On October 1, 2009 there was a big old party in Hong Kong to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China. Hong Kong big-ups their Chinese-y-ness for stuff like this. [The same happened during the Olympics when Hong Kongers forgot about their rampant disregard for, disparagement of, and disgust with "Mainlanders" and everyone was "Chinese" for two weeks.] Still, National Day was particularly ironic in my mind. The bastion of Beyond-Free Enterprise that is the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region celebrating 60 years of Communism? What? I suppose it was as good a reason as any for a kick ass fireworks display, but the reality of paying homage to Mao’s October 1, 1949 declaration of the People’s Republic seemed totally transparent. [Like the finest silk, some may say.]

As a result of all the pomp and circumstance I found myself thinking a lot about the PRC and how they view the world. I considered their efficiency and secrecy and thought, “Hey, maybe they are onto something.” I contemplated the “One Country – Two Systems” explanation for the HK-PRC connection, the way that China can make Hong Kong a part of the PRC without “fixing what is not broken.” [It is a tenuous explanation - at best. But one thing I have noticed since I have been in East Asia is that tenuous is good enough for Beijing. Consider the Taiwan issue, or Tibet, if you are not afraid of complete censure. Frankly, based on the arguments China uses for both of those regions, they should also incorporate Mongolia and Vietnam... The thing is China, like most modern governments it seems, firmly believes in and employs the practice that if you say something often enough it will become true. The difference between China and a lot of other places is that they are less concerned with it actually becoming true; saying it is enough. And in that way they seem to have a special kind of integrity.] I thought about how Beijing believes that if they block the internet it is not there. How if they say there is no financial crisis, there is no financial crisis.

And in the whole build up to the 60th Anniversary and in the weeks after, I just kept singing this song:

Mao Tse Tung said change must come
Change must come thru the barrel of a gun
Not thru talkin’ and not through waitin’
And sittin’ around just contemplatin’ the facts
‘Cos we know what they are…

And one thing you have to give Beijing credit for, they are not into sitting around and waiting. They get shit done. In fact they let nothing stand in the way. Not even the weather. Fast forward one month. It is no secret that China has been suffering a drought, (or maybe it is since it could be interpreted as some sort of failure on behalf of China – [mind that Mandate of Heaven, yo... even Mao didn't dis' the Emperors - only the Capitalist Pigs.] Anyhow, drought. It has been pretty bad, and so (though it is probably somehow Mongolia’s fault,) China decided to take action and on or around the 1st of November they seeded the clouds above Beijing. China v. The Weather, Round One. China got the victory.

Then the weather changed.

Doh!

Global Climate Change FTW. And so it seems, even Beijing knows when to acknowledge that the weather may be in China, but like Hong Kong, it is gonna do its own thing.

The actual point here, is that Hong Kong /= China. I have said it before, and I will say it again: HONG KONG and CHINA no son iguales. And so what made me finally sit and write this one more month later? I read a blog by someone I used to know ranting about his current situation. Granted his situation does suck, but when I hear stuff like this:

I know I talk about Hong Kong like it’s the greatest thing ever… I live in China and when I come home it feels like a police state… the [US] Immigration department detained me for 4 hours and asked me if I’m a terrorist because I’d been traveling for so long…

I feel compelled to answer: If you “live” in Hong Kong, you do NOT live in China. And though it is a complete pain in the ass for Chinese nationals to secure entry to the US, this is completely and totally NOT the case for Hong Kongers – they are from that other system, remember? And I have been away from home longer than this guy and I have never been asked if I am a “terrorist” – I am not even sure how that works, or if that was just hyperbolic for effect.

Mao Tse Tung said a lot of stuff… but in the end, even he had to admit some of it was maybe not the best way forward and so, while lip service would continue to be paid, he did encourage people to please do what was necessary to actually get paid… Not thru talkin’ and not through waitin’, And sittin’ around just contemplatin’ the facts, ‘Cos we know what they are, So let Mao Tse Tung be your guidin’ star… Do what you need to do but please, just do not make a scene.

And life gives you  drought, make some rain, er, snow, er… wait, never mind. Blame Mongolia and shop in Hong Kong, it will all work out in the end.

<<DISCLAIMER: This post was just a collection of random thoughts that seemed to somehow go together at 5 a.m. this morning. I am not actually vested in a particularly consistent position regarding Tibet, Taiwan, Mongolia, Communism – “or any -ism for that matter. -Ism’s in my opinion are not good. A person should not believe in an -ism, he should believe in himself” – nor am I particularly vexed by anyone’s personal need to rant vent on their blog. I just want to reiterate: HONG KONG IS NOT CHINA. That is all.>>

Grupo britânico de hip-hop maoísta que mistura rock, blues, country, gospel e dance.
Com letras rechadas de humor e ironia, a banda costuma botar pra quebrar nas apresentações ao vivo.
O grupo é cultuado e admirado por cineatas e artistas do mundo inteiro, tanto que os produtores da série de tv The Sopranos escolheram a música “Woke Up This Morning” para tocar nos créditos iniciais do programa.

Aqui, duas músicas, uma explosiva e outra mais cadenciada, mas ambas contagiantes.

November 23rd, 2009

Final stop on the Scottish leg of the tour with the boys rolling into Perth

If you’re writing in that area, drop us a line for guestlist or other media requests. It’s caitlin@raw-material.co.uk

The Krakatoa boys are venturing north today as the next stops on their UK tour with Alabama 3 will be Newcastle Academy tonight (Friday), Glasgow Academy tomorrow night (Saturday) followed by Aberdeen on Sunday and then Perth next Monday.

If you’re north of the border, or indeed around Newcastle and fancy going along, drop us a line and we’ll see what we can do guestlist-wise.

As ever, for any media requests/more information, contact caitlin@raw-material.co.uk

The Krakatoa boys are more or less halfway through their whistlestop tour of the UK with cult rockers Alabama 3 and tonights stop will be in Nottingham at Rock City

As usual, any music journos in the area, drop us a line if you fancy heading down. I’m not usually one to gush but it’s a top top gig…

Contact caitlin@raw-material.co.uk for more info, guestlist or media requests

After what was a cracking gig last night at the Kentish Forum, I’d urge any bloggers down there on the South Coast to get down there tonight if they’ve got the chance.

The Krakatoa boys are supporting cult rockers Alabama 3 (absolutely brilliant I thought) on their 18-date tour of the UK. As ever, for guestlist, or any other media requests get in touch with Caitlin at caitlin@raw-material.co.uk

South London cult rockers Alabama 3 are well into their UK tour now and are gearing up for their home date at the Kentish Forum this evening. We’ll be going down to catch our very own Krakatoa in action as the support so if you fancy something a bit different and exciting on a Tuesday evening, drop us a line.

For tonight, it’s dan@raw-material.co.uk

I am unbelievably excited to be back in the new Raw Material offices! It has been a fair while, but I have been a busy little bee and it seems my bee status is set to get even busier. Fabulous rock band Krakatoa (who sound like a mixture of The Clash and Blur but with more sass, if you can believe it) are touring Brixton-based band Alabama 3, whose music is pure American molasses, it is sure to be a line up not to be missed. For dates of the tour email caitlin@raw-material.co.uk

Caitlin

South-East London rockers Krakatoa are soon to embark on tour with fabled acid house rockers Alabama 3 and we’ve got the full list of dates right here:

4 November – Cambridge Junction
5 November – Cardiff Corn Exchange
6 November – Birmingham Academy
7 November – Bournemouth Open House
8 November – Bristol Academy
9 November – Oxford Academy
10 November – London Forum
11 November – Brighton Concorde 2
12 November – Nottingham Rock City
13 November – Newcastle Academy
14 November – Glasgow Academy
15 November – Aberdeen
16 November – Perth Concert Hall
17 November – Sheffield Plug
18 November – Northampton Roadmenders
19 November – Leeds Academy
20 November – Manchester Academy
21 November – Dublin Tripod

We’ve plenty of gig tickets and singles available for competitions so get in contact with Dan at Dan@raw-material.co.uk

Krakatoa will be playing a secret gig this Saturday 10th October, ahead of their upcoming tour supporting Alabama 3.

If you want to check the boys out, click ‘attending’ on the facebook group and you will be sent further details on the location.

The first 10 people through the door will get a free Krakatoa demo

The venue will have a late bar and cheapy drinks.

The boys from South London band Krakatoa have been hard at work on new tracks, which you can listen to from their Myspace here.

For those of you that loved latest single “Rock ‘n’ Roll Revolution”, you can check out the lyrics here.

Remember, Krakatoa have just announced a new Autumn tour supporting Alabama 3, check out dates here and get in touch if you are interested in guestlist for any of these dates.

Never before has Tartan Heart’s tag of “Homegrown heaven in the Highlands” been more appropriate, and not only for the programme. For the last month it has seemed increasingly unlikely that welly boots would not be essential for Bella, but by a metereological miracle, apart from a short sharp shower on Friday and a shorter one on Saturday, warm summer sunshine was what poured down from on high.

Musical highlights on Friday were Orkestra del Sol in the Hothouse tent with their inimitable mix of superb music and theatricality; lovely Lau’s Bella debut on the Grassroots stage, where the audience would have given them a standing ovation, had they not been already standing; the smooth, mellow tones of the Bevvy Sisters in the Venus Flytrap Palais; a simply dazzling display in the Sideburns tent by Bruce Macgregor, Andy Thorburn and Marc Clement (Blazin’ Fiddle, in other words), following on Hamish Macdonald’s terrific take on ‘Tam O’Shanter’; and of course, the perennially magical Peatbog Faeries.

I shall also treasure an exhortation from Larry Love during Alabama 3’s acoustic set not to let the government cheat us by limiting us to bipolar disorder, but to aim for multi-polar disorder. At the time it made perfect sense…

After so much rich musical nourishment, even the smooth indie rock of the headlining Editors with the even smoother, bell-like tones of Tom Smith didn’t quite fit the bill. Shed Seven? One Britpop band in a weekend was enough, and the crowds were thick around Glenn Tilbrook and the Fluffers…. but there was still so much to choose from. Who could resist a karaoke Sound of Music in the Read Bed (on Saturday it was Mamma Mia!), drams beckoning at Fiddlers’ Malt Whisky Bar, or the siren beats of the Dance DJs?

On Saturday programming on the Garden Stage was probably the best ever, when a common thread ran through Treacherous Orchestra, Noah & the Whale and the Saw Doctors to pave the way for Ocean Colour Scene’s finale.

Newcomers Treacherous Orchestra look set to become the quintessential festival band, having closed the Cambridge Folk Festival the week before [see Sue Wilson’s review – Ed.]. Despite being short-handed due to the impossibility of synching 13 musicians in demand on the trad scene, their awesomely disciplined rehearsal schedule paid off yet again.

They turned, musically speaking, on a sixpence, nodding to Led Zeppelin, Dreadzone, predecessors Shooglenifty (whose James Mackintosh was out front dancing like a dervish), and Peatbog Faeries, whose Iain Copeland was also out front, not dancing but beaming proudly. The audience went wild.

The pace slowed, mercifully, with Noah & the Whale – you could have closed your eyes and sworn these were out-takes from Lou Reed’s Magic and Loss – it’s a great voice, augmented by a double bass (the instrument of the festival, seen on every stage). The Saw Doctors took things back to folk/rock basics, while OCS rolled out the Moseley Shoals hits and took no prisoners, ending triumphantly with ‘Day Tripper’.

Other musical highlights on Saturday were the immaculate DJ set by Edinburgh’s Dolphin Boy; The Lost Brothers, impossible to resist, recalling other duos of the calibre of The Proclaimers, The Everly Brothers and Simon & Garfunkel; followed by the sweetness of Aberfeldy before the exuberant folk/world/rock of Seth Lakeman, all in the Grassroots tent; and I managed to catch a glimpse of the equally exuberant De Votchka in the Hothouse tent. British Sea Power, however, failed to impress either this reviewer or the surprisingly small audience for a headliner.

It is evident every year that Joe Gibbs and his Tartan Heart team do not rest on their laurels. Structural rearrangement of the Seedlings and Hothouse tent area, including the removal of several trees, had created an open, more easily navigable central space.

New stages, including the Homecoming Scotland Sideburns tent and the Dance DJ setup in the newly (half) built Mother’s Ruin, meant that this year it was even harder than formerly to see even half of the treats on offer. The only low point was the loos – but that’s festivals for you.

Threaded throughout the weekend were the many joyful flourishes that add so much enchantment to Belladrum. The living room hanging from a tree, the whisky tasting in the Verb Garden, the small, semi-feral children darting here, there, everywhere in search of plastic and paper cups to exchange for hard pence (a brilliant though sadly partial solution to the litter problem), Rimski’s Bicycle (a lugubrious pianist who ingeniously pedalled himself and his upright piano sideways and crablike around the site, complete with candles).

