The Jester One Music Countdown By The Numbers - #16

#16

2009 - Chris Isaak - We Let Her Down

Album: Mr Lucky

Look, every year there's at least one surprise. Everyone knows Chris Isaak from his 1990 hit "Wicked Game", but there in 2009 he had a song that was played a lot on our work muzak and caught my ear. It's spent its time on my vaunted Sad Songs playlist since then and continues to get occasional play from year to year. It's a good song for tugging at the heartstrings, especially in terms of being a disappointing human being. I can all but guarantee I haven't listened to another Isaak song since then and I'm pretty sure I don't plan on giving him any spins elsewhere. There's just... this. Lol

2010 - Gorillaz - Superfast Jellyfish (feat Gruff Rhys and De La Soul)

Album: Plastic Beach

Speaking of things that everyone knows, Gorillaz were about as high as they could get at the time of Plastic Beach. "Stylo" and "On Melancholy Hill" were the big hits from this record, and there were a couple other big singles at the time, but it was "Superfast Jellyfish" that caught my ear and spent the most time on my MP3 player. It's mostly rap with a little of Damon Albarn sprinkled in, which works just as well as when it's just him doing all of the work.  All hail King Nepture and his water-breathers! It's a silly song that's fun and fantastic all together. I'm really liking what I'm hearing from 2018 Gorillaz, and hope they make it onto this years edition.

2011 - Amaranthe - Hunger

Album: Amaranthe 

I don't even remember where I first heard Amaranthe, but holy cow, they hit me like a stack of bricks. Elize Ryd is a monster and the whole male-female clean vocalist, male unclean vocalist dynamic mixed with pop-metal guitars made for something almost transcendent in music. They haven't released anything on this level since their first album, but they've steadily gained steam and popularity over the last few years. The opening keys on this song immediately hook you in and leave you wanting more. I wish they were able to better build off of this model rather than just releasing the same album with different lyrics, but that's life I suppose. Listening to this song as I write is making me fall in love with this record all over again.

2012 - Imagine Dragons - It's Time

Album: Night Visions

Here's an intriguing one. Imagine Dragons initially blew up on their EP Continued Silence, which also featured their massive hits "Radioactive" and "Demons". The EP had two different sounds to it... the softer, less abrasive and more realistic version featured on things like "Demons" and "It's Time", and the modded vocal, utterly irritating sound of literally every single they've released since "Radioactive". I mean, it works, but I absolutely HATE it. What was initially a promising band with a real chance to change the rock scene (for the better) ended up going in the opposite direction and just Nickleback-ing it in the worst possible way. What a shame. However... this is still a great song, and worth revisiting. For a few minutes, at least...

2013 - Colossus - Beacons

Album: Time & Eternal

"All I am is a broken promise, don't let me disappoint you again. Every sin is another nail in the cross. Why do I do this to you, why do I do this to myself?"

Holy cow. It might have been that line alone that catapulted Colossus all the way up to #16 in 2013. Initially I had heard their song "Transgressor" on Radio U's Battle of the Buzz, and immediately went out and grabbed the record. It's a solid crusher in the metal-core genre, and the band put together their second record in less than a year. Since then they've been largely quiet while contemporaries like For Today and Plea for Purging broke up and disappeared. Hopefully there is more time and music for this group in the future, and they had hinted at the end of 2016 that new music was coming. But after 5 years of almost non-existence online, I don't hold a lot of hope for it.

2014 -  Winds of Plague - Say Hello To The Undertaker

Album: Resistance

In 2014 there was a massive deathcore battle going on at J1 between Winds of Plague, Impending Doom and Whitechapel. All three had several hits in rotation with their most recent records, and while Whitechapel just missed the cut, Impending Doom shot up to #7 and WoP landed at #16. 2014 had a lot of good metal and Winds of Plague just recently released another solid record that is making waves for me this year. I don't love deathcore as much as I did these days (even though that was only 4 years ago; I suppose I just don't love the new direction of metal) but "Say Hello..." is a thunderous hit with the line "I am relentless!" being repeated during the Blue Jackets playoff runs in recent years.

