#80: Nightwish- Sleeping Sun (2006)
Technically, the song on this
list is the 1999 version, not the single re-released in 2005, but I figured
that since it was re-released, this version could chart and it did; and what a
song it is. Beautifully sung by Tarja Turunen- a singer Nightwish will really
miss- this is a tranquil power ballad that was dedicated to the solar eclipse
that came over Europe that year. Nightwish had a lot of promise before they
dumped Turunen- hopefully they won’t follow Evanescence and waste that
potential because of it.
#79: Nickel Creek- When In Rome (2005)
Perhaps a song like “Speak”
defined Nickel Creek better than this particular song, but this one was clearly
their best. Fiery and impassioned, “When In Rome” is energetic and bold, making
a strong statement about a useless class many students can relate to. One of
the finer works in bluegrass.
#78: Shiny Toy Guns- You Are The One (2007)
If new wave is dead, Los
Angeles’ Shiny Toy Guns didn’t get the message. Featuring strong synthesizer
riffs and great interplay vocals from Carah Faye Charnow and Chad Petree, “You
Are The One” is an excellent single from a band that’s on the rise.
#77: Lacuna Coil- Heaven’s A Lie (2004)
When Evanescence came out,
metal veterans made many comparisons between them and Italy’s Lacuna Coil,
whose metal breakthrough In A Reverie came out a full four years before Fallen
did, but it wasn’t until “Heaven’s A Lie” that Lacuna Coil finally had airplay.
Featuring a strong vocal interplay from Cristina Scabbia and Andrea Ferro and
strong, piercing guitar riffs, “Heaven’s A Lie” was deservedly Lacuna Coil’s
breakthrough single.
#76: MC Lars f/Hearts That Hate- Singing Emo (2004)
Released at the height of the
emo craze, “Singing Emo” is a hilarious tounge-in-cheek rebuke of the worst
that “popular emo” ever came up with. The song takes the (fictional) journey of
a band called Hearts That Hate. The band were signed by a balding A&R rep
looking to keep his flat-screen TV and recorded “Cry Tonight”, which became
Hearts That Hate’s big hit that Lars “samples” for “Singing Emo”. After
industrial comes back and emo fades, Hearts That Hate try to rebrand themselves
as “Machines That Hate”, but the band splits up and lead singer Blake Richards
gives guitar lessons in his living room. When Lars went on tour, Bowling For
Soup played the band, but until 2005, Lars tricked a lot of media outlets into
thinking they were real. In any case, “Singing Emo” is comic genius, and an
entertaining single to boot.
#75: Nickelback- Rockstar (2006)
Moan if you’d like that I
have Nickelback on this chart…but hey, it’s mine, and I do believe that the
Hanna, Alberta rockers don’t get their due based on their popularity. They’ve
always been a stadium grunge band, and Nickelback’s progression to where they
are simply feels natural. In any case, this particular song- lifted from All
The Right Reasons- is a stinging satire of the rock star lifestyle, with
the star “staying skinny because we just won’t eat” and “popping pills from a
Pez dispenser”. It’s also good to see Nickelback’s light-hearted side: after
years of great (but always angry) singles, it’s nice to see Nickelback finally
having some fun and poking fun at their image.
#74: Lifehouse- Take Me Away (2003)
They may be better known for
“Hanging By A Moment” and “You and Me” may be (deservedly) the band’s hit that
shed their one-hit wonder status, but “Take Me Away” is over and above
Lifehouse’s best single. Taking a cue from “Hanging By A Moment”, “Take Me Away”
is catchy and explosive, a song that had “hit” written all over it. Pity it
never charted, but it’s good that they got “You and Me”- Lifehouse were much
better than the charts ever gave them credit for.
#73: Ludacris- Get Back (2005)
Ludacris- born Christopher
Bridges- molded a nice career for himself with club-ready party-rap staples
that were as fun as they were infectious. Here, Ludacris adds a new element,
bringing a fight song element to this club anthem and taking a swing at anyone
who got in his way (like, perhaps, Bill O’Reilly). Featuring a strong, booming
beat from KLC and boisterous raps from Ludacris, “Get Back” is a can’t-miss
party single.
#72: Utada Hikaru- This Is Love (2007)
In due time Japan’s
highest-selling pop artist in its history will break out on North American
shores after her first attempt- 2003’s Utada- was a disappointment.
Hopefully she’ll learn from her Japanese success, because it’s brilliant. This
particular song is anthemic dance-pop, being very well-produced and sung. If
she can ever bring her energy into an honest North American effort, she just
may be a huge chart success on these shores as well.
#71: Alexisonfire- This Could Be Anywhere In The World (2006)
When they first came out-
with the laughingstock-worthy “Pulmonary Archery”- Alexisonfire sounded like a
band that thought incoherent yelling qualified as “singing” and simplistic,
middling guitar chords qualified as “playing”, so I wrote them off as simply
stupid. Then “No Transitory”, a much more coherent effort, came out and then I
decided they had promise. That promise was realized here, where the guitar
riffs became noticeably stronger, George Petit’s growls actually resembled
words and Dallas Green’s mellow voice was complimented beautifully. After a
slow start, Alexisonfire have matured beautifully.
#70: Snow Patrol- Chocolate (2004)
Before “Chasing Cars” was
“Chocolate”, a single that could best described as “hypnotic”. Featuring Gary Lightbody’s
dulcet tones and simple but pounding drumming from Jonny Quinn produces a
single that grabs your attention instantly. Pity it never charted on the pop
charts, because it should have.
