This list consists of my favorite songs of the decade and nothing else. I generally made no attempt to account for how significant or influential the song was. I didn't care if a particular song captured how the 2000's "felt." I did take some consideration of how many songs each artist had, but not that much. Some of my favorite artists have many songs on this list. I think there are something around 100 artists on this list so each artist averages 2 songs or so. Also don't pay that much attention to the ordering of the list until you get to the top 50. I guess I think that it is hard to distinguish between you 120th and 153rd favorite song of the decade, so while I did make an effort for them to roughly be in order the order is not set in stone.
There are certainly tons of songs that got left off this list that could have made it, including a few that probably would be pretty high but I just forgot about. For the write ups I sometimes just list my favorite moment or lyric. For others I just have a sentence or two about it. For the latter ones I'll probably write a bit more. So with all that in mind here are my favorite 200 songs that were released in the last ten years.
200.
Bloc Party -
Banquet
Favorite Moment - The opening 20 seconds. It captures everything good about Bloc Party.
Favorite Lyric -
"And if you feel (and if you feel)
A little left behind (a little left behind)
We will wear you on the other side"
199.
Dan Deacon -
Wham City
Favorite Moment - The a capella recitation of the lyrics towards the end of the song followed by return of the music.
Favorite Lyric -
Of ghosts and cats
And pigs and bats
With brooms and bats
And wigs and rats
And play big dogs like queens and kings
And everyone plays drums and sings
About big sharks
Sharp swords
Beast bees
Bead lords
Sweet cakes
Mace lakes
198.
Lifesavas -
HelloHiHey
Favorite Moment - The part with the lyric below
Favorite Lyric - Word my crew is called the Cannibals (ah cool)/
Yeah we're 30 deep and each member's a mutant culmination of six animals/
See each MC is simultaneously (okay) six creatures, that's six styles with six features/
Man we're the wild kingdom of hip hop...
197.
Apostle of Hustle -
A Rent Boy Goes Down
Favorite Moment - When the last rendition of the chorus begins
Favorite Lyric - "Socrates is swaying the youth away"
196.
M. Ward -
Hi-Fi
Favorite Moment - No one moment really sticks out. How he say's hi-fi makes the song though.
Favorite Lyric -
So let me turn the volume up get a little bit of Hi-Fi/
Drown out all the sirens in the back of my mind
195.
The Mountain Goats -
No Children
Favorite Moment - The lyric below.
Favorite Lyric - I hope I lie
And tell everyone you were a good wife
And I hope you die
I hope we both die
194.
Menomena -
Wet and Rusting
Favorite Moment - The drums after the third "Its hard to take risks..."
Favorite Lyric - It's hard to take risks with a pessimist
193.
Okkervil River -
Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe
Favorite Moment - When the piano and drums enter as sings "no fade: film begins with a kid in the big city"
Favorite Lyric -
It's just a life story, so there's no climax./
No more new territory, so pull away the imax.
192.
Deerhunter -
Octet
Favorite Moment - This song isn't about one moment but is great for the gradual build up throughout the whole thing. When the drums come in at around the 4:40 mark is pretty awesome though.
Favorite Lyric - There's only one lyric "I was the corpse that spiraled out
Into phantom hallways" which is barely even audible.
191.
At the Drive-In -
One-Armed Scissor
Favorite Moment - The drums coming in strong at the 3:00 mark as Ced screams right before the chorus comes in again.
Favorite Lyric - Any really, At the Drive-In/The Mars Volta are great for hilariously ridiculous lyrics. But this will do "banked on memory/ mummified circuitry/ skin graft machinery/ sputnik sickles found in the seats"
190.
Kings of Leon -
On Call
Why the song is great - Tight bass line and the guitar part before the chorus. I love the vocals on the song, particular the delivery of the chorus
Favorite Lyric -
I'm on call, so be there
189.
Ludacris -
Eyebrows Down
Favorite Lyric -
By the age of eighteen I was destined to make
My bank account read DISTURBING THE PEACE INCORPORATED
188.
The Shins -
New Slang
I still fucking hate you Zach Braff
187.
Girl Talk - Play Your Part (Part 1)
Favorite Moment - The Pop Bottles sample mashed up with Temple of the Dog - Hunger Strike. Which too me proves that Girl Talk can rise above the sum of his parts to create great musical moments
Favorite Lyric -
my bitch a choosey lover, never fuck without a rubber
never in the sheets, like it on top of the cover
money on the dresser, drive a compressor
top notch hoes get the most, not the lesser
186.
The Raconteurs -
Carolina Drama
Lyrics seem to be a pretty literal story just told with great intensity
Favorite Lyric -
Billy broke in and saw the blood on the floor, and
He turned around and put the lock on the door
He looked dead into the boyfriend's eye
185.
The Roots -
Game Theory
I just like how he puts together the first line of the lyric below.
Favorite Lyrics -
Dreams when M16's with infrared beams
Blowin' up presidents' cribs with cans of kerosene
Hijack the limousine with a strategic routine
Then blast my enemies, head for the Caribbeans
184.
Japandroids -
The Boys Are Leaving Town
The opener to one of the better albums of 2009. It's hard to argue with the enthusiasm and raw emotion Japandroids put into one of their songs, plus they're catchy as hell and great to sing along with.
183.
Yeasayer -
2080
Sunny dreamy pop music at its best
182.
Franz Ferdinand -
The Dark of the Matinée
My favorite song off Franz Ferdinand's debut.
Favorite Lyric -
I time every journey to bump into you, accidentally
I charm you and tell you of the boys I hate
All the girls I hate
All the words I hate
The clothes I hate
How I'll never be anything I hate
You smile, mention something that you like
How you'd have a happy life if you did the things you like
181.
The National -
Cardinal Song\
Why the song is great - typically great Berninger lyrics and vocals
Favorite Lyric -
never tell the one you want that you do
save it for the deathbed
when you know you kept her wanting you
180.
The Hold Steady -
You Can Make Him Like You
One of the catchiest most infectious songs I've ever heard.
179.
Jay-Z -
Lucifer
Why the song is great - Sick Kanye beat and great Max Romeo sampled chorus
Favorite Lyric -
I'm from the murder capital where we murder for capital
178.
RJD2 -
Ghostwriter
Favorite Moment - The last climax towards the end
Favorite Lyric - No lyrics but the vocals really are great on the song
177.
TV on the Radio -
Ambulance
Why the song is great - The awesome a capella beat
Favorite Lyric -
your slime frame
your simple stare
and your wrong wrong name
they keep me where i belong
all strung out in song
176.
The New Pornographers -
Streets of Fire
Why this song is great - Dan Bejar should do an whole album of duets with female vocalists. The combination is really fucking great.
Favorite Lyric -
This whiskey priest, he burned the church
To keep his girls alive
175.
My Morning Jacket -
It Beats 4 U
Favorite Moment - Jim James vocals at 1:20.
Favorite Lyric -
You know my heart, it beats for you.
It beats for you so in time we beat
174.
Animal Collective -
Brother Sport
Favorite Moment - 1:00 in when the song really blows up for the first time. Or the 3:00 mark when the 3rd part of the song starts
Favorite Lyric -
I know it sucks that daddy's gone
But try to think of what you want
You got to open up your
Open up your, open up your throat
Matt!
173.
Madvillian -
Accordian
Why the song is great - Fucking awesome beat.
Favorite Lyric -
Hey you! Don’t touch the mic like there’s AIDS on it
Yo, it’s like the end to the means
Fuck type of message that sends to the fiends
That’s why he brings his own needles
And get more cheese than Doritos, Cheetos or Fritos.
172.
Justice -
Stress
Not only captures the essence of a feeling but creates it in its listeners. Its hard not to be on edge listening to this.
171.
LCD Soundsystem -
All My Friends
Why the song is great - How Murphy does so much with so little. A simple piano riff repeated for seven and a half minutes goes a long way with this song.
Favorite Lyric -
You spent the first five years trying to get with the plan
And the next five years trying to be with your friends again
170.
