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Last Active 12-28-22 7:12 pm
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| 500 Rating Special - Personal Top 10 Songs Ever
I finally listened to 500 full albums, a milestone I'm honestly quite delighted to reach, to be honest. I love Sputnik for rec'ing me legendary shit and occasionally blowing my mind with some of my finds here. Here's a potentially over-detailed list of my favorite songs of all time, and I have you guys to thank for many of the songs in these spots. Cheers! | | 31 |  | Oceansize
Everyone Into Position
10. “Music for a Nurse”: Let's kick off the list with what is likely one of the greatest dilemmas of quality in the 2000's: Oceansize. Oceansize is a band that could have very easily made the best record of all time if they knew their full capabilities. They've created multiple classic tracks that pretty much blow away many classic pieces of progressive rock. Their albums, unfortunately, never lived up to the potential. Some of them were fantastic (Frames and Everyone Into Position, particularly), but even they were nowhere near the quality of those individual tracks. “Music for a Nurse” is one of those individual tracks. There are countless reasons why I feel that the majority of people are justified to claim this song as Oceansize's crowning achievement. One of those reasons being the flawless execution of instrumental “stacking”, or incrementally putting in one instrument at a time, including the vocals. Somehow, none of it took too long or quickly to appear, | | 30 | | Oceansize
Everyone Into Position
and even the vocals came in at exactly the right time. Although this was a trademark quality of Oceansize's sound, the way the guitars and keyboards play off each other is impeccable, and there really weren't many bands that could do this better than they could. Mark Heron's work on here is also fantastic because, for one, the scrumptious snare sound, but also the jazz fusion vibe that helps the organ in this song bring a more traditional progressive rock sound to the table. This actually saved this track from being too processed, so their significance is really notable. “How's the lyrics?”, you may ask. If there was one line that perfectly described everything about this song, it would be...umm...ah, screw it. You could take any lyric from it as a completely accurate representation of what this song sounds like because it all showcases feelings of loss. | | 29 | | Oceansize
Everyone Into Position
I think the way that Oceansize lets the instruments and the masterpiece of a vocal performance evolve the lyrics displays one of the peak accomplishments of songwriting, especially in the progressive rock genre. One song ahead has something to say to that, however... | | 28 |  | M83
Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
9. “Wait”: Alright, neeka, this is the one you've been waiting for. In a way, “Wait” begins similarly to “Music for a Nurse” with the simplistic guitar composition and the major emphasis on certain notes. They both have almost unbeatable vocal performances, part of them coming from the absolutely stellar production of each track. Unlike that song, however, the lyrics are super minimalistic and crunched down to only 36 words with 14 of those consisting of “no time”. Yeah, yeah, you know what I'm probably gonna say, “It lets the music speak for the lyrics”; however, not only is that true here (especially at the ending), but there's no more that this song wants explained from the lyrics. It's about moving past ultimately-meaningless stress, and the track's selfless self wants you, the listener, to feel relaxed and rid of it. Instrumentally, this song could not have been better composed. | | 27 | | M83
Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
Even the less notable distinctions like the transition from the first chorus to the second verse with the “warp” effects and the violins do so much to make the song better. Then there's the climax. Dear God, the climax. It's got one of the greatest drum production choices ever, the organs are bleeding beauty from their instruments, and the vocal shrieks and croonings punch you in the balls like no tomorrow. As I've said before, it's one of the only moments in music (on this list, even) that effortlessly makes me well up in the right mood. On a cool and very rare side note, I actually prefer listening to the music video rather than the album track, and all because of one thing: that explosion sound effect that starts off the second verse. I think it gives that section even more life than it already has, so I like to include it as part of the original composition. Also, good on the people from The Fault in Our Stars for using this song in their ending because, again, damn. | | 26 |  | Thrice
