This was an idea I had a while back. At first I thought this would be too difficult to do--how do you rate these jokes against those jokes? It's impossible to be objective. Then I thought: when the hell has that ever stopped me before?
Ryan's Top 5:
1. "Bret, You Got It Going On" - Episode 6 of FOTC is to episode 4 of The Office (UK) as this song is to "Free Love Freeway." (That analogy vaguely makes sense, try not to think about it too much.) Anyway, I know every word of this song and must complete the entire thing whenever I think of any line. It wouldn't be much fun to talk about it, so just watch. I just laid there and spooned you...
2. "I'm Not Crying" - It's just been raining... on my face. Again, just watch it.
3. "Pencils in the Wind (Sellotape)" - "Another way that love is similar to tape... that I've noticed..." "And people are like paper dolls / Paper dolls and people, they're a similar shape." Every other line is good, too.
4. "If You're Into It" - The best love song ever written? You decide.
5. "Think About It" - A smorgasbord of hilarity. I think my favorite line is: "What's wrong with the world today? Nah-say-nah-say-neigh-neigh-neigh..." But, again, everything else is great.
Honorable mentions: Every other song, Business Time, Inner City Pressure, Leggy Blonde, Mutha'uckas, Robots, Albi the Racist Dragon, The Most Beautiful Girl in the Room, etc.
Tim's Top 5:
Well, it was bound to happen someday. Dan and I must have been editing at the same time, so it's a good thing I typed it elsewhere.
This list would have forced me to just re-watch every episode of the show, but I lent my copy to a friend to do my part proselytize Flight of the Conchords. So we'll have to make do with the two CDs, Ryan's list, and my memory to get us through.
1. "If You're Into It" - Sure, part of it makes me think of another HBO classic track "Double Team" from Tenacious D, but Jemaine's deep-as-Barry-White voice makes this an unmatchable classic for me.
2. "The Most Beautiful Girl (in the room)" - You could be a waitress, an air hostess from the '60s, or a part-time model (but you'd have to keep your normal job). And depending on the street, you're probably in the top 3. Nothing says romance like hedging to achieve honesty.
3. "Robots" - Two words -- Binary solo. That's not the only thing I love about this song, but I love it so much I couldn't possibly move this song down any more. "We no longer say yes, instead, we say affirmative." Like most of the songs, there's a couple different versions, so choose for yourself the TV version or the full version. Well, there's no more elephants.
4. "Think About It" - This song asks the timeless question "Why are we still paying so much for sneakers when they're made by little slave kids? What are your overheads?" It really makes the existence of the Black-Eyed Peas song "Where is the love" worthwhile.
5. "Bret, You Got It Going On" - Read Ryan's post, I'm too lazy to add more.
Honorable mention: "Not Crying", "Inner City Pressure", "Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenoceros", "Pencils in the Wind (Sellotape)"
Dan's Top 5:
More importantly, Ryan, since when have we ever tried to be objective?
1. "Sellotape (Pencils in the Wind)" - A song not only about love, but also racial tolerance. Clearly the best part of this song is the end chorus. "Brown paper, white paper, stickin' together with the tape, the tape of love."
2. "Inner City Pressure" - A classic song about the hardships of trying to make it in the city. "You know you're not in high finance, considering secondhand underpants." (Youtube link)
3. "Business Time" - The sexiest song ever about boring, mundane sex. "You know when I'm down to my socks, it's time for business; that's why they call them business socks, ooh!" (Youtube link)
4. "Bowie" - I'm still amazed at how well they're able to impersonate Bowie in this song. Of course, the lyrics aren't nearly as funny as other songs. "Bet you do, you freaky old bastard, you." (Youtube link)
5. "Goodbye Leggy Blonde" - Murray's shining moment about lost potential for love. "I'll never get to tear your clothes off on the photocopier." (Youtube link)
Tory's List
I am going to do a top five. And maybe another. And maybe... another.