Belle and Sebastian -
Mornington Crescent
I don't think Belle and Sebastian will ever be as good as their first two albums, Tigermilk and If You're Feeling Sinister but this song comes pretty damn close. Pretty piano and guitar piece with great vocals.
Favorite Lyric -
I was a joker, the wannabe punk
That got lucky
Had a good time
Life became fruitless
Egotistic swine to all your friends
All the ladies and the men
The possibilities suggest themselves to me
We're a little too free
169.
The Decemberists -
The Island, Come And See, The Landlord's Daughter, You'll Not Feel The Drowning
The Decemberists 12 minute 3 part epic is the best thing the Portland band has ever done. One of the easiest 12 minute songs to listen to The Island is engaging the whole way through. The highlight is the The Landlords Daughter, the middle part, where the songs builds to a frenzy of keyboard and guitar before segueing quietly into the You'll Not Feel the Drowning.
Favorite Lyric -
Go to sleep, little ugly
Go to sleep, little fool
Forty-winking in the belfry
You'll not feel the drowning
You'll not feel the drowning
168.
Fleet Foxes -
Mykonos
Favorite Moment - When the music drops halfway through for a brief vocal only interlude before coming back in to help the song build to a quiet climax
Favorite Lyric -
And you will go to Mykonos
With a vision of a gentle coast
And a sun to maybe dissipate
Shadows of the mess you made
167.
Feist -
One Two Three Four
Amazingly catchy and Feist has an amazing voice.
Favorite Lyric -
Sweetheart, bitter heart,
Now I can't tell you apart
Cozy and cold,
Put the horse before the cart
166.
of Montreal -
Gronlandic Edit
Awesome vocals and lyrics over a simple groovy beat.
Favorite Lyric - There are three
(The surrealists were just)
Nihilists with good imaginations
I guess it would be nice to give my heart to a god
But which one, which one do I choose?
All the churches fill with losers, psycho or confused
I just want to hold the divine in mind
And forget all of the beauty's wasted
Let's fall back to earth and do something pleasant
We fell back to earth like gravity's bitches
(Physics makes us all its bitches)
165.
Jurassic 5 -
What's Golden
Favorite Lyric -
Yo...
Well, it's the verbal Herman Munster
The word enhancer, sick of phony mobsters controllin' the dance floor
164.
Gorillaz -
Last Living Souls
Good vocals.
Favorite Lyric -
What you say?
Cause all I was on
I got it down wrong
I see myself to get
And the Lord, seeing all now
Can you take us in
The part that comin' on
The coldest man doesn't see it's all
163.
Kanye West -
Amazing
Sick ass beat with the most hilariously perfect Young Jeezy guest verse
Favorite Lyric -
Standin' at my podium
I'm tryin' to watch my sodium (sodium)
Die of high blood pressure
162.
No Age -
Teen Creeps
The little guitar part before the crashing noise and distortion comes in makes this song
161.
Sunset Rubdown -
Nightingale / December Song
Why this song is great - The way it builds up without you noticing it doing so.
Favorite Lyric -
so let me hammer this point home
i see us all as lonely fires that have burned alive as long as we remember
but like all fireworks and all sunsets, we all burn in different ways
160.
At the Drive-In -
Pattern Against User
Another awesomely catchy and ridiculous song by AtDI. The drums are great and I love the quick little drum coda and yelp right at the end.
Favorite Lyric -
pattern against user- dilated
bastard waiting for nothing
circus carny guarding
the gates of heaven
like stuck in limbo abduction
159.
Vampire Weekend -
Oxford Comma
Catchy ass song
158.
Animal Collective -
Bluish
One of the best yet most simple melodies of the decade. The song is effortlessly beautiful.
Favorite Lyric -
When we're alone, I wanna say
Let's just stay in, no one's here in our apartment babe
157.
The White Stripes -
The Union Forever
The song just creates a great atmosphere unlike any other White Stripes song
Favorite Lyric - This entire verse is awesome
There is a man
a certain man
and for the poor you may be sure
that he'll do all he can
who is this one?
who's favorite son
just by his action has detraction
magnets on the run
who likes to smoke
enjoys a joke
and wouldn't get a bit
upset if he were really broke
with wealth and fame
he's still the same
I'll bet you five you're not alive
If you don't now his name
156.
Iron & Wine -
Naked As We Came
Pretty little song, nice vocals.
154.
A.C. Newman -
The Heartbreak Rides
Proving that AC Newman can write ballads that are still really great power pop songs at the same time.
154.
Department of Eagles -
No One Does It Like You
The odd little percussion or horn or whatever that is before the chorus and the vocals that sound more natural and heartfelt then anything on Veckatimest really make this song.
153.
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah -
The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth
If you like Alec Ounsworth vocals then this song has one of the most infectious hooks of the decade. Despite not actually having a proper chorus.
Favorite Lyric -
Far, far away from West Virginia
I'll try New York City
Explaining that the sky holds you in
The sun rushes in and a child
With a shotgun can shoot down the honeybees that sting
But this boy could use a little sting
152.
My Morning Jacket -
Gideon
Favorite Moment - The 2:00 mark till the end.
Favorite Lyric –
Truly, truly we have become
Hated and feared for something that we don't want
Listen, listen. Most of us believe that this is wrong
151.
Grizzly Bear -
While You Wait for the Others
Favorite Moment - The vocals starting at the 3:00 mark until the guitars and drums come crashing back in.
150.
of Montreal -
She's a Rejector
Most rocking and catchiest song on the album
Favorite Lyric -
There's the girl that left me bitter
Want to pay some other girl
To just walk up to her and hit her
But I can't, I can't, I can't
149.
Yo La Tengo -
Here to fall
One of the most bad ass songs of the decade. Was a great opener when I saw them live.
Favorite Lyric -
I know you're worried - I'm worried too
But if you're ready, I'm here to fall with you.
What else is there for us to do?
148.
Neko Case -
Look for Me (I'll Be Around)
Neko's voice is as beautiful here as it ever has been.
Favorite Lyric -
When the new crowd starts to bore you
Just remember there is someone to adore you
When you're weary of nights out on the town
Look for me, I'll be around
147.
Songs: Ohia -
Just Be Simple
Pretty song, great vocals by Molina, nice female background vocals by whoever that is.
Favorite Lyric -
Everything you hated me for... Honey there was so much more
I just didn't get busted.
146.
Animal Collective -
Alvin Row
Favorite Moment - The scream at 5:49 along with the crashing cymbals and piano.
Favorite Lyric - My singing voice is gone
145.
The Exploding Hearts -
I'm a Pretender
Great bit of power pop
144.
Gorillaz -
Re-Hash
Just a really chill song about doing drugs
143.
Grizzly Bear -
Colorado
Grizzly Bear at its most atmospheric and best.
142.
Common -
Electric Wire Hustle Flower
Sets the tone for the whole album
Favorite Lyric -
You was at your hardest when you didn't even try
Live like a bitch, then bitch you gonna die
141.
No Age -
Ripped Knees
Starts out as No Age's most balls to the wall song before ending in blissful feedback.
140.
Sunset Rubdown -
Silver Moons
A mostly piano driven piece that doesn't really build up but meanders around until the climax. Typically great Spencer Krug vocals and lyrics. The first time Camilla Wynne Ingr's backup vocals really add a lot to a Sunset Rubdown song.
Favorite Lyric -
maybe these days are over, over now
and i loved it better than anyone else you know
and i believe in growing old with grace
i believe she only loved my face
i believe i acted like a child
making faces at acquired tastes
and now silver moons belong to you
139.
The White Stripes -
Truth Doesn't Make a Noise
Great guitar and piano ballad.
Favorite Lyric -
You try to tell her what to do
And all she does is stare at you
Her stare is louder than your voice
Because truth doesn't make a noise
No, truth doesn't make a noise
The truth doesn't make a noise
138.
