin Park

Released: 4/6/14

Album: The Hunting Party

Featuring the guitarist and back up vocalist of System of a Down in Daron Malakian, this song kicks some serious ass. Riff wise, it's probably one of Linkin Park's heaviest tracks, then again when you consider it has the guitarist of SOAD taking part it's likely to be. I love the guitars in this song and the chorus is pretty sweet too. It's a great collaboration, one you wouldn't expect, and it's one that works surprisingly well; I mean sure, Linkin Park and System of a Down are both metal bands but they're very very different in style. And this song meets nicely towards the middle of both bands, even if it does have Linkin Park's name on the label. It's just an all-round great metal track and one that deserves more airplay than it has.

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

If you missed #91 go here.

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

The Metal Hour Show (20/1/14)

Hey guys. Sorry it's a bit late updating you all about this show. I did upload it five days ago.

This is a special show. Special because it's an "audition" show, as I attempt to get a slot on a Northern Irish radio station. I haven't heard yet whether or not I've been successful.

Even if I'm not successful it's probably the most successful show I've done, reception wise. I've had fantastic feedback from the show, from many different people. I have put a lot of content into it, to showcase my style and to show what I can do. Of course I'm not 100% happy with it, and I can definitely improve, but I'm so happy where I've come, in the past two months, in doing this. Being a radio DJ is a possibility as a career for me, but I have a long long way to go and have to get much better, and get better equipment, if I want this ambition to become a reality.

So yeah, have a listen to The Metal Hour below! Give me feedback, positive, or constructive negative, I thoroughly appreciate it!

The Metal Hour (20/1/14) by Johnny Mercyside on Mixcloud

The Metal Hour: 20/1/14
Track listing:
Symphony of Destruction - Megadeth
Dead Souls - Nine Inch Nails
Fire it Up - Black Label Society
Orion - Metallica
Bounce - System of a Down
Los - Rammstein
Pro-test - Skinny Puppy
Thieves - Limp Bizkit
Pussy All Night - Mindless Self Indulgence
Get to the Gone - Static-X
Everything Ends - Slipknot
I am the Warlock - Probot (feat. Jack Black)
Total running time: 01:00:00

Other entries you might want to read:
My Top 50 Favourite Video Game Villains - Listing
The Mercyside 100 - DJ Show
2013 Special Show (3/1/14) - DJ Show

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

Download Festival Special Show (4/12/13)

Note: This is my 250th post on my website. Woo.

Hello again. Great news this week. I've managed to find a way to get my DJ shows online.

I discovered (belatedly maybe? I dunno) a website called Mixcloud, which take pride in letting rookie or pro DJs upload their shows, without worrying about piracy or illegality issues, by proactively allowing royalties to go to the makers and creators of music for anything you upload. Meaning, I can broadcast my shows, and the artists get paid for it. It's win win.

So, this week's show is my homage, to the Download Festival. I play headliners of old, play music for the headliners of next year, and give a special "hello" to other bands who may or may not deserve recognition, behind other artist at the top of each bill.

So, you can listen to the show below, or go here, to view my Mixcloud account! I'll also put a link at the top bar for future references.

Please support me if you like my stuff, and of course, send in any song requests for any future shows, anywhere; here, Facebook, Twitter, Mixcloud, where ever you fancy.

All the best!

Download Festival Special (4/12/13) by Johnny Mercyside on Mixcloud

Download Festival Special Show: 4/12/13

Track listing:
Metallica - For Whom the Bell Tolls
Deftones - My Own Summer (Shove It)
Marilyn Manson - The Fight Song
Iron Maiden - Run to the Hills
Avenged Sevenfold - Hail to the King
Avenged Sevenfold - Beast and the Harlot
Avenged Sevenfold - Bat Country
Black Sabbath - War Pigs
Guns 'n' Roses - Sweet Child o' Mine
Drowning Pool - Bodies
Sylosis - Born Anew
The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster - Psychosis Safari
Aerosmith - Same Old Song and Dance
Aerosmith - Last Child
Aerosmith - (Dude) Looks Like a Lady
Slipknot - Psychosocial
Rage Against the Machine - Renegades of Funk
System of a Down - Chic 'n' Stu
Rammstein - Moskau
KoRn - Ya'll Want a Single
Stone Sour - Bother
Rob Zombie - Pussy Liquor
Alter Bridge - Metalingus
Fall Out Boy - This Ain't a Scene it's an Arms Race
Linkin Park - Papercut
Linkin Park - A Place for My Head
Linkin Park - In the End

Total show running time: 02:01:18

Other entries you might want to read:

• The Rock and Metal Double Feature Show (30/11/13) - DJ Show
• The Selection Show - DJ Show
• Mercy Licks - March 2013 - Listing

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

Mercy Licks - March 2013

Hey there, and welcome to the third edition of my Mercy Links. This section is basically me revealing to you the ten songs I've been listening to the most every month. I did February last month and naturally that makes March next on the list.

So what are the Ten Mercy Licks of March 2013? Let's find out...

#10: "Thrift Shop" - Macklemore and Ryan Lewis
This song was a sleeper with me. My brother told me to listen to it, I didn't like it. My friends started playing it, I still didn't think much of it. But it just kept being played in the background in my presence and eventually I caved in. I do like this song, it's very catchy and it sounds different to a lot of the hip hop around at the moment. It's a great track.

#9: "Elephant" - Tame Impala
I heard this on an advert and immediately sought out the song. Adverts are always a good source for decent songs that aren't immediately mainstream. It turned out this song wasn't a big hit when it came out in the first half of last year, and I seem like a minority in searching for the track beyond the advert, which is a shame, as it's a funky little psychedelic indie track. Give it a listen.