2015 - Ghost Ship Octavius - Silence

Album: Ghost Ship Octavius

One of my favorite records from 2015 was Ghost Ship Octavius' self-titled debut record. The name of the group is what initially drew me to them, and when I saw that they had Nevermore's drummer Van Williams helping lead the project, I knew it was worth my time. "Silence" has a driving drum and guitar part that forces itself upon you and wrenches your neck around. It's catchy, cathartic, and keeps you hooked from start to finish. The guitar solo at the bridge is truly a treat as well. I can't wait til their next record drops!!

2016 - van Canto - Time and Time Again

Album:  Voices of Fire

For 3 consecutive albums, van Canto's epic blend of "heroic a cappella metal" finished just outside of the Top 20 before finally breaking through in 2016. They're one of those bands that you really have to be in the right mood for, but they made great and fascinating music with every passing record. In 2016 I was stuck between "The Bardcall" and "The Oracle" before finally settling on "Time and Time Again". These guys are definitely a band that belong on the Countdown every time they release a disc.

2017 - Demon Hunter - Raining Down

Album: Outlive

Pardon my surprise, but here's Demon Hunter! The group are legends of the countdown and it should come as no surprise that they made it once again in 2017. But for several months I wasn't really feeling this record, and it's first single "Cold Winter Sun". Somewhere midway through the year I picked up the record again and immediately started jamming to "Jesus Wept" and especially "Raining Down", which is once again another one of those less harsh, still heavy and kicking DH songs that keeps you coming back for more. 

Amusingly, after starting with Chris Isaak, the #16 has proved itself to be big on the metal. I wonder if that tridition will continue into 2018? Stay tuned!!

The Jester One Music Countdown By The Numbers - #17

#17

2009 - DevilDriver - Another Night In London

Album: Pray for Villains

Pray for Villains ended up being a surprisingly good album for me. After DevilDriver released The Last Kind Words I kind of wrote them off as having two great albums and then fading into mediocrity. Fortunately, I was mistaken. This was a good year for listening to a lot of metal, as I was still working for BE and still filled with a whole lot of anger. I distinctly remember sitting out by the pond behind my apartment under a tree while having a cold, listening to this record. I just wanted to be outside after being sick for a few days and this record essentially rocked me into feeling better. The rest, as they say, is history. Unfortunately, I haven't cared for a lot of what DD has done recently, but they've got an intriguing album coming up, covering old outlaw country hits. We'll see, Dez. 

2010 - Slash - Baby Can't Drive (featuring Alice Cooper and Nicole Scherzinger)

Album: Slash

Slash's Snakepit was okay. Velvet Revolver had a few hits. But before he acquired the services of Myles Kennedy, Slash put out his own solo record which was fantastic. He had some of the best names in rock and metal as guest vocalists (Ozzy, Iggy Pop, Lemmy) as well as some big name popstars too (Adam Levine, Fergie, Kid Rock...). It ended up sounding excellent all the way through, even including the singers I wasn't too particularly fond of... which of course leads us to this track. It was a bonus track on the record, featuring one of my all-time favorites (Alice) and someone who I would honestly never listen to (Nicole). In listening to the song now, I remember the allure of it but I don't remember Nicole sounding so bad. Woof. Still a fun song to kick while speeding down the highway.

2011 - The Lonely Island - Jack Sparrow (featuring Michael Bolton)

Album: Turtleneck and Chain

My goodness. I still don't understand how the guys over at The Lonely Island are so good at this. Perhaps it's the sheer absurdity of their music, but the fact that people like Natalie Portman, Michael Bolton, and otherwise unsuspecting artists agree to participate in songs like this just boggles the mind.

With all that being said, this is truly the jam and I have no idea how it was only 17. Maybe because TLI are just too much sometimes, maybe because 2011 was just all jams. Either way, a great memory and I'm glad it actually made it to the Countdown that year.

2012 - Morning Parade - Headlights

Album: Morning Parade

Before Morning Theft, we had Morning Parade, who are obviously not from Columbus, haha. The band had 2 albums and have 2 songs that I liked, both of which made the Countdown and made a big impact on their respective years. Go big or go home, I suppose, but the band has broken up now (like many other J1 alums) and are simply a fantastic memory for me. This was another song that was a good one to crank while driving. I remember the first few times I heard this song I was driving to work and kind of thought it was dumb, but it hit me driving home late one night and from there it was etched into my brain.  Maybe they'll reunite some day, but until then this is what we have. Rabbits in headlights.

