Favorites
in music
in ...
| PowHertz' Favorites in music in ... |
|
| 1 |
Holiday | Green Day |
| Without
being complex, it uses slightly different chords from Green Day's
habits. It is also a political song without being too much, a song that
is fun to sing (in particular the part before the last chorus),
pleasant music in all circumstances. I knew after listening to it just
a few times that it was having a good shot at my #1 this year. Without
any hesitation my favorite of the 5 radio singles from the American Idiot record up to now. |
||
| 2 |
Keine Lust |
Rammstein |
| The song that I listened at the highest volume in my car this year! It has the downside of depending a bit too much on the special effects and not being as convincing when played live, but the recording on the Reise, Reise album is really a big "trip"! Superb guitar sounds. The video is also one of the best of the year, while still being perfectly in support to the song (unlike some other nice videos that are more or less related to the song and only want to get people's attention). | ||
| 3 |
Question! | System of a Down |
| I admit not
having understood much from the meaning of the lyrics, but that's
nonetheless some great System! It lasts nearly 3 minutes and a half,
but it's like it was just 2 small minutes! Extraordinary progressions,
remarkably going from classical/acoustic guitar to electric guitar,
accompanied by audacious outbursts from the excellent voice of singer
Serj. The segment that starts at 2:16 and almost goes through the end
of the song is completely crazy. So much intensity, so much energy, and
what a performance from the guitarist! Paradoxically, it is probably my
favorite song of the year if you ask me today (in January of 2006), but
I listened to it less often than Holiday and Keine Lust in 2005. |
||
| 4 |
Stricken | Disturbed |
| Really the same kind of song as hit single Prayer
from the previous record, but I can't really explain why, I hooked up
much more on this one. Note the performance from singer David Draiman
who elevates the chorus alone. |
||
| 5 |
BYOB |
System of a Down |
| It's been difficult to determine what to think of it at first. It is pure
System, with its explosive
and unpredictable style, but I've learnt to tame them and therefore the
surprise effect is much lower than it was back in the time of excellent
album Toxicity. It is the long term that deceided that, after all, BYOB
had not much to envy from the other great songs of that band, which I
start to consider as being the best American band of the last 10
years... The "ordinary" small lyrics excerpts and the sometimes-dubious
screaming from the guitarist are slightly
spoiling it, but it remains brilliant overall nonetheless. Real
satisfying rock, strongly energetic without having to fall into easy
punk or speed metal. Intensive use of 2 drum pedals, loud sound
that must really saturate the badly trained ear, a cool "la la la la
la la
la la la la, hoo oo oo" to sing along with Serj, etc. What a
satisfaction for the real rock fan! We also note the political message
of the song, among others the repeated: "Why don't presidents fight the
war? Why
do they always send the poor?". |
||
| 6 |
American Baby | Dave Matthews Band |
| Believe it or
not! I've never been a big fan of Dave
Matthews, but I've been very agreeably surprised of this frankly
different song, bu far my favorite in the band's career, with a
considerable lead over Don't Drink the Water.
Very fluid and surprisingly interesting fusion of the mandolin with the
drums. It is certainly not heavy unlike at least 4 of the previous 5
songs, but I really like it! |
||
| 7 |
Bat Country | Avenged Sevenfold |
| Except maybe that it reminds just a little bit too much the metal from the '80s (especially the guitar solo),
wow! A rocket start for this new band! Without any hesitation, my best song from a new artist this year. |
||
| 8 |
Turbo Sympathique | Les Trois Accords |
| Song that I discovered last year on the Gros Mammouth Album Turbo
album, but released as a radio single only in 2005. It was one of those
I wanted them to release, and so they did. One of the many good songs,
not serious of course, of this must-have record. |
