my fav song of the new year so far
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Monday, January 9, 2012
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Top Nine 90's songs I rediscovered in 2011
The neo-80s craze has been blowing up for at least four years now. I am willing to predict that a neo-90s movement is on the horizon. We had better prepare ourselves. Here are some slightly neglected hits of the Clinton Era:
9. "Never Let You Go" - Third Eye Blind
Everyone remembers Semi-charmed Life, but this little ditty and its phaser lead guitar line are just as fetching.
8. "If You Had My Love" - Jennifer Lopez
An plaintive string arrangement underlies J. Lo's original hit. The video, which depicts some dude watching a Lopez music video online, pre-dated YouTube by half a decade.
7. "Creep" - TLC
I am hard pressed to think of another high quality pop song that makes such prominent use of the brass instruments.
6. "Pony" - Ginuwine
Ginuwine seems like the least subtle guy of all time.
5. "Another Night" - The Real McCoy
Another Night is, in my humble opinion, the pinnacle of 90s eurodance: catchy piano riff, energetic synth licks, and a solid mix of singing and rapping about unrequited love.
4. "Natural Blues" - Moby
I didn't really know that sampling existed when I first heard Natural Blues, so I assumed Moby was a soulful old black guy. I was pretty confused when I realized he was a tiny, nerdy hipster-vegan. Still love him though.
3. "Return of the Mack"- Mark Morrison.
Return? As if anyone had ever heard of Mark Morrison before this song. His quasi-Carribean accent is fantastic: "But I do/ But I do, do, do."
2. "Sadeness" - Enigma
Gregorian Chant Dance Hit!!! Haunting lyrics in Latin and French. Sweet didgeridoo solo. How is this not number 1?
1. "Missing"- Everything But the Girl
Best bloody simile in pop history: "And I miss you/ like the deserts miss the rain." Deserts do not merely miss the rain; they are defined by the lack of rain. To miss someone like the desert misses the rain is to conceive of yourself primarily as the absence of a person. Brutal. Add an eminently danceable beat, and you get one of the great pop gems of the 1990s.
9. "Never Let You Go" - Third Eye Blind
Everyone remembers Semi-charmed Life, but this little ditty and its phaser lead guitar line are just as fetching.
8. "If You Had My Love" - Jennifer Lopez
An plaintive string arrangement underlies J. Lo's original hit. The video, which depicts some dude watching a Lopez music video online, pre-dated YouTube by half a decade.
7. "Creep" - TLC
I am hard pressed to think of another high quality pop song that makes such prominent use of the brass instruments.
6. "Pony" - Ginuwine
Ginuwine seems like the least subtle guy of all time.
5. "Another Night" - The Real McCoy
Another Night is, in my humble opinion, the pinnacle of 90s eurodance: catchy piano riff, energetic synth licks, and a solid mix of singing and rapping about unrequited love.
4. "Natural Blues" - Moby
I didn't really know that sampling existed when I first heard Natural Blues, so I assumed Moby was a soulful old black guy. I was pretty confused when I realized he was a tiny, nerdy hipster-vegan. Still love him though.
3. "Return of the Mack"- Mark Morrison.
Return? As if anyone had ever heard of Mark Morrison before this song. His quasi-Carribean accent is fantastic: "But I do/ But I do, do, do."
2. "Sadeness" - Enigma
Gregorian Chant Dance Hit!!! Haunting lyrics in Latin and French. Sweet didgeridoo solo. How is this not number 1?
1. "Missing"- Everything But the Girl
Best bloody simile in pop history: "And I miss you/ like the deserts miss the rain." Deserts do not merely miss the rain; they are defined by the lack of rain. To miss someone like the desert misses the rain is to conceive of yourself primarily as the absence of a person. Brutal. Add an eminently danceable beat, and you get one of the great pop gems of the 1990s.
Monday, December 26, 2011
The Top 11 Songs of 2011
11. "Midnight City" - M83
The fantastic thing about Midnight City is that it hooks you within its first two seconds. It only takes M83 four notes to deliver the catchiest riff of the year and reel you in for four minutes of electronic pleasure. Disappointingly, the song doesn't have terribly much to offer beyond it's iconic synth hook (the sax solo toward the end is good but not unexpectable).
Bonus: Midnight City paired with Victoria's Secret angels produces one of the more pleasant commercials in history.
10. "County Line" - Cass McCombs
I usually don't have the attention span to appreciate singer/songwriter noodlings, but County Line's melodic tour of past pains is too pretty to ignore. In a lovely chorus, McCombs lays out his measured grief as he inspects a wound that he associates with his old home: "You never even tried to love me/ woah, woah, woah, woah, woah."
Hat tip: Wassel
9. "Balance" - Future Islands.
Under the influence of chillwavers like Washed Out, synthpop has become dominated by hazy layers of echo that often obscure the melodic value (or lack thereof) in a given song. Balance decisively rejects this trend. Here every synth streak and bass rumble cuts powerfully through the mix, and the semi-snarling vocals cap off a song that is all killer, no filler.
