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2 Many DJ's
A Brand
Admiral Freebee
Air Traffic
Alexisonfire
Anouk
Anti-Flag
Arctic Monkeys
Bart Peeters
Beastie Boys
Billy Talent
Björk
Boys Noize
Busy P
Daan
Das Pop
De Jeugd van Tegenwoordig
dEUS
Diablo Blvd.
Discobar Galaxie
Dr. Lektroluv
Eagles of Death Metal
Enter Shikari
Erol Alkan
Faith No More
Fake Problems
Four Year Strong
Freaky Age
Glasvegas
Goose
Hayseed Dixie
Hercules and Love Affair
Janez Detd.
Jasper Erkens
John Butler Trio
Justice
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Kevin Seconds
Klaxons
Kraftwerk
La Roux
LADY LINN & HER MAGNIFICENT SEVEN
Mad Caddies
Magnus
Marilyn Manson
Maxïmo Park
Mike Scott
Millencollin
Mixhell
MSTRKRFT
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My Chemical Romance
N*E*R*D
Panic! At the Disco
Pendulum
Pete & The Pirates
Placebo
Reel Big Fish
Samim
Selah Sue
Soulwax
Streetlight Manifesto
Strike Anywhere
The Blackout
The Galacticos
The Ghost of a Thousand
The hickey underworld
The Kooks
The Maccabees
The Offspring
The Raconteurs
The Rifles
The Ting Tings
Them Crooked Vultures
Thursday
Tiga
Vampire Weekend
Vive la Fête
Yevgueni
Zebrahead

Basically list the first song you heard, the song that made you fall in love with them and your current favourite of your Overall Top 20 =)

#1 - BLAM HONEY
first - RINK
fall in love - RINK
current favourite - Hyper Aesthesia

#2: - GPKISM
first - Immaculatus
fall in love - Infernum
current favourite - Iudicium

#3 - Kaya
first - Chocolat
fall in love - Hydrangea
current favourite - Ophelia

#4 - Velvet Eden
first - 異形姫 (Ikei Hime)
fall in love - Dance with Skeleton
current favourite - Street of Alice

#5 - Lady GaGa
first - Just Dance
fall in love - Lovegame
current favourite - Paparazzi

#6 - Versailles
first - The Love from a Dead Orchestra
fall in love - The Revenant Choir
current favourite - 月下香 (Gekkakou)

#7 - MALICE MIZER
first - Beast of Blood
fall in love - 虚無の中での遊戯 (Kyomu no Nakade no Yuugi)
current favourite - Gardenia

#8 - Schwarz Stein
first - fester love
fall in love - Queen of Decadence
current favourite - Current

#9 - Björk
first - Its Oh so Quiet
fall in love - Isobel
current favourite - Aurora

#10 - Kilhi+Ice
first - Rosary
fall in love - Little Mermaid
current favourite - Hack Art

#11 - D
first - 桜花咲きそめにけ (Ouka Saki Some ni Keri)
fall in love - 闇の国のアリス (Yami no Kuni no Alice)
current favourite - 楽園 (Rakuen)

#12 - Aural Vampire
first - Freeeeze!!
fall in love - Vampire Ecstacy
current favourite - REPOMAN

#13 - Moi dix Mois
first - Shadows Temple
fall in love - Shadows Temple
current favourite - Perish (Seth ver.)

#14 - ＢＬＯＯＤ
first - The Reaper Behind Me
fall in love - THE FUNERAL FOR HUMANITY
current favourite - Nevermore

#15 - XOVER
first - 目 醒
fall in love - The curse of life
current - mermaid

#16 - Hora
first - Prominence
fall in love - Ray
current - Inner Elements

#17 -分島花音
first - still doll
fall in love - 砂のお城 (Suna no Oshiro)
current - 白い心 (Shiroi Kokoro)

#18 - Megamasso
first - White, White
fall in love - LIPS
current - .牛乳--mjolk--

#19 - Leona Lewis
first - Bleeding Love
fall in love - Happy
current favourite - Happy

#20 - DecoLa Hopping
first - 気まぐれ!?フェアリズム☆
fall in love - 気まぐれ!?フェアリズム☆
current favourite - 『トラヤムール』

It's Bjork's Birthday! Party Time!


