Fantaverse Top 100 Songs of All Time (THREAD #5): #60-#51

[Shrykespeare]

Yikes, this was not a good round for me. Not at all.

My thoughts (in order of preference):

englishozzy – The Ramones, “I Wanna Be Sedated” – A classic. Can't hear it enough. (9)

Ron Burgundy – Gotye, “Thanks For Your Time” – Nice. If people thought my Art of Noise selection was “out there”, what about this? Reminds me a little bit of Peter Gabriel's “Big Time” video with some Terry Gilliam animation thrown in. (8)

W – Queen, “Killer Queen” – You know, it just occurred to me that I've heard this song a million times but I never actually stopped to actually LISTEN to the lyrics. Thanks for posting the version that spelled them out! And now that I know what the words are, I appreciate the song that much more. (8)

silversurfer – Mansun, “Six” – Hope you don't mind, but I decided to listen to YouTube's “TOTP” version of this song after your version, and I actually liked that one better. A good song, they actually sound kind of like an 80's band (like Tears For Fears) with a slightly modified sound. (7)

Geezer – Bad Religion, “Los Angeles is Burning” – Good stuff. (6)

Buscemi – Nancy Adams, “Love” – Nancy has a nice voice, but the song was too saccharine for me to really enjoy. At least it was short. (6)

becs – Antony and the Johnsons, “Hope There's Someone” – Becs, you surprise me. A young white MAN that sounds like Nina Simone? Never would'a thunk it. Quite beautiful in its way, but I much prefer the first half of the song to the second half. (6)

undeadmonkey – Alison Krauss and Union Station, “Let Me Touch You For a While” – She does have a lovely voice, but I didn't care for the song that much. Your previous selection of hers was much better, IMHO. (5)

leestu – The Velvet Underground, “Pale Blue Eyes” – Slightly better than the other VU songs played so far. (5)

numbersix – The Rapture, “House of Jealous Lovers” – Tempted as I am to make another cowbell joke, I won't, it's too soon since Blue Oyster Cult came up. Loved the music, absolutely HATED the vocals. Zero-sum for me. (5)

BarcaRulz – The Frames, “Revelate” – Didn't like it at all. The guy's voice sounded incredibly whiny to me. (3)

NSpan – Pixies, “Hey” – Third time around. Think I'll like it this time? Nope, sorry. (2)

transformers – Rage Against the Machine, “Calm Like a Bomb” – Hate Rage. (2)

Banks – 50 Cent, “Baltimore Love Thing” – Jeez, between Pixies, Rage and 50 Cent, I need an aspirin. (2)

[Geezer]

Six- No, Bad Religion is almost single handedly RESPONSIBLE for the pop-punk genre. They were the pioneers of it! Green Day owes almost everything to this band. But they actually write about real stuff rather than weed and jacking off, not that there's anything wrong with that of course.

[Geezer]

Shryke- nothing special

NSpan- I don't know what it is, but I just don't hear the similarities between this and Nirvana. Like I've said before, I do like some Pixies, and this is one of them, but even the songs I do like come nowhere close to the top 30 Nirvana songs, nor do I think they sound all that similar. Maybe its the difference in vocals, maybe its that most of the Pixies stuff I have heard is rather slow and dull, whereas most Nirvana is up tempo and hard. I know Kurt has said they were a huge influence, I just don't personally hear it.

Six- NSFG eh?

Becs- you may like that voice, but it was like nails on a chalk board for me. I couldn't get through much of it. Painful.

UDM- you know what I'm gonna say.

Leestu- this song could go either way, like a lot of Velvet Underground. If I'm in the mood, its a great mellow out, relaxing song. If I'm not, its just a boring piece of garbage. Today I'm leaning towards the former, so you're in luck!

Boush- oh man this brought back memories from the childhood. So Robin Hood!

Surfer- I dont get why bands have to do this... like this could be a good song, but really, its just several really short ok songs. From one section to the next there is no connection, so its nearly impossible for me to rate it.

Tranny- man this band is getting lots of representation! My opinion remains the same, very good band, but all their songs are the same.

W- great Queen song.

Banks- you know I'm not going to like this, however, it was the best Fiddy song I've ever heard, not that that is really accomplishing anything.

Ozzy- still one of my top 3 Ramones songs. Still awesome.

Barca- wow I REALLY liked this. I think I need to listen to them some more, because this was really good. Definitely one of the best new to me songs.

Ron- So in Australia this is what qualifies as music? I'm glad I'm not from there.

