The 9. 5 Best Alternative Rock Songs of 1. Last summer, we counted down the 1. Undoubtedly it was; you can’t argue with the number of iconic albums and era- defining hits ’9. But while ’9. 4 is easily the more classic year, ’9. The year where, with its status as the dominant side of rock music unquestioned, things really started to get loose. This was when Britpop truly crashed onto U. S. shores, with the biggest- ever Stateside hits from Oasis, Pulp, and Elastica. The growing success of the H. O. R. D. E. Festival helped make for unlikely radio smashes from the jammier likes of Blues Traveler, Dave Matthews Band, and Rusted Root. Nirvana’s power chords begat Foo Fighters; Weezer made room for the Rentals. Smashing Pumpkins and Guided by Voices both released 2. Alanis happened. Even Lou Barlow had a Top 4. To commemorate this most explosive year in alt- rock history, we’ve counted down the songs most worth remembering from this time 2. Again, only one per artist, and songs were deemed eligible by peaking in relevance in ’9. Come watch the world die with us one more time. The Ramones, “I Don’t Want to Grow Up”That the bruddas signaled their farewell with a Tom Waits cover is evidence of some kind of maturity. That it became a minor chart hit is just kind of funny. Tom’s original is a lurching shitfit; the Ramones soup it up and drive it through some walls. The distance between what the Ramones wanted to do (have hits) and what they settled for (midwifing a mid- sized city’s worth of punk- rock weirdos) is a pain only they felt, and the disillusion Joey brings to the text is as touching as the song is defiant. BRAD SHOUP9. 4. Son Volt, “Drown”Fresh off Uncle Tupelo, Jay Farrar carries on his former band’s laid- back alt- country grooves and classic rock- tinged boogie on this debut single. However, the song’s economical, precise lyrics — which lament the dissolution of something priceless, while bucking up and moving on anyway — set the tone for Son Volt’s entire oeuvre to come. ANNIE ZALESKI9. 3. Joan Osborne, “One of Us””Every so often, the charts have to admit an overtly spiritual expression; in ’9. Kentuckian vocalist Joan Osborne. Written by Eric Bazilian of the Hooters, “One of Us” beggared belief with Osborne’s cannily slack performance and Bazilian’s regal guitar line. Released in March, the combo of poignance and point- hammering sent the song cascading across radio formats until it hit #4 on the Hot 1. February 1. 99. 6, and while Osborne fell back into blues and soul – her original passions – evangelical youth pastors dined out on this song’s questions for years. B. S. 9. 2. Red House Painters, “Summer Dress”Present- day Mark Kozelek catches flak for his behavior toward women, but in 1. Red House Painter addressed them with peak sensitivity. Against spare acoustic chords, Kozelek observed a “lovely” but perennially — and later, terminally — sad character (“Easiest days of her life have been spent / Wonders if she is loved, if she is missed”), who wanders into the sea, presumably to end her life (“Says a prayer as she’s kissed by ocean mist”). Lyrics to 'Best Of You' by Foo Fighters: I've got another confession my friend I'm no fool I'm getting tired of starting again Somewhere new.List Fall Music Preview 2017: 22 Albums You Need to Hear. Pre-save on a streaming playlist. Pre-order on iTunes. Call your local Target. Do whatever you need to do to. Dave Grohl's merry men get messy with Adele's producer on ninth album. Foo Fighters are the world's biggest modern rock band for many reasons: Dave Grohl's immense. It’s a classic visual paradox: flawless beauty that brings the viewer rapture — and the joylessness within. R. B. 9. 1. Unwound, “Demolished”The gloomy Pacific Northwesterners in Unwound had one of their earliest flashes of the tangled brilliance they’d come to typify with The Future of What’s most gnarled number, “Demolished.” Stringy riffs cobweb and coalesce as vocalist Justin Trosper sings dead- eyed vagaries about “something haunted,” “something missing.” To answer the LP title’s implied question, this was the future of downer rock to come. C. J. 9. 