||
| 9 |
Little Sister | Queens of the Stone Age |
| Very good! Little subtleties make it more interesting. I continue to prefer No One Knows (2002), but Little Sister is very good competition. |
||
| 10 |
The Hand that Feeds | Nine Inch Nails |
| Very positive
comeback for NIN! A fresh sound that fits almost as much to rock fans
than fans of club songs, lyrics slightly agressive but very
interesting... And obviously, Trent Reznor signs as ever with an
impeccable sound quality. |
||
| 11 |
Beverly Hills | Weezer |
| A little
"lollipop candy" (not sure of my translation in English!), like most
Weezer songs, but that's just how we like them! May even be useful to
teenagers, with the part that says: "I might
as well enjoy my life and watch the stars play". |
||
| 12 |
Juicebox | The Strokes |
| Certainly my favorite Strokes song to date. |
||
| 13 |
Soul Meets Body | Death Cab for Cutie |
| More for the
lyrics than music. Really remarkable for alternative rock, which
usually concentrates more on music than the lyrics. This delightful
excerpt is just touching: "you're the only song I want to hear. A
melody softly soaring
through my atmosphere". |
||
| 14 |
Les Étoiles Filantes | Les Cowboys Fringants |
| The first time
I heard it, I found it a bit too easy. After a few times, it it reached
its goal nonetheless. Possibly the best serious song from the Cowboys'
repertoire (which still has more funny stuff than serious stuff!). |
||
| 15 |
Do you Want to | Franz Ferdinand |
| Pretty funny! Definitely my favorite among the band's 3 radio singles to date. |
||
| 16 |
Jesus of Suburbia | Green Day |
| An essay. A
punk band (which songs rarely get over 3
minutes) who comes in with a song of over 9 minutes that really doesn't
resembles to the traditional "verse-chorus-verse" and that is rather a
logical development, we are definitely talking about an essay. Although
it is in no way my favorite Green Day song, I think that this essay is
a fair success. It could have been even better by cutting off some
little overlong passages (which would have still kept it over 7
minutes) to make it more intense and by playing a bit with some
aspects, but it's a good first essay. Their next may become a great
classic of rock... |
||
| 17 |
Feel Good Inc. | Gorillaz |
| It's happy, and I'd even say that it's not bad for dancing! Excellent in their genre. |
||
| 18 |
Lucille | Les Trois Accords |
| "Non Lucille,
ce n'est pas de la pâte à dents! C'est du beurre et c'est
un peu moins nettoyant!" (which would translate as: "No Lucille it is
not some dentifrice! It is butter and it is a little less cleansing!".
Unbelievable all the stupidities these guys can find! On that aspect,
they have little to envy of the the Cowboys Fringants of the first 3
records! |
||
| 19 |
Dale Hawerchuk | Les Dales Hawerchuk |
| Thanks to my
friend Alexis who made me discover this band! Too bad they came in so
late (I think I've heard th song for the first time on Christmas eve),
otherwise they might have had a chance for a better position! It is
light, but at the same time it is energetic, it just flows, it does not
uselessly lose us in overlong passages (2:12) and it is music that fits
for many circumstances. I am hurry to hear the next single from their
album. A little band to watch. |
||
| 20 |
I Just Wanna Live *released in December 2004, but it's in January 2005 that I discovered it and appreciated it | Good Charlotte |
| Personally, I
would have put more power in the choruses, but it may just be my strong
grunge side that is screaming its lack of grunge of the last few
years! :) I really like it overall, and I really like the
contribution from the violins, which do not sound "cheap" as with some
electronic bands and which does not give the impression of being poorly
integrated to the music as with Yellowcard. |
||
| 21 |
My Doorbell | The White Stripes |
| Jack sings his "thinkin' about my doorbell" about as fast as Anthony Keidis was singing his "give it away"!! That's good! |
||
| 22 |
Remedy | Seether |
| Change of style for Seether. The first time I heard Remedy,
I was convinced that it was a new one from
Nickelback! Although not original, this song is not without interest.
