Category: Favorite Songs

100 Best Songs of the 2010s – #85: “Cleopatra” by The Lumineers

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The song at #85 on my list of 100 Best Songs of the 2010s is the beautiful “Cleopatra” by American folk rock band The Lumineers. The Denver, Colorado based trio, consisting of Wesley Schultz, Jeremiah Fraites and Neyla Pekarek, first made a splash in 2012 with their massive breakthrough single “Ho Hey”. (Pekarek has since left the band in 2018, so The Lumineers are currently a duo).

“Cleopatra” is the title track and second single from their sophomore album Cleopatra, and my personal favorite of all their songs. I love songs that tell a compelling story, and “Cleopatra” certainly fills the bill. Schultz explained his inspiration for the song in a 2017 Facebook post: “It’s inspired by a true story about a female taxi driver who, when she was younger, was proposed to. But her father had just passed away, so she didn’t give her boyfriend an answer. So he left the village broken-hearted and rejected and never returned again. He was her great love and she wouldn’t wash the footprints off the floor after he had left.”

The toe-tapping rhythms, jangly strummed guitars and rousing piano are really wonderful and upbeat, providing a contrast to the rather bittersweet lyrics:

I was Cleopatra, I was young and an actress
When you knelt by my mattress, and asked for my hand
But I was sad you asked it, as I laid in a black dress
With my father in a casket, I had no plans, yeah

And I left the footprints, the mud stained on the carpet
And it hardened like my heart did when you left town
But I must admit it, that I would marry you in an instant
Damn your wife, I’d be your mistress just to have you around

But I was late for this, late for that, late for the love of my life
And when I die alone, when I die alone, when I die I’ll be on time

While the church discouraged, any lust that burned within me
Yes my flesh, it was my currency, but I held true
So I drive a taxi, and the traffic distracts me
From the strangers in my backseat, they remind me of you

But I was late for this, late for that, late for the love of my life
And when I die alone, when I die alone, when I die I’ll be on time

And the only gifts from my Lord were a birth and a divorce
But I’ve read this script and the costume fits, so I’ll play my part

I was Cleopatra, I was taller than the rafters
But that’s all in the past love, gone with the wind
Now a nurse in white shoes leads me back to my guestroom
It’s a bed and a bathroom
And a place for the end

I won’t be late for this, late for that, late for the love of my life
And when I die alone, when I die alone, when I die I’ll be on time

100 Best Songs of the 2010s – #86: “Loading Zones” by Kurt Vile

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The song at #86 on my list of 100 Best Songs of the 2010s is “Loading Zones” by singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Kurt Vile. With that wild mane of curly hair and his distinctive drawl, he just might be one of the coolest musicians in the business. I became a fan of his when I fell in love with his wonderful song “Pretty Pimpin’,” which ended up at #19 on my Top 100 of 2016. He followed up in 2018 with the outstanding “Loading Zones”, which I love even more. The song is from his eighth album Bottle It In. His intricate layered guitar work is phenomenal, and those talkboxy wah-wah riffs are so damn good. He’s also quite the clever wordsmith.

Vile sings of driving around his “dirty little town” of Philadelphia, running errands and parking for free in loading zones as he tries to stay one step ahead of the parking meter police, humorously played by actor Kevin Corrigan and Matt Korvette of the band Pissed Jeans in the entertaining video. He defiantly declares “I park for free! One-stop shop life for the quick fix / before you get a ticket / That’s the way I live my life” – leaving little doubt he’s the coolest musician around today.

100 Best Songs of the 2010s – #87: “Chlorine” by twenty one pilots

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The song at #87 on my list of 100 Best Songs of the 2010s is “Chlorine” by twenty one pilots. For those who’ve been living under a rock, twenty one pilots is a duo consisting of singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Tyler Joseph and drummer Josh Dun, and as far as I’m concerned, they can do no wrong when it comes to making music. I love every one of their songs, and they’re one of my favorite bands of all time. This is the first (or last, actually) of their six songs on this list, the most of any artist.

“Chlorine” is the third single from their monumental fifth album Trench, and was released in January 2019. Trench is a concept album that tells the saga of the fictional evil city of Dema ruled by nine bishops, referred to as “Nico and the Niners”. The song was co-written by Joseph and MUTEMATH front man Paul Meany, who produced Trench, and whose voice we hear in the opening lines. Like many of the tracks on Trench, the song has a complex melodic structure, and shows a growing maturity in twenty one pilots’ sound and music style. I love the sweeping, spacey synths, Dun’s sharp percussion and Joseph’s haunting layered vocals. The wonderful little twinkling piano riff adds a somewhat menacing vibe to the track.

