10 Greatest Songs 1994/2003 (or The Best of the Kurt Cobain afterworld) - I
Carlos Frederico - Feb 22 04
How many great songs did the last ten years give birth to?. Such a task beyond measures would also be beyond borders. What defines a great song? What about cross-genre comparisons?
And what about the greatest among the great ones?
That question/challenge was in my mind since the year 2004 begun. That s what I ll try to from now on. And that s the peculiar criteria I ll try to employ to such a personal (more than ever) ranking:
* I ll favor non-hit songs. To be more specific, I may chose songs that were popular, but not exactly blockbusters. That is due to my sincere desire not to be guided by sales and marketing. I ll simply put on paper the few songs I deem the best among the best - even if this band s fans wouldn t agree with me;
* I ll not rank the songs. I ll simply mention them, without any special ordering, due to my choice method, picking up memories from out of nowhere in stream-of-conciousness. This songs may recall intimate moments for me and perhaps many people - and that s something I simply can t compare;
* Given the considerable amount of artists able to be included, I ll limit the inclusions to one song by each of them;
* I ll present the songs in couples. That s only because I organize my thoughts in threes :) and I d like to avoid the the last group being a 4-song one, of course;
* I ll try to reveal more about the songs than about the artists, given than many of you may feel unconfortable not seen a pivotal artist included here in this 10-song list. The songs matter more than the artists here;
* Many genres will be mentioned, I ll try to cover as many artistic ground as I can, although 10 songs can t represent the world of course!
So, let s see some great, great songs from the confusing post-modern landscapes of the mid-90s on:
* Stupid Girl by GARBAGE (1995)
Butch Vig and counterparts said this song could also have been called Stupid Boy. It only marginally matters for the purposes here; more important to notice is how aptly the GARBAGE ensemble encapsulated the tragic mood of the mid 90 s in this very song, the severed garden of cynicism and post-Cobain irony on irony.
When even the warped dreams fade, were are left in the void - and Stupid Girl is such a living, lively collapse. Cacophony sketching the wreckage of a generation; torn relationships; the female commanding voice of Shirley Manson between the complacent and the anguish, vulnerable yet agressive; the dissilusion and irony of a post-Grunge band carving a post-Punk masterpiece...All seems to fade, when this very track captures perfect-to-note our bumpy fall from the decaying paradise that were the early 90s.
This one almost faded before the commanding single Only Happy When It Rains, a poppier and somehow more conservative Gothic number. But the stunning video (one of the very best of decade, by the way) was fortunately a popular one in MTV, that s how I knew this song, check it out! (from the album Garbage)
* Champagne Supernova by OASIS (1996)
If there was redemption in 1996, you ll hardly seek it in the quintessential snotty arrogant English hype of the decade. Surprise of surprises, OASIS tears all expectations apart with supreme confidence to ressurect our hearts, among sedated, fascinating distress, like there were no tomorrow.
Slowly built around gentle, then stormy, melodies, they pick it where NEIL YOUNG had left decades before with Like a Hurricane, invite British legend PAUL WELLER from THE JAM to play a hurting marvelous slide guitar on the opening - but is the twin team of Noel and Liam Gallagher that shine through and through. With impassionate delivery, like good and old U2, OASIS drives minimalist psychedelic lyrics into the realm of the transcendent, bursting with fire from solo to solo until the voice sinks in the poor-man s JIMMY PAGE wall-of-sound, Liam on the verge of fadeout. Those were hard times, as this thunderous track shows - but there were still a hope to live for.
This song was the humblest of singles from this blockbuster release by OASIS. Wonderwall was the non-official British anthem of the decade and a huge hit in US; beatlesque Don t Look Back In Anger made savage inroads in the charts and Roll With It was chosen to challenge their arch-rivals BLUR in the legendary media battle that took place at the time. Maybe because it is by far the longest track the band had released prior to 1997 s All Around The World. But nonetheless, the best of the batch and a great psychedelic video as well! (from the album What s The Story Morning Glory)
End of Part One, tomorrow never knows how is too soon...
