30. Sarah McLachlan — “Full of Grace” — This song was not written for the sequence in “Becoming Part 2” that follows Buffy’s painful choice to send Angel to hell to save the world. But it seems like it was. When music and images work together like that, it’s the highest form of artistic achievement.
29. Stone Temple Pilots — “Interstate Love Song” — One of the definitive songs of the ’90s has a relentless energy such that it could propel you down the road even without wheels.
28. Tom Russell — “It Goes Away” — For a guy who looks kinda like a gruff ol’ cowboy on stage, Russell can churn out great sentimental tunes. This one chronicles universal painful moments, then reassures the listener that “it goes away.”
27. The Concretes — “You Can’t Hurry Love” — A great soundscape, a great voice, a great message. Some accused the Concretes of trying to mimic Camera Obscura, but that sounds more like a compliment than a criticism to me.
26. Bruce Springsteen — “Girls in Their Summer Clothes” — If the girls in their summer clothes even pass Bruce Springsteen by, maybe I shouldn’t feel too bad.
25. Marvelous 3 — “Indie Queen” — My song of the summer of ’99, even if it was no one else’s. Rocking/sentimental Butch Walker tries to get inside the heads of young women who are defined by their looks: “How do you like it when they/ Touch your face/ And turn the page/ And make you feel like a waste of space … Tell me now just how you feel ’bout that.”
24. Bob Seger — “Against the Wind” — In the best song ever to be in heavy rotation at Walgreens, Seger sums up life, and how it often seems like we’re walking into a stiff wind as we travel through it.
23. The Jayhawks — “Blue” — The Jayhawks — and this song in particular — are part of the reason I say I’m from Minnesota (even though it would be more accurate to say I’m from North Dakota). Like many of the band’s songs, “Blue” sounds like it should be sad, but it’s so beautiful that it’s actually kind of uplifting.
22. Belle and Sebastian — “I’m a Cuckoo” — B&S don’t so much write songs as they create worlds using the art of the song. This is a case in point, and it gets bonus points for using the phrase “Thin Lizzie-o” for the sake of rhyming in the chorus.
21. She & Him — cover of NRBQ’s “Ridin’ in My Car” — This is such a good road trip song that I would actually plan a road trip solely so I could play this song on the road trip. As I’ve mentioned before, I could listen to Zooey Deschanel sing just about anything, but this is She & Him’s best song because M. Ward’s vocal contribution is such a nice contrast. “She” needs to share the mic with “Him” more often.
Comments
27,22,21!
also, I wouldn’t put money on Matt Ward getting more vocal time. he started She & Him so that Zooey could get her foot in the door. he does A LOT of solo work and work with other artists. which reminds me, you still need to check out Monsters of Folk!# Posted By chance | 8/3/10 2:10 PM
Zooey and M. both sound great on their own, but I think when they trade off vocals on the same song it reaches a whole ‘nother level of greatness. It’s a shame if they don’t recognize that. At least we’ll always have “Ridin’ in My Car.”# Posted By John Hansen | 8/3/10 2:55 PM