#8: "Figure it Out" - Serj Tankian
Serj's solo career away from System of a Down, while has never lacked in effort or quality, has for me and a lot of people been quite underwhelming. It's always hard for a solo career to outshine or even be just as good as a band career, but to be fair, it's even harder when that band is System of a Down, probably the most popular metal band of the last decade (although Slipknot may also claim that crown). But "Figure It Out" is a cracker of a track, and shows Serj has never left his SOAD roots, despite him changing his music direction quite a lot throughout his solo career. It really deserves a listen if you haven't heard it before, especially if you're a SOAD fan.

#7: "Low (feat. T-Pain)" - Flo Rida
I've always liked "Low", although I've never really liked admitting it. I've found myself playing it a lot recently for some reason, more than likely because it comes on a lot in the local club. It's just a really good RnB track, and man, I can't believe it's five years old now. That's a little weird.


#6: "Church" - T-Pain
Ladies and gentlemen! T-Pain makes the list twice, well, kinda. He wasn't the featured artist on the post above so I don't really consider him a double entry. Besides, this song is better than the one above, but chances are you haven't heard this track. I truly mean it when I say this is one of RnB's really great yet underrated tracks of the last decade. I really think you should give it a listen, if it's a genre of music you like chances are you'll really appreciate it.

#5: "Bangarang (feat. Sirah)" - Skrillex
Last Month: #2
And the first song to be featured in multiple months is "Bangarang" by Skrillex. I don't really know what to add to what I said last month, so all I'll say is that it's definitely not boring to play this track yet. It's still fricking awesome and I have it as my ringtone.

#4: "Linchpin" - Fear Factory

Last Month: #7
I predicted this would be featured in March and I was right. In fact, I played it more in March than I did in February. I do love this song a lot. It's just fantastic, and it's become one of my favourite ever industrial tracks. I don't know why I didn't pay more attention to it earlier; I had heard the song years ago!

#3: "Jus a Rascal" - Dizzee Rascal

It's funny. I also played "Bassline Junkie" a lot too, his newest track, which is pretty great I have to admit, but I recently rediscovered this song from his first album. It's probably my favourite Dizzee Rascal song but I had completely forgot about it, and how good it was too. If you're a fan of Dizzee and haven't heard this song, play it now, it sounds as fresh now as it did when it came out.

#2: "Niggas in Paris" - Jay-Z and Kanye West

For some reason, it took me ages to download this song, and since I have I have played it a shit load. It's just one of the best collaborations ever, but then again, Jay-Z has a habit of making great music with other music artists. And Kanye, musical talent wise, is great, even if he comes across as a total dick as a personality. Anyway, "Niggas in Paris" is just an incredible song, and one of the best songs to come out in 2011.

#1: "Get Low" - Lil Jon

Brrrrr-dum-dum... I love this song so much. And the bass is just so awesome on it when you turn it up. Not that that's the reason I've played it so much. I've just been hearing it a lot recently, and evidently played it even more at home. It was simply one of the best hip-hop songs of the last decade, and hasn't aged a bit. Whatever happened to Lil John anyway? He never stayed at the top for very long. This song is just a classic though. I love it.

So, that's a wrap for today. I hope you've enjoyed this list. Until next time, take care!

If you liked this article you might want to read:

• Mercy Licks - February 2013 - Listing
• Metal is Dead - Music Article
• Best of Industrial - Mixtape

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

Mixtape: Best of B-Sides

Hey there. Here's another one of my Mixtapes. This one celebrates the art of the B-Side. The B-Side is an underrated tool in music. Always initially considered inferior to its A-Side, it has to hope that some people like the A-Side enough for it to be listened, and then hope that its greatness some how outshines the song it's actually supporting. It's a bit like a support act for a gig really. There have been some fantastic B-Sides in music and I'm here to celebrate my favourites. I have a few from all sorts of different eras here so there's a decent selection. 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!

Before I get into the Mixtape, I have to set some caps. First and foremost, the B-Sides in this list were not released as singles, not before, not afterwards. They are not to appear on an album before or after either, unless it was a bonus track or on a bonus CD, or released on the album as part of a re-issue at a later date. EPs don't count either, but it can however, appear on an album full of B-sides, rarities, a mixture with live tracks and compilations. It can also appear on soundtracks. Another rule, is that Double A-Sides don't count. I know there's a stringent criteria here but it gets messy easily if you let lose all these criterias.

Anyway, let's get to it! My favourite B-Sides!

1. I Am the Walrus - The Beatles (A-Side: Hello, Goodbye) [Also appears on: Magical Mystery Tour (Soundtrack)]
2. Everyday - Buddy Holly (A-Side: Peggy Sue)
3. There Ain't Half Been Some Clever Bastards - Ian Dury and the Blockheads (A-Side: Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick) [Also appears on: Do It Yourself (Re-issued Album)]
4. I Heard it Through the Grapevine - The Slits (A-Side: Typical Girls)
5. Did You No Wrong - Sex Pistols (A-Side: God Save the Queen)
6. Turn Around - Devo (A-Side: Whip It)
7. Rosegarden Funeral of Sores - Bauhaus (A-Side: Telegram Sam) [Also appears on: In the Flat Field (Re-issue)]
8. Dead Beat Descendant - The Fall (A-Side: Cab It Up!) [Also appears on: Seminal Live (Live Album)]
9. Espionage - Green Day (A-Side: Hitchin' a Ride) [Also appears on: Shenanigans (B-sides Album)]
10. Van Tango - Franz Ferdinand (A-Side: Darts of Pleasure) [Also appears on: Franz Ferdinand (Limited Edition Bonus Disk)]
11. Map of Your Head - Muse (A-Side: New Born) [Also appears on: Hullabaloo (B-sides Album)]
12. 19-2000 (Soulchild Remix) - Gorillaz (A-Side: 19-2000) [Also appears on: G-Sides (B-sides Album)]
13. Sex Never Goes Out of Fashion - Garbage (A-Side: Shut Your Mouth)
14. Aneurysm - Nirvana (A-Side: Smells Like Teen Spirit) [Also appears on: Incesticide (Rarities Album)]
15. Rock Star (Jason Nevins Mix) - N.E.R.D. (A-Side: Rock Star) [Also appears on: SSX3 (video game soundtrack)]
16. Jolene - The White Stripes (A-Side: Hello Operator) [Not to be confused with the live recording that was released as a single many years later]
17. Professionalism - The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster (A-Side: Mister Mental)
18. I Love to Say Fuck - The Murderdolls (A-Side: White Wedding) [Also appears on: Beyond the Valley of the Murderdolls (Re-issue)]
19. Memorabilia - Nine Inch Nails (A-Side: Closer) [Also appears on: The Downward Spiral (Re-issue Bonus Disk)]
20. Johnny - System of a Down (A-Side: Chop Suey!) [Also appears on: Toxicity (Special Edition Bonus Disk)]
21. Astonishing Panorama of the Endtimes - Marilyn Manson (A-Side: Disposable Teens) [Also appears on: The Last Tour on Earth (Live Album)]