Vheissu
8. “For Miles”: Speaking of perfect climaxes, here's another entry with one that just ruthlessly crushes any post-hardcore counterpart that tries to put one in their songs. Before we get to that, let's pay attention to how well the rest of the song is performed because as one wise person from Sputnik (I can't remember their name) said, “It's not all about the climax.” First off, the gospel-influenced mixture of piano and drums on the first minute really exhibits a biblical image given not only from this song, but from the rest of the album as well. It's a fantastically verse, but that's where your expectations for the rest of the song are going to be proven wrong. When the minute-and-a-half mark rolls around, you can't help but see the massive potential for this song's dynamics in all instruments. Everything about this middle section poses itself as a classic moment in radio rock (or it should be, at the very least). Yeah, never mind, all of this song is a classic moment in rock music, | | 25 | | Thrice
Vheissu
even with an occasional 2/4 time signature change from the 6/4. The gospel influences are shown into light once again with the choir-like background during the bridge, almost as an omen of what's to come. Now we get to the climax, and what does come is one the greatest uses of harsh vocals and one of the best guitar effects ever. Seriously, there's not many songs that can say they make a guitar sound that epic. An underrated aspect about this ending, in my opinion, is how this ending, well, ends. There's no “big rock ending” or finish or anything like that, but it instead fades out with that guitar riff and wall of crashes. The lyrics match the composition this way as you can redeem what you've ruined in the end of it all, but the journey can be endless, like that riff. | | 24 |  | Oceansize
Frames
7. “Trail of Fire”: Let's do a little more comparing. “Trail of Fire” is another song that's like “Music for a Nurse” in a number of ways. They're both written by Oceansize, they're made only two years from each other, and this song is only seven seconds shorter than that track. Why does any of this matter all that much? Because one major difference changes the entire game for the quality of both songs, and that's how many different styles of content are packed into each track. “Music for a Nurse” is fairly simple and straightforward for an Oceansize song while “Trail of Fire” has every guitar tone under the sun included in it. There are so many different soundscapes and creative decisions here that they could've made the unsuspecting head spin too much, but they don't. You're just along for the jazzy, heavy, mind-blowing, warped, depressing, and awesome ride. Let's start with vocals, and I'm not gonna lie, Mike Vennart's vocals have nearly as low of a floor as his ceiling's height | | 23 | | Oceansize
Frames
(case in point, his winceful performance on “Sleeping Dogs and Dead Lions”), but his performance is magnificent here. It helps that his vocal effects throughout make his voice vastly inventive for the progressive rock genre, similarly to how Paul Masvidal changed progressive metal scene forever with his performance on Cynic's Traced in Air. I can drool over the production and mixing for every song on this list, but this might actually have the best production on this list. Not just anybody make the guitars in the climax so richly dense or the calmer sections so wistfully peaceful despite all the different instruments being used. This is also Mark Heron's best performance as a drummer, and, no, not even the insane “Build Us a Rocket Then...” beats this. He follows the guitars' footsteps by masterfully altering into vastly different playing styles the song calls for (even in 7/8, 5/8 time). Now, I did just say that the production on this song is some of the best ever, | | 22 | | Oceansize
Frames
but the guitar playing absolutely steals the show. Without the guitarists' performance on any parts of the song, “Trail of Fire” just isn't the same. The lyrics aren't limited from this diversity, either. The creative word choice makes them just about as complexly written. I could probably write about the same amount of details for all the classic songs that Oceansize has created, but I was always hoping the same could be true for a classic album of theirs, and it genuinely sucks that that wont ever be the case. Even after the slightly-disappointing Self Preserved... released in 2010, I could still see their massive potential as the possibilities of increased maturity came about, and that's what makes their breakup so heartbreaking. It was just too damn early. They weren't only ones on here, however. | | 21 |  | Animal Collective
