The feedback from my
first instalment of this new series was fairly positive and I'm glad
that this is the case. Though, I had a friend who said that if he
knew I was taking on such an undertaking, he would have warned me
against it. I can understand that. As a fellow music lover, he's
aware of how much music one listens to in their lives, and it's far
more than you know. And indeed, I might have gone insane if I didn't
take comfort in knowing that my list had to have room for error. This
was a project that I had to go into knowing that I would never be
100% satisfied with. The truth is that there is too much amazing
music being made and there is so much that I haven't even heard.
As to why I'm doing it? I don't really know. I just kind of wanted to. It's not for me to show off what kind of awesome music I like, in fact, sometimes I think it's the opposite. To some degree I think it leaves me a bit vulnerable because not all of the music that I like people would consider “cool.” You'll see some of those in this chapter.
Remember, the order of
the songs is really loose. I don't know if there is any significant
difference between how much I like #90 versus how much I like # 85.
Really, just the fact that these songs are on the list is honour
enough in my opinion.
90.) Fleetwood Mac –
The Chain (1977)
I enjoyed this song
before I really knew who Fleetwood Mac were and how big an album
Rumours was. It was just one that kept on reappearing and each
time I heard it, the song became more and more compelling. I'm not
the biggest Fleetwood Mac fan, I have to confess. I haven't heard
much except for the extremely successful Rumours, and I enjoy that
album, but I can't say that I love it with the exception of “The
Chain”, which is easily the best song on the album by far and away.
It's got a much more serious and darker tone. There is a country
twang to the sound, but at the heart of the song, it's blues. “The
Chain” is a two act song, with the first act delivering the hooks
and the meat of the song, but the second act is just as good. A
dramatic build up to a climatic finish, complete with excellent
guitar solos. From the album, it's the least poppy and the most
ambitious and it pays off big time.
I instantly became a Sigur Ros fan when in 2005 I heard their album
Takk... and was struck by its intense cinematic quality. After a
little bit of research, I found that the next album of theirs I
wanted to check out was Ágætis byrjun, their
second album from 1999. And what was most shocking to me was how
amazingly different it was from Takk... in mood, instrumentation and
ambition. But the track that stood out the most as a unique entity
was “Hjartað hamast” which translates into “The Heart
Pounds.” It's a dark and moody song, opening with a strange and
quirky synthesized riff and a harmonica of all things. They make it
work though. It sounds almost charming until the song reveals its
true colours and becomes quite dramatic as the thunderous guitar
enters, a sound created by playing the electric guitar with a cello
bow. The end result is fascinating and nothing short of
heart-stopping. Well, I guess it didn't really stop my heart and I'm
grateful for that. This song is truly an original pleasure. I never
heard anything like it before or since.
88.) Ian Pooley feat.
Esthero – Balmes (A Better Life) (2001)
What's great about Ian
Pooley's “Balmes” is that it is a perfect dance song. So much so
that it makes the flaws of modern dance hits so obviously apparent.
Admittedly, it's a shallow song, just there to have a great beat, a
good hook, and sexy singing. But that's like every dance song, is it
not? Yes, but this is just so much better. The hook is incredible,
the beat is infectious, and the lyrics are sexy, but in no way crude
or explicit like so many hits today. And to top it all off, Pooley
teamed up with one of the best vocalists in the business, Esthero,
who is in no need of auto-tune to sound incredible. It is a
completely unpretentious, fun, pop song that knows its demographic
really well. Its sentiment is that we all want a better life and that
is somehow achieved on this very dance floor. I can only assume it's
because any dance floor is better with this song playing. Dance
floors go downhill once Flo Rida starts playing and you're reminded
of how futile a life of partying is, but that's neither here nor
there.
Truth be told, this is
the only song I've ever heard by Ian Pooley despite a lengthy
discography. I just never thought to hear more stuff from him. But
that's because I didn't realize how much I loved this song until
years after it came out. I always liked it, but I think what puts it
in this list is how long I've really enjoyed it. I have continually
enjoyed this song for 12 years and it has only gradually gotten
better. And that's something special because pop and dance music is
created for short term fulfilment. It's catchy and once that loses
its appeal, you move onto the next flavour of the week. But clearly
there is a lot more to appreciate in “Balmes.” Is is Esthero's
voice? Is it the Latin influenced guitar? Is is the quotable words?