Want some alternatives? Here you go!

1. Dead Souls - Joy Division (A-Side: Atmosphere)
2. Paperbag Writer - Radiohead (A-Side: There There)
3. Guacamole - Super Furry Animals (A-Side: If You Don't Want Me to Destroy You) [Also appears on: Out Spaced (B-Sides Album)
4. Beat My Guest - Adam and the Ants (A-Side: Stand and Deliver) [Also appears on: Antics in the Forbidden Zone (Rarities Album)]
5. Rock and Roll Part 2 - Gary Glitter (A-Side Rock and Roll)

And that's it! If you like some of the artists above but have never heard these great B-Sides give them a whirl. Do you have any ideas about what other Mixtapes I can make? Have you got any other B-Sides you want to mention? Comment below if you do. That's it from me today to take care and spike your hair. Have a good night.

1998 in Music Review

Hey everyone, welcome to the second edition in a series of reviews of a year in music. Last month I reviewed the year 1999 and we’re going back one year earlier today, to 1998. How long will this go on for? Fuck knows, it depends how long I can do a respectable review of a year. If I start struggling with my own personal music tastes going backwards, then I’ll stop. I know a decent amount about music going back as early as the fifties but to list you 90 minutes of mixtape goodness for a year in the fifties is unlikely. Let’s be optimistic I can do this for some time though!

Just in case you missed the year 1999 in review, here’s the format. It will be done in five parts. I'll do a brief history of what happened in that year, followed by my five favourite albums of the year, then what I think the five best videos are. I'll then do a Top 10 most impactful (still refraining from using the word important) songs from that year. To wrap it up, I'll do my favourite songs in a mixtape format. So now that you know where I'm going with this, let's get to it!

Brief History of the Year 1998 in Music

• “Iris”, the huge hit by the Goo Goo Dolls, sets a new record in America by staying at #1 in the Hot 100 Airplay chart for 18 weeks.
• Steven Tyler, lead singer of Aerosmith, breaks his knee at a gig in Alaska. This had a huge effect on the making of the video for “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing”, as the camera angles had to be adjusted for shooting.
• KoRn release “Follow the Leader”, which goes on to sell 14 million albums, it’s still the highest selling to date by the band.
• Tommy Lee, drummer for Mötley Crüe, is arrested for beating up his superstar actress Pamela Anderson.
• In pop news George Michael was arrested in a toilet in Beverly Hills for what is reported as ‘lewd conduct’. Read between the lines.
• Geri Halliwell goes into hiding, and a representative reports that she has left the Spice Girls. She would not play with them live again for over eight years.

My Top 5 Albums of 1998

#5 - "The Queens of the Stone Age" by The Queens of the Stone Age
Released: 22/9/98
Rating: ***1/2 stars
Stand-out tracks: "Hispanic Impressions", "I Was A Teenage Hand Model", "Regular John"

 
Yeah that’s a low score. That’s because I was surprised when I did my research on the year that there wasn’t many albums I thoroughly enjoyed that were released. If you’ve been following me on here for sometime, you’ll know that I’m a huge fan of TQotSA. But this album wasn’t the best. They really defined their sound with their second album, “Rated R”, but this album really lacked in quality. It sounds like a generic stoner rock album; you can compare this album to many other bands of the genre and it’ll sound the same. TQotSA are above the genre of stoner rock, in a way that Nirvana are of grunge. But this effort has glimpses of what we were to see later on by the band, with “Hispanic Impressions” being a great little instrumental and “If Only” and “Regular John” still being played live by the band semi regularly even now.

#4 - "Version 2.0" by Garbage
Released: 4/5/98
Rating: **** stars
Stand-out tracks: "I Think I'm Paranoid", "Push It", "When I Grow Up"
 
This was released first in Japan on my birthday! Woo! Anyway, this was a good little album by Garbage. I always debate what was better, their debut or this, as they’re both good little crackers. I don’t listen to Garbage as much as I should, I thoroughly enjoyed their music when I was a kid and still do now. They were my big sister’s favourite band when she was younger. Version 2.0 was definitely a step forward for the band musically, from their self titled album “Garbage”, with a lot of inspiration from The Pretenders in their music. Shirley Manson will always be one of my favourite female vocalists from the nineties, she had a great voice.

#3 - "System of a Down" by System of a Down
Released: 30/6/98
Rating: ****1/4 stars
Stand-out tracks: "Peephole", "Sugar ", "Know"
 
This album to some people is now considered a classic. SoaD’s debut album was a true firecracker, it felt like a band of musicians venting all their frustrations of politics and life in general into thirteen tracks and thrashing it all out. That’s pretty much what it is actually, but like a lot of SoaD’s material, the material is venomous, but it’s a form of focused venom that packs a nice bite. “Peephole”, still to this day one of my favourite SoaD songs just does heavy metal with such fantastic style. “Sugar” is an excellent debut single, not many bands have had better ones that’s for sure.

