Tag: Top 100 Songs of 2010s

100 Best Songs of the 2010s – #23: “Pumped Up Kicks” by Foster the People

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The song at #23 on my list of 100 Best Songs of the 2010s is “Pumped Up Kicks” by Los Angeles-based alternative pop-rock band Foster the People. The second song by them on this list (“Coming of Age” ranks at #65), “Pumped Up Kicks” was their debut single, and became their breakthrough hit and one of the most popular songs of 2011. It peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, spending eight weeks at that spot, and was the #1 song of 2011 on the Alternative chart. The track was later included on both their self-titled EP and their marvelous debut album Torches. 

“Pumped Up Kicks” has a breezy and upbeat synth-driven melody accompanied by cheerful whistling, in sharp contrast to the dark lyrics describing the thoughts of a troubled and delusional youth who’s contemplating shooting up his high school. Mark Foster wrote and recorded the song in about five hours, playing all the instruments himself and arranging and editing it using music software. He also electronically altered his vocals, giving them a menacing, almost creepy vibe. The demo he recorded was ultimately the version of the song the band released. He posted the song on his website as a free download in early 2010, and after Nylon magazine used it in an online advertising campaign, and an influential German music blogger shared it on his website, the song grew in popularity.

Foster later told CNN.com “I wrote ‘Pumped Up Kicks’ when I began to read about the growing trend in teenage mental illness. I wanted to understand the psychology behind it because it was foreign to me. It was terrifying how mental illness among youth had skyrocketed in the last decade. I was scared to see where the pattern was headed if we didn’t start changing the way we were bringing up the next generation.” He wanted to raise awareness of gun violence among disaffected youth. The subject also hit close to home for the band. Foster was bullied in high school, while then-bassist Cubbie Fink has a cousin who survived the Columbine High School massacre in 1999. The song was temporarily pulled from several radio stations after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. And in a recent interview with Billboard, Foster stated he continues to wrestle with the song’s legacy in light of the ongoing epidemic of mass shootings in the U.S., and is considering retiring the song and no longer performing it in their shows.

Robert’s got a quick hand
He’ll look around the room
He won’t tell you his plan
He’s got a rolled cigarette
Hanging out his mouth
He’s a cowboy kid

Yeah he found a six-shooter gun
In his dad’s closet, boy, in a box of fun things
I don’t even know what
But he’s coming for you, yeah he’s coming for you

All the other kids with the pumped up kicks
You better run, better run, outrun my gun
All the other kids with the pumped up kicks
You better run, better run, faster than my bullet

All the other kids with the pumped up kicks
You better run, better run, outrun my gun
All the other kids with the pumped up kicks
You better run, better run, faster than my bullet

Daddy works a long day
He be coming home late, he’s coming home late
And he’s bringing me a surprise
‘Cause dinner’s in the kitchen and it’s packed in ice

I’ve waited for a long time
Yeah the sleight of my hand is now a quick-pull trigger
I reason with my cigarette
Then say, “Your hair’s on fire, you must’ve lost your wits, yeah?”

All the other kids with the pumped up kicks
You better run, better run, outrun my gun
All the other kids with the pumped up kicks
You better run, better run, faster than my bullet

The lighthearted video does not make reference to the dark subject, instead showing scenes of the band performing the song and having fun and socializing.

100 Best Songs of the 2010s – #24: “Pain” by The War on Drugs

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The song at #24 on my list of 100 Best Songs of the 2010s is “Pain” by Philadelphia alternative rock band The War on Drugs. The second single from their magnificent, highly-acclaimed 2017 album A Deeper Understanding, as well as the second of their songs on this list (“Holding On”, also from that album, ranks at #71), “Pain” is my favorite of their many incredible songs. As I’ve alluded to on several previous posts about songs on this list, I know I love a song if it gives me chills, and “Pain” brings them in spades. It boggles my mind that people are capable of writing and creating music as exquisite as this. The layered guitars and sparkling synths are so breathtaking, they bring tears to my eyes. And that deep, resonant bass line is fantastic. Lead singer Adam Granduciel’s vocals, which bear a striking resemblance to Bob Dylan’s, are brimming with a heartfelt urgency that touches the soul.

He told Q Magazine that “Pain” was inspired by the physical agony he endured from a ruptured disc. (Having suffered myself with intense pain from just a back sprain, I can empathize.) It’s one of several tracks on A Deeper Understanding where he touches on the excruciating experience. “I couldn’t sit to work and I couldn’t stand up to play guitar,” he said. “The idea of chronic pain and what it does to the mind is scattered throughout the songs.”