Over the course of my life, there’s been only a few artists that really have affected me personally with their powerful and timeless music. I generally enjoy diverse music, including the likes of Radiohead, Queens of the Stone Age, Muse, Klaxons, Goldfrapp, Coldplay, Metallica, Arcade Fire, múm, Kings of Leon and even a few of The Beatles songs. But of all the music I’ve listened to, Björk has been the most influential on my life.


Before I had ever listened to Björk’s music, I thought she was just another strange female artist you occasionally hear in the media. But then one day I heard Hyperballad and that amazing music video that went with it, and I was hooked ever since. I then took the plunge, taking a risk on an unfamiliar artist, listening to more and more of her music and getting more and more hooked with each song. I then discovered that not only is she an ageless beauty, and so unique in personality, her entire life is consumed by music. And I’ve been consumed by her music ever since!



As Bjork celebrates her birthday today, I thought it’d be appropriate to list her top 100 songs of her glorious career thus far. Happy Birthday Bjork! and here's hoping to another 20 years of musical excellence. Of course this list is just my personal opinion, and some people rank songs more than others, but nonetheless:

100.Catacea
99. Miðvikudags
98. Show Me Forgiveness
97.Nattura
96. Ruby Baby
95. Öll Birtan
94. Sweet Intuition
93. Violently Happy
92. Karvel
91. My Juvenile


90.Submarine
89. Where Is the Line
88.Frosti
87. Pleasure Is All Mine
86. Verandi
85. Sidasta Eg
84. My Spine
83. Vertebrae By Vertebrae
82. Aeroplane
81. Cover Me
80. Vokuro


79. Nature Is Ancient
78. In the Musicals
77. Oxygen
76. Ambergris March
75. Foot Soldier
74. Pneumonia
73. Komid
72. Hope
71. Mouths Cradle
70. Ancestors


69. Headphones
68. The Anchor Song
67. There's More To Life Than This
66. Gloomy Sunday
65. It's Oh So Quiet
64. Cvalda
63. Sweet Sweet Intuition
62. An Echo, a Stain
61. I See Who You Are
60. Sod Off


59. Declare Independence
58. Sun in My Mouth
57. Scatterheart
56. I Go Humble
55. Like Someone In Love
54. Dull Flame of Desire
53. You've Been Flirting Again
52. Come To Me
51. Scary
50. Charlene


49. Amphibian
48. Cocoon
47. Enjoy
46. One Day
45. Immature
44. Pluto
43. Triumph of a Heart
42. So Broken
41. I've Seen It All
40. Alarm Call


39. Oceania
38. Innocence
37. 5 Years
36. Heirloom
35. Mother Heroic
34. Human Behaviour
33. Army Of Me
32. Earth Intruders
31. Undo
30. Isobel


29. Hidden Place
28. New World
27. Crying
26. It's Not Up to You
25. The Modern Things
24. All Neon Like
23. Possibly Maybe
22. Domestica
21. Big Time Sensuality
20. Play Dead
19. Generous Palmstroke


18. Storm
Off her Drawing Restraint 9 soundtrack, this is probably one of the most terrifying and haunting songs you’ll hear. I think this sums it up: "Björk's lone vocal soars in the chorus like the booming siren of a blue whale who suddenly realized she was the last of her species."

17.I Remember You
An unlikely choice, seeming as it is a Bjork cover. But this is a slow moving, touching love song that hits a nerve. “When my life is through, and the angels ask me to recall, the thrill of them all, I shall tell them… I remember you.”


16. Wanderlust
Off her most recent album, this is definitely one of her best efforts off it. Heavy Beats with some elctronic sounds combined with Bjork’s great vocals works well.


15. I Miss You
A slightly more hip-hop type song, but Bjork pulls it off again with a catchy tune and odd lyrics. “I miss you, but I haven’t met you yet.”


14.It's in Our Hands
“It’s in our hands, it always was”. Great track.


13. Hunter
A brilliant use of hard drumming beats makes this song completely, and is a slight change from her other music in tempo. “I thought that I could organise freedom, how scandinavian of me.”


12. Venus As A Boy
With a quirky xylophone beat and lush strings, mixed with Bjork’s playful lyrics this song is one of her most catchiest and upbeat songs .


11. Harm of Will
A soft and touching song which relies on Bjork’s magnificent vocals and nice choir in the background.

10. Pagan Poetry
A sort of Japanese sounding song with it’s intro and parts throughout the song, but mixes with some great electronic beats to make a elegant and beautiful song. “On the surface, simplicity. But the darkest part of me is Pagan Poetry."