2013 - Sevendust - Decay

Album: Black Out The Sun

Life, death, and a Sevendust album every two years. Some things are just that consistent, except that Sevendust took a little time between their previous effort, Cold Day Memory and Black Out The Sun. Cold Day Memory featured a track called "Ride Insane" that just missed in 2010, but there was no way BOTS would miss out. It was truly packed with hard hitters (as any 7D record should be) and Decay hit the hardest of all. It was the first single released and showed that the group still had plenty of aggression and crushing licks to share. They missed out in 2016 and have a new record this year which I'm somewhat undecided in - it's not bad but it's not nearly as catchy as I've come to expect. At least they haven't barrelled out of control like a lot of the other hard rock/metal groups from my teenage years.

2014 - Foster the People - Coming of Age

Album: Supermodel

I'll admit, I was late to the Foster the People discussion. I remember thinking "Pumped Up Kicks" was a cute song and being annoyed by the other 3 singles off of Torches, but upon hearing Coming of Age I had to go back and do a double take. As it turns out, I really only cared for one other song on that record ("Helena Beat", of course), but it made me appreciate the strangeness that Mark Foster brings to the table. I haven't really liked much since this song either, but it's a real dandy. Sometimes you have to get over his hilariously high-pitched voice and 80s grooves and see through to some seriously poignant lyrics. Coming of Age is a goodie and fits just about any mood I'm feeling.

2015 - Big Data - The Business of Emotion (featuring White Sea)

Album: 2.0

We sure do have a lot of guests on tracks at #17, huh? Here's a fun piece of information. Perhaps my least favorite song of this time period? "Dangerous" by, you guessed it, Big Data. I essentially wrote off anything from this record before even giving it another half-spin just because of the absolute inundation of that annoying song from 2014 onward. And then, one evening I was driving home from work (when I was still at Gahanna, must've been late fall) and CD102.5 was doing a double exposure on Big Data. I caught the end of the aforementioned "Dangerous" and then the beginning synths of "The Business of Emotion" started, and I was hooked. I got home as quick as I could to figure out what the hell I had just listened to, and from then on this song bolted through the ranks, ending at 17. 

Now, I still think Big Data is annoying and blame him for making Joywave famous, and I have no feelings for White Sea either. This song is tremendous regardless of all of that, which I believe is the true beauty of music.

2016 - Trivium - Until The World Goes Cold

Album: Silence in the Snow

This one kind of came as a surprise to me. I hadn't given Trivium a serious listen since 2008, but I happened to be listening to an internet station specializing in new rock and metal when the thundering opening riff of this song came on. It's weird to think that Matt Heafy is a month younger than me, seeing as how Trivium have been a massive article in the New Wave of American Heavy Metal scene since 2005 and are still kicking it hard. I didn't enjoy their newest record as much but I'm sure they'll still be around for quite some time.

2017 - Tinashe - Flame

Album: Flame (single)

And... then we have this. Well, I'd say 17 has definitely been the strangest number so far. I don't know if that's good or bad, but here's Tinashe. I suppose this is still a pretty good song, even if it was a surprising one to catch my ear. It seems like it would've been a more relevant song for me if I was dealing with relationship issues, but it's here just the same. I mean, I guess if this is what pop music is now, eventually a song or two will catch me.

The Jester One Music Countdown By The Numbers - #18

#18

2009 - Sick Puppies - I Hate You
Album: Tri-Polar

It's interesting that "I Hate You" ended up being the song for this year. Tri-Polar is a tremendous follow-up to Dressed Up As Life, even if it's slightly less fucked up. Looking back on it, "Riptide" is the song I like the best, and "You're Going Down" is the song that probably has gotten the most play over the years. "I Hate You" is a good song, yes, and is super relevant to the relationship I had just escaped. It's just intriguing that it was the one at the time. It's just a shame that Sick Puppies disintegrated after this record and put out an extremely horrendous piece of safe garbage in "Connect" before firing Shim Moore. So much potential, but I guess I can lean on two really great records.


2010 - Rammstein - Frühling in Paris
Album: Liebe ist fur alle da

I mean, obviously there was going to be a Rammstein song in the 2010 Countdown, right? It took me a long time to really get into "Liebe..." but in the end it's really a great record. Like 2009, I had a couple of choices from the band for this, including "B*******" and "Mehr". "Frühling in Paris" just happened to be the jam that fit at the time. I was still riding pretty high off of what "Wo Bist Du" had done for me with my parents breaking up, so it only made sense that it would be a slower song that would catch my ear first.  Sadly, it's been 8 years and we're still holding on for one last R+ record.


