My Top 100 Favorite Songs part 5: #80-76
After...umm...a short hiatus (mostly due to Pokémon >_<), here is part 5 of my top 100 favorite songs, starting with #80:
[#80]#80 - Polaris - Jimmy Eat World - Futures (2004)
I was introduced to Jimmy Eat World along with the rest of the known universe with their first major single, The Middle in 2001. Now, I wasn't and I'm still not a huge fan of theirs. TK was the one who ended up buying the albums and I simply listened to them. Even though I'm not a fan, doesn't mean I don't absolutely love some of their songs. One of those I loved instantly for its beauty, and that one is Polaris. It starts off with a little arpeggiated chord, and then the drums come up, followed by the lead guitar, and then Jim Adkins' smooth voice comes and pulls it all together in the verse. Then the chorus kicks in and the emotion gushes out. Polaris isn't in JEW's usual style, and that really helps it stand out in my mind. Lovely song.
[#78]#79 - Sex On Fire - Kings of Leon - Only by the Night (2008)
Hey, first repeat artist! I picked this one up the same exact time as #94 Manhattan, so I pretty much don't have anything more to say on finding this song. And just like Manhattan, I love it for the music and not so much the singer's voice or his words even. The guitar is just sick and the whole flow of the music is awesome. Still no interest in listening to more of their music, though. I've heard a couple of their other songs and they were very...meh. So, I'll stick with these two songs and call it good, no matter how much I like these ones. Is that so weird?
[#78]#78 - Buy a Dog - Luce - Never Ending (2005)
I first heard of Luce when we were driving to our grandparent's house and had The Point on the radio, and a really catchy song from a local San Francisco band played called Good Day. That is a really fun, cheery song and we heard it a couple of times on that trip. I took note of it and purchased the single later. Several years later when we were doing the trip again and listening to The Point, they played their newest single, Buy a Dog. It's really hard to NOT smile while listening to this song. It's super catchy, it's super happy, and it's about buying a dog at the start of a relationship. I don't think hardly anyone has ever heard of Luce, but I'm glad I have.
[#77]#77 - Can't Stop - Red Hot Chili Peppers - By The Way (2002)
I was a fan of RHCP for quite a while before finally buying my first album by them, By The Way. I believe it was also one of the first albums I ever purchased, and I ultimately bought it because I heard Zephyr Song and By The Way on one of the Music Choice channels on the TV. I never really watched those channels before and haven't really used them since, but in that small window when I was curious, I heard some pretty cool new music by the RHCP. They have had TONS of hits and I have since purchased a couple more of their albums, but the song Can't Stop will always be one of my very favorites. Especially after watching the tremendously amusing music video they did for it. Heck, a lot of their music videos are quite entertaining and they always seem to have fun with them and it has led some of them to be quite iconic and identifiable. For a long time, I wasn't sure what the song was about (or cared), but out of curiosity one day, I went to my favorite lyrics site (songmeanings.com) and read through the lyrics and a bunch of the comments and one guy really seemed to nail it. It's about Anthony Kiedis' struggle with his drug addictions in his past. It's actually put together quite well. Here is a link to the post -> http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/134484/
[#76]#76 - No Way Down - The Shins - Port of Morrow (2012)
I was so ecstatic when I heard The Shins were going to release another album after a long hiatus, and I was not disappointed in the very least. The band itself is very different, with James Mercer being the only holdover from the previous album, but that's okay because he really is The Shins. A number of songs really stuck with me immediately, and No Way Down was one of those. The song caught my ear as well as the lyrics. I found an interview with Mercer asking him about the song, and it was basically his reaction to the whole bank crisis and how a handful of people basically screwed over the entire economy. He said he wrote the lyrics in less than 30 minutes after reading an article about it. I can't help but agree with the sentiments of this song and they apply in so many ways with current events. Beyond all that, though, I LOVE the melody, guitars, everything. Wonderful song by one of my favorite bands. (Thank you dad for really getting me into James Mercer's work by buying Wincing the Night Away!)
Woot! Quarter of the way done. 75 to go!
Here are the 25 so far in the countdown, sorted by songs by certain artists:
[# of songs on the top 100 by artist]Kings of Leon (2) - Sex on Fire (#79), Manhattan (#94)
The Shins (1) - No Way Down (#76)
Red Hot Chili Peppers (1) - Can't Stop (#77)
Luce (1) - Buy a Dog (#78)
Jimmy Eat World (1) - Polaris (#80)
Iron & Wine (1) - The Devil Never Sleeps (#81)
RJD2 (1) - Work it Out (#82)
R.E.M. (1) - The Great Beyond (#83)
Coldplay (1) - Lost! (#84)
Guster (1) - Architects & Engineers (#85)
The Fray (1) - Rainy Zurich (#86)
The Black Keys (1) - Mind Eraser (#87)
The Walkmen (1) - The Rat (#88)
Snow Patrol (1) - Make This Go On Forever (#89)
Remy Zero (1) - Gramarye (#90)
The Verve Pipe (1) - The Freshmen (#91)
OneRepublic (1) - Passenger (#92)
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds (1) - AKA...Broken Arrow (#93)
Vertical Horizon (1) - Best I Ever Had (Grey Sky Morning) (#95)
Toad the Wet Sprocket (1) - Crazy Life (#96)
The Who (1) - Behind Blue Eyes (#97)
Melpo Mene (1) - Hello Benjamin (#98)
Third Eye Blind (1) - Jumper (#99)
Rogue Wave (1) - Publish My Love (#100)
[#80]#80 - Polaris - Jimmy Eat World - Futures (2004)
Click to viewI was introduced to Jimmy Eat World along with the rest of the known universe with their first major single, The Middle in 2001. Now, I wasn't and I'm still not a huge fan of theirs. TK was the one who ended up buying the albums and I simply listened to them. Even though I'm not a fan, doesn't mean I don't absolutely love some of their songs. One of those I loved instantly for its beauty, and that one is Polaris. It starts off with a little arpeggiated chord, and then the drums come up, followed by the lead guitar, and then Jim Adkins' smooth voice comes and pulls it all together in the verse. Then the chorus kicks in and the emotion gushes out. Polaris isn't in JEW's usual style, and that really helps it stand out in my mind. Lovely song.
