29/05/2009

Ten Great Songs from 1990

1. Lou Reed/John Cale: Hello, It's Me After his death, Lou Reed and John Cale got together once more to record an album for/about their mentor Andy Warhol, using only instruments they could play themselves (no drums!). Great, calm music by and for grownups. Here's the best song.

2. Nirvana: Sliver A great, rough rocksong and the last single they issued before becoming huge. A friend of mine told me that he could have seen them that year - he had a ticket - but he preferred to spend his time in the bar while the supporting act was playing. He was there for the headliners: Sonic Youth.

3. Pixies: The Happening Better known for their silent-loud contrasts, The Greatest Band of Their Time here use the equally effectful but less in-your-face rhythmic/melodic trick.

4. Depeche Mode: Enjoy the Silence "Enjoy the Silence" is the only great song Depeche Mode ever came up with. That's more than most bands manage.

5. The Charlatans: The Only One I Know The Happy Mondays and EMF didn't make it to the short list, but "The Only One I Know" definitely had to be on it.

6. Saint Etienne: Only Love Can Break Your Heart It's supposed to sound that cheap. That's the point.

7. Huah! Was soll ich mit der Welt? (a.k.a. Was soll ich mit der Welt wenn ich dich nicht hab) Charmingly rumbling along.

8. Iggy Pop: Livin' on the Edge of the Night Iggy Pop being Iggy Pop.

9. Sonic Youth: Tunic Majestic.

10. Dinosaur jr.: The Wagon Injects Happiness. Well, at least in me.

You can use the player below to listen, but songs 4, 7 and 10 will be faded out prematurely. To avoid this problem, go here and click the "play" sign next to the first song.


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The only good song DM came up with? While I'm glad you included them in your list...are you mental? Your statement should be the opposite: "xxx is the only bad song DM came up with"...and you'd have a hell of a hard time filling in that blank.