And it is more important than ever to
repeat that only the songs picked by the bands or their record
companies as official radio singles in
2010 are eligible to this chart. Without these traditional
rules, my #1 of the year would have been more easily set: it would have
been won by Bückstabü
from German band Rammstein. Without the shadow of a doubt, the song
that thrilled me most during the year 2010. Heaviest track of the Liebe
ist für alle da album (released in late 2009), it conquered
me with its introduction with new sounds, the exciting rise towards the
chorus (Tu'
das
nich!
Lass
das
sein!
Fass'
das
nicht
an!
Sag'
einfach
nein!
Bückstabüüüüü!!), the use of
different voices, but most importantly its general power and its very
nice use of a symphony orchestra. Yes, there is much more to this album
than the average quality of the selected radio singles (Pussy, Ich Tu Dir Weh and Haifisch). In my opinion, Bückstabü, Rammlied, Waidmanns Heil and Roter Sand are largely superior to
any of the three radio singles, but the singles have rather been
selected with the goal of making the most people talk about the band
(the first 2 being voluntarily over-controversial and the 3rd being the
little universal pop song to be able to play anywhere). A pretty good
album overall, even if it is not among the best in the band's long
career. By far the album that I most listed to in 2010.
weak
presence
of
electric
guitar
somewhat heavy, but should be OK for a large majority of listeners a
true heavyweight, sensible ears keep away!
1 |
The Good Life
|
Three Days Grace |
| Extremely strong for
an album's second! Released at
the very beginning of the year, I never got bored of it. |
||
2
|
End of me
|
Apocalyptica (feat. Gavin Rossdale)
|
| Very catchy! Gavin
(from famous band Bush)'s voice is sharp and the sound texture from the
three cellos is sublime, even more particularly in the low sounds of
the beginning of the verses, a sound that ordinary bass guitars cannot
reproduce. A true competitor for the #1! |
||
3
|
Another Way to Die
|
Disturbed
|
| The music is good
despite its total lack of originality (it is so identical to what we
already knew from
Disturbed!), but it is obvious that the main strength of Another Way to Die is into its
lyrics that shouts a striking alarm call for saving our planet. It is
an essential message, I think that these lyrics should be studied in
schools and that careless polluters should be forced to watch both
videos attached to a chair, the eyes stuck with tape to keep them
open!! The lyrics are excellent from the beginning until the end, but I
could not reproduce them as a whole here, not by lack of space but
rather by concerns about copyrights. I will nonetheless allow myself to
cite my favorite excerpts: 1. Our endless maniacal appetite left us with another way to die 2. Consequences we cannot deny, will be revealed in time 3. Species fall before our very eyes A world that they cannot survive in left them with another way to die There are 2 official videos from the band for this song: one more directly inspired from the Gulf of Mexico ecological catastrophe, with the lyrics in subtitles, and one more general without subtitles. I strongly recommend to watch them both, starting with the one with subtitles. Video version 2 with the subtitles: Video version 1 without the subtitles: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwELajFteTo |
||
4
|
Nightmare
|
Avenged Sevenfold
|
| I was not liking it
at the start, but I ended up understanding that it was only because of
a few details, in particular the big
"Nightmare!!!" scream at the beginning that wastes it all right from
the start tout
dès le départ! But except for those details, it is some
real good Avenged Sevenfold, and even one of their best. Extremely
powerful, with a good use of piano, a good finale and an especially
wonderful intro. |
||
5
|
Cryin' Like a Bitch!!
|
Godsmack
|
| Perfectly matches
Godsmack! Not really anything new, but another extremely powerful track
that perfectly hits its target with its only 3 instruments. The video
is also a MUST for mixed martial arts (MMA) fans! |
||
6
|
La Banane
|
Katerine
|
| Extremely catchy,
although we quickly reach the point where we listened to it enough.
Very funny! |
||
7
|
Elle S'appelait Serge
|
Les Trois Accords
|
| I was talking a bit
about it in my favorites of 2009 when I was talking about the excellent
album Dans mon Corps.