Go to bed now I can tell
Pain is on the way out now
Look away and domino falls away

I know it’s hard looking in
Knowing that tomorrow you’ll be back again
Pin your head and let me in
I’m waiting
So long

I was staring into the light
When I saw you in the distance, I knew that you’d be mine
Am I moving back in time
Just standing still

I met a man with a broken back
He had a fear in his eyes that I could understand
I can even shake the hand
When I break it in

I’ve been pulling on a wire, but it just won’t break
I’ve been turning up the dial, but I hear no sound
I resist what I cannot change
But I wanna find what can’t be found

I’m aware you’re tired and lost
Like a demon in the doorway, waiting to be born
But I’m here all alone, just begging

Pull me close and let me hold you in
Give me the deeper understanding of who I am
Yeah, I’m moving back again
I’m waiting here

I’m just pulling on a wire, but it just won’t break
I’ve been turning up the dial, but I hear no sound
I resist what I cannot change, own it in your own way
Yeah, I wanna find what can’t be found

The official video, directed by Emmett Malloy, shows the band performing the song as they float on a cargo ship down the Schuylkill River in their native Philadelphia.

100 Best Songs of the 2010s – #25: “The Less I Know the Better” by Tame Impala

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The song at #25 on my list of 100 Best Songs of the 2010s is “The Less I Know the Better” by Tame Impala. The achingly beautiful song about young lust and love makes me wish I was 18 again, and is so fucking gorgeous it stirs the hopeless romantic in me, bringing a tear to my eye and a lump in my throat every time I hear it.

Tame Impala is the music project of Australian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Kevin Parker, who writes, records, performs and produces all his own music, although he collaborates with a number of musicians, many of whom are members of his other psychedelic rock band Pond, for live shows. “The Less I Know the Better” is one of the singles from his stellar, critically-acclaimed third album Currents (which ended up on many critics’ best album of 2015 lists). I could just as easily have chosen “Let It Happen”, another equally beautiful song from Currents, for this list, but I think I love “The Less I Know the Better” more.

Parker stated in an interview with Under the Radar that the song “shouldn’t be on a Tame Impala album, because it has this dorky, white disco funk. I wouldn’t call it cheesy, but it’s not trying to be too cool, because the lyrics are pretty dorky and the groove is pretty dorky. But at the same time, for me, I love that kind of music.” So do I. Swirling, glittery synths are combined with a strong bass groove and gorgeous layered chiming and gnarly guitars to create a stunning and dreamy backdrop for Parker’s ethereal falsetto vocals. I love this song so much that I’ve literally listened to it on repeat more times than I can recall. Why this song was not a huge #1 hit is a complete mystery to me. It only appeared on the Billboard Hot Rock Songs chart, where it peaked at a paltry #35.

The lyrics express the protagonist’s intense longing for a girl he can’t have, which Parker so beautifully expresses with his enthralling vocals:

Someone said they left together
I ran out the door to get her
She was holding hands with Trevor
Not the greatest feeling ever
Said, “Pull yourself together
You should try your luck with Heather”
Then I heard they slept together
Oh, the less I know the better
The less I know the better

Oh my love, can’t you see yourself by my side
No surprise when you’re on his shoulder like every night
Oh my love, can’t you see that you’re on my mind
Don’t suppose you could convince your lover to change his mind
So goodbye

She said, “It’s not now or never
Wait 10 years, we’ll be together”
I said, “Better late than never
Just don’t make me wait forever”
Don’t make me wait forever
Don’t make me wait forever

Oh my love, can’t you see yourself by my side?
I don’t suppose you could convince your lover to change his mind

I was doing fine without ya
‘Til I saw your face, now I can’t erase
Giving in to all his bullshit
Is this what you want, is this who you are?
I was doing fine without ya
‘Til I saw your eyes turn away from mine
Oh, sweet darling, where he wants you
Said, “Come on Superman, say your stupid line”
Said, “Come on Superman, say your stupid line”
Said, “Come on Superman, say your stupid line”

The unusual and entertaining official video brings the song to life with an imaginative and humorous blend of romance, surrealism and colorful animation. It shows a high school basketball player lusting after a cheerleader, who soon begins a relationship with the team’s gorilla mascot named “Trevor”, who’s referenced in the lyrics. The video was filmed in Barcelona at the visual arts collective CANADA, and the two primary characters are played by Spanish actors Laia Manzanares as the cheerleader and Albert Baro as the basketball player.