Fall Be Kind
6. “What Would I Want? Sky”: This is the most recent addition to this list as I was starting to get into Animal Collective from all of their received acclaim. I tested their waters by spinning the pinnacle Animal Collective trilogy (Feels, Strawberry Jam, Merriweather Post Pavillion). Feels was far and away the best record out of the three and it definitely deserves all of its praise, but I couldn't help but feel that the other two didn't. They were just slightly over-produced and glittery pieces of good, not great, psych pop. That didn't stop my intrigue for their other work, however, and I delved into their supposedly best EP Fall Be Kind. Here's where our marriage began. I always adored the retro-like production that appears on much of Animal Collective's catalogue, but it shines most on this song. The drum and bass percussion in the first section somehow don't conflict with, but rather compliment the organ and keyboards that mold the atmosphere. | | 20 | | Animal Collective
Fall Be Kind
If you're wandering why there's “dreamy” sound effects swirling over the track, it's because the lyrics on this part are literally just “good dreams”, and that repetition adds to the psyche of the instruments so it's quite beneficial. Also, Animal Collective somehow makes a 7/8 time signature absolutely bump, and that carries us into the second section of the song. The bassist's presence here is a very underrated aspect of this song, as he perfectly combines himself with the west coast-styled guitar line. The production somehow makes the computerized drums sound genuine, yet in a way where you'll be jamming in no time. The vocal performance is phenomenal. One of my favorite examples of this on here is the awesome back-up singer inclusion on the second verse, and, of course, there's the ending note on the last chorus, “What would you want? Skkkyyyyyyyyyyyy.” As far as lyrics go, Avey Tare so fluidly lets out his personal feelings in the best possible way for him: music. | | 19 | | Animal Collective
Fall Be Kind
The general songwriting is just a perfect fit for anyone that has lacks a deserved personal freedom and I understand the absence of “sky” all too well. The overall peppiness in this song showcases a real hope even if seemingly dreamy. That's where the sky really is the limit. | | 18 |  | Porcupine Tree
The Sky Moves Sideways
5. “The Sky Moves Sideways (Both Phases)”: Even after three years of listening to the same eight albums periodically (begone On the Sunday of Life and The Incident!), Porcupine Tree might still be my favorite band. The intended depression of the lyrics may have lost its grasp with me by now, but there still has never been any band like it. That's what makes me keep coming back. I want quality prog pop? Stupid Dream. I want a murky atmosphere with krautrock influences? Signify. My personal favorite, I want the best of all Steven Wilson-isms (lyrics, the metal touch, and basically everything)? In Absentia. The Sky Moves Sideways isn't an exception to this uniqueness with its highly successful psychedelic prog theme, mainly identified with its title track. The problem is, I don't think those words can do that track justice at all. Alright, LSD, DMT, DXM, PCP; you can take any acronymed hallucinogen and trip with song, but I see “TSMS” as its own drug. | | 17 | | Porcupine Tree
The Sky Moves Sideways
Its captivation and allure is that powerful. This is probably one of the best vocal and lyrical performances Steven Wilson has done with Porcupine Tree. Granted, Steven Wilson was never the greatest of either those in 90's or with his solo work today, but his limited use in Phase 1 acts as a “trip buffer” before all the human words become sound effects and madness. Speaking of which, the ways in which the sound effects are laid out and displayed here are unlike anything else. All the sirens, synth effects, organs, voices, and extra percussion are such eminent parts of both phases. In fact, I'd go far as to say that without the horn-sounding noises at the start of Phase 2, that part just wouldn't match up to Phase 1, but just that aspect makes it hold its own a little more. The guitar work is absolutely amazing here, too, as it builds just as trippy of an atmosphere as the keyboards and organs. | | 16 | | Porcupine Tree
The Sky Moves Sideways
Steven Wilson's playing on Phase 2 creates a whole beast out of the composition, especially at the ending. Fun fact: my favorite Porcupine Tree song for over two years was the popular choice “Arriving Somewhere but Not Here”, but when the trips are all over, we all know what the obvious choice is. | | 15 |  | Pink Floyd