The National -
About Today
A simple guitar and drum piece that barely goes anywhere backed by some strings accompany Bernigers great but simple vocals. Bernigers lyrics are simple but heart wrenching. The song slowly gains steam without ever really changing. All this adds up to one of The Nationals most subtlety beautiful songs.
Favorite Lyric -
Hey, are you awake
Yeah I'm right here
Well can I ask you
about today
137.
Portishead -
Silence
I'd only listened to Dummy and s/t a few times before listening to Third and even I did not know what the fuck was going on with the first few seconds. The bizarre opening followed by a drum beat that just "feels" like Portishead was an absolutely perfect way to open their first album in ten years.
136.
The Antlers -
Two
Like most of Hospice Two is simple, atmospheric, and affecting. The power of the song comes from the slowly building guitars and drums along with Peter Silberman's vocals and lyrics
Favorite Lyrics -
There's two people living in one small room,
from your two half-families tearing at you,
two ways to tell the story (no one worries),
two silver rings on our fingers in a hurry,
two people talking inside your brain,
two people believing that I'm the one to blame,
two different voices coming out of your mouth,
while I'm too cold to care and too sick to shout.
135.
A.C. Newman -
Miracle Drug
More perfect power pop from the best
Favorite Lyric -
He was tied to the bed with a miracle drug in one hand,
In the other, a great lost novel that, I understand, was returned with a stamp
That said "thank you for your interest, young man."
134.
OutKast -
Bust
Probably one of the most experimental Outkast tracks. With a hook that's mostly guitar and off kilter vocals. The electric guitar pervades the entire song right from the bizarre beginning.
Favorite Lyric -
My rap name Killer, my street name Skunk
I mastered the music that was born in the Bronx!
I switch my slang spit from my mouth
I'm still all coast my coast the South!!!
133.
Venetian Snares -
Hajnal
Aggressive strings open the song before cutting to samples of Igor Stravinsky's "3 Pieces for Clarinet" mixed with simple drums and piano before cutting back to the strings. It's not till this second cutback at 3:30 into the song that Aaron Funk decides to remind you that your listening to a breakcore record. The rest of the song brilliantly mixes the two at odds styles and is one of the best moments on a brilliant record.
132.
Frog Eyes -
Reform the Countryside
Frantic and ramshackle this song as a great vocal performance from Casey Mercer if your into his style. The kicks you in the gut from the start and never stops. The part at 4:00 after the "gonna gonna" repetitions is perfect.
Favorite Lyric -
Oh baby, I've got to know, when you sing that song
Where the singer sings he's got to know
I feel this deliverance that is gained from the right,
131.
mclusky -
Lightsabre Cocksucking Blues
Aside from having the most awesome song title of the decade and probably of all time the song is an amazing piece of hardcore power punk pop rock or however the hell you want to classify it.
Favorite Lyric -
The whole song has great lyrics but I can't help but pick this one -
I covered my eyes when she told me the news
Turning me on with my lightsabre cocksucking blues
130.
RJD2 -
Good Times Roll Pt 2
Best Moment - After the jazzy interlude in the middle the drums and vocals coming back in together
129.
The Dismemberment Plan -
Face Of The Earth
Great off kilter pop song
128.
Wild Beasts -
Brave Bulging Buoyant Clairvoyants
Great energy and vocal performance
127.
Dizzee Rascal -
I Luv U
The I Luv U intro is awesome and the whole song has great production.
Favorite Lyric -
she looks decent, she looks fine
but dont talk about wifey she's not mine
she got batches, 6 in a line, believe me thats not a good sign
126.
Aesop Rock -
Daylight
The below line is one of the funniest of the decade
Favorite Lyric -
Life's not a bitch life is a beautiful woman
Your only call her a bitch because she won't let you get that pussy
Maybe she didn't feel y'all shared any similar interests
125.
The Flaming Lips -
The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song
Favorite Lyric - It's a very dangerous thing to do exactly what you want
Because you cannot know yourself, or what you'd really do
Best Moment - The last "With all your power" at the 3:52 mark.
124.
Amanda Palmer -
Astronaut: A Short History of Nearly Nothing
Amanda Palmer's vocal performance and great piano makes this song. The live piano version is maybe even better
Favorite Lyric -
everybody's sick for something that they can find fascinating
everyone but you and even you aren't feeling well
123.
The Mars Volta -
Inertiatic ESP
Segueing perfectly out of the opening ambient track Son et Lumiere, Inertiatic ESP is The Mars Volta at its best, aggressive, short, and to the point.
Favorite Lyric - Plenty to chose from like always..but -
are you peaking in the red
perforated at the neck
what of this mongrel architect
a broken arm of sewers set
past present and future tense
clipside of the pinkeye fountain
122.
Tapes 'n Tapes -
Insistor
One of the most infectious yet nonsensical choruses this side of the New Pornographers. The galloping guitar propels the song at a steady pace only to explode into a great last chorus.
Best Moment - The scream during the last rendition of the chorus
Favorite Lyric
And when you rush I'll call your name
Like Harvard Square holds all inane
And don't you know I'll be your badger
And don't be terse and don't be shy
Just hug my lips and say good lies
And know that I will be your bail bond
121.
My Morning Jacket -
Phone Went West
Even more so then most MMJ songs the highlight here is Jim James' vocals
Favorite Lyric -
tell me i'm wrong
tell me i'm right
tell me there's nobody else in the world
120.
LCD Soundsystem -
North American Scum
One of the best party songs of the decade
Favorite Lyric -
take me back to the states man
north american scum
where we can be all we want
north american
where the dj gigs are as fun
here in north american scum
don't blame the canadians
let go north america
119.
Fleet Foxes -
White Winter Hymnal
The best thing about Fleet Foxes is pretty harmonized vocals. That is basically all this song is. And it's great.
118.
Kings of Leon -
Charmer
Badass song. I'm generally indifferent to KoL vocals but the screams on this are just absolutely perfect. Really great to see live.
Favorite Lyric -
Wow she's such a charmer oh no
That lyric is my favorite because it looks so hilariously tame in writing compared to how it is on record.
117.
TV on the Radio -
Lover's Day
A lot of songs are about sex but none celebrate it quite like this song.
Favorite Lyric -
I hunger for you like a cannibal.
Not gonna let you run.
I'm gonna take you.
I'm gonna shake you.
I'm gonna make you cum.
116.
Destroyer -
English Music
A nice piano driven piece from Bejar.
Favorite Lyric -
I know the altar boys, they just want to do me and that's fine
You got to have faith.
Yeah, you got to have it
115.
Okkervil River -
The War Criminal Rises and Speaks
Great vocal performance from Will Sheff.
Favorite Lyric -
Now he’s rising and not denying.
His hands are shaking, but he’s not crying.
And he’s saying “How did I climb
out of a life so boring into that moment?
Please stop ignoring the heart inside,
oh you readers at home!
While you gasp at my bloody crimes,
please take the time
to make your heart my home:
where I’m forgiven by time,
where I’m cushioned by hope,
where I’m numbed by long drives,
where I’m talked off or doped.
Does the heart wants to atone?
114.
Phoenix -
Lisztomania
The best pop song of 2009 and one of the best of the whole decade. The 1:10 part with the first "from the mess to the masses" is absolutely perfect.
Favorite Lyric -
So sentimental
No, not sentimental, romantic
113.
Wilco -
Company in My Back
Tweedy's delivery of "holy shit" really makes the song for me for whatever reason.
Favorite Lyric -
I move so slow, a steady crushing hand
Holy shit there's a company in my back
112.
WHY? -
Rubber Traits
The subtle backing vocals give the song an epic feel to it that only a few Why? songs have.
Favorite Lyric -
Unfold an oragami death mask
and cut my DNA with rubber traits
Pull apart the double helix like a wishbone
Always be working on a suicide note
111.
Wolf Parade -
California Dreamer
One of the best things about Apologies to the Queen Mary is the raw energy and exuberance that sustains the record nearly though whole way through. Though I think it is a decent album At Mount Zoomer mostly lacks this quality. Except for on this song.