9. Desired Constellation
A song that you usually listen to alone, at night, or star-gazing. A moving melody background sound that was apparently made from voice loops making a bell type sound which suits the mood perfectly. It can’t be repeated, which makes this a great song along with fantastic lyrics. “With a palm full of stars - I throw them like dice, repeatedly…until the desired constellation appears...”


8. Bachelorette
A raw, powerful song featuring violins and pounding beats mixed with Bjork’s soaring vocals is a true treat to the ears.


7. Who Is It
A song that is beat-boxed (I didn’t even know the beats in this song were non-computer until I re-listened to it) entirely with no instruments sounds bad right? Wrong. A great song, and great lyrics. Possibly one of the strangest and cute music videos ever made which accompanies this song, which shows Bjork in a bell suit (yes you heard right) dancing with bell kids.


6. Aurora
“Goddess sparkle.” A heartfelt song that showcases Bjork’s sweet vocals but also has great help from a fantastic choir, and combined is match made in heaven.


5. Unison
Such a powerful song. An AMAZING use of Bjork’s vocals, as the song builds to it’s amazing climax along with the help of a beautiful choir.


4. All Is Full of Love
The top 5 are very, very hard. This song is purely amazing and touching at the same time, with it’s electronic melody and use of instruments combined with great lyrics makes it an elegant yet beautiful song.


3. Unravel
A song that has to be heard to be believed. “My heart comes undone, slowly unravels, in a ball of yarn”.Thom Yorke says it’s the most beautiful song he’s ever heard, and I’m not one to disagree! Strange sounding organs works brilliantly, the song is just another Bjork classic.


2. Hyperballad
A strong but twisted song about love that’s not easily explained. It’s about waking up early in the morning, being destructive, throwing small things off a mountain, and imagining what her body would feel like slamming against rocks at the bottom of the cliff, asking “And when I land will my eyes be closed or open?”, and then finally returning to her lover's arms in the morning as if nothing’s happened.


1. Jóga
Perhaps the most beautiful song I’ve ever heard. It’s a gorgeous song which not only showcases Bjork’s vocals but just how good music can be in Bjork’s hands. A masterpiece.


So there you have it. My opinion on her best 100 songs from an amazing artist. Feel free to agree or disagree with me, or even add your own list of her favourite songs.


Note: I didn't use any The Sugarcubes songs. I highly recommend Birthday if you want to hear Bjork's vocals soar to unimaginable heights.









-Bjork performing Oceania at the 2004 Olympics.

Björk Undo(2001)

from the album Vespertine

It goes: "it's not meant to be a strife. It's not meant to be a struggle uphill"

In all its delicacy and subtlety, Undo is one of the most powerful songs Björk has ever composed. It's beautiful arrangements and lyrics are so touching, that even other respected artists like Mount Eerie felt the need to write a song about it.

1.How did you get into 29? (Air)
I guess it was when Sexy Boy & Kelly Watch the Stars got a lot of airplay on MTV in the late 90's.

2. What's the first song you ever heard by 22? (The Radio Dept.)
Not entirely sure, but I vaguely remember seeing them live on a festival in Sweden in 2004, which is probably when I heard their music for the first time. (Mind you, it was at a boozy music festival after all, so it's all a bit of a blur really...)

3. What's your favorite lyric by 33? (José González)
Maybe these ones from Broken Arrow:
"Summerlove left this town
It was too cold to bathe and the leaves turned brown
The sun went down
And with it the love we found
That's the way things are sometimes
Most of the time"

4. How did you get into 49? (Björk)
Well, seeing that I'm Scandinavian she was a pretty big deal there with her debut album (called Debut). The first track I heard was Human Behaviour, but I didn't start listening to her stuff properly until the late 90's.

5. How many albums by 13 do you own? (MF DOOM)
Two (Operation Doomsday & MM Food).

6. What is your favorite song by 50? (M83)
Graveyard Girl.

7. Is there a song by 39 that makes you sad? (RJD2)
Not that I can think of, or maybe One Day.

8. What is your favorite song by 15? (El-P)
Tasmanian Pain Coaster is pure genius.

9. What is your favorite song by 5? (Sage Francis)
Sea Lion.

10. Is there a song by 6 that makes you happy? (Alias)
Not really, I wouldn't exactly say Alias is famous for his feelgood-tracks. Maybe Dr.C by Alias & Tarsier.

