Top 100 Songs of the Millennium (2000-2019) - #20-11

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Re: Top 100 Songs of the Millennium (2000-2019) - #20-11

Post by Geezer »

JohnErle wrote:
May 10th, 2020, 8:41 pm
#17

Lucero – You'll be thrilled to hear me compare this to Nick Cave, but this guy has another nails on a chalkboard voice for me. I just can't get past that.
This genuinely surprises and perplexes the hell out of me. Of all the people here, I thought you'd be the most likely to fall in love with lucero, considering to me, the most similar artists that have been posted are Jason Isbell and Steve Earle. I don't get how you can love their songs and have this sound "like nails on a chalkboard" with how similar they sound to me. Ears are fucking WEIRD man.
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Re: Top 100 Songs of the Millennium (2000-2019) - #20-11

Post by Shrykespeare »

#16


CHIEN

Metric, Dead Disco (2003)

Man, this song. Songs can let you feel how time passes by quickly. I can see myself discovering that song, 16 years ago, on my work computer where I was working back then. It was an electric shock, it was just so cool. The drums and guitar opening so vividly the song, the bass line joining them right after, an opening of perfection, and when the singing kicks in, it just adds to the cool. It’s such a dynamic song, it works on me everytime I listen to it. I can sometimes grow tired of a song, but I’ve been listening to this one for all this time and never once grew tired of it.





GEEZER

Modern Baseball, The Thrash Particle (2015)

This is another song that just devastates me. Whereas Darby's song is just a really crushing topic (the loss of someone you love, who is also leaving behind a young child), this song I connect to on a really personal level, and you probably can to if you've ever loved someone who didn't love you back. I think Brendan really delivers that sentiment in this song perfectly, and you can hear it in his voice how hard the depression is hitting him.





JOHNERLE

LCD Soundsystem, Someone Great (2007)

"I wake up and the phone is ringing
Surprised, as it's early
And that should be the perfect warning
That something's a problem
To tell the truth I saw it coming
The way you were breathing
But nothing can prepare you for it
The voice on the other end"

This band needs no introduction at this point, so I'll let the song speak for itself and simply say that it's the emotional punch that makes this song stand out for me among a really strong body of work.

Also: All I Want, I Can Change





LEESTU

Car Seat Headrest, Cute Thing (2018)

Okay, a disclaimer here that applies to the whole countdown but is relevant here in particular. This is a countdown of our favourite songs that mean something to us, not necessarily what we think are the best songs. I doubt anyone would think this is the best song from Twin Fantasy (Face to Face) and I would agree with them. There are so many great songs on that album, but this is my favourite. When I first heard the original version of this on Twin Fantasy (Mirror to Mirror) I immediately picked up on the brief interpolation of Ana Ng by They Might Be Giants (both musically and lyrically) halfway through, as that happened to be one of my favourite songs of the year way back when it was released. It made me smile and think that was cool. Not to mention the references to Dan Bejar, and John Entwistle. Fast forward a few years later to this reworked version and he has changed things slightly, with the references updated to Frank Ocean and James Brown (the John Linnell from TMBG reference is still there though).





NSPAN

Keziah Jones, KPA Fuca (2003)

It's my understanding that Jones is a superstar throughout much of the world. I honestly have no idea why he never popped in America. A shame, really.





RON B

Queens of the Stone Age, Little SIster (2004)

More Cowbell!





SCREEN203

Taylor Swift, The Lucky One (2012)

I'm aware I'm going to get major shit for this (even more so than most of my picks), but it deserves this spot. The introspective lyrics about an unknown star narrowly escaping the vicious cycle of fame after her "dignity and money" were stolen from her. As a vocalist, Swift is very underrated, and she definitely exemplifies this here, bringing the emotional weight to the lyrics.





SHRYKE

Daft Punk feat. Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers, Get Lucky (2013)

My one and only crossover with Chien. I do like some Daft Punk, but the addition of Williams and Rodgers made this song pure magic. It’s so wonderfully put together, and while the lyrics are only about two rungs down the risqué ladder from “Blurred Lines” (another song Pharrell had a hand in), it’s so freaking catchy that it gets me moving and singing along every time I hear it.





