Toolenduso's Top 100 Songs

[toolenduso]

weak reverse davsto syndrome

strong reverse toolenduso syndrome

love it

[toolenduso]

see, for sufjan i was mainly looking at c&l, age of adz and all delighted people (which, really, why did he call it an EP? it's an album). I tried to include illinois and then I realized that I've mainly listened to that album on background and I have a hard time matching up what I've heard to individual track names. So, different samples for the most part. But yeah I agree the middle section on c&l is best.

[PJ.]

I think gkmc is stronger in the back - not necessarily because the songs are better but because its a concept album with a clear story from a to b and I think that story gets more compelling the longer it carries on. Its basically a sonic version of Boyz n the Hood - which is actually why I liked this significantly more than tpab despite tpab being obviously the more culturally significant album.

[toolenduso]

38

Turn Soonest to the Sea

by Protest the Hero

from the album Kezia

Selected lyrics:

Now you've come to accept / That anatomy defines more than a few / Of the gaping holes in our social fabric / And it defines more than a few / One-night stands / And I mention more than a few / Prison bars melted into / Melted in, melted in, melted into / Wedding bands

My thoughts on this song:

In my opinion this song is the high point on Protest the Hero's absolutely stellar debut album, Kezia. It exhibits a lot of what they were going for on the album — constantly shifting rhythms, moods and time signatures, pretty mixed with heavy, proggy sounds — and it did it even better than most of the other songs. The lyrics are also especially on point, getting to the core idea of the concept album's story (essentially a distillation of The Scarlet Letter): Men took control of society long ago, and proceeded to stack the deck against women. But the real treat of this song is the ending, an extremely catchy and awesome sing-along. That part is so great that the first time the guitarist in my high school band heard it, he got low-key mad at the rest of us for not playing it for him sooner.

[Cyril]

MAYBE SOME DAY WHEN, WHEN THIS BLOODY SKULL HAS DRIED

[Errantparabola]

which is actually why I liked this significantly more than tpab despite tpab being obviously the more culturally significant album.

when i first heard tpab i liked it more but since then i've flipped yea

[PJ.]

I never got into tpab because I felt like an intruder

[toolenduso]

37

September

by Earth, Wind and Fire

from the album September

Selected lyrics:

Ba dee ya / Say, do you remember / Ba dee ya / Dancin' in September? / Ba dee ya / Never was a cloudy day

My thoughts on this song:

This was the song my wife and I played at our wedding to open up the dancing. It's a classic, fun to dance to, fun to sing to, and pulls happiness out of nowhere like real life magic. It's also definitely one of the catchiest songs ever written.

[PJ.]

@lalaladucks

[PJ.]

also

[Errantparabola]

@lalaladucks

~ banger alert ~

[D3f3nd3r]

Still waiting for the point where I can think about this song without my mind immediately going to a brownface incident from a performance of it I coordinated two years ago

[PJ.]

Bruh...i have that with cool runnings.

[toolenduso]

36

Politik

by Coldplay

from the album A Rush of Blood to the Head

Selected lyrics:

Give me strength, reserve, control / Give me heart and give me soul / Wounds that heal and cracks that fix / Tell me your own politik

My thoughts on this song:

In the days before YouTube, I used to get into artists I wanted to listen to by listening all the way through one of their albums. I still do that, but YouTube has kinda changed things and now I'll go look up individual songs that are either singles or that fans say they like. So many years ago, when I heard that Coldplay was good, I decided to listen all the way through A Rush of Blood to the Head. The opener on that album, Politik, has really stayed with me ever since. It's a very, very simple song, but there's something about the interplay between major and minor in this track that brings me back to the main vocal part often. Like...really, really often. Possibly as often as once a week, every week. And the beat, as rigidly 4/4 as it is, is thumping and powerful.

[toolenduso]

also

yo wtf

[toolenduso]

MAYBE SOME DAY WHEN, WHEN THIS BLOODY SKULL HAS DRIED

Lol I knew you'd appreciate that one

I never got into tpab because I felt like an intruder

I've heard this sentiment before, but that's not really how I felt. I guess I think of all art as being an intrusion of sorts, but it's one the artist welcomes...they create things that let others see what's inside them. It lets the audience learn about other people, in ways both personal and cultural.