1. Bret, You've Got It Goin' On - Hilarious. The funniest song I've ever heard by a non-Tenacious D entity.
2. I'm Not Crying - This song makes the list almost solely for it's intro: "If you wanted to break my heart / you're plan was flawed from the start / it's liquid / it melted when I saw you." P.S. That is half quote - half paraphrasing.
3. Jenny - This one is a bit of a technicality since it's not in the show. I did double check the title of the post and doesn't say anything about songs from the show, so I am putting this unbelievable song (which can be heard on their One Night Stand HBO show - they open with it.) It's hard to quote a song that is seven minutes long, but it's about a girl named Jenny who sees someone she met once, but he doesn't remember her quite as well. "'We talked about how the lights from the buildings and cars / seemed like reflections of the stars / that shined out so pretty and brght / that night' / ... / 'It was daytime.' / ... / 'The daytime... of the night.'"
4. Prince of Parties - This selection was a mixture of both I like the song and wanting to be different. Granted, the lyrics are not what solely takes the cake. The entire concept behind this song from it's context in the show to it's video are what make me love it so much.
5. She-Wolf - Cold-hearted bitch, diggin a ditch
Showing posts with label flight of the conchords. Show all posts
Showing posts with label flight of the conchords. Show all posts
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Top 5 Funniest People on Earth
I got the idea for this list after (spoiler alerts) seeing Eddie Izzard last Friday, reading a book published by Ricky Gervais yesterday, and starting the new David Sedaris book.
Ryan's Top Five
1. Ricky Gervais - To be fair, he's usually part of a team with Stephen Merchant; this hurts other contestants (like Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie, for instance). That said, he's too fucking funny to pass up. Stephen Merchant is legitimately hilarious, but Ricky Gervais brings a matchless comic energy to his roles that verily forces you to laugh. He also invented the David Brent character, and thus inspired the Michael Scott character. The first time I saw episode 4 of The Office UK--specifically, "I think there's been a rape up there!"--I laughed for a solid five minutes. I have never laughed at any TV show, movie, standup, etc. more than that exact moment.
2. David Sedaris - I used to think David Sedaris was good but formulaic, but that was when I thought personal narrative was easy to write. It's not. And he makes it look effortless. And he's brilliant. This is a cliche phrase, but you really do have to see him live at some point in your life; as funny as his essays are in print, you cannot get the full effect without hearing him read it, and hearing his audience in hysterics. Sample lines, from "Six to Eight Black Men": "The six to eight black men [in Holland, Santa's elves] were characterized as personal slaves until the mid-fifties, when the political climate changed and it was decided that instead of being slaves they were just good friends. I think history has proven that something usually comes between slavery and friendship, a period of time marked not by cookies and quiet times beside the fire but by bloodshed and mutual hostility."
3. Stephen Colbert - It's really pretty amazing that Colbert can be that consistently funny that often. Most daily talk-shows, even the good ones (Conan O'Brien), have their ups and downs. There's usually at least one thing in every episode of The Colbert Report that is genuinely hilarious. It always amazes me how Colbert (and Conan) can be funny every night, and SNL gets an entire week to write and comes up with nothing. Finally, Colbert really deserves to be on American currency for this:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=BSE_saVX_2A&feature=related
4. Eddie Izzard - The only stand-up comic on my list (though David Cross and Demetri Martin come close...and I suppose Gervais does stand-up). It's hard even to relay Izzard's jokes; his delivery and unique story-telling method (almost stream of consciousness) are one-of-a-kind. John Cleese calls him "the lost Python," and you can really see it; he jumps randomly from subject to subject, layers his jokes, then makes jokes about those layers and his own treatment of the layers. Also, not many comedians choose to focus their material on topics like history, philosophy, religion, etc. Here's a sample:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=6omQ5JjjLsE
"Britain?" "Wot?" "What's that behind your back?" "It's India and a number of other countries." "Give 'em back." "Oh all right...there's that one, that one...Ah the Falkland Islands, we need the Falkland Islands...for strategic sheep purposes."
