This page was last updated on Tuesday, 11 January, 2005

list #9: the 36 best songs of 2004

(honorable mention)

everything by Nellie Mckay

 After I wrote this whole list, I realized that I forgot my friend Nellie even though she totally deserves all the props I could afford to give her. For the uninitiated, she's sort of like an insane, swearing Norah Jones. Download one of her songs I already have on the server right here.
36. Getting Away With Murder - Papa Roach Okay, it's not that cool of a song, but i needed something to fill the 36 spot. also the video references the movie Wargames, which I can totally appreciate.
35. No Phone - Cake Most of my friends claimed this year as the year they officially began a public hatred of Cake. I think they still have a couple more songs in them before I officially stop caring.
34. Everytime - Britney Spears Britney Spears has this weird talent of making me like her music when I don't see her actually performing it. The first time I heard this song was when I saw the video. This video was the real famous one where she drowns in the tub and Stephen Dorff kicks all the boxes. I thought the song was weak until I heard it on the radio without visuals. It's still not great, but without Britney's plasticked-out self the song sounds sort of refreshingly haunting.
33. This Love - Maroon 5 I sang along to this bouncy number the first 50 times I heard it. I got annoyed the second 50 times I heard it. I shot myself 50 times the third 50 times I heard it. I kind of like the story of the cd. Apparently the lead singer had no material when the band got the recording contract, but then his girlfriend dumped him and all the songs he wrote for the album were about what a horrible person she was.
32. Roses - Outkast Hmmm. If I picked "The Way You Move" I probably would have put Outkast in a more flattering spot on the countdown. That was more of a 2003 song, though. Anyway, this song is really annoying, but sing-alongable.
31. I'm Not Okay (I Promise) - My Chemical Romance I think Bert from the Used officially endorses My Chemical Romance. That's good, because MCR have all the screaming fun the Used used to have.
30. We're All To Blame - Sum 41 Although for the most part I don't like pop-punk and music journalists have told me for years to hate Sum 41, I've always had a place in my heart for this ugly little Canucks. The Solid Gold-inspired video didn't hurt this song at all (in fact it helped it... hard).
29. (Reach Up for the) Sunrise - Duran Duran Ahhh. So happy Duran Duran re-formed with the original lineup to attempt to recapture their eighties sound rather than retread the lame over-rated nineties wedding album crap. They almost got me back to 1984 this year. Almost. Not quite. Almost.
28. She Wants to Move - N.E.R.D. This song makes the 28 spot only for the addicting gravelly background line: "She's sexy!"
27. Walk Idiot Walk - The Hives That lead-singer Pelle guy sure puts the showmanship back into show. Also, there's a certain sense of professionalism about wailing hard in matching suits.
26. Musicology - Prince I saw this guy live this past summer. He started things off by saying, "Are you people ready for the best night of your lives?" It only got better from that point.
25. Ch-Check it Out - Beastie Boys Who says these guys aren't relevant any more? This song debuted on an episode of the O.C., and so you gotta give respect for... wait, no... these guys aren't relevant anymore, but this song is pretty cool.
24. Talk Shows on Mute - Incubus This is the first year I actually paid any attention to this band. Any band that references Blade Runner and 1984 is a nifty band in my opinion. Yeah, that's right. All you have to do is mention those things and you're cool. I'm so freaking easy to please.
23. Walkie Talkie - Steriogram Speed rap + catchy chorus melody + New Zealand = fun, fun Jon music.
22. Give Me Novacaine - Green Day Presently my favorite song from American Idiot. A light-sounding ode to numbing narcotics to block the horrors of the world.
21. Let's Get it Started - Black Eyed Peas Everyone knows I don't really like hip-hop, but I do make exceptions. I had an old friend who got me into the Peas and I've had a steady respect ever since even with awesome lyrics like "Get into it/ Get stupid!" And who could possibly hate the original titling "Let's Get Retarded?" Okay, I guess a lot of people could very easily hate it, but I don't!
20. House of Jealous Lovers - The Rapture The Rapture was my personal highlight from this summer's Curiosa Festival. These guys have a guy who specializes in performing with a cowbell and I could still have a gleeful time watching unironicly. Unfortunately, (and fortunately) the sound of their live show crushes their studio output.
19. Pain - Jimmy Eat World I applaud Jimmy for taking the rough route instead of trying to put out another poppy "Middle."