Rather ridiculously, the video has been age-restricted by YouTube due to a couple of provocative scenes, so click on the “Watch on YouTube” link to watch it.

Or, just listen to the song on this Official Audio:

100 Best Songs of the 2010s – #26: “Burn the Witch” by Radiohead

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The song at #26 on my list of 100 Best Songs of the 2010s is “Burn the Witch” by legendary British alternative rock band Radiohead. Formed in 1985 while they were in high school, the band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards), brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass), Ed O’Brien (guitar, backing vocals) and Philip Selway (drums, percussion).

The release of their amazing ninth studio album A Moon Shaped Pool was one of the music highlights of 2016. The brilliant lead single from that album “Burn the Witch” is one of the most eerily beautiful and innovative songs of the decade. The band had worked on the track on and off for over 10 years, considering it for inclusion on several of their previous albums, but were never satisfied with the results until it was given this gorgeous arrangement by their guitarist Jonny Greenwood, with lush strings performed by the London Contemporary Orchestra. What gives the strings their dramatic percussive effect was the use of guitar plectrums, rather than bows, on the orchestra musicians’ strings. The sounds produced by the strings go from lushly beautiful to deathly chilling, like the sounds we’d expect to hear in a horror film.

The dark lyrics, hauntingly sung by Thom Yorke’s beautiful falsetto, are an attack on groupthink and authoritarianism: “abandon all reason / avoid all eye contact / do not react / shoot the messengers / burn the witch“. Yorke stated in an interview with BBC Radio that the lyrics were inspired by a 2000 article he read in News of the World that published the names and addresses of sex offenders.

The clever, stop-action animation video, directed by Chris Hopewell, pays homage to the 1973 horror film The Wicker Man.

100 Best Songs of the 2010s – #27: “First” by Cold War Kids

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The song at #27 on my list of 100 Best Songs of the 2010s is “First” by Los Angeles-based alt-rock band Cold War Kids. The dramatic and stunning anthem is their second song on this list, the other being “So Tied Up”, which appeared at #64. Released in February 2015 as the second single from their fifth album Hold My Home, “First” was my introduction to the band, even though they’d been putting out music since 2006. It’s their most successful single, spending an incredible 64 weeks on the Billboard Alternative chart, seven of them at #1.

“First” is about a troubled relationship in which both parties are deeply unhappy, and wracked with both guilt and anger toward each other. The intelligent lyrics are particularly compelling: “Flying like a cannonball, falling to the earth / Heavy as a feather when you hit the dirt / How am I the lucky one? / I do not deserve to wait around forever when you were there first / First you get hurt, then you feel sorry.” Musically, the song features a gorgeous chiming guitar line over explosive drumbeats and bold hand claps, creating a magnificent wall of sound for lead singer Nathan Willett’s emotionally-charged vocals. The song brings chills every time I hear it.

100 Best Songs of the 2010s – #28: “Doin’ Time” by Lana Del Rey

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The song at #28 on my list of 100 Best Songs of the 2010s is “Doin Time” by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey. One of the best songs of 2019, “Doin’ Time” was the lead single from her stunning and critically-acclaimed sixth studio album Norman Fucking Rockwell, which she co-produced with the equally brilliant musician and producer Jack Antonoff. It’s a cover of the song originally recorded in 1997 by the ska punk band Sublime, which itself samples the great classic “Summertime” from the musical Porgy and Bess, written in 1934 by George and Ira Gerwshin, with lyrics by DuBose Heyward.

Del Rey’s version is faithful to Sublime’s ska vibe, but her signature breathy seductive vocals and shimmery instrumentals take the song to a whole new level, as well as capturing the languid, sultry feel of the original “Summertime”. I love that she kept the lyrics and pronouns exactly as written by Sublime, which describe a cheating girlfriend whose infidelities and poor treatment of her lover makes him feel like he’s in prison. “Me and my girl, we got this relationship. I love her so bad, but she treats me like shit. On lockdown, like a penitentiary. She spreads her lovin’ all over, and when she gets home, there’s none left for me.”

