The Top 100 from 1997-2002: No. 81-100
No. 100: Linkin Park- Crawling
The highest ranking Linkin Park track on MTV's year-end 2001 countdown, "Crawling" exhibits what the rockers do best: write deep, thoughtful, dark and, at the same time, uplifting songs. The band's only failing is frontman Chester Bennington's yelling which sometimes gets annoying, as is the reason why this song didn't rank higher than it did.
No. 99: K-Ci & JoJo- All My Life
There's a reason why this song is the most played songs at weddings: it's a very deep and romantic tune, very uplifting and underscores everything spouses feel towards each other. A classic? You bet.
No. 98: Solitar- Easy 2 Slip
One of rap's several tunes about death, this track features Solitar rapping about stories of fallen friends and warns at the end for the listener to keep your head in check or "my next rhyme will be about you." Ooh. In a rap world featuring too many songs about sex- and rarely ever done well- it's refreshing to hear a smart rap tune like this one, showcasing that the Canadian certainly has a promising future.
No. 97: Vibrolux- Drown
Before the great Canadian pop/rock explosion hit around 1999, there was a time when small Canadian outfits like Vibrolux were able to break onto the nation's MuchMusic Countdown. While quite a bit of the outfits- like the New Meanies- never really offered anything compelling, Vibrolux's "Drown" was a refreshing escape from the Top 40, a dark and very smooth rock tune, an artistic masterpiece that should have broken them out. Oh well.
No. 96: Ricky Martin- La Copa Della Vita
Yeah, Ricky Martin has had bigger hits in North America, but ever since he turned into a pop icon (and subsequently faded out) he forgot his Latin roots, making his music suffer. This song- his only charter- exhibits why Martin was a worldwide success before his North American days, featuring a well done Latin vibe with an excellent celebratory note and why not? The tune was the official song of the 1998 World Cup, and a great one at that too.
No. 95: Sloan- Money City Maniacs
"�and the joke is/when he awoke his/body was covered in Coke fizz." I think that line encapsulates everything this song is about, a nice, fun track where the Halifax boys make fun of "partyers". One of 1998's better tunes.
No. 94: Kid Rock- Only God Knows Why
Before Bob Ritchie- A.K.A. Kid Rock- became this big time musician (which lasted about a year), he was a more artistic, lively and sometimes thoughtful rocker as opposed to today's tiring braggart. This tune, a thoughtful one, is easily his best song ever, and probably would have been a much bigger hit had "American Bad Ass" not been released just when radios started to pick it up. My only question is this: will this Kid Rock return? I hope so.
No. 93: Fat Joe f/Ashanti & Ja Rule- What's Luv?
How to make a great party anthem, Lesson One: "What's Luv?" If you want to make it simple, at least have an exceptional beat and put enough lyrical force behind it that it'll have substance and avoid getting stale later. Every song- even these ones- require hard work to pull off right, and Fat Joe, Irv Gotti (the producer), Ashanti Douglas and Ja Rule certainly did just that in producing this slam dunk.
No. 92: Snoop Dogg- Still A G Thang
The guy's probably done too much dope, but he still manages to have a smooth voice- a rarity in rap- and is able to be one of rap's smarter emcees. Here, he slips in a reference to Whitewater (the Bill Clinton sex scandal) in warning thugs about the dangers of their lifestyle. Not too compelling musically, but a slam dunk lyrically.
No. 91: Backstreet Boys- As Long As You Love Me
I hate pop acts like the Backstreet Boys and *N Sync and everything that comes with them, since most of it is just recycled garbage that is rarely ever creative. However, through it all, they do manage to have one good tune and this is the 'Boys', a thoughtful song about how love has no bounds. Just wish they could have been more creative later, however.
No. 90: Nine Days- Absolutely (A Story About A Girl)
This was one of those power-pop rock hits that also had a deep meaning attached to it: a story about a girl who always cried and never appreciated anything she had. A very well written song, but the "power" of the sound is not as deep as it should be.
No. 89: Swollen Members- Lady Venom
"Come run amongst us/There's none of them amongst us" raps Prevail, part of the Vancouver rap duo. This song is an escape from the Members' later material, which was mainly them bragging about how good they are (it gets stale after a while), as the song is a decent one about the dangers of love and a bit of challenge to hang with the "venomous" women. It's a mark of how good the duo are: maybe one day they'll return and show the world once again why they brag so much.
No. 88: Savage Garden- Crash and Burn
This track is very uplifting lyrically and sonically it exhibits a wonderful mix of power and peacefulness. Far and away the Australian band's best work- which isn't that bad, just not good enough to chart- making it a shame that they're no longer together.
No. 87: Carlito f/Diva Latina- Asi Como Mi
"Remember when I met you?/All you wanted to do/Was take me to some casa and get freaky with you," sings Viva Latina on this rap track. Carlito replies, "true/Wanted to do ya even before I knew ya/Used ta see ya at the club gettin' juiced up/With your girlfriends and all of they mens/Sometimes at the club I used ta thug pretend." Hey, at least Carlito is honest with his intentions on this track, perhaps almost embarrassed that he even felt this way. Still, it's one of the few rap sex tracks that has this admission, and none before were ever done as well as this one, so it almost definitely belongs on this list.
No. 86: 2 Rude f/Saukrates & Pharaohe Monch- Innovations
One of Canada's brightest emerging DJ talents in 2 Rude teams up with rappers Saukrates and Pharaohe Monch to produce this slammer. It doesn't hurt that both of the rappers do their task exceptionally, though Monch's rap is superior to Saukrates', as the latter- like Dr. Dre- is a much better producer than a rapper. Still, I won't let that take away from this track.
No. 85: Melanie Doane- Waiting For The Tide
Nova Scotia pop rocker Doane charged onto the music scene about three years ago with a peaceful yet aggressive style, mirroring current phenomenon Michelle Branch, and scored a slam dunk with this deep and thoughtful tune. While Branch's work is far superior and lot more thoughtful and better done, it shouldn't take anything away from this piece, fully deserving its spot on the chart.
No. 84: Eiffel 65- Too Much Of Heaven
You may read this and wonder why "Blue" didn't make it, and I'll tell you: this is a quality chart, not a greatest hits chart, and, frankly, no matter how good "Blue" was, it couldn't top this thoughtful song from the Italian band. While I do believe they deserved this as a true hit like "Blue", the boys' formulaic style eventually did themselves in, as it got stale and repetitive after a while.
No. 83: Raf- Infinito
I follow an Italian with another Italian, singing this time in Italian. Okay, this song never made it to North America (go figure), but, from an Italian, I can say this song is pretty thoughtful and very well written. Hey, if Raf ever does an English version, he should get that hit over here as well.
No. 82: Joee- Angel
Back in Joee's earlier career- in 1997- he produced thoughtful and, at the same time, energetic work, wonderfully done and written, and this is one of them. It didn't earn him any hits until he went pop (and subsequently dragged his work down), which is a shame because this is easily his best song ever.
No. 81: Robbie Williams- Angels
No, I didn't pick this here because Joee is behind him: Robbie's "Angels" fully deserves to be on this list. It's a well written, peaceful and deep hit, showcasing to the world that Williams, a former Take That member, can actually write. The problem is the guy has this tendency to go too crazy (remember the "Rock DJ" video?), meaning that he focuses too little time on writing great hits- which will earn him more everlasting fame- and too much on stirring up trouble. Oh well.
-DG
The Top 100: Nos. 100-81
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