5. Simon Pegg - One of the masterminds behind "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz," the two funniest movies this decade (http://topfiveofalltime.blogspot.com/2007/07/top-5-comedies-since-2000.html ... I would now reverse the order of 1-2, though). He and Edgar Wright are working on the third of their "Blood and Ice Cream Trilogy," a movie about the end of the world. Pegg's also making a movie with Nick Frost about the pair road-tripping across America... All is well in the comedy world. Anyway, do yourself a favor and buy both of these movies if you haven't seen them or don't already own them.
Honorable mentions: Demetri Martin, Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie (they are too much of a team to single either one out, and this was their downfall), Conan O'Brien, David Cross, Stephen Merchant, John Cleese, Larry David.
Tim's Top 5:
My list will be stand-up comedians. Why? Because that's the kind of guy I am. (Read: the guy with a bunch of comedy CDs).
1. Todd Barry - Hands down, he's my favorite comedian. Every album is worth owning, every joke is at least a little bit funny, and his perpetual semi-fame keeps him from getting any more famous than he'll be as the third conchord.
2. Dave Attell - His HBO special from last year got off to an underwhelming start, but Skanks for the Memories is the best comedy album I'm aware of, and his comedic style really matches the way I converse with friends on a daily basis. His is funnier and perhaps even more offensive, but it's a style I'm comfortable with.
3. Michael Schur - Who? Well, you may know him as Cousin Mose from The Office (the man can handle a raccoon with the best of them), and he's one of the key writers for the series, but he's also the best sports blogger in the business under the guise of Ken Tremendous at firejoemorgan.com. It's smart, hilarious, and aside from the shared affection all the writers have for the hated Red Sox, it's invariably worth reading.
4. Michael J. Nelson - Ok, he might not actually be, we don't know how the MST3K writing sessions really worked, but his books (Mind Over Matters and Mike Nelson's Death Rat!) are consistently funny, and everyone associated with Mystery Science Theater 3000 warrants a nobel prize for humor.
5. Lewis Black - He's gotten too famous for his own good, the Carnegie Hall performance was underwhelming, his first book was a huge disappointment, but his comedy is just funny. He generates more material than nearly anyone, because his rage merges well with every news story.
Honorable mention: me, I'm my biggest fan (by height, I suspect the heftier folks are totally into me). Really, since I wasn't in Unaccompanied Minors, I should slot myself in at #5. But oh well. The guy who runs gemmintten.blogspot.com warrants mention here, though he may still be a flash in the pan. David Cross has really grown on me, his last comedy album really turned the corner.
Dan' Top 5:
1. Patton Oswalt - By far my favorite living stand-up comedian, Patton's gift of comedy, I think, is derived from his English major in college. His bits are full of really inventive embellishments.
2. Nick Hornby - High Fidelity being so brilliant is what inspired this website, isn't it? I think that Hornby is one of the masters at pointing out humor in truth.
3. David Sedaris - Probably the most articulate person on the list. The only problem with Sedaris is that in my mind, nothing will ever top his masterpiece, "Six to Eight Black Men"
4. David Cross - Drops a few sots because his standup comedy is a bit too politically-oriented. All his other work, especially Mr. Show and Arrested Development is brilliant
5. Seth Green - Seth sneaks in at my suprise-for-five spot. I'm giving him all of the credit for the hilarious Robot Chicken series. I get the feeling that he's the kind of person who works best behind the scenes.
Honorable Mentions: Stephen Colbert (only excluded due to previous representation... props to his work on Strangers with Candy), Eddie Izzard, Joel Hodgson (MST3K creator)
Ryan's Top Five
1. Ricky Gervais - To be fair, he's usually part of a team with Stephen Merchant; this hurts other contestants (like Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie, for instance). That said, he's too fucking funny to pass up. Stephen Merchant is legitimately hilarious, but Ricky Gervais brings a matchless comic energy to his roles that verily forces you to laugh. He also invented the David Brent character, and thus inspired the Michael Scott character. The first time I saw episode 4 of The Office UK--specifically, "I think there's been a rape up there!"--I laughed for a solid five minutes. I have never laughed at any TV show, movie, standup, etc. more than that exact moment.
