100 Best Songs of the 2010s – #99: “Shine” by Mondo Cozmo

Mondo Cozmo performing at the Outside Lands Music Festival at Golden Gate Park on Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017, in San Francisco, Calif. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)

The song at #99 on my list of 100 Best Songs of the 2010s is the beautiful “Shine” by Mondo Cozmo. I’m not a religious person (I grew up Catholic but am now Atheist), so it’s kind of surprising that I would love it as much as I do. I guess it’s because of its stirring melody, the incredible guitar work, the way the instrumentals build into a sweeping gospel-like crescendo, and his raw, soaring vocals that remind me a little of Bob Dylan’s. Also, his lyrics are truly inspirational without sounding one bit mawkish or trite.

Mondo Cozmo is the artistic name of Philadelphia-born and now L.A.-based singer-songwriter Josh Ostrander, who told ABC Radio in an interview that he “wasn’t in the best headspace” when he wrote “Shine”. He added “It’s so cool that something written during that [low] time could be looked at now as being an inspirational thing. I didn’t think about the mixes or the recording, it was just all really loose, and I like to keep it like that. I think some of the charm is the shittiness of the recording.” I think it’s absolutely perfect.

8 thoughts on “100 Best Songs of the 2010s – #99: “Shine” by Mondo Cozmo

  1. hanspostcard

    Top 100 Songs of the 2010’s? I would be lucky to name 100 popular songs from that decade.. look forward to following along on this feature. I’d never heard of this artist or the song before- I like it.

    Liked by 1 person

      1. hanspostcard

        I remember that I think its good to break it down to one song at a time. I am going to borrow your idea- and do a Top 100 for the 80’s– anything after that and I am a little lost.

        Liked by 1 person

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