Today I continue my ongoing feature showcasing my personal picks for the best songs of the past decade, posting ten songs at a time.
290. Les Claypool – Iowan Gal
Where do I begin? Les is one of my all-time favorites, and his past decade work will be represented well on this list through his Oysterhead project, solo work, and songs from his main band Primus. Needless to say, I’m a die-hard fan; I first discovered Les and Primus back in 1996 when my cousin Joe brought Pork Soda to my house during a Christmas visit.
Claypool’s solo work is weirder and leans toward jam-band noodling sometimes, but “Iowan Gal” is good ol’ Les, mostly just him and his mighty bass guitar slapping, popping, and showing off. It’s funky, humorous, and a return to form from the great weird one.
None of you reading will even come close to understanding what this means to me, except for maybe my former KTXT cohorts (and fellow WOXY peers). I just finished listening to an archived mp3 I kept of Bakerman’s final words before WOXY-FM went dark in 2003. I was listening that night, and, like today, I wept tears for the staff, listeners, bands, and friends who had lost their cool older brother – the one that introduced them to so much cool music. I was only in high school, and I had only been listening to 97X for maybe two years – but, man, what a great station.
Today I begin a project that will take awhile, and one I should have started a few months ago, near the end of this past decade, like most respectable blogs/zines did: I will be showcasing and analyzing my Top 300 Songs of the 2000s – that is, the top 300 songs of the past decade. I will do so in intervals of ten per post. Let’s do this!
300. Cat Power – He War
I didn’t think much of this song when I first heard it on WOXY FM (then known best as 97X – BAM!) back in, I’m guessing, 2003. It didn’t really have a catchy chorus, and it was incredibly unconventional compared to the rest of the modern rock radio dreck I was listening to at a high school. Then again, 97X opened my eyes to a lot of great music. “He War” really grew on me thanks to heavy rotation and a certain burned CD I blared from my shitty yellow 1978 Ford Fairmont. I don’t really have another favorite Cat Power song; her work has never resonated well with me – but this track has stuck with me throughout the years, and earns a spot as one of the decade’s best.