SIX

Battles, Atlas (2007)

Another song that’s all about the percussion. John Stanier is one of the best drummers around, and he kicks off this song with something simple that guides us through the occasionally batshit crazy song, where Tyondai Braxton sings his distorted vocals and the others bash away at guitar and bass loops, sounding like a Gary Glitter from the future, minus the paedophilia of course.





SURFER

Bloc Party, Banquet (2004)

Bloc Party were a band who wore their influences proudly on their sleeves, taking the post punk movement in the UK and bringing it up to date with a style that was smart and had substance to back up the style. Their debut album, Silent Alarm is a splendid record filled with anxiety and tension, broken up by moments of serenity. Lead single, Banquet, was my introduction to the band and still my favourite of theirs, a spiky mix of swirling Gang Of Four guitars and propulsive drumming while Kele Okereke captures the aches and pains of youth and encroaching adulthood. A shame they could never follow up this record with anything which could come close to matching this energy, but sometimes moments as good as this are hard to replicate.





TRANSFORMERS

The Weeknd, The Morning (2011)

The perfect mix of what would become The Weeknd's signature scuzzy vibe and vintage R&B smoothness. His voice soars over that bluesy guitarline and I still manage to get chills every time that drum fill before the chorus hits.

Happy 60th birthday Jet Li! (4/26/23)

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Re: Top 100 Songs of the Millennium (2000-2019) - #20-11

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Re: Top 100 Songs of the Millennium (2000-2019) - #20-11

Post by Leestu »

The I Love It

Battles, Atlas - I love it more and more every time I hear it

The Excellent

LCD Soundsystem, Someone Great - this album is so good that even a song this excellent isn't one of my favourites from the album

The Great

Queens of the Stone Age, Little Sister - great song, but they have so many I like better, mainly from later in the career, they are one of those rare bands who seem to just keep getting better and better with each album,...Like Clockwork is my favourite, and Villians is under appreciated

The Very Good

Bloc Party, Banquet - not one of my favourites from the album but the whole album is so strong that's not really saying much

Modern Baseball, The Thrash Particle- first listen...I haven't heard this EP...I've added it to listen to

Metric, Dead Disco - first listen...cool song...I need to check out more of this band

The Good

Keziah Jones, KPA Fuca first listen...it's very funky

The Okay

Daft Punk feat. Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers, Get Lucky...I would rather listen to this every time https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bf8Tda6rmi4

The Meh

The Weeknd, The Morning - first listen...I feel nothing good or bad from this

The Rest

Taylor Swift, The Lucky One - first listen...I'm not going to bash her or the pick, it's just not for me at all

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Re: Top 100 Songs of the Millennium (2000-2019) - #20-11

Post by silversurfer19 »

Round 17 thoughts

Chien, La La Land - I have watched the film three times and I can honestly say I forget this song even exists each time, it literally leaves no impression on me. There are better songs on the soundtrack, and as six mentions, Emma Stone's voice is not strong enough to lead an entire song.

Geezer, Lucero - I guess as you have mentioned, these songs mean a lot more to you personally as we reach the conclusion of the countdown. Thus, while, to my uninitiated ears this wasn't a patch on some of your earlier picks from Lucero, I can understand why you may prefer it. This was just a little too slow without offering anything really musically or vocally. Still, you have presented enough of this band that I have enjoyed throughout the countdown that I can let that slip

JohnErle, Trail of the Dead - Not very familiar with this Trail record, and can definitely understand the vocal comparisons to Oasis on this song. Musically it was much better than the Manchester lads, though.

Leestu, Deafheaven - The post-rock/metal dynamics are unusual, but while the music worked at times, the vocals did not. With much of post-rock, I prefer a slower build before the song reaches its climax, but this achieved this too early, and then because of the length of the song, this became more apparent as it went on as I don't think it really offered anything beyond the two minute mark. Not sold.