#2 - "Hellbilly Deluxe" by Rob Zombie
Released: 25/8/98
Rating: ****3/4 stars
Stand-out tracks: "Dragula", "Demonoid Phenomenon", "Superbeast"
 
I reckon if this was released on any other year this would have been ‘#1 on that review list. But it wasn’t. There is one album in 1998 that I think is better. But I don’t want to take anything away from this album. Rob Zombie, lead singer of White Zombie, released his solo debut. And this is it. “Dragula” is an industrial metal classic. It’s untouchable as an important (yes, I said important) song of the decade, and the rest of the album isn’t far behind in terms of producing great sounding metal. I debated last year, when he released “Hellbilly Deluxe 2” about what was the better album, and while it’s a close call, I’ve got to keep faith to the original. “Hellbilly Deluxe” showed the world that Rob Zombie had moved away from his ‘gothic Motorhead’ roots and he stepped forward on his own, and produced an industrial clinic. If you like industrial metal, or heavy metal of many kinds for that matter, get this. Seriously. You will not be disappointed.

#1 - "Mechanical Animals" by Marilyn Manson
Released: 14/9/98
Rating: ****3/4 stars
Stand-out tracks: "The Speed of Pain", "Coma White", "I Want to Disappear”
 
I reviewed this album when I was around 14 or 15, you can read that retro review here. At the time I gave the album five stars, and if any album is deserving of such a perfect score, this would be one of them. I’m still a bit sceptical about keeping that score, so I've knocked it down a quarter of a star. I just find it hard to rate anything perfect, as there’s always a snag to be found somewhere.

Regardless though, this is an incredibly underrated album. I always dispute what is the better album, this or “Antichrist Superstar”, as they’re both incredible masterpieces. One thing is for sure, this is definitely Marilyn Manson on form, and probably, in his prime. The combination of Manson’s shrieking vocals, the raw industrial metal energy inspired by Nine Inch Nails get soothed and condensed into a modern glam rock tragedy. Manson took his influences from his teacher, Trent Reznor, and fused him with his love for David Bowie and produced this. It’s an amazing album, and there’s some fantastic material here. “The Speed of Pain”, “Coma White” and “The Last Day on Earth” are evidence that Manson does have some form of singing voice. Yes, he can sing. No, it’s not pure, and no, it’s not Susan Boyle, but there is something there that comes through his throat that is an incredible listen. I love it. If you’ve always been intrigued by Manson, and want to get a mellower version of his controversial self, give this a go. I doubt it will waste your time.

My Top 5 Music Videos of 1998

#5 - "Dragula" by Rob Zombie
 
This is one of thos videos that you either love or you hate. It’s so incredibly cheesy yet it’s awesome. Rob Zombie is for the most part, driving the Munster Koach, which isn’t actually the Dragula video he is speaking of, but it’s still a funny visual, seeing this man dressed in gothic clothing, beared, and full of black and white makeup, just dancing horribly in this weird looking car. Most of the rest of the video is from the 1939 serial film The Phantom Creeps. It’s just cheesy yet awesome at the same time.

#4 - "No Suprises" by Radiohead
 
Radiohead have been releasing great videos for sometime, some of them are are in depth (like Just, and Paranoid Android) while some of them are just simple concepts. This is one of the latter. The video is simply Thom Yorke, the lead singer, in what looks like a tank over his head. The lyrics are put on a reflection against the basin. Halfway through the song the tank fills up with water, for what seems like around a minute. In that time, Thom Yorke just stares at the camera. This minute or so, considering how simple the concept is, it’s really quite the visual. It wasn’t really a minute of underwater breathing, the director Grant Gee just sped up the tape and then reversed it, so it looked like it was a long time. But still, if you didn’t know that fact, it made you feel kinda uncomfortable, looking at some dude with a drooping eyelid (a condition Yorke has had since birth), staring at you. It’s a great visual noneoftheless.

#3 - "Vindaloo" by Fat Les
 
Who can’t love this video? It’s just a great parody of the iconic video “Bitter Sweet Sypmhony” by The Verve. Some of the scenes, like copying Richard Ashcroft’s walking over the car are just ripped into (the person playing Ashcroft’s character tries walking over it, before the car reverses and he falls over), it’s just so funny. There’s a lot of cameos in the video as well, like the actual band (which consist of Keith Allen, the actor, Alex James from Blur, and the artist Damien Hirst), Edward Tudor-Pole, Matt Lucas, David Walliams, a very young Lily Allen. It’s just a great British video, and served us well as an unofficial anthem for the 1998 World Cup.

#2 - "My Hero” by Foo Fighters
 
At #2 is another Foo Fighters effort. I’d probably say consistently in terms of a career of music videos, the best band of all time for music videos has to be the Foos. Consistently for over fifteen years, they’ve produced excellent music video after excellent music video. Most of them are humorous, but some of them are really good for different reasons. This being one of those reasons. “My Hero” is one of my favourite videos of all time, just for the sheer visual. Dave Grohl, the lead singer, directs the video, and it’s a simple concept once again, that of a man saving a woman’s baby from a fire, then going back into the burning building to rescue that woman’s dog. He goes in a final time to rescue a picture frame of the woman herself. The band is playing in the burning building as well. You never see the man’s face, and the baby and dog have been blocked out as a form of mockery for documentaries. Still that aside, it’s still a powerful video, one that is often overlooked I think.

#1 - "Rabbit in Your Headlights" by U.N.K.L.E. featuring Thom Yorke
 
Man this is one of the best music videos ever made. Truly. If you've never seen this video before you really need to stop what you're doing right now and watch it below. I don't want to even describe what it is. Just. Watch. It's just a magnificent piece of art.