[Shrykespeare]

Okay, guys, I hope you don’t mind too much, but I’m making an executive decision: after tomorrow night’s songs (which will be #51) are posted, we’re going to take a short break.

I know that it was our plan to continue uninterrupted unless I “needed a sick day”, but when you think about it, we’ve been doing this nonstop for 50 days now. We’ve posted/listened to/critiqued well over 500 different songs. It’s become a part of our daily routine. But we’ve got a long way to go, and I think a brief intermission is in order.

Just to quantify: Leestu is on vacation. Ron Burgundy hasn’t been around for almost a week, for reasons unknown. Surfer, Buscemi and Banks seem to be posting their critiques less frequently. And quite often, Geezer, undeadmonkey, transformers and Barca often have to “play catch-up”. Now, I know that no amount of “time off” from this will change your social, scholastic and/or work schedules, but if there was ever a perfect time to pause and take a breath, it would be the halfway point.

It won’t be an extended break, maybe just a couple or three days. This way, it’ll give everyone who needs it a chance to completely catch up, to send me their next batch of songs, to reflect on the first half of our countdown, and to look forward as we barrel towards our favorite songs of all time.

So if you all could – in between catching up and critiquing the most recent batch of songs – tell me how long you need. I’m thinking 2-3 days, but if you need longer, just let me know. Football, soccer and basketball are sports that see the necessity of breaking for halftime, and I see no reason why we shouldn’t as well. We could even create our own “intermission” thread complete with mid-game analysis and a really cool halftime show.

This has been so much fun, and I’ve enjoyed all of your critiques, even the bad ones.

Thanks,
Shryke

[transformers2]

Really busy today. So full write ups won't happens but here is some quick analysis.

Shryke-Not into it.
Nspan-Don't Like The Pixies
numbersix-Hated it.
becs-Hated it.
UDM-Not into it.
leestu-Meh
Buscemi-Nope
Surfer-Not bad
Geez-Great Pick!
W-Pretty Good
Banks-It was alright.
Ozzy-A Classic. Great Pick.
Barca-It was alright.
Ron-Hated It.

[frendo]

NSpan- I don't know what it is, but I just don't hear the similarities between this and Nirvana. Like I've said before, I do like some Pixies, and this is one of them, but even the songs I do like come nowhere close to the top 30 Nirvana songs, nor do I think they sound all that similar. Maybe its the difference in vocals, maybe its that most of the Pixies stuff I have heard is rather slow and dull, whereas most Nirvana is up tempo and hard. I know Kurt has said they were a huge influence, I just don't personally hear it.

The main influence from the Pixies was the loud-quiet-loud song structure, as easily seen in Teen Spirit. Though, personally, I prefer Nirvana as well.

[undeadmonkey]

whatever you decide is good with me shryke, your the one putting the hard work and effort into this. and maybe a break might be good for everyone.

for me personally it has gotten a little bit more difficult to find time, not that im that much more busy but with the extra people it just takes that much longer to actually sit down and take in each song. and i know that some of you just listen to it for a minute or even less and give up once you think you dont like it. but they are obviously somebodys favorite songs, and i think they deserve a full chance to show what they have (or dont have ), wether i end up liking it or not.

ps. i'm not trying to put anyone down who does just listen to the first 5 seconds , this is just my opinion.

[numbersix]

I'm cool with whatever the others want. 2, 3 days sounds fine.

[NSpan]

NSpan- I don't know what it is, but I just don't hear the similarities between this and Nirvana. Like I've said before, I do like some Pixies, and this is one of them, but even the songs I do like come nowhere close to the top 30 Nirvana songs, nor do I think they sound all that similar. Maybe its the difference in vocals, maybe its that most of the Pixies stuff I have heard is rather slow and dull, whereas most Nirvana is up tempo and hard. I know Kurt has said they were a huge influence, I just don't personally hear it.

A reasonable observation--as most of my favorite Pixies songs aren't actually that aurally similar to Nirvana at all. I just wanted to make the point about Frank Black getting the shaft (while Cobain remains somewhat overrated), and I realized I wasn't going to have another chance to talk about it during the countdown. If you listen to the Pixies' earlier work (Come On Pilgrim and Surfer Rosa), you'll definitely see the influence--aesthetically and in terms of Black Francis' particular approach to song-writing.

That said, you SHOULD be able to hear the Pixies' influence (even from my own picks) in COUNTLESS '90s bands that would normally be stamped with the default "derivative of Nirvana" description that critics seemed to be passing out indiscriminately for literally years after Cobain's death.



