Flack's Top 125 Songs

Flack · Post by **Flack** » Sun Oct 30, 2016 5:07 pm

Yup. 125. Sue me.

My list may not be in perfect order, but it's close. Once I got the top 500 songs off my phone down to these 125, I ranked them all from 1-10, and then ranked all those groups again from 1-10. Roughly, things are in order.

Flack · Post by **Flack** » Sun Oct 30, 2016 5:17 pm

125. Ugly Kid Joe - So Damn Cool

"(I Hate) Everything About You" put Ugly Kid Joe on the map. As a result, their 1991 debut EP "As Ugly As They Wanna Be" was the first EP to ever go platinum, and getting the song added to the Wayne's World soundtrack helped finance the band's second release and first full-length album, "America's Least Wanted." A couple of songs from the EP were included on the full-length album along with several new songs, including this song.

Like a lot of the band's material, this song combined a heavy riff with a singable chorus. All told, they were actually much heavier than people gave them credit for being. Also, I didn't think about this until just now, but the current drummer of UKJ (Shannon Larkin) appears on this list at least four times.

[youtube][/youtube]

Almost on board here · Sun Oct 30, 2016 5:21 pm

Why not just dump your whole hard drive onto the board and name the topic "every song I ever listened to"?

Ice Cream Jonsey · Post by **Ice Cream Jonsey** » Sun Oct 30, 2016 7:09 pm

I was vaguely aware of them, but I don't know if I had ever really knowingly heard one of their songs except for that one about who they hate. That you mentioned.

This is entirely listenable!

They have a really, really bad name for their band and that probably contributed to me never really getting into them. Good find, Flack.

Flack · Post by **Flack** » Sun Oct 30, 2016 7:12 pm

Ice Cream Jonsey wrote:I was vaguely aware of them, but I don't know if I had ever really knowingly heard one of their songs except for that one about who they hate. That you mentioned.

This is entirely listenable!

They have a really, really bad name for their band and that probably contributed to me never really getting into them. Good find, Flack.

As the story goes, they were asked to open for the band Pretty Boy Floyd and changed their name to Ugly Kid Joe for the show. It stuck.

Flack · Post by **Flack** » Sun Oct 30, 2016 7:23 pm

124. Ned's Atomic Dustbin - Grey Cell Green

I got my first CD player in 1991, and promptly drove to the nearest music shop and bought a handful of used CDs to listen to. One of those CDs was Ned's Atomic Dustbin's debut album "God Fodder," and this song is from that album. I saw this band on MTV before I bought the CD, and liked the fact that they had two bass players. I'm pretty sure I bought a tie-dyed t-shirt after seeing this video. Also, this song is fun to air drum to.

For some reason the video isn't on YouTube, so you can click the YouTube video to listen to the song, or click on the Vimeo link to watch the actual music video, where five guys wearing tie-dyed clothes play this song in a tie-dyed room.

[youtube][/youtube]

Video:

Flack · Post by **Flack** » Sun Oct 30, 2016 8:00 pm

123. EBN OZN - AEIOU (Sometimes Y)

Originally named "Leiben and Rosen," the band changed their name to "EBN OZN" after being told that their band's name sounded like a law firm.

When I heard this song as a kid I thought it was about, you know, the alphabet. I don't think it showed up on my radar again until Beavis and Butthead poked fun at it. I looked up the lyrics and this song is so bizarre that I'm amazed they played it at all. In the first verse, the singer meets a Swedish girl named Lola, they go to his place and get high, he tries to score and she leaves. The two call one another and the singer gets mad. At the end of the song (which I think the MTV video cuts off) the singer says Lola is cool because when they have sex he gets to keep his cowboy boots on, and after they break up they agree not to sleep with each other's friends. Huh.

According to Wikipedia: "Recorded in 1981, "AEIOU" has the distinction of being the first commercial single ever recorded entirely on a computer (a Fairlight CMI) in the United States and the subsequent album, Feeling Cavalier, the first such album. Ēbn-Ōzn's use of the Fairlight CMI's "sampling" functions makes them true pioneers of sampling, a music recording process, which was then revolutionary and is now common practice in 21st century sound music recording."

