16: My 100 Favorite Songs (#85-71)

It is only occasionally an honor and a privilege to be an American - unless one is a blogger. In that case, each day in America is a glistening, overflowing trough of garbage media, garbage food, garbage opinions, and everywhere you look literal garbage. If you are highly evolved, and have achieved Buddhist monk levels of oneness, you can navigate American culture without prejudice, simply enjoying the ride and praying to Jeebus you don't get shot or eat a bad Whopper.

Almost twenty years ago, I took the path less traveled in America and tried to evolve beyond prejudice, to live in the moment and give every second the benefit of the doubt. In other words, I chose to be grateful instead of resistant. What the fuck was I thinking LOL. Over the years, the things that have helped immensely have been cats, my wife, the home my wife lovingly creates, my family, my coworkers, and drugs. Specifically antidepressants unless you're offering something stronger. I still fuck up my oneness, usually when I'm unable to hide my shock or surprise for people's ignorance. Plus I cheated by living in Thailand for some time, where the miasmic pollution of American stress could not find me. 

But what helped more than anything else has been my love of music. I hope that this list continues to read as a love letter to the soundtrack of my life and all those people and things that have gotten me to where I am today; an American blogger. Mom, your boy made it.

85. Elvenking - To Oak Woods Bestowed/Pagan Purity (2001)

In 1999 I was sixteen and working in the dairy cooler of a grocery store, pushing yogurt cartons forward when necessary and "accidentally" damaging tubes of cookie dough to gnaw on like a squirrel. I bonded with my coworker Dave "Rattail" Siporski over our shared love of Iron Maiden. He wasn't interested in any of the death, doom, or black metal I was into, but one fateful day outside the fragrant garbage chute, Dave introduced me to Power Metal. Exactly what it sounds like, Power Metal is unironically and unapologetically triumphant, operatic, intricate, and just about as fucking nerdy as you can get. This is the opening track(s) from my favorite Power Metal band's debut album. I wish I could be there to act out the epic tapestry of dragons, sorcerers, and fair maidens that the song so gorgeously unfurls. 

84. Fugazi - Ex-Spectator (2001)

Close to the final song on the band's final album, "Ex-Spectator" pulls together all of the band's diverse strengths and influences. It delivers a classically snotty and frustrated punk song that only a group of mature, satisfied musicians could pull off. When I compare this song to most other punk songs, it feels like four or five songs in one. The musicianship allows for open space while the vocals, and especially the paranoid lyrics, box you in. "I'm an ex-spectator: I never let my vision get in the way of me." 

83. Bat For Lashes - Daniel (2009)

The fact that this song is about Daniel LaRusso from The Karate Kid realistically means it should be much closer to #1 on this list. I love everything about how dark and eerily cryptic this song is. The instrumentation is as moody and cavernous as you can get and still be in the realm of pop music, but the delicate breeze of the vocals lifts everything, suggesting at least the possibility of a happy ending. "Under a sheet of rain in my heart, I dream of home." 💔

82. Commodores - Nightshift (1985)

Maybe the most purely beautiful song about "heaven" I've ever heard! Written as a tribute to Marvin Gaye and Jackie Wilson, both of whom died the year the song was written, the song is a fantastic achievement as both a loving ode and an incredibly catchy pop-soul hymn. My love for this song borders on romantic, almost essential; it addresses the gap between the living and dead with a believable joy. It somehow ties deeply personal loss with deeply personal joy and gratitude while remaining ever so slightly funky. Magic. [Blogger's Note: Instead of continuing to write the list at this point, I listened to "Nightshift" seven times and cried a bit.]

81. Further Seems Forever - Pictures of Shorelines (2001)

At least in the beginning, Further Seems Forever stood out in the flood of Emo and Emo-adjacent bands that were allowed to creep into the Pop Punk mainstream. They had a great vocalist who went on to solo success as Dashboard Confessional, dynamic songs, and good quality control. In fact, they hardly ever put any music out! Great strategy. "Pictures of Shorelines" was my introduction to the band and still my favorite. It is incredibly energetic and propulsive for a sad song, and no surprise that Chris Carrabba's vocals and lyrics are way better than the genre demands. A deeply emotional song that applies to any point of a relationship. 

80. Drunk in Public - Enemies (1996)

For a glorious four year period from 1993-1997, Skate Punk was king! It blended the pop hooks and harmonies of Pop Punk with the aggression and speed of Punk Rock and it was the musical equivalent of a eating a bag of gummy worms while drinking a 40oz. In other words, perfect for a thirteen year old. I'm not exaggerating when I say I could do a personal top 100 Skate Punk songs, because during that period there were countless bands and they all had at least one incredibly catchy, memorable song. In the horrible name and garbage cover art category, we have Drunk in Public, with "Enemies" - probably the catchiest and hookiest a song can be in less than two minutes. You are contractually obligated to skate, smoke pot, consume alcohol, eat junk food, and/or watch cartoons while listening to this genre! 