It sounds "like a ton of brick" (to use an expression from Claude
Rajotte, who's missed so much at Musique Plus)! It is really solid, if
not a model of solid sound! |
||
| 23 |
Sugar, We're Going Down | Fallout Boy |
| The chorus sings so well! |
||
| 24 |
Étrange | Dobacaracol |
| Finally a love song that is different and no less efficient for it! Exellent job, girls! |
||
| 25 |
The Clincher |
Chevelle |
| No genious, but very solid! |
||
| 26 |
We are all on Drugs | Weezer |
| Of course, for those who wouldn't have heard it, it is not a pro-drugs song! Near the end, there's a passage that says: "and you
wish you could quit, and you're really sick of it but you're on drugs". |
||
| 27 |
Don't Tread on me | 311 |
| Relatively ordinary song, but it gets out a bit of the traditional "verse-chorus-verse". |
||
| 28 |
Only | Nine Inch Nails |
| For the music and not for the lyrics. |
||
| 29 |
Sitting, Waiting, Wishing | Jack Johnson |
| A nice acoustic ballad that has nothing to envy from Jean Leloup or any solo artist. |
||
| 30 |
Gold Digger | Kanye West feat. Jamie Foxx |
| 31 |
Why do you love me | Garbage |
| I was disappointed of Garbage's comeback song at first, but finally I started to have Why do you love me in my head in many occasions, to finally have to admit that I do like it! |
||
| 32 |
Girl | Beck |
| 33 |
Blue Orchid | The White Stripes |
| 34 |
Save me | Shinedown |
| Came a bit late in the year, could probably have got an even better score (the next few weeks will tell!). |
||
| 35 |
Pon De Replay | Rihanna |
| The perfect club song! |
||
| 36 |
Ankylose | Groovy Aardvark |
| 37 |
Ti-Cul | Les Cowboys Fringants |
| Probably
my favorite from the Cowboys' latest record for the song as is, but I'm
getting a bit bored of this kind of lyrics from them. It even seems
that success has made Karl and J-F proud of having messed up their
studies so much! Anyway, it would really be time that they get back to
their roots with their next album! |
||
| 38 |
Swing Life Away | Rise Against |
| 39 |
Cette Mélodie | Marie-Chantal Toupin |
| I seriously
like the melody and the sensuality with which the gorgous Marie-Chantal
sings it, but the lyrics are spoiling things a bit as far as I'm
concerned. I think they are coming to take people's hands with no
subtilty. The part that should have been completely deleted but that
she kept for the shows: "Si vous chantez avec moi j'vous dis MERCI
yeah!" (which translated as "If you are singing with me I'm saying you
THANKS yeah!). |
||
| 40 |
Hypnotize | System of a Down |
| Deceiving for some System, but it's still in the average or above. Good
duo of the lead singer and the guitarist, whose contribution on voice is not always positive (as with BYOB). The best Serj-Daron signing duo still remains, according to me, on song Needles from album Toxicity. |
||
| 41 |
Rosenrot | Rammstein |
| Another song
that came in December, which will certainly continue to add some value
over the next few weeks. Better than first single Benzin, but not among their most efficient in career neither. |
||
| 42 |
Time to Waste | Alkaline Trio |
| A song that
goes out of the mould. Different and hardly predictable, that's good!
Just lacking a real singer and a little something more... |
||
| 43 |
Rien | Marie-Mai |
| Nice distortion guitar sound! Finally Marie-Mai looks like a real rocker and not only a little "pop-rocker" for children!! |
||
| 44 |
Helena (so long and goodnight) | My Chemical Romance |
| You must know that this song is about the singer's deceased grandmother, who was a great support for the band. |
||
| 45 |
Your Time has Come | Audioslave |
| Identical to some old Rage Against the Machine, but... |
||
| 46 |
Where are you | Our Lady Peace |
| My god, the band has finally woken up from the dead! What did they eat?!? While they were becoming ever "smoother" at every album since 1999, they just suddenly jump off with an energetic piece! I hadn't expect that one, nice surprise! But, despite my very positive impression of it, it is obvious that Where are you doesn't worth the greatest hits of the band's greatest days such as Starseed, Superman's Dead and Is Anobody Home?. | ||
| 47 |
Don't Phunk with my Heart | Black Eyed Peas |
| 48 |
Doesn't Remind me | Audioslave |
| 49 |
E-Pro | Beck |
| 50 |
Je Brûle Encore pour toi | Meggie |
| Maybe it would
have been preferable for my judgement that I don't know what absolutely
adorable girl is behind that song, but what d'you want... |
||
| 51 |
DOA | Foo Fighters |
| 52 |
Dirty Little Thing | Velvet Revolver |
| 53 |
An Honest Mistake | The Bravery |
| 54 |
Benzin | Rammstein |
| Very disappointing for a first radio single for an album of veterans like Rammstein, but I like the band so much that I do not hate the song! A bit brutal, not really showing any intelligence musically or in the lyrics, but it strikes hard and certainly reaches its goal! | ||
| 55 |
Twisted Transistor |
Korn |
| Which I heard
only once in the whole year! I couldn't explain why this new one from
Korn has played so little on the radio, is it that Korn would be on
that much of a decline? I think it didn't look bad (although definitely
not their best), but I would need to hear it a few more times in order
to make a good judgement. I know by experience that it is major
important to listen to a song several times before judging, especially
with Korn! |
||
| 55 ex-aequo |
Lights and Sounds | Yellowcard |