#69: Rayna- Empty Room (2007)
Local Toronto artist Rayna is
a natural- at 29, she’s only been a musician for eight years, but you’d never
be able to tell. Her powerful and expressive voice coupled with a
surround-sound feel from Andrew Lauzon’s professional production has created a
captivating alt-pop winner. Given all this potential and her natural talent,
success is just around the corner.
#68: Keith Urban- You’ll Think Of Me (2005)
Okay, so it’s a 2002 song but
it became an AC hit late in 2004 and thus I played it in 2005. Regardless,
“You’ll Think Of Me” is Whangarei, New Zealand product Keith Urban’s finest
work. At the same time angry and emotional, Urban blurs the line between rock
and country with an emotionally invigorating performance, creating a hit many
identified with. With a stable of other amazing hits, it’s only a matter of
time before Urban crosses over just like Shania Twain did (and with much better
music).
#67: Avril Lavigne- Nobody’s Home (2004)
There can be times when Napanee,
Ontario’s Avril Lavigne can get too childish for age, but “Nobody’s Home”-
co-written with Ben Moody, whose influence here is unavoidable- is simply a
mature effort. A song about a helpless runaway, “Nobody’s Home” is dark,
capturing feelings very few of us would want to even imagine having. I’ve got
no problem with Lavigne wanting to be youthful, because that youthful
exuberance creates very energetic songs, but at some point Lavigne will have to
show she can do more than goof around, and here is valid proof of that.
#66: D12 f/Eminem- My Band (2004)
In all of the group’s
history, D12 has always performed under band member Eminem’s shadow, which is
easy to see due to Eminem’s megastardom, but that didn’t stop them from poking
fun at their situation. A fun, seemingly light-hearted single goes to absurd
lengths to show how the other four members of the band were shafted by Eminem
(who gets the best microphones and his own tour bus and change rooms, leaving
the rest of D12 with the scraps), “My Band” shows a group that clearly wanted
have a good laugh at the band’s image. I just wish their loose image here
carried over to other works, because the rest of their work- save for maybe
“Fight Music”- doesn’t hold a candle to this one; but until then, at least I
can enjoy the comedic gold that comes when they don’t try too hard.
#65: Trace Adkins- Honky Tonk Badonkadonk (Country Club Mix)
(2007)
Started playing it in 2007…in
any case, “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk” wasn’t well-received in country circles
because of how Adkins fused hip-hop, dance and country together for a remix of
a song dedicated to that girl in the club everyone can’t get their eyes off of
(and, for the record, Adkins didn’t coin the word- it’d been a stable on urban
radio for years before this song). Just the fact that this is dance-country is
adventurous enough, but this mix is funky while losing none of the bravado of
the original, a truly impressive feat indeed.
#64: Toby Keith- I Love This Bar (2004)
If you read Rolling Stone, you’d think that Keith is nothing more than an overtly patriotic redneck who has an axe to grind against anyone who’s anti-American, a sentiment no doubt created by “Courtesy Of The Red White And Blue (The Angry American)”. However, while Keith may be a redneck, his music is more about having fun than it is about patriotism, and “I Love This Bar” is a fine example of it. Another in the staple of good-hearted humourous anthems from Keith, this is an ode to Keith’s favourite bar where the drinks flow freely and there’s always action to be had. Furthermore, Keith’s emotive voice- simply the best in the business- adds to the light-heartedness to really give the song a personal feel. There’s no need to fear Keith…Toby’s just having some fun.
#63: Wilco- Heavy Metal Drummer (2003)
When Reprise Records let go
of Wilco over the band’s refusal to change Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, the
official reason was because there wasn’t a single on this album. Perhaps they
never heard this song, one that’s as hook-friendly as any on the pop charts and
twice as enthralling as any of them. Featuring energetic acoustic riffs and
Jeff Tweedy’s sombre singing, “Heavy Metal Drummer” is entertaining and
inescapable- and a hit if Reprise had ever taken that chance.
#62: Limp Bizkit- Behind Blue Eyes (2004)
Go ahead, moan that the cover
of The Who’s classic is included here and tell me that Fred Durst is no Roger
Daltrey…I don’t care. Song quality isn’t about talent alone- it’s about using
that talent- and while Results May Vary did, in fact, vary, “Behind Blue
Eyes” didn’t. A mellow rock ballad that becomes reflective with Durst’s tones,
Limp Bizkit’s version captured a band that was very much in disarray when they
recorded the song, probably used as therapy for the band but at the same time
creating a piece that is enthrallingly soothing. Yes, Limp Bizkit may never be
confused with The Who in terms of the greatest rock bands of all time, but both
versions at the very least deserve to remembered in the annals of music
history.
#61: James Blunt- Wiseman (2006)
I had thought that Blunt-
whose last name is really “Blount”- would cause a controversy with this song
that features two verses that are unmistakeable attacks on certain groups. The
first verse suggests that the whole idea of Jesus was created by three Persian
wanderers who got high, using the misconception that the Magi were marijuana
users, while the second suggests that the American Idol judges simply don’t
care about creating quality pop songs as they are about having face time.
Others have different interpretations- some have even said this is a
pro-religious song because it has a helpful tone- but in any case, “Wiseman” is
one of the most lyrically stunning songs of recent vintage. Hopefully Blunt can
use what he gains here to better his future work and put behind the relative
disappointment Back To Bedlam was.
-DG