Favorite Lyric -
Do the young stay pretty, do the pretty stay quick?
You know, but you never surrender
The city doesn't belong to you anymore
California dreamer
110.
Bon Iver -
Re: Stacks
Simple song with pretty imagery and great performance from Vernon.
Favorite Lyrics -
This is not the sound of a new man or crispy realization
It's the sound of the unlocking and the lift away
109.
The National -
Mistaken for Strangers
Spectacular drumming
Favorite Lyric -
oh you wouldn't want an angel watching over
surprise, surprise they wouldn't wannna watch
another uninnocent, elegant fall into the unmagnificent lives of adults
108.
Elliott Smith -
A Distorted Reality Is Now a Necessity to Be Free
A fitting last song on the closest thing Elliott Smith as to a last album.
Favorite Lyric -
Shine on me, baby
Because it's raining in my heart
107.
At the Drive-In -
Enfilade
The lyrics are actually tell a coherent story. I didn't think Cedric was capable of that. The lyrics aren't whats great about this song though. The absolute badassnes of it is. I love the the little, almost humorous, drumming right before the guitars come in for the first chorus. The subtle vocals(I think they're vocals, they could be some kind of feedback) during the chorus are also great. Like the rest of this CD this song is perfect driving music
Favorite Lyric -
Hello, mother leopard, I have your cub. You must protect her . . . but that will be expensive. Ten thousand cola nuts, wrapped in brown paper. Midnight, behind the box. I'll be the Hyena . . . you'll see.
106.
WHY? -
The Vowels Pt. 2
I'm not a ladies man
I'm a land mine
Filming my own fake death
That was the first Why? lyric I ever heard. I was hooked.
105.
Animal Collective -
Fireworks
Very heartwarming and sentimental lyrics accompanied frantic drums and a pretty piano. One of AC's more straightforward songs and one of its best.
Favorite Lyrics -
"What's the day?" "Whats you doing?"
"How's your food?" "How's that song?"
Man it passes right by me it's behind me, now it's gone
104.
Radiohead -
You And Whose Army?
The slight gasp of breath at the start of this song is one of my favorite moments in any Radiohead song
Favorite Lyric -
Come on, come on
You think you drive me crazy, well
Come on, come on
You and whose army?
You and your cronies
Come on, come on
Holy Roman empire
Come on if you think
Come on if you think
You can take us on
You can take us on
103.
The Arcade Fire -
No Cars Go
Both the EP version and the album version are great. The drums are particularly great on this song. Cathartic as hell even for an Arcade Fire song.
Favorite Lyric -
Between the click of the light and the start of the dream
102.
The Avalanches -
Frontier Psychiatrist
The most absurdly perfect song, possibly of all time. Some songs are just perfect. You listen to them and you almost know what is about to come next because nothing else could possibly happen. When you hear "I told my girlfriend I'd pick up the violin" you know your about to hear some awesome violins. Not a single second, lyric, note, or beat of this song could have been improved upon.
Favorite Lyrics - Too Many
That boy needs therapy, psychosomatic,
That boy needs therapy, purely psychosomatic
That boy needs therapy
Lying down on the couch, what does that mean?
You're a nut! You're crazy in the coconut!
What does that mean? That boy needs therapy
I'm gonna kill you, that boy needs therapy
Grab a kazoo, let's have a tune
Now when I count three
That, that, that, that, that boy.. boy needs therapy
He was white as a sheet
And he also laid false teeth
I promise my girlfriend I'd pick up the... the violin, violin, violin ...
Can you think of anything else that talks, other than a person?
Uh ohh... uh oh, a bird! Yeah!
Sometimes a parrot talks
Ha ha ha ha ha !!!!
Yes, some birds are funny when they talk
Can you think of anything else
A record, record, record !
101.
Okkervil River So Come Back, I Am Waiting
The climatic song for Black Sheep Boy. One of Sheff's best vocal performances and some of his best lyrics. A beautiful song about succumbing to the inevitable.
Favorite Lyric -
So come back and we'll take them all on.
So come back to your life on the lam.
So come back to your old black sheep man.
He says I am waiting on hoof and on hand. I am waiting, all hated and damned.
I am waiting - I snort and I stamp.
I am waiting, you know that I am, calmly waiting to make you my lamb.
100.
The Strokes -
Soma
The Strokes are not who I'd expect to make a Brave New World reference but whatever. Great catchy song.
Favorite Lyric -
Tried it once and they liked it,
Then tried to hide it
Says, I've been doing this 25 years
But I'm not listening no more.
And these friends, they keep asking for more.
But that's it.
99.
The Mountain Goats -
This Year
Pretty song of the Sunset Tree
Favorite Lyric -
i played video games in a drunken haze
i was seventeen years young
hurt my knuckles punching the machines
the taste of scotch rich on my tongue
and then Cathy showed up
and we hung out
trading swigs from a bottle
all bitter and clean
locking eyes
holding hands
twin high maintenance machines
i am going to make it through this year
if it kills me
i am going to make it though this year
if it kills me
98.
Queens of the Stone Age -
No One Knows
David Grohl is awesome on the drums here.
97.
Spoon -
The Way We Get By
A nearly instant classic
Favorite Lyric -
We get high in back seats of cars
We put faith in our concerns
Fall in love to 'Down on the Street'
We believe in the sum of ourselves
96.
Songs: Ohia -
I've Been Riding With the Ghost
The backing vocals are great on this song
Favorite Lyric -
I've been looking door to door to see
if there was someone who'd hold me
I never met a single one who didn't see through me
None of them could love me if they thought they might lose me
Unless I made a change
95.
Kanye West -
Gone
Great production and instrumentation on this track. All the verses flow great into each other. I love the little instrumental part before Kanye's last verse.
Favorite Lyric -
But if they ever flip sides like Anakin
You'll sell everything includin the mannequin
They got a new bitch now you Jennifer Aniston
94.
The National -
Slipping Husband
Builds up amazingly and ends with one of Berningers best and most aggressive screams.
Favorite Lyric -
Dear we better get a drink in you
before you start to bore us
Dear we better get a drink in you
before you start to bore us
Dear we better get a drink in you
before you start to bore us
93.
Grizzly Bear -
On a Neck, On a Spit
Pretty two part song.
Favorite Lyric -
Each day, spend it with me now
All my time, spend it with me now
But each day spend it with you now
All my time, spend it with you now
But out here, no one can hear me
Out hear no one can hear me
92.
The White Stripes -
I'm Finding It Harder to Be a Gentleman
A classic from White Blood Cells.
Favorite Lyric -
Well I never said I wouldn't
Throw my jacket in the mud for you
but my father gave it to me so
maybe I should carry you
then you said
"You almost dropped me"
so then I did
and I got mud on my shoes
91.
OutKast -
Gasoline Dreams
From the first guitar riff you know this isn't a typical hip-hop track
Favorite Lyric -
Arrest me 4 this dope I didn't weight it up or cook it
You gotta charge the world cause over a million people took it
90.
Elliott Smith -
Everything Means Nothing to Me
A brilliantly atmospheric piece off Figure 8.
89.
WHY? -
Gemini (Birthday Song)
Great piano driven piece
Favorite Lyric -
It starts with you
on a mattress in your parents' old room,
clipping your toenails into the room
like the room will fade
and you will move
onto other rooms
and you will go
to other places.
Then the wedding,
Then the woman passed out
in the driver's seat
at the order board at White Castle.
We woke her up and she went
'round to the pick up window
like she knew exactly where she was.
88.
Panda Bear -
Take Pills
The peaceful first half perfectly sets up the slightly more vibrant second half
Favorite Lyric -
i don't want for us to
take pills
anymore
not that it's bad
i don't want for us to take pills
because we're stronger
and we don't need them
87.