2. David Sedaris - I used to think David Sedaris was good but formulaic, but that was when I thought personal narrative was easy to write. It's not. And he makes it look effortless. And he's brilliant. This is a cliche phrase, but you really do have to see him live at some point in your life; as funny as his essays are in print, you cannot get the full effect without hearing him read it, and hearing his audience in hysterics. Sample lines, from "Six to Eight Black Men": "The six to eight black men [in Holland, Santa's elves] were characterized as personal slaves until the mid-fifties, when the political climate changed and it was decided that instead of being slaves they were just good friends. I think history has proven that something usually comes between slavery and friendship, a period of time marked not by cookies and quiet times beside the fire but by bloodshed and mutual hostility."
3. Stephen Colbert - It's really pretty amazing that Colbert can be that consistently funny that often. Most daily talk-shows, even the good ones (Conan O'Brien), have their ups and downs. There's usually at least one thing in every episode of The Colbert Report that is genuinely hilarious. It always amazes me how Colbert (and Conan) can be funny every night, and SNL gets an entire week to write and comes up with nothing. Finally, Colbert really deserves to be on American currency for this:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=BSE_saVX_2A&feature=related
4. Eddie Izzard - The only stand-up comic on my list (though David Cross and Demetri Martin come close...and I suppose Gervais does stand-up). It's hard even to relay Izzard's jokes; his delivery and unique story-telling method (almost stream of consciousness) are one-of-a-kind. John Cleese calls him "the lost Python," and you can really see it; he jumps randomly from subject to subject, layers his jokes, then makes jokes about those layers and his own treatment of the layers. Also, not many comedians choose to focus their material on topics like history, philosophy, religion, etc. Here's a sample:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=6omQ5JjjLsE
"Britain?" "Wot?" "What's that behind your back?" "It's India and a number of other countries." "Give 'em back." "Oh all right...there's that one, that one...Ah the Falkland Islands, we need the Falkland Islands...for strategic sheep purposes."
5. Simon Pegg - One of the masterminds behind "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz," the two funniest movies this decade (http://topfiveofalltime.blogspot.com/2007/07/top-5-comedies-since-2000.html ... I would now reverse the order of 1-2, though). He and Edgar Wright are working on the third of their "Blood and Ice Cream Trilogy," a movie about the end of the world. Pegg's also making a movie with Nick Frost about the pair road-tripping across America... All is well in the comedy world. Anyway, do yourself a favor and buy both of these movies if you haven't seen them or don't already own them.
Honorable mentions: Demetri Martin, Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie (they are too much of a team to single either one out, and this was their downfall), Conan O'Brien, David Cross, Stephen Merchant, John Cleese, Larry David.
Tim's Top 5:
My list will be stand-up comedians. Why? Because that's the kind of guy I am. (Read: the guy with a bunch of comedy CDs).
1. Todd Barry - Hands down, he's my favorite comedian. Every album is worth owning, every joke is at least a little bit funny, and his perpetual semi-fame keeps him from getting any more famous than he'll be as the third conchord.
2. Dave Attell - His HBO special from last year got off to an underwhelming start, but Skanks for the Memories is the best comedy album I'm aware of, and his comedic style really matches the way I converse with friends on a daily basis. His is funnier and perhaps even more offensive, but it's a style I'm comfortable with.
3. Michael Schur - Who? Well, you may know him as Cousin Mose from The Office (the man can handle a raccoon with the best of them), and he's one of the key writers for the series, but he's also the best sports blogger in the business under the guise of Ken Tremendous at firejoemorgan.com. It's smart, hilarious, and aside from the shared affection all the writers have for the hated Red Sox, it's invariably worth reading.
4. Michael J. Nelson - Ok, he might not actually be, we don't know how the MST3K writing sessions really worked, but his books (Mind Over Matters and Mike Nelson's Death Rat!) are consistently funny, and everyone associated with Mystery Science Theater 3000 warrants a nobel prize for humor.