Stiltwalking giant Big Rory & his anatomically correct dog Ochie teetered on the border between comedy and something much darker. Saturday’s fancy dress theme was Beach ‘n’ Sea, so there were shiploads of sailors, shoals of octopi (some luminous), and obligatory mermaids. Two drag Amy Winehouses stuck to their beehives. Burlesque, clowning, circus, football, fireworks, poetry, oratory, debate, excellent food and drink, and so much more – it would have been possible to have missed seeing any music at all, and still have had the best weekend of the summer.

 
Someone said somewhere (I have absolutely no recollection of where I read this, forgive me) that when you start dating someone and you both take up a new interest for a tv series and watch it together on a regular basis, chances are that the relationship is bound to develop.
I am just glad we picked The Sopranos beacuse if it had been The Wire (snore, zzzzz), I’m not sure things would have turned out the same.
I never really paid any attention to The Sopranos at the time it was actually showing-I didn’t even know I could have a interest in organised crime in New Jersey, so I have a lot to catch up with. I’ve been obsessively checking my mailbox for series 4 to arrive and I’m getting impatient for our next Sopranos night.

Alabama 3 – Woke Up This Morning (Sopranos Mix)

Right okay well, doing this post out of randomness (and sheer boredom since I have nothing else better to do with my spare time), i’ve decided to put on here my favourite songs in top 100 form. There may be some obvious choices on the list as well as a few not so commercial songs, maybe even controversial positions but as already stated, it’s MY fave songs. SO without further delay, there’s the run down from 100 all the way to numero uno!

100. – TONY RICH PROJECT – Nobody Knows

To start us of is this little number by the Tony Rich Project. In late 1995 Rich released the hit single, “Nobody Knows” which made it to number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was a hit also in the UK. Tony Rich Project is still going to this day as he released his fifth album, Exist. Originally it was set for release on September 16, however it was pushed back to September 23, 2008. The album features download-only single, “Part The Waves”.

99. – ALICIA KEYS – Fallin’

The first song that introduced me to this wonderful young talent. “Fallin’” became Keys’ first number-one single in the United States and her first top five hit in several countries. It is also Keys’ second biggest single to date after 2007’s “No One”. The song won three Grammy Awards in 2002, including Song of the Year. The video above is a live performance of the song by the woman herself.

98. – MICHAEL JACKSON – Beat It

Well a Michael Jackson song had to come in here somewhere. Regardless of the man I was the fan of the musician and this song was and still is my favourite MJ song about. Eddie Van Halen was drafted in to add the distinctive overdriven guitar solo with tapping, but initially thought the phone calls from Jones requesting that he participate were fake. The lyrics of “Beat It” are about defeat and courage.The song was a worldwide commercial and critical success, becoming one of the best-selling singles of all time. Both “Billie Jean” and “Beat It” occupied Top 5 positions at the same time, a feat matched by very few artists. One of the most lauded songs in history, “Beat It” was certified platinum in 1989.The song was promoted with a short film that featured Jackson bringing two real life gangs together through the power of dance. Above is a live performance of the video which takes a while to begin (because we all know how MJ wanted to make an event out of a concert!).

97. – JOSHUA RADIN – Winter

Now here’s a song when you hear it, you instantly remember the first time you heard it. When his close friend (someone by the name of Zach Braff, which i’m sure a few of you have heard of) heard the demo he was immediately interested and featured the song on his show Scrubs in the episode “My Screw Up” in early 2004. The song received an overwhelmingly positive response and gave Radin substantial exposure with the show’s demographic. So above is a live acoustic version from Radin.

96. – STEREOPHONICS – Mr Writer

From The Album “Just Enough Education To Perform”, It was released in March 2001, it reached #5 in the UK charts. One of the most underrated tracks by Stereophonics and im my opinion one of the best especially for it’s hook. Stereophonics are currently mentoring a band in Kansas City, Missouri called Dakota. Dakota is inspired by bands such as Stereophonics, Muse, The Killers, and Coldplay. Dakota is currently working on their debut album “Senses of the Soul” due in late 2009.

95. – THE VERVE – Lucky Man

No matter how you feel, once you here this song all your problems are washed away in minutes. It was released 24 November 1997 as the third single from the album, charting at #7 in the UK Singles Chart (see 1997 in British music). The song was also the band’s second, and so far last Top 20 hit in the USA.

94. – CITIZEN COPE – Let The Drummer Kick That

This song introduced me to Citizen Cope and in my belief, has not bettered it. On September 12, 2006, Citizen Cope released the new album, Every Waking Moment. In early 2008, Citizen Cope parted ways with RCA records. His song, “Let the Drummer Kick” was featured in the 2008 TSX Acura commercial early that year. The song has featured in the movies “Coach Carter” & “Accepted” aswell as being used in the Season 4 finale of Entourage “The Cannes Kids”. Since there is no real video for the song, here’s a nice & well done flash video for it.

93. – LA ROUX – In For The Kill

Okay it’s the most RECENT song I have on the list but you can’t help but love the 80s sound to it as well as how damn catchy it is! It is the second single by south London duo La Roux. It was released on March 16, 2009 and has so far peaked inside the top ten in the UK. The song is heavily influenced by the title theme of the 80s cartoon classic Pole Position, with even the video paying homage to the show. La Roux singer Elly Jackson told Steve Harris of XFM radio that the song is “about telling someone how you feel regardless of what you get back, and not waiting to find out if they want you or not.” Apologies as the actual video won’t work on here but enjoy the song at least and also check out the Skream remixes of this song.

92. – TWISTA, JAMIE FOXX & KANYE WEST – Slow Jamz

Summer anthem of 2003. “Slow Jamz” is the Grammy-nominated first single from Twista’s album Kamikaze and the lead single from Kanye West’ debut album The College Dropout. Released in 2003, the single, which features Kanye West and Jamie Foxx peaked at number one in the USA for a week on February 10, 2004 becoming Twista’s, West’s and Foxx’s first number one single. The Kanye West version includes an intro and two extra verses by Jamie Foxx, and excludes the original outro by Twista. The song was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. Q magazine listed it as the nineteenth greatest hip-hop song of all time.The song is a tribute to classic smooth soul artists and slow jam songs. SO enjoy the video above.

91. – KHARMA45 – Ecstacy

Local band (Derry/Londonderry, Northern Ireland) with an epic song. If the word is true that the band have split then that’s a real shame as it looked they were about to make it really big but at least they gave us this (the other songs are just as good so check them out).

90. – SUGARHILL GANG – Rappers Delight

Rapper’s Delight is a 1979 single by American hip hop trio The Sugarhill Gang. While it was not the first hip hop single, “Rapper’s Delight” is generally considered to be the song that first popularized hip hop in the United States and around the world. The song is ranked #248 on the Rolling Stone magazine’s list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. hit #36 on the U.S. pop charts, #4 on the U.S. R&B charts, #1 on the Canada Singles Chart, #3 on the UK singles chart, and #2 on VH1’s top 100 hip-hop songs of all time. In 1979 it became the first hip-hop single to go gold. To this day the song is still as catchy as ever & you don’t manage to get bored listening to it, especially with it’s long running time.

89. – LUPE FIASCO – Kick, Push

“Kick, Push” is the Grammy nominated first single released from Lupe Fiasco’s debut album, Food & Liquor. It has been referred to as “a needle in hip hop’s haystack of complacent songs.” It was listed at #15 on Pitchfork Media’s The Top 100 Tracks of 2006 list, reached 27 on the UK Chart and reached 78 on the US Billboard Chart. This song introduced me to Lupe and having seen him twice live, this guy has the world at his feet. Above is the AOL Session recording of Lupe’s “Kick, Push”.

88. – NERD – Lapdance

“Lapdance” is a song by the funk/rock/hip hop American group N*E*R*D from their 2001 album In Search Of… The song features Vita and rapper Lee Harvey, and was produced by The Neptunes. A remix of “Lapdance” by Trent Reznor appeared on the compilation Spin This. Although it is censored, an uncensored version of the remix is available on a rare promo single disc. “Lapdance” was included on the Swordfish soundtrack, in the film Daredevil, in the film Kiss of the Dragon and in the film The Girl Next Door (2004 film). It was also featured in an episode of Entourage, on the pilot episode of Fastlane and on the soundtrack to the 2003 PlayStation 2 game True Crime: Streets of L.A. as well as in the Playstation 2 game BMX XXX. “Lapdance” was included on the Real Cancun soundtrack. It’s #93 on VH1’s 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop. The song reached 33 in the UK Charts and 85 in the US Billboard. As the video version is not on the YouTube (for obvious reasons these days) unfortunately you’ll have to make do with just the picture of the guys along with the song.

87. – JOE ESPOSITO – You’re The Best

“You’re the Best” is a song by Joe “Bean” Esposito, which came to prominence as the music to the All-Valley Karate Championships montage in the movie The Karate Kid (1984) where the hero, Daniel LaRusso, proves a surprisingly formidable contender. Responding to years of bewildered criticism of “You’re the Best” on the radio, Esposito called in to the Adam Carolla Show on April 09, 2008. The criticism was that the lyric “History repeats itself” was inappropriate because it was played during Daniel-san’s first All-Valley Tournament in The Karate Kid. Esposito then revealed that the song was originally intended for the Rocky III soundtrack but was replaced by “Eye of the Tiger.” Karate Kid director John Avildsen liked the song so much he used it in the movie. It’s cheese and we like it (god bless the 80s). So here is the video above & enjoy the song.

86. – EAGLE EYE CHERRY – Save Tonight

“Save Tonight” is a rock single written by Eagle-Eye Cherry for his 1997 debut album Desireless. The song is the album’s opening track, and was released as its first single, reaching #5 in the USA and #6 in the UK. It was featured on the video game Karaoke Revolution.

85. – JET – Are You Gonna Be My Girl

“Are You Gonna Be My Girl” is a song by the Australian rock band Jet, featured on their 2003 album Get Born. It was the first single from the album, released in 2003 in Australia and the UK, and in 2004 in the United States. The song is often cited for similarities to Iggy Pop’s “Lust for Life” and The White Stripes’s “Screwdriver”. Song reached 16 in the UK Chart and 29 in the US Billboard chart.

84. – MATCHBOX TWENTY – 3 A.M

“3 A.M.” is the third single and the third track from Matchbox Twenty’s debut album Yourself or Someone Like You. This song was written by Rob Thomas and was inspired by his mother’s battle with cancer. When Thomas was 12, his mother was given six months to live. But by the time he left home at 17 she was alive and well. Thomas felt that after her illness, his mother failed to take life seriously, preferring to go and party. This song is about his frustration and loneliness during this time. He chose the time 3 a.m. because this was when the bars shut. Matchbox Twenty never matched the success in the UK as they have done in the US as “3 A.M.” reached 64 in the UK chart and reached No 1 in the US billboard.

83. – JOHN LEGEND – Used To Love U

“Used to Love U” is the debut single by John Legend from his debut album Get Lifted. Legend co-produced it with Kanye West and it reached 29 in the UK chart and 74 on the US Billboard chart.

82. – AALIYAH – I Miss You

“Miss You” is an R&B ballad written by Johnta Austin, Teddy Bishop, and American singer Ginuwine. It was a previously unreleased song on Aaliyah’s first posthumously released compilation album, I Care 4 U (2002) and released as its lead single in early 2003.The song reached number three on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and entered the top 10 in Germany and Taiwan. “Miss You” also reached the top 20 in Canada, Denmark and Switzerland. The song appears on the game Karaoke Revolution Volume 2. Rapper Jay-Z made a tribute to Aaliyah using the “Miss You” instrumental and chorus. The music video for the song was directed by Darren Grant and featured tributes by Aaliyah’s friends and collaborators, including DMX, Missy Elliott, Toni Braxton, Tweet, Static Major and various others. The video shot in two locations Long Island City, New York, and Los Angeles, California. Tweet, Lil’ Kim, Jaheim, and Lil’ Jon were among those who came to the Long Island shoot. Jamie Foxx, DMX, Quincy Jones, and Ananda Lewis were some of the celebrities who appeared at the L.A. shoot. If you watch closely, you will notice Andre Royo (Bubbles from The Wire) is also in this video. Between cuts clips from Aaliyah’s early videos and her cameos in other artists’ videos were used. Aaliyah merchandise (posters, jackets, and even a motorcycle) also appeared in the video. “Miss You” landed at #23 on BET: Notarized Top 100 videos of 2003.

81. – JACKSON 5 – I Want You Back

“I Want You Back” is a 1969 number-one single recorded by The Jackson 5 for the Motown label. It went to number one on the soul singles chart for four weeks and held the number-one position on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for the week of January 31, 1970 and reached number 2 in the UK chart. Originally considered for Gladys Knight & the Pips and later for Diana Ross, as “I Wanna Be Free,” “I Want You Back” explores the theme of a lover who decides that he was too hasty in dropping his partner. An unusual aspect about “I Want You Back” was that its main lead vocal was performed by a preteen, Michael Jackson. In 1999, “I Want You Back” was also inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

80. – ROGER SANCHEZ – Another Chance

“Another Chance” is a house record by producer and DJ Roger Sanchez, released in 2001. It went on to be a worldwide smash hit, and went to #1 in the UK Singles Chart. The song is based around a sample from “I Won’t Hold You Back” by Toto.