11. What is the worst song by 40? (Coldplay)
Violet Hill no doubt. Can't stand it. I never understood how it could be released as a first album single.

12. What is your favorite song by 10? (Sia)
Breathe Me, followed by Death By Chocolate.

13. What is a good memory you have involving 30? (Sole)
I remember being on a road trip with my brother and he'd brought 'Selling Live Water' which had recently been released. I had never heard of Sole, but I loved what I heard.

14. What is your favorite song by 38? (CunninLynguists)
It's a tie between Seasons (Remix) and Don't Leave (When Winter Comes). The beat for the remix of seasons is amazing and fits the lyrcs perfectly.

15. Is there a song by 19 that makes you happy? (Murs)
The Night Before is nice. Bad Man! is a good party tune.

16. Is there a song by 25 that makes you sad? (Feist)
Yep. Let It Die, The Park & How My Heart Behaves. To name a few.

17. What is the first song you ever heard by 23? (Jean Grae)
Love Song.

18. What's your favorite lyric by 11? (Bat for Lashes)
From Good Love:
"In the night time we are found
Misty sorrow swoop unbound
Whisper you mean it, say you'll stay
Hold my heart till brighter days"

19. Who is a favorite member of 1? (Aesop Rock)
Ian Matthias Bavitz (aka Aesop Rock). Tricky one that.

20. Is there a song by 14 that makes you happy? (WHY?)
Gemini (Birthday Song) and A Sky For Shoeing Horses Under both put a smile on my face.

21. What is a good memory involving 27? (Burial)
I listened a lot to Burial when I initially moved to London, so maybe that.

22. What is your favorite song by 16? (Regina Spektor)
Samson was the first song I heard by her, and I absolutely loved it. Still find it amazing. But she's done so many incredible tracks, other favourites are Ode To Divorce and Somedays.

23. What is the first song you ever heard by 47? (Radiohead)
Creep, back in the day. Not really feeling their recent stuff.

24. What is your favourite album by 18? (The Clash)
London Calling - one of the greatest albums ever made imo.

25. What is your favorite song by 21? (Madvillain)
Accordion.

26. What is the first song you ever heard by 26? (Masta Ace)
Beautiful.

27. What is your favorite album by 3? (Death Cab for Cutie)
Plans. Even quality throughout, not one bad song on the entire album.

28. What is you favorite song by 2? (Sigur Rós)
Probably Með suð í eyrum or Saeglopur. A lot of good songs to choose from though.

29. What was the first song you ever heard by 32? (Boards of Canada)
Music Is Math was featured in a Swedish movie, and that's what made me start listening to them.

30. What is you favorite song by 8? (The Album Leaf)
We Need Help.

31. How many times have you seen 17 live? (Bon Iver)
None, but I'd love to. Hopefully within the next year.

32. Is there a song by 44 that makes you happy? (Lykke Li)
Everybody But Me (Christoffer Remix). The lyrics are depressing as anything, but it's still that instant party anthem.

33. How did you get into 12? (Madlib)
Through Jaylib's Champion Sound.

34. What is the worst song by 45? (Buck 65)
Kennedy Killed the Hat (which a lot of people seem to love)

35. What was the first song you ever heard by 34? (Groove Armada)
My friend, yet again on MTV back in High School. I still remember the video.

36. What was the first song you ever heard by 48? (Koushik)
Lying in the Sun.

37. How many times have you seen 42 live? (One Be Lo)
None.

38. What is you favorite song by 36? (The Shins)
New Slang & Sea Legs.

39. What was the first song you ever heard by 28? (Cat Power)
The Greatest

40. What is you favorite album by 7? (J Dilla)
Donuts! A classic.

41. Is there a song by 31 that makes you happy? (P.O.S.)
Goodbye. Great beat.

42. What is your favorite album by 41? (Zero 7)
Simple Things.

43. What is your favorite song by 24? (Azure Ray)
Rise. (In fact the song with the most plays in my entire library.)

44. What is a good memory you have involving 46? (Dosh)
I listened a lot to Wolves and Wishes when I went to Tokyo last year, and listening to that album still reminds me of the good times I spent there.