5. Lewis Black - He's gotten too famous for his own good, the Carnegie Hall performance was underwhelming, his first book was a huge disappointment, but his comedy is just funny. He generates more material than nearly anyone, because his rage merges well with every news story.
Honorable mention: me, I'm my biggest fan (by height, I suspect the heftier folks are totally into me). Really, since I wasn't in Unaccompanied Minors, I should slot myself in at #5. But oh well. The guy who runs gemmintten.blogspot.com warrants mention here, though he may still be a flash in the pan. David Cross has really grown on me, his last comedy album really turned the corner.
Dan' Top 5:
1. Patton Oswalt - By far my favorite living stand-up comedian, Patton's gift of comedy, I think, is derived from his English major in college. His bits are full of really inventive embellishments.
2. Nick Hornby - High Fidelity being so brilliant is what inspired this website, isn't it? I think that Hornby is one of the masters at pointing out humor in truth.
3. David Sedaris - Probably the most articulate person on the list. The only problem with Sedaris is that in my mind, nothing will ever top his masterpiece, "Six to Eight Black Men"
4. David Cross - Drops a few sots because his standup comedy is a bit too politically-oriented. All his other work, especially Mr. Show and Arrested Development is brilliant
5. Seth Green - Seth sneaks in at my suprise-for-five spot. I'm giving him all of the credit for the hilarious Robot Chicken series. I get the feeling that he's the kind of person who works best behind the scenes.
Honorable Mentions: Stephen Colbert (only excluded due to previous representation... props to his work on Strangers with Candy), Eddie Izzard, Joel Hodgson (MST3K creator)
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Top 5 Songs With Animal References in the Title
In continuation with our ongoing theme of musical titles... songs with references to animals in the title. Must actually be the name of a general animal, and not a proper name (e.g. if someone were to write a song called "Free Willy," it would not be accepted. Thank god no one has, though.)
Dan's Top 5:
1. The Beatles - Blackbird - Probably one of the best acoustic ditties ever.
2. Duran Duran - Hungry Like the Wolf - The best pop song I've ever heard, hands down.
3. Peter Gabriel - Shock the Monkey - One of my other favorite pop songs ever, it gets more and more points because Peter says "monkey" so many times.
4. The Pixies - Monkey Gone To Heaven - I don't know why, but I really like this one. It also pays to show you like something by the Pixies besides "Where is My Mind?"
5. Cake - Sheep Go To Heaven, Goats Go To Hell - I like the metaphor in this one, as it's effective, yet straightforward enough that any idiot can work it out.
Ryan's Top Five
Some prefacing is in order. You really could do a Top 5 with only Beatles songs and be pretty fine. That said, that would be a bit boring, and there's loads of other worthy songs. Once again, the "honorable mentions" for this list are aptly named.
1. Badly Drawn Boy - Year of the Rat - I don't want to oversell Badly Drawn Boy, but I'll do so anyway: he is a musical genius. This is one of his best; he re-energizes a definitively tired theme--this is, basically, a peace-is-the-answer song that even features a children's chorus. And yet, this song still kicks ass, and manages to sound completely original. His instrumentation is amazing.
2. The Beatles - I Am The Walrus - Even in a list that avoids a lot of Beatles classics, this one deserves special mention. One of those "epic" songs that The Beatles excelled at (A Day In The Life comes to mind). Earns bonus points because Lennon wrote some lyrics intentionally to mess with the minds of English teachers, which is the musical equivalent of Edgerrin James telling a reporter, "You know, I had to score that last touchdown, for the fantasy players."
3. Harry Nilsson - The Puppy Song - A lovely pop song that not everyone has heard. Comes with standard feel-good lyrics, but not too-feel-good--basically, the lyrical attitude that characterized most of Nilsson's masterful career. "I'd take my puppy anywhere / La la la la, I wouldn't care / And we would stay away from crowds / And signs that said 'No Dogs Allowed.'" He repeats this first verse in the second and subs 'friend' for 'puppy.' Did I mention I love Harry Nilsson?
