#19
2009 - Parachute - She Is Love (Band Version)
Album: Losing Sleep
Amusingly, I really can't stand the acoustic version of this song. This was one that I first heard on the work muzak at the Bob Evans I was working at at that time. The downside of the full band version is that it always sounds like it was recorded at a lower bit-rate without being remastered. It's still a great song and I didn't take it off my Walkman for several years after this. In fact, I think that old mp3 player broke before I could get this song out of my rotation. It's still a great jam and it's one of the first "love" songs that I associated with being with my wife. Parachute isn't really a band I care terribly much for, and there are so many clones floating around like The Script that they're essentially dime a dozen, but for a long time this was absolutely my jam. In 2009, it was only my 19th best jam, though, which just goes to show how time causes us to appreciate things.
2010 - Demon Hunter - Collapsing (ft Bjorn Strid)
Album: The World Is A Thorn
Another year, another DH album on the countdown. Technically, this was the first Demon Hunter song on a countdown, but that's only because this was only the second countdown. I've said it before but I'm almost certain that "My Heartstrings Come Undone" and "Not I" and even "Thorns" would have been top 3 for the years that each of their albums were released. As it stands, this was a solid song off of what I consider the last really good Demon Hunter album. Sure, I like the 3 that have been released since, but it's just not the same anymore. TWIAT has some real bangers though, and I initially thought it would be "Shallow Water" or "Driving Nails" that were going to make the countdown. I remember my (future) mother-in-law being upset that I was blaring this song while driving up to their house a few times. Haha.
2011 - The Knux - Razorblade
Album: Eraser
Every now and then CD102.5 plays some great rap music mixed in with their "alternative" jams. The Knux were one that caught me totally by surprise. "They found you on a milk carton, performing disappearing acts" - what a great line. It's nothing but excellent lines all the way through the song, even if the album doesn't really live up to the hype this song created. Sadly, The Knux have only released one album since Eraser and it took them 5 years to do that. All the same, it was nice to hear a rap group that wasn't all autotune and crappy lyrics.
2012 - Silversun Pickups - Bloody Mary (Nerve Endings)
Album: Neck Of The Woods
Here's a scary thought - "Bloody Mary" was only #19 in 2012! I've spoken about this countdown before and how it was one of the truly amazing ones in the history of J1, and this just goes to show how deep things were (even if Reptar was the throw-away #20). What made 2012 different from 2011 and 2013, I have no idea. But this is one of SSPU's greatest tracks and it's mind-altering to think that something with as influential of a bassline as this one would only come in at #19.
With that being said, Neck Of The Woods showed a newer, more poppy direction for the Pickups. There were still great tracks like "Skin Graph" and "Gun-Shy Sunshine", but then you hear the 2nd single "The Pit" and you realize that the group and their label decided on a certain flair to follow, and that's essentially all they've done since. Of course, they self-produced their most recent record, and it would be unfair to hold any record against Swoon, but I guess that's just music for you.
2013 - Relient K - PTL
Album: Collapsible Lung
Haha, what? Relient K, the group I saw at a tiny church way back in 2001? Yep, that Relient K. The one who made it HUGE with "Be My Escape", was absorbed into a pop label and lost all of their punk-rock elements while churning out two trash albums, returned with Collapsible Lung, which by all accounts was still massively poppy but sounded significantly better (and less manufactured) than their previous two efforts. I'm not sure what caught me on PTL; maybe the falsetto chorus, maybe the hand-claps, maybe the obviously relevant subject line. But there it is. #19 in 2013 - a year where I must've only ever listened to Cd102.5 because it's nothing but Alt-rock and a few metal gems. Oh, and PTL. Who knows. It's kind of a fun song, right?
2014 - Destiny Potato - Take A Picture
Album: Lun
I didn't even bother checking out anything about Destiny Potato before downloading this album. I only needed to know the name and the fact that they were similar to other djent acts that I liked, except with a female lead. Come to find out this is a band from Serbia and have wonderful accents. Their music was good enough, although they've essentially gone dark the past few years except for a hint on their Facebook page posted a few months ago referencing a new page titled "Sordid Pink".
Lun sounds like what most other djent bands were producing at the time - a mash-up up Periphery, TesseracT and Veil of Maya, except for the whole female singer part. Take A Picture kicked hard and had cute lyrics, but didn't have enough depth to get further than #19 in 2014. I'd love to hear some sort of follow-up from these guys.
2015 - The Frozen Ocean - Kerosene
Album: Skeleton Key
The Frozen Ocean is David Swanson, a musician from Connecticut. David Swanson is a phenomenally talented human being with a beautiful soul. I've told this story a dozen times but it always bears repeating - I was a fan of his from years ago and was super excited when he started recording this record. His self-titled disc still stands as one of my all-time favorites, and 7 years later I was dying for more. For whatever reason I missed the pre-order on the album and I just kept forgetting to order it. When I finally did. I received an e-mail the next day from Dave saying that he was just about to launch a sale on his website and wanted to send me a free shirt as a thank you for ordering the record.
He didn't have to do that. He's a musician who probably makes his living off of sales like that, but it goes to show his character that he would take the time to reach out and do that for me. Annnnyways, Kerosene is one of several fantastically unique songs off of Skeleton Key, including the title track, "Light Years", "Grey Town", and an outstanding re-imagining of CCR's "Have You Ever Seen The Rain". Well worth the wait and equally deserving of a spot on my Top 20 that year.
2016 - Metric - The Shade
Album: Pagans in Vegas
I'm not sure how I had never seriously listened to Metric before 2009, because right now they're one of my all-time favorite bands. Well, let me rephrase that. Fantasties and Synthetica are two timeless records for me. Pagans in Vegas had exactly one song that I liked, and I didn't even like it until well after the album was released. It's the "bloop bloops", and we all know it. Well. somewhere along the line they released a version without them and I was actually able to listen to the entire song without interruption. And it turns out that it's a pretty great song, lyrically. Musically it's somewhat annoying and my wife refers to it as "that terrible I Want It All song with the whiny girl singer", but it's here and that cannot be changed. I can only hope that Metric recovers for a better record next time around.
2017 - The Head and The Heart - Rhythm and Blues
Album: Signs of Light
Folksy alternative has made a massive explosion in recent years thanks to the likes of The Head and The Heart, The Lumineers, The Avett Brothers, and others. It's not really my style but man, THATH do a really great job of making beautiful and catchy music without a lot of glitz or polish. Signs of Light is just another solidly built record that shows that they have staying power despite their own personal struggles. "Rhythm and Blues" has so much feeling on it, it's a wonder it wasn't featured higher last year.
But, I guess we'll talk about that more in the coming weeks. Stay tuned next Tuesday for the 18s!
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