The Mars Volta -
Miranda, That Ghost Just Isn't Holy Anymore
On my comments on Inertiatic ESP I said that The Mars Volta were at there best when they were direct and to the point. This song is the exception to that rule. This song contains all the excesses that have led people to criticize The Mars Volta since Frances the Mute came out. It takes four minutes or so before we can actual note of music from an instrument, before that the song consists of static feedback and chilling vocals. But the ambiance flat out works perfectly on this song. The feedback and vocals slowly build up until your yearning for the song to start. What comes next is an atmospheric guitar and vocal piece that completely justifies the first four minutes.
Favorite Lyric -
And when Miranda sang
Everyone turned away
Used to the noose
They obey
86.
My Morning Jacket -
Death Is the Easy Way
Stunningly beautiful song
Favorite Lyric -
'cause nothing gets you high, you're poor the day you die,
and alcohol it only makes you tired.
85.
The Shins -
Caring Is Creepy
Zach Braff can suck on my balls
84.
Wolf Parade -
We Built Another World
One of the only songs on Apologies where both Krug and Boeckner sing lead vocals. This song has one of my favorite intros, just diving right into the song. The drums and backing vocals during the chorus are great.
Favorite Lyric -
At the party we got chained at the wrists
Outside there's girls saying
It's not gonna be just only a kiss
Everyone's disguised just a little bit
83.
The Microphones -
I Want Wind to Blow
Light drumming and pounding drums pervade the song. This continues till one of the most unexpectedly great moments in any song ever at the 4:24.
Favorite Lyric -
The sound of cars,
The smell of bars,
The awful feeling of electric heat.
And the fluorescent lights,
82.
Modest Mouse -
The World at Large
The bittersweet counterpart to Float On that makes that song better then it already is in context of the album.
Favorite Lyric -
I like songs about drifters, books about the same
They both seem to make me feel a little less insane
Walked on off to another spot
I still haven't gotten anywhere that I want
Did I want love, did I need to know?
Why does it always feel like I'm caught in an undertow?
81.
The New Pornographers -
The Bleeding Heart Show
Part of the problem with Challengers compared to other New Porno's albums is that it finds AC Newman intent on writing ballads instead of power pop songs. Ballads aren't the reason I(or anyone) listen to the New Pornographers so it is disappointing when they are the major component of the album. However in small doses they can be spectacular. Part of the reason The Bleeding Heart Show works is that it has real teeth and rocks out despite starting out much like many of the songs on Challengers. By the time Neko Case chimes in for the outro chorus its hard not to be absolutely enraptured with the song.
Favorite Lyric -
We have arrived too late to play the bleeding heart show
80.
Radiohead -
Life In A Glasshouse
Oddly enough this song, a jazzy very traditional number, is probably the oddball of Radioheads discography. They've done nothing else even remotely similar. The song consists of Yorke's vocals accompanied by simple drums and the trumpeting of traditional jazz artist Humphrey Lyttelton and his band. The jazz component works beautifully with Yorkes vocals and the repetition of "only" towards the end of the song is one of my favorite moments of Amnesiac
Favorite Lyric -
Well, of course I'd like to sit around and chat
Well, of course I'd like to stay and chew the fat
Well, of course I'd like to sit around and chat
Only, only, only
Only, only, only
Only, only, only
Only, only, only
There's someone listening in
79.
Elliott Smith -
Junk Bond Trader
The up side of the the production on Figure 8
Favorite Lyric -
And you tell off when you tell it like it is
Your world's no wider than your hatred of his
Checking into a small reality
Boring as a drug you take too regularly
78.
The New Pornographers -
The Fake Headlines
A great piece from The New Porno's debut
Favorite Lyric -
I wrote the news today
In the tent outside the midway rides
And when my money flew
Singing to their pockets I
I filled the whole front page
With the catchiest words I could find
Fake headlines, believe me come back
Fake headlines, believe them come back
77.
The White Stripes -
Seven Nation Army
Easily the most well known bass line of the last ten years
76.
The National -
Fake Empire
A beautifully atmospheric song. A lot of peoples(including mine) introduction to The National and its great
Favorite Lyric -
Put a little something in our lemonade and take it with us
We're half awake in a fake empire
We're half awake in a fake empire
75.
Daft Punk -
One More Time
The a capella part in the middle is great. Its hard to not smile when listening to this song.
74.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor -
Storm
The first 7 minutes build up endlessly. Every time you think the song can't keep going it does. The other 16 or so minutes are just icing.
73.
Deerhunter -
Nothing Ever Happened
The outro is spectacular
72.
WHY? -
Fatalist Palmistry
Why?'s most joyous song.
Favorite Lyrics - Too many
i sleep on my back cause it's good for the spine
and coffin rehersal
i know a psychic who reads her own palms
and her findings are personal
she keeps her fists shut tight and she sleeps on her side,
well maybe she knows something i don't know
but your painted pony is fading
lost like a snakeskin in high grass
and out there thrashing like a pet bird caught in a jet stream, that's me
you count them blessings cause your net worth
oughta be less cream in your best dreams
but god put a song on my palm
that you can't read
i'll be embalmed with it long before you'll see
71.
Animal Collective -
Did You See the Words
The song just exudes sexuality.
Favorite Lyric - Do the elderly couples still kiss and hug and grab their big wrinkly skin so tough wrinkly wrink wrink wrinkly rough....
70.
Interpol -
Untitled
The gorgeous opener from Interpol's debut.
69.
The White Stripes -
Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground
Spectacular opener to one of the best albums of the decade.
Favorite Lyric -
Soft hair and a velvet tongue
I want to give you what you give to me
and every breath that is in your lungs
is a tiny little gift to me
68.
Amanda Palmer -
Runs in the Family
Great flow and delivery from Amanda on this song. Hits the ground running and only builds up more.
Favorite Lyric -
My friend has maladies, rickets, and allergies that she dates back to the 17th century
Somehow she manages in her misery.
Strips in the city and shares all her best tricks with me
well, I'm well well I mean I'm in hell well I still have my health at least that's what they tell me.
If wellness is this what in hell's name is sickness?
But business is business and business runs in the family.
67.
Destroyer -
The Bad Arts
Three part song with typically great Bejar lyrics and a coda that consists of a twist on a Joy Division lyric of all things.
Favorite Lyric -
The world woke up one day to proclaim - Thou shalt not take part in, or
make, bad art.
66.
A.C. Newman -
On the Table
I can just see AC Newman saying "shit I need a chorus...fuck it, do re mi"
65.
The National -
Cherry Tree
loose lips sink ships
64.
The Unicorns -
Sea Ghost
The high pitched flute at the beginning of the song initially set me against what is now one of my favorite songs on this spectacular album. A very pretty song about wondering how you got to where you are now.
Favorite Lyric -
Who was I with, what time was it?
And where-ere-ere-ere
Who was I with?
What time was it?
And where-ere-ere-ere
Did you go?
63.
Eminem -
'Till I Collapse
A highlight from The Eminem Show. Em kills all three verses. Unfortunately he has not kept true to his promise in the below lyric.
Favorite Lyric -
Till I collapse I'm spillin' these raps long as you feel 'em
Till the day that I drop you'll never say that I'm not killin' 'em
Cause when I am not, then I'ma stop pinnin' 'em
and I am not hip-hop and I'm just not Eminem
62.
Destroyer -
Hey, Snow White
This Night is an overlong, sloppy, mess of an album in the best way possible. This song is a microcosm of the album. The song goes on for 7:55 but by the time the fading "all rights" take over the song I honestly could listen to for another 10.
Favorite Lyric - The only lyrics
Hey Snow White, it's gonna be all right
It's gonna be all right
How can you win some?
When the company goes public
You've got to learn to love what you own
61.
Sunset Rubdown -
The Taming of the Hands That Came Back to Life
Somewhat of the thematic center of Random Spirit Lover and one of the more accessible songs on the album.
Favorite Lyric -
She said, "My sails are flapping in the wind."
I said, "Can I use that in a song?"
She said, "I mean the end begins."
I said, "I know. Can I use that too?"