Nspan, Metric - Another band I know of by name more than I have ever really heard anything from them. Was not expecting this sound (anticipated more of a Phoenix sound for some reason), had a cool indie rock sound. Will look into more

Ron, Miike Snow - Very radio friendly pop, can imagine the guys in work would love this. Me, not so much. Had a nice enough beat, but won't be returning to it.

Screen, Pink - Pink is definitely one of the more tolerable pop stars of this millennium, and I think she has probably been one of the more honest from the genre too. This song is OK, navigating the blurred lines of pop and rock quite well.

Shryke, Gorillaz - Still decent enough after hearing it earlier in the countdown. Prefer anything from the first record though.

Six, Wild Beasts - While the band didn't make my own list, Wild Beasts had some lovely songs throughout their career, this one included. Lovely interplay between the guitar and vocals. Having listened a little more through the countdown, I can actually get a few Sparks comparisons both vocally and musically too, but without the overly theatric elements.

Tranny, Kendrick Lamar - Dare I say it, but from what u have heard during this countdown, I think I prefer Kanye to Kendrick Lamar. Didn't really do much for me here, bar a little George Clinton and some nice soul vibes. And, despite all this 'reclaiming the word' I'm not a fan of the N word, either. Better to iradicate it to history rather than keep it going, despite the intentions.
Last edited by silversurfer19 on May 11th, 2020, 4:46 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Top 100 Songs of the Millennium (2000-2019) - #20-11

Post by numbersix »

Sweet #16, the strongest round so far

Chien: Metric, again! They kinda passed me by at the time, but they are definitely in my wheelhouse. Liked the rhythm. They used to live with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs for a while. I wonder is being a musicial a bit like COVID - you just hang around someone who's talented and eventually you'll get it.

Geez: This sounded a bit more straight-up rock than usual, which wasn't bad in this context. Maybe you're wearing me down.

John: One of my fav LCD Soundystem songs - if we did a Top 200 this would have been here. A beautiful song (about his psychiatrist, no less!)

Leetsu: This is a good song. To be honest I was underwhelmed with TF(FtF) which really just dulled what made the original songs interesting, although they're not his best work in the first place - so why bother. I like a lot of the songs but I don't love them. I'm actually listening to the new album now which is an oddity, like he's trying to understand pop music.

NSpan: New to me, but quite fun.

Ron: Not my favourite song of theirs, not even on this album, but it's still got great attitude.

Screen: You had to ruin a perfect round ;). Swift gets lots of critical praise and obviously she's rich beyond our dreams, so she's doing something right. But I don't get it, and pop stars singing about the trappings of fame is a total cliche.

Shryke: I tried my best to resist it but I was defeated. It's an undeniably catchy song.

Surf: I think between us we've covered half this album already. Excellent song, like they all are. I really need to revisit this.

Tranny: Beautiful vocals, lovely chilled music. One of the better songs on his debut album. Never got anything else from him, though.

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Re: Top 100 Songs of the Millennium (2000-2019) - #20-11

Post by Chienfantome »

JohnErle wrote:
May 9th, 2020, 10:47 pm
Danny Wilde – Didn't love it or hate it, but your picks almost always have good dynamics, so I can't remember the last time I pressed skip on one of yours. Maybe it's just because you rarely pick guitar rock, or maybe the good guys won the loudness wars in France.
Well I'm glad you rarely press skip on my choices, John, I'm not that surprised because even if I'm not always into the music you introduce, I often find your tastes close to mine.
I'm sure you can find loudness lovers here in France, but it's true I tend to not really like it when everything is so loud you can't differentiate the instruments, hear the lyric etc. It's a bit like in cinema. I always prefer to be able to actually see what's happening onscreen, and hear it well, rather than just something loud and hard to follow ;)
Fluctuat nec mergitur

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Re: Top 100 Songs of the Millennium (2000-2019) - #20-11

Post by JohnErle »

Geezer wrote:
May 10th, 2020, 10:07 pm
JohnErle wrote:
May 10th, 2020, 8:41 pm
#17