45. What is your favorite song by 35? (DJ Shadow)
Stem/Long Stem, hands down. Amazing track.

46. Is there a song by 9 that makes you happy? (The Streets)
I guess the easy answer here would be to mention any song off Everything Is Borrowed. But I'm not really a big fan of Mike Skinner going all happy-go-lucky, so I'd have to say Fit But You Know It and Don't Mug Yourself.

47. What is your favorite album by 4? (Atmosphere)
Lucy Ford, followed by God Loves Ugly.

48. Who is your favorite member of 37? (Bloc Party)
Don't have one.

49. What is the first song you ever heard by 43? (Band of Horses)
The Funeral. Still reckon it's one of their best songs.

50. What is your favorite song by 20? (The Roots)
You Got Me. High school memories right there.

What are the eight tracks recently added to your library?

1 - From Creation
2 - Small
3 - Don't Look Down
4 - I Belong to You
5 - Hoodoo
6 - Sunburn
7 - Soldier's Poem
8 - Apocalypse Please

What four artists is Last.fm currently recommending to you?

1 - Brooke White
2 - Blake Lewis
3 - Suzanne Vega
4 - Kristy Lee Cook

Have you listened/heard of any of them before?
I've heard of all of em but haven't played em

Last loved track?
From Creation

Last five recently listened tracks?

1 - Hanging By A Moment
2 - All That We Perceive
3 - You And I
4 - From Creation
5 - Cryin'

Last person you left a shout to?
No one

Last person who left you a shout?
LAST.HQ

Most frequently used tag?
I don't do tags.

Closest event?
I don't know...

How long have you been a member?
June 9, 2009

How many overall plays do you have?
340

How many loved tracks?
177

What are your top 10 overall artists?

1- Adam Lambert
2- Elliott Yamin
3- Portishead
4- Thievery Corporation
5- Will Young
6- Björk
7- Michael Johns
8- Glee Cast
9- Ashanti
10- Goldfrapp

What bands do you find you most have in common with people?
Adam Lambert

What bands do you find you have least in common with people?


What was the last band recommended by Last.fm that you really got into?
I don't remember

Are you a member of any groups?
yep

Now playing?
Tierra Santa

This from the HOTTEST FEMALE SONGS!!! Kind-off like Triple J's Hottest 100 of All-time early in the year but only female artists because there was very few women in Triple J's countdown. It's run by a new beer called Hummingbird and some pay TV channel (I don't know which one because I don't watch it). It's a cool idea and I found it so hard to cut it down just to ten in the end so I just made my own 100 tracks from my favourite female artists.


My Top Ten Votes
1. Portishead - Glory Box
2. Kate Bush - Cloudbusting
3. Sarah Blasko - {Explain}
4. Nina Simone - Sinnerman
5. Fiona Apple - Fast as You Can
6. Björk - Army Of Me
7. Cat Power - Cross Bones Style
8. Beth Orton - Stolen Car
9. PJ Harvey - This Is Love
10. Magic Dirt - Dirty Jeans

This was very, very, very, very hard (have I made it clear how hard this was?) But I picked songs which I could listen to on repeat which I have done in the past (not here on last.fm yet). Most tracks are from the 90's too (I grew-up in that decade, if you haven't all ready guessed). It seems like last.fm's journals are made up of long lists of songs so I've joined in again with my very, very long short list of songs that didn't make it into the top ten. These songs can be any thing that I love really It's from A to Z (well it's Y really, then V). It's selected from the list of tracks which are on their website but I've added a few of my own ones at the end. If you have no idea what I'm talking about go here and read all about it (there's only 4 days left to vote so hop too it).
http://www.hummingbird100.com/home