8. "Rolling in the Deep" - Adele
Rolling in the Deep eschews pretty much all the hallmarks of today's pop music. There are no effected guitars, no wacky synths, and no autotune. It's core is a plinking piano line, a muted acoustic guitar, and straight up powerful singing. What really puts it over the top is the bitter background vocals ("You're gonna wish you/ never had met me") setting the stage for Adele's cries of failed passion. The Jamie xx remix represents a step backward since it lacks that layering.
7. "Wildfire" - SBTRKT feat. Little Dragons
You expect an artist who dons an African tribal mask to come up with a primal sound. SBTRKT does that, but instead of using folk instruments, he relies on flickering electronic bass lines. Wildfire combines SBTRKT's best basswork with the piercing vocals of Yukimi Nagano to create a dupstep smash. As the artist's name suggests, sometimes less is more.
6. "Coastin'" - Cities Aviv
I've always thought there was something special about the way great melodies of the 50s and 60s sit in the collective unconscious (or at least mine). Coastin' cashes in on a lush horn and strings arrangement from a 60s tearjerker to create a luxuriant backdrop for Cities Aviv's controlled raps about his vision of a rise to greatness.
5. "Video Games" - Lana Del Rey
A pretty girl sings a very pretty song. (Del Rey's lips have been the topic of much discussion, but I find her hair more intriguing.) It becomes irresistible when her voice gets soft: "I heard that you like the bad girls/ honey is that true?"
4. "Nightcall" - Kavinsky
I have never encountered a movie that benefits as much from its soundtrack as 2011's Drive. The film is jam-packed with enticing synthpop gems, and Nightcall is perhaps the most memorable of the bunch. Its shimmering arpeggios are attractive enough. But when the robotic vocals (Young Jeezy?) kick in, you recognize is that is going to be a beautifully disturbing ride. See also: Under Your Spell, Real Human Being.
3. "Whirring" - Joy Formidable
In the indie world, rock bands with real guitars and real distortion might seem kind of passe. Software-based composers are the avant garde, while acoustic champions are the throwback counterpoint to the electronic movement. But with a delectable mix of fuzzed-out power chords and sharp melody, Whirring urges the listener to "Turn the dial on my words" and remember that it's still righteous to rock.
2. "Surgeon" - St. Vincent
For a song about discomfort, Surgeon is ridiculously easy to listen to thanks to its serene synth sheen. But by the time you reach the chorus, the calmness starts giving away to a agitation marked by that nervous guitar riff. Meanwhile Annie Clark is singing about depression and mockingly asking for a surgeon to slice her open to relieve her pain. It's also nice to watch her, singing and fretting simultaneously.
1. "Believer" - John Maus
At first listen Maus' vocals here lie disturbingly low in the mix, quilted by tingling arpeggios. But I think the relative disregard for lyrical content is actually a virtue in this instance. Music is the highest form of art precisely because it is the least tangible and the most ethereal. Music, at its best, is an avenue to something universal and eternal. Appropriately, Believer is an appeal not to your cognition, but to your emotional and spiritual self. It's an anthem of hope that inspires not primarily with lyrics but with an incessant pulse and glassy synths. By the time you reach the chorus, you're ready to declare with Maus: "THEY CALL ME THE BELIEVER." And if, at the end of the year, you can say that, you're doing ok.
OTHER LISTS YOU MIGHT WANT TO CHECK OUT:
My top 10 songs of 2010.
My top 25 songs of the '00s.
The fantastic thing about Midnight City is that it hooks you within its first two seconds. It only takes M83 four notes to deliver the catchiest riff of the year and reel you in for four minutes of electronic pleasure. Disappointingly, the song doesn't have terribly much to offer beyond it's iconic synth hook (the sax solo toward the end is good but not unexpectable).
Bonus: Midnight City paired with Victoria's Secret angels produces one of the more pleasant commercials in history.
10. "County Line" - Cass McCombs
I usually don't have the attention span to appreciate singer/songwriter noodlings, but County Line's melodic tour of past pains is too pretty to ignore. In a lovely chorus, McCombs lays out his measured grief as he inspects a wound that he associates with his old home: "You never even tried to love me/ woah, woah, woah, woah, woah."
Hat tip: Wassel
9. "Balance" - Future Islands.
Under the influence of chillwavers like Washed Out, synthpop has become dominated by hazy layers of echo that often obscure the melodic value (or lack thereof) in a given song. Balance decisively rejects this trend. Here every synth streak and bass rumble cuts powerfully through the mix, and the semi-snarling vocals cap off a song that is all killer, no filler.
8. "Rolling in the Deep" - Adele
Rolling in the Deep eschews pretty much all the hallmarks of today's pop music. There are no effected guitars, no wacky synths, and no autotune. It's core is a plinking piano line, a muted acoustic guitar, and straight up powerful singing. What really puts it over the top is the bitter background vocals ("You're gonna wish you/ never had met me") setting the stage for Adele's cries of failed passion. The Jamie xx remix represents a step backward since it lacks that layering.
