#15 - 11
#15
"Aenima" - Tool
Pretty much the song that catapulted the band from bohemian rockers to neo-progressive gods. A Doomsday summance set to a feverish bass driven rumble. The song splashes in and out of hard rock, mixing it up with some devilish prog-rock, and even a pinch of pure alternative. Justin Chancellor makes a name for himself, lobbing a brutal bassline underneath the electric gasps from Adam Jones. Danny Carey is thrashing out a cavalcade of tom hits. The song zooms along until the ritard into the bridge where Maynard starts singing lightly. The tempo picks up again with the guitar evoking a very cataclysmic recurrence before diving back into the sub-bridge, where Maynard sets off a list of those he's waving the proverbial middle finger at. This part of the song is produced beautifully with a second vocal line fading in and out, demanding people "Learn to swim...". It soothes into a righteous cull before erupting into a vicious and crushing outro. The song is downright legendary and an absolute must in any Tool fan's list of favorites.
#14
"Know Your Enemy" - Rage Against the Machine
Colossal face smasher by the righteous radicals. The power and force of the lyrics, music, and tempo is absolutely devastating. It starts out with a slow and suspiciously mellow before exploding into a high speed driller. Tom rips out a militant repeated triplet riff while Zack spits his vicious testimony. After the second verse, it leads into a brooding breakdown with Stephen Perkins joining the squad smacking some very effective trashcan percussion as Maynard James Keenan (yes, that Maynard James Keenan) lets loose on the bridge vocals. The bridge segues back into the pulsating flow prior as Tom Morello lets loose, in what my opinion is his absolute hands down best solo he's done on record. He flails up and down on the tremolo and is just up and down his fretboard at the speed of sound. The final 8 measures of the solo sees him climbing a chromatic scale which is doubly effective against the vivacious bassline. After the solo, in builds and builds into an absolutely ferocious finale, with Zack taking aim at all negativity, and claiming it's all the American dream. An absolute power track in every sense of the word. This song let everyone know that they weren't just some gimmick band playing off the rebellion stereotype. This song is probably what embodies what Rage Against the Machine was all about... Well, this song, and one more still on the list yet to come.
#13
"Eulogy" - Tool
Tool likes to write long songs. Their average track length in their complete catalogue has to be nearly 6 minutes. They have many ranging well over 10. But not every one of those long songs are considered epic (not to me at least). You can separate their long rock songs from their epics. This one is easily the latter. And to think... it's actually as far down as 3rd on the list of their greatest epics (2 and 1 to come up on the list perhaps?). What this band does better than nearly anyone else in the music world is their ability to paint a theme, mood, and attitude right away. From the opening seconds, you get the image of wariness and somewhat nervousness. The cricketlike percussion and the quiet feedback sweeps really weigh on the ears, forcing them to listen. It grows and grows until the opening verse comes up. The verse features a light, somewhat grunge-distorted guitarline as Maynard evokes a preacher speaking at a funeral. The chorus steps it up a little bit. After another verse and chorus, the music switches gears and turns up the tone. Around the 6:45 marker is where the song makes another brilliant turn, with the music dropping and Maynard singing, in all honesty, what is my favorite lyric of all time....
"You claimed all this time you would die for me
Why, then, are you so surprised
When you hear your own eulogy?"
After a quick Adam Jones solo, the song implements all the themes of the song and blends it into a rocking, distorted outro. An absolutely brilliant masterpiece, and I'm shocked it gets so underappreciated as it is.