79. – TIMBALAND – Way I Are

The Way I Are” is a song by Timbaland, released as the second single from his second album, Timbaland Presents Shock Value. The song features RnB singer Keri Hilson and rapper D.O.E., both of whom are signed to Timbaland’s Mosley Music Group label. It was released digitally worldwide in May 2007. The video version includes an extra verse from Timbaland’s brother Sebastian. This verse was added to ‘pad out’ the song, as the album version of the song has an elongated period of time in which nothing but the beat is played. The song reached at 3 in the US Billboard chart & reached No 1 in the UK Chart.

78. – THE KILLERS – Mr Brightside

“Mr. Brightside” is a song performed by Las Vegas-based rock band The Killers. The song is featured on the group’s debut album Hot Fuss and was written by lead vocalist Brandon Flowers and guitarist Dave Keuning. “Mr. Brightside” has reached number one in the charts of various countries. It was a number 10 hit on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Official UK Singles Chart. The song was also nominated for a Grammy in 2006 for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, but it lost to a live version of “This Love” by Maroon 5.

77. – NINE INCH NAILS – Closer

“Closer” (also known as Halo 9) is a song written by Trent Reznor and featured on the 1994 Nine Inch Nails album The Downward Spiral. In mid-1994, the song was released as the second single from the album. Most versions of the single are titled “Closer to God,” a rare example in music of a single’s title differing from the title of its A-Side. (“Closer to God” is also the title of an alternate version of “Closer” featured on the single.) This single is numbered as Halo Nine under Nine Inch Nails’ system of Halo numbers. In spite of the blunt and profane sexual content contained in the song’s lyrics, (the chorus infamously begins with the couplet “I wanna fuck you like an animal/ I wanna feel you from the inside”) “Closer” became Nine Inch Nails’ biggest hit up to that time, cemented Reznor’s status as an industrial rock superstar, and remains arguably his best-known song. Heavily censored versions of the song and its equally explicit and controversial music video (directed by Mark Romanek) received substantial airplay on radio and MTV. The video shows events in what appears to be a 19th century-style mad-scientist’s laboratory that deal with religion, sexuality, animal cruelty, politics, and terror. It was somewhat controversial due to its imagery, which included a nude woman with a crucifix mask, a monkey tied to a cross, a pig’s head spinning on some type of machine, a diagram of a vulva, and Reznor wearing an S&M mask while swinging in shackles. There are also frequent moments where Reznor, wearing leather pants, is floating through the air, suspended by invisible wires. There are also scenes of Reznor wearing aviator goggles being blown back by a wind machine. These images seem to be inspired by the art of Joel-Peter Witkin. The video is also very heavily inspired by the Brothers Quay film “The Street of Crocodiles”, with much of the video being a live-action recreation of the sets and scenes from that film.

76. – LL COOL J – Mama Said Knock You Out

“Mama Said Knock You Out” was a hit single by LL Cool J from his album of the same name. The song’s famous beginning is “Don’t call it a comeback / I’ve been here for years.” Before “Mama Said Knock You Out” was released, many people felt that LL Cool J’s career was waning; his grandmother, who still believed in his talent, told him to “knock out” all the critics. The song was produced by Marley Marl with help from Bobby “Bobcat” Ervin and LL himself and won Best Rap Solo Performance at the Grammy Awards of 1992. The song uses samples from James Brown’s “Funky Drummer,” the Chicago Gangsters’ “Gangster Boogie,” Sly & The Family Stone’s “Trip to Your Heart” and “Sing a Simple Song”, and Rock the Bells by LL Cool J. The music video features LL Cool J in a boxing ring, rapping into a microphone similar to the one an announcer would use in a boxing match. Frequently we see shots of him working out and scenes of a boxer being punched out.

75. – KANSAS – Carry On Wayward Son

“Carry On Wayward Son” is a hit progressive rock single recorded by Kansas and written by Kerry Livgren for their 1976 album Leftoverture. In 1977, the song peaked at #11 on the Billboard pop singles chart, becoming their first Top 40 hit. Because of its lyrics, the song is often misnamed as “Carry On My Wayward Son”. The 7″ single has been certified Gold by the RIAA. This song was selected among the best 500 rock songs by Rolling Stone. This song is 96^th on VH1’s 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs.

74. – FEIST – 1, 2, 3, 4

“1234″ is a song from Feist’s third studio album, The Reminder. It is Feist’s most successful single to date. The original song was written by Sally Seltmann, an Australian singer-songwriter who records under the name New Buffalo, and Feist added and rewrote parts of the lyrics. This song is as pop as it gets. Since its digital release, “1234″ peaked at #2 at the US Hot Digital Songs. The single has also reached #8 in the US Hot 100, #10 at the US Pop 100, and #34 at the US Modern Rock Tracks chart. The single’s unexpected success led to its release worldwide. In the UK it proved to become a huge hit, making it in the top 10 peaking at #8.

73. – AUDIOSLAVE – Cochise

“Cochise” is the first single by Audioslave for their debut album Audioslave. It was released in 2002. The single was released with a white and a black cover. The difference between the two versions besides the covers is that the black version only contains the title song, while the white version contains “We Got The Whip,” a live version of “Gasoline,” and the music video for “Cochise”. Tom Morello came across the intro riff by accident. He had a guitar on his lap and his delay pedal set to “slap-back” and, while writing notes for a song, he rapidly hit the strings with a pencil in his right hand. This produced a noise reminiscent of a helicopter. When Audioslave recorded this song, Morello did the same thing, with his Digitech Whammy set an octave lower, and using a flat hand to slap the strings. The amount of fireworks released during the filming of the music video caused nearby residents to report a possible terrorist attack. This video has also been censored in some places, due to the fact that it has a large amount of flashing lights, and could cause epileptic fits with some people. In the beginning of the video “PLAY LOUD” appears on screen. This video is available as a “director’s cut” on the DVD The Work of Director Mark Romanek and has new footage inserted. There is more emphasis on the strobe lighting and fireworks during the video. The song reached 29 in the UK chart and 69 in the US Billboard.

72. – DAMIAN MARLEY – Welcome To Jamrock

“Welcome to Jamrock” is the first single from Damian Marley’s album of the same name. Welcome to Jamrock covers issues such as crime, poverty and political corruption as part of the harsh reality of “Jamrock”, Marley’s personification of Jamaica, as opposed to the Jamaica advertised as a popular tourist destination. Marley laments Jamaica’s high crime rate and unceasing violence, demanding that those in charge do something about it. In this sense he carries on the legacy of his father before him, in inspiring Jamaicans to stand together. The song reached 13 on the UK chart and 55 in the US Billboard.

71. – PHARRELL ft JAY-Z – Frontin’

“Frontin’”, is a 2003 song by producer Pharrell. The title refers to putting up a facade (or false ‘front’), typically to impress peers. The song features rapper Jay-Z, is written by Pharrell and produced by The Neptunes. At the time he insisted the single was a one-off, and that he was purely a producer and not a rapper/singer in his own right. However, he has since released his own solo album, In My Mind. “Frontin’” was a big summer hit (the 34th biggest selling single of 2003 in the U.S. according to Billboard magazine), and was featured on the album The Neptunes Present… Clones, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 in August 2003. “Frontin’” was a #5 hit in the U.S. upon its June 2003 release and remains his biggest hit there to date. It also peaked at #1 in the U.S. R&B/Hip Hop and U.S. Rap charts. In the UK the single also charted inside the top 10, peaking at #6 in the UK official singles chart and spending 10 weeks within the top 75. It is Pharrell’s biggest hit worldwide as a solo artist (his biggest hit overall being Drop It Like It Hot with Snoop Dogg). The lead girls in the video are Lanisha Cole and Lauren London.

70. – KASABIAN – Club Foot

Kasabian’s first full release “Club Foot” was released on the 17 May 2004 in the UK. This song is dedicated to Czech student Jan Palach, who committed suicide in political protest by self-immolation. The video also references to the Soviet government’s intervention in Hungarian Revolution of 1956 in a transparency showing Hungarian text (Szabad Európa Rádió) which translates as “Free European Radiostation”. The song is often used as trailer music, and was used in the trailer and introduction to the video game Tony Hawk’s Project 8; it later reappeared on its soundtrack and as its intro music. It was also used in the introduction to Pro Evolution Soccer 5 and in the games Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition and Marc Eckō’s Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure. It was featured in the game SingStar Rocks!. “Club Foot” was also in the film Goal!, the snowboard video From With Love, Jekyl and Hyde and the trailers for the movies Green Street and Serenity. The song is used in the introduction to WRC: Rally Evolved, and the Season 3 finale of Numb3rs. Additionally, the song was featured as a music video on the first “Sampler” UMD disk provided in the value pack of the Sony PlayStation Portable system at its initial launch. This song was used twice on the BBC motoring programme Top Gear. It is featured in the Ashton Kutcher and Kevin Costner film The Guardian and Neil Marshall’s Doomsday. It is also used by Arsenal when they walk onto the pitch at the Emirates Stadium. More recently, the a remixed version of the song has been used as the entrance song of Aston Villa. It has also been used in the trailer for the movie District 13 starring David Belle.

69. – ALL AMERICAN REJECTS – Move Along

“Move Along” is the title track and second single taken from The All-American Rejects second studio album Move Along. The entire song is played at the beginning of The Hitcher, it is also played in the movies She’s the Man, (along with “Dirty Little Secret”), and Firehouse Dog. It is available as a downloadable song in the 2007 music video game series Rock Band, along with “Dirty Little Secret”, which was developed by Harmonix. Also, the UK CD single was released on February 27, 2006. According to Blender on their “The 100 Greatest Songs of 2005″, “Move Along” was rated #84.

The music video was directed by Marc Webb. It starts off with Tyson Ritter falling into an empty pool before the song starts. When the song begins he stands there singing while the background and his outfit changes over and over. Then it goes back to where he falls into the pool. People appear out of nowhere and carry him to a piano and the rest of the band. The quick-cut style of the video was inspired by Marlowe Gregorio, who posted his own version of the video on YouTube. Also, the drummer Chris Gaylor can be seen wearing a t-shirt for the crust punk band Filth and Tyson wearing a Our Lady of Guadalupe shirt. The video follows the general theme presented by the lyrics of the song, that of perseverance through difficulties. Most of the video is that of Tyson Ritter standing somewhat still while rapidly changing outfits give the appearance of different scenes. The first scene being Ritter as an white-collar worker being yelled at by his manager. The scenes (and his appearance) change, showing him to be a surgeon who has apparently been unsuccessful in saving a patient; eating supper alone at the dinner table, while the chair across the table has a place setting, but sits empty; placing an engagement ring on a girl’s finger, only to have her remove it and walk away; a family member of a victim of a heart attack; the driver of a car that has crashed into a street light; a football player that is on the losing end of a 58-7 beating; a young man suffering the harsh end of a angry father’s tirade. The song charted at #15 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and went top 10 on the Pop 100 Airplay chart.

68. – THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS – Let Forever Be

“Let Forever Be” is the second single from The Chemical Brothers released from their third album Surrender. It contains the vocals of Noel Gallagher of Oasis who also co-wrote the song. The song’s drum loop and crashing cymbal effects bear similarity to those of the Beatles’ “Tomorrow Never Knows”. B-side track “Studio K” samples from The Chemical Brothers’ own song “The Sunshine Underground”. The song appears in a deleted scene from EuroTrip, wherein the main characters are in a bar and see the twins drunkenly and erotically kissing each other. “Let Forever Be” was The Chemical Brothers’ fourth top-ten single in the UK, peaking at #9 in the UK Singles Chart. The song was also one of their biggest hits in the United States, peaking at #29 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. The video for the track was directed by Michel Gondry, and utilized ground-breaking video and film effects in its depiction of a young woman’s nightmares. The video, which drew much visual inspiration from Ray Davies’ 1975 Granada TV production “Starmaker”, received much media attention and became one of the most well-known videos from the band.

67. – LIVE – Overcome

“Overcome” is a song by alternative rock group Live, which was released as the second single from their 2001 album, V. The song became associated with the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, and proceeds from the sale of the single were donated to charities to benefit the victims of the attack. The song was not released as a commercially purchasable single in the United States. It failed to chart on Billboard’s Hot 100 Airplay chart, but peaked at #30 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. The song was featured in the final moments of the second season finale of the FX television series The Shield.

66. – CHRIS DAUGHTRY – It’s Not Over

“It’s Not Over” is the first official single from Daughtry’s first album, Daughtry. The song was used as a teaser to the second season fall finale of Prison Break. It was certified Platinum in April 2007. As of August 2007 it was in the top ten digital selling songs of the year. The single debuted fairly high on the Billboard Hot 100 at #65 in late November 2006, partly due to the song already reaching the top 40 on iTunes. It has since gone on to become a top 5 single for the band, peaking at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. It has also become a #1 single for the band on the Adult Top 40 chart and on the American Top 40 countdown. The song has so far sold over 2,000,000 copies in the United States, becoming the fourth highest-selling single from an Idol alum.

