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Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 106,245
Favourites (more):
BB2023: Yinrun RPDR UK 2: Tayce
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¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 106,245
Favourites (more):
BB2023: Yinrun RPDR UK 2: Tayce
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thanks all!
70-61:
Spoiler: #70 - "Into You" by Ariana Grande
Grande's career doesn't seem to be showing any signs of stopping any time soon, which is fantastic for her and yet frustrating for me. The last two or three albums have been incredibly blah and it feels like everything post-Dangerous Woman has been the same mumbling tedium. Compare the likes of thank u, next with the hits she was churning out (Be Alright, Break Free, Problem, One Last Time) and it just feels like what was once a bright poppy spark has been dulled into the same trap-infused crap that everyone else is doing. She peaked with Into You, an urgent and passionate sex-banger that has been at the forefront of every gay with a performative aspect's mind for a good half decade now. That whistle tone during the final chorus? Changed lives. I'm bald now. Irretrievable.
#69 - "Hold On, We're Going Home" by Drake and Majid Jordan
Speaking of musicians who've been dominating at the top of the charts long past their quality of output faded, Drake has been huge ever since the latter end of the 00s and has had an endless tirade of #1 singles and albums. The critical praise for the man has definitely faded over the last handful, but for a time he seemed inescapable. That nightmare was at least made bearable by the release of this phenomenal single in 2013. Hold On, We're Going Home is Drake at his best: emotional, vulnerable, honest and immaculately produced. Those synths swooning throughout... wonderful.
#68 - "I Dare You" by The xx
Since their Mercury Prize-winning debut album in 2009, The xx have revolutionised the way bands and artists play with minimalism, and really paved the way for experimentalism to be more featured and prominent in mainstream pop. They truly carved out a niche; combining Jamie xx's gentle take on house and dance with Romy's sublime, aching voice and Oliver Sim's hollow, commanding drawl. I could've picked any of their songs to be honest; I've adored all three albums but I think I took to their most recent - 2017's I See You the most and thus I pick I Dare You. Those punchy, short lyrics give the track this sense of having to get it off their chests, and nothing feels more important. Millie Bobby Brown pops up in the video, too, which is odd.
#67 - "when the party's over" by Billie Eilish
I've reflected a lot on the angsty, emo trends that dominated during my formative years with the occasional musical nostalgia in here, and it's that sort of teenage anxiety and uncertainty that is forever associated with those years of your lives. This generation's biggest star giving a voice to those sorts of feelings is Eilish, a woman whose star is almost certainly still on the rise even if she's already got two Record of the Year GRAMMYs to her name. Before she was being thrown opportunities like recording a Bond theme and mega-budget music videos, she was appealing to fans with these incredibly stripped-back songs and there wasn't one more laid-bare and vulnerable than When the Party's Over. Vocally, the song is haunting; layered with reverbs and echoes to such an extent that it's almost ethereal. Visually, the music video is so intensely unsettling and visceral that it's impossible to not feel moved by it. She's already released a lot of fantastic singles, but the one that really jolted me awake and made me pay attention to her artistry was this.
#66 - "Q.U.E.E.N." by Janelle Monáe and Erykah Badu
I've already explained my love of Janelle Monáe in here so I'll just jump straight on the song: 'QUEEN' was the lead single from her second album, The Electric Lady. I remember waiting for the music video to premiere because I knew it would be an event, and I was not wrong. There aren't many songs from the 2010s that are more powerful than this: it's a feminist and black anthem that harnesses so much in its lyrics that it's almost impossible to unpack here. Especially when the music is so compelling, full of funk and groove and the wonderful interruption of Badu's signature drawl. The spoken word outro, though, is phenomenal:
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"Are we a lost generation of our people?
Add us to equations but they'll never make us equal
She who writes the movie owns the script and the sequel
So why ain't the stealing of my rights made illegal?
They keep us underground working hard for the greedy
But when it's time to pay they turn around and call us needy
My crown too heavy like the Queen Nefertiti
Gimme back my pyramid, I'm trying to free Kansas City
Mixing masterminds like your name Bernie Grundman
Well I'mma keep leading like a young Harriet Tubman
You can take my wings but I'm still gonna fly
And even when you edit me the booty don't lie
Yeah, I'ma keep sangin', I'mma keep writin' songs
I'm tired of Marvin asking me "What's Going On?"
March through the streets 'cuz I'm willing and I'm able
Categorize me, I defy every label
And while you're selling dope, we're gonna keep selling hope
We rising up now, you gotta deal you gotta cope
Will you be electric sheep? Electric ladies, will you sleep?
Or will you preach?"
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#65 - "Slow Burn" by Kacey Musgraves
2018's Golden Hour is an album that demands to be listened to in the gentlest way possible. I cannot understate how calming and serene an experience it was to listen to the first time, and it only gets better with repeated listens. Its standout - for me - was Slow Burn, this picturesque snapshot of time and ecstacy that still gives me chills and probably will for years to come. I've never tried heroin but I'd imagine the high, that everyone addicted to it is chasing, feels something like this.
#64 - "Take Me Out" by Franz Ferdinand
One of the greatest intros to a rock song of all time, period. Franz Ferdinand burst onto the UK music scene in 2004 with Matinee and immediately followed it up with this monster, jam-packed with catchy guitar riffs and lyrics that are practically begging to be shouted along to in a packed pub. It's been a long time since the Scots put an album out, and truth be told they were petering out for a while, like most bands do, but god they were amazing in the 2000s.
#63 - "Bohemian Like You" by The Dandy Warhols
The second that drumbeat kicks in and the organs fire up on the intro, I am immediately teleported back to 2001 and the feeling of effortless cool. There aren't many songs more iconic or universally loved than Bohemian Like You; a song that extended way beyond your casual rock fans into the hearts of just about everyone it reached through radio waves. Five years later it was re-released as a mashup with Mousse T's "Horny" and given a new lease of life, but honestly I think the song was already destined to go down as an all-time classic without it.
#62 - "Hung Up" by Madonna
Nowadays whenever you hear about Madonna reinventing herself you can't help but grimace and brace yourselves for the onslaught of true cringe... but back in 2005 she did it with such a meticulous attention to detail and just the perfect list of ingredients to back her up. Confessions on a Dance Floor is my favourite Madonna album of all time, and I have no qualms putting it over her 1980s and 1990s masterpieces. She'd already confirmed herself as the queen of pop, and a queer icon, so why not go full disco and take an ABBA sample and ****ing run with it? Hung Up is a phenomenal song, and truly shook up pop and the idea that women of a certain age should retire gracefully and put the pink leotards away. WHAT a moment  iconic.
#61 - "Since U Been Gone" by Kelly Clarkson
After winning the first series of American Idol all the way back in 2002, Clarkson quickly established herself as one of the most bankable popstars around. Teaming up with masters of the craft like Max Martin was a recipe for success, and in 2004 she came back with a second album led by this... this lightning bolt. She's had a lot of fantastic bedroom-karaoke moments, but for me the best was always this... those guitar licks and crashing drums all combining to create something truly cathartic and adrenaline-rushing.
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Spoiler:
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Originally Posted by Saph
You're giving me a million reasons about a million reasons
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