#12
"Rusty Cage" - Soundgarden
Dododod dodod doooooooooooooooo (dododod dododo doooooooooooooooo)
The opening wail of the call-and-response guitars is absolutely one of my favorite intros ever. It's like a lost guitar crying out for it's partner, who responds promptly. The intro makes way for one of the most orgasmic guitarlines ever. The pairing of Cornell and Thayil's guitarlines give this machinus maximus, almost mechanical feel. The drumline plastered by Matt Cameron gives the song it's forceful downhill explosive tempo. I give the gold medal to Ben Shepherd though who's thrashing the bassline like no one's business. During the bridge, I can hear him wailing on his bass with elite precision and maximum thumpitude. Cornell's vocals are absolutely sterling, as highwire and throaty as they've ever been. I long for those days when he get squelch that high without missing a beat. The breakdown of this song is the absolute apex. After the bridge, the song goes into a half-tempo drone where they smack one off hits before adjusting to the slower tempo. It's here where Cornell delivers the knockout punch with his powerful vocals and elite lyrics. The outro leaves a splendid taste of dirty alternative-psychedelic grunge core in your mouth. I seriously don't know a song that gives me an adrenaline rush more than this song. If they could bottle it, it would be the best energy drink ever.
"I'm gonna break my rusty cage.... .... .... and run~"
#11
"Californication" - Red Hot Chili Peppers
An instant classic, and one of the most important tracks that came out in the 90s (1999 is still the 90s, so eat me, everyone who thinks it's more impertinent to the 2000s). The song resonates with serenity, but still has a slight distant tone of remorse. It's a simple four note flick that John Frusciante plucks. Yet paired with Flea nibbling on a slippy bassline, it could not be a more perfect line to fit the mood. Anthony Kiedis delivers what are probably his greatest, most heartfelt lyrics. The solo by John in the middle, again, is nothing exactly tricky. But it's absolutely dynamic and fits the theme so succinctly that it would seem way to crowded and overbearing if he did take off a finger bending solo. Trickiness does not a good song make. Sometimes basicness is all you need. And a little bit of heart. This song was absolutely crucial in my building of my rock knowledge. And it still remains the only song that has made me cry. Allow me to digress, as I wouldn't call it crying exactly. But it was just one of those times that I was just really really digging the song, and when it ended I had moisture coming from my left eye.
90 down, 10 to go. What are the 10 best songs EVER according to Bobbo? Stay tuned the next 2 weeks.
"Aenima" - Tool
Pretty much the song that catapulted the band from bohemian rockers to neo-progressive gods. A Doomsday summance set to a feverish bass driven rumble. The song splashes in and out of hard rock, mixing it up with some devilish prog-rock, and even a pinch of pure alternative. Justin Chancellor makes a name for himself, lobbing a brutal bassline underneath the electric gasps from Adam Jones. Danny Carey is thrashing out a cavalcade of tom hits. The song zooms along until the ritard into the bridge where Maynard starts singing lightly. The tempo picks up again with the guitar evoking a very cataclysmic recurrence before diving back into the sub-bridge, where Maynard sets off a list of those he's waving the proverbial middle finger at. This part of the song is produced beautifully with a second vocal line fading in and out, demanding people "Learn to swim...". It soothes into a righteous cull before erupting into a vicious and crushing outro. The song is downright legendary and an absolute must in any Tool fan's list of favorites.
#14
"Know Your Enemy" - Rage Against the Machine
Colossal face smasher by the righteous radicals. The power and force of the lyrics, music, and tempo is absolutely devastating. It starts out with a slow and suspiciously mellow before exploding into a high speed driller. Tom rips out a militant repeated triplet riff while Zack spits his vicious testimony. After the second verse, it leads into a brooding breakdown with Stephen Perkins joining the squad smacking some very effective trashcan percussion as Maynard James Keenan (yes, that Maynard James Keenan) lets loose on the bridge vocals. The bridge segues back into the pulsating flow prior as Tom Morello lets loose, in what my opinion is his absolute hands down best solo he's done on record. He flails up and down on the tremolo and is just up and down his fretboard at the speed of sound. The final 8 measures of the solo sees him climbing a chromatic scale which is doubly effective against the vivacious bassline. After the solo, in builds and builds into an absolutely ferocious finale, with Zack taking aim at all negativity, and claiming it's all the American dream. An absolute power track in every sense of the word. This song let everyone know that they weren't just some gimmick band playing off the rebellion stereotype. This song is probably what embodies what Rage Against the Machine was all about... Well, this song, and one more still on the list yet to come.
