15×15 lists: ABOUT | MUSE | SINGER-SONGWRITER | GUILTY PLEASURES | RADIOHEAD | BEST SONGS PT 1 | PT 2 | PT 3 | PROMISING
“Toxicity” by System of a Down – 2001
I just love this band. Their co-headline show at MCI Center (as it was called then) with Mars Volta was my second best concert experience in the Aughties. In this track, they show off their incredible knack for challenging, yet accessible music, with better in-song stop-start and loud-soft transitions than pretty much anyone. (Mars Volta would be in that discussion too.)
“Last Nite” by The Strokes – 2001
MTV2, in 2001, introduced me to three new bands that most people had never heard of, and actually became respected by critical and discerning music nerds. The bands were System of a Down, Coldplay, and The Strokes. You would have a lot trouble finding any useful musical inspiration nowadays in the Reality Era of MTV. Trust me. (Last night I tried to watch some MTV countdown show of the supposed best rock songs of 2009, and I had to mute the TV to satisfy my curiosity of who made MTV’s cut.) So, I was probably witnessing the programming selections of the last person who cared about music at MTV.
“Toxic” by Britney Spears – 2003
WHAAAAT? Seriously? Yes, seriously. It’s a masterpiece.
“15 Steps” by Radiohead – 2007
Obviously, there are about a dozen other songs I could have picked to represent Radiohead here, but I had to go with this one, because 1) It’s the first track off “In Rainbows,” which was one of the releases I’ve been most excited about in my life, and it instantly lived up to my expectations, and 2) I wanted an excuse to show this video of the band performing it live … at the Grammys … with the USC marching band. Yup.
“All My Friends” by LCD Soundsystem – 2007
And now it’s time to end my epic mix of the decade with an appropriately epic song from LCD Soundsystem. You don’t notice it happening, but it swells from a stumbling piano and a whisper to a desperate, roaring conclusion. Not many songs, even from this list, can match this one in significance and beauty.