79. Sage Francis featuring Vocab - Drop Bass (1999)

My favorite approach to a rap song is collaborative, with lyricists playing off each other and painting a bigger picture. "Drop Bass" is a lyrical ballet between two similarly intelligent miscreants of rap, and the song is both an indictment of dumbing out to unintelligent rap music and an invitation to dumb out to something deeper. "Microphones replaced with cigars. Kids in bars, thinkin' they're hard. Singin' wack songs but won't listen to ours. They won't listen to ours? I heard the system in their cars bumpin a whole lot of nothing - making me hold the mic like prison bars."

78. Gin Blossoms - Follow You Down (1996)

My favorite thing about the rise of Alternative Rock in the early nineties was that every song was allowed to stand on its own. It didn't matter if the band was ugly, old, or even Canadian - if the song was catchy, it would reach an audience. Gin Blossoms found deserved success with a string of catchy, mostly miserable pop songs. As I get older, I still find their songs catchy and well written, but I also appreciate their unique melancholy. They so beautifully matched it with their pretty jangle and tight harmonies and as far as radio rock, you cannot do any better. I was so happy to be able to see them live just a few years ago, headlining a festival here in Fort Collins, and they sounded so good I was happy in a big crowd of people. Can you imagine?!

77. Modest Mouse - Truckers Atlas (1997)

This is the album that single-handedly extended my musical attention span. I bought it the day it was released, just before Thanksgiving 1997, on the recommendation of an employee at the Appleton, WI Exclusive Company record store. He told me it was "a very weird punk album" and joked that even if I didn't like it, it was 72 minutes long and thus "a great punk value." I laughed and was very curious so I had to buy it. It would become one of my favorite albums and gave me a new appreciation for musical exploration and the different shades of red that punk music can paint in. Before this album, I didn't know what the point of a ten minute song would even be and I never dreamed I would listen to one willingly. It still boggles the mind that the band would eventually break through to popular culture; they were famous in independent music for being a volatile timebomb of alcoholic depressives. Great riffs though!

76. Candlebox - Far Behind (1993)

Most of the post-Nirvana Gold Rush Grunge that was forced out in the early nineties was garbage to begin with and the rest has mostly aged poorly. The exception, of course, is the hits. I will be IN my 90s and I'll still be talking about the majesty and wealth of early 90s radio rock. You can almost pick a hit at random for this spot on the list, but I chose "Far Behind" because of its unique and spartan arrangement, raw emotion, and the utterly trash band name. I left my Candlebox under my Silverchair in the Soundgarden. 

75. Warren Zevon - Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner (1978)

Warren Zevon was always able to write unique, memorable pop songs. As someone who has tried to write music off and on, it is sort of gross how good he is at this shit. This was Warren's third album and he had already perfected his songwriting. I picked "Roland" for this spot because it is a mid-level hit for Warren, not as popular as "Werewolves of London" but definitely not obscure. Bizarre lyrics are set to sparse but punchy instrumentation. The background vocals of the chorus elevates both the power of the narrative and the beauty of the song. A perfect example of a great song that only one person could have written. "They can still see his headless body stalking through the night in the muzzle flash of Roland's Thompson gun." VIVID!

74. Third Eye Blind - Bonfire (2009)

For better or worse, this 2009 song could have been a hit for Third Eye Blind in 1997. There's no clear musical or emotional growth but with hooks like this who cares? Although the vicious liberal media taught us we had to choose a side between Third Eye Blind and Matchbox Twenty, it turned out we could have both. I like this demo version a lot, it has oddly specific lyrics that tell a very earthy kind of love story. Songs like "Bonfire" blend pop sensibility and emotional resonance with such ease that they make you feel nostalgic for nothing. "A little early in spring for this kind of thing. A bonfire ring. She's shivering alone. I bumped into you somehow."

73. Band of Horses - The Funeral (2006)

As I've said before, it is one of life's greatest pleasures to be taken aback and moved by music. I get a great kick out of tying together loose ends of memories, songs, and combinations thereof to round out my sense of self. "The Funeral" caught my attention immediately and it is clear it had a big impact on a lot of people because I am hearing it all the time in movies and television. The song is a jangly dirge, with searching guitar leading the way for tentative and fearful vocals. It is able to pull off being both a catchy pop song and a triumphant release in the face of death.

72. LGHTNNG - Surrender (2017)

 

If how long a song is stuck in my head is any indication of its quality, "Surrender" is a perfect song. I figure if this were a Selena Gomez song it would have been a big hit, but LGHTNNG have both a terrible name and are Dutch so the odds were against them. In the dance-pop genre, where every song sounds the same, this song sounds a little different. There is an organic appeal to the vocals and the track is produced with restraint. A simple pop song with some seriously gigantic hooks. "Tonight we feel alive; come change the world with us."

71. Marvin Gaye - Mercy Mercy Me (1971)

I was only able to make it a few spots after "Nightshift" before I needed to include a Marvin Gaye song. Marvin was an icon in my childhood home and his music was always playing when I was growing up. I remember being very young and listening to this album with my dad. He would point out little instrumental touches, or people talking in the background, all the things he appreciated about it. Although "What's Going On" is a mostly sad, and in hindsight quite bleak album, it is still a celebration of life and talent - and Marvin's voice never sounded better. 

I will be back soon to continue the series. Take care of yourselves and your pets, and thanks for reading :)

-Jack