Shrykespeare -- Smash Mouth, “Fallen Horses” (1999)
I REALLY didn't think I'd enjoy this. And (though it may be a matter of being pleasantly surprised after setting low expectations for oneself,) I actually kinda liked it! It's got a certain mellow groove that works for me.

PS. Shryke--personally, I could keep on truckin' (although my work productivity HAS decreased in a direct-inverse correlation to how much time I spend on this)... A brief intermission IS a reasonable request. That said, the sooner we get back to it, the better. People are gonna realize that they NEED their nightly fix pretty quickly. I can't be the only one addicted to this. In the meantime, everybody just keep listening to "Pale Blue Eyes" over and over.


PPS. Surf, that Mansun song IS growing on me.

[silversurfer19]

Shrykespeare: Smash Mouth, “Fallen Horses” (1999) - Frankly, I just found it a little dull. The verses were boring and the chorus totally underwhelming. Never really seemed to go anywhere.

NSpan: Pixies, "Hey” (1989) (also silversurfer's #84 and leestu's #54) - I think the Nirvana/ Pixies comarisons haven't been as prominent on the tracks picked as yet, but I'm sure further down the line we will see the similarities a lot more (well, from my picks alone at least). Great song anyway.

Numbersix
The Rapture, "House of Jealous Lovers" (2003) - A song I came very close to including on my own list also. The dance beat is infectious and the post punk guitars blend nicely with it. Always a good song to get a party started. A shame I didn't like the direction they took after this record.

Geezer: Bad Religion- "Los Angeles is Burning" - I never realised these guys had been going THAT long. I always imagined NOFX were probably the instigator of modern punk, but I guess these guys beat them by 3 years. Doesn't really stand out as anything other than a rejected Green Day track from American Idiot though I'm afraid.

becs: Antony and the Johnsons, “Hope There's Someone” - These are a band I've always intended to listen to a little more. A beautiful song, I love his voice, I definitely have to seek out more.

undeadmonkey: Alison Krauss and Union Station, “Let Me Touch You for a While” - A little too sacharine for my liking.

leestu: The Velvet Underground, “Pale Blue Eyes” (1969) - I only own a couple of VU records so I haven't really listened to this song as many times as I'd have liked. Really beautiful song though, and a pleasure to listen to it again.

Buscemi: Nancy Adams, “Love” - It was cute enough when I was seven and watching Robin Hood, but the Disney film has so many more brilliant songs in it that this one.

silversurfer: Mansun, “Six” - I agree, six, this record did pretty much kill Mansun's career (I think their record company and anyone outside their hardcore fanbase were just wanting another Wide Open Space - which is fine, but they proved even on their first record that they could stretch beyond the normal tendencies of an indie band with songs like Stripper Vicar), but it was also, for me at least, the pinnacle of their talents. I can also hear a lot of the influences mentioned here, from the Manics and Radiohead to Tears For Fears, and I think they melded them into a fantasticly imaginative sound. Geezer, I would recommed you listen to the radio edit version of the song which may work better for you as it did for Shryke, but for me it is sacriligious to edit the song in such a way, as I feel it strips the song of half its quality, but for the uninitiated maybe its a better place to start.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpYNvwmlrJY

Ugh, I feel dirty now...

transformers: Rage Against The Machine, “Calm Like A Bomb” - I just don't think they ever matched their first record with everything the released subsequently, and while this is listenable, with a great bass running through it, the song just pales in comparison to their debut. Plus I got a little bored after the first three minutes as it didn't really go anywhere.

W: Queen, “Killer Queen” - One of Queen's best, undoubtedly. Much more interesting lyrics than some of their other more highly acclaimed songs.

Banks: 50 Cent, “Baltimore Love Thing” - Just not a song for my ears at all. And it seemed to go on forever even though it was only four minutes long. It must REALLY have dragged for it to seem that long.

englishozzy: The Ramones, “I Wanna Be Sedated” (also becs's #67) - Just a really catchy song which never gets old.

BarcaRulz: The Frames, "Revelate" - I've been meaning to listen to some more of The Frames since watching Once a few months ago, and this was awesome. Maybe it's just me but I heard a little Pixies in there also. Maybe it's that Quiet/ Loud thing we've been hearing a lot about recently. Great stuff, want to hear the studio version now.

Ron Burgundy: Gotye, “Thanks For Your Time”: Seems to remind me a little of The Avalanches for some reason, though if I had to choose between the two I'd pick their Frontier Psychiatrist of this every time.