#13
"Eulogy" - Tool
Tool likes to write long songs. Their average track length in their complete catalogue has to be nearly 6 minutes. They have many ranging well over 10. But not every one of those long songs are considered epic (not to me at least). You can separate their long rock songs from their epics. This one is easily the latter. And to think... it's actually as far down as 3rd on the list of their greatest epics (2 and 1 to come up on the list perhaps?). What this band does better than nearly anyone else in the music world is their ability to paint a theme, mood, and attitude right away. From the opening seconds, you get the image of wariness and somewhat nervousness. The cricketlike percussion and the quiet feedback sweeps really weigh on the ears, forcing them to listen. It grows and grows until the opening verse comes up. The verse features a light, somewhat grunge-distorted guitarline as Maynard evokes a preacher speaking at a funeral. The chorus steps it up a little bit. After another verse and chorus, the music switches gears and turns up the tone. Around the 6:45 marker is where the song makes another brilliant turn, with the music dropping and Maynard singing, in all honesty, what is my favorite lyric of all time....
"You claimed all this time you would die for me
Why, then, are you so surprised
When you hear your own eulogy?"
After a quick Adam Jones solo, the song implements all the themes of the song and blends it into a rocking, distorted outro. An absolutely brilliant masterpiece, and I'm shocked it gets so underappreciated as it is.
#12
"Rusty Cage" - Soundgarden
Dododod dodod doooooooooooooooo (dododod dododo doooooooooooooooo)
The opening wail of the call-and-response guitars is absolutely one of my favorite intros ever. It's like a lost guitar crying out for it's partner, who responds promptly. The intro makes way for one of the most orgasmic guitarlines ever. The pairing of Cornell and Thayil's guitarlines give this machinus maximus, almost mechanical feel. The drumline plastered by Matt Cameron gives the song it's forceful downhill explosive tempo. I give the gold medal to Ben Shepherd though who's thrashing the bassline like no one's business. During the bridge, I can hear him wailing on his bass with elite precision and maximum thumpitude. Cornell's vocals are absolutely sterling, as highwire and throaty as they've ever been. I long for those days when he get squelch that high without missing a beat. The breakdown of this song is the absolute apex. After the bridge, the song goes into a half-tempo drone where they smack one off hits before adjusting to the slower tempo. It's here where Cornell delivers the knockout punch with his powerful vocals and elite lyrics. The outro leaves a splendid taste of dirty alternative-psychedelic grunge core in your mouth. I seriously don't know a song that gives me an adrenaline rush more than this song. If they could bottle it, it would be the best energy drink ever.
"I'm gonna break my rusty cage.... .... .... and run~"
#11
"Californication" - Red Hot Chili Peppers
An instant classic, and one of the most important tracks that came out in the 90s (1999 is still the 90s, so eat me, everyone who thinks it's more impertinent to the 2000s). The song resonates with serenity, but still has a slight distant tone of remorse. It's a simple four note flick that John Frusciante plucks. Yet paired with Flea nibbling on a slippy bassline, it could not be a more perfect line to fit the mood. Anthony Kiedis delivers what are probably his greatest, most heartfelt lyrics. The solo by John in the middle, again, is nothing exactly tricky. But it's absolutely dynamic and fits the theme so succinctly that it would seem way to crowded and overbearing if he did take off a finger bending solo. Trickiness does not a good song make. Sometimes basicness is all you need. And a little bit of heart. This song was absolutely crucial in my building of my rock knowledge. And it still remains the only song that has made me cry. Allow me to digress, as I wouldn't call it crying exactly. But it was just one of those times that I was just really really digging the song, and when it ended I had moisture coming from my left eye.
90 down, 10 to go. What are the 10 best songs EVER according to Bobbo? Stay tuned the next 2 weeks.