18. What You Waiting For - Gwen Stefani I give kudos to anyone as blatant as Gwen in their eighties devotion. I wasn't sold the first time I heard it, but I think her work (with her hundreds of collaborators) is a solid triumph (the eighties devotion helps).
17. Slow Hands - Interpol I only heard this song a couple of times all year, but I consider it far superior to the stuff from their first cd. Nowdays Interpol's got gloom and soul!
16. Dry Your Eyes - The Streets This is another one I didn't hear much, but loved it when I did. I love rap when it's British and has a story and has emotion instead of power trips. I just got several dozen death threats.
15. I Miss You - Blink 182 Blink's devotion to the Cure and the song's references to The Nightmare Before Christmas and a really gothy video made this worldwide smash into something incredibly personal to me.
14. I Believe in a Thing Called Love - The Darkness Good joke bands make songs you want to sing along to instead of make fun of. The Darkness pulled off the interesting feat of making fun of overdone glammy rock while making everyone in the world love their overdone glammy rock song.
13. C'mon C'mon - The Von Bondies I was first intrigued in the Von Bondies because Jack White beat the crap out of their lead singer. Now I'm intrigued by the energy output of "C'mon C'mon" and the exposure in Chevrolet advertisements.
12. Cold Hard Bitch - Jet Jet said they wanted to re-create a standard AC/DC song. Instead, they re-created a good AC/DC song.
11. Vertigo - U2 Catorce actually doesn't mean "four," but it sounds cool anyway (at least cooler than cuatro). U2 still has it (well, they at least have one good song every four years).
10. Song in Space - The Church I only heard this song once all year and it was at the Church show at the club near where I live. These Aussies are so Jon it's not even funny. And since it's so not funny I'm not even going to make a joke about it.
9. Reptilia - The Strokes The best air-guitar song all year. Also really great for gravelly yelling. Why wasn't this their first single?
8. Irish Blood, English Heart - Morrissey Moz is back in the first song in a decade I could sit all the way through. Kind of annoying since it took me a decade to appreciate him in the first place.
7. Such Great Heights - The Postal Service I think Postal Service is the underdog story of the year. Who would've thought that straight synths with silly poetic phrasing would be so popular in 2004? It reminds me of the good old days of Orchestral Manoeuvers in the Dark without all the unnecessary grandeur. Download "Such Great Heights" here.
6. Y Control - Yeah Yeah Yeahs This whole cd was the one I listened to most this year. "Y Control" is a perfect gap between the balladry of "Maps" and the soul-crushing edge of "Tick." You can download "Tick" here (but not "Y Control" -- go buy the cd).
5. Fall to Pieces - Velvet Revolver Whoa! Whoa! I'm sure everybody's amazed that I placed this supergroup so high on my list (especially a group composed of Stone Temple Pilots (a band with only a couple of songs I like) and Guns 'N Roses (a band I've always despised)). Of course I'm happy they're successful, because I've preached for a long, long time that Axl Rose was the worst part of Guns 'N Roses. Now his former bandmates are totally showing him up. As for the song itself, "Slither" was a lot of fun too, but I've been missing a classic rock power ballad in my life for a long time now. This thing has been in my head for two straight weeks now. I also love the video where Scott Weiland is totally strung out and Duff is carrying him around. Very unexpected and touching and gross.
4. All These Things That I've Done - The Killers The first two singles from the Killers were awesome ("Somebody Told Me" and "Mr. Brightside"), but unfortunately got overplayed, so I'm gonna quickly recommend this one as a sort of representation of the killer year these guys had. This one is the funnest to sing along to, so it's worth a bit of respect.
3. End of the World - The Cure After all these years, the Cure is better at the pop than the gloom. Maybe their next one will make me want to be "Cure-miserable" again, but I haven't really felt like being "Cure-miserable" since Wish.
2. Jacqueline - Franz Ferdinand "Take Me Out" and "This Fire" are pretty freakin' cool, but the guitar on this song that opens the whole cd is the most vitalizing thing to come around in a long time.
1. Disappear - The Faint It's nearly impossible to pick a song that everyone would agree was the best song of 2004, so I kind of cheated by picking a song that a lot of people may not have heard of. Don't worry though, cuz it totally helps that the song is FREAKING AWESOME. If you don't believe me, check it out by downloading it here.

 

 

whoa! slow down! i'm not done with this list yet! check back in a couple of hours.