60.
Jay-Z -
99 Problems
The production is the highlight with a simple guitar riff forming the core of the beat.
Favorite Lyric -
"Son, do you know why I'm stoppin you for?"
Cause I'm young and I'm black and my hat's real low
Or do I look like a mindreader, sir? I don't know
Am I under arrest or should I guess some more?
"Well you was doin fifty-five in the fifty-four;
license and registration and step out of the car -
are you carryin a weapon on you? I know a lot of you are"
I ain't steppin out of shit, all my papers legit
"Well do you mind if I look around the car a little bit?"
Well my glove compartment is locked, so is the trunk in the back
And I know my rights, so you gon' need a warrant for that
"Aren't you sharp as a tack! You should try out
for lawyer or somethin, somebody important or somethin"
Child I ain't passed the bar, but I know a little bit
Enough that you won't illegally search my shit
"Well we'll see how smart you are when the canine comes"
I got 99 problems, but a bitch ain't one
hit me!
59.
Grouper -
Heavy Water/I'd Rather Be Sleeping
A simple and beautiful song.
58.
Wilco -
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart
The song meanders around for nearly 7:00 perfectly setting up Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.
Favorite Lyric -
i am an american aquarium drinker
i assasin down the avenue
i'm hiding out
in the big city blinkin'
what was i thinkin'
when i let go of you
57.
Radiohead -
2+2=5
The song perfectly builds to a frenzy
Favorite Lyric -
Oh, go and tell the king that the sky is falling in
But it's not
But it's not
But it's not
Maybe not
Maybe not
56.
The Strokes -
Take It or Leave It
Hard to argue with this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csD4ZgMPgvg
55.
Sunset Rubdown -
Up on Your Leopard, Upon the End of Your Feral Days
The obvious litmus test for Random Spirit Lover and Sunset Rubdown in general. If you enjoy this song you will probably love everything Spencer Krug has ever touched. Spencers Krugs voice is at its most hysterical here, which is enough to drive a good amount of people away.
Favorite Lyric -
Well shit, I know we're all growing old.
But where there's a will, there is a way
So way to go
Say goodbye to your feral days.
54.
Swan Lake -
All Fires
The layer of fuzz that wraps up all of Beast Moans is present here but it doesn't hide the fact that this is just a simple acoustic guitar ballad. It just happens to be a brilliant one.
Favorite Lyric -
Five hundred pieces
Means five hundred float.
One thousand people means
Five hundred don't.
And it's Teresa they love the best.
53.
Deerhunter -
Dot Gain
The song opens a pretty cool little guitar piece. Pundt's vocals accompany as the guitar repeats for about 2:00. Things only subtly change up until that point, things get a little louder, some extra effects are added in. You can feel that the song is about to break open and, just when you can almost not take it anymore, it does, into quite literally one of my favorite little parts of any song ever. I really don't know how to describe it even.
52.
Radiohead -
Reckoner
Radiohead fairly commonly makes sad music(see - Exit Music, Fake Plastic Trees, No Suprises), downbeat yet uplifting music(see - Let Down, There There), somewhat scary music(see - climbing up the walls, sit down stand up, idioteque), and straight up rock music(see - My Iron Lung, Bodysnatchers, Go to Sleep). Radiohead as a band generally makes "pretty" music so all of these songs have some beauty in them. What makes Reckoner special is that it is the only Radiohead song that the focus is beauty. It perfectly captures a feeling of pure, calm, comforting, unadulterated beauty with only a minimal amount of melancholy.
Favorite Lyric -
Because we separate like ripples on a blank shore
In rainbows
Because we separate like ripples on a blank shore
51.
Broken Social Scene -
It's All Gonna Break
10:00 of euphoric rocking out. I wonder how many people actually listen to the lyrics because they are absolutely ridiculous in the best way possible. The screaming of "its all gonna break" is spectacular. The song sounds like its getting ready to end at 3:30, then it just keeps going.
Favorite Lyric -
i know your dying
i know it's true
i know theirs seven thousand things you rather be and rather do,
and i know........that you fuck what you love
and you love what you fuck.
50.
WHY? -
These Few Presidents
Some of Yoni's best lyrics. A rather dark breakup song filled with great lines.
Favorite Lyric -
even though i haven't seen you in years
yours is a funeral i'd fly to from anywhere
49.
Eminem -
The Way I Am
Eminem at his angriest, he's great on all three verses.
Favorite Lyric -
I sit back with this pack of Zig Zags and this bag
of this weed it gives me the shit needed to be
the most meanest MC on this -- on this Earth
And since birth I've been cursed with this curse to just curse
48.
Deerhunter -
Cover Me(Slowly)/
Agoraphobia
These songs obviously go together. I feel like Cover Me(Slowly) was written after Deerhunter asked themselves "How can we open microcastle as epically as possible?" It would seem forced if it wasn't so fucking amazing. Cover Me is like a deep breath and Agoraphobia is the exhalation as the lyrics alternate between "cover me", "comfort me" and "come for me" which for some reason I really like. Combined they are one of the best openers of the decade.
47.
M. Ward -
Vincent O'Brien
A joyous and bittersweet song. It was a classic for me the first time I heard it.
Favorite Lyric -
He only laughs when he's sad and he's sad all the time
So he laughs the whole night through
(Yeah he laughs in the daytime too)
46.
Elliott Smith -
Pretty(ugly before)
One of the prettiest songs of Elliott Smith's last album. Great instrumental interlude in the middle.
Favorite Lyric -
Sometimes
Is all I feel up to now
But it's not worth it to you
Because you got to get high somehow
45.
Sunset Rubdown -
Us Ones in Between
Some of Krugs best lyrics and one of his more minimal tracks. For the most part only a simple piano piece accompanies Krugs vocals
Favorite Lyric -
I've heard of pious men
and I've heard of dirty things
but you don't often hear
of us ones in between
and I've heard of creatures
who eat their babies
and I wonder if they stop to think about the taste
44.
Beach House -
Gila
Quite simply one of the most beautiful songs of the decade. The vocals are absolutely perfect.
Favorite Lyric -
Man, you got a lot of jokes to tell
43.
Broken Social Scene -
Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl
A simple heartwarming song with an amazingly apt title. Emily Haines distorted vocals are great.
Favorite Lyric - Might as well put them all
Used to be the one of the rotten ones
And I liked you for that
Now you're all gone, got your make-up on
And you're not coming back
Bleachin' your teeth, smiling flash
Talking trash, under your breath
Bleachin' your teeth, smiling flash
Talking trash, under my window
Park that car, drop that phone,
Sleep on the floor, dream about me
42.
Radiohead -
Idioteque
The prototypical example of everything that Kid A is that OK Computer isn't. A glitchy beat and odd sound effects prevade the song with not a traditional guitar riff in sight. What carries the song is some of Thom Yorke's best vocals.
41.
The New Pornographers -
Testament to Youth in Verse
Great lyrics including a nice Bob Dylan reference that builds up to an amazing coda.
Favorite Lyric -
Oh, my sweet witness
Can't you hear the voices?
They're telling the children to rock
For their choices
The bells ring
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no . . .
40.
Daft Punk -
Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
A great infectious dance song
39.
Swan Lake -
Are You Swimming in Her Pools?
One of Krug's most straightforward songs. Filled with great lyrics and nice melody. I particularly like the part where he falters on the "Are you running up the river banks..." line only to come back with Bejar backing him.
Favorite Lyric -
And how the lines that appear around your eyes
When you are smiling
Are revered for the way in which they always reappear
38.
Animal Collective -
Grass
A joyous pop song that could almost be a radio hit if it wasn't for the fact that the chorus consists of Avey screaming in time with crashing guitars.
37.
The National -
Mr. November
One of the few times that The National just let it all go and it works brilliantly.
Favorite Lyric -
I wish that I believed in fate
I wish I didn't sleep so late
I used to be carried in the arms of cheerleaders
I'm the new blue blood, I'm the great white hope
I'm the new blue blood
I won't fuck us over, I'm Mr. November
I'm Mr. November, I won't fuck us over
36.
