2004 was a... strange year music-wise. The lines that defined genres continued to blur even as people tired even harder to compartmentalize music. "Welcome Back Kotter" got used in a hook. Korn covered "Word Up." (Yes, THAT Korn. And yes, THAT "Word Up".) Through it all, here's 15 songs that stood out.
15. U2 - "Vertigo"
What comes after catorce? The NEW iPod anthem, that's what.
14. Kanye West - "Jesus Walks"
The title makes you think "The radio's not gonna play this." The content makes you think "There's NO WAY the radio's gonna play this." Kanye may be an insufferable egomaniac, but give him credit; he called radio out and pulled it off.
13. The Hives - "Walk Idiot Walk"
Any placement irony is purely unintentional.
12. Red Hot Chili Peppers - "Fortune Faded"
"Now put away your welcome / soon you'll find you've overstayed it" You guys? Nah. We like it when you come around.
11. Franz Ferdinand - "Take Me Out"
Musically, the latest British darlings of the hipster set like to keep it simple. But it doesn't always work out when your fans decide you're so hip you can't get into your own after party.
10. Slum Village (f. Kanye West) - "Selfish"
It's like "To All The Girls I've Loved Before" except not.
9. Belle & Sebastian - "Step Into My Office, Baby"
It's sexual harrassment in the workplace hilariously turned on its head. Gotta love it.
8. Incubus - "Talk Show On Mute"
A slow, mellow critique of the juggernaut that is the new celebrity culture. Dovetails quite nicely with...
7. Kanye West - "All Falls Down"
Yeah, it's him again, this time with an impassioned commentary on a society drowning in materialism.
6. Snoop Dogg & Pharrell - "Drop It Like It's Hot"
The Dogg returns to his minimalist roots.
5. Citizen Cope - "Bullet And A Target"
Big picture, little picture. Big picture, little picture. Big picture...
4. Lostprophets - "Make A Move"
The kind of song that makes you want to run through a wall. But in a good way.
3. Kanye West - "Through The Wire"
And that wire's quite literal. Kanye's fourth appearance on the countdown is with a song inspired by and recorded during his recovery from a car accident that busted up his jaw and nearly killed him.
2. Black Eyed Peas - "Let's Get Retarded"
Ritardando is a musical term meaning "to slow down". Fergie told me that. At least I think that's what she said; I was too busy bobbing my head at the time.
1. Jay-Z, "99 Problems"
Now this is how you go out on top. You hook up with the producer who started the rap-rock fusion craze and you tell everyone else fighting for your scraps that they'll have to kill you to knock you off. The entire second verse is a thing of beauty, and the hook is Jay taking yet another shot at Nas. "I got 99 problems but a bitch ain't one." You got that right, Jay. So it's the Song Of The Year.
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