Wish You Were Here
4. “Wish You Were Here”: Welcome back, simplicity. I enjoyed your time with M83's “Wait”, but when the curtains are drawn, the title track from one of the greatest albums ever displays this idea in the greatest way possible. Before we bite into that candy, let's discuss sonic influence. The starting strums of the guitar with the white noise accompanying it encapsulates a lot of the fine-aged classic rock from the 70's. Even with the modern-ish guitar being played about, the piano and horns are also there to anchor its even more classical 50's sound. The mixing throughout the entire song is legendary and I'm almost lost for words to describe how good it is. The closest I can get is that it sounds so raw, yet so well produced in that time to where David Gilmour sings to you, and that's not even his intention, or it seems that way (we'll get to that later). Its core sound can be heard in many of the highly-acclaimed acts of the 80's and 90's such as Marillion, Radiohead, | | 14 | | Pink Floyd
Wish You Were Here
and even the aforementioned Steven Wilson. Now onto the lyrics, and there's a lot to unbox here. I'm aware that the general message is, “The world sucks and I need you in my life to make it not so bad”, but it's so cleverly told. The song goes out of its way to represent at least the majority of life shortcomings with its questions. In order, we have religious confusion, false hopes, broken relationships, misleading idols, wasted effort, constant stress, and generally bad life decisions. When Roger Waters and Gilmour wrote this song to Syd Barrett, I think they knew that all of these things effected them as much as they did to him. It's almost like they wrote this song the way they did for listeners to put themselves in their place. At concerts, the chorus is the stanza that many Pink Floyd fans are most familiar with, and I believe it's because Pink Floyd realized that many people at the time were needing the comfort of unity. | | 13 | | Pink Floyd
Wish You Were Here
However, whether or not it was intended as a song for mass unity is completely insignificant. It's a piece almost everyone can play on any instrument, and it's easy to remember, but it's still Pink Floyd. That's what makes it all so great. | | 12 |  | Slint
Spiderland
3. “Good Morning, Captain”: Spiderland is my favorite album of all time. If that statement doesn't convince you enough about how much I adore this record, I wrote a scholarship essay for college based off of my emotional response to Spiderland. Similarly to Porcupine Tree, this band has a uniqueness that's simply unmatched with other bands in its genre, and that enticement keeps me visiting over and over again. Slint's case is fairly different, however, and you could say that with negative connotation behind it. I don't really want to listen to them in every mood, positive in particular (“Breadcrumb Trail” may would fulfill it, but that's it). So...who is Slint, and more specifically, what's going on in their minds? To me, “Good Morning, Captain” is Slint, and not only what that track on their minds while recording it was their STATE of minds. | | 11 | | Slint
Spiderland
When watching the documentary for Spiderland that was released almost four years ago (which was disappointing for reasons I'll cover another day), the band members said that they were far from okay after recording the album. That's what being required to write and record an entire album over a weekend will do to your sanity, and “Good Morning, Captain”, the last song on Spiderland, is that outlet of desperation. This is the only case I've seen where a rushed project becomes a masterpiece because it was rushed, and Slint took advantage of that. Compositionally, all instruments have some of the most underrated performances in rock music, particularly the bass and drums. Their presence here fills the song up with so much density and grit. One letter from 'grit' is 'grim', and that's exactly what the first six minutes of the song is. You can see disaster coming, but what comes is unexpected in every sense of the word. | | 10 | | Slint
Spiderland