Neko Case -
Star Witness
Neko's epic, a perfectly beautiful song.
Favorite Lyric -
there were no survivors
none found alive
35.
Modest Mouse -
Lives
The dull sound of sharp math line is one of my favorite Modest Mouse lines period. Has the typical modest mouse structure of intro part-different middle part-end with reprise of intro part but the opening guitar part is great as are the lyrics throughout.
Favorite Lyric -
Everyone's afraid of their own life
If you could be anything you want
I bet you'd be disappointed, am I right?
No one really knows the ones they love
If you knew everything they thought
I bet that you'd wish that they'd just shut up
Well, you were the dull sound of sharp math
When you were alive
No one's going to play the harp when you die
And if I had a nickel for every damn dime
I'd have half the time, do you mind?
34.
TV on the Radio -
I Was a Lover
My introduction to TV on the Radio was the first few seconds of this song. As poppy and catchy TV on the Radio can be, this song is pretty bizarre. It opens with absolutely pounding bass and then, I don't honestly know what that next instrument is some kind of distorted string insturment, and then they add in more distortion. And that's how the song continues with only a brief piano interlude. What makes it great is the combination of bizarre and familiar aspects that make a very intriguing song.
33.
Okkervil River -
Another Radio Song
An instantly classic cathartic masterpiece from the Black Sheep Boy Appendix. The whole stanza starting with "bless this tiny alley" is about as captivating as music gets.
Favorite Lyric -
when you rise up to recover
when you leave this tiny alley
when you meet me in the garden
with your horns all hung with cedar
every spirit brushing past me
brushing past them in the ether
scream all this is window dressing
all you are is flimsy curtains
watch you flame up with a word from us
and won't know that you're burning
32.
The Flaming Lips -
Do You Realize??
A transcendent song from the opening distorted "one, two, three four." An effortlessly epic song that would be cheesy if it wasn't so good.
Favorite Lyric -
Do You Realize - that everyone you know
Someday will die -
And instead of saying all of your goodbyes - let them know
You realize that life goes fast
It's hard to make the good things last
You realize the sun doesn't go down
It's just an illusion caused by the world spinning round
31.
Modest Mouse -
The Stars Are Projectors
The thematic centerpiece of The Moon and Antartica.
Favorite Lyric -
God is a woman and the woman is an animal
That animal's man and that's you
Was there a need for creation?
That was hiding in a math equation and that's this:
Where do circles begin?
30.
Sufjan Stevens -
Chicago
The symphonic masterpiece from Illinois. I really wish he'd make another real album though that looks like it might not happen for a while
Favorite Lyric -
I drove to New York
In the van, with my friend
We slept in parking lots
I don't mind, I don't mind
I was in love with the place
In my mind, in my mind
I made a lot of mistakes
In my mind, in my mind
29.
Modest Mouse -
Life Like Weeds
Great lyrics and a great final statement of Moon and Antarctica.(What People are Made of is really more of a coda)
Favorite Lyric -
All this talking all the time and the air fills up, up, up
Until there's nothing left to breathe
And you think you feel most everything
And we know that our hearts are just made out of strings
To be pulled, strings to be pulled
So you think you've figured out everything
But we know that our minds are just made out of strings
To be pulled, strings to be pulled
All this talking all the time and the air fills up, up, up
Until there's nothing left to breathe
Up until there's nothing left to speak
Up until the better parts of space
28.
Sunset Rubdown -
Shut Up I Am Dreaming of Places Where Lovers Have Wings
Showcases Spencer Krug's penchant for writing good melodies as well as any song of his. Three distinct parts all brilliant.
Favorite Lyric -
I'm afraid of the water;
I'm afraid of the sky.
I'm tired of waiting.
Oceans never listen to us anyway [2x]
And if I fall into the drink,
I will say your name, before I sink.
So don't make a sound.
Don't make a sound.
27.
Animal Collective -
Winters Love
With all their weirdness people forget that Animal Collective generally make very pretty music.
26.
The Tallest Man on Earth -
The Gardener
A great creepy love song. Taken literally its about a guy who murders people to hide secrets from his lover and then uses the dead bodies to fertilize his garden. But the song feels so romantic its easy not to notice that
Favorite Lyric -
I sense a spy up in the chimney
From all the evidence I've burned
I guess he'll read it in the smoke now
And soon to ashes I'll return
I know the spy is going to tell you
It's not my flag up in the pole
So now he's buried by the lilies
So I could stay forever more in your eyes, babe
25.
El-P -
The Overly Dramatic Truth
One of the sickest beats of the decade, the drums are amazing and the distorted vocals are a great complement.
Favorite Lyric -
You think I'm a genius?
I know I'm a whore
24.
The New Pornographers -
Ballad of a Comeback Kid
Some great Bejar lyrics matched up with as euphoric of power pop as The New Pornographers ever came up with.
Favorite Lyric -
Pray for content
Settle for free rent
The tenements recall Rome
High five
Look up, look alive
As the scions of history
Guess another mystery wrong
23.
Radiohead -
The National Anthem
A spectacular bass line is the center of the song and it never changes. Instead the drums, sound effects, and vocals build around it until the trumpets enter to take over the song. The song climaxes with a cacophony of horns until the bass line finally cuts out and all that is left is the horns.
22.
Okkervil River -
A Stone
Amazing lyrical and vocal performance.
Favorite Lyric -
You love a stone,
because it's dark and it's old,
and if it could start
being alive
you'd stop living alone.
And I think I believe that,
if stones could dream,
they'd dream of being laid
side-by-side,
piece-by-piece,
and turned into a castle
for some towering queen
they're unable to know.
And when that queen's daughter
came of age,
I think she'd be lovely
and stubborn and brave,
and suitors would journey
from kingdoms away
just to make themselves known.
And I think that I know the bitter dismay of a lover who brought
fresh bouquets every day
when she turned him away
to remember some knave
who once gave
just one rose, one day, years ago.
21.
The Walkmen -
The Rat
One of the angriest sounding songs ever made. Great vocal performance
Favorite Lyric -
When I used to go out, I would know everyone that I saw
Now I go out alone, if I go out at all
20.
Panda Bear -
Bros
Along with the rest of Person Pitch I got into Bros only when I was just a little bit drunk. Suddenly the wall of sound was catchy, though not in a traditional way. I read in some review of Bros some that I agree with that the song was catchy but only in a stretched out way, no 30 seconds of Bros would work as a ringtone.
19.
OutKast -
B.O.B.
My most enduring memory of this will be waiting at the light after it turned from red to green to hit gas in time with the beat coming in after andres "one, two, one, three, yeah."
18.
Animal Collective -
For Reverend Green
Some of my favorite Avey Tare vocals. The opening distortion that pervades the song is bizarrely catchy.
Favorite Lyric -
Now I think it's alright we're together
Now I think that's a riot
Now I think it's the best you've ever played it
Now I think that's a riot
Now I think it's alright to feel inhuman
Now I think that's a riot
Now I think it's alright, we'll sing together
Now I think that's a riot
17.
Sunset Rubdown -
The Mending of the Gown
The opening guitar riff is one of the most euphoric things ever
Favorite Lyric -
She had a name,
she had a spirit,
she had a line in the play if you wanted to hear it.
But the master of disguises, her demise was her design, they said.
Was it the mending of the gown,
or the running, and the running and the running it around?
16.
The National -
All the Wine
A spectacular feel good song
Favorite Lyric -
I'm so sorry but the motorcade will have to go around me this time
Cuz God is on my side
And I'm the child bride
15.
The Roots -
The Seed(2.0)
A great mix of rap, rock and soul. On a side note, this has happened a lot over the course of making this list but the Mending of the Gown transitioned into this amazingly.