The lyrics address how creativity can cleanse dark impulses, but also cause pain. The small, white alien-like creature in the video is “Ned”, who the band stated represents “this idea of creativity and trying to take care of it and trying to please it… or appease it.” It’s a dark and stunning song, and Joseph’s plaintive vocals in the final chorus are exquisite as he laments “I’m so sorry I forgot you. Let me catch you up to speed. I’ve been tested like the ends of a weathered flag that’s by the sea. Can you build my house with pieces? I’m just a chemical.”

100 Best Songs of the 2010s – #88: “Ready to Go (Get Me Out of My Mind)” by Panic! At the Disco

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The song at #88 on my list of 100 Best Songs of the 2010s is the wonderful “Ready to Go (Get Me Out of My Mind)” by American baroque pop-rock band Panic! At the Disco. It may be one of their lesser-known hits, but I absolutely love this song. It’s my second-favorite Panic! At the Disco song after “I Write Sins Not Tragedies.”

Released in 2011, it’s from their third album Vices & Virtues, and shockingly, it charted only in Australia! It’s such a euphoric, celebratory song about casting aside self-doubts and negativity that’s holding you back and living life to the fullest. The sweeping and lush, almost whimsical orchestration and Spencer Smith’s explosive power drums, accompanied by Panic! front man Brendon Urie’s delightfully exuberant vocals, make for an electrifying song. It’s a fine example of the band’s theatricality and musical creativity, and just makes me happy to be alive when I hear it! The charming video shows the band re-enacting old musical films such as Grease, Mary Poppins and Singin’ In The Rain. Ever the showman, Urie is too damned charming for his own good!

100 Best Songs of the 2010s – #89: “Thrift Shop” by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring Wanz

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The song at #89 on my list of 100 Best Songs of the 2010s is “Thrift Shop” by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. The first time I heard this song I hated it, but after a couple listens, damn if it didn’t hook me in with it’s irresistible hip hop beat and hilarious lyrics. Now it’s a guilty pleasure! With added vocals by rapper Wanz, Macklemore (born Ben Haggerty) freestyles about saving money by buying cool second hand shit at a thrift shop, rather than overpaying for expensive status symbols like a lot of rappers: “I hit the party and they stop in that motherfucker. They be like, ‘Oh, that Gucci. That’s hella tight.’ I’m like, ‘Yo, that’s fifty dollars for a T-shirt.’ Limited edition, let’s do some simple addition. Fifty dollars for a T-shirt – that’s just some ignorant bitch. Shit. I call that getting swindled and pimped. Shit. I call that getting tricked by a business.”

As indicated in the preceding lyrics, the song is filled with explicit language as well as a couple of rather obscene inferences: “Probably shoulda washed this, smells like R. Kelly’s sheets – Pissss” or when he sings about buying a ‘skeet blanket’, which is slang for a blanket a man uses to jack off into. I think Macklemore gets away with this because of his strong likeability, humor and charisma.

The fourth single from their debut album The Heist, “Thrift Shop” was a massive worldwide hit, reaching #1 not only in the U.S, but also the UK, Ireland, Canada, France, Denmark, Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand. The song was named by Billboard as the #1 song of 2013. The hilarious video, which has been viewed nearly 1.5 billion times, was filmed at several thrift shops in Macklemore’s home town of Seattle.

100 Best Songs of the 2010s – #90: “Can’t Feel My Face” by The Weeknd

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The song at #90 on my list of 100 Best Songs of the 2010s is “Can’t Feel My Face” by Canadian singer, songwriter, actor and record producer The Weeknd. Born Abel Makkonen Tesfaye in Toronto and of Ethiopian ancestry, his music is a wonderful mix of R&B, hip hop and dark wave, and his gorgeous, velvety vocals – not to mention some of his dance moves – at times seem to channel Michael Jackson, who he cites as one of his main influences.

“Can’t Feel My Face” is from his brilliant and critically acclaimed second album Beauty Behind the Madness, and I loved it the instant I heard it. The song speaks of being so love-drunk with someone they make you feel lightheaded, and everything else around you is meaningless in their presence: “And I know she’ll be the death of me, at least we’ll both be numb. And she’ll always get the best of me, the worst is yet to come. All the misery was necessary when we’re deep in love. Yes, I know, girl, I know / I can’t feel my face when I’m with you, but I love it.”