The Top 10 Most Impactful Songs of 1998

As I said, I'm NOT calling it the 'important' list, although it's more than just popularity as well. Anyway, here are the 10 songs of the year. It's an unbiased list.

#10 - "No Surprises” by Radiohead
I spoke of this track in the Best Videos section but it really does show the strength of Radiohead when this tranquil piece gets to #4 in the charts despite it also being the third single off the album. “No Surprises” is definitely a Radiohead fan favourite however, and I fondly remember seeing an entire sea of fans singing it at Glastonbury one year. It’s a beautiful song, definitely one of Radiohead’s biggest soft songs, and it’s one for them to be proud of.

#9 - "The Bartender and the Thief” by Stereophonics
Some people think I often overlook the Stereophonics but in honesty they get mentioned more than played nowadays. A lot of people like them, yet you don’t often hear their songs on the radio, see them on music channels. It’s hard to back that stuff up really. Regardless, this song is one of their most popular, it was the debut single off their album “Performance and Cocktails”, and it got to #3 in our British charts. You still hear this track once in a while and it’s considered a live favourite as it’s one of their more catchy songs, as the Stereophonics tend to lean more towards a softer sound for their music.

#8 - "The Rockafeller Skank” by Fatboy Slim
“Right about now, the funk soul brother, check it out now, the funk soul brother, right about now…” and so on and so on. I don’t really need to go into much detail into this dance classic. Chances are you’ve heard it and know of it. It’s a catchy little tune by the man known as Fatboy Slim, although he doesn’t get any of the royalties for the track whatsoever, despite it getting to #6 here in the UK. Why? Well his lyrics are a sample of a rapper named Lord Finesse; there are also four more samples, “Sliced Tomatoes” by the Just Brothers, “I Fought the Law” by Bobby Fuller, “Beat Girl” by John Barry and “Peter Gunn” by Art of Noise. All of these artists share the royalties for the track. It’s a shame really, as this song is arguably more popular than all of those tracks combined, and they all probably got more money from Fatboy Slim than their own recordings. Poor Fatboy.

#7 - "Intergalactic” by the Beastie Boys
With it getting to #5 in the UK and winning a Grammy award, it’s safe to say this is the Beastie Boys biggest hits. It’s actually their biggest hit in this country so far, and is one of only two Top 10 hits by them (the other being “Ch-Check It Out”). While the group have had many ups and downs in their career, this is definitely seen as a career high chart wise, although the song is not as well considered as “Fight For Your Right” in terms of long term success. “Intergalactic” features the theme music from the 1980s film “The Toxic Avenger” and other samples, and the video is very popular too, where a giant robot causes chaos in a city and ends up fighting a large octopus. I only just realised how weird that sentence sounded.

#6 - "If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next” by the Manic Street Preachers
A little bit of trivia for you, this holds a record in the Guinness Book of Record as the longest song title to get a #1 hit that doesn’t have brackets. It is a really long song title that’s for sure. It’s arguably the band’s biggest hit, although they have been consistently a Top 20 band since the early nineties (between 1991 and 2007, the band have managed 24 Top 20 hits, quite a remarkable feat). The song is about Welsh volunteers in the Spanish Civil War fighting. For such a strong subject it’s quite a surprise that this got to #1 in a UK where dance and pop was rife but there you go.  I don’t think MSP will have a bigger hit either.

#5 - "Iris" by the Goo Goo Dolls
It may have had the longest run in the American charts with 18 weeks at the top but interest in the Goo Goo Dolls is nothing on what it was. Not only that, while it was a MEGA hit in the States, over here it only got to #26 and it’s their biggest hit here too. So it’s not the biggest song from this year, not anymore anyway, maybe if I were writing this thirteen years ago the outcome would be different. Regardless of that, the mellowness of the track, it’s significance to the film “City of Angels” and how it was arguably one of the first tracks that lead to the current trend of soft sounding music with instruments and romantic lyrics (ie James Blunt, Maroon 5 etc).

#4 - "Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)" by The Offspring
It can easily be argued that this is the song that The Offspring will always be known for. Punk Rock is by dominant a late seventies and early eighties genre, and in the late eighties and early nineties, save for Green Day, punk rock waned. But when this track came out, you can easily make a case that THIS is the song that brought the Punk Rock Revival. Blink-182 became big, Green Day became even bigger. Good Charlotte and Sum 41 were also a part of that new surge, amongst other bands. But this is really the song that brought Punk Rock back again, just in a softer, more approachable way. The song is really funny, and the lyrics are not about hating on something, but on some white trash guy trying to get involved with the ‘cool’ kids, and having some success along the way. It’s fun and catchy, and it’s an incredibly influential song in modern day terms.

#3 - "It’s Like That" by Run DMC vs Jason Nevins
According to Wikipedia, this song got to #1 in over thirty countries. That’s more than any song I’ve covered so far to my knowledge on this website if that’s the case. That’s an incredible achievement. It was huge when it was released, and it’s arguably one of the best remixes of all time. It’s most certainly one of the most successful. You have to give a huge amount of credit to Jason Nevins for this effort, he turned an ‘okay’ 1980’s rap song into a rap/dance classic. The song gets a great amount of airplay today and it sounds just as fresh as it did all those years ago. The video is a lot of fun too.

#2 - "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)" by Jay-Z
Jay-Z at this point in his career was quite a decent respected young rapper in the States, but he was a little fish in a big pond in the worldwide music scene. Until this song came out. This song opened the doors worldwide for him, especially in the UK, where it went straight to #2 in our charts. The song was a huge hit, and it remained his biggest hit in Britain for 11 years, when in 2009 he released “Run This Town” with Kanye West and Rihanna and finally topped our charts. But this song is bigger than that track, much bigger. “Hard Knock Life”, with it’s fantastic sample from the classic film “Annie” is just a solid rap track with strong connotations. It will forever be one of Jay-Z’s biggest moments, and finest moments even.