7. "Wildfire" - SBTRKT feat. Little Dragons
You expect an artist who dons an African tribal mask to come up with a primal sound. SBTRKT does that, but instead of using folk instruments, he relies on flickering electronic bass lines. Wildfire combines SBTRKT's best basswork with the piercing vocals of Yukimi Nagano to create a dupstep smash. As the artist's name suggests, sometimes less is more.
6. "Coastin'" - Cities Aviv
I've always thought there was something special about the way great melodies of the 50s and 60s sit in the collective unconscious (or at least mine). Coastin' cashes in on a lush horn and strings arrangement from a 60s tearjerker to create a luxuriant backdrop for Cities Aviv's controlled raps about his vision of a rise to greatness.
5. "Video Games" - Lana Del Rey
A pretty girl sings a very pretty song. (Del Rey's lips have been the topic of much discussion, but I find her hair more intriguing.) It becomes irresistible when her voice gets soft: "I heard that you like the bad girls/ honey is that true?"
4. "Nightcall" - Kavinsky
I have never encountered a movie that benefits as much from its soundtrack as 2011's Drive. The film is jam-packed with enticing synthpop gems, and Nightcall is perhaps the most memorable of the bunch. Its shimmering arpeggios are attractive enough. But when the robotic vocals (Young Jeezy?) kick in, you recognize is that is going to be a beautifully disturbing ride. See also: Under Your Spell, Real Human Being.
3. "Whirring" - Joy Formidable
In the indie world, rock bands with real guitars and real distortion might seem kind of passe. Software-based composers are the avant garde, while acoustic champions are the throwback counterpoint to the electronic movement. But with a delectable mix of fuzzed-out power chords and sharp melody, Whirring urges the listener to "Turn the dial on my words" and remember that it's still righteous to rock.
2. "Surgeon" - St. Vincent
For a song about discomfort, Surgeon is ridiculously easy to listen to thanks to its serene synth sheen. But by the time you reach the chorus, the calmness starts giving away to a agitation marked by that nervous guitar riff. Meanwhile Annie Clark is singing about depression and mockingly asking for a surgeon to slice her open to relieve her pain. It's also nice to watch her, singing and fretting simultaneously.
1. "Believer" - John Maus
At first listen Maus' vocals here lie disturbingly low in the mix, quilted by tingling arpeggios. But I think the relative disregard for lyrical content is actually a virtue in this instance. Music is the highest form of art precisely because it is the least tangible and the most ethereal. Music, at its best, is an avenue to something universal and eternal. Appropriately, Believer is an appeal not to your cognition, but to your emotional and spiritual self. It's an anthem of hope that inspires not primarily with lyrics but with an incessant pulse and glassy synths. By the time you reach the chorus, you're ready to declare with Maus: "THEY CALL ME THE BELIEVER." And if, at the end of the year, you can say that, you're doing ok.
OTHER LISTS YOU MIGHT WANT TO CHECK OUT:
My top 10 songs of 2010.
My top 25 songs of the '00s.
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Year in Review: 2011
Ex Nikhilo posts were few and far between in 2011. Thankfully the holiday season presents a good opportunity to reflect on the year and highlight some of its choice bits. So look for a few posts in the next few days on the best of 2011.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Top 10 Religion-themed pop/rock songs
Using religious imagery is an easy way for songwriters to inject powerful emotional content into a 3-minute pop trifle. Here are some of my favorite songs that use this trick.
- Personal Jesus - Depeche Mode. Not the best melodically, but probably the most clever/ devious incorporation of Christian motifs into a pop song.
- Halelujiah - Jeff Buckley (covering Leonard Cohen). The prettiest of the bunch.
- Like a Prayer - Madonna. Probably the obvious choice to be #1, but it's too tainted by karaoke performances for me to give it such status.
- Jesus was a Crossmaker - Judee Sill. Her voice is kind of annoying, so I endorse this version.
- Entertaining Angels - Newsboys. This is the only song on the list that is by a straight-up Christian band....I always felt like most Christian rock was pretty lame, but this song-- awesome and fun to sing along to with an Australian accent.
- Faith - George Michael. Hate to admit it, but I like the Limp Bizkit version better.
- King of Carrotflowers Pts. 2 and 3 - Neutral Milk Hotel. Does he really love Jesus Christ?
- My Sweet Lord - George Harrison. Did you know that Harrison was the Kaavya of his day? He unconsciously ripped the melody for "My sweet lord" from the Chiffons' "He's so fine" and lost the ensuing copyright battle.
- Judas - Lady Gaga. I feel like there's something lame about the synthwork here, but you can't help getting into that little ditty of a chorus. "I'm just a holy fool, and baby it's so cruel..."
- Alive - POD. It's so bad, it's sort of good.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)