Saturday, December 13, 2014

The 11 Best Songs By TV On the Radio

It's December, which means it's time for the onslaught of best of lists.  They've been pouring on hot and heavy over the past few days.  I will get to my annual best of list this week...including my massive 111 best of list with help from all you pretty people.  But I like to wait a couple weeks and scour other "best of" lists in case there's an album out there I've missed.  You never know...the new Smashing Pumpkins and Charli XCX are supposedly pretty epic.  Here's the last of my catch-up list My first introduction to TV on The Radio was on a bachelor party trip about 10 years ago.  Strangely, that marriage is over but TVOTR is still rocking stronger than ever.  When I first heard the feedback-laden caterwaul that would become TVOTR's staple sound it made my skin crawl in the way a trailer for an exciting new movie can give you a rush.  (think the Millenium Falcon racing onto the screen in the new Star wars trailer)  Sadly, I was the only one on the trip who loved what we were listening to.  After three songs from Desparate Youth, the guys in the car voted to remove the CD and move onto something more palpable like...Dave Matthews (yes, it was hell).  All I wanted to do was get home so I could listen to the album...but I was stuck at the bachelor party enduring fancy dinners, drinking, and strip clubs.  Even though Tom Petty may disagree, the waiting isn't always the hardest part. Here are the 11 Best Songs By TV On The Radio:
  1. Dancing Choose (Dear Science)
  2. Wolf Like Me (Return To Cookie Mountain)
  3. Staring at the Sun (Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes)
  4. Crying (Dear Science)
  5. Second Song (Nine Types of Light)
  6. Dreams (Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes)
  7. DLZ (Dear Science)
  8. Hours (Return To Cookie Mountain)
  9. No Future Shock (Nine Types of Light)
  10. Halfway Home (Dear Science)
  11. Don't Love You (Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes)
Buy TV On The Radio's new album, Seeds!!! Buy this book or everyone you know will die. Don't forget to check out our blog's awesome book The 111 Best Lists of the 2000s.  Available now!  (featuring TV On The Radio)

Tuesday, December 09, 2014

The 111 Best Songs By The Smashing Pumpkins

Twenty-five years down the road, the Pumpkins continue to kick ass. Here are the 111 Best Smashing Pumpkins Songs:
  1. Starla (Pisces Iscariot)
  2. Disarm (Siamese Dream)
  3. Rhinoceros (Gish)
  4. Bullet With Butterfly Wings (Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness)
  5. I Am One (Gish)
  6. Porecelina of the Vast Oceans (Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness)
  7. Quiet (Siamese Dream)
  8. Siva (Gish)
  9. Drown (Singles)
  10. Mayonaise (Siamese Dream)
  11. Thru the Eyes of Ruby (Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness)
  12. Tarantula (Zeitgeist)
  13. Stand Inside Your Love (MACHINA/The Machine Of God)
  14. Tonight, Tonight (Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness)
  15. Song For A Son (Teargarden By Kaleidyscope)
  16. Perfect (Adore)
  17. An Ode to No One (Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness)
  18. Tristessa (Gish)
  19. Rocket (Siamese Dream)
  20. Love (Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness)
  21. I Of The Mourning (MACHINA/The Machine Of God)
  22. Bury Me (Gish)
  23. Ava Adore (Adore)
  24. The Everlasting Gaze (MACHINA/The Machine Of God)
  25. Slunk (Lull)
  26. Today (Siamese Dream)
  27. Raindrops + Sunshowers (MACHINA/The Machine Of God)
  28. Soma (Siamese Dream)
  29. Galapagos (Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness)
  30. That's The Way (Zeitgeist)
  31. Aeroplane Flies High Turns Left Looks Right (The Aeroplane Flies High)
  32. Muzzle (Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness)
  33. Once In Awhile (Ava Adore)
  34. ...Said Sadly (The Aeroplane Flies High)
  35. Bodies (Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness)
  36. 1979 (Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness)
  37. Waiting (Greatest Hits)
  38. Cherub Rock (Siamese Dream)
  39. Appels + Oranjes (Adore)
  40. The End Is The Beginning Is the End (Batman and Robin)
  41. Here Is No Why (Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness)
  42. Hello Kitty Kat (Pisces Iscariot)
  43. Freak (Teargarden By Kaleidyscope)
  44. Dross (Machina II/Friends and Enemies of Modern Music)
  45. Zero (Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness)
  46. Wound (MACHINA/The Machine Of God)
  47. Mouths of Babes (The Aeroplane Flies High)
  48. Never Let Me Down Again (For the Masses)
  49. Snail (Gish)
  50. Age of Innocence (MACHINA/The Machine Of God)
  51. Apathy's Last Kiss (Still Becoming Apart)
  52. Widow Make My Mind (Teargarden By Kaleidyscope)
  53. Lightning Strikes (Teargarden By Kaleidyscope)
  54. Daphne Descends (Adore)
  55. Geek USA (Siamese Dream)
  56. Pissant (Pisces Iscariot)
  57. 7 Shades of Black (Zeitgeist)
  58. The Fellowship (Teargarden By Kaleidyscope)
  59. Marquis in Spades (The Aeroplane Flies High)
  60. Eye (Still Becoming Apart)
  61. Landslide (Pisces Iscariot)
  62. Glynis (No Alternative)
  63. Tom Tom (Teargarden By Kaleidyscope)
  64. A Night Like This (The Aeroplane Flies High)
  65. Jennifer Ever (The Smashing Pumpkins)
  66. Untitled (Greatest Hits)
  67. By June (Lull)
  68. A Stitch in Time (Teargarden By Kaleidyscope)
  69. Try, Try, Try (MACHINA/The Machine Of God)
  70. God (The Aeroplane Flies High)
  71. In The Arms of Sleep (Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness)
  72. The Celestials (Oceania)
  73. The Imploding Voice (MACHINA/The Machine Of God)
  74. Violet Rays (Oceania)
  75. Doomsday Clock (Zeitgeist)
  76. The Tale of Dusty and Pistol Pete (Adore)
  77. This Time (MACHINA/The Machine Of God)
  78. Pug (Adore)
  79. Siamese Dream (Siamese Dream Deluxe Edition)
  80. You're All I've Got Tonight (The Aeroplane Flies High)
  81. One Diamond, One Heart (Oceania)
  82. Frail and Bedazzled (Pisces Iscariot)
  83. There It Goes (Pisces Iscariot Deluxe)
  84. Dancing In The Moonlight (Disarm)
  85. Do You Close Your Eyes When You Kiss Me? (Adore Deluxe Edition)
  86. Crush (Gish)
  87. Thirty-Three (Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness)
  88. The Boy (The Aeroplane Flies High)
  89. My Dahlia (Light Into Dark)
  90. Farewell and Goodnight (Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness)
  91. The Chimera (Oceania)
  92. Nothing And Everything (The Smashing Pumpkins)
  93. Come On Let's Go (Zeitgeist)
  94. Let Me Give The World To You (Machina II/Friends and Enemies of Modern Music)
  95. Pox (American Gothic)
  96. By Starlight (Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness)
  97. Speed Kills (Machina II/Friends and Enemies of Modern Music)
  98. The Beginning Is The End Is The Beginning (Batman and Robin)
  99. Oceania (Oceania)
  100. Cash Car Star (Machina II/Friends and Enemies of Modern Music)
  101. Speed (Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness Deluxe Edition)
  102. Hummer (Siamese Dream)
  103. Ugly (The Aeroplane Flies High)
  104. Dreaming (The Aeroplane Flies High)
  105. Bleeding The Orchid (Zeitgeist)
  106. Jackie Blue (20 Dynamic Super Smash Hit)
  107. To Forgive (Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness)
  108. For Martha (Adore)
  109. Smiley (Peel Sessions)
  110. Not Worth Asking (I Am One)
  111. Behold! The Night Mare (Adore)
Buy Smashing Pumpkins new album,  Monuments To An Elegy...now!    

