The 25 Best Songs Of The Decade

OOS · 06-13-2009, 03:49 PM

I'm relatively new here, but i've been wanting to do one of these and I thought, what better place to put it than MusicBanter? Also, I want to give people a sense of my music taste.

So, i'm counting down what are, in my opinion, the 25 best songs of the decade. I'm very into pop (not top 40 pop, more Beatles kind of pop), which may result in lot's of disagreement over some of my choices, but debates part of the fun of these things. Also, i'm always looking for constructive criticism for my writing, so if you have any comments please post them.

Anyway, here we go, with number 25:

25: Radiohead - Optimistic

Perfectly placed in the middle of the dark, brooding Kid A, Optimistic provides a welcome repite from the albums claustrophic atmosphere. In fact, Optimistic is everything that the rest of Kid A isn't: it's warm, hopeful, and led by a flurry of layered guitars. There is certainly a melancholy air to the whole thing, but it's subtle, a murmer rippling under the surface of a perfect piece of guitar rock.

From the opening the pace is immediately set. Jangling guitar parts wash underneath Thom's falsetto "ooh"s before the main guitar riff rises out of the noise and the proper verse begins. The transition into the chorus is barely distinguishable, the melody changing and a couple guitar parts entering over top of the songs basic clatter. The melody here is one of the best that the band have ever put to tape, a beautifully sad combination of notes that contrasts perfectly with the songs main line (you can try the best you can/you can try the best you can/the best you can is good enough). Surprisingly, through all of this the band manage to uphold the albums sense of atmosphere, which lends a sense of flow to a song that easily could have broken the albums carefully constructed continuity.

Layered, atmospheric, and emotional, Optimistic fully earns itself a spot among Kid A's best, and a spot among the best of the decade.

dac · 06-13-2009, 05:45 PM

IMO that's not even top 5 off of Kid A :\

Looking forward to the thread though!

OOS · 06-13-2009, 10:41 PM

I have my list of what's gonna be on here, and yeah there's gonna be a lot of controversy. Lots of choices that basically no one will agree with.

Just to say, I am, again, a big fan of pop music, so you probably won't be seeing anything too out there.

khfreek · 06-13-2009, 11:15 PM

Motion Picture Soundtrack > All their other songs

Yeah, I decided I like it more than Paranoid Android, whatcha gonna do? :P

OOS · 06-13-2009, 11:16 PM

Motion Picture Soundtrack is fantastic, love when all the orchestration suddenly comes in. To be honest, though, almost every song on that album is absolutely fantastic. It'll appear once more on the list, though i'm not gonna say what song.

OOS · 06-14-2009, 09:14 AM

Okay, here's the next track:

24. The Mars Volta - Ilyena

The Mars Volta, like The Decemberists, is a band I do not care for. In fact, I kind of hate them. It's not that they're bad; they're not. It's just that for every song by them that I like, they make two more that run on for 5 minutes too long or cover up any good parts with meaningless effects.

Ilyena, though, was a different story. For this single track, I understood why people liked this band so much. With Ilyena, The Mars Volta took all that ambition, creativity, and crazniess and condensed it into one normal length (!) piece of grooving rock that never goes overboard.

Granted, it comes close of times. As Cedric's effects drenched vocals swirl over the choatic intrumental backing, Ilyena at times becomes almost overwhelming. However, the band keep things in check and that's probably why the song succeeds in the way it does. I'm not quite sure how hardcore fans of the band feel about the song (it seems to be a depature from their usual formula), but for me, this was one track that lived up to the hype.

Comus · 06-14-2009, 10:48 AM

Ilyena would make my top 25 best songs of the decade, although it would probably be one of the shortest on the list. Why the hate for long songs?

Alfred · 06-14-2009, 11:32 AM

Ilyena is an great song, one of the top tracks on that (excellent) album.