4. The Who - Boris the Spider - One of my favorite The Who songs. Try listening to it and not having "Creeepy, craaawly, creepy, crawly, creepy-creepy crawly-crawly creepy-creepy crawly-crawly..." in your head for the rest of the week.
5. Cake - Sheep Go To Heaven - "Goats go to hell." What can I say, I love Cake, and this is one of their best, maybe their best.
Honorable mentions: The Beatles - Hey Bulldog, Octopus's Garden, Blackbird, Rocky Raccoon, Blue Jay Way, And Your Bird Can Sing (almost made it), Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown), Duran Duran - Hungry Like The Wolf (also almost made it), John Lennon - Cold Turkey (the guitar in this is awesome), Led Zeppelin - Black Dog, Rage Against The Machine - Bulls on Parade.
Tim's Top 5:
A very underrepresented animal tops my list...
1. Cobra Starship - Snakes on a Plane (Bring It) - When I hear this song, I remember the sheer mania that surrounded SoaP in my own mind and apparently in the minds of only a handful of other people when it came to actually seeing the movie. It's the ideal soundtrack song, it's memorable enough to be played on the radio, but it also is so ridiculously transparent that you can't help but think of the movie it's associated with. The rest of Cobra Starship's work is pretty middling to poor, but for one brief moment they got it right...and it'll never be August 18, 2006 anywhere else but in my heart.
2. I Am a Walrus - The Beatles - For many years, this was my favorite song. Now, it's at best my third favorite Beatles song (Rain and It's All Too Much are both superior to me now), but it's still a great one. I've still yet to see Magical Mystery Tour, and I'm not sure how I ever reached such a fate.
3. Three Little Birds - Bob Marley - Don't get me wrong, my reggae phase began and ended in the era of Big Mountain (real reggae band) and Inner Circle (not a real reggae band), but Bob Marley is an intriguing musician if you can get into him for reasons other than your frat brother's poster/your interest in smoking pot and needing to find a kindred spirit in this oh-so-rare desire and are unable to meet any living human beings.
4. Blackbird - The Beatles - For some reason, I keep buying Paul McCartney live albums, as if he was in some way getting better as a musician. Most of the songs sound mediocre at best, but Blackbird is still a masterpiece. It is extremely simple, but it's flawless.
5. Bulldog Skin - Guided by Voices - This spot was handed to Norwegian Wood, but I think the Beatles need to be displaced here. Bulldog Skin was one of the closest things Guided by Voices ever had to a hit, since it had a video that was played on MTV during 120 minutes -- the one time I saw it, it was immediately followed by Paranoid Android. But it was from their greatest album, one that's instantly overlooked because it bridged a period between the lo-fi they're really known for and the move to TVT records with Do the Collapse that offered the world Teenage FBI and little else.
Honorable mention: Hey Bulldog, And Your Bird Can Sing, Everybody’s Got Something to Hide But Me and My Monkey - The Beatles; Bird in a Cage – Old 97’s
Slow Cheetah – Red Hot Chili Peppers; Red Dragon Tattoo – Fountains of Wayne; Eagle Eye – Heatmiser; Red Mosquito – Pearl Jam; Sheep Go to Heaven - Cake
Tory's Top Five
1. Beatles - Rocky Raccoon - This makes the number one as it is by the beatles so it is deserved, as well as being my overall favorite song by the beatles. Yet it is one song that we do not have on our iTunes.
2. Elvis - Hound Dog - I don't know why this wasn't even honorably mentioned by anyone. It is definitely a trademark song of Elvis' and may be his most famous. It's at least also in the top 5 Elvis songs in addition to this list.
3. Flight of the Conchords - Albi the Racist Dragon - A dragon is an animal, let's not forget.
4. Pink Floyd - Sheep - This song is so bad ass. It goes through so many tempo changes and singing styles. When it hits "Did you hear, the dogs are dead" it is so utterly sweet.