0. Rusted Root, “Send Me on My Way”A still- unavoidable, feel- good hippie- rock jam about embarking on new adventures and journeys, hand- in- hand with a kindred soul. Accordingly, the Pittsburgh collective’s song contains melting- pot instrumentation and flourishes: a lilting penny whistle, African- inspired rhythms, cascading harmonies, and utterly gibberish lyrics. A. Z. 8. 9. Beastie Boys, “Root Down”Typically pop- diverse Beastie shoutouts to Dick Hyman, The Meters, and the title- inspiring Jimmy Smith are upstaged on this thickest of the band’s ’7. MCA’s surprisingly touching big- up to his “dad and mom, for bringing me into this world, and so on.” —ANDREW UNTERBERGER8. The Cranberries, “Ode to My Family”The Cocteaus made dream- pop cool, but “Ode to My Family” is a reminder that the Cranberries made it huge. It’s a comparatively staid number by their cloud- grazing standards, but vocalist Dolores O’Riordan’s heady vocals still manage to send the track’s otherwise gentle lilt skyward — another opiated ballad, this time for the masses. C. J. 8. 7. Smoking Popes, “Need You Around”The least famous band on the Clueless soundtrack had one of its best songs, with this relentlessly chugging riffer that was just as compellingly sweet- not- saccharine — if, perhaps, not quite as timeless — as its accompanying flick. A. U. 8. 6. Belly, “The Bees”After 1. Grammy- nominated Star, the industry had high expectations for Belly’s follow- up — Tanya Donnelly and company landed a 4. Rolling Stonecover story; they placed songs on the soundtracks for Twister and Tank Girl. Unfortunately, King’s impact tracked with the latter’s. Still, it’s a great record, full of alt- rock dreaminess, for which the keening, paddling “The Bees” serves as an excellent midpoint. B. S. 8. 5. Deftones, “7 Words”No band in the most dynamic- shift- obsessed decade — not Korn, not Slint — used the soft/loud dichotomy to such sizzling- fuse- on- a- stick- of- nitroglycerin effect as nü- metal’s airiest band did on their first- ever single.And just one year later, they up the ante of Pavement’s instantly classic “career”/”Korea” debate with an unintelligible “suck”/”f—k” filthy riddle of a chorus.DAN WEISS8. 4. 3.Don’t Stay Home”The late- ’9. Adobe Acrobat Updater Download Location Apk on this page. Frankensteined a godawful song onto the rest of it in most cases. D. W. 8. 3. The Flaming Lips, “Bad Days”“Bad Days” drops the curtain on 1. Clouds Taste Metallic: Wayne Coyne chirps two quick verses about wish- fulfillment, then holds an extended parade for the chorus (“And all your bad days will end/You have to sleep late when you can”), the low- end of which nicks a melody from Little Peggy March’s “I Will Follow Him.” Guitarchitect Ronald Jones called it a (hopefully good) day after this record, leaving Coyne free to reach for the planets. B. S. 8. 2. Red Hot Chili Peppers, “My Friends”The only track off RHCP’s maligned One Hot Minute album to make it to the band’s greatest hits, “My Friends” isn’t anthemic enough to be a real successor to “Under the Bridge” or even “Soul to Squeeze,” but the endearing dippy sentiments (“I love all of you / Hurt by the cold”) made it iconic enough for ’9. Weird Al’ Yankovic’s era- canonizing “Alternative Polka” a year later. A. U. 8. 1. Adam Ant, “Wonderful”Adam Ant’s final U. S. hit was virtually unrecognizable as being from the same new wave rapscallion behind “Goody Two Shoes” and “Prince Charming,” but it was a tender ballad with one of the year’s most striking guitar licks and some of the most simply affecting lyrics (“Did I tell you I was OK? Well no way”). Just as well — all Ant Boys have to become Ant Men at some point.
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