Lucero – You'll be thrilled to hear me compare this to Nick Cave, but this guy has another nails on a chalkboard voice for me. I just can't get past that.
This genuinely surprises and perplexes the hell out of me. Of all the people here, I thought you'd be the most likely to fall in love with lucero, considering to me, the most similar artists that have been posted are Jason Isbell and Steve Earle. I don't get how you can love their songs and have this sound "like nails on a chalkboard" with how similar they sound to me. Ears are fucking WEIRD man.
It's entirely because of the guy's voice. Nothing more, nothing less. I think I've said before that I might like this band if they had a different singer, but every time he opens his mouth I cringe. It's a purely aesthetic thing I can't explain.

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Re: Top 100 Songs of the Millennium (2000-2019) - #20-11

Post by Chienfantome »

#16

Geezer, Modern Baseball, The Thrash Particle
It's a pretty nice song. I preferred it while it stayed delicate, i like it less once the whole guitar shabang starts, at least I think it's a bit too much then, but I still like it.

John, LCD Soundsystem, Someone Great
I'm not always into LCD, it can sometimes let me out of their door, but this is one I relate to musically.

Leestu, Car Seat Headrest, Cute Thing
I like the voice. I have a hard time making my mind on the song itself which sometimes goes a bit everywhere, but there are raw moments I really like in it.

NSpan, Keziah Jones, KPA Fuca
It's a pretty groovy song, but I'm honestly not that much a fan.

Ron, Queens of the Stone Age, Little SIster
Never been a fan of QOTSA.

Screen, Taylor Swift, The Lucky One
Probably ths first time I listened to a whole Taylor swift song. Not my shit.

Shryke, Daft Punk feat. Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers, Get Lucky
Best song of the round, best song Shryke has ever posted. Yeah, I know, it was on my list, too ;)

Six, Battles, Atlas
The music is really interesting, but that distorted voice that seems out of a kids cartooon gets me out of the song completely and make my ears bleed.

Surfer, Bloc Party, Banquet
Good, cool song that marked its era.

Tranny, The Weeknd, The Morning
Wow, something from you I could listen entirely, that's rare ! I like The Weeknd's title with Daft Punk. This one here has a cool flow though, I must admit, not bad.
Fluctuat nec mergitur

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Re: Top 100 Songs of the Millennium (2000-2019) - #20-11

Post by silversurfer19 »

Round 16 thoughts

Chien, Metric - After the Metric song yesterday which I quite enjoyed, this was even better. Kind of like a clash between Echo and The Bunnymen and Bloc Party (coincidentally my pick for today) with a lot of funk. Thoroughly enjoyed it and will definitely add them up to the top of my list to listen to.

Geezer, Modern Baseball - Love this one, although it follows the template fairly closely, it does it so well. Definitely one of the band's best songs.

JohnErle, LCD Soundsystem - One of the highlights of Sound Of Silver without a doubt. I do seem to prefer the slower James Murphy songs for some reason, maybe they do help facilitate that emotional punch a little more.

Leestu, Car Seat Headrest - Yeah, a decent song, but prefer most if not all of Teens of Denial and the likes of Maud Gone and Oh Starving! from Teens Of Style. The New album is bizarre. Toledo seems to have thrown too many ideas at the project without actually making anything work. Appreciate his is trying something new, but it's not worked at all for me so far. Maybe a few more listens will help it click.

Nspan, Keziah Jones - If he is a superstar, I'm not sure he ever made it to the UK either as prior to this countdown I had never heard of him (not that I have my finger on the pulse of popular music over here I guess!). As mentioned, he has a funky vibe to him that would sit well back in the 70s and many genre movies. Not sure he adds anything new to the genre here though, but pleasant enough.

Ron, QOTSA - The Queens too a much darker tone with this record, and while commercially it was quote as successful as Songs For The Deaf it was a decent record, with this one of the highlights. Killer riff. By the way Leestu, while Like Clockwork was good, I could not stand Villains, and tried a number of times with it too. Still feel the Rated R/Songs For The Deaf era found them at their peak. They miss Nick Oliveri.