5. Culture Club - Karma Chameleon - How did you guys miss this awesome eighties staple.
Honorable Mentions: Once again there are a lot of these. Ben Folds - Rock this Bitch (not necissarily a reference to the animal;) Bright Eyes - Down in a Rabbit Hole and Stray Dog Freedom, they didn't make it as they are not my favorite of Bright Eyes, despite his spot as favorite artist; Primus - Tommy the Cat and Fish On, Sailing the Seas of Cheese was an incredibly album; Damien Rice - Elephant, as with Bright Eyes its not one of my favorite songs by Rice; Pink Floyd - When The Tigers Broke Free, this also isn't a reference to the animal, but to tanks, but the name of the tanks are a reference to the animal, so it could've worked; Samuel L. Jackson - Black Snake Moan, amazing but not his original song and its from a movie and so on; Blink 182 - Mutt (see Ryan's upcoming guilty pleasure list.)
Dan's Top 5:
1. The Beatles - Blackbird - Probably one of the best acoustic ditties ever.
2. Duran Duran - Hungry Like the Wolf - The best pop song I've ever heard, hands down.
3. Peter Gabriel - Shock the Monkey - One of my other favorite pop songs ever, it gets more and more points because Peter says "monkey" so many times.
4. The Pixies - Monkey Gone To Heaven - I don't know why, but I really like this one. It also pays to show you like something by the Pixies besides "Where is My Mind?"
5. Cake - Sheep Go To Heaven, Goats Go To Hell - I like the metaphor in this one, as it's effective, yet straightforward enough that any idiot can work it out.
Ryan's Top Five
Some prefacing is in order. You really could do a Top 5 with only Beatles songs and be pretty fine. That said, that would be a bit boring, and there's loads of other worthy songs. Once again, the "honorable mentions" for this list are aptly named.
1. Badly Drawn Boy - Year of the Rat - I don't want to oversell Badly Drawn Boy, but I'll do so anyway: he is a musical genius. This is one of his best; he re-energizes a definitively tired theme--this is, basically, a peace-is-the-answer song that even features a children's chorus. And yet, this song still kicks ass, and manages to sound completely original. His instrumentation is amazing.
2. The Beatles - I Am The Walrus - Even in a list that avoids a lot of Beatles classics, this one deserves special mention. One of those "epic" songs that The Beatles excelled at (A Day In The Life comes to mind). Earns bonus points because Lennon wrote some lyrics intentionally to mess with the minds of English teachers, which is the musical equivalent of Edgerrin James telling a reporter, "You know, I had to score that last touchdown, for the fantasy players."
3. Harry Nilsson - The Puppy Song - A lovely pop song that not everyone has heard. Comes with standard feel-good lyrics, but not too-feel-good--basically, the lyrical attitude that characterized most of Nilsson's masterful career. "I'd take my puppy anywhere / La la la la, I wouldn't care / And we would stay away from crowds / And signs that said 'No Dogs Allowed.'" He repeats this first verse in the second and subs 'friend' for 'puppy.' Did I mention I love Harry Nilsson?
4. The Who - Boris the Spider - One of my favorite The Who songs. Try listening to it and not having "Creeepy, craaawly, creepy, crawly, creepy-creepy crawly-crawly creepy-creepy crawly-crawly..." in your head for the rest of the week.
5. Cake - Sheep Go To Heaven - "Goats go to hell." What can I say, I love Cake, and this is one of their best, maybe their best.
Honorable mentions: The Beatles - Hey Bulldog, Octopus's Garden, Blackbird, Rocky Raccoon, Blue Jay Way, And Your Bird Can Sing (almost made it), Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown), Duran Duran - Hungry Like The Wolf (also almost made it), John Lennon - Cold Turkey (the guitar in this is awesome), Led Zeppelin - Black Dog, Rage Against The Machine - Bulls on Parade.
Tim's Top 5:
A very underrepresented animal tops my list...