An interesting round, a few new songs for me and a few I will be listening to again. Favourite of the round for new to me songs was probably Barca's Frames song, though we also had good stuff from NSpan, Leestu, Becs, Six, englishozzy and W. So a pretty good round in all.

Oh and regarding the break thing, whatever you want Shryke, I'm happy to continue (and I've only missed one batch of songs since the start by the way - hardly "posting their critiques less frequently", I just happen to sleep before I post my responses) on, but maybe a couple of days will give us a chance to reflect on the first 50 songs and maybe post our top ten so far etc.?

[numbersix]

BarcaRulz: The Frames, "Revelate" - I've been meaning to listen to some more of The Frames since watching Once a few months ago, and this was awesome. Maybe it's just me but I heard a little Pixies in there also. Maybe it's that Quiet/ Loud thing we've been hearing a lot about recently. Great stuff, want to hear the studio version now.

Oh yes. Glen once said when the band started they were a folksy kinda band in the spirit of Van Morrisson. Then shortly before recording their first album they discovered the Pixies and changed their sound. Revelate is from their 2nd album, and the Pixies influence remained for a few more records. dEUS were their other big influence. In the late 90's they started going into alt-country and thay had a great transition period, but these days they kinda bore me. I say start with the record Dance the Devil

[BarcaRulz]

Does anyone really think a break is necessary? If you need one Shryke then obviously i'm OK with that, but I for one have only missed once and caught up the next day. Like SS, it just seems like I miss because of the time difference I think.

Anyway, it's up to you I guess.

Will post my thoughts on the current round in a bit.

[BarcaRulz]

Shryke - This band as a whole got old really fast IMO. Most of their stuff just sounds so similar, and to be honest I never enjoyed them that much. Allstar was Ok once and has its moments, this one on the other hand not so much. 2/10.

Nspan - Same as before. 6/10.

numbersix - Like Shryke, I liked the music but didn't like the vocals. 4/10.

Geezer - Was pretty good. Agree with whoever said they had a Green-Day vibe though, sounded very similar to their work, but since I am new to these guys (and this song) I don't know if it's a one off thing or not. 6/10.

becs - The music was fantastic, but I definitely did not think that voice was beautiful, actually ruined what could have been a great song for me. 4.5/10.

UDM - Oh wow.. No comment. 1/10.

leestu - Never heard this one before, and it was a nice relaxing song. Liked it. 6.5/10.

Buscemi - To be totally honest I doubt this would make my top100 Disney songs. Just don't like it at all. 1/10.

SS - Never heard this one before (or at least I don't think I have, it sounded a little bit familiar) and while I liked it, I do believe it could have been better, as Geez said; at times it just sounded like a few shorts songs just randomly pieced together. For the one you posted I would give it a 6/10. (listened to the radio edit and would still give it a 6/10).

tranny - Not a fan of this one from RatM. 3/10.

W - Not one of my favorite Queen tracks, was Ok. 5.5/10.

Banks - Not even a little bit. 1/10.

englishozzy - Same comment as before. Second favorite Ramones song, my favorite is going to be coming up on my list. 8/10.

Ron - Had its moments, but for the most part it fell flat. 3.5/10.

[becs]

becs – Antony and the Johnsons, “Hope There's Someone” – Becs, you surprise me. A young white MAN that sounds like Nina Simone? Never would'a thunk it. Quite beautiful in its way, but I much prefer the first half of the song to the second half. (6)

Although the only copy out there on youtube has pretty miserable quality, you need to checkout the cover of Child of God, I mentioned. Even with the crap quality the song is pretty awe inspiring. Antony also did an exceptional cover of If It Be Your Will by Leonard Cohen for the I'm your Man Documentary.

As far as taking a break, I'm fine with either way we go, If we have people falling significantly behind then we probably should.

[Shrykespeare]

All right then. Perhaps it's just as well... this has been a hellaciously bad week for me. Two of my co-workers were let go this week, including a guy I liked and talked to every day. Not only that, I found out that my grandmother is going to have to undergo heart surgery. Plus, a lot of other stuff that just seems to build and build...

One could argue that with all this, I need to continue MORE than less, but I think a 2-3 day respite would be good for all. It'll give me a chance to re-listen to some stuff from the past five threads, and formulate some more opinions.

In the meantime, the following people have until... let's say Saturday to get me their next batch of songs:

NSpan
Geezer
becs
undeadmonkey
silversurfer
W
Banks
BarcaRulz
Ron Burgundy