I didn't know that back then, but it makes me appreciate it more today.

[youtube][/youtube]

Ice Cream Jonsey · Post by **Ice Cream Jonsey** » Sun Oct 30, 2016 8:43 pm

I am not sure exactly what I would have gone with if pressed for the "most 80s song and video," but this is up there. Great find, I had never heard of this band, song or anything remotely approaching what they do. I already feel more musically educated.

Flack · Post by **Flack** » Mon Oct 31, 2016 4:26 am

122. Christina Aguilera - Ain't No Other Man

I don't care one way or the other about Christina Aguilera. I don't own any of her albums, nor do I follow her career. I know she is (or was) a judge on one of those singing talent shows I don't watch. She was a Genie in a Bottle. Her song "Beautiful" was written by Linda Perry of the Four Non Blondes. I'm scraping for things I know about Christina Aguilera at this point.

This one's on the list because it's fun, nothing more. I like the jazz/retro sample and how it works here. I think they got sued for using it. Also, in this video I realize everybody is probably lip-syncing.

The song starts around the one minute mark. I don't blame you if you stop it ten or fifteen seconds later. This is my guilty pleasure, not yours.

[youtube][/youtube]

Flack · Post by **Flack** » Mon Oct 31, 2016 4:31 am

Ice Cream Jonsey wrote:I am not sure exactly what I would have gone with if pressed for the "most 80s song and video," but this is up there. Great find, I had never heard of this band, song or anything remotely approaching what they do. I already feel more musically educated.

Both guys have that look I wanted but was too young to achieve in the early 80s. Now, we're older and can afford cool things. The next time we meet, I hope you have a few long braids hanging from your hair. Then when your co-workers ask if you want to go out after work you can say, "DO I WANT TO GO OUT?" and start rambling off vowels. They will think you're a weirdo but you're banging a Swedish girl named Lola so who has the last laugh here? Damn!

Flack · Post by **Flack** » Mon Oct 31, 2016 5:21 am

121. Alien Ant Farm - Smooth Criminal

The year was 2000, and music labels were scrambling to sign anyone who looked and/or sounded like Limp Bizkit. Swap your four string bass for a five string, change to drop D turning, turn your baseball cap around and watch the money come rolling in!

Pop music goes in waves and we've all suffered through stretches where country music was hot or dance music was everywhere, so I try not to complain when guys with guitars are on the radio and television.

It's tough to cover a Michael Jackson song and make it your own, but Alien Ant Farm did it with their cover of "Smooth Criminal." Plus, check out that cardigan/baseball cap combo with a chin beard to match. Man those were good times.

Alien Ant Farm has released at least five albums and nobody (including me) has heard any of them. All anyone knows (if anything) is this song. After going on hiatus, the band reformed and played the 2009 Vans Warped Tour in memory of Michael Jackson. That being said, this is a fun video to watch and count all the Michael Jackson references. I miss Bubbles.

Alien Ant Farm would not make my top 1,000 list of bands, but every time this song comes on I pull the car over and start moonwalking so that has to count for something.

[youtube][/youtube]

Music Critic · Post by **Music Critic** » Mon Oct 31, 2016 5:51 am

I was honestly worried when I saw the Ned's Atomic Dustbin and EBN OZN picks that this was not going to be another push over list like the one ICJ is making. Fortunately his last two bad picks gives me a little bit of breathing room to regroup...

Flack · Post by **Flack** » Mon Oct 31, 2016 6:06 am

120. Letters to Cleo - Here and Now

Funky band name? Check. Playful lead singer? Check. One hit wonder? Check. A chorus full of jumbled words that you can impress your friends by memorizing? Check.

Ready to launch.

Great song with great dynamics, but let's not kid ourselves. I only bought this CD because I hoped that lead singer Kay Hanley would somehow find out that I owned it and ask me to marry her and save her from the terrible world of being a successful musician. Kay, I will make you toast and tea every morning! You got much to think about!

