Wednesday, January 12, 2011

My Top Songs of 2010

Pictures of the Floating World inspired me to make my own list of the top songs of 2010. I know it's a little late for a New Year retrospective blog post but what the hey. There is no particular order to these songs. They are just songs that inspired me and/or I could relate to. Usually I don't pay attention to the lyrics because I like to study the music (you know because I'm also a musician). There are a few songs that I liked for the lyrics though.

1)My Bloody Valentine - Cupid Come, (When You Wake) You're Still In A Dream, I Can See It (But I Don't Feel It. This is one of my favorite bands of all time. Their guitar tunesmithery (new word!) is still inspiring even after 22 years. Coincidentally, they had the same producer that Nine Inch Nails used for The Fragile album. I didn't know this when I started obsessively studying The Fragile and the My Bloody Valentine albums, Isn't Anything and Loveless for my personal music. Going a little off the beaten path can really help you get creative with your own music. On Wikipedia I just found out that My Bloody Valentine were signed to Island Records, which is the same company looking at my music. Now I really want to be signed to Island, considering also that I want the same producer! Favorite for this year is I Can See It (But I Don't Feel It).

2)Nine Inch Nails - No You Don't, The Great Below, The Perfect Drug, The Beginning of the End, Survivalism, Capital G, The Great Destroyer, In This Twilight. Favorite for this year is In This Twilight.

3)The Black Eyed Peas - Meet Me Halfway. I was listening to a lot of Europop/Synthpop this year. This was my favorite.

4)Built To Spill - Kicked It In the Sun. I like the lyrics. My favorite lines are from the second half of the song:
it's alright now I'm getting over getting mine
it's alright now I'm getting over getting mine

he seemed so unashamed of how he operated
corresponds to the facts that you want
despite his expectations
he turned out mediocre
his master plan was so so
we're special in other ways
ways our mothers appreciate
that net does not make me feel safe
all those holes make me nervous

he woke up late that morning
went to the window and saw the sun had stopped its shining
so so
we're special in other ways
ways our mothers appreciate
we're special in other ways
ways our mothers appreciate
we're special
we're special

5)Courtney Love - Letter To God, Pacific Coast Highway, Happy Ending Story, For Once In Your Life. This album, Nobody's Daughter, is autobiographical, and I think she wrote it while in rehab. The lyrics also suggest that she found God.

6)The Frame - Sad Songs. Makes me cry every time I hear it. Seriously, I can't listen to it at work because of this. These are the lyrics of a man resigned to his fate, giving up ever making it. Incidentally, he did end up making it. It is inspiring because I feel like I'm where he was before he made it.

7)Girls Against Boys - Wow Wow Wow. Another sonic flood of tunesmithery. I literally looped this for two hours one day.

8)Johnny Cash - Solitary Man. I have the original version by Neil Diamond on vinyl, and I like that just as much. You'd have to spend a day in my shoes to understand why I like this.

9)Local H - Lovey Dovey. A song about others being in love when you are not.

10)Mission Of Burma - That's When I Reach For My Revolver. Obscure Punk/Alternative band from the 80s. It has a good feeling kind of like the Kids In the Hall theme. I also swear I heard this when I was a kid but can't think of when or where, or how for that matter.

11)Nada Surf - Popular, Do It Again. Strangely, Popular is more relevant than it was when I was in school. I really just like everything about Do It Again including the lyrics. Favorite line is: 'Maybe this weight was a gift, like I had to see what I could lift.'

12)No Longer Micah - Fractured, Restored. These lyrics are perfect. They really couldn't be written any better.

13)Orbit - Carnival. Great lyrics, great music. Nice and loud 90s Alternative/Grunge.

14)Pixies - Wave of Mutilation, Monkey Gone To Heaven. I like the lyrics of both songs, but the sound of Monkey Gone To Heaven is fantastic.
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15)Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet - Having An Average Weekend. The Kids In the Hall theme. Need I say more? ...Makes me feel like a kid again.

16)The Sundays - Goodbye, Love, Blood On My Hands. 90s Alternative girl rock.

17)Paramore - The Only Exception. Great lyrics for the most part. I wrote a blog about this song. Line most like me: 'And I've always lived like this, keeping a comfortable distance, and up until now I had sworn to myself that I'm content with loneliness.'

18)Pavement - Cut Your Hair. About change. The music video shows them sitting in the waiting room of life. Waiting to cut their hair. Grow up. Come of age. Change. This song gets more relevant the older I get.

19)Flyleaf - Missing.

20)Roisin Murphy - You Know Me Better. Has a good familiar feel to it.

21)Whale - Hobo Humpin' Slobo Babe. Obscure 90s Alternative/ Grunge/ Hip Hop band. This is the only song I can find to put on my mp3 player. They had a unique sound. An entire genre could be built around them. They were very inspiring to me. The same goes for the last entry:

22)Tricky - Hell Is Around the Corner. Great 90s British Hip Hop.

1 comment:

  1. I only know a small handful of these songs, but I can see from your passionate words why they mean a lot to you. I like songs.

    ReplyDelete