For New Year's I decided that I would have a countdown, and since I hardly ever write about music here, I figured that'd be as good a subject as any. However, since I have thousands of songs to slog through from the years 1960-2007, I never actually got around to listening to any new music. So, not one of these songs was actually released in 2008. But, most of them are fairly new... you know, except for the ones from 1966. I tried to list them in some sort of semblance of likability order, but it was damn hard, and I also limited it to one song by any given artist. I doubt these are in perfect order, but I'm not willing to agonize over the list for several more hours. So... Enjoy.
25. The Call - Reginia Spektor, from the 2008 album The Chronicles of Narnia Prince Caspian Soundtrack
I really hate that this is on the list, but it's so damn catchy. I must've heard this song two hundred times while working at the movie theater this summer, but it never got old. It probably brainwashed me, but whatever... I like it.
24. The World - The Starting Line, from the 2005 album Based on a True Story
23. Fable - Gatsby's American Dream from the 2005 album Volcano
A song about Lord of the Flies? Hell yes.
22. I'm on Fire - Bruce Springsteen from the 1985 album Born in the U.S.A.
Chalk this one up to my dad's habit of buying greatest hit's albums and the radio's inability to play lesser known songs, but somehow I never heard this song until this year.
21. When I Grow Up - Garbage, from the 1998 album Version 2.0
20. Take Cover - Acceptance, from the 2005 album Phantoms
19. Brighter - Paramore, from the 2005 album All We Know Is Falling
18. Live Forever - Oasis, from the 1994 album Definitely Maybe
Until this year I had only ever listened to What's the Story Morning Glory?, but this song is great. I really should check out more from this album.
17. Starlight - Muse, from the 2006 album Black Holes and Revelations
16. Banshee Song - Gob, from the 2007 album Muertos Vivos
The only song on this list that was also on the Best Halloween Song's list.
15. Do You Feel - The Rocket Summer, from the 2007 album Do You Feel?
14. The Underdog - Spoon, from the 2007 album Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Obnoxious album title, but a great song. It has an extremely catchy beat and good melody.
13. Pictures of You - The Last Goodnight, from the 2007 album Poison Kiss
I first heard this song after driving home from Ann Arbor after having one of the most interesting nights of my life with a girl... It involved a raccoon, and probably warrants a post one of these days.
12. Anyone Else But You - The Moldy Peaches
While definitely not my favorite song in Juno I did really enjoy the simple melody and quirky lyrics. It's probably done better by Ellen Page and Michael Cera, but this is the full version. I also really have no friggin' clue what album this is from. Now, I realize that Juno came out last year, but I for the life of me can't remember when I went to see it. Anyway, I certainly never really started listening to the songs from the movie on any regular basis until 2008.
11. Sea of Love - Cat Power, from the 2007 album Music from the Motion Picture Juno
Also from Juno.
10. Shimmer - Fuel, from the 1998 album Sunburn
9. Only Women Bleed - Lita Ford, from the 1990 album Stiletto
This is a cover of an Alice Cooper song, but frankly as much as I like Cooper, I'm not all that into his music. I think it's much more fitting to have this song sung by a woman, anyway.
8. The Conversation - Motion City Soundtrack, from the 2007 album Even If It Kills Me
Sad as hell, but with a lot of enjoyable lyrics. I first heard this thanks to Julia Nunes.
7. Breathe Me - Sia, from the 2004 album Colour The Small One
6. A Well Respected Man - The Kinks
This song was released in 1966... I have no idea how it took me over fifty years to hear it. It's great and also from Juno.
5. Pieces - Sum 41, from the 2004 album Chuck
4. All the Young Dudes - Mott the Hoople, from the 1972 album All the Young Dudes
Juno again...
3. A Lifetime - Better Than Ezra, from the 2001 album Closer
A song about death... sad, sweet, gives you that bittersweet feeling of longing in your gut, just amazing.
2. Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect - The Decemberists, from the 2002 album Castaways and Cut-Outs
I don't really have any idea what this song is about, but someday I'm going to really sit down and study it. This song might have the best lyrics of any that I have ever heard, everything just fits perfectly. It's slow, melancholy and just beautiful.
1. New Slang - The Shins, from the 2001 album Oh, Inverted World
This might be my favorite song of all time. The lyrics are second only to the above mentioned and everything else about it is even better. Nothing has ever better captured the feeling I get in my gut late at night better, not even my countless attempts at writing about it.
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Greatest Halloween Songs
Halloween is almost upon us, and you all know what that means... yes, hearing Monster Mash until your ears bleed. While, I won't deny that I enjoyed the song as a kid, and that it is catchy, I've had my fill of Monster Mash for this lifetime. So, we here at BSD have attempted to compile a few song to replace it. The first seven songs were picked by me, the last eight by Caleb...
Witchy Woman by the Eagles
Why it rocks: Sure, it's an obvious pick, and not one of my favorite Eagles song, but you can't deny that it fits here. The music is wailing enough to be creepy, and while the lyrics seem a bit contrived at times, there are some nice lines.
Scariest/creepiest line:
Crazy laughter in another room
And she drove herself to madness with a silver spoon.
Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin
Why it rocks: Perhaps overplayed to the point of having lost all meaning for most people, it was always one of my favorite songs growing up. The music in undeniably creepy and sad, the theme of death permeates the entire song.
Scariest/creepiest line:
Your head is humming and it won't go,
In case you don't know,
The piper's calling you to join him
Banshee Song by Gob
Why it rocks: Well... it's about a Banshee, and love... or something. I'm sure that's a metaphor for something, but... Banshees! Another very creepy melody and obviously Halloweeny lyrics.
Scariest/creepiest line:
I am every waiting
You are out there wailing
Mr. Crowley by Ozzy Osbourne
Why it rocks: Organ music, lyrics about the craziest motherfucker in Victorian England, and Ozzy Osbourne... can't get much scarier than that. I'd like to see Ozzy sing this to Alistair Crowley's corpse... that would make a damn good concert, actually.
Scariest/creepiest line:
Mr. Crowley, what went on in your head,
Mr. Crowley, did you talk to the dead.
Lady in Black by Uriah Heep
Why it rocks: Solemn, but with a nice beat. The lyrics are almost spit out and the refrain is replaced simply by a moaning wail by the only band (that I know of) named after a Dickens character.
Scariest/creepiest line:
And I begged her give me horses to trample down my enemy,
So eager was my passion to devour this waste of life.
Werewolves of London by Warren Zevon
Why it rocks: Without a doubt my favorite Halloween song. It's oddly upbeat for the subject matter, but the music has just a tinge of creepiness to mitigate that fact. Quirky, fun and violent, what is more Halloweeny than that? Ahoooooooooo!
Scariest/creepiest line:
I saw a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand,
Walking down the streets of Soho in the rain.
Ice Cream Man by Tom Waits
Why it rocks: The sheer eeriness of this song gets me every time. The twang of the bells and the melodic chimes in the song’s opening are hypnotizing and the melodic sexual innuendos in the lyrics are a virtual Pied Piper’s pixie song of Humbert Humbert or Pennywise.
Scariest/creepiest line:
I got a cherry Popsicle right on time
A big stick, mamma, that'll blow your mind
I Hear the Rain by the Violent Femmes
Why it rocks: A slightly quicker (and slightly creepier) funeral dirge than we’re used to.
Scariest/creepiest line:
Burry me out on a lone prairie.
Friendly calls of the coyote.
Thriller by Michael Jackson
Why it rocks: Three of the greatest words in horror cinema: Vincent Price voiceover. Price did for terror what John Waters did for homosexuality in a way Hitchcock and Castle could only dream of.
Scariest/creepiest line:
Creatures crawl in search of blood
To terrorize your neighborhood.
Hybrid Moments by The Misfits
Why it rocks: It wasn't easy choosing just one Halloweeny non-Halloween song by the Misfits- there are too many to choose from. Hybrid Moments captures the feeling of fleeting fun which Halloween carries with it the older I get.
Scariest/creepiest line:
If you’re gonna scream, scream with me.
Weird Scene by Mr. Brown
Why it rocks: For a very long time I had no idea what this song was. I heard it on Little Steven’s Underground Garage while driving to Grand Rapids, MI on Halloween in 2006. It has since become one of my favorite songs and supplement to Ray Bradbury’s classic Halloween short story The Homecoming.
Scariest/creepiest line:
Uncle Billy’s always locked away inside the shed
He’s got these little marks along the right side of his head
Says he got them swimming with the dolphins in the sea
He is the favorite uncle of the weirdest family.
Goosebumps Theme
Why it rocks: This song still sends a shiver down my spine. When I was young this show scared me more than the X-Files did because it could keep my attention, was fully comprehendible, and this song. The strings are like knives and the piano is like the forest in Hansel and Gretel.
Scariest/creepiest line:
Viewer beware, you’re in for a scare.
Ride of the Valkyries by Richard Wagner
Why it rocks: This song is a Halloween hold over from my parents. I'm used to when hearing this song being told about how for the first few Halloweens my parents lived together they would set up speakers on the windowsill of there flat and play it all day long until trick-or-treating was over or the church down the street from them asked that it be turned off.
Scariest/creepiest line:
“All that listening to Wagner makes me wants to invade Poland”
~ Oscar Wilde on Wagner
I Put a Spell on You by CCR
Why it rocks: While not really all that relevant to the topic, I'll admit... it does talk about magic. The real reason this is on the list is because of the pounding, incessant music and the growling cries of Foggerty.
Scariest/creepiest line:
I put a spell on you, because you're mine.
Why it rocks: While not really all that relevant to the topic, I'll admit... it does talk about magic. The real reason this is on the list is because of the pounding, incessant music and the growling cries of Foggerty.
Scariest/creepiest line:
I put a spell on you, because you're mine.
Witchy Woman by the Eagles
Why it rocks: Sure, it's an obvious pick, and not one of my favorite Eagles song, but you can't deny that it fits here. The music is wailing enough to be creepy, and while the lyrics seem a bit contrived at times, there are some nice lines.
Scariest/creepiest line:
Crazy laughter in another room
And she drove herself to madness with a silver spoon.
Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin
Why it rocks: Perhaps overplayed to the point of having lost all meaning for most people, it was always one of my favorite songs growing up. The music in undeniably creepy and sad, the theme of death permeates the entire song.
Scariest/creepiest line:
Your head is humming and it won't go,
In case you don't know,
The piper's calling you to join him
Banshee Song by Gob
Why it rocks: Well... it's about a Banshee, and love... or something. I'm sure that's a metaphor for something, but... Banshees! Another very creepy melody and obviously Halloweeny lyrics.
Scariest/creepiest line:
I am every waiting
You are out there wailing
Mr. Crowley by Ozzy Osbourne
Why it rocks: Organ music, lyrics about the craziest motherfucker in Victorian England, and Ozzy Osbourne... can't get much scarier than that. I'd like to see Ozzy sing this to Alistair Crowley's corpse... that would make a damn good concert, actually.
Scariest/creepiest line:
Mr. Crowley, what went on in your head,
Mr. Crowley, did you talk to the dead.
Lady in Black by Uriah Heep
Why it rocks: Solemn, but with a nice beat. The lyrics are almost spit out and the refrain is replaced simply by a moaning wail by the only band (that I know of) named after a Dickens character.
Scariest/creepiest line:
And I begged her give me horses to trample down my enemy,
So eager was my passion to devour this waste of life.
Werewolves of London by Warren Zevon
Why it rocks: Without a doubt my favorite Halloween song. It's oddly upbeat for the subject matter, but the music has just a tinge of creepiness to mitigate that fact. Quirky, fun and violent, what is more Halloweeny than that? Ahoooooooooo!
Scariest/creepiest line:
I saw a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand,
Walking down the streets of Soho in the rain.
Ice Cream Man by Tom Waits
Why it rocks: The sheer eeriness of this song gets me every time. The twang of the bells and the melodic chimes in the song’s opening are hypnotizing and the melodic sexual innuendos in the lyrics are a virtual Pied Piper’s pixie song of Humbert Humbert or Pennywise.
Scariest/creepiest line:
I got a cherry Popsicle right on time
A big stick, mamma, that'll blow your mind
I Hear the Rain by the Violent Femmes
Why it rocks: A slightly quicker (and slightly creepier) funeral dirge than we’re used to.
Scariest/creepiest line:
Burry me out on a lone prairie.
Friendly calls of the coyote.
Thriller by Michael Jackson
Why it rocks: Three of the greatest words in horror cinema: Vincent Price voiceover. Price did for terror what John Waters did for homosexuality in a way Hitchcock and Castle could only dream of.
Scariest/creepiest line:
Creatures crawl in search of blood
To terrorize your neighborhood.
Bela Lugosi's Dead by Bauhaus
Why it rocks: Tragic and romantic, just like Dracula, just like Lugosi.
Scariest/creepiest line:
The count,
Bela Lugosi’s‘s dead,
Undead undead undead.
Why it rocks: Tragic and romantic, just like Dracula, just like Lugosi.
Scariest/creepiest line:
The count,
Bela Lugosi’s‘s dead,
Undead undead undead.
Hybrid Moments by The Misfits
Why it rocks: It wasn't easy choosing just one Halloweeny non-Halloween song by the Misfits- there are too many to choose from. Hybrid Moments captures the feeling of fleeting fun which Halloween carries with it the older I get.
Scariest/creepiest line:
If you’re gonna scream, scream with me.
Weird Scene by Mr. Brown
Why it rocks: For a very long time I had no idea what this song was. I heard it on Little Steven’s Underground Garage while driving to Grand Rapids, MI on Halloween in 2006. It has since become one of my favorite songs and supplement to Ray Bradbury’s classic Halloween short story The Homecoming.
Scariest/creepiest line:
Uncle Billy’s always locked away inside the shed
He’s got these little marks along the right side of his head
Says he got them swimming with the dolphins in the sea
He is the favorite uncle of the weirdest family.
Goosebumps Theme
Why it rocks: This song still sends a shiver down my spine. When I was young this show scared me more than the X-Files did because it could keep my attention, was fully comprehendible, and this song. The strings are like knives and the piano is like the forest in Hansel and Gretel.
Scariest/creepiest line:
Viewer beware, you’re in for a scare.
Ride of the Valkyries by Richard Wagner
Why it rocks: This song is a Halloween hold over from my parents. I'm used to when hearing this song being told about how for the first few Halloweens my parents lived together they would set up speakers on the windowsill of there flat and play it all day long until trick-or-treating was over or the church down the street from them asked that it be turned off.
Scariest/creepiest line:
“All that listening to Wagner makes me wants to invade Poland”
~ Oscar Wilde on Wagner
by Matt&Caleb
Friday, June 20, 2008
In the words of Vanilla Ice...
"Ice Ice maybe?"
Sorry about that, but I just couldn't help myself. Mars!
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Ein Aquarium Explodieren
While I know most of you won’t understand the song, I think it’s a good song and should be enjoyable even without speaking German, and it’s pretty easy to understand what’s going on from the video. Besides, the destruction of the apartment is pretty damn awesome.
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