65. – BLOC PARTY – Flux

“Flux” is a song by Bloc Party which was released as a single on 12 November 2007. It was produced by Jacknife Lee, along with several other new songs, during the band’s week in the studio after their performances at the Carling Weekend: Reading and Leeds Festivals. The song uses mostly electronic instruments and features vocalist Kele Okereke’s voice manipulated through auto-tune. It was first performed live on 26 September 2007 at Covington’s Madison Theater. CD1 of the set was only released as a free CD through the 14 November 2007 issue of NME. The song peaked at number 8 in the UK Singles Chart as the band’s fourth UK Top 10 single. “Flux” is featured on the re-released version of Bloc Party’s second studio album A Weekend in the City and on the North American version of their third album Intimacy. A music video for the song was directed by director Ace Norton, who has previously directed videos for The Willows, Norah Jones and Death Cab for Cutie. The video was published on NME’s website on 17 October 2007. Like the Beastie Boys’ music video for “Intergalactic”, it pays homage to Japanese kaiju movies. It shows two giant silver robots falling in love while other monsters and robots destroy the city they are in. The band themselves do not appear in the video. The video was filmed over two days in Boston with American performance troupe Kaiju Big Battel. Some of the Kaiju (Japanese for ’strange beast’) characters in the video are the Call-Me-Kevin, Grudyin, Unibouzo, Vegetius, Giii the Space Pirate and Steam-Powered Tentacle Boulder.

64. – QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE – The Lost Art Of Keeping A Secret

“The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret” is a single taken from the album, Rated R by Queens of the Stone Age. The song was used in an episode of the HBO series Entourage when the porn stars show up at the critic’s (Rainn Wilson) hotel room.

63. – KINGS OF LEON – The Bucket

“The Bucket” is the first single taken from the Aha Shake Heartbreak album by the American rock band Kings of Leon. It is one of the band’s most successful singles, reaching number 16 in the UK Singles Chart (making it their most successful UK release at the time) and number 23 in the US Modern Rock chart. In Australia, the song was ranked #31 on Triple J’s Hottest 100 of 2004. The song is written about bassist Jared Followill, who was the youngest, dealing with the band’s fame at the age of 17. The song was written by Caleb Followill, Nathan Followill, Jared Followill and Matthew Followill.

62. – GRANDMASTER FLASH – White Lines

“White Lines (Don’t Don’t Do It)” is a song by Grandmaster Flash, released as a 12″ in 1983 on Sugar Hill Records. The song, which warns against the dangers of cocaine, addiction, and drug smuggling, is one of Melle Mel’s signature tracks. The instantly recognizable bassline is sampled from a performance of the Sugar Hill house band playing Liquid Liquid’s “Cavern”. When originally released, the record was credited to Grandmaster + Melle Mel. This was done to mislead the public into believing that Grandmaster Flash participated on the record, when in fact he played no part and had already left the Sugar Hill Records label the previous year. Originally, the song was intended to be an ironic celebration of a cocaine-fueled party lifestyle, but it was abridged with the “don’t do it” message as an anti-cocaine song as a concession to commercial considerations. The lyric “A businessman is caught with 24 kilos. He’s out on bail and out of jail and that’s the way it goes” refers to car manufacturer John DeLorean, who in 1982 became involved in a scheme to save his company from bankruptcy using drug money. “White Lines” peaked at #47 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart in 1983. The song fared better in the United Kingdom, reaching number 7 on the UK Singles Chart in July 1984, spending 17 consecutive weeks in the top-40. It was the 13th best-selling single of 1984 in the UK, selling more than a number of number one hits that year. An unofficial music video was directed by New York University film student Spike Lee and starred Laurence Fishburne. In 1988, the song was used as part of an anti-heroin public information film in the United Kingdom. On July 8, 2009, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson did a lip-sync version of the Duran Duran cover featuring puppets on backing vocals.

61. – SANTANA – Maria Maria

“Maria Maria” is a song by Santana featuring The Product G&B. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed there for ten weeks on April 8, 2000 and also reached Number 6 in the UK chart. At the 2000 Grammy Awards, the song won the Grammy for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. In 2008, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Hot 100 chart, Billboard compiled its list of the top 100 songs since the inception of the chart in various categories. “Maria Maria” came in at #96 on the list of Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Songs, and #2 on the list of Top Billboard Hot 100 Latin Songs of All Time.

60. – GUNS N ROSES – Welcome To The Jungle

“Welcome to the Jungle” is a song by American hard rock band Guns N’ Roses, featured on their 1987 debut studio album, Appetite for Destruction. It was released as the band’s second single on October 3, 1987 and reached number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number sixty-seven on the UK Singles Chart. In the United Kingdom, “Welcome to the Jungle” was backed with a live cover of AC/DC’s “Whole Lotta Rosie”, while in the United States the B-side was “Mr. Brownstone” from Appetite for Destruction. The 12″ vinyl and 12″ picture disc editions of the single also featured “Whole Lotta Rosie”, in addition to live versions of “It’s So Easy” and “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door”. In 2009 it was named the greatest hard rock song of all time by VH1. In spite of the early morning airtime, the song’s music video caught viewers’ attention and quickly became MTV’s most requested video. The video in question begins with a shot of Axl Rose disembarking a bus in New York and a drug dealer (Izzy) is seen trying to sell his merchandise while Axl rejects it. Slash can be seen briefly, sitting against a wall and drinking from a clear glass bottle in a brown paper bag. As Axl stops to watch a television through a store window, clips of the band playing live can be seen. By the end of the video Axl has transformed into a city punk, wearing the appropriate clothing, after going through a process similar to the Ludovico technique.

59. – BLINK 182 – Miss You

“I Miss You” is the second single from Blink-182’s 2003 self-titled album. It was released in February 2004. In the music video, the band plays at a haunted mansion. The video was also featured on their Greatest Hits album. The song reached #1 on the Billboard Modern Rock chart and peaked at #42 on the Billboard Hot 100. Although “All The Small Things” had more radio airplay, “I Miss You” sold more singles, having been certified platinum after selling over 1,000,000 copies (RIAA platinum single certification). Also, It was #3 in Argentina with a run of fifteen weeks, and #8 in the United Kingdom. This song is frequently covered by Tom DeLonge’s band Angels & Airwaves. The song features references to the 1993 cult film The Nightmare Before Christmas, with “We can live like Jack and Sally” and “We’ll have Halloween on Christmas”. Travis Barker says that the line was directed towards his then girlfriend, Shanna Moakler. The two would have a Nightmare Before Christmas themed wedding on October 30, 2004. The video directed by Jonas Åkerlund was shot in a house, and the band members were made to wear make-up to give a ghostly feel as well as 1920’s outfits. It also features Mark Hoppus playing a stand up bass, inspired by Phil Thornalley of The Cure’s use of one in the video for the band’s 1983 single “The Lovecats”.

58. – THE TWILIGHT SINGERS – Bonnie Brae

Bonnie Brae featured in the TV show “Rescue Me” and is part of the soundtrack. Also Bonnie Brae can be found The Twilight Singers fourth album, Pwder Burns which Denis Leary said “it’s it “one of the best rock albums I’ve heard in 10 years”.

57. – JANES ADDICTION – Superhero

Can be found on Janes Addiction’s 2003 album Strays and this song is the main theme tune for the TV show Entourage.

56. – JOHNNY CASH – God’s Gonna Cut You Down

Johnny Cash recorded a version of “God’s Gonna Cut You Down” on American V: A Hundred Highways in 2003, with an arrangement quite different from most known gospel versions of the song. The song is presented with a rhythmic stomp-clap downbeat, grim and pessimistic in its portrayal of a vengeful and uncompromising God, serving as a warning to sinners. A music video, directed by Tony Kaye, was made for this version in late 2006. It featured a number of celebrities, including Iggy Pop, Kanye West, Chris Martin, Kris Kristofferson, Patti Smith, Terrence Howard, Flea, Q-Tip, Adam Levine, Chris Rock, Justin Timberlake, Kate Moss, Sir Peter Blake, Sheryl Crow, Dennis Hopper, Woody Harrelson, Amy Lee, Scott Weiland, the Dixie Chicks, Mick Jones, Sharon Stone, Bono, Shelby Lynne, Anthony Kiedis, Travis Barker, Lisa Marie Presley, Kid Rock, Jay-Z, Keith Richards, Billy Gibbons, Corinne Bailey Rae, Johnny Depp, Graham Nash, Brian Wilson, Rick Rubin, Whoopi Goldberg, Owen Wilson and Jerry Lee Lewis. It also briefly features archive footage of Cash himself. The video was shot entirely in black and white. Since its release, both the song and video have seen moderate airplay. The Johnny Cash recording was played in The Most Hated Family in America. It has also been used as bumper music for the Alex Jones radio show. It was also heard on promotional commercials for the hit CW series Supernatural. It was also used in the trailer for the 2006 documentary Deliver Us from Evil. UFC Fighters Spencer Fisher and Jason Lambert have used it for their entrance music, as has professional wrestlers Tyson Dux and Brodie Lee. The single hit number one on the Christian charts after being released by Rick Hendrix and his positive music association. Musician Sean Michel covered the song during his audition on Season 6 of American Idol. Matchbox Twenty also used the song before playing “How Far We’ve Come” on their “Exile in America” tour. EastEnders used the recording in a 2008 promotional video for Max Branning’s Judgement Day. The song was also played over the opening sequence and closing credits of David Ridgen’s documentary Mississippi Cold Case made for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation . The song itself only reached 77 in the UK Chart.

55. – NIRVANA – Lithium

“Lithium” is a song by the American grunge band Nirvana, written by frontman Kurt Cobain. The song features shifts in dynamics from quiet to loud sections and tells the story of a man who finds religion as a last resort after the death of his girlfriend. “Lithium” was released as the third single from the band’s second album Nevermind (1991) in July 1992, and it peaked at number 64 in the United States. The music video, directed by Kevin Kerslake, consisted of a live footage video montage. A live version of this song and Smells Like Teen Spirit will appear side-by-side on Guitar Hero 5. “Lithium” was released as a single in July 1992. The packaging included full lyrics for all the songs on Nevermind. In the United States, the single charted at number 64 on the Billboard Hot 100 single chart. “Lithium” peaked at number 16 and 25 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock and Modern Rock Tracks airplay charts, respectively.^[12] The song was tied at number 20 with singles by Ministry, Lisa Stansfield, and Utah Saints in the 1992 Village Voice Pazz & Jop critics’ poll and also reached No 11 in the UK Chart. The music video for “Lithium” was the second Nirvana video directed by Kevin Kerslake. Cobain originally wanted the video to feature an animated story about a girl named Prego who discovers some eggs that hatch. When Cobain and Kerslake discovered the animation would take four months to produce, they instead created a film collage of Nirvana performing in concert. Among the concert footage used was a 1991 Halloween performance and scenes from the film 1991: The Year Punk Broke (1992). Nirvana biographer Michael Azerrad commented, “Although [the video] was enlivened by Kerslake’s neat trick of using more violent footage during the quiet parts of the song and vice versa, it was something of a disappointment from a band and a song that promised so much.”

54. – RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS – Under The Bridge

“Under the Bridge” is a song by the American alternative rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on March 10, 1992 as the second single from the group’s fifth studio album Blood Sugar Sex Magik. Vocalist Anthony Kiedis wrote the lyrics to express a feeling of loneliness and despondency and to reflect on narcotics and their impact on his life. Kiedis initially did not feel “Under the Bridge” would fit into the Chili Peppers’ repertoire and was reluctant to show it to his band mates until producer Rick Rubin implored him to do so. The rest of the band was receptive to the lyrics and wrote the music. The song became a critical and commercial success, peaking at number two on the Billboard Hot 100platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. The highest position in the UK Chart was No 13. The single’s success was widened with the release of its accompanying video, which was frequently played on music television channels. It won the “Viewer’s Choice Award” and “Breakthrough Video” at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards. “Under the Bridge” allowed the Red Hot Chili Peppers to enter the mainstream. David Fricke of Rolling Stone said the song “unexpectedly drop-kicked the band into the Top 10″, while Philip Booth of The Tampa TribuneIts success led in part to the departure of guitarist John Frusciante, who preferred the band to remain underground. The song has become an inspiration to other artists, and remains a seminal component of the alternative rock movement of the early- and mid-1990s. The music video for “Under the Bridge” was directed by Gus Van Sant, who photographed the band during their stay at The Mansion and provided the art direction for Blood Sugar Sex Magik. Van Sant knew Flea due to the bassist’s role in his 1991 film My Own Private Idaho. The members of the band respected Van Sant both as a person and an artist and were elated when he agreed to direct the video for “Under the Bridge”. Flea credits the video as “the thing that really made us break through the mainstream of American and worldwide pop culture”. and later certified commented that it was a “pretty, undulating, [and] by-now omnipresent single.”

