Memorial Day weekend is a wonderful time – the unofficial start of summer, with BBQ, fun in the sun, and general good vibes for all on a three-day break. But it always used to have a pretty stellar soundtrack – the WOXY Modern Rock 500. If WOXY were still around, you bet I would be listening and listing everything I heard. The WOXY crew compiled a list of some of the finest songs to ever grace alternative radio, new and old, and the #1 song was different every year. After 97X left the FM dial and WOXY went Internet-only, the countdown continued until last year, when the station was suddenly taken from us. But we still have the music and the memories, and so, as a tribute this Memorial Day, I leave you with a sampling of tracks we might have heard today on WOXY.COM.
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.
Today I conclude my series of posts showcasing my picks for the best tracks of 2009. And it only took half a year!
10. Grizzly Bear – Two Weeks
It sounds like nothing they’ve ever done before, so cheerful, so upbeat, so….piano pop. But it works just the same. It still feels like Grizzly Bear – the lush production, the layered harmonics. And the lightbulb-head music video is a fun watch as well.
Today I continue my ten-part series showcasing my personal picks for the best songs of last year.
40. Phoenix – Lisztomania
It’s been a long time coming, but thanks to Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, the French quartet are now a festival circuit band and one of the biggest groups in the world. Their jazz-fused, stream-of-consciousness take on upbeat pop is clearly expressed through this track, featuring an unconventional chorus that, like so many things Phoenix, works perfectly, even if it’s a bit outside the boundaries of what we normally hear on CHR.
