80. “The Sound” – The 1975
“The Sound,” off The 1975’s sophomore album I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware Of It, is the bands highest charting single to date, and the most difficult to get out of your head. The Manchester England natives have a knack for writing funky, upbeat, pop-rock, and “The Sound” is The 1975 at its best. It is a perfect example of what 80’s new wave music sounds like in 2016. If Boy George and Culture Club were new on the scene today, I would imagine this is what they would sound like. And probably even what they would look like.
Boy George (photo: Dean Stockings)
The 1975 lead singer, Matthew Healy. Photo credit: alchetron.com)
79. “Genghis Khan” – Miike Snow
Quite possibly the most bizarre, (and amazing) video of the year is Miike Snow’s “Genghis Khan.” The song tells a story of a man that becomes super jealous and possessive when he thinks of his love interest with anyone else besides him.
“I get a little bit Genghis Khan/don’t want you to get it on/with nobody else but me.”
Genghis Khan, of course, was known for being a brutal emperor with many wives and children. And while the song itself is as radio friendly and catchy as it gets, it is the music video that makes “Genghis Khan” so memorable.
Heavily influenced by James Bond films, the video tells the story of a super villain gone good guy, as he decides what to do with the man he kidnapped. It is Stockholm syndrome at its finest, and both the captor and the captive have a change of heart towards each other, and end up joining forces for an epic dance scene that even Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire would be jealous of. If you watch one music video this year, this should be the one.
78. “Five Stars” – Jason Cardinal
Rhode Island native, and one man band, Jason Cardinal, released his second studio project this year titled Five Stars. The title track off the album is a soulful, bluesy, pop rock gem. With his unique, raspy voice and beautiful harmonies, coupled with an impressive guitar solo, Cardinal proves that he is a forced to be reckoned with in the genre.
The amount of passion that Cardinal has for his music is evident, and anyone that has ever been to one of his shows knows that he is one of the hardest working men in the business. “Five Stars” takes Cardinal to new heights and opens the door for 2017 to be the biggest year yet for his music career.
77. “The Sound Of Silence” – Disturbed
Originally recorded by Simon and Garfunkel and written by Paul Simon in 1963, “The Sound Of Silence” became the highest charting song in Disturbed’s history.
While the song has been covered many times throughout the years, few artists, if any, have made the track as bone-chillingly haunting as Disturbed. A strong case could be made that the last 90 seconds of the song may be the most epic 90 seconds of any song released in 2016.
Disturbed’s version of the classic song is the stuff that nightmares are made of, which ironically makes it so beautiful.
76. “The Hand Of John L. Sullivan” – Flogging Molly
Flogging Molly, the Irish-American 7-piece Celtic punk band released their first track in over five years in 2016. “The Hand Of John L. Sullivan” is about boxing legend and Boston native, John L. Sullivan.
Known as “Boston Strong Boy,” John L. Sullivan was so admired that it was considered an honor to shake his hand. For decades politicians that met him would tell voters that they could “shake the hand that shook the hand of John L. Sullivan.”
(photo: newenglandhistoricalsociety.com)
More recently John L. Sullivan can add “Meme Superstar” to his resume, as he is known to millennials as the “Overly Manly Man” that is shown with his fists up and ready to fight in many memes about being a manly man.
(www.instructables.com)
Flogging Molly is fun, their music is fun, and The Hand Of John L. Sullivan” is fun. Hopefully, they can get out a new full length album in the new year, and continue to supply us with more essentials for our St. Patrick’s Day playlist.
75. “Paracetamol” Declan McKenna
After his 2015 breakout hit “Brazil,” 17 year old Declan McKenna shows no signs of slowing down. “Paracetamol” was written when McKenna was just 15 years old. He was inspired by a story about a transgender girl, Leelah Alcorn, that committed suicide in December of 2014 when her mom told her that she would never be a girl, and sent her to Christian transgender conversion therapy.
Back in May, McKenna told theguardian.com that he wanted to write a song about the media’s representation of LGBT communities in general, but instead of writing it from the perspective of the victim, wrote it from the perspective of the authoritative figure talking about somebody they are oppressing.
At just 17 years old, Declan McKenna is not just an extremely talented musician, but an even more gifted song writer, who is not afraid to write about hot button issues. McKenna is wise beyond his years, and “Paracetamol” is proof of that.
74. “Bad Decisions” – Two Door Cinema Club
How could I not fall in love with a song that starts with the lyrics “save me / I’ve been drinking wine / And I’ve just made a big mistake / Happens all the time.”
Two Door Cinema Club just summed up my last 5 years in about 7 seconds.
“Bad Decisions” is a dance, disco track taken right from the 1970’s. It’s difficult to not think of Bee Gee’s when listening to the falsetto-heavy song about living by trial-and-error. The video, which places animated band members in a video game, is a trippy journey through bizarre situations that they must find their way out of.
“Bad Decisions” stands out from the rest of the music out there today, and makes it clear that Two Door Cinema Club is making better and better decisions as they continue to progress as a band.
73. “Company Of Strangers” – Third Eye Blind
90’s rock all-stars, Third Eye Blind released their EP We Are Drugs back in October. The latest track off their album, “Company Of Strangers,” is about a love interest that prefers empty connections with strangers rather than deeper, more meaningful relationships.
“I said show me your true face and She said I’d rather wear a blindfold
Truth be told I want a robot
A robot heart is all I want”
Like many Third Eye Blind songs “Company Of Strangers” starts out slow and ends with a bang. The catchy hook is enough to get you out of your seat and start fist pumping, which is everything you have come to expect with Third Eye Blind.
72. “Give Me A Try” – The Wombats
English band The Wombats are desperately trying to win someone over with their new track, “Give Me A Try.” Sure, William Shakespeare compared his lover to a warm summer’s night, but the Wombats compared their crush to Vicodin on Sunday nights. If you ask me, those two things are like 6 in one, half dozen in the other. So,
Bottom line: give “Give Me A Try” a try. You will not be disappointed.
71. “7” – Catfish and the Bottlemen
The mystery behind the title of the latest Catfish and the Bottlemen song, “7” was revealed by the band in an interview with RadioX back in April.
“It’s called “7” because I wrote it when I was seven hours behind the time difference from the person I wrote it about” says Catfish frontman, Ryan “Van” McCann. Upon further research, it is apparently about a mate of McCann’s that thought it was hysterical that Bottlemen wrote a song about it.
The combination of “7” and their other hit this year, “Soundcheck,” is proof that Catfish and the Bottlemen are major players in the alt rock game.
Come back Tuesday for the next set of 10 songs!