I do love gkmc, tpab and damn, but tpab rises above the rest for me. It's just so intricate and layered.

[Cyril]

it's not my favorite song off kezia fwiw but it's a very good one all the same

[toolenduso]

35

Hacker

by Death Grips

from the album The Money Store

Selected lyrics:

I got this pregnant snake / Stay surrounded by long hairs / A plethora of maniacs and spiral stairs / Make your water break in the Apple Store / Sink or swim, who fuckin' cares / Cut the birth cords

My thoughts on this song:

It's kind of amazing how Death Grips managed to write a super catchy banger while packing in so much weird shit. The sampled, looped, distorted vocals that become part of the rhythm. The drum line sample. That little downward-pitching guitar riff. This song just feels like the time that Death Grips got everything right.

[PJ.]

I've heard this sentiment before, but that's not really how I felt. I guess I think of all art as being an intrusion of sorts, but it's one the artist welcomes...they create things that let others see what's inside them. It lets the audience learn about other people, in ways both personal and cultural.

I do love gkmc, tpab and damn, but tpab rises above the rest for me. It's just so intricate and layered.

I don't know how to phrase it, but I think I agree but view tpab as an exception (and there are other exceptions) where I feel like the album was made with the intention of it being not intended for other cultures to indulge.

[toolenduso]

speaking of Kendrick...

[toolenduso]

34

m.A.A.d city (feat. MC Eiht)

by Kendrick Lamar

from the album good kid, m.A.A.d city

Selected lyrics:

Seen a light-skinned n**** with his brains blown out / At the same burger stand where (BEEP) hang out / Now this is not a tape recorder sayin' that he did it / But ever since that day / I was lookin' at him different

My thoughts on this song:

There was a line in the movie "Straight Outta Compton" that stuck with me, when Ice Cube, doing an interview with a reporter, says "I'm a journalist just like you, reporting on what's going on in the hood." That was very true for a lot of rappers in that era, and Kendrick's sophomore album Good Kid, m.A.A.d City, very much embodies that idea as well. It's a concept album about a single day in Kendrick's teenage years -- of which the structure may have been invented, but the events and many of the details appear to be genuine. You learn so much about Kendrick and his upbringing in the hood. And on this particular song, a favorite for his fans, Kendrick lets loose on the violence that shaped his instincts and his mindset, but also the parts of himself that allowed him to see outside of it and rise above. Everything about the message aside, this song's a damn

banger

. It's got a hard-bopping rhythm, then a beat switch, then another hard-bopping rhythm. And of course, the rapping is great. After listening to enough Kendrick, you come to expect that.

[toolenduso]

33

SpottieOttieDopaliscious

by OutKast

from the album Aquemini

Selected lyrics:

My heart was beating so damn fast / Never knowing this moment would bring another life into this world / Funny how shit come together sometimes / One moment you frequent the booty clubs / And the next four years you and somebody's daughter / Raisin' y'all own young'n / Now that's a beautiful thing

My thoughts on this song:

A couple other OutKast songs came close to taking this spot, but damn I love this song. It's about a club, and it sounds like a certain kind of club -- more like, it sounds like the feeling you have when you're buzzed but not too drunk, having a good time, with people you love, feeling like all is right in the world. And just listen to that horn hook! It's incredible! I also love the little snare rim flurry around 5:50.

[toolenduso]

32

Moanin'

by Charles Mingus

from the album Blues & Roots

Selected lyrics:

N/A

My thoughts on this song:

There are actually two versions of this song that I love. I've put the big band version in this post (not actually Mingus' band), and the original is here. The reason both work so well is that the composition is brilliant and catchy, walking a fine line between mainstream appeal and the ambitious attitude prevalent among jazz musicians in Mingus' heyday. The pieces of this song fit together so naturally, and it's so

fun

. I think I like the big band version a little better simply because of the extra energy it brings, but the original is another one where Mingus and his band demonstrated their singular grasp on rhythm.

[Cyril]

this was a good song contest entry

[PJ.]

I prefer the art blakey version.