Now, I love the spoken word, storyteller-like vocal performances all throughout the album, but the climax is Brian McMahan's most accomplished moment. His ghastly cries for help almost sound like a near-death experience, and if you're hoping the mood gets happier from there, intense instrumental sections backing him up don't help your request. I'll just end this with how I ended my scholarship essay: “Despite nearly all of the album containing staggering realism and poignancy, no moment is quite as emotionally shattering and heavy as the climax of the closing piece “Good Morning, Captain”. All of the built-up sorrow and feelings of loss are spilled into this moment, and although I've never been in an incident like the song's characters have, the aforementioned input of yourself into their world displays its full effectiveness.” | | 9 |  | Gospel
The Moon Is a Dead World
2. “Golden Dawn”: If Slint wasn't enough of a short-lived act for you to enjoy, Gospel will knock your socks off with only one LP and a less-than-stellar EP. I'm quite sure many of you know of this record and its impact on the genre of naughties's screamo so we'll just cut to the chase with “Golden Dawn”, which is one of the greatest achievements music has ever created. I've already said it in my 2018 Song of the Day submission, but I don't mind saying it again: this song is flawlessly epic in all aspects of songwriting and production. To begin, Kurt Ballou knows no boundaries in raw beauty (check Converge), and he displays this here in his top form. There are a couple of new ideas that Ballou and the band threw into the ring this time around, though. As I mentioned with “What Would I Want? Sky”, there can be a really high reward to making your instruments sound retro-ed. | | 8 | | Gospel
The Moon Is a Dead World
That's where all the King Crimson comparisons are coming from, that's a primary reason why “Golden Dawn” stands out among its epic screamo peers. He also gave the guitars and the bass almost have a blackened flavor to them, which I see as beyond a successful experiment. I can say for sure that the concept would have fallen flat on its face without the drumming from Vinny Rosebloom. It's hit-everything-and-make-it-a-rhythm approach creates one of the most impressive performances in that decade, taking his percussional skills up there in the Brann Dailor and Jon Theodore areas. What I love most about Rosebloom's performance on this song, however, is its counterstatement to the rest of the instrumentation. The organ and production call for a glimming raw beauty and the guitars and bass are calling for a dark raw beauty, but the drums just go crazy without categorization. Sure it's close to jazz fusion, but it's still in a league on its own. | | 7 | | Gospel
The Moon Is a Dead World
All of that, and we still haven't even gotten to the lyrics, vocals, or song structure yet. For that matter, the song's pacing is unbelievably smooth and it's a wonder how this nine-minute track can balance heaviness and breaks without confusing itself. Something leaves you constantly interested and awake, and every instrument plays their part to do that. I can croon over the vocalist all day as his less shrieky, more mature approach to singing blends in with the instrumentation flawlessly. His range of attitudes is so underrated as well. His desperation and emotion throughout is so well delivered and he hits all the right notes that the production and instruments were asking for. Oh look, it's also lyrically a masterpiece, too. The bleak depression you hear in the song is from the moments of personal apocalypse, or a world seemingly without hope. The minute-long segment from 4:13 to 5:13 maybe one of my favorite lyrical pieces ever. | | 6 | | Gospel
The Moon Is a Dead World
It's depiction of societal breakdown is genuinely tragic. However, that hopelessness is partially eliminated from 6:40 on. Why? Well I don't exactly know, but the singer does depict that the characters will just have fill their lives with happiness themselves, with a (possibly misleading) golden dawn. | | 5 |  | Kayo Dot
Choirs of the Eye
1. "The Manifold Curiosity": Here we are. We're finally here to the greatest piece of rhythmic audio ever record. Unlike the past three songs, “The Manifold Curiosity” comes off a noticeably imperfect album. That's not to say that Choirs of the Eye wasn't an irresistably gorgeous work of post metal or that it had some absolutely fantastic songs on it like “A Pitcher of Summer” or “Wayfarer”, but I have some issues with it. “Marathon” is an overly long track to me, and I'm still disappointed in how “The Antique” ends even with its great first half. Maybe I'm being slightly pretentious of the track, but “The Manifold Curiosity” transcends itself from Choirs of the Eye into the summit of the metaphorical musical mountain. If there's any piece of music that tops this, I have yet to hear it. It all unfolds and flows like a artistically crafted book or movie. This isn't a characteristic I really categorize music that often with, | | 4 | | Kayo Dot
Choirs of the Eye
