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Thread: 75 Days, 2 Lists, 1 Giant Waste of Time

  1. #26
    68. "Dayton, Ohio - 1903" - Randy Newman

    [youtube]PrTdiNkhnOc[/youtube]

    Simple piano ballad sells melancholy nostalgia without irony.

  2. #27

    #68: Shadrach by The Beastie Boys

    The Reality: Three MCs swapping lines like lyrical acrobats, rhyming with the ferocity of punks and acerbic wit of New Yorker cartoonists. Paired with the Dust Brothers’ deft sampling and craftiness, it’s precision that puts brain surgeons to shame.

    The Feeling: Three of your buddies free-styling on the stoop.

    The Bottom Line: It’s about everything, nothing and something. So deftly made it gives serious weight to pop-culture minutiae.

    [youtube]j_QKKkWJjqk[/youtube]

  3. #28
    67. "Otha Fish" - The Pharcyde

    [youtube]p8vQF5eLfrM[/youtube]

    Makes me wish I liked Sublime. Chill/Desperate vocals.

  4. #29
    Quote Quoting Idioteque Stalker (view post)
    68. "Dayton, Ohio - 1903" - Randy Newman

    Simple piano ballad sells melancholy nostalgia without irony.
    Interesting pick. It replaces the black humor and tragedy of what would've been my pick, Louisiana, 1927, with simple observations. In fact, it's lack of humor is conspicuous. Do you think there's any sense of satire in it?

  5. #30

    #67: Anthems for a Seventeen Year Old by Broken Social Scene

    Being successfully sentimental is a hard, basically impossible task. I say basically because of this song. Unflinchingly beautiful and melodramatic, the slow build sweeps us into a world of adolescent concerns, dominated by budding romances and transient popularity. If adolescence has its own logic, this is the gushing soundtrack, so doe eyed and gorgeous it turns petty concerns into grandiose moments. It shouldn’t work, but it does.

    [youtube]ar8u0ZUWw2g[/youtube]

    *As a Side Note: So far this is is definitely winning the "Soundtrack to Most Undergrad Film Projects featured on YouTube" award

  6. #31
    Quote Quoting quido8_5 (view post)
    Interesting pick. It replaces the black humor and tragedy of what would've been my pick, Louisiana, 1927, with simple observations. In fact, it's lack of humor is conspicuous. Do you think there's any sense of satire in it?
    I feel the satire, if there is any, is implied by the role Newman takes in the song: an old man reminiscing about a golden age or realized American dream. Even though the song by itself is sincere, Newman forces himself to engage with stereotypes by choosing a year long before his birth. But you're right about its conspicuous lack of humor. Maybe that's why it sticks out to me.

    And someone should make one of those side-by-side comparison videos of "Louisiana, 1927" and "Sail Away."

  7. #32
    66. "A Place In My Heart" - Erlend Øye

    [youtube]pLUWduQ-ykk[/youtube]

    Immaculate mixture of pretty chimes, heartfelt lyrics and rhythmic complexity.

  8. #33

    #66: Dog Got a Bone by The Beta Bones

    Dog Got a Bone

    As traditional a ballad as indie rock ever saw, “Dog Got a Bone” hits some universal and indescribable nerve. Balancing traditional and progressive tendencies, it knits an unconventional story with sparse instrumentation and aching melody. Indeed, the slow burn-and-build conveys little lyrically but reveals an entire narrative musically. As the narrator reluctantly pines, it’s not the loneliness of desperation, but the loneliness of possibility.

    [youtube]TVvXHi4QyTo&feature=related[/youtube]

  9. #34

    #65: Anthrax by Gang of Four

    Anthrax

    Let’s clarify one thing: This isn’t anti love song, this is an anti love song, song. Lyrically, it’s a treatise on the careless exploitation of love in song and, like much of the album, an appeal to think logically instead of emotionally. It’s great intellectual stuff and I suggest you read it. Honestly, though, does anything need to be said outside of that piercing guitar?

    [youtube]jd3UiGZBTOU&feature=related[/youtube]*

    FYI, I couldn't find a clip with the Entertainment! LP version of the song. If you don't own that album, though, you should buy it immediately.

  10. #35
    Bark! Go away Russ's Avatar
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    Gang of Four's Anthrax would be a standout on anyone's Top Whatever list. Kudos.

  11. #36
    65. "I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass" - Nick Lowe

    (Mediocre quality)
    [youtube]xn0cuAYC5jk[/youtube]

    I just can't figure out why this song isn't a classic.

  12. #37
    So far I love both lists, I just can't quite tell which one is more my speed. Too soon to tell, I suppose. I loved the Broken Social Scene pick the most so far. Awesome lists.

  13. #38
    64. "Master of None" - Beach House

    [youtube]s2YiUTh9dj4[/youtube]

    Quiet but soulful, the alto vocals slip through chimes like hipster runoff.

  14. #39

    #64: So Long Marianne by Leonard Cohen

    So Long, Marianne

    Maybe it’s unfortunate that Cohen is primarily remembered as a lyricist. Consider So Long, Marianne. Both joyous and melancholic, it’s the tune’s sweet melody and perfect arrangement that rounds out the poetic verse. His imagery certainly weaves an intriguing tale, but it’s the equally detailed and purposeful instrumentation that makes this song great. Catchy and deep, it’s the perfect vehicle for an adventurous poet.