OOS · 06-14-2009, 12:23 PM

I'll probably have another one up today because then I have exams and can't post for a little bit. I think this will be an interesting one...

sweet_nothing · 06-14-2009, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by khfreek

Everything In Its Right Place> All their other songs

Yeah, I decided I like it more than Paranoid Android, whatcha gonna do? :P

Fixed

06-13-2009, 03:49 PM	#1 (permalink)
OOS Music Addict Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 124	The 25 Best Songs Of The Decade I'm relatively new here, but i've been wanting to do one of these and I thought, what better place to put it than MusicBanter? Also, I want to give people a sense of my music taste. So, i'm counting down what are, in my opinion, the 25 best songs of the decade. I'm very into pop (not top 40 pop, more Beatles kind of pop), which may result in lot's of disagreement over some of my choices, but debates part of the fun of these things. Also, i'm always looking for constructive criticism for my writing, so if you have any comments please post them. Anyway, here we go, with number 25: 25: Radiohead - Optimistic Perfectly placed in the middle of the dark, brooding Kid A, Optimistic provides a welcome repite from the albums claustrophic atmosphere. In fact, Optimistic is everything that the rest of Kid A isn't: it's warm, hopeful, and led by a flurry of layered guitars. There is certainly a melancholy air to the whole thing, but it's subtle, a murmer rippling under the surface of a perfect piece of guitar rock. From the opening the pace is immediately set. Jangling guitar parts wash underneath Thom's falsetto "ooh"s before the main guitar riff rises out of the noise and the proper verse begins. The transition into the chorus is barely distinguishable, the melody changing and a couple guitar parts entering over top of the songs basic clatter. The melody here is one of the best that the band have ever put to tape, a beautifully sad combination of notes that contrasts perfectly with the songs main line (you can try the best you can/you can try the best you can/the best you can is good enough). Surprisingly, through all of this the band manage to uphold the albums sense of atmosphere, which lends a sense of flow to a song that easily could have broken the albums carefully constructed continuity. Layered, atmospheric, and emotional, Optimistic fully earns itself a spot among Kid A's best, and a spot among the best of the decade.

06-13-2009, 05:45 PM	#2 (permalink)
dac MB's Biggest Fanboy Join Date: May 2008 Location: Cloud Cuckoo Land Posts: 2,852	IMO that's not even top 5 off of Kid A :\ Looking forward to the thread though! __________________

06-13-2009, 11:15 PM	#4 (permalink)
khfreek What a guy Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Brentwood, TN Posts: 2,123	Motion Picture Soundtrack > All their other songs Yeah, I decided I like it more than Paranoid Android, whatcha gonna do? :P __________________ last.fm

06-14-2009, 11:32 AM	#8 (permalink)
Alfred one big soul Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Canada Posts: 5,096	Ilyena is an great song, one of the top tracks on that (excellent) album. __________________ LAST.FM / VINYL COLLECTION / RYM

06-13-2009, 10:41 PM	#3 (permalink)
OOS Music Addict Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 124	I have my list of what's gonna be on here, and yeah there's gonna be a lot of controversy. Lots of choices that basically no one will agree with. Just to say, I am, again, a big fan of pop music, so you probably won't be seeing anything too out there.

06-13-2009, 11:16 PM	#5 (permalink)
OOS Music Addict Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 124	Motion Picture Soundtrack is fantastic, love when all the orchestration suddenly comes in. To be honest, though, almost every song on that album is absolutely fantastic. It'll appear once more on the list, though i'm not gonna say what song.

06-14-2009, 09:14 AM	#6 (permalink)
OOS Music Addict Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 124	Okay, here's the next track: 24. The Mars Volta - Ilyena The Mars Volta, like The Decemberists, is a band I do not care for. In fact, I kind of hate them. It's not that they're bad; they're not. It's just that for every song by them that I like, they make two more that run on for 5 minutes too long or cover up any good parts with meaningless effects. Ilyena, though, was a different story. For this single track, I understood why people liked this band so much. With Ilyena, The Mars Volta took all that ambition, creativity, and crazniess and condensed it into one normal length (!) piece of grooving rock that never goes overboard. Granted, it comes close of times. As Cedric's effects drenched vocals swirl over the choatic intrumental backing, Ilyena at times becomes almost overwhelming. However, the band keep things in check and that's probably why the song succeeds in the way it does. I'm not quite sure how hardcore fans of the band feel about the song (it seems to be a depature from their usual formula), but for me, this was one track that lived up to the hype.

06-14-2009, 12:23 PM	#9 (permalink)
OOS Music Addict Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 124	I'll probably have another one up today because then I have exams and can't post for a little bit. I think this will be an interesting one...