2011 - House of Heroes - Galveston
Album: Suburba (Re-Release)

Oh, I dunno. I think this song could've been a little higher on the 2011 list. Obviously Suburba came out in 2010 but in 2011 House of Heroes re-released it with a few bonus tracks that eventually made their way to their b-side album The Knock-Down Drag-Outs. Anyways, Obadiah played this song on the Riot after the re-release happened and I was instantly hooked. I remember that I was driving to pick up my (at the time) girlfriend and immediately had to find the song. The rest, as they say is history. Surprisingly, nothing off of their follow-up record made it to the 2012 but they did return in 2016 with... well, give me just a minute.


2012 - Santigold - Disparate Youth
Album: Master of My Make-Believe

Have I said before that 2012 was the best year for the J1 Countdown? It honestly doesn't get much better, top to bottom, than in that year. "Disparate Youth" was a song that I listened to constantly from the first time I heard it on CD101 until... well, just the past few years really. It's still one that immediately catches my ear and makes me want to listen to it six more times. Unlike the other 18's so far, this one is not from an artist I love and not from a record I enjoyed. It is, however, the best song Santigold ever released and is definitely one of my favorite songs from the Countdown Era (2009-current).


2013 - Biffy Clyro - Black Chandelier
Album: Opposites

Biffy Clyro has exploded in the rock scene ever since dropped Opposites in 2013. It was a really great record and the boys from Scotland are helping hold the flag for what rock music should sound like in the 2010s. I don't think either of their most recent records reach where they were on Opposites, but "Black Chandelier" was a wonderfully melancholy song in a year where I was either super high or super low most of the time. A breathe of fresh air, if you will, and another gem that fell to me from CD102.5 (which was still hard to say after the sudden frequency change).

2014 - Bleachers - I Wanna Get Better
Album: Strange Desire

In retrospect, I'm somewhat surprised that I liked this album as much as I did at the time. I'm sitting here typing this while I listen to it again, and it's not... well, it's not terrible. It's not great but it is good, and it's certainly less poppy than the album Jack put out last year. If I had my way, I'd just put Fun. back together and not have the rest of them worrying about their overly poppy side projects. On the flipside, "I Wanna Get Better" is still lyrically brilliant and catchy, even if it is overly sugary and bubbly for what I wanted it to be. I'm gonna stop on this one because I feel utterly perplexed.

2015 - New Found Glory - Selfless
Album: Resurrection

Ah, New Found Glory. I was shocked that this album was so good, and I'm still somewhat caught off-guard that any band that I loved way back in the day is still worthwhile in the late 2010s. As it stands, this was the first song that made it onto the radar of the 2015 list (at the end of 2014) and that ended up being more of a curse than a blessing. The song just kind of fizzled out at the year went on after starting strong and slid back to #18 while bigger and better songs took its place. It's still a fantastic jam and a welcome addition to a great catalogue from a wonderful bunch of pop-punkers.

2016 - House of Heroes - In The End
Album: Colors

Oh, hey House of Heroes, there you are. I was just talking about you. No, it wasn't anything bad. But twice you've made it and twice you've been at #18. Isn't that special? I think it's great!

I've heard people say that this is the best House of Heroes album yet. I don't necessarily believe that, but I can also say that there really isn't a bad song off of this record. "God" and "Colors Run" would definitely be my other favorites, and it's almost shocking to listen to this record when you realize it was crowd-funded.  Just a great effort and a great song from a great group of dudes doing Columbus, Ohio proud.


2017 - Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness - Fire Escape
Album: Zombies on Broadway

It's 2017 and I'm still embarrassed for liking Andrew McMahon. He's the anti-Jester, truly, but he's made a few catchy songs and two of them have made their way into the Countdown. It is what it is, and I'm afraid that in 2018 there'll be another McJam from McMahon... (see what he's doing to me!?). Anyways, this one still has my favorite video of the year and is still a really fun and great song, I'm just glad it didn't end up as high as "Cecilia..." did a few years ago. The jury is still out on 2018... stay tuned!