[#78]#79 - Sex On Fire - Kings of Leon - Only by the Night (2008)
Hey, first repeat artist! I picked this one up the same exact time as #94 Manhattan, so I pretty much don't have anything more to say on finding this song. And just like Manhattan, I love it for the music and not so much the singer's voice or his words even. The guitar is just sick and the whole flow of the music is awesome. Still no interest in listening to more of their music, though. I've heard a couple of their other songs and they were very...meh. So, I'll stick with these two songs and call it good, no matter how much I like these ones. Is that so weird?
[#78]#78 - Buy a Dog - Luce - Never Ending (2005)
I first heard of Luce when we were driving to our grandparent's house and had The Point on the radio, and a really catchy song from a local San Francisco band played called Good Day. That is a really fun, cheery song and we heard it a couple of times on that trip. I took note of it and purchased the single later. Several years later when we were doing the trip again and listening to The Point, they played their newest single, Buy a Dog. It's really hard to NOT smile while listening to this song. It's super catchy, it's super happy, and it's about buying a dog at the start of a relationship. I don't think hardly anyone has ever heard of Luce, but I'm glad I have.
[#77]#77 - Can't Stop - Red Hot Chili Peppers - By The Way (2002)
I was a fan of RHCP for quite a while before finally buying my first album by them, By The Way. I believe it was also one of the first albums I ever purchased, and I ultimately bought it because I heard Zephyr Song and By The Way on one of the Music Choice channels on the TV. I never really watched those channels before and haven't really used them since, but in that small window when I was curious, I heard some pretty cool new music by the RHCP. They have had TONS of hits and I have since purchased a couple more of their albums, but the song Can't Stop will always be one of my very favorites. Especially after watching the tremendously amusing music video they did for it. Heck, a lot of their music videos are quite entertaining and they always seem to have fun with them and it has led some of them to be quite iconic and identifiable. For a long time, I wasn't sure what the song was about (or cared), but out of curiosity one day, I went to my favorite lyrics site (songmeanings.com) and read through the lyrics and a bunch of the comments and one guy really seemed to nail it. It's about Anthony Kiedis' struggle with his drug addictions in his past. It's actually put together quite well. Here is a link to the post -> http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/134484/
[#76]#76 - No Way Down - The Shins - Port of Morrow (2012)
I was so ecstatic when I heard The Shins were going to release another album after a long hiatus, and I was not disappointed in the very least. The band itself is very different, with James Mercer being the only holdover from the previous album, but that's okay because he really is The Shins. A number of songs really stuck with me immediately, and No Way Down was one of those. The song caught my ear as well as the lyrics. I found an interview with Mercer asking him about the song, and it was basically his reaction to the whole bank crisis and how a handful of people basically screwed over the entire economy. He said he wrote the lyrics in less than 30 minutes after reading an article about it. I can't help but agree with the sentiments of this song and they apply in so many ways with current events. Beyond all that, though, I LOVE the melody, guitars, everything. Wonderful song by one of my favorite bands. (Thank you dad for really getting me into James Mercer's work by buying Wincing the Night Away!)
Woot! Quarter of the way done. 75 to go!
Here are the 25 so far in the countdown, sorted by songs by certain artists:
[# of songs on the top 100 by artist]Kings of Leon (2) - Sex on Fire (#79), Manhattan (#94)
The Shins (1) - No Way Down (#76)
Red Hot Chili Peppers (1) - Can't Stop (#77)
Luce (1) - Buy a Dog (#78)
Jimmy Eat World (1) - Polaris (#80)
Iron & Wine (1) - The Devil Never Sleeps (#81)
RJD2 (1) - Work it Out (#82)
R.E.M. (1) - The Great Beyond (#83)
Coldplay (1) - Lost! (#84)
Guster (1) - Architects & Engineers (#85)
The Fray (1) - Rainy Zurich (#86)
The Black Keys (1) - Mind Eraser (#87)
The Walkmen (1) - The Rat (#88)
Snow Patrol (1) - Make This Go On Forever (#89)
Remy Zero (1) - Gramarye (#90)
The Verve Pipe (1) - The Freshmen (#91)
OneRepublic (1) - Passenger (#92)
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds (1) - AKA...Broken Arrow (#93)
Vertical Horizon (1) - Best I Ever Had (Grey Sky Morning) (#95)
Toad the Wet Sprocket (1) - Crazy Life (#96)
The Who (1) - Behind Blue Eyes (#97)
Melpo Mene (1) - Hello Benjamin (#98)
Third Eye Blind (1) - Jumper (#99)
Rogue Wave (1) - Publish My Love (#100)