    [youtube]vZ61su9H5RU[/youtube]

  15. #40
    63. "Toilet Tisha" - Outkast

    [youtube]vlU7na2-xpk[/youtube]

    Bet Sly heard something like this during a particularly bad trip in '74.

  16. #41

    #63: Cocoon by Bjork

    Cocoon by Bjork
    Most love songs are bloated with metaphors and hyperbole, so it is unsurprising that Bjork would strip away all façade and create a brutally honest ode as simple as it is stirring. Replacing opulent statements for simple appreciation, she proves that sometimes safety, security and contentment are more awe-inspiring than grandiosity and spectacle. Intimate and soft, Cocoon embodies the warm sensation of love.

    *Video is NSFW
    [youtube]c2DB4uL6An8[/youtube]

  17. #42

    #62: Baba O' Riley by The Who

    Baba O'Riley by The Who
    They don’t make ‘em like this anymore. Swinging for the bleachers, Baba O’ Reilly represents the “fuck it let’s rock” ethos better than any other stadium sized banger. Stuffed with hooks, it’s a dizzying feat of musicianship that it works so well. Actually, it’s boldness paints Classic Rock with an idyllic sheen. Fact is they never made ‘em like this. Just once.

    [youtube]x2KRpRMSu4g[/youtube]

  18. #43

    #61: On the Nature of Daylight by Max Richter

    61 - On the Nature of Daylight

    Music is seldom as evocative as it is here. Cinematic without sacrificing simplicity, it gathers weight through a few intertwining, yet beautifully expressive lines. Building textures and melodies with persistent grace, Max Richter may owe much to his minimalist forbearers, but he nonetheless creates something uniquely moving. Like some forgotten dream, On the Nature of Daylight is illusive, fleeting and bittersweet.

    [youtube]8rluU6BGpKw[/youtube]

  19. #44
    #60: Dead Dogs 2 by cLOUDDEAD (Boards of Canada Remix)

    It's violent and somehow seductive, it's visceral and saccharine, it's ugly and somehow gorgeous; it's the most twisted fun you will have listening to any song on this list and it's about roadkill. Matching cLOUDDEAD's schizophrenic vocals and pitch-black humor, BoC's remix races like a fever dream, creating a mini-phantasmagory in 5:12. It is infectious in more ways than one.

    [youtube]BZgslfTeLdU[/youtube]

  20. #45
    #59: A Case of You by Joni Mitchell

    There's so much to be said for unapologetic romantics. As Joni Mitchell's voice soars with plaintive honesty toward the end of this song, though, the feeling speaks for itself. Sketched with vivid details and colored with metaphor, it's Mitchell's tremulous delivery that sells A Case of You. Gathering power from delicacy and strength from vulnerability, it's a timeless statement.

    [youtube]0YuaZcylk_o[/youtube]

  21. #46
    What is best in life? D_Davis's Avatar
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    Quote Quoting quido8_5 (view post)
    #60: Dead Dogs 2 by cLOUDDEAD (Boards of Canada Remix)

    It's violent and somehow seductive, it's visceral and saccharine, it's ugly and somehow gorgeous; it's the most twisted fun you will have listening to any song on this list and it's about roadkill. Matching cLOUDDEAD's schizophrenic vocals and pitch-black humor, BoC's remix races like a fever dream, creating a mini-phantasmagory in 5:12. It is infectious in more ways than one.

    [youtube]BZgslfTeLdU[/youtube]
    Amazing song - like the original more though.

    The album is a masterpiece.

  22. #47
    Quote Quoting D_Davis (view post)
    Amazing song - like the original more though.

    The album is a masterpiece.
    Yeah, it was certainly a toss up for me. I love the original's use of dynamics, but I'm a sucker for melody and that piccolo (?) gets me every time. Plus there's the "Day in the Life" nod that puts it over the top. Either way, the album's lack of recognition has always confounded me.

  23. #48
    What is best in life? D_Davis's Avatar
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    Quote Quoting quido8_5 (view post)
    Either way, the album's lack of recognition has always confounded me.
    I will never forget the first time I heard it - in Tower Records, in Seattle at the old Down Town/Queen Ann location.

    Blew my mind.

    I was like, is this Ween doing hip hop?

    IMO, cLOUDDEAD and crew breathed new life into the dying corpse that was hip hop at the time.

  24. #49
    #58: I Was a Lover by TV on the Radio

    I could write pages about this song’s artistic statement. I could extol the musique concrete aesthetic, herald the innovative leap it was in modern pop music or gab about it still being like nothing else I’ve ever heard. I could go on and on intellectualizing I Was a Lover, but here’s the bottom line: It kicks major ass.

    [youtube]zDzTjyiRVAM[/youtube]

  25. #50
    #57: Your Hand in Mine by Explosions in the Sky

    It's freshman year. I'm in my dorm locked in heated battle with technology, fighting for all mankind. Ok, so I'm playing Tetris and listening to this song. However, the cinematic sweeps make small things seem massive and imbue anything with weight. Of course, they also make the massive seem small by speaking volumes with simple wordless beauty.

    [youtube]JzIK5FaC38w[/youtube]

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