Friday, December 05, 2014

The 11 Best Songs By David Guetta

This evening my kids attended a dance party at their elementary school.  When you're dealing with kids from as little as five up to the age of eleven, you want to be sure the music is as PG-rated as possible.  I was blown away by the DJs and their lack of discretion in the music.  It's not the bad language that bothered me as much as the content. I'd rather my kids hear Eddie Vedder grumble a "harmless little fuck" than have them listen to "Blurred Lines."  But the content wasn't a total back breaker as much as the lack of content was disappointing.  Most of their selection was very narrow.  A majority of the music fell purely in the rap sector and primarily focused on crunk.  It's fine for a few songs but  when 4 out of 5 songs is the same narrow genre, it feels lazy.  The most variety was a Meghan Trainer or Taylor Swift song.  They played one Michael Jackson song which was the highlight of the night.  It made me realize how difficult (and it's shocking to say this) being a good DJ is.  A great DJ can mix rap, pop, rock, and even country.  A DJ who knows what their doing can mix Lil Wayne and Nirvana.  A DJ is supposed to appeal to everyone in the crowd, even the back row.  About half way through the dance, people started leaving.  Part of it was bedtimes, the other part was a boredom in the music. That's the opposite of what a good DJ should do.  So tonight, go out, dance, and if there's a good DJ playing, give them a big hug. Here are the 11 Best Songs By David Guetta:
  1. Titanium (Nothing But The Beat)
  2. She Wolf (Nothing But The Beat)
  3. Baby When The Light (Pop Life)
  4. Every Chance We Get We Run (Nothing But The Beat 2.0)
  5. One Love (One Love)
  6. Turn Me On (Nothing But The Beat)
  7. Always (Pop Life)
  8. Love Don't Let Me Go (Just A Little More Love)
  9. In Love With Myself (Guetta Blaster)
  10. When Love Takes Over (One Love)
  11. Who's That Chick? (One More Love)
Buy David Guetta's new album, Listen, now!!!  

Thursday, December 04, 2014

The 11 Best B-Sides By Soundgarden

A couple weeks ago, I did a comprehensive break down of Wilco's b-side collection and what were the best tracks from the package.  Like Wilco, Soundgarden has released a collection pulling all their b-side and rare tracks from their epic career.  Also like Wilco, 90% of these tracks were all  previously released and have been readily available on CD singles, soundtracks, and compilations. So here's a look at the best of the extra songs that Soundgarden has to offer that never made it to a proper album. Here are the 11 Best B-Sides By Soundgarden:
  1. Birth Ritual (Singles)
  2. Bleed Together (Burden In My Hand)
  3. Cold Bitch (Spoonman)
  4. Into The Void (Somms)
  5. Heretic (Louder Than Love)
  6. She Likes Surprises (International Track)
  7. Fresh Deadly Flowers (Loud Love)
  8. Kyle Petty, Son Of Richard (Fell On Black Days)
  9. Girl U Want (Somms)
  10. Karaoke (Burden In My Hand)
  11. I Don't Care About You (Outshined)
Buy Soundgarden's new B-Sides album, Echo of Miles...now!!!