Personally, I think it's just the right combination of everything.
87.) Air – Universal
Traveller (2004)
Trying to figure out my
favourite song by Air was really tricky. I almost picked “Radio
#1,” but wound up siding with “Universal Traveller,” one of
their more memorable and mellow tracks off of 2004's Talkie
Walkie. This song just always demands my attention. I almost feel
like I need to drop what I'm doing and pay attention to it and really
listen to it. It could work as background music, but I feel like I
need to concentrate and absorb it. Every time I do it rewards me. The
song brings feeling of peace and tranquillity, lightening my day and
calming my spirit. It's carried by acoustic guitar, gentle vocals
(with a French accent, I might add), and a beautiful synthesized
sound. In fact, I think it's the synth sections that really sell the
song, thick with reverb and composed with a sure footedness, mixed
with a feeling a spontaneity.
Actually, the whole
Talkie Walkie album is great. While many cite Daft Punk as
pioneers of modern electronica, Air were making great albums around
the same time, bringing out emotionally provocative and artistically
credible music that never quite hit the mainstream, but pleased fans
and critics alike. That's a good place to be in, in my opinion.
86.) Mylon & Broken
Heart – Trains Up In The Sky (1985)
Hey, don't judge me.
I'm totally allowed to have ridiculous 80's Christian rock on this
list. It's my list. Can't be helped. I grew up on this stuff and not
all of it aged well. Admittedly, “Trains Up In The Sky” is one
that didn't age so great, but it sure does encapsulate what Mylon &
Broken Heart were all about. And even then, I have no shame in
admitting that I love some ridiculous 80's music. I only wish that
bands had as much gumption these days as they did back then. This
song takes your guitar solo and raises you a keytar solo. I
think for the full affect you need to watch the music video. It
really just puts everything into perspective.
When I was a kid, we
had a VHS of Mylon & Broken Heart music videos along with a bonus
video, a very very early song by Newboys. This song was
definitely my favourite in the collection. And my brother and I
watched these videos all the time. It really takes me back. It also
reminds me of looking at all of the cover art to my parents' record
collection. Things that captured my imagination then make me snicker
now, but the faux-digitalized picture of the band was pretty cool
back then. Now? Well, like I said, not everything ages gracefully. I
have that very vinyl copy of Sheep In Wolves Clothing in my
collection right now though. How could I get rid of it?
It might sound like I'm
poking fun at Mylon and the boys a bit, and maybe I am, but I do have
a lot of respect for the band. They're one of the groups that I
purposefully sought out when I went through a phase of rediscovering
my old childhood albums. I have no regrets over finding them again.
85.) Sondre Lerche –
Two Way Monologue (2004)
Sondre Lerche's “Two
Way Monologue” works because at the end of the day, all preferences
aside, it is a fantastically written song. There really is something
special about it. A good friend of mine sent it to me, and I could
always trust her taste in music. This was back when people sent each
other MP3's through MSN Messenger and didn't just post Youtube videos
of songs on friend's Facebook walls. It's one of those little details
of life that evolved before I knew what happened. This song takes me
back to those days actually. It was an era where my taste in music
was going through a real evolution as I transitioned from a
highschool kid to a college student. My mind was opening up. And
while “Two Way Monologue” didn't particularly feel like a
landmark in my life musically at the time, it has lasted pretty well
over the years and prevailed while my interest in some other bands
has waned. And part of that is because, like I said, it's a well
written song. It's got personality and energy. It's contemplative,
but humourous. It's catchy, but breaks formula. It was so good that I
bought the album. The rest of said album isn't quite as instantly
gratifying as its title track, but it's got a lot of great songs on
it that have a lot of personality and charm. But it's hard to beat
“Two Way Monologue,” the song that just keeps on giving.
The video is great, but
I like the full version of the song much better.