Screen, Taylor Swift - Yeah, I've got nothing.

Shryke, Daft Punk - Still enjoying its funk, so much so my wife walked in while I was listening/dancing along as I was making meatballs for dinner and gave me a funny look. I carried on.

Six, Battles - Never would have associated Battles with Gary Glitter, but now I can think of nothing else! Made my own list, so obviously I love it!

Tranny, The Weeknd - It may just be me, but I suspect it Michael Jackson came out in this millennium, he would have a sound like this. Can't say I find the song anything other than pleasant, but would never turn it off I guess.
Last edited by silversurfer19 on May 12th, 2020, 1:56 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Top 100 Songs of the Millennium (2000-2019) - #20-11

Post by JohnErle »

#16

Dead Disco – Again, not my favourite Metric track, but very good and nice to see them appear a second time. Guess I didn't have to worry about them not appearing at all.

Thrash Particle – This sounds quite different from your usual picks to me, and I liked it. It's more indie than shouty. ADDED.

Cute Thing – (insert standard response to Car Seat Headrest here)

Keziah Jones – It's kinda all over the place which made it hard to latch onto anything. More interesting than appealing the first time through, but there's a chance it'll grow on me, so ADDED.

QOTSA – (INSERT STANDARD RESPONSE TO QOTSA HERE. POST IN ALL CAPS TO REPRESENT THE LEVELS OF COMPRESSION USED)

Taylor Swift – Way better than I expected from her, but not something I'm likely to seek out.

Get Lucky – Fun single.

Battles – Roger Ebert once said no good movie is too long and no bad movie is short enough. When we keep telling each other our picks are too long what we're really saying is “I didn't like this enough to want to hear __ minutes of it.” I know this has appeared somewhere before, and I know I still haven't lasted through the whole thing.

Banquet – I dig it, but I'm always struck by how much parts of it remind me of a Canadian band from the 80s called Platinum Blonde.

The Weeknd – Started off okay, but then strippers and the n-word and a shift in sound and I was done.

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Re: Top 100 Songs of the Millennium (2000-2019) - #20-11

Post by Shrykespeare »

#16



JohnErle - Someone Great - Interesting. For some reason, this reminded me of some Human League songs of the late 80's/early 90s, missing only the female vocals. (Ref: check out "Tell Me When" and "Heart Like a Wheel" if you don't believe me.) I really enjoyed the poppy tempo. Great choice. 7.5/10

Surfer - Banquet - I've liked all the Bloc Party songs I've heard so far. This kind of reminded me of a more modern English Beat. Good stuff. 7.5/10

Six - Atlas - I liked this a lot more than I thought I would. Don't have much to add to what other's have said. 7/10

Ron B - LIttle SIster - Really good song, despite the compression... 7/10

Geezer - The Thrash Particle - Hmm. Strange dichotomy this song has. Radically different tempos and moods between the beginning and end. Felt like a 90s song to me (that's not a knock), but in the end, it didn't really stand out for me (that is). Liked the brevity. 6.5/10

Chien - Dead Disco - Great to have a song you just never tire of, isn't it? I have a few of those. This was pretty darned... okay. 6.5/10

Leestu - Cute Thing - I recently listened to a brand new CSH song (off their just released album ("Hollywood"), and liked it a lot. This did nothing for me. Kind of disappointed. 5.5/10

Tranny - The Morning - He has a nice voice, but this felt way too monotone for my liking. 5.5/10

Screen - The Lucky One - I like maybe two TSwift songs, total. This isn't one of them. 5/10

NSpan - KPA Fuca - Good to see something else in the reggae genre besides my UB40 outings, but... this didn't grab me. 5/10
Happy 60th birthday Jet Li! (4/26/23)

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Re: Top 100 Songs of the Millennium (2000-2019) - #20-11

Post by Shrykespeare »

#15



CHIEN

Alex Beaupain, Brooklyn Bridge (2005)

This is probably the simplest song of my list. One voice. One piano. And that’s it. I’ve already said earlier, but sometimes, you need simplicity, I know at least I do. Sometimes, you need complexity, you need audacity, you need novelty. And sometimes, you just need a beautiful song, the song of a man crying the loss of his loved-one. Alex Beaupain lost his girlfriend when he was in his 20’s, she had a heart attack. It inspired him this song, singing to the woman he loved and isn’t here anymore.

