Music List 1: Top 10 Rock Songs

[labyrinth2015]

Interrupting the flow of fic yet again to engage in some conversation about mainstream/modern rawk.motherendurance's precious, precocious 12-year-old made me a list of his top ten songs, which were startlingly mature and classic-rock centric (Aerosmith! Guns n Roses!).

He was polite enough to ask me, in my turn, for my favourite rock songs - clearly his awesome mom has raised him right! So, here are my top 10 rock faves, sweet boy: feel free to tell me how uncool they are, ha ha.

Springsteen: "Thunder Road"

I got into the Boss and rock n roll when I was fifteen and writing a comix column for a local rock n roll/pop culture fanzine - I was given a Bruce album and told my musical tastes (80s British new wave!) needed to be improved, pronto.

Bruce has a zillion rock n roll hits, but I've picked classic Thunder Road from his seminal Born To Run album, which, to me, is the best rock song of all time - it speaks of the open road, and taking a chance on love. This vid is from an amazing, high energy live performance in 1978, when Bruce was heartbreakingly young, and, ever the consummate storyteller, he gives this awesome introduction to the song.

The Police: "Roxanne"

In the history section, I would have named the intelligent music and unmistakable one-of-a-kind guitar work of either Dire Straits (Expresso Love) or Derek + the Dominoes/Eric Clapton (70s Layla), but the vids of Knopfler and Clapton were, to put it mildly, not very interesting (though they were amazing live when I watched them in concert, so many years ago).

Instead, I've picked recently-reunited rock band The Police, known for their blend of rock, reggae and synthesizers. As a girl I fell in love with their sophisticated rhythms, Copeland's progressive snare and syncopated drumming and the complexity of Stingo's early lyrics. I picked Roxanne (a gorgeous, deceptively simple song about a lover who needs to give up her, er, day job) over brooding Synchronicity II (which allegedly references Carl Jung's theory of synchronicity), but both are different, amazing rock songs. This version is the rocking 1979 version from The Police's European tour, complete with backstage footage, and when the boys are ridiculously young.


U2: "Mysterious Ways"

In many ways, U2 has to be my favourite band. The big proponent of stadium rock of the 1980s, they moved into alternative industrial rock in the 1990s and reinvented themselves as the pyrotechnic rock chameleons of the new millennium. I've selected Mysterious Ways with its killer groove and shimmering bass line off the fabulous Achtung, Baby album - this was spectacular when I watched it in 1992, and feels as fresh today.


Del Amitri: "Always the Last To Know"; Later version

Underrated Scottish pop rock band, whose forte was simple, beautiful melodies and acidly cynical lyrics. I love the Del's album Change Everything, beyond reason - my LJ subtitle is taken from this song. Listen to the bass hook twisting sinously through this ironic song about how you'll always love the lover whom you did wrong and drove away.


INXS: ”Need You Tonight”

For 80s soft rock I briefly considered listing my favorite song from each of Jon Bon Jovi (acoustic Living on a Prayer), Bryan Adams (Summer of 69) or Don Henley (Boys of Summer), but decided to go with 80s Antipodean New Wave/funk rock gods INXS.

Although my personal favourite INXS song was Never Tear Us Apart, the insistent, infamous, iteratively dirty groove of signature song Need You Tonight (off seminal album Kick) was the rhythm to which my entire college generation, er, engaged in romantic activity, and still makes me fan myself to this day.


Robert Palmer/Power Station: "Addicted to Love"

Palmer was the elegant, soulful heavyweight of experimental funky, bluesy, bossa nova rock, and this classy, hot song with its horn section, tight guitar line and funky bass groove is pretty much guaranteed to get me on the dance floor (or a table, ha ha).


Melissa Etheridge: "I Want To Come Over"

I wanted to get a female rocker on this list, and while I adore Chrissie Hynde and the Pretenders something fierce, love to rock out to Heart, and from the 2000s I enjoy Gwen Stefani's genre, Melissa's I Want To Come Over has got to be THE classic grrlrock song - all gravelly and yearning - "It's a need I can't explain/I wanna come over/To see you again" - with such a great rocking rhythm.


Coldplay: "Viva La Vida"
Our Lady Peace: "Innocent"

My popular music listening took a bit of a dive in the late 90s to early/mid 2000s - I was busy marrying, gestating and raising littles, and pretty much all about the ballads and lullabies all the time (and Hi!FIVE, but we shall not go there, ahaha).

So, while I would occasionally enjoy the alt/indie/grunge rock offerings of late 90s/00s bands like Nirvana, Oasis, Blur, Pearl Jam and Nickleback, I wouldn't return to really being in love with a rock band until Coldplay. They are the archetypical 2000s rock band - swaggering, bombastic, full of themselves, all labyrinthian lyrics and musical stylings - and I was all primed to love them in all their glory. I love this lush, conceited, gorgeous song, and when they came to play the Island this year, this was just unreal.

Around this time I was also introduced to the raw, occasionally surreal stylings of altrock band Our Lady Peace - in some ways, they are the anti-Coldplay, and the heartfelt, gorgeous simplicity of Innocent (covered by Cook during Idol, downlist!) is the antithesis of Viva La Vida.


David Cook: "Declaration"

I could go on and on about David Cook all day on this journal. I am insanely in love with his intelligent modern rock oeuvre, and although I dig the dirty, grungy vibe of his older songs and the infectious, headbanging Bar-Ba-Sol, I think this headlong, anthemic offering is the most representative of his style and showcases both his lyrical prowess and assured melodic composition, his edgy growl and his lush upper range. Also, he is so goshdarn *pretty* ;).


B, I hope you enjoyed this half as much as I did! You come play any time, okay?

 

 

Comments

[asweetdownfall.livejournal.com]

Eee, Coldplay and Cook! <3

I wholeheartedly approve of this list. :D

[jehane-writes.livejournal.com]

Thank you, bb! As is apparent, I am ALL ABOUT Coldplay and Cook (though with Renata's 12-year-old reading this, it would not be appropriate for me to say exactly HOW, ha ha).