53. – JOHN CAFFERTY – Hearts On Fire

The song that was in Rocky IV that ended up in legend & used in parodies ever since.

52. – MASTA ACE – Unfriendly Game

The song “Unfriendly Game” was used in the TV series The Wire and is included on one of its soundtracks. It can be found in the album Disposable Arts, which is the fourth album and the second solo album by American emcee Masta Ace, his first album since 1995’s Sittin’ On Chrome. The concept follows a young Brooklyn man’s release from prison, his return home, and his life at “The Institute of Disposable Arts”, a school in which Ace enrolls after realizing how bad the situation in Brooklyn is. The album was very well received by critics and fans, though it sold poorly compared to Masta Ace’s releases in the 1990s.

51. – SYSTEM F – Out Of The Blue

Ferry Corsten, also known under the alias System F, (born December 4, 1973 in Rotterdam, Netherlands) is a producer of trance music, in addition to being a DJ and remixer. He is currently ranked number 6 in a poll by British publication DJ Magazine. He also hosts his own weekly radio show, Corsten’s Countdown. He routinely plays at events all over the world with crowds in excess of tens of thousands. “Out of The Blue” was under the alias System F and became a big hit around 1999.

50. – PAUL ENGEMANN – Push It To The Limit

A song performed by Paul Engemann and was composed by Italian record producer Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte. It appeared on the soundtrack for the 1983 motion picture Scarface. This song appeared in the movie in the montage sequence that demonstrated Tony Montana’s rise in wealth and position after he killed Frank Lopez (Robert Loggia) and took over as the head cocaine trafficker in Miami. In the film, the song appeared in a slightly longer version that has yet to be released, featuring a guitar solo during the instrumental break. However, a full extended version was released on an 12-inch single LP, with the guitar solo on it, plus a new instrumental break at the beginning, and throughout that version of the song. The song is also featured on the hit game Grand Theft Auto III, featured on the OST CD For Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, was sampled on “Push It” by Rick Ross and “Push it to the Limit” by Necro. It was also featured in the South Park episode “Up the Down Steroid”.

49. – 3 DOORS DOWN – Here Without You

Here Without You is the third single from the album Away from the Sun by 3 Doors Down. It peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending November 8, 2003. Only their songs “Kryptonite” and “When I’m Gone” reached higher positions on the chart. It has since been certified Platinum in the United States and Australia. It was featured in the film Goal! 2: Living the Dream…. Brad Arnold, in an interview with Songfacts, states that the main inspiration for this song was his now ex-wife. The song is about being away from someone and missing them, and it’s not about how long you’ve gone, it’s about the lonliness that comes with missing someone. It’s also about a state of peace that comes with dreaming of the missed loved one. The lines “And when the last one falls, when it’s all said and done..” mean that even when the world falls apart, the love never dies.

48. – DMX – Party Up

“Party Up (Up In Here) is a song by rapper DMX. It is one of DMX’s best known songs and is from his best selling album …And Then There Was X, released in 1999. The track is his highest-charting song to date, reaching #27 on the Billboard Hot 100. The track is featured on the introduction of Dave Chappelle’s “Killing Them Softly” stand-up routine, and on the computer game Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004. It is featured on the video game All-Star Baseball 2004 as one of the batter walk-ups. There are three versions of the song: an explicit/album version; a censored album version, and a radio/video edit version. The censored version is also used in the video game Def Jam Vendetta, as both menu music and an instrumental during gameplay. The song takes shots at rapper Kurupt, for dissing him on “Callin Out Names” over DMX having an affair with Foxy Brown, Kurupt’s former fiance. After the Los Angeles Lakers won the NBA championship in 2000, in the locker room, they were singing the song.

47. – BLUR – Song 2

Damon Albarn stated at the song’s debut live performance at the RDS in Dublin in June 1996 that “This one’s called ‘Song 2′, ‘cos we haven’t got a name for it yet”. The working title ended up sticking. It was said that the song was about Pavement’s Bob Nastanovich, known for his colourful and energetic stage presence. In keeping with the title of the song, it was the second track on the album, was the second single from the album to be released, is exactly two minutes and two seconds long, and is also the second track on their compilation Blur: The Best of. It reached #2 in the UK singles chart. The music video for this song was directed by Sophie Muller, and it features the band playing in a small, secluded room with loud speakers behind them. During the choruses, the reverb from the speakers sends the band members crashing against the walls and ground. This video bears striking resemblances to Blur’s video for “Popscene”.

46. – MGMT – Time To Pretend

The debut single (in the UK) from MGMT’s album Oracular Spectacular. The single was released as a 7″ and CD featuring the b-sides “Weekend Wars” (BBC Radio 1 Session) and “Metatonia,” respectively^[3]. In early 2009, the song was re-released in the UK. The music video contains multiple references to Alejandro Jodorowsky’s 1973 film The Holy Mountain^{[citation needed]}. The video was directed by Ray Tintori. Tiscali Music gave the video a rating of 10 out of 10. It reached No 35 in the UK Chart.

45. – BEASTIE BOYS – Intergalactic

A single by the Beastie Boys from their album Hello Nasty. It was released on July 14, 1998. The song’s music incorporates a portion of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in C-sharp minor. The single hit #28 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts and was the band’s third Top 40 single, and reached #5 on the UK Singles Chart which remains the bands’ biggest hit in that country. The song received a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group in 1999.
The “Intergalactic” video featured a giant robot causing destruction by fighting a giant octopus-headed creature in a city while popping, a parody of Japanese Kaiju films (specifically the series finale of Johnny Sokko and his Flying Robot). Various scenes are filmed in the Shibuya and Shinjuku train stations in Tokyo, Japan in which the band wears the bright uniforms of (Koji) Japanese street construction workers. The video won the award for “Best Hip Hop Video” at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards. It was directed by MCA, under the pseudonym of Nathanial Hornblower. The music video also somewhat parodies Japanese sentai shows, which are the basis for Power Rangers. In some versions of the video, the introduction is a sample of “Le Sacre du Printemps” by Igor Stravinsky. The song reached No 5 in the UK Chart and 28 in the US Billboard Hot 100.

44. – BEN E KING – Stand By Me

Originally performed by Ben E. King and written by Ben E. King, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. According to the documentary History of Rock ‘n’ Roll, King had no intention of recording the song himself when he wrote it.^[1] King had written the song for The Drifters, who passed on the chance to record it. It was not until after the “Spanish Harlem” recording session that he had some studio time left over. The session’s producers, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, asked if he had any more songs and King played “Stand by Me” on the piano for them. They liked it and called all the studio musicians back in to record it. If King hadn’t finished recording his other songs early, “Stand by Me” might never have been recorded. The song was not released on an album until it had been out as a single for two years. After those two years the song appeared as track seven on King’s Don’t Play That Song. King’s version went to number one on the R&B charts,^[2]. and was a Top Ten hit on the U.S. charts twice—in its original release in 1961, when it peaked at #4, and a 1986 rerelease coinciding with its use as the theme song for the movie of the same name following its appearance in the film, when it peaked at #9, and also in an advertisement for Levi Jeans. It also reached #1 on the UK Singles Chart in 1987 after its re-release, mostly due to the jeans spot, originally reaching #27 on its first release. “Stand by Me” was ranked number 121 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 1999, BMI named it as the fourth most-performed song of the 20th century, with about 7 million performances.

43. – ELBOW – One Day Like This

The second single from Elbow’s fourth album The Seldom Seen Kid, released on 2 June 2008^[1] on two 7″ vinyl records and one CD single. “One Day Like This” debuted at #39 in the UK Singles Chart on 8 June 2008, marking Elbow’s seventh UK Top 40 single. After 14 weeks, the single finally peaked at #35 on 14 September 2008. Although it peaked considerably lower than its predecessor “Grounds for Divorce” (which peaked at #19), the band’s increasing popularity in the UK after winning their 2009 BRIT Award for Best British band meant that “One Day Like This” has spent more weeks in the UK Top 100 that any of Elbow’s other singles, spending 35 weeks there; unlike its predecessor, which spent 11 weeks in the UK Top 100. The song peaked at #35 again on 22 February 2009 and was still on the charts at #95 as of 21 June 2009. On 21 May 2009, the song won the Ivor Novello award for Best Song. “One Day Like This” was used on Sky UK’s Earth Day 2009 advert, as well as TV spots for the 2009 Robert Downey Jr./Jamie Foxx film The Soloist and used during “the best bits” for Big Brother 9 in the UK. The song was also used in a montage scene from the fourth episode of the 2008 series Hollyoaks Later. In July 2009, it was featured in “Children of Earth: Day Three”, an episode from the third season of the UK series Torchwood.

42. – BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN – Streets Of Philadelphia

An Academy Award and Grammy-winning song written and performed by American rock musician Bruce Springsteen for the 1993 film Philadelphia. Released in 1994, the song was a hit in many countries, particularly in France, Germany, Ireland and Norway where it topped the singles charts. The music video for the song, directed by Jonathan Demme and his nephew Ted Demme, begins by showing Springsteen walking along desolate city streets, followed by a bustling park and schoolyard, interspersed with footage from the film. After a quick shot of Rittenhouse Square, it ends with Springsteen walking along the Delaware River, with the Benjamin Franklin Bridge in the background. Tom Hanks is also visible as the lead character he plays in the film, looking on as Bruce begins the final verse. The vocal track for the video was re-recorded live during the shooting, using a hidden microphone, to a prerecorded instrumental track. This was a technique, appropriate for emotionally intense songs for which conventional video lip-syncing would seem especially false, that John Mellencamp pioneered in his 1985 “Rain on the Scarecrow” video, and that Springsteen himself had used on his 1987 “Brilliant Disguise” video. Springsteen would also go on to use the same technique in his “Lonesome Day” video in 2002. The song reached No 2 in the UK Chart and No 9 in the US Billboard.

41. – Q LAZZURUS – Goodbye Horses

“Goodbye Horses” is a 1988 song sung by Q Lazzarus. It was written, produced, and performed by William Garvey (who passed away August 3rd, 2009 from a stroke). There are three versions of the song. They clock in at 3:12, 4:20, and the extended version at 6:27. The song is notably featured in the film The Silence of the Lambs during the scene in which serial killer “Buffalo Bill” applies make-up and dances in front of a video camera with his penis tucked between his legs as to give the appearance of a female mons. Originally in the film, Clarice Starling discussed both sheep and horses during the ranch slaughter ordeal; the script was shortened to only include the lambs, but the song remained. The song is not featured on the Silence of the Lambs soundtrack, although it appears on the soundtrack of the 1988 film Married to the Mob, also directed by Jonathan Demme. In 1991, Q Lazzarus released an extended version of Goodbye Horses to capitalize on the success of Silence of the Lambs (and the lack of the song on the motion picture soundtrack). There have been rumors spread around indicating that there is a rare version of the song where the lyrics are changed to ” Goodbye horses, I’m flying the fuck over you.” The original artists have yet to confirm nor deny this, so it is still unknown.

40. – BLACK LAB – This Night

The track “This Night” was featured on the promotional advertisement for the sixth series of The Shield; tracks from this album were also featured in CBS’s Numb3rs, ABC’s 6 Degrees and the films The Benchwarmers and Lovewrecked.

39. – THE CLASH – Train In Vain

A song from the album London Calling (1979) by the British punk rock band The Clash. The song was not originally listed on the album’s track listing, appearing as a secret track at the end of the album. This was unintentional however, as the reason for it was that the track was added to the record at the last minute, when the sleeve was already in production. It was the first Clash song to crack the United States Top 30 charts and in 2004, the song was ranked number 292 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 greatest songs of all time. In the U.S., the song’s title is expanded to “Train in Vain (Stand By Me)”; the words ’stand by me’ dominate the chorus. It was titled “Train in Vain” in part to avoid confusion with Ben E. King’s signature song “Stand By Me”.

38. – SURVIVOR – Eye Of The Tiger

A song performed by the American rock band Survivor from the album Eye of the Tiger, released in 1982. It was written at the request of Sylvester Stallone for the film Rocky III. The original mix of the song, heard in the film, features tiger growls, though these are omitted on the album and single versions. “Eye of the Tiger” topped the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for six weeks beginning July 24, 1982^. The single was number two on the Billboard Top Pop Singles of 1982 year-end chart and number one on the Cash Box Top 100 Pop Singles year-end chart. “Eye of the Tiger” also reached number one in the UK, Irish and Australian charts. The single was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America in 1982, representing 2,000,000 records sold in the U.S. Survivor won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for “Eye of the Tiger”. The song received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song and was voted “Favorite Song” by the People’s Choice Awards (in a tie with “Truly” by Lionel Richie). The song was listed at #21 on Billboard’s All Time Top 10⁰ and was named the 63^rd best hard rock song of all time by VH1.