1. Cobra Starship - Snakes on a Plane (Bring It) - When I hear this song, I remember the sheer mania that surrounded SoaP in my own mind and apparently in the minds of only a handful of other people when it came to actually seeing the movie. It's the ideal soundtrack song, it's memorable enough to be played on the radio, but it also is so ridiculously transparent that you can't help but think of the movie it's associated with. The rest of Cobra Starship's work is pretty middling to poor, but for one brief moment they got it right...and it'll never be August 18, 2006 anywhere else but in my heart.
2. I Am a Walrus - The Beatles - For many years, this was my favorite song. Now, it's at best my third favorite Beatles song (Rain and It's All Too Much are both superior to me now), but it's still a great one. I've still yet to see Magical Mystery Tour, and I'm not sure how I ever reached such a fate.
3. Three Little Birds - Bob Marley - Don't get me wrong, my reggae phase began and ended in the era of Big Mountain (real reggae band) and Inner Circle (not a real reggae band), but Bob Marley is an intriguing musician if you can get into him for reasons other than your frat brother's poster/your interest in smoking pot and needing to find a kindred spirit in this oh-so-rare desire and are unable to meet any living human beings.
4. Blackbird - The Beatles - For some reason, I keep buying Paul McCartney live albums, as if he was in some way getting better as a musician. Most of the songs sound mediocre at best, but Blackbird is still a masterpiece. It is extremely simple, but it's flawless.
5. Bulldog Skin - Guided by Voices - This spot was handed to Norwegian Wood, but I think the Beatles need to be displaced here. Bulldog Skin was one of the closest things Guided by Voices ever had to a hit, since it had a video that was played on MTV during 120 minutes -- the one time I saw it, it was immediately followed by Paranoid Android. But it was from their greatest album, one that's instantly overlooked because it bridged a period between the lo-fi they're really known for and the move to TVT records with Do the Collapse that offered the world Teenage FBI and little else.
Honorable mention: Hey Bulldog, And Your Bird Can Sing, Everybody’s Got Something to Hide But Me and My Monkey - The Beatles; Bird in a Cage – Old 97’s
Slow Cheetah – Red Hot Chili Peppers; Red Dragon Tattoo – Fountains of Wayne; Eagle Eye – Heatmiser; Red Mosquito – Pearl Jam; Sheep Go to Heaven - Cake
Tory's Top Five
1. Beatles - Rocky Raccoon - This makes the number one as it is by the beatles so it is deserved, as well as being my overall favorite song by the beatles. Yet it is one song that we do not have on our iTunes.
2. Elvis - Hound Dog - I don't know why this wasn't even honorably mentioned by anyone. It is definitely a trademark song of Elvis' and may be his most famous. It's at least also in the top 5 Elvis songs in addition to this list.
3. Flight of the Conchords - Albi the Racist Dragon - A dragon is an animal, let's not forget.
4. Pink Floyd - Sheep - This song is so bad ass. It goes through so many tempo changes and singing styles. When it hits "Did you hear, the dogs are dead" it is so utterly sweet.
5. Culture Club - Karma Chameleon - How did you guys miss this awesome eighties staple.
Honorable Mentions: Once again there are a lot of these. Ben Folds - Rock this Bitch (not necissarily a reference to the animal;) Bright Eyes - Down in a Rabbit Hole and Stray Dog Freedom, they didn't make it as they are not my favorite of Bright Eyes, despite his spot as favorite artist; Primus - Tommy the Cat and Fish On, Sailing the Seas of Cheese was an incredibly album; Damien Rice - Elephant, as with Bright Eyes its not one of my favorite songs by Rice; Pink Floyd - When The Tigers Broke Free, this also isn't a reference to the animal, but to tanks, but the name of the tanks are a reference to the animal, so it could've worked; Samuel L. Jackson - Black Snake Moan, amazing but not his original song and its from a movie and so on; Blink 182 - Mutt (see Ryan's upcoming guilty pleasure list.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)