Certainly my 2nd best of the album, it was finally choosen as an
officiel radio single in 2010. Very funny, excellent music, just a
little too repetitive with the "du
lundi au lundi, et de midi à midi". I would have
preferred that they surprise me with something else after the first 2
verses, but it is nonetheless BY FAR one of my favorite two
French-language songs of the year. See the video below, even though I find it very disappointing (just some major and not-original-at-all recycling of the concept of the video for Dans mon Corps). |
||
8
|
Ich tu dir Weh
|
Rammstein
|
| Honestly, somewhat
disappointing for Rammstein, but it remains some real Rammstein
nonetheless and there is no doubt that I like that! Particularly
efficient when supported by the visual effects, either in the video or
even better in show. Note however that the lyrics are shocking and very controversial, which caused them a load of problems in Germany. |
||
9
|
Between the Lines
|
Stone Temple Pilots
|
| The lyrics are
somewhat irritating me a little bit (You
always
were
my
favorite
drug, even when we used to
take drugs). We all know singer Scott Weiland's problems
with drugs and I would like that he gets over it and stop referring to
it at all. But except for this minor nuisance, it is a great comeback
for STP! Musically, it is nothing really complicated, but it sounds
extremely well! Highly rousing, especially during choruses. |
||
10
|
Love-Hate-Sex-Pain
|
Godsmack
|
| Less dense than the
average
Godsmack, but it surely gets out of the head more hardly than it gets
in... Very catchy guitar and touching piano finale! The track unfortunately does not seem to have an official video, so here's one, amateur, that only displays the lyrics and some pictures of the band: To those interested to go further, I also found on YouTube a very good amateur cover by a charming lady, whose voice resembles Evanescence's famous singler Amy Lee's: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJ20GLI6wC8 |
||
11
|
By The Sword
|
Slash (feat. Andrew Stockdale)
|
| Sad that this
comeback from legendary guitarist Slash into a solo project has went
that much unnoticed. Although the album's other singles are not of the
same level at all, this one with the singer of Wolfmother (no, it is
not Robert Plant from Led
Zeppelin!) was really fine. I hope to make many of you discover it! The official video is available on YouTube, but the author has blocked integration in third party Web pages. Here's the link anyway: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwENuEZ7XPc |
||
12
|
New Fang
|
Them Crooked Vultures
|
| I thought it was a
new one from Queens of the Stone Age, but no, it comes from a new
band... with Josh Homme from Queens of the Stone Age! Not too
surprising up to this point. My real surprise was rather to find out,
only in February (while the track was actually released in late
November 2009 and I must have discovered it around the first days of
2010), who are the other two members of this super trio: Dave Grohl
(Nirvana, Foo
Fighters) and John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin)!! It's like it was from
there that I started to take this track always more seriously, until it
finally very clearly becomes one of my favorites of the year! Be very
careful to details when listening to this song, because it is rich and
uneasy to fully catch rapidly. Recommended to fans of very varied types of rock, I think that lots of them will find something interesting in New Fang. Here's the video (which is more an ad than a true video): |
||
13
|
In One Ear
|
Cage the Elephant
|
| Far from being as
satisfying as their two big hits of 2009, In One Ear will still have the
interest of having a good chorus with a good flow in which words all
fall right in place, as well as interesting little guitar riffs after
those choruses. The lyrics were somewhat irritating me at first (yet
another song in which artists talk about their own career! Souvenirs of
Re-Arranged from Limp
Bizkit and a huge collection of rap songs!...), but I got accustomed to
them and they are no longer bugging me much. As for By the Sword, the official video is available on YouTube but cannot be integrated directly into a third-party Web page. Here's the link to go watch it by yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9LRo0D_uWM |
||
14
|
The Inevitable Relapse
|
Filter
|
| Be honest, how many
of you knew that Filter had made a comeback in 2010?!? Personnally, I
have not heard The Inevitable Relapse
a single time on the radio or T.V., it's the Internet that had to do
the job, a couple of months late... A good
rock track, rather simple musically, but efficient. Richard Patrick's
voice is still a sensation and the little special effects are giving
the finishing touch. |
||
15
|
Garde tes Larmes
|
Marie-Mai
|
| What else to say
than the Quebecker rocker continues to earn points! Would that be my
best from Marie-Mai?
Probably... but with strong competition from Rien and Qui Prendra ma Place. A song with
character, which sound effects à la Nine Inch Nails really
surprised me. No video; for YouTube, you must go for one of the live performances that offer a lot less than the studio version, or the following video that plays the song with a good sound quality with the album cover for background. |
||
| 16 |
Rise Up |
Cypress Hill (feat. Tom Morello) |
| The voice of B-Real
(Cypress Hill) with the legendary guitar of Tom Morello (Rage
Against the Machine, Audioslave)... pretty good idea! The result,
without making history, is pretty good. |
||
| 17 |
Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) | Shakira |
| My little weakness
into
commercial pop this year, although absolutely nothing that
compares to those of good years like 2007 during which I had 3
extremely strong (Sexyback, Hips Don't Lie, Temperature). Tsamina mina eh eh, Waka Waka eh eh!! |
||
| 18 |
Your Betrayal |
Bullet for my Valentine |
| My favorite to date
from this band, even if I remain totally convinced that they still have
a lot of maturity to acquire on the musical level and most importantly
on voices, to pretend compare to their most direct competitor, Avenged
Sevenfold. |
||
| 19 |
Welcome to the Family |
Avenged Sevenfold |
| Inferior to the
average of the radio singles from this wonderful band, and still
qualified for a top 20! That tells a lot about this band! |
||
| 20 |
Mountain Man |
Crash Kings |
| In a year where very
few new artists went big, Crash Kings did it with this very cool track.