37. – JAY-Z/LINKIN PARK – Numb/Encore

A song by the nu metal band Linkin Park and rapper Jay-Z from their 2004 mash-up album Collision Course. It was the most successful single from the album, going on to reach #20 on the Billboard Hot 100 on February 1, 2005. It also reached No 14 in the UK Chart. A music video directed by Kimo Proudfoot was made featuring a mix of their performance of the song at The Roxy and behind the scenes footage which was in black and white. The performance and most of the scenes can be found on the Collision Course DVD, however the music video in its entirety is not available on the DVD itself.

36. – M.I.A – Paper Planes

An alternative hip hop dance song written and produced by M.I.A., Diplo, and Switch for M.I.A.’s second studio album, Kala (2007). Its backing track is a sample from the 1982 song “Straight to Hell” by The Clash, while the chorus is based on that of the 1992 Wreckx-n-Effect song “Rump Shaker”. It was released as the album’s third single in early 2008, but did not begin to achieve commercial success until June 2008, after appearing in a high profile film trailer and TV spot for the film Pineapple Express. The song is also featured in the film Slumdog Millionaire (albeit in a different key from the album version), as well as its soundtrack. The song reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100, and was sampled in rapper T.I.’s and Jay-Z’s collaborative single “Swagga Like Us”, which reached #5 on the Hot 100. On 3 December 2008, the song was nominated for the Record of the Year at the 51st Grammy Awards. In August 2008, Sri Lankan rapper DeLon circulated a viral YouTube video in which he rapped over “Paper Planes” and accused M.I.A. of “supporting terrorism” by using images of the tiger and discussing violence in her lyrics, and showing graphic images of violence connected to the Tamil Tigers. M.I.A responded, stating that her music is the voice of a civilian refugee and that she is not willing to discuss it with someone that is looking for self-promotion. DeLon is Sinhalese (the ethnic majority in Sri Lanka), while MIA is a member of the Tamil minority. The music video for the song was directed by Bernard Gourley. It was made available on MTV’s website two days prior to its premiere on TRL on 17 December 2007. The video was shot in M.I.A.’s home neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York. It was originally planned to be shot in a factory on the border of Ecuador, but the location changed to accommodate M.I.A.’s time constraints while touring in the U.S.

35. – YEAH YEAH YEAHS – Gold Lion

The first single by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs from their second album, Show Your Bones. Distinct in the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ discography, it features acoustic guitar and a more slowed-down pace in contrast to former works like “Bang!” and “Date with the Night.” It was released on March 21, 2006, and became the band’s second major hit after 2004’s “Maps.” “Gold Lion” was named after the two Gold Lion awards the Adidas commercial Hello Tomorrow had won at the 2005 Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. Karen O had contributed vocals to ad’s song composed by Sam “Squeak E. Clean” Spiegel, brother of Karen’s then-boyfriend Spike Jonze who had directed the ad. “Gold Lion” was featured in the 2006 edition of the NME Essential Bands compilation album. It was also featured in a 2007 advertisement spot for Yves Saint Laurent’s “Elle” perfume. The ad, directed by Michael Haussman, features Canadian supermodel Coco Rocha. Additionally, the song was featured in the Grey’s Anatomy episode 17 Seconds. It has been noted by Leah Greenblatt that “Gold Lion” sounds startlingly similar to “No New Tale To Tell” from 1980s alternative band Love and Rockets. The music video directed by Patrick Daughters features the band playing in the Nevada desert at sunset and eventually night.

34. – AC/DC – Back In Black

A song by AC/DC, appearing as the first track on side two of their 1980 album, Back in Black. Known for its opening guitar riff, the song was AC/DC’s tribute to their former singer Bon Scott. It peaked in the U.S. at #37 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1981 and was #51 on Billboard’s Top Tracks chart, which debuted in March 1981. “Back in Black” received the RIAA’s Master Ringtone Sales Award (Gold and Platinum) in 2006 and reached 2x Platinum status in 2007. The song was ranked #4 by VH1 on their list of the 40 Greatest Metal Songs, and in 2009, it was named the second greatest hard rock song of all time by VH1.^[2] It was also ranked #187 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The same magazine has also ranked “Back in Black” number 29 on “The 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time”.

33. – TOTO – Hold The Line

A late 1978/early-1979 hit single by the American rock group Toto. The song was the band’s very first single, and was featured on their debut eponymous album. It was also a #5 success single in the US during the winter of 1978–79. The song was featured on the 2004 game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on the fictional classic rock radio station K-DST, and was included in the 2006 Adam Sandler comedy Click.

32. – QUEEN – Bohemian Rapshody

A song by the British rock band Queen. It was written by Freddie Mercury for the band’s 1975 album A Night at the Opera. “Bohemian Rhapsody” is in the style of a stream-of-consciousness nightmare that has unusual song structure, more akin to a classical rhapsody than popular music. The song has no chorus, instead consisting of seemingly disjointed sections including operatic segments, an a cappella passage, and a heavy rock solo. When it was released as a single, “Bohemian Rhapsody” became an unlikely commercial success, staying at the top of the UK Singles Chart for nine weeks. It reached number one again in 1991, after Freddie Mercury’s death, achieving total sales of 2,176,000 and becoming the UK’s third best selling single of all time—beaten only by Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” and Elton John’s “Candle In The Wind 1997″. The single was accompanied by a promotional video; considered groundbreaking, it helped establish the visual language of the modern music video. Although critical reaction was initially mixed, especially in America, “Bohemian Rhapsody” is often considered to be Queen’s magnum opus and one of their all-time greatest songs. In 2004 Rolling Stone magazine ranked “Bohemian Rhapsody” at number 163 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

31. – RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE – Renegades Of Funk

In 2000, Rage Against the Machine recorded the song for their cover album Renegades. They played it live for the first time at their reunion show at Coachella 2007. The music video directed by Steven Murashige was a montage of film stocked footage clips, as the band had broken up when the video was released. The montage consists mostly of rap, funk and hip-hop music and events of the Civil Rights movements, interspersed with live footage of the Los Angeles Phantom Street Artist Joey Krebs spray painting his infamous Outline Silhouettes of Figures mixed with media stills of individuals the song implies are renegades.

30. – R.E.M – Losing My Religion

A song by the American alternative rock band R.E.M. The song was released as the first single from the group’s 1991 album Out of Time. Based around a mandolin riff, “Losing My Religion” was an unlikely hit for the group, garnering heavy airplay on radio as well as on MTV due to its critically-acclaimed music video. The song became R.E.M.’s highest-charting hit in the United States, reaching number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and expanding the group’s popularity beyond its original fanbase. It was nominated for several Grammy Awards, and won two for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and Best Short Form Music Video. The music video for “Losing My Religion” was directed by Tarsem Singh. As opposed to previous R.E.M. videos, Michael Stipe agreed to lip sync the lyrics. The video originated as a combination of ideas envisioned by Stipe and Singh. Stipe wanted the promo to be a straightforward performance video, akin to Sinéad O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares 2 U”. Singh wanted to create a video in the style of a certain type of Indian filmaking, where eveything would be “melodramatic and very dreamlike”, according to Stipe.

29. – LUPE FIASCO – Superstar

A song performed by rapper Lupe Fiasco featuring Matthew Santos. It is the first single off his 2007 album Lupe Fiasco’s The Cool. iTunes released “Superstar” on September 25, 2007 along with a radio version of “Dumb It Down.” On November 5, 2007 the official video was released and it was directed by Hype Williams. It premiered on BET’s 106 & Park on November 23 and on February 19 it moved up to the number one spot on the countdown. As of December 31, it appeared at number 84 on BET’s Notarized: Top 100 Videos of 2007 countdown. It has become his highest charting single to date, at #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 & No 4 in the UK Chart. The video depicts a Mercedes-Benz S-Class stopping at the red carpet. Two girls leave the car. Director Hype Williams manages to slip in two characters from Lupe Fiasco’s The Cool. The Cool with his characterizing skeleton hand and The Streets with her dollar signs in her eyes. The Video itself has been nominated for a MTV’s VMA for Best Hip Hop Video.

28. – LENNY KRAVITZ – Are You Gonna Go My Way

The first single to be released by Lenny Kravitz from the album of the same name. It was released in March 1993. It was written by Lenny Kravitz and Craig Ross. The single has been covered by numerous artists, such as Metallica, in a medley for “MTV Hits” at the 2003 MTV Music Video Awards, Tom Jones and Robbie Williams on Jones’ 1999 album Reload and Melanie Brown in her solo section, on the Spice Girls Reunion Tour. Serbian hard rock band Cactus Jack recorded a version on their live cover album DisCover in 2002. A remixed version is played as the opening theme song in Gran Turismo 3. The song is featured in “Guitar Hero: World Tour”, it is available as downloadable content for the Rock Band series, and it is a playable song in Guitar Hero: On Tour Decades It ranked #78 on VH1’s 100 Greatest Songs of the 90s.

27. – PUBLIC ENEMY – He Got Game

Theme tune for the movie of the same name directed by Spike Lee.

26. – PRINCE – Purple Rain

A power ballad by Prince and the The Revolution. It was the title track from the 1984 album of the same name, which in turn was the soundtrack album for the 1984 film of the same name, and was released as the third single from that album. The song is an emotional combination of rock and roll, pop and gospel music. It reached #2 in the U.S., and is widely considered as one of Prince’s signature songs. The song was recorded live at the Minneapolis club First Avenue in 1983. The performance was the live debut of Wendy Melvoin, and also netted the final three songs of the Purple Rain album, although the songs would undergo studio overdubs later. “Purple Rain”’s original lyrics contained an extra verse about money, which was edited out, as it diluted the emotional impact of the song.

25. – NOTORIOUS B.I.G – Juicy

A song by hip hop artist The Notorious B.I.G. and his solo debut single from his 1994 debut album Ready to Die. It was produced by Bad Boy Records producers Poke and Sean “Puffy” Combs. Its melody is sampled from Mtume’s “Juicy Fruit”, and has an alternative chorus sung by R&B girl group Total. The song is considered by many to be among the greatest hip-hop songs of all-time. The song is a “rags-to-riches chronicle” detailing his early years in poverty, his initial dreams of becoming a rap artist and early influences, his time in drugs and crime, and his eventual success in the music business. He talks about the “one room shack” that he grew up in, which is countered by his mother in the documentary Biggie & Tupac. The song was featured in the biographical film Notorious.

24. – FLIO & PERI – Anthem

Released in 2007 and their biggest tune to date.

23. – THE STONE ROSES – I Wanna Be Adored

A song by the British alternative rock group The Stone Roses. It was released as the third single from the band’s debut album The Stone Roses in the UK, US, Germany, Japan and Canada. The US edition was released at the same time as “Fools Gold” in 1989 and charted at number 18 on the Billboard Modern Rock chart in 1990. “I Wanna Be Adored” was the atmospheric opener to The Stone Roses self-titled debut. The song is propelled by Mani’s recognisable bass line, John Squire’s droning guitars and Ian Brown’s hushed ominous vocals, repeating only a few lines of lyrics throughout the entire song.

22. – BON JOVI – Wanted Dead Or Alive

A song from Bon Jovi’s 1986 album Slippery When Wet. The song was written by Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora and was released in 1987 as the album’s third single. The song peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, making it the third single from the album to reach the Top 10 of the Hot 100. Slippery When Wet was the first hard rock album ever to have 3 top 10 hits on it. The video for the song is black and white and features footage from the band’s massive 1986-1987 world tour, including shots from Chicago’s UIC Pavilion, Rochester, Minnesota’s Mayo Civic Center, and other venues. The video strongly captures the grueling life-on-the-road feeling, with several shots of the exhausted band members on their mammoth 1986-87 Slippery When Wet World Tour.

21. – THE PRODIGY – Firestarter

the tenth single released by the English band the Prodigy, released on 18 March 1996. It was the first single from the album The Fat of the Land. It was also the group’s first number-one single on the UK Singles Chart, staying on top for three weeks. It was The Prodigy’s first big national and international hit, also reaching number one in Finland and Norway. It featured Flint’s punky vocals which showcased him as the group’s frontman. The title and lyrics were subject of controversy in the UK because of their violent nature. The music video further boosted these controversies. The songwriting credits—among Liam Howlett and Keith Flint—include Kim Deal of alt-rock group The Breeders. The looped wah-wah guitar riff in “Firestarter” was sampled from The Breeders’ track “S.O.S.” from the album Last Splash. Because of the use of a sample from a 1984 single “Close (To the Edit)” songwriting credits also list Art of Noise’s then-members: Anne Dudley, Trevor Horn, J.J. Jeczalik, Gary Langan and Paul Morley. The “Empirion Mix,” which does not include these samples, is credited solely to Howlett and Flint. The music video was directed by Walter Stern and was filmed in an abandoned London Underground tunnel at Aldwych. Keith Flint’s appearance and the video’s stark black and white also instigated controversies about being too scary for children watching it. Some television channels even refused to show the video until after the watershed.