but the first four minutes of this track are “mysterious” to me. It doesn't have a designated mood or tone, so there's no direction that can really predicted here. That supports the showcasing of its highly bipolar identity throughout the next ten minutes, but before that, I'm gonna display my obsession with some of the choices made at this point in the track. All instruments in the first minute-and-a-half are tranquilizing, convincingly so at that, but Toby Driver somehow leaves a sense of uncertainty and uneasiness. When that section out, a homemade-sounding riff springs up for the readings of Toby Driver. The make-your-voice-unintelligible effect that would continue on the primary buildup on the song is so extraterrestially captivating, and that should be an impossible characteristic for Toby Driver to pull off as a songwriter. However, he melds that aspect with the song's very grounded sense of mystery flawless. | | 3 | | Kayo Dot
Choirs of the Eye
Now here's where we reach the section that seemingly everyone is engrossed with. Yep, it's the clarinet solo. Toby Driver takes that blissful tranquility played in the intro and turns the meter up to eleven. Describe it anyway you want. Your first look at the love of your life. Your first high. Your first genuine experience of genuine and pure happiness. It all fades out right in the middle of the song and rhetorically asks “If you live in a fantasy, stop the song.” We live in reality, however, and in real life, the song isn't over, so we have to keep going. The upcoming guitar picking fills the atmosphere with a thick, almost opaque layer of ominous fog. A “reciter” named Todd Reece (as oddly credited on the album) comes in to repeat lyrics in 3 different tapes. After some insight you realize what the song is getting through to you. The clarinet solo is a lie. It's “sculpted with a binding gel”, “covered by an opium sheet”, and “embraced with gossamer”. | | 2 | | Kayo Dot
Choirs of the Eye
This state of mind is the kind of stuff that leads to mental devastation, so the increasingly intense drums and violin playing warn you of a potentially crushing piece of music. And then we get there. As one YouTube commenter accurately depicted it, it “...is still the most mind-bending and impossible piece of music I've heard.” The instrumentals in the climax go completely nuts, and it just utterly overpowers you. The entire section still wouldn't be nearly as efficient without the occasionally breakdowns. The guitar lick and drum fill that introduce them are indescribably tasty. Beating the intensity of Brian McMahan's vocals on “Good Morning, Captain” was just the thought of a hopeless dreamer to me, but Toby Driver somehow managed to do it. His performance on the climax makes me tense up and chills go down my spine every time I hear it. | | 1 | | Kayo Dot
Choirs of the Eye
After the blast beat ensues and pummels, those aforementioned breakdowns create its final, totally badass art in the form of the last 35 seconds of the song. And what better way to end it than a flickering and sudden double bass. This is goddamn insanity. Maybe I was better off playing it safe and stopping after the clarinet solo. But art and innovation are dead without risk, so I regret nothing. | |
ramon.
01.28.18 | is it wrong that i prefer get up by korn and skrillex to every song on this list | CugnoBrasso
01.28.18 | List is extremely solid, I just started getting into Oceansize and Unfamiliar is my jam now! | BlazinBlitzer
01.28.18 | @crypto Hey, you do you, and that song bangs harder than most people think.
@Cugno Thank you! Unfamiliar is right behind "Music for a Nurse" on Oceansize's best. I freaking love the guitar playing on that song. | Papa Universe
01.28.18 | well good god damn | Papa Universe
01.28.18 | and i'm still sitting here waiting on Best Songs and Albums of August 2017.. | neekafat
01.28.18 | So honored and proud to have introduced you to that track, steak (: Literally everything you said about it is absolutely perfect.
"it's one of the only moments in music (on this list, even) that effortlessly makes me well up in the right mood." Same here dude.
And the music video is almost as good as the song itself so I'm glad you mentioned it! I almost cried in TFiOS not because of the story but because of how the music was used haha, it was brilliant. | BlazinBlitzer
01.28.18 | The list I made before this one is the August 2017 one, but I posted it on my birthday so I named it as such. I'm currently trying to get Sept. - Dec. all in one list, and I'm getting closer to finishing. The September one might tickle your fancy... |
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