“Paris seems so far away already, Paris seems so small, we’ll be better, drowned in the city. Doesn’t matter if it rains on Kennedy airport. I’m afraid during the landing, but you’re holding my hand, so I’ll be a good boy and cry on my own. Don’t care about being ridiculous, if you come with me. April lays on Manhattan sun rays and blue sky, like an eternity floating, Central Park for us two. Doesn’t matter if the wind blows your scarf away. When time comes for Broadway to come alive, we’re dancing on the rooftop, 218, Thames Street, I Robert, you Liza, doesn’t matter, New York, New York, if your voice is heard. I swear to you, on our Americas, if I ever travel back there, if I cross the Atlantic again, I’ll take you with me. Doesn’t matter if you’re dead. Far from the Brooklyn Bridge. Far from the Hudson River. From the Empire State Building or Chrysler Tower. Far from Florent. From New York in springtime.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFu73dCtg7E



GEEZER

Against Me!, Because of the Shame (2011)

I will definitely say at this point that all of these Against Me! songs could be my favorite of the group's dynamic catalog on any given day. So don't put too much stock in their ranking from here on out. Any one of them honestly could have topped this whole list. I want to spare you from an Anais Mitchell situation so I'm spacing them out as best I can. This is more on the softer side of Against Me!, so those who don't favor the punkier edge will like it more and vice versa. This is from White Crosses, which most of their fans hated, but I still enjoy a lot of it's songs, but this is the only one to make the list. But what a song it is. It is definitely one of the more personal songs Laura ever wrote, and it is explained in her book and how it relates to Thrash Unreal. This one has resonated with me from the first time I heard it. Lyrically I just think it is perfect song writing. You can definitely add this to the growing tally of sad songs in my top 20.





JOHNERLE

Lucinda Williams, Sweet Side (2003)

Some songs just hit you like a ton of bricks. The first time I heard this I must have listened to it 20 times in a row with tears streaming down my face, and it still has the power to stop me in my tracks if it catches me in the right mood.

It's about how child abuse can affect someone well into their adult lives, so I don't want to give the impression that I was subjected to anything like what's described in this song -- my childhood scars are purely emotional -- but it's the adult relationship in this song that hits me so hard.

Also: Lonely Girls, Real Live Bleeding Fingers And Broken Guitar Strings





LEESTU

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Nuclear Fusion (2016)

From my favourite album of theirs that explored microtonal music, this is my favourite King Gizz song.





NSPAN

Pillowfight, Get Down (2012)

I feel like had Dan the Automator saved this for a Gorillaz track (with Del doing the rap interlude, instead), it could've been a radio hit. As it stands, it's still a modern classic in my book.





RON B

System of a Down, B.Y.O.B. (2005)

A song that rocketed up my list when i was compiling. Such energy.





SCREEN203

P!nk, Sober (2008)

Yes, another P!nk song. This is off of Funhouse, the most personal album from a unusually open pop star. Her voice is beautiful in this, for one. You can really feel the emotion in the lyrics.





SHRYKE

Pet Shop Boys, Minimal (2004)

You all know of my love for PSB, and of Neil Tennant’s voice, which in nearly four decades has never lost its silky smoothness. What makes this song stand out for me is the underlying bass groove, which is so reminiscent of Peter Hook’s guitar that it’s like doubling your pleasure with just one song. (FYI: If you like PSB and New Order, check out the works of Electronic, which also featured Bernard Sumner and The Smiths’ guitarist Johnny Marr.) Chris Lowe’s instrumentality has been the backbone of PSB since the beginning, and never more so than on this song.