20. – COMMON – I Used To Love H.E.R

A hip hop song by the Chicago-born rapper Common. Released on the 1994 album Resurrection, “I Used to Love H.E.R.” has since become one of Common’s best known songs. Produced by No I.D., its jazzy beat samples “The Changing World” by George Benson. A video directed by Chris Halliburton was made for this song. The song is also found on Common’s greatest hits album, Thisisme Then. The song uses an extended metaphor, using a woman to represent hip hop music. The acronym H.E.R. stands for “Hip Hop in its Essence is Real.” It is also believed that it means Hearing Every Rhyme, therefore possibly stating “I Used to Love Hearing Every Rhyme.” The song criticizes the direction that hip hop music was taking during the mid-1990s. It specifically refers to the fall of conscious and Afrocentric rap; as well as the rising popularity of West Coast hip hop and G-funk. In the song, Common makes an analogy comparing the degradation of a woman with the deterioration of hip hop music after its commercial success forced it into the mainstream. This criticism ignited a feud with West Coast rapper Ice Cube, and helped fuel the growing animosity towards the West Coast hip hop scene during the early stages of the East Coast-West Coast rivalry despite Common hailing from the Mid-West. The video was filmed in August 1994 and released later that year. It shows clips of Common’s home of Southside Chicago and a woman, who is obviously the main subject of the video because of the extended metaphor. It shows how she “became a gangster” when this woman is seen with two other ghetto-looking women in allusion to the rise of gangsta rap.

19. – DAFT PUNK – One More Time

A song by Daft Punk first released as a single on November 13, 2000^[1] and later included in the 2001 album Discovery. The song’s vocal performance by Romanthony is heavily auto-tuned and compressed.^[2] As part of the album, the track is featured in the introduction to the film Interstella 5555. “One More Time” remains their biggest commercial hit to date. It nearly topped the United Kingdom chart in 2000, instead peaking at #2, and was one of their few charting songs in the United States, reaching #61 on the Billboard Hot 100. It is also featured in the Wii video game Boogie and PlayStation 3’s SingStar. Marc Mysterio released a cover version of “One More Time” featuring the vocals of Yardi Don.

18. – MASSIVE ATTACK -Teardrop

A song by Massive Attack which was first released on their 1998 album Mezzanine. It was released as a single on 27 April 1998. The song became another UK hit for the group, peaking at number 10 on the UK singles chart. The song contains a sample of Les McCann’s song ‘Sometimes I Cry’, and the original version features vocals by Elizabeth Fraser of the Cocteau Twins. The song’s music video featured a plastic foetus in the womb, lip-synching the song. It was directed by Walter Stern.The single peaked at #16 in Australia.

17. – THE POGUES – Body Of An American

The song “Body of an American” was featured on the TV series The Wire during police officer wakes. The Pogues also once sang this song as an opener for Saturday Night Live.

16. – BOSTON – More Than A Feeling

A song by the rock band Boston, released as the lead single from their eponymous debut album on Epic Records in September 1976, with “Smokin’” on the flipside. The single peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100. The track has become a staple of classic rock radio and is ranked as #500 on the list of Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and in 2009 it was named the 39th best hard rock song of all time by VH1.

15. – JAY-Z – 99 Problems

The third single released by American rapper Jay-Z in 2003 from The Black Album. It reached number thirty on the U.S Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. The track was produced by Rick Rubin, his first hip hop production in many years. Rubin provided Jay-Z with the type of stripped-down beat that was once his trademark. To construct the beat, Rubin used samples of “The Big Beat” by Billy Squier, and “Long Red” by Mountain. Although it remains uncredited, “99 Problems” also contains samples of “Get Me Back on Time, Engine No. 9″ by Wilson Pickett. The title and chorus are taken from Ice-T’s “99 Problems” from his 1993 album Home Invasion. The song featured Brother Marquis of 2 Live Crew. Portions of Ice-T’s original lyrics were similarly quoted in a song by fellow rapper Trick Daddy on a track unsurprisingly titled “99 Problems” from his 2001 album Thugs Are Us. Jay-Z begins his third verse directly quoting lines from Bun B’s opening verse off Touched, from the UGK album Ridin’ Dirty. On July 6, 2008, more than four years after the song’s initial release, “99 Problems” entered the UK Singles Chart at #35 (after reaching #12 on initial release). This was attributed to Jay-Z’s appearance at Glastonbury and the O2 Wireless Festival, two popular British summer music festivals. On January 21, 2009, Jay-Z performed the song as part of his set at the Staff Ball, the last offcial event of Barack Obama’s inauguration. The ball was exclusively for 4,000 staffers who had worked on Obama’s campaign. Jay-Z tweaked the lyrics to suit the historic atmosphere, and the crowd sang along: “I Got 99 problems but a Bush ain’t one.”

14. – SISTERS OF MERCY – Temple Of Love

Can be found on the Album “Some Girls Wander by Mistake”.

13. – JOURNEY – Don’t Stop Believin’

A power ballad by the American rock band Journey. The song debuted on their 1981 album Escape. The song is considered by many to be the band’s signature song. The song is well known for its lyrics and its distinctive chorused piano introduction, described by Allmusic as “one of the best opening keyboard riffs in rock.” The song has been included in many TV shows and movies, including The Sopranos, Glee, the episode My Journey of Scrubs and a cover version of the song in Family Guy, and the movies The Comebacks and Bedtime Stories. The song reached #8 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart, and #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It also peaked at #62 on the UK singles chart. In 2006, it was ranked as the 11th greatest song of the list of the 100 greatest songs of the ’80s by VH1. It is the most downloaded song not released in the 21st century of all time in the iTunes Music Store and was the 72nd most downloaded song of 2008 in the store, over 27 years after its release. The song is one of the most popular rock tracks in Ireland and continues to remain in the top ten most downloaded songs.

12. – EMINEM – Lose Yourself

A hip hop song by American rapper Eminem. It was released in 2002 as part of the soundtrack to the film 8 Mile, also starring Eminem. The song had additional production by Luis Resto and Jeff Bass. It is the most successful rap song of all time, having a 12 week run at number one in the United States. The song topped many charts around the world, including the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart, among others. It won an Academy Award for Best Original Song, two Grammy Awards, and two other Grammy nominations. The song is ranked 4th in the 100 greatest songs of the past 25 years by VH1. “Lose Yourself” ranked #166 in Rolling Stone magazine’s the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In March 2009, “Lose Yourself” topped the 2 million mark in digital downloads in the United States, becoming the second oldest song to hit that sales level. It also became Eminem’s first song to reach 2 million digital downloads as a lead artist.

11. – ALABAMA 3 – Woke Up This Morning

A song by Alabama 3 from their 1997 album Exile on Coldharbour Lane. The song is best known as the opening theme music for the HBO drama series The Sopranos (which used the “Chosen One Mix”). A3 frontman Rob Spragg wrote the song after hearing about a case where Sara Thornton stabbed her husband after 20 years of abuse, mistreatment and neglect. The song is co-written with Jake Black.

10. – MARVIN GAYE – Sexual Healing

A 1982 song recorded by American soul singer Marvin Gaye on the Columbia Records label. It was his first single since his exit from his long-term record label Motown earlier in the year, following the release of the In Our Lifetime album the previous year. The music and lyrics were composed by Gaye, Odell Brown, and David Ritz. The song discussed a man’s aching for finding sexual salvation with his woman—hence the title “Sexual Healing”. According to Ritz, when he interviewed Gaye for an autobiography, he noticed comic book pornography in Gaye’s room and mentioned to the singer that he “needed sexual healing” causing Gaye to tell Ritz to write a poem, after noting the rough draft of Ritz’s lyrics, Gaye wrote his share of the lyrics and recorded the song while in Ostend, Belgium. The final mix was recorded in Waterloo, Belgium, the site where Gaye addressed CBS Records executives about the song. Some saw the song as Gaye’s harmonious plea to sex in the form of him preaching the word of gospel, marrying his divided soul. According to a recent article, this song was the first hit single to use the Roland TR-808, though it wouldn’t become common fodder, the TR-808 was mainly used to produce songs of electronica and hip-hop genres.

9. – 2PAC – Keep Ya Head Up

A song by Tupac Shakur. It addresses issues concerning lack of respect toward the female gender, especially poor black women. It has a very positive message and is often used as an example of Shakur’s softer side. Many consider it to be one of the deepest rap songs ever made and is often referenced by other artists in their work, building Shakur’s persona as a very conscious and influential rapper, voted #11 in About.com’s Top 100 Rap Songs, with “Dear Mama” voted #4. It was first released in Shakur’s 1993 album Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z., later appearing after his death in 1998 in his Greatest Hits compilation. The beat is sampled from Zapp & Roger’s “Be Alright” and the chorus is sampled from The Five Stairsteps’ “O-o-h Child”. The song peaked at #2 on the U.S. Rap chart, #7 on the Hip Hop/R&B chart and #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The same beat was used the year before on southern rapper Big Mello’s album Bone Hard Zaggin. The song was also covered by Lyfe Jennings and released on his 2006 album, The Phoenix. The song is also used in the soundtrack of the movie Freedom Writers. The song was also performed live by Nas at the MTV Rap Memorial, in 2005.

8. – PINK FLOYD – Comfortably Numb

A song by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, which was released on the 1979 double album The Wall. It was also released as a single in the same year, with “Hey You” as the B-side. It is one of only three songs on the album for which writing credits are shared between Roger Waters and David Gilmour – the melody and most of the music on “Comfortably Numb” was written by Gilmour, while Waters contributed the lyrics and some additional notes. “Comfortably Numb” is one of the most famous Pink Floyd songs, and is known especially for its guitar solos. In 2004, the song was ranked #314 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Playwright Tom Stoppard said he wrote most of his Tony Award winning The Coast of Utopia during repeated listenings of the song.

7. – THE WHO – Baba O’Rielly

A song by the English rock band The Who, written by Pete Townshend. Roger Daltrey sings most of the song, with Pete Townshend singing the middle eight: “Don’t cry/don’t raise your eye/it’s only teenage wasteland”. The title of the song is derived from this combination of the song’s philosophical and musical influences: Meher Baba and Terry Riley. Noted for its innovative fusion of The Who’s hard rock sound and early electronic music experimentation by Townshend, and for its crashing chorus coupled with repeating F-C-Bb power chords, the song has been a perennial favorite on classic rock radio stations as well as a concert staple for the band. The song is also well known as the TV theme tune for CSI: NY.

6. – THE ROLLING STONES – Sympathy For The Devil

A song by The Rolling Stones which first appeared as the opening track on the band’s 1968 album Beggars Banquet. It was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Rolling Stone magazine placed it at #32 in their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

5. – JIMI HENDRIX – All ALong The Watchtower

song written and recorded by singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. It initially appeared on his album John Wesley Harding. It has been covered by other artists in different genres, most notably by the Jimi Hendrix Experience.
The Jimi Hendrix Experience began to record their cover version of Dylan’s “All Along The Watchtower” on January 21, 1968, at Olympic Studios in London. According to engineer Andy Johns, Jimi Hendrix had been given a tape of Dylan’s recording by publicist Michael Goldstein, who worked for Dylan’s manager Albert Grossman. “(Hendrix) came in with these Dylan tapes and we all heard them for the first time in the studio”, recalled Johns. According to Hendrix’s regular engineer Eddie Kramer, the guitarist cut a large number of takes on the first day, shouting chord changes at Dave Mason who had appeared at the session and played guitar. Halfway through the session, bass player Noel Redding became dissatisfied with the proceedings and left. Mason then took over on bass. According to Kramer, the final bass part was played by Hendrix himself. Kramer and Chas Chandler mixed the first version of “All Along The Watchtower” on January 26th, but Hendrix was quickly dissatisfied with the result and went on re-recording and overdubbing guitar parts during June, July, and August at the Record Plant studio in New York. Engineer Tony Bongiovi has described Hendrix becoming increasingly dissatisfied as the song progressed, overdubbing more and more guitar parts, moving the master tape from a four-track to a twelve-track to a sixteen-track machine. Bongiovi recalled, “Recording these new ideas meant he would have to erase something. In the weeks prior to the mixing, we had already recorded a number of overdubs, wiping track after track. [Hendrix] kept saying, ‘I think I hear it a little bit differently.’” The finished version was released on the album Electric Ladyland in September 1968. The single reached number five in the British charts, and number 20 on the Billboard chart. The song also had the #5 spot on Guitar World’s 100 Greatest Guitar Solos. Dylan has described his reaction to hearing Hendrix’s version: “It overwhelmed me, really. He had such talent, he could find things inside a song and vigorously develop them. He found things that other people wouldn’t think of finding in there. He probably improved upon it by the spaces he was using. I took license with the song from his version, actually, and continue to do it to this day.”

4. – OUTKAST – B.O.B

(Short for “Bombs over Baghdad”) is a 2000 single by OutKast for the LaFace/Arista Records label. The first single from their album Stankonia, “B.O.B.” is high-tempo and jungle-influenced, with a BPM rate of 155. The song features the Morris Brown College Gospel Choir in its chorus. The inspiration for the song came when André 3000 was in a newsroom and overheard a news report about “bombs over Baghdad”.