84.) Limahl – The
NeverEnding Story (1984)
Limahl's primary claim to fame is being the lead singer of Kajagoogo,
known for their song “Too Shy.” But he also had a hit song as a
solo singer, the promotional single and title song of The
NeverEnding Story. First off, I love that movie. I think it's one
of the best family films ever made, but I've reviewed it before so if
you want to see more about that, read that. But the point is that it
was a film that I grew up with and meant a lot to me. As such, “The
NeverEnding Story” song evokes a lot of excitement from me. I
instantly get the image of foreboding clouds, a picture that
fascinated me as a child. And while the song is a fair bit dated,
there are still a lot of strong ideas in it and a great execution.
It's just a great pop song, carried by a smart combination of chords
and soaring vocals. Though, I must confess that I grew up thinking
that it was sung by a black woman, but no, he's just a gay man with a
very memorable bleach blonde mullet. Admittedly, the song is a bit...
fluffy, but it's tied to the right memories to make it on my list. I
remember sitting at my Grandparents' house, browsing their selection
of movies, only a few of which were of any interest to me back then.
The NeverEnding Story was always at the top of our list to
watch, along with the Star Wars trilogy naturally. You know,
I wish I could browse that movie collection again. My grandparents
are appreciators of cinema and I imagine that it would be a quality
collection that would interest me a lot more now.
83.) Moist –
Underground (1999)
Moist were a band that
were a big deal in Canada, but I'm not sure if they took off anywhere
else. I was a bit too young to appreciate their music when they were
at their peak, but I do remember catching the video to “Underground”
on Much Music and really liking it well before I knew who Moist were.
It always stuck with me and I sought to find the track again and
wouldn't until years later. Turns out that I was always close to
finding them as I was a bit of a David Usher fan in the early 2000's
when he spawned a few hits. As it turns out, he was the lead singer
of Moist and had an even more successful solo career after the band
stopped producing music. “Underground” gets major points for
having a great introduction before the meat of the song even really
kicks in. What is interesting about
this song is that it's a little hard to peg which section of the song
is the chorus and which is the verse. There is a heavier section and
then a lighter section, both of which are very compelling and really
lock me into the song. David Usher's singing is part of the song's
success as he is a very emotive and unique singer. But I don't want
to give him all of the credit because it's just generally a very well
put together track. Also, the string section in the end is a nice
touch.
As a whole, I could
take or leave most of Moist's music, but I feel that “Underground”
is an indispensable piece of Canadian music and should be a better
known rock classic.
82.) Filter – Take A
Picture (1999)
Unlike “Underground”
by Moist, when “Take A Picture” came out, I was instantly
enamoured with it. Someone once told me that this song was about a
father walking in on his son masturbating, but that apparently isn't
true. It's about an episode the singer on an airplane that somehow
involved him taking his clothes off. That's much better of course.
Well, in any case, “Take A Picture” is probably the only song by
Filter I actively enjoyed, but I really do enjoy it. I just love the
whole vibe and style of it. The percussion has a sort of tribal feel
to it, the way the vocals are processed in the chorus is strangely
appealing, and sometimes I really like the sound of acoustic guitar
in a rock song. Something about the way this song is written and
produced just really works for me. It just seems to have the right
balance of everything in it. It's kind of cool when you can just tell
that a producer has done his job really well and maximized the
potential in a track.
Not a lot of specific
memories attached to this song because I've been listening to it for
a lot of years, but I do remember, at the beginning of the last
decade, when the song was about to be played on the radio, the DJ
saying “I can't believe this song is already a year old!” Well,
now I can say “I can't believe this song is 15 years old!”
Because seriously...
81.) Massive Attack –
Risingson (1998)
Massive Attack's
Mezzanine is considered a trip-hop essential album and spawned
a few successful singles, this was one of them. But I find that
people remember the song “Teardrop” the most, propelled by the
fact that it was used as the theme to the hit show House. But
it's their dark club anthem “Risingson” that always struck me as
the winner of the collection, which is saying a lot considering how
solid the album is. But there is something really dramatic and
foreboding about the two rappers, likely due to the fact that they're
voices just sound really cool. The bass line is deep and creepy. but
the icing on the cake is that synthesized loop at the end, which is
one of the best sounding synth-loop I've probably ever heard. It's
gritty and full of reverb, and gives the song a really cool dramatic
flare. The whole song is just a masterpiece of modern electronica,
capturing the fascinating darkness of 1990's trip-hop, leaving not a
sense of hopelessness, but a strange feeling of wonder and awe.
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