2nd best song by a new band in the current chart, behind only New Fang from Them Crooked
Vultures. Shows some character without being heavy at all. |
||
| 21 |
Lesson Learned |
Alice in Chains |
| http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sH7D8UmMKI |
||
| 22 |
Left of Center |
Serj Tankian |
| Nothing to let us
forget about System of a Down, but it's still some good material,
relatively original. Nonetheless, my favorite
post-SOAD remains BY FAR Sky is Over! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uh7tsMKv0Lo |
||
| 23 |
Not Strong Enough |
Apocalyptica (feat. Brent Smith) |
| I don't understand
why I did not hear it a single time on the radio. It's a search on the
Web that allowed me to find out that they did release a 2nd single off
their their new
album! Incomprehensible; it is obviously not the best in their career,
but it's up to their level. Here's the video for the version sung by Brent Smith from Shinedown (my favorite): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_i4toW5iZqI And here's the other version, sung by Doug Robb from Hoobastank: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DRB3ZFO9kA |
||
| 24 |
Break Your Heart | Taio Cruz (feat. Ludacris) |
| What should I do
with a song that I find very stupid and very catchy all at once?!? It
is mind buggling, but I decided to grant it its share of success! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_SI2EDM6Lo |
||
| 25 |
Haifisch |
Rammstein |
| Definitely my two
worst from the Liebe
Ist Für Alle Da album, a single selected only for the
universal sound able to play on any radio... but I did listen to it
pretty often, being part of an album that I listened to often! I cannot
ignore this fact when I compare it to songs behind it that might make
me slightly more effect, but that I listened to less often nonetheless.
The other factor that makes me rank Haifish
at #25 rather than a #29: the very nice, all-so-soft finale. Excellent and funny video, with references to make of their old videos as well as the Seven movie. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GP0_MNj8f1Q |
||
| 26 |
The Animal |
Disturbed |
| Sounds more or less
like a radio single, but it would still be an excellent supporting song
for the album. I really like the little 8-note guitar riff played a few
times during choruses. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwxUgefMStM |
||
| 27 |
Lay me Down | The Dirty Heads (feat. Rome) |
| Participation from a
member of Sublime, and the result curiously sounds a lot like Sublime!
Light, very "summer", pleasant. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnuEOYK1Kps |
||
| 28 |
The Sound |
Switchfoot |
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwPiLr_EwGI |
||
| 29 |
World so Cold |
Three Days Grace |
| Cliché,
relatively uninteresting for some Three Days Grace that got us used to
all of their radio single being very strong, but I hooked up to some
small lyric excerpts, mainly this one: I'm too young to lose my sould I'm too young to feel this old http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZN26Z6M_XU |
||
| 30 |
Beautiful Dangerous |
Slash (feat. Fergie) |
| Yes, you've read
right, the Black Eyes Peas' famous Fergie that sings for Slash! The
result is not bad, although I preferred by far By
the
Sword, my personal taste... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjmTf31MAe8 |
||
| 31 |
Post Acid |
Wavves |
| Lesser-known
post-grunge song, that I discovered only because of an article from the
Rolling Stone magazine that ranked it 33rd best song of 2010 in early
December. Finally, it ends up ranking even better on my own chart! The
voices definitely aren't great, but the song is good for sure. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdbrQYER1fI |
||
| 32 |
Gods and Punks |
Monster Magnet |
| It was a very long
time I heard of Monster
Magnet! They made a comeback that is not spectacular, but certainly
within their standards. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=347M0hcgjcw |
||
| 33 |
Gateways |
Dimmu Borgir |
| Excellent symphonic
music that is nothing shy of Nightwish's, but voices that are just so
bad sometimes! In the meantime that they reach an appropriate balance,
the Norwegian band only gets a #33. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jw7yk8hm_0 |
||
| 34 |
Loca | Shakira |
| Muy caliente!
:) A song not to take too seriously, it's light but I like the
not too americanized latino
ambiance. WARNING: I'm talking about the original version that you can
hear at the below link, and not the dance remix that was playing on
some bad pop radios! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KewfYKJy8YU |
||
| 35 |
Word Forward |
Foo Fighters |
| Dave Grohl and its
gang are playing below their standards, but it is still sufficient to
make their way to my annual chart! There is no video for this song, so let's go for a live version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7zQDOAwikc |
||
| 36 |
Stereo Love | Edward Maya |
| I like the base
riff, but I feel like that exploited it so bad... The song as a whole
is a little bit boring, or at least uselessly too long. Anyway, there
is definitely a part of this song to which I did hook up, although it
can be well summarized in just 10 seconds... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-Z3YrHJ1sU |
||
| 37 |
Alejandro | Lady Gaga |
| Pretty dumb, I did
not even like it at first, but I must admit that it ends up getting
into the head pretty well! And the sound is particularly good, very
good mastering job I guess! OK OK Gaga, I give you a chance! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niqrrmev4mA |
||
| 38 |
Little Lion Man | Mumford & Sons |
| Special music for
sure! I did not really catch me, but I like it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7bHe--mp1g |
||
| 39 |
Back From Cali |
Slash (feat. Myles Kennedy) |
| Very "old school"
rock that is reaching me less than Slash's other singles this year, but
the guitar riffs are not bad. Note: Myles Kennedy is the singer of a
band named Alter Bridge, a lesser-known band that he was sharing with
the musicians of Creed, during the few years
(2004-2009) where Creed had broken up. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgUTKxcC5dA |
||
| 40 |
Scream with me |
Mudvayne |
| Slight cheat: this
was released in December 2009 and not 2010, but this is still
acceptable. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7q2bNqe0Xyk |
||