The Top Fifty Favorite Songs Of 2003 - Pt.3

Recently, I attended an in-store acoustic performance by Super Furry Animals at Let It Be Records in downtown Minneapolis. It wasn’t too great – they didn’t want to play songs that they would be playing at the show later that evening, so, they took requests. It became humorous as people would yell out songs and the reply would be “We don’t know that one anymore” or “That’s too complex to play”. A couple songs were pretty decent (especially their acoustic version of “No Sympathy”), but most were songs where lead singer, Gruff Rhys, forgot the words and even the melodies. When they did play a song, it was amazing how it sounded like the previous song. As a matter of fact, you could really see their “formula” being unveiled. The thing is: I have always considered SFA to be a group that has so much diversity in their songs despite utilizing electronics, various effects, and sound warps. Strip it all away, and the core of each song would be unique. Now I don’t think that is the case, they have their formula. And I don’t think that is bad, but it made me think about what makes a great song great. It’s not just the melody and the hook and the chorus, but it’s also what you do with the essence of the song.

30. “Little Red Light” by Fountains Of Wayne
Forget that novelty crap “Stacy’s Mom” (yeah, funny lyrics – cue giddy high school-ish laughter). This song has a tremendously huge hook, lots of power in its pop, and only slightly jokey lyrics. There’s a definite early 90s Redd Kross in this track. I found myself listening to this track several times in a row every time I played it.

29. “Which Of The Two Of Us Is Gonna Burn This House Down” by The Star Spangles
The Replacements meets The Exploding Hearts; Ian Wilson’s vocals are drunk and stoned and gritty as hell, but still carry a trashy classic-rock-punk-pop melody. The rapid-fire vocals on the verses are great, the guitar riffs are hot, and this thing moves. When I first caught wind of the Strokes bringing a “garage-rock-revival”, this is what I thought they would sound like.

28. “Make Her Day” by The Go-Betweens
Pure pop. The Go-Betweens second comeback record Bright Orange Bright Yellow is slightly disappointing, but this track reflects how damn good the band is when they play to their strengths: dynamic shifts, languid vocals, and melody, melody, melody.

27. “The Supermarket Strikes Back” by Mull Historical Society
Scotsman Colin MacIntyre makes another really strong record, Us, in 2003 and this song is just amazing. The changes are so smooth and always take the song to the next level. In the middle of the song, he goes from verse to chorus to bridge to chorus and the song just gets bigger and bigger. Grocery shopping, mower blade sales, drug use, and spiritual awakening, what more can one ask for in a pop song?

26. “Light On The Right” by The Vells
From my article on The Vells for Bandoppler Magazine: “The songs dig into your ears, discerning music listeners: words and melody co-habitate, one moment embraced in blissful love, the next locked in struggle over implications and secrets. The instruments are tight yet subtly absurd: there is push and pull, ying and yang, Dark and Light in the songs, and it moves you, makes you actually listen. This is not an easy task; it took about a dozen listens for me to comprehend this juxtaposition in pop songs. It’s this paradox, the sugary surface joined to elegiac flesh, that can be disconcerting and enables easy dismissal (“another twee-indie-pop sissy band”), but if you allow yourself to listen, you find there is much more going on.”

25. “Time For Heroes” by The Libertines
I’m not gonna let the hype deter me from enjoying great songs! The Libertines were/are/were hyped by the UK press and it spilled over a bit to the US, but I think their record flopped. “Time For Heroes” is definitely an homage to The Clash, but this song doesn’t lean too heavily (it’s a fine line). Classic mid-70s punk with a nice 21st century touch, the song is infectious, fun, and great to crank up.

24. “Golden Retriever” by Super Furry Animals
These eclectic Welsh sonic pop obscurists craft a wonderful single that is surprisingly straightforward. I love the swamp-R&B-boogie chorus, the acoustic guitar on the verses, and the cacophony of swirling guitars and vocals to close the song.

23. “The Band” by Mando Diao
Carrying a heavy dose of Tom Jones into the neo-Nuggets-garage-rock-revival, Mando Diao makes a perfect Saturday night record (thanks Marc). Driving, musical, passionate, catchy – this commands a big time sing-a-long. The vocals and the driving guitar on the chorus really blow my coal.

22. “Grace” by Supergrass
Many would say this is way too derivative, but I’m too old to care anymore. Yep, Ziggy Bowie, Warrior T.Rex, and 70s glam stomp typify this hip-shaker. The worst part of the song is that it’s almost too catchy. This song is not just a revival, it’s a celebration of rock’s reckless abandon.

21. “Reptilia” by The Strokes
No excuses, this is a great song. “Reptilia” shows that Julian Casablancas can inject some energy into his songs. The guitar solo at the 1:50 mark is one of my favorites of all time; especially how the rhythm guitar keeps going. The tension is what really gets me into the song: tense vocals, tense guitars, tense drums, tense bass line… I could listen to this anytime, anywhere.