#1 - "I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing" by Aerosmith
Urgh I hate this song personally. But this is unbiased. It’s quite unbelievable how big this song was, and is. This song is more popular and more well received back then, and now, than the film it was promoting ever was (which was Armageddon by the way). This was Aerosmith’s first and so far only #1 hit in the official US charts. They were together for 28 years before they reached the holy grail. The song got to #4 here in the UK, but it was a #1 hit in no less than nine countries. I hear this song on the radio semi-regularly today. The video was also a big success. It’s easily Aerosmith coming full circle, with the band already having a decent amount of success worldwide already but never making that grand impact until this track came out. Even on a personal level for lead singer Steven Tyler it goes full circle, as his extremely gorgeous daughter Liv Tyler was featured in the film his biggest success story was promoting. All in all this is now a rock classic and will never be forgotten.

The Year 1998 Mixtape

Just in case you didn't know by now...

"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 here we go! My favourite songs from the year 1998. Yes, this is a biased list.

1. The Ballad of Tom Jones - Space and Cerys Matthews
2. Walking on the Sun - Smash Mouth
3. Pure Morning - Placebo
4. No Surprises - Radiohead
5. Pretty Fly (For a White Guy) - The Offspring
6. My Hero - Foo Fighters
7. Road Rage - Catatonia
8. It's Like That - Run DMC vs Jason Nevins
9. Vindaloo - Fat Les
10. Intergalactic - Beastie Boys
11. If Only - The Queens of the Stone Age
12. I Think I'm Paranoid - Garbage
13. Celebrity Skin - Hole
14. The Dope Show - Marilyn Manson
15. Got the Life - KoRn
16. Cracking Up - The Jesus and Mary Chain
17. Ava Adore - Smashing Pumpkins
18. Sugar - System of a Down
19. Dragula - Rob Zombie

And here are the five alternative songs if you don't like some of the above...

1. Rabbit in Your Headlights - U.N.K.L.E. featuring Thom Yorke
2. All Around the World - Oasis
3. The Rockafeller Skank - Fatboy Slim
4. This Is Hardcore - Pulp
5. Fly Away - Lenny Kravitz

And there we go! The year 1998 in review! I hope you've enjoyed this. So that’s two years covered from the nineties, next month naturally I’ll be covering 1997 and on a personal level I hope it’s better year as I was quite disappointed with this year, it was not as good as I anticipated. Any comments or queries? Raise them below. Thanks for your time.I'll be back tomorrow, yes that’s right, three posts in three days, with a live feed of the England match against Bulgaria. I hope to see you then.

Noughtie: The 100 Most Important Songs of the Decade (Part 6)

Overall Favourite Artists | Best of 2000 | Overall Least Favourite Artists | Best of 2001

Where Are They Now? | Best of 2002 | Best New Artists | Best of 2003 | My Guilty Pleasures
Best of 2004 | My Favourite Riffs | Best of 2005 | Underrated Artists | Best of 2006
 My Favourite Albums | Best of 2007 | Best Videos | Best of 2008 | Most Important Artists
Best of 2009 | 100 Favourite Songs of the Decade | 100 Most Important Songs of the Decade

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.

So we're half way through. I hope you've enjoyed the list so far, as you can see there is a fair balance of genres and the years the songs have come out in the list. I hope you agree with some and disagree with others, each person believes different songs are more important than others and there's nothing wrong with that. If you want to make your opinion known on this list by all means do it constructively in the comments section below. To recap, here's from #100 to #51:

#100: “Rebellion (Lies)” - Arcade Fire

#99: “Shut Me Up” - Mindless Self Indulgence

#98: “Grounds for Divorce” – Elbow

#97: “The Kill” - 30 Seconds to Mars

#96: “Bodies” - Drowning Pool

#95: “Rabbit Heart (Raise it Up)” - Florence and the Machine

#94: “Sing” - Travis

#93: “99 Problems” - Jay-Z

#92: “Wires” - Athlete

#91: “Slither” - Velvet Revolver

#90: “Feel Good Inc.” - Gorillaz

#89: “Warriors Dance” - The Prodigy

#88: “Filthy/Gorgeous” - Scissor Sisters

#87: “Uprising” - Muse

#86: “Last Nite” - The Strokes

#85: “Empire” - Kasabian

#84: “Famous Last Words” - My Chemical Romance

#83: “Gives You Hell” - The All-American Rejects

#82: “B.Y.O.B.” - System of a Down

#81: “Time is Running Out” - Muse

#80: “Everyday I Love You Less and Less” - Kaiser Chiefs

#79: “Duality” - Slipknot

#78: “Bohemian Like You” - The Dandy Warhols

#77: “Dry Your Eyes” - The Streets

#76: “Monster” - The Automatic

#75: “The Shock of the Lightning” - Oasis

#74: “Danger! High Voltage” - Electric Six

#73: “Break Stuff” - Limp Bizkit

#72: “Tribute” - Tenacious D

#71: “Bonkers” - Dizzee Rascal

#70: “Are You Gonna Be My Girl” - Jet

#69: “Cochise” - Audioslave

#68: “Feeling This” - Blink-182

#67: “Sugar, We're Goin Down” - Fall Out Boy

#66: “Foundations” - Kate Nash

#65: “Kings and Queens” - 30 Seconds to Mars

#64: “We Are All Made of Stars” - Moby

#63: “Gay Bar” - Electric Six

#62: “Fat Lip” - Sum 41

#61: “Time to Pretend” - MGMT

#60: “Standing in the Way of Control” - The Gossip

#59: “That's Not My Name” - The Ting Tings

#58: “Clint Eastwood” - Gorillaz

#57: “Butterfly” - Crazy Town

#56: “Teenage Dirtbag” - Wheatus

#55: “For Lovers” - Wolfman feat. Pete Doherty

#54: “Paper Planes” - MIA

#53: “Crazy” - Gnarls Barkley

#52: “Brianstorm” - Arctic Monkeys
#51: "Dance Wiv Me" - Dizzee Rascal

Without further delay, here's #50...