The song received widespread critical acclaim and was a modest hit, reaching only #59 on the stupid Billboard Hot 100, but spent several weeks at #1 on the Alternative chart at the end of 2019. The wonderful video shows Del Rey as a giant woman in an homage to the 1958 sci-fi film Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, roaming the streets of Los Angeles and eventually revealed to be in a movie being shown at a drive-in theater. Lana also plays a character named Lizzy, who catches her boyfriend cheating on her with another girl at the drive-in. The giant woman version of Lana from the movie blows a sandstorm into the audience, then climbs out of the drive-in screen to shake & drop the car the boyfriend and the other girl are in, killing them and exacting revenge on behalf of Lizzy. She and Lizzy give each other a smile, then she climbs back into the movie.

100 Best Songs of the 2010s – #29: “Bad Bad News” by Leon Bridges

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The song at #29 on my list of 100 Best Songs of the 2010s is “Bad Bad News” by American singer-songwriter and producer Leon Bridges. The talented Ft. Worth, Texas-based artist is like a breath of fresh air with his throwback R&B style that echoes some of the great soul singers of the 60s like Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye and Otis Redding. It’s a reflection of my advanced age perhaps, but though most of his songs are mellow and low-key, they excite me because they remind me of so many of the artists and music coming out of Detroit (Motown), Memphis and Philadelphia from the early 60s to the mid 70s that I loved.

“Bad Bad News”, from his second album Good Thing, is fantastic, with jazzy guitar, gorgeous brass, crisp percussion and a deep bass groove set to a soulful, hypnotic beat. Add Bridges’ smooth vocals that go from sensual to plaintive, and the result is sonic heaven. He sings about overcoming others’ lack of faith in him, and making it on his street smarts, honesty and belief in himself: “Ain’t got no riches, ain’t got no money that runs long. But I got a heart that’s strong and a love that’s tall. Ain’t got no name, ain’t got no fancy education. But I can see right through, a powdered face on a painted fool./ They tell me I was born to lose. But I made a good good thing out of bad bad news.”

Though none of Bridges’ songs have appeared on the stinking Billboard Hot 100 nor even the R&B chart – which is a shocking travesty! – both of his albums have made the top 10 on the 200 Album chart, and two of his singles, “Smooth Sailin'” and “Bad Bad News” reached #1 on the Adult Alternative Chart. “Bad Bad News” spent three weeks at #1 on my own Weekly Top 30 in early summer of 2018.

The sexy video for the song was directed by Natalie Rae, and shows scenes of a woman following a man who she thinks whistled at her through an empty underground subway station and out into the streets at night, when she suddenly becomes overtaken by the song’s sensual grooves. Scenes of her are interspersed with footage of Bridges walking into an auditorium where he encounters a group of musicians jamming, and he then dances around them as he sings the song. At the end, the woman finally catches up to the man and silently confronts him before walking away.

100 Best Songs of the 2010s – #30: “Social Cues” by Cage the Elephant

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We’ve now reached the rarefied top 30 of my list of 100 Best Songs of the 2010s, and the song at #30 is “Social Cues” by American rock band Cage the Elephant. With their wonderful bluesy style of alternative/indie/garage rock, they’ve been one of my favorite bands of the past decade. My love and devotion for them became even stronger when they liked several of my tweets and then actually followed me on Twitter!

“Social Cues” is the second of three songs by them on this list, with “Trouble” already having made an appearance at #78. Originally from Bowling Green, Kentucky and now based in Nashville, the band currently consists of lead vocalist Matt Shultz, his brother Brad on rhythm guitar, Nick Bockrath on lead guitar, Matthan Minster on guitar and keyboards, Daniel Tichenor on bass and Jared Champion on drums.

The title track from their fifth studio album Social Cues, “Social Cues” was released in July 2019, and now ranks among my favorites of their many great songs. The bouncy tempo is incredibly catchy, with a terrific bass line and guitars, and those chirpy synths are irresistible. But what I love most of all are Matt Shultz’s wonderful distinctive vocals that always sound so genuine. The rather poignant lyrics speak to the anxieties and insecurities of being a rock star: “Hide me in the back room, tell me when it’s over. Don’t know if I can play this part much longer. I don’t know if it is right to live this way, yeah. I’ll be in the back room, tell me when it’s over. People always say, ‘Man, at least you’re on the radio’.” The song’s production and arrangement are flawless.