SIX

Idles, Colossus (2018)

This is the most recent song in my Top 50, but I suspect it will only end up higher in future years. The Bristol band’s second album was a step up from their hardcore debut, embracing anthems and even covering a soul song. But it also marked a change of approach for the band. Instead of identifying life’s ills they also tried to celebrate life in true punk, shouty fashion. They’ve inspired a fan community (we call ourselves AFGang) of 25,000 people who use social media to share and help each other, rather than bicker and troll. And most of us are older folk, some of who have been out of touch with music and gigs only to find this community reawakening their youthful passion for going out there, making friends, and stomping around like maniacs. Colossus is a magnificent two-parter, starting off like one of Swans industrial clangers, growing and growling, and after a brief intermission of near-silence, it explodes into a punk chant-along, with the fantastic lyrics “I’m like Stone Cold Steve Austin/ I put homophobes in coffins,” allowing me to rock out violently while also feeling woke.





SURFER

The Shins, Australia (2007)

While The Shins made their name via Zach Braff and his indie movie of the early 2000s, they had, rather unfortunately, been labelled as rather boring despite a couple of wonderful records. In an attempt to cast aside some of these assumptions, the band changed things up a little on their third record, offering a little more variety to the package. Some of it worked, some not so much. However, nestled within this collection was Australia, a bouyant and energetic song despite the rather philosophical leanings of the lyrics. There was a newfound confidence and more expressive range in James Mercer's voice as he questioned the meaning of human existence with more than a hint at melancholy. This dichotomy between the music and lyrics makes for a wonderful coupling which truly captured The Shins at their best.





TRANSFORMERS

Lana Del Rey, Blue Jeans (2012)

Initially, I was all aboard the Lana Del Rey hate train. Her whole "sad girl" aesthetic irked me and "Video Games", the only songs of her I'd heard around the time she started to break out, put me to sleep. Fast forward to the summer of 2014 when I actually listened to Born to Die in its entirety per the recommendation of a friend of my brothers' and a new musical love affair was born. This track was the one that ended up selling me on her broken American Dreams sound. Her use of atmosphere is intoxicating, the vocals are gorgeous and the hook on this is an understated gem.

Happy 60th birthday Jet Li! (4/26/23)

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Leestu
Ratzo Rizzo
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Re: Top 100 Songs of the Millennium (2000-2019) - #20-11

Post by Leestu »

#15 playlist

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3I1PQ ... DtrzJghRXw

Missing: Pillowfight, Get Down

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numbersix
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Re: Top 100 Songs of the Millennium (2000-2019) - #20-11

Post by numbersix »

If 16 was my favourite round then 15 was a little disappointing. So prepare yourself for Debbie Downer time!

Chien: It's nice but a little too simple and easy. Nothing sounded particularly distinct to me.
Geez: There are other Against Me songs I prefer to this. I can see why the fans might be upset, as it's very toned down musically and a little safe. Got a slight Boss/Clash style to it, which doesn't quite play to their strengths.
John: This is more raw than some of the other stuff I've heard from her. She even sounds like Dylan in the verses. Quite good.
Leetsu: This is the only KGATLW album I have, and it's good. This is probably my favourite from it. Nice pick!
NSpan: I bet your #1 will be a Pillowfight b-side or something. Like most of their other songs, it's okay but not as catchy or cool as DtA's other stuff.
Ron B: More SoaD. Are they the most picked act of our countdown? Maybe this will be my surprise #1.
Screen: Liked this less than the previous one, unfortunately.
Shryke: Musically it's nice - it does indeed sound like late 80s New Order. Very smooth too, but maybe too smooth?
Surf: Maybe it's my hatred of that film, but I never liked The Shins. This was catchy indie pop that's certainly pleasant but I am still not convinced.
Tranny: And other act I should like. I don't know, I guess it's because there's just so much effort put into her persona that it strains, it sounds hollow. This was the first song of hers that I heard and I never got the fuss, even more so with Video Games. I shrug so much to her music that I get neck cramps!

EDIT: Tranny, I see RTJ4 has been announced - it's out next month!

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