#50. "Wake Me Up Before September Ends" - Green Day
Released: 13/6/05
Album: American Idiot
Chart Positions: UK - #8, US - #6 (#2 in Hot Mainstream Tracks Chart) Best Elsewhere - Canada - #1

We start off the Top 50 important songs of the decade with this song. No accolades, no appearances in the media. But you can't deny the power of this song, the success of the track, and most importantly, how memorable it is. This was the fourth single off "American Idiot" would you believe. It's had more success worldwide on this listing than any other track so far, and more than a lot of the songs to come. It got to #2 in the WORLD charts. I didn't even know there was a world chart. Unless I've missed something none of the 50 songs preceding this track has appeared on the world chart! Anyway, another thing that makes this song so memorable is the video, and while I'm not considering the music videos as part of the places on the list, the video is a must watch if you haven't seen it before. It didn't appear as one of my Top 20, but that doesn't mean it wasn't a good one, and it was certainly memorable.

#49. "Ruby" - Kaiser Chiefs
Released: 5/2/07
Album: Yours Truly, Angry Mob
Accolades: #13 in Triple J's Hottest 100 of 2007
Appearances: Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (video game), Project Gotham Racing 4 (video game), SingStar Vol 2 (video game), Lego Rock Band (video game), PES 2010 (video game), Demons (TV series)
Chart Positions: UK - #1, US - #14 (in Alternative Songs Chart) Best Elsewhere - Czech R epublic, Europe and Ireland - #1

The Kaiser Chiefs highest selling single so far creeps in to the Top 50. It may be the highest selling single but it's not the song of theirs I consider most important, we'll get to that later on.
But "Ruby" is the song that got the Americans attention for the band. It was the song that really got the band global attention. It got featured on a lot of media, it got a lot of airplay in the states. You could argue globally, this is the most important song the band has done so far. But I still think the "other", as this list is biased slightly in favour of Britain, is more important. Regardless, "Ruby" was a huge hit, the band's first ever #1 in the UK, and a great song, albeit slightly lacking creativity at the same time.

#48. "Don't Upset the Rhythm" - The Noisettes
Released: 23/3/09
Album: Wild Young Hearts
Appearances: Mazda 2 (car advertisement)
Chart Positions: UK - #2, US - #4 (in Hot Dance Songs Chart) Best Elsewhere - Ireland - #8
 
I'm surprised thing song has no accolades or more major apperances of note, it was a huge song and a highlight in a very lackluster year in 2009. The Noisettes have taken the batton of the hottest new UK band in my opinion. I saw them in 2006 when they were just starting to get attention, they were the support band for Muse and they were decent. Then I heard "Don't Give Up" on FIFA  08 and it was one of the highlights of the soundtrack. It's still my favourite track. Then all of a sudden they just boomed. This song is their biggest hit so far yet I don't think this will be the end of them, I think they have that great hybrid of pop, funk and rock that will appeal to many different people. I see them as one of the potential highlights of THIS decade. Let's hope they prove me right!

#47. "Complicated" - Avril Lavigne
Released: 14/5/02
Album: Let Go
Accolades: Nominated for Song of the Year at the Grammy Awards, #8 in Rolling Stone Magazine's Top Singles of the Decade, #197 in Blender's Top 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born, #83 in Billboard Magazine's Top 100 Singles of the Decade, Single of the Year at the Juno Awards, Song of the Year at the Radio Music Awards, International Hit of the Year at the Ivor Novello Awards,
Appearances: Uptown Girls (movie trailer), Karaoke Revolution (video game), Buzz! The Music Quiz (video game),
Chart Positions: UK - #3, US - #2 (#1 in Mainstream Top 40 Chart) Best Elsewhere - Australia, Canada, Europe, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand and Norway - #1

This song is going to get a lot of negative feedback I'm sure.
"She's not even rock!" "She sucks!" "I can't believe you would consider this an important song!"
I can understand your disappointment don't get me wrong. I also think song sucks but... it IS rock. It's bubblegum rock, it's pop punk, and yes, it's shit. But this song was immensely popular at the time, by people who like pop music AND people who like rock music. Hell, the song was constantly played on Kerrang! So like it or lump it, this song deserves a place in this listing, genre AND importance wise.
So why is it important? I hate to say it, but at the time, Avril was a big deal. She represented the alternative to huge pop stars like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, in genre and appearance, to young girls. Some people don't seek music out, and for those people who only listen to the radio and TV, someone like Avril getting so much airplay provided a lot of people the alternative. She was compared to Natalie Imbruglia in her style, yet younger and quirkier (some could argue annoying, I know) and at the time, you could understand that. Afterwards Avril started moving away from her rock elements and just went all pinky pop, but at this time, she was an alternative pop artist, that had her own style, her own band, and a decent amount of respect by people who are divided in music. And look how successful the track was! #1 in so many countries! So I hope that makes sense. I'm not asking you to agree with me, but if you understand the logic, then that's all I ask.

#46. "Chop Suey!" - System of a Down
Released: 20/11/01
Album: Toxicity
Accolades: #3 in Triple J's Hottest of 2001
Appearances: Rock Band 2 (video game,), Rock Band Unplugged (video games)
Listings: Top 100 Favourite Songs of the Decade
Chart Positions: UK - #17, US - #76 (#7 in Alternative Songs Chart) Best Elsewhere - Australia - #14

So we go from Avril Lavigne to System of a Down. So what do they have in common? This unfortunately. Don't thank me for sending you that link.
But seriously, you can't talk about heavy metal in the decade without mentioning this track. It's just not possible. This song is one of the biggest metal songs of all time, not just the decade. System of a Down play a genre of music that isn't always accessable, is sometimes patronised, and is always got critics. Yet they get away with it because their songs are just so damn catchy. And this song is the epitome of that. It's such a heavy fucking track, yet look at it's chart positions. Look at the fact that if you ask so many metal fans if they like System of a Down, or even Chop Suey, how many of them say yes. They're just a universally popular band in the genre. And they're good guys too, they talk a lot of sense in their lyrics (although you can't hear half the lyrics in this song) and seem quite humble as well. If you ever want to get someone into metal, get them to listen to this track. Because it's a metal classic, it's beyond dispute.

#45. "Fire" - Kasabian
Released: 1/6/09
Album: West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum
Appearances: Premier League (football league theme)
Listings: Top 100 Favourite Songs of the Decade
Chart Positions: UK - #3, Best Elsewhere - Belgium - #3

Fire is what I think is the beginning of a major interest in Kasabian, worldwide. The band have always had moderate success here in Britain but they're starting to expand their sound across the world, and Fire is their highest charting single. I think when they bring out their next album, it'll be their biggest yet, I don't think we've seen the best of them. "Fire" is just a great sounding track, and it's obviously well thought of, being the official choice of theme for the Premier League, the most followed football league in the world. I am surprised this song hasn't got any major accolades however. I hope Kasabian can break America soon, it's long overdue.

#44. "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" - Green Day
Released: 29/9/04
Album: American Idiot
Accolades: #1 in Rolling Stone's Readers Choice Single of the Decade, #65 in Rolling Stone's Top 100 Songs of the Decade, Winner of Record of the Year at the Grammy Awards,
Chart Positions: UK - #5, US - #2 (#1 in Mainstream Rock Tracks), Best Elsewhere - Argentina - #1

Yes, that's the second Green Day track from the incredibly successful "American Idiot" album. It'd be safe to say for me that if I did a Top 10/20 Most Important Albums of the Decade list, this would be #1. The album was huge, the singles were huge, the album was ridiculously successful, it was THE biggest critical and commercial successful album of the decade. It's an album that will be compared to many greats from the nineties as well.
And this track is arguably more popular than the self titled album track. "Boulevard" was the track describing the main character of the album, Jesus of Suburbia, and his low and depressed stage. This was opposite of "Holiday" another single off the album, where Jesus of Suburbia is on a major high. The lyrics, the mood, Billy Joe's "aah, aaaah" vocals, everything was perfect. This song, for all intents and purposes, describes a lot of teenagers feelings today, for good or for bad. But regardless of the "emo" aspect of the song, it's a great track, and an extremely important song in the decade.

#43. "All My Life" - Foo Fighters
Released: 7/9/02
Album: One by One
Accolades: Winner of Best Hard Rock Performance at the Grammy Awards, #94 in Q Magazine's 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks,
Appearances: Rock Band (video game), Rock Revolution (video game)
Chart Positions: UK - #5, US - #43 (#1 in Alternative Songs Chart), Best Elsewhere - Norway - #13

The Foo Fighters are one of those bands that everyone loves and virtually no one dislikes. Dave Grohl is just one of the most genuine and humble rock stars of all time. And "All My Life", despite it not being the biggest Foo's song of the decade, was the song that made people think, this band have finally made it. Before this track, the Foo Fighters were always seen as the remnants of Nirvana, but never being a better band, never being a bigger band. Always the underlings. Yet this song really tested the waters, it really made people take the band seriously. And it's a fantastic track as well, the strumming throughout the song, the bum-bum bum-bum-bum guitar, it's a very simple yet effective part of the song. You straight away know what song is coming on when you hear that. It's a fantastic song, a decently successful one too at that. But there is more to come from this band on this listing.

#42. "Bring Me to Life" - Evanescence
Released: 22/4/03
Album: Fallen
Accolades: Winner of Best Hard Rock Performance at the Grammy Awards, #73 in Billboard's Best of Rock Songs of the 2000s
Appearances: Daredevil (movie)
Chart Positions: UK - #1, US - #5 (#1 in Alternative Songs Chart), Best Elsewhere - Australia, Europe and  Italy - #1

It's funny how circumstance can affect a song. Chances are, if things went to the original plan, we wouldn't have considered Evanescence anything more than a standard metal band with a female lead singer. But the initial surge of interest around the year 2002 for this band, and the decision for the makers of the movie Daredevil to consider this track the main song in their feature film, made the band release this as the first single off the album. "Going Under", a song that is appreciated more by the Evanescence and metal faithful than this track ever was, was going to be the song to be released first. And now Evanescence have a #1 hit on their hands, in multiple countries. They became the blueprint for a lot of female metal singers to follow for the rest of the decade. Amy Lee had become a sex symbol. The internal problems of the band became gossip news. I don't want to rain on Evanescence's parade for this song, it is a decent song actually, I like it, but as I said, it's funny how it's such an important song now, when it easily couldn't have been.

#41. "Shut Up and Let Me Go" - The Ting Tings
Released: 21/7/08
Album: We Started Nothing
Accolades: #27 in Rolling Stone's 100 Best Songs of 2008
Appearances: iPod (mobile phone advertisement), 90210 (TV series), Gossip Girl (TV series), The House Bunny (movie), Lifetime Movie Network (network channel), Final Score (TV series)
Chart Positions: UK - #6, US - #55 (#1 in Hot Dance Club Play Charts), Best Elsewhere - Mexico - #1

This song may not have charted as well as its predecessor, but this song has since topped it for popularity. It's the beat, it's the easy to hear and sing lyrics, it's the fact that it's much more accessible than "That's Not My Name" is. The Ting Tings have a habbit of making these really catchy songs that work between rock and pop, and find a very good amount of success globally as well. This song has been used on many different programs, most iconically on the iPad advertisements. If the duo keep making songs like this, like it or lump it, but this band won't be going anywhere soon.

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.