100 Best Songs of the 2010s – #31: “Starboy” by The Weeknd ft. Daft Punk

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The song at #31 on my list of 100 Best Songs of the 2010s is “Starboy” by Canadian hip-hop/R&B singer-songwriter The Weeknd. The second song by him on this list (“Can’t Feel My Face” is at #90), “Starboy” was the title single from his third album of the same name. The song features music by French electronic music duo Daft Punk, who along with others, co-wrote the track with The Weeknd and collaborated on the album. It was a massive worldwide hit, reaching #1 in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Denmark, France, Norway, Sweden, and New Zealand.

It’s a haunting and moody but beautiful R&B song with electro-pop elements and a captivating melody. The lyrics are somewhat ambiguous, but generally speak to various trappings of celebrity life, including references to some of the expensive cars owned by The Weeknd, including his McLaren P1, Lamborghini Aventador SV Roadster, and a Bentley Mulsanne: “I’m tryna put you in the worst mood, ah / P1 cleaner than your church shoes, ah / Milli point two just to hurt you, ah / All red lamb just to tease you, ah / None of these toys on lease too, ah / Made your whole year in a week too, yeah / Main bitch out of your league too, ah / Side bitch out of your league too, ah.”

Many of The Weeknd’s videos tend to contain violent scenes, and the one for “Starboy” is no exception. Directed by Grant Singer, who also directed the videos for “Can’t Feel My Face” and “The Hills”, it has been described as The Weeknd’s attempt to murder his former persona, a sign perhaps that he was reinventing himself with his new song and album. It shows a masked figure, eventually revealed to be the Starboy incarnation of The Weeknd, killing his former self, and destroying posters and awards for his previous album Beauty Behind the Madness.

100 Best Songs of the 2010s – #32: “Take Me to Church” by Hozier

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The song at #32 on my list of 100 Best Songs of the 2010s is “Take Me to Church“, the debut single by Irish singer-songwriter Hozier. This is one of two songs by him on this list, the other being “Nina Cried Power”, which appeared at #68. The darkly stunning song was released in September 2013 as a free download, as he was a struggling musician at the time, performing at open-mic nights in and around Dublin. He wrote the song while living with his parents, and recorded a rough demo in their attic. The song first caught the attention of independent label Rubyworks, where producer Rob Kirwan overdubbed the original demo with live instruments, played by Hozier and drummer Fiachra Kinder.

Raised as a Protestant Quaker, Hozier now identifies as agnostic, and was inspired to write the song by his frustration with the Catholic Church, which he saw as a negative dominant force on social and political life in Ireland. He told Rolling Stone, “Growing up, I always saw the hypocrisy of the Catholic church. The history speaks for itself and I grew incredibly frustrated and angry.” (As a still-recovering Catholic myself, I completely agree.) In another interview with New York magazine, he stated: “Sexuality, and sexual orientation…is just natural. An act of sex is one of the most human things. But an organization like the church, through its doctrine, would undermine humanity by successfully teaching shame about sexual orientation – that it is sinful, or that it offends God. The song is about asserting yourself and reclaiming your humanity through an act of love.”

Hozier uses religious terminology in the lyrics to describe his feelings of romantic and sexual obsession with his lover, while also condemning church dogma: “My lover’s got humor. She’s the giggle at a funeral. Knows everybody’s disapproval. I should’ve worshiped her sooner. If the Heavens ever did speak. She is the last true mouthpiece. Every Sunday’s getting more bleak. A fresh poison each week. ‘We were born sick’, you heard them say it. My church offers no absolutes. She tells me, ‘Worship in the bedroom’. The only Heaven I’ll be sent to is when I’m alone with you. I was born sick, but I love it. Command me to be well. Amen, Amen, Amen.”

The darkly disturbing black and white video produced for the song was conceived by Hozier, Brendan Canty and his writing partner Emmet O’Brien. It was directed by Canty and Conal Thomson, and filmed on location at Inniscarra Dam in Cork, Ireland. The video, which is at times difficult to watch, tells the story of a gay relationship in Russia and the violent homophobic backlash that ensues when the community learns of one of the men’s sexuality. Upon its release in September 2013, the video quickly went viral, leading to Hozier’s subsequent signing with Columbia Records in the U.S. and Island Records in the UK.

“Take Me to Church” became a massive worldwide hit, topping the charts in 12 countries and reaching #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. It reached #1, however, on the Alternative, Adult Alternative, Adult Top 40 and Hot Rock Songs charts, where it spent 23 consecutive weeks at the top. It was also nominated for a Song of the Year Grammy, and has sold over five million copies in the US.

For those too squeamish to watch the video, here’s a Spotify link: