Culture Greyhound

Today I continue my ongoing feature showcasing my personal picks for the best songs of the past decade, posting ten songs at a time.

110. Queens of the Stone Age – No One Knows

This band has always been awesome.  Go back in time and take a listen to the self-titled debut or Rated R if you don’t believe.  But I suppose it was this song (and video, and album Songs For the Deaf) that put Josh Homme’s brilliant stoner/stripper rock concoction on everybody’s map.  Probably because everybody recognized the temporary drummer (isn’t he in Foo Fighters?!).  But still, these guys bring the rock.

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My thinking is you can’t be a true Texan and not love the Toadies.  They embody the spirit of Lone Star State Rock Music (along with Pantera, of course…sorry Drowning Pool), and they’ve been delivering their twangy punk since the late 80’s.  I’ve been a fan since I first heard them, which was around ’96 – my cousin Joe brought a copy of Rubberneck while visiting one Christmas.  I saw them twice in September 2008 (in Lubbock and Amarillo) and I recently caught their show at Stubb’s here in Austin.  The boys are still loud and rowdy, and the proper release of the lost album Feeler this year has reignited my never-ending love.

And so I bring you my twenty favorite Toadies tracks.  Some are from the new disc, only one is from the disappointing No Deliverance.  But most are from the group’s two classics – Rubberneck and Hell Below, Stars Above.  Turn the volume way way up.

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Today we regard Depeche Mode as legends, pioneers of the New Wave sound, and all-around elder statesmen badasses of the ’80s. And all of the above is true, even if the band never went away (their latest album dropped in 2009, and they continue to chart very well in parts of Europe). They are regarded as one of the most popular groups around today, but the numbers surprisingly don’t show it – in Depeche Mode’s 30+ year history, they have never topped the pop chart of their native England nor the U.S. Hot 100 (though they do have a few #1s on America’s Modern Rock Chart).

I always knew about Depeche Mode; they’re just one of those bands you find out about at an early age.  When I was around 5 or so, Violator was getting the heavy-airplay treatment and the group was pretty much everywhere.  I became familiar with the hits we all love to croon at karaoke – “Personal Jesus,” “Policy of Truth,” “People Are People.”  While in eighth grade, we had a Spanish foreign exchange student named Rosa who might be, to this day, the most die-hard Depeche Mode fan I’ve ever met.  She blared the newly-released Singles 86>98 compilation the whole time she lived with us, and I learned many more forgotten tracks from the seminal band.

Since this is a “Rocking Retro” post, I have focused my small samplings on the 80’s and Violator, though the group continues to make music that sounds like it could be from the exact same time point (one of my recent favorites, 2005’s “Precious,” could have been a huge hit back in 1986).  So click ahead – after the jump some hits from one of the best bands, like, ever.  This one’s for you, Markham.

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Trailers for upcoming movies. Some are good, some not as much.

They’re drinking SHINER BOCK! AWESOME!

It seems like it’s taken forever, but Coco has returned to television in the form of a basic cable late night talk show almost identical to the ones he hosted previously.  While the reviews have been mixed thus far and Conan’s ego is overshadowing the humor currently, I look forward to an edgier O’Brien once he gets cozy on TBS.  In the meantime, here are a few moments from the best current late night host, mostly from his 17 year stint on Late Night, but a bit from his nine month Tonight Show gig.

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Today I continue my ongoing feature showcasing my personal picks for the best songs of the past decade, posting ten songs at a time.

120. Prodigy – Girls

Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned fared better across the Atlantic in Prodigy’s native England, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t blaring in my dingy yellow car during high school.  Quite the opposite, in fact.  “Girls” is a standout from a banging comeback from one of the 90’s most successful, riveting, and interesting electronic groups.  And while nothing on the disc comes close to their previous work’s brilliance, and the crew would later shell out typical guitar-driven bore for shillings, this track gives us a glimpse into the progression that could have been.

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