Top 200 songs of the 1990s

I could not even imagine undertaking this sort of effort to rank my favorite songs of the 1990s, so I link to Keith Law and his Top 200 rock songs of the 1990s.

It is a exhaustive list, and as with any musical ranking list, plenty of room for disagreement. It would probably be easier to do albums, because then people won't quibble with the song you select from the album. But if you are like me, the choice of a song was a validation of the entire album and I could let it go. A few I could not believe were from the 90s, I even googled Depeche Mode because to me that is 80s, but Keith was right and I was wrong.

I found a few glaring, in my opinion, omissions, which I shared in a post to Keith for his follow up post:

“Blue canary in the outlet by the light switch/Who watches over you/Make a little birdhouse in your soul” – It might be on my top 10 list of all time.

“I know a girl who thinks of ghosts/She’ll make ya breakfast/She’ll make ya toast/She don’t use butter/She don’t use cheese/She don’t use jelly/Or any of these/She uses vaseline” – Any Lips fan will argue it’s a poor representation of the band and rightfully so, but this song is iconic.

“Hike up your skirt a little more /And show your world to me /In a boys dream/In a boys dream” – I have vivid 90s memories every time I hear this song.

“Kitty on my foot and I wanna touch it/Kitty on my foot and I wanna touch it/Kitty on my foot and I wanna touch it/Kitty on my foot and I wanna touch it” – POTUSA needs to at least be mentioned somewhere in this discussion.

“Elevator lady/ Elevator lady/ Elevator lady/ Levitate me” – ‘Where is my mind’ may be the more memorable song thanks to Fight Club, but I sing this song to myself every day when I step into the elevator at work.

“I woke up this morning with a bad hangover/And my penis was missing again./This happens all the time./It’s detachable” – This song reminds me of drinking heavily, which is essentially the 90s for me.

Maybe these are a little more obscure than I realized, but even so, I had to speak my peace.

Song of the day

I watched the movie Control last night (with no baseball on and limited attention span when it comes to any other sports, I tend to watch a lot of movies). I am a sucker for movies and documentaries about the late 70s music scene in England, both on the punk and post-punk sides of the fence. So, while flipping around last night trying to find something other than football to watch, I stumbled across this movie.

It is the story of Ian Curtis of Joy Division fame, that was enough to suck me in. I knew a little bit of the story and have been constantly surprised by how many Joy Division songs I recognized on the digital cable radio station I watch (when there is no baseball or movies to watch). Needless to say, I was totally engrossed and really enjoyed the movie despite the tremendous despair of the overall story. Turns out it is based on the book by his widow, which gives it more credence in my opinion.

One thing that bugged me was they give you a subtitle telling you it is 1973 in England in the beginning of the movie, but after that scene, you don't get any other dates nor are you told how old Ian was at that point. You just know he was school aged still. I guess if I knew the subject matter better, there are enough cultural references to play out the time line. But I don't, so it was difficult to tell how much time had played out. I was shocked at the end of the movie that he was only 23 when he died, it seemed like they were toiling in obscurity for longer than that. But that is a minor quibble, all in all a great movie.

Not really a song about Irrelevance, but the movie was very touching so I am making a song of the day post sans the Irrelevance tag line.

Love Will Tear Us Apart:

When routine bites hard,
And ambitions are low,
And resentment rides high,
But emotions won't grow,
And we're changing our ways,
Taking different roads.

Then love, love will tear us apart again.
Love, love will tear us apart again.

Why is the bedroom so cold?
You've turned away on your side.
Is my timing that flawed?
Our respect runs so dry.
Yet there's still this appeal
That we've kept through our lives.

But love, love will tear us apart again.
Love, love will tear us apart again.

You cry out in your sleep,
All my failings exposed.
And there's a taste in my mouth,
As desperation takes hold.
Just that something so good
Just can't function no more.

But love, love will tear us apart again.
Love, love will tear us apart again.
Love, love will tear us apart again.
Love, love will tear us apart again.

I am a big fan of artists that throw their whole lives at their art, and these poignant lyrics define the movie. What a song.

Irrelevance song of the day

Happy Birthday Karl Wallinger! I heard on 94.9's This Date in Music History segment that today is his birthday, so I tuned my phone to World Party's Goodbye Jumbo on my commute to work today. Just an unbelievable album that never gets old. Anyway, track 8, God on my Side, inspired this post, as it is fantastic example of irrelevane in action in the world:

Well I seen you out there parading
In the streets of your distant land
In your strange caps and clothing
Shouting, "I don't understand."
But you, you look so loaded
It's somethin' I can't feel
But I'm into some God action
And maybe yours is real
'Cos I'm falling
I need your God on my side
I need your God on my side

Well I see you objecting so strongly
To the ways of the liberal disease
And your armchair satisfaction
As you narrow the meaning of free
And I dream of a home that is tidy
And a church full of money bees
And I wonder about the suppression
That you get when you're down on your knees
And I'm falling
I need your God on my side
I need your God on my side

God on my side ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh
God on my side ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh
God on my side ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh
God on my side ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh

Well I see you thought we could change the world
If we gather round and pray
But it's just like sending one letter
to more than just one place
But, "Dear God can you help us"
Must be the opening phrase
Cos we're falling
Need your God on my side
One I can call my own
I need my God on your side
Make a happy home
We need their God on our side
In search of him I will roam
Need our God on our side
Mine got up and left home
You need our God on your side
Ooh ooh ooh

Just noticed the release date on Amazon, April 1990. 1990! Man oh man, what a long time ago. Yet the song is just as appropriate as ever, showing how little change has taken place these last 19 years. Sad.

Irrelevance song of the day

Hell, for me, this is the song of the last year! It is from MGMT, off of Oracular Spectacular. The song is called Time to Pretend. I listen to it two or three mornings each week on my commute to my office job.

I'm feeling rough, I'm feeling raw, I'm in the prime of my life.
Let's make some music, make some money, find some models for wives.
I'll move to Paris, shoot some heroin, and fuck with the stars.
You man the island and the cocaine and the elegant cars.

This is our decision, to live fast and die young.
We've got the vision, now let's have some fun.
Yeah, it's overwhelming, but what else can we do.
Get jobs in offices, and wake up for the morning commute.

Forget about our mothers and our friends
We're fated to pretend
To pretend
We're fated to pretend
To pretend

I'll miss the playgrounds and the animals and digging up worms
I'll miss the comfort of my mother and the weight of the world
I'll miss my sister, miss my father, miss my dog and my home
Yeah, I'll miss the boredom and the freedom and the time spent alone.

There's really nothing, nothing we can do
Love must be forgotten, life can always start up anew.
The models will have children, we'll get a divorce
We'll find some more models, everything must run it's course.

We'll choke on our vomit and that will be the end
We were fated to pretend
To pretend
We're fated to pretend
To pretend

Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah

The lead song off your first album, I'd say MGMT gets irrelevance! Just a brilliant, kick ass song!