Favorite Lyric -
I push my seed somewhere deep in her chest
I push it naked cuz I've takin my test
Deliverin' Mary it don't matter the sex
I'm gon' name it rock and roll
I push my seed in her bush for life
It's gonna work becuz I'm pushin it right
If Mary drop my baby girl, tonight
I would name her Rock-N-Roll
I would name her Rock-N-Roll
I would name her Rock-N-Roll yeah
I would name it Rock-N-Roll
14.
The Unicorns -
Les Os
The magic of this song is how it manages to be epic at three minutes and thirty-two seconds long. It has everything to do with the guitar in the "chorus".
Favorite Lyric -
Is this love of ours alive?
Is it killing me alive?
Is this love of ours a lie?
Is it chemically derived, to ascertain
and sequester the pain
13.
of Montreal -
The Past is a Grotesque Animal
It's somewhat bizarre that of Montreal's masterpiece would be a nearly 12 minute epic. You'd expect some goofy but infectious pop piece to be their statement song. A frantic but repetitive beat slowly builds and accompanies Kevin Barnes brilliant vocal performance. The acoustic version is an interesting alternative take on the song.
Favorite Lyric -
The mousy girl screams, "Violence! Violence!"
The mousy girl screams, "Violence! Violence!"
She gets hysterical because they're both so mean
And it's my favorite scene
But the cruelty's so predictable
It makes you sad on the stage
Though our love project has so much potential
But it's like we weren't made for this world
(Though I wouldn't really want to meet someone who was)
12.
Wolf Parade -
Dear Sons and Daughters of Hungry Ghosts
I considered putting this at number one. All of Spencer Krugs strengths are here in a brilliant song about wanting something more.
Favorite Lyric -
I got a hand
So I got a fist
So I got a plan
It's the best that I can do
Now we'll say it's in God's hands
But God doesn't always have the best goddamn plans, does he?
11.
TV on the Radio -
Wolf Like Me
The song where TV on the Radio really lets it all hang out.
Favorite Lyric -
Charge me your day rate
I'll turn you out in kind
When the moon is round and full
Gonna teach you tricks that'll blow your mongrel mind
Baby doll I recognize
You're a hideous thing inside
If ever there were a lucky kind it's
You you you you
10.
Elliott Smith -
King's Crossing
A nearly two minute somewhat ambient opening opens up Elliott Smith's most cathartic song. A slow piano builds up before the vocals cut in. The lyrics are anguished but are made heartwrenching by the reality of them being part of a song on a posthumous album.
Favorite Lyric -
Read the part and return at five
It's a hell of a role if you can keep it alive
But I don't care if I fuck up
I'm going on a date
With a rich white lady
Ain't life great?
9.
Songs: Ohia -
Farewell Transmission
In the blurb for Frontier Physchiatrist I mentioned how some songs have a certain perfection to them. Something about them just feels right. From the opening guitar every note of Farewell Transmission hits home. A great vocal performance, great guitar and drums, great lyrics filled with striking images, I would not change a thing about this song.
Favorite Lyric -
The real truth about it is there ain't no end to the desert I'll cross
I've really known that all along
Mama here comes midnight
with the dead moon in its jaws
Must be the big star about to fall
Long dark blues
Will-o'-the-wisp
The big star is falling
Through the static and distance
A farewell transmission
Listen
8.
Radiohead -
Everything In Its Right Place
No song takes me places like this one. From the very first note this song has my complete undivided attention.
7.
Modest Mouse -
3rd Planet
A recurring characteristic of this top ten is the fact that over half of the songs are album openers. A great opening song is so associated with the beginning of the album its opening that its hard for ones opinion of the album not to effect your opinion of the song. 3rd Planet may or may not be the best song on The Moon and Antartica but for me it is so entangled with the greatness of the album that I have a hard time not placing it first. The opening notes and lyrics perfectly set up the whole album and everytime I hear them I just immediately get that feeling that only great music can create.
Favorite Lyric -
Your heart felt good
It was dripping pitch and made of wood
And your hands and knees
Felt cold and wet on the grass beneath
Well, outside naked, shivering, looking blue
From the cold sunlight that's reflected off the moon
Baby cum angels fly around you
Reminding you we used to be three and not just two
And that's how the world began
And that's how the world will end
6.
The Arcade Fire -
Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)
If The Arcade Fire have a flaw it’s that nearly every song they write has to build up to some cathartic release. It can make the epic moments fall flat since they happen every song. They have good enough songwriting to make up for that but it is still an issue. Most likely it's because this song is the first song of theirs that I ever heard, but that issue doesn't apply for me here. Every moment on the song feels genuine to me and Win Butler has a great vocal performance.
5.
The New Pornographers -
Letter From an Occupant
This song almost swaggers. It knows how good it is and its not afraid to pretend otherwise. The authority with which Neko Case belts out the(fairly ridiculous even by New Porno's standards) lyrics is unmatched. A perfect piece of power pop that starts out strong and never lets up
Favorite Lyric -
Where have all sensations gone?
4.
The Avalanches -
Since I Left You
The ultimate feel good song with just the slightest bittersweet quality to it. This is due to the fact that the titular lyric can geniously be heard as both "since I left you" and "since I met you" giving the chorous of the song potentially opposite meanings. Regardless of the main lyric the song still exudes the feeling of the greatness of their being a new world to explore and live in. This is captured by the very fitting opening line "come on in, grab a drink, welcome to paradise"
3.
Destroyer -
Rubies
A simple combination of the basics of Destroyer, great acoustic guitar work and writing and great lyrics. A nine minute epic containg critique of hipsters, an ode to songwriting, a celebration of life, about a dozen references to other bands and albums, and whatever other meaning you can get out of the song(I'm sure theres lots). It ends beautifully by taking a leaf out of Jeff Mangums book with sound of Bejar putting down his guitar.
Favorite Lyric -
You disrupt the worlds disorder just by virtue of your grace you know
2.
Wilco -
Jesus, etc.
This song was an obvious instant classic. A few years ago I was up north camping and everyone else had gone to bed. I had had a few beers and put on this song while sitting in the middle of a clearing. Every bittersweet lyric hit me hard. All in all a perfectly constructed pop song
Favorite Lyric -
Don't cry
You can rely on me honey
You can come by any time you want
I'll be around
You were right about the stars
Each one is a setting sun
Tall buildings shake
Voices escape singing sad sad songs
Tuned to chords strung down your cheeks
Bitter melodies turning your orbit around
Voices whine
Skyscrapers are scraping together
Your voice is smoking
Last cigarettes are all you can get
Turning your orbit around
Our love
Our love
Our love is all we have
Our love
Our love is all of God's money
Everyone is a burning sun
1.
Wolf Parade -
I'll Believe in Anything
Why this song? I don't know but I fell in love the first time I heard it. First of all the song made me fall in love with Spencer Krug's voice. Specifically it was his inflection on the "your blood, your bones, your voice, your ghost" par that made me fall in love. The vocal performance throughout is incredible. Musically the song is typical off kilter Spencer Krug keyboard. The song is cathartic to another level and the lyrics are simple but pretty. For me its hard to describe why I like any song beyond simple superficial things, let alone describe why I like this song. I leave it this that this song simply creates that feeling of elation in me that any music fan gets from good music more then any other song.
And now some statistics -
Breakdown by year
2000 - 20
2001 - 20
2002 - 17
2003 - 20
2004 - 18
2005 - 27
2006 - 15
2007 - 29
2008 - 24
2009 - 10
Pretty even considering I made no effort to equalize between years. Also fits with my intuition of what my favorite years for music were with 2007 and 2005 on top.
Artists - 95
Albums - 142
So a 2.1 songs per artist on avg and 1.4 per album. I could have made a more diverse list but I'm happy with that.
Artists with most songs
---------------------------------
Animal Collective - 8
The National - 8
Radiohead - 7
Sunset Rubdown - 7
The New Pornographers - 6
There were quite a few with 5 and 4 as well
Albums with most songs
---------------------------------
The Moon & Antarctica - 4
Then there were a whole bunch with 3
Songs: Ohia