[youtube][/youtube]

Bonus video: Fifteen years after the band broke up in 2000, here's the band performing "Here and Now" in 2015. Still great.

[youtube][/youtube]

Music Critic · Post by **Music Critic** » Mon Oct 31, 2016 6:23 am

Fuck.

The Aguilera and Alien Ant Farm picks were just feints for this most recent devastating blow.

Flack · Post by **Flack** » Mon Oct 31, 2016 6:33 am

119. Meshuggah - Soul Burn

I discovered Meshuggah in 1999, 14 years before Pinback. I just want to lead off with that.

I discovered Meshuggah when a random employee in a random record store recommended them to me. That's how things used to work, people in meatspace recommending music to one another. It was a better time.

I thought Meshuggah was destined to be one of those bands that only I knew about and I suffered daily under the anguish caused by the fact that nobody else would ever love them like I did. Then Jack Osbourne played a Meshuggah song (only to annoy his neighbors) on the first season of The Osbournes and I spit out my drink. HOLY CRAP! MESHUGGAH'S ON MTV! When I dropped the torch, Jack Osbourne picked it up. And when Jack dropped it... well it sat for over a decade before Pinback picked it up. Look, what's important here is that someone is always carrying the torch and telling people how awesome Meshuggah is.

People argue over what genre Meshuggah is and many calculators have been smashed in frustration by people trying to solve the secrets of their time signatures. People will discover every hidden tomb in the pyramids, find Bigfoot, have a tea party in Area 51 and solve the riddle of the Bermuda Triangle before all the mysteries of this band are solved. Don't bother trying -- just strap yourself in, hang on, and enjoy having your face melted off.

I picked this specific Meshuggah song for three reasons: it's the song that first hooked me, it's the song that I think is the most accessible for people unfamiliar with the band, and I love it.

Here's the song as it appears on 1995's "Destroy Erase Improve":

[youtube][/youtube]

And here is the band performing the song live:

[youtube][/youtube]

I only recommend watching one or the other. I cannot be held responsible for your brain exploding.

Ice Cream Jonsey · Post by **Ice Cream Jonsey** » Mon Oct 31, 2016 6:33 am

Music Critic wrote:I was honestly worried when I saw the Ned's Atomic Dustbin and EBN OZN picks that this was not going to be another push over list like the one ICJ is making. Fortunately his last two bad picks gives me a little bit of breathing room to regroup...

Yeah, Flack, where's the hard stuff like Juice Newton?

Music Critic · Post by **Music Critic** » Mon Oct 31, 2016 7:27 am

Ice Cream Jonsey wrote:Yeah, Flack, where's the hard stuff like Juice Newton?

Anybody who does not like the lovely Judy Kay Newton is either deaf or blind.

pinback · Post by **pinback** » Mon Oct 31, 2016 7:28 am

I'm not going to do my top 100, because:

1. It'd probably just be a whole bunch of Zeppelin and Rush songs.

2. Billy would end up ruining it with his terrible posts and opinions, as he is attempting to do with your guys' attempts.

Music Critic · Post by **Music Critic** » Mon Oct 31, 2016 7:51 am

pinback wrote:1. It'd probably just be a whole bunch of Zeppelin and Rush songs.

I am actually a big fan of Zeppelin and Rush, my list is about to get Rush heavy in the closing stretch.

pinback wrote:2. Billy would end up ruining it with his terrible posts and opinions, as he is attempting to do with your guys' attempts.

I don't attempt to ruin anything, that is just how it always turns out.

pinback · Post by **pinback** » Mon Oct 31, 2016 8:19 am

Music Critic wrote:
pinback wrote:1. It'd probably just be a whole bunch of Zeppelin and Rush songs.
I am actually a big fan of Zeppelin and Rush, my list is about to get Rush heavy in the closing stretch.

Nobody is reading your list, because you completely misunderstood the purpose of the lists, and are doing it wrong.