3. – JEFF BUCLKEY – Hallelujuah

American singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley, inspired by Cale’s earlier cover version, recorded one of the best-known cover versions of “Hallelujah” for his 1994 studio album, Grace. Buckley, not wholly satisfied with any one take, recorded more than twenty takes, three of which producer Andy Wallace took and mixed to create a single track. In 2004, Jeff Buckley’s version was ranked #259 on Rolling Stone’s “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time”. In September 2007, a poll of fifty songwriters conducted by Q Magazine listed “Hallelujah” among the all-time “Top 10 Greatest Tracks” with John Legend calling Buckley’s version “as near perfect as you can get”. The song posthumously charted twice in 2008 for Buckley: the song topped Billboard’s Hot Digital Songs in April 2008 following a performance of the song by Jason Castro on American Idol and was the Christmas 2008 number-two single in the UK, the top spot being occupied by Alexandra Burke’s cover.

2. – U2 – One

The third single from U2’s 1991 album, Achtung Baby, and was released in 1992. While recording Achtung Baby, there was a rift between band members over the direction of the band’s sound. Tensions almost prompted U2 to break up until the band rallied around the writing of “One”. The song reached #7 in the UK charts and #10 in the US pop chart, and reached the top of the US Billboard Album Rock Tracks and Modern Rock Tracks charts. It peaked at #10 on the Dutch Top 40. The song is widely considered to be one of the band’s greatest songs and is consistently featured in lists of the greatest songs of all time. It was named the 36th greatest song by Rolling Stone on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and #1 on Q’s list of the “1001 Greatest Songs of All-Time”. VH1 ranked the song #2 in its list of “Greatest Songs of the 90s”. The song is currently ranked as the 94th greatest song of all time, as well as the fourth best song of 1991, by Acclaimed Music.

1. – OASIS – Live Forever

A song by British rock group Oasis. Written by guitarist Noel Gallagher, the song was released as the third single from their debut album Definitely Maybe on 8 August 1994, just prior to that album’s release. Gallagher wrote the song in 1991, before he joined Oasis. Inspired by The Rolling Stones’ “Shine a Light,” “Live Forever” features a basic song structure and lyrics with an optimistic outlook that contrasted with the attitude of the grunge bands popular at the time. The song was the first Oasis single to enter the top ten in the United Kingdom, and garnered critical acclaim.

“Up Above My Head” was originally recorded by the Gospel singer Sister Rosetta Tharpe in collaboration with Marie Knight in the late 1940’s.  Being African-American and from the deep south, it was more likely for them to gain popularity through singing about religion. Many versions of this great song have followed, but my favorite is by the Brixton band Alabama 3 (famous for The Sopranos theme song).  Sung by the lovely Zoe “Devlin Love” her powerful voice makes it such a great track to listen to.

Enjoy!

This week my Ipod has been playing:
-Mercury Rev
-Alabama 3
-Oasis

Belladrum Logo

It’s a little over 4 weeks til this year’s Belladrum Festival. (We’ve started to do sun dances already!) Always one to try something a little different, yesterday saw Bella release details of their attempts to lower their carbon footprint at this year’s festival, by recycling up to 5 tonnes of food waste.

 The Green Dream Machine will clock up another first at this year’s festival by collecting up to 5 tonnes of food waste. Not only will this reduce the festival’s land-fill but the food waste will be converted into a high quality compost.

The Green Dream Machine was formed by volunteers at Belladrum in 2006 and have gone on to create a range of projects to reduce waste and promote recycling at outdoor events – a new project is currently being designed and will be unveiled at this year’s Belladrum.

“Compost Corner” as it has been dubbed is a simple system and will be managed by Bella’s own green champion and GDM volunteer, Catriona MacLeod. Catriona explained, “This year we will have dedicated wheelie bins and skips for all the caterers’ food waste. This waste will be taken off-site to a nearby in-vessel composter and within a few weeks this waste will be converted into a rich, high quality compost.”

In these days of climate change and global warming, it’s good to see a festival taking such a innovative approach – if Bella expects to save 5 tonnes from going to landfill, how much could this weekend’s T in the Park save?

Belladrum 2009 takes place in the beautiful Highland surroundings of Belladrum Estate, near Beauly in Inverness-shire. The independent festival has built a reputation for its eclectic line-ups, its off-beat non-musical entertainments and its all-ages approach. Capacity will remain what it was in 2008 at 12,000. At the UK Festival Awards Ceremony in October – the festival industry’s ‘oscars’ – Bella was awarded the Grassroots Festival Award.

Award-winning Belladrum has announced headliners  Editors and Ocean Colour Scene plus a raft of other acts including: The Saw Doctors; Shed Seven; British Sea Power; Seth Lakeman; Alabama 3; Sons & Daughters; Glen Tilbrook & The Fluffers; The Peatbog Faeries; Lau; Toploader; Treacherous Orchestra; Transglobal Underground; Tommy Reilly; De Votchka; The Phantom Band; 3 Daft Monkeys; Edward II; The Wallbirds; Kid Carpet; Sam Isaac;  Broken Records; Magistrates; Healthy Minds Collapse; Sparrow & The Workshop; The Lost Brothers; and Scooty & The Skyhooks.

Of course, Belladrum isn’t simply about the music. This year sees another first, with the introduction of Sweaty Bella, a mountain bike race on the Saturday morning, which is open to festival ticket holders only – buy your entry ticket along with your festival ticket!

If that sounds too energetic then there is plenty more on offer, from debates and writing workshops to the world’s number one Billy Connolly tribute act, Silly Connoly.

There’s also plenty for the kids at Belladrum, making it one of the most family friendly festivals around. From facepainting to kids theatre, there’s somthing for everyone, including a visit from Mr Boom!

Tickets for this year’s Bella are available now from www.thebooth.co.uk

… …

backpacker: based on a fashion style popular in the mid to late 90s where people involved in hip-hop wore large backpacks. Originated by graf writers who kept all their cans and nozzles in the packs, the style caught on quick with the suburbanites and rock kids who didn’t want to stray too far from their style but still wanted to have a hip-hop flava. People use it now as a derogatory term for nerd-rappers, hippy-hoppers, and other fringe hip-hop followers, referencing the fact most of the listeners are suburbanites buying or co-opting into a certain style.

shoegazer: so named because the musicians in these bands stood relatively still during live performances, whilst concentrating on their effects pedals on the floor, hence the idea that they were gazing at their shoes. Could be used to describe bands such as Spacemen 3, My Bloody Valentine, Cocteau Twins, Verve, et al.

For reasons I don’t feel like explaining here/again, I have recently gotten back into my life-long love of musical exploration. This came about in stages, starting with that “25 albums that changed your life” meme, (which I was inspired to take quite seriously) and got me thinking about the progressions (and plateaus) in the development of my musical tastes. I remembered how much I loved the feeling of hearing new music – and by new, I mean new to me, I am not super caught up in being all cutting edge and dissing shit as soon as it hits the mainstream. So, I started to take advantage of recommendations of friends and strangers, hit up iTunes, and re-energized my iPod.

Back story:
When I arrived in Hong Kong I had my entire musical collection from home on my iPod. This was a lifesaver for the first few months I was here adjusting to life in a foreign country and dealing with occasional bouts of loneliness and disconnection. That iPod got me through some insane personal and professional and cultural transitions, eventually hitting the road with me in early 2006… where it met it’s untimely demise from dirty power on Koh Phangan. Of course, I had not backed up the music files on the laptop and so I went from 6,000 to -0- in less than five seconds. It literally felt like there had been a death in the family. Rebuilding the music collection since then has been a really interesting journey. I was given tons of stuff on the road from people I met from places far and wide; DJs and local bands offering up all sorts of stuff I could never have gotten my hands on at home (shout out to DJ Brent Burns (you are so hot) and Job 2 Do and the entire staff of Phoenix Divers on Koh Tao). The new collection was far more eclectic, if not as well-loved. From these contributions I did expand my tastes, incorporating a lot more underground dance music, international music and a tolerance for schlock that sucked but had sentimental value. The process was a lot of fun, but eventually I sort of stagnated again, relying on old favorites and not really making an effort to look around.

Fast forward to now:
Through Twitter (yes, Twitter) and the blogosphere, cyberspace friends and  meatspace friends, I have been finding tons of cool music that has really livened up the morning playlists at 47 Pak Kok Tsuen.

In my experience, the way music works is that the discovery of one thing inevitably leads to another like vast concentric circles, and coming across something you haven’t heard that you really like is awesome. What sucks, however, is when your excitement is crushed by someone going, “Shit, man, that stuff is tired… you haven’t heard that already? It is so 2008.” Or, “That is not real/legit/serious [insert genre here] – that is so mainstream.” Whatever. sometimes stuff stays indie because it sucks, not because it is making some big old statement. What this musical snobbery did get me doing though, is investigating some of these labels, because you know everyone’s a critic… and everyone’s brother is a pigeon-holer.

Checking out the connections from band to band led me to contemplate another phenomenon in the world of musical discovery – well, any discovery, really – this hive-mind thing that goes down – groupthink. Groupthink has totally negative connotations, but I am not sure it is all bad. [And of course things like trending topics on Twitter totally contribute to it...] Malcolm Gladwell’s Tipping Point concept where the collective momentum becomes unstoppable considers the power of this idea, and while conformity seems to always be frowned upon (all it really is is the process by which an individual’s attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors are influenced by other people – who doesn’t admit to that?) it is still a reality. [Maybe it is more palatable to call it a collective conscious.] The irony in all of this is that as people extol the coolness of their indie scene it gathers said momentum and then… uh-oh! People know about it! It is anti-indie. Further, the collective non-conformists adjust their behavior to match their ideal, becoming a group, so then the big deal becomes maintaining exclusivity in the group. This is where I really take issue. Why you gotta be all snotty about your group? You cannot really think you are the Original…? [This is of course leading naturally to my paradox du jour, the Russell Paradox - but that is a subject for another time.]

One musician whose stuff I was introduced to inadvertently (typical), and in fact I have turned quite a few people onto in Hong Kong… (we closed a very trendy bar in the wee hours to his music…) is Astronautalis. Somewhere I read he was a backpacker’s wet dream. Then I saw a description of him as a shoegazing backpacker. I had no idea what these descrptions meant, thinking only in terms of backpackers as I know them: annoying little shits, pretentiously marching through SE Asia. [Yeah, I am the judgmental-pot calling the music-snob-kettle black... I get to do that here.] So, I turned to the trusted Urban Dictionary. It turns out that while my idea of a backpacker and the hip hop context of a backpacker share some characteristics, the latter is more akin to the indie-rocker’s m.o. [This guy had a pretty funny take on the situation.] And the part about shoegazing? Well, combined with the former, I guess it means the kid is a thinker; a poet if you will. That’s pretty fucking cool. When you get down to it, liking music for the sake of image is really silly, right? I mean, you should like music because you like the music. And to that end, this song is completely awesome:

Another band I really have been enjoying is Mojave 3. Yeah, apparently they are shoegazers. But also really talented songwriters. Add to this the more commercially relevant TV on the Radio and female vocalists like Zee Avi (recommended by my neighbor) you can see I am not loyal to any genre… and (for better or for worse) I am totally open to the power of suggestion. But I do appreciate cool sounds. And I love music that mixes up all kinds of shit and actually surprises you while kicking ass, like Alabama 3 [Exile on Coldharbour Lane was part of the iPod reconstruction in 2006 and it never disappoints, and you should definitely listen to the entire album.]:

It’s really not the people, but the feigned exclusivity of the whole shoegazer/hipster/scenester/backpacker/indie/alternative thing that drives me nuts. If that is who you are… I guess it is cool. I have never really had a scene, so I don’t totally relate, but hey… to each their own. What aggravates the shit out of me is the proprietary attitude people have over musicians (and lifestyles and ideologies while we’re at it) that they claim as their own. If I am not allowed to think Jerry Garcia is awesome, enjoy the Culture Club, love the Beta Band, find ska irresistible, and still dig your indie stuff that seems pretty stupid. It’s fun to turn people onto new stuff… so why you gotta hate? Your favorite band didn’t just get worse because more people like them… did they?

Which brings my vocabulary lesson to a close with a review of a familiar term. If you only like the music for the scene then…

poseur: a person who pretends to be what he or she is not : an affected or insincere person; one who groups him or her self in a particular social clique in order to appear trendy or “edgy” but doesn’t believe in the principals held by said clique and is only leeching onto it in order to avoid the social ridicule of not being part of a clique. A poseur will probably change their “style” once every 6 months, possibly more.

Be who you are nothing more nothing less
and let the beauty that you love be….. the very best
Sing praises to the highest with your feet on the ground
And reach for your brother with the words that you sound

~ Michael Franti

{thanks to iDriss for many long hours of conversation about all this and also to Sue for knowing what she likes right away and totally being cool with that.}