Rolling Stone and Billboard both named it the best single of 2015, and it certainly ranks among mine.

100 Best Songs of the 2010s – #91: “Superposition” by Young the Giant

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The song at #91 on my list of 100 Best Songs of the 2010s is “Superposition” by Southern California alt-rock band Young the Giant. Their music has an instantly recognizable sound unlike no other, thanks in large part to their brilliant musicianship and front man Sameer Gadhia’s distinctive and arresting vocals. Their songs are melodic and often stunning rock compositions, with intelligent lyrics and lush instrumentation. Released in August 2018, “Superposition” was the second single from their fourth studio album Mirror Master, and is one of their most beautiful songs. Starting with a deep bass line and a rhythmic toe-tapping drumbeat as a foundation, the band layers moody synths, delicate piano keys and an enchanting ukelele riff to create a gorgeous backdrop for Gadhia’s captivating vocals, which are in turn backed by lovely vocal harmonies.

The term ‘superposition’ is used in physics to describe how things or items in nature overlap or interact. On their Twitter page, Young the Giant stated that the song is generally “about quantum physics that has defied odds.” For the song, they use the term to describe the strong pull or connection we feel to those we love, and how fate and inexplicable events can bring us together: “In any universe you are my dark star / I want you to want me / Why don’t we rely on chemistry / Why don’t we collide the spaces that divide us.“

I had the pleasure of seeing them live at The Forum in Los Angeles in August 2019, in a double bill with Fitz & the Tantrums. (You can read my review of that concert here.)

100 Best Songs of the 2010s – #92: “The Sound of Silence” by Disturbed

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The song at #92 on my list of 100 Best Songs of the 2010s is “The Sound of Silence” by heavy metal band Disturbed. It’s hard to believe anyone could do a respectable cover of this iconic Simon & Garfunkel song, but David Draiman and his band Disturbed accomplished the feat and then some. Wow, what a magnificent and emotionally raw interpretation it is! Some people I know hated it for reasons unfathomable to me, but I love it.

After seeing the band perform the song on the late-night talk show Conan, Paul Simon sent Draiman an email praising his performance, writing “Really powerful performance on Conan the other day. First time I’d seen you do it live. Nice. Thanks.” Draiman responded, “Mr. Simon, I am honored beyond words. We only hoped to pay homage and honor to the brilliance of one of the greatest songwriters of all time. Your compliment means the world to me/us and we are eternally grateful.” (Loudwire) That live performance on Conan is the most watched YouTube video ever from the show.

100 Best Songs of the 2010s – #93: “Riptide” by Vance Joy

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The song at #93 on my list of 100 Best Songs of the 2010s is the delightfully upbeat “Riptide” by Australian indie folk-rock singer-songwriter Vance Joy (born James Gabriel Keogh). With his ukelele as the primary instrument, he adds piano, guitar and percussion, and combines them with with a breezy melody and lovely backing harmonies to create an incredibly pleasing track. His heartfelt vocals convey an endearing vulnerability as he sings the lyrics about being besotted with a girl. “I love you when you’re singing that song, and I’ve got a lump in my throat ’cause you’re gonna sing the words wrong.”

“Riptide” was first released as a track in 2013 on his debut EP God Loves You When You’re Dancing, and is also featured on his 2014 debut studio album Dream Your Life Away.  The single has sold over 7 million copies (both physical copy and digital download) worldwide, and holds the record for the most weeks in the top 100 of the ARIA (Australian Recording Industry Assn.) Singles Chart – 120 consecutive weeks. It also spent several wees at #1 on the Billboard Alternative Chart.

Here’s the official video for the song:

And here’s a nice acoustic performance by Joy:

100 Best Songs of the 2010s – #94: “Dreams” by Beck

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The song at #94 on my list of 100 Best Songs of the 2010s is “Dreams” by Beck. Born Bek David Campbell in Los Angeles in 1970, the eternally youthful singer-songwriter, musician and producer has been making great music ever since the unexpected success of his breakout single “Loser” in 1994. Over his long, innovative and prolific career, he’s recorded and released an astonishing 14 studio albums, continually experimenting with an eclectic myriad of genres including alternative rock, folk, country, hip hop, soul, funk and electronic.

“Dreams” was released in June 2015, a few months after his Album of the Year Grammy win for Morning Phase. Beck stated he wanted to make a record that “would be good to play live“, and did he ever! The song is exhilarating, with a fantastic guitar-driven groove, cool psychedelic synths and the kind of strong thumping drum beat that I adore. The song was ultimately included on his 2017 album Colors.