My Top 100 Songs of the Past Decade Or So. (Pt. 4)
Aug 27 '01
The Bottom Line Hey, hey, hey, It's the 4th installment of the most Electrifying column in Epinions history. Well, maybe not that good, but give it a read. You might enjoy!
I begin my fourth installment on a sad note. I just found out not long ago that R&B star Aaliyah was killed in a plane crash at the age of 22. It’s strange as I look over my top 100 list. It’s strange that Aaliyah never found her way onto the list despite the fact that she had enormous impact on me during my college years.
You see, I went to a college of preps and hip hoppers. Except for the occasional hockey jock or rugby alcoholic, my college comprised itself mostly of the clubbin’, stylin’ black wannabe white boys with the hooded kangaroo pouched sweatshirts from Georgia Tech. and the aggressively bent caps worn backwards. I say all that with tongue firmly in cheek so please lay off the ‘racist’ banter. I’m a very loving person that believes every human is equal. I do however feel chickens are not, so therefore I intend to keep eating my chicken alfredo and my buckets of fried chicken as well as all those wings from Dominos.
My point to all this is that while in college I fell into a group of friends that were widely into the hip hop and rap scenes of the mid-nineties. While I cranked my eighties music alongside Pearl Jam and Metallica, most of my closest friends were doing the Tupac shuffle and Notorious B.I.G. boogie. The one element of this culture that made me smile was, you guessed it, Aaliyah. She brought a kind of sound to my ear that was both different to my way of thinking, but also very poetic and beautiful. The rap in her songs was well conceived and properly fit into her blend of music. She was also stunning to behold but always displayed herself in a very classy way. I want to dedicate the fourth installment to the memory of Aaliyah.
70. Wishlist
Pearl Jam immediately finds itself on the list once again. Wishlist is the beautifully woven song about all the things in life we want but somehow miss out on. Sometimes we experience those moments, but we are so driven by ‘more and more’ that we don’t even notice how important those simple wishes had been in the first place. Eddie Vedder hits on so many personal levels with this song. From the sun shining down on a Camaro’s hood to wanting to be a brake pad that someone important to him could depend on, the lyrics are both personal and somehow reflective of the things we all want out of life.
69. Wire
The Nixons captivated be with the grunge like rock they created while I was in college. The song “Sister” hit an emotional chord inside me and this song followed suit. I love the way the guitars slowly build tension in the song until you get that snappy Nixon like chorus that keeps your head banging right along. I would certainly like to see new stuff from them. Are they even still around?
68. Believe (acoustic)
Savatage is the epitome of Rock Opera. They put together stories so vividly and powerfully that you swear you are up on stage experiencing the tale first hand. This song is so inspirational and beautiful that it makes me work harder to accomplish all the goals I’ve pre-maturely set for myself. Anyone that needs an uplifting but non-nineties pop sound; give a listen to this acoustic version of “Believe.”
67. Hands
The simplicity of this song gets to me. The idea of hands joining, creating, touching and being strong in the face of adversity is both powerful and the perfect message for an maturing Jewel to get across in her sophomore album. Her first album was chock full of despair and depression that it was a breath of fresh air literally to hear songs like this pour out in her second effort. This song definitely sets the stage for the rest of the work and deserves several listens.
66. Hail, Hail
Number two for Pearl Jam in this allotment of ten songs and it’s another of my all-time favorites. Even though Eddie Vedder makes a strange ‘gay’ reference in the middle of the song, I still love it. “Hail Hail the lucky ones, I refer to those in love” hits another staggering chord inside me and makes me think of the marriage gone wrong for Eddie himself. He wrote this song a few years ago when it was going good, and it’s pretty much taken for granted that a newer song “Parting Ways” is a song that expresses his emotions as the marriage ends.
65. Better Man
OK, who out there is finally sick of Pearl Jam? Even if that is the case, how can anyone be sick of this particular song. I remember back to the concert I took in last year and how incredibly wild the crowd went during this entire song. This has to be one of the most sung-a-long to songs Pearl Jam has ever done. Certainly a woman’s power song, but a song loved by pretty much every fan. For anyone out there that needs a better man, I hope you find one.
64. You Don’t See Me
This song is a relatively new one and still found a way to make it on the list. My best friend Tairra turned me on to this song a while back. She even sang a version to me and taped it. So of course every time I hear the song it reminds me of her. How could it not be on my top one hundred? Hey, who cares that an imaginary band sings the darn thing? Does anyone remember The Archies, or the Monkees?
63. The Change
Who could ever forget the horrible Oklahoma City bombing and the lives lost in that tragic event? Garth Brooks used video and this song to make an incredible impact on both the victims and the survivors of this horrible day in American history. “The Change” drives home the point that no matter what horrors we face, or struggles that challenge us, we will always find a way to survive because we are made to be strong though out it all. This song will make a grown man shed a tear or to. It’s poetically powerfully and the deepness of the words and images will stick with you for a long time.
62. Sister
Hey, I mentioned this song already. The Nixons join Pearl Jam with more than one song in this installment. “Sister” was a touching song dedicated to the memory of the lead singer’s sister who had perished in a fire as a little girl. The entire album is actually flooded with imagery and words that have a lot to do with her short life and the consequences of her tragic death.
61. Breathless
Yes, it has a lot to do with the fact that 3 of the 4 members are beautiful Irish girls, but I really do love the music as well. They harmonize so well together and even the brother member of the group adds his own little identity to the music. “Breathless” does exactly what it says by leaving you breathless. The combination of the three beautiful Irish girls (I’ve mentioned that already huh?) and the voices that carry them into heavenly clouds makes this song well deserving of a spot on my list.
Once again I want to thank all the support I’ve received concerning this top one hundred list. I’ve really enjoyed doing it despite the many hours entailed in putting it together and writing it up. I’m already anticipating the final couple of installments as I’m hoping you all are as well.
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Epinions.com ID:
Kaurisma
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Member: Roland Geary
Location: Salisbury, MD
Reviews written: 44
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