Aimee Mann - Save Me
Belinda Carlisle - Heaven Is A Place On Earth
Beth Orton - Galaxy Of Emptiness
Billie Holiday - Strange Fruit
Björk - Pagan Poetry
Björk - Violently Happy
Blondie - Union City Blue
Blondie - X Offender
Bobbie Gentry - Ode to Billy Joe
The Breeders - Cannonball
Cat Power - Living Proof
Carpenters - Close to You
Christina Aguilera - The Voice Within
Clare Bowditch - Lips Like Oranges
Cyndi Lauper - Time After Time
Dolly Parton - Jolene
Donna Summer - I Feel Love
Duffy - Syrup & Honey
Dusty Springfield - Breakfast In Bed
Eartha Kitt - I Want To Be Evil
Ella Fitzgerald - Black Coffee
Etta James - I'd Rather Go Blind
Fiona Apple - Never Is a Promise
Fiona Apple - Red Red Red
Gabriella Cilmi - Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
Grace Jones - Pull Up To The Bumper
Janis Joplin - Tell Mama
Jessica Simpson - Angels
Jewel - Morning Song
Joan Baez - Suzanne
Joanna Newsom - The Book of Right-On
Joni Mitchell - Come in From the Cold
Kasey Chambers - Pony
Kate Bush - How to Be Invisible
Kate Bush - Wuthering Heights
Kylie Minogue - Slow
Loretta Lynn - Fist City
M.I.A - Pull Up The People
Madonna - What It Feels Like for a Girl
Marianne Faithfull - Something Better
Mazzy Star - Fade Into You
Nico - Femme Fatale
Nina Simone - Feeling Good
Patsy Cline - Life's Railway To Heaven
Patti Smith - Because the Night
Peggy Lee - Don't Smoke In Bed
PJ Harvey - C'mon Billy
PJ Harvey - Rid of Me
Portishead - Humming
Portishead - The Rip
The Pretenders - I Go to Sleep
The Pussycat Dolls - Stickwitu
Regina Spektor - Samson
Renee Geyer - I Scare Myself
Rihanna - Don't Stop The Music
Rihanna - Unfaithful
Sarah Blasko - No Turning Back
Sarah Blasko - Perfect Now
Sonic Youth - Kool Thing
The Seekers - 500 Miles
Tiffany - I Think We Are Alone Now
Tori Amos - A Sorta Fairytale
Tori Amos - Blood Roses
The Veronicas - 4ever
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Y Control
Yoko Ono - Walking on Thin Ice
Some tracks I think should be on the list but are not so I've added them here:
Alela Diane - White As Diamonds
The Audreys - Lay Me Down
Beth Gibbons & Rustin Man - Resolve
Charlotte Gainsbourg - IRM
Divinyls - Boys in Town
The Drones - Work For Me
Elizabeth Cotten - Freight Train
Emilíana Torrini - Heartstopper
Emmylou Harris - Every Grain of Sand
Gillian Welch - Everything is Free
Jane Birkin - My Secret
Jen Cloher & The Endless Sea - Better off Dancing
Jolie Holland - Old Fashioned Morphine
Jolie Holland - Mexico City
Karen Dalton - Are You Leaving for the Country
Karen Dalton - Down On The Street (Don't You Follow Me Down)
Lene Lovich - Bird Song
L7 - Shitlist
Martina Topley-Bird - Anything
Neko Case - Hold On, Hold On
The Paradise Motel - Bad Light
Sister Rosetta Tharpe - Down by the Riverside
The Triffids - Raining Pleasure
The White Stripes - In the Cold, Cold Night
Vashti Bunyan - Rainbow River

So that is it. It wasn't so hard really (but cutting it down to ten was). I've most likely missed something which I'll remember later and be kicking myself about but I'm pretty happy with this mix. It seems my favorite female singer songwriter is Beth Gibbons with my number 1 track in my top ten. Plus two more Portishead songs and one from Beth Gibbons & Rustin Man project album. If you don't know she wrote My Secret for Jane Birkin a few years ago too. That adds up to five tracks out of one hundred which is not many but more that anyone else.

Anyway what do you think??? I liked writing these journal entries but I do like reading you comments and It's also the only way I can tell if anyone has been reading or looking at them. Thanks and bye for now.

Previously: My top 200 tracks 1990-99 Pt.01a: 200 to 181
Previously: My top 200 tracks 1990-99 Pt.01b: 180 to 161
Previously: My top 200 tracks 1990-99 Pt.02a: 160 to 141
Previously: My top 200 tracks 1990-99 Pt.02b: 140 to 121
Previously: My top 200 tracks 1990-99 Pt.03a: 120 to 101

100
Girls Against Boys
Kill the Sexplayer
Cruise Yourself
1994

Remarkably one of two bands in todays forty that have two bassists, never a common setup in alternative rock, never mind any other genre. GVSB are one of my favourite bands and have been for many years, despite a now long period of inactivity other than occasional gigs. This single - their commercial breakthrough, really - was featured on the Clerks soundtrack, and it's deep-down-and-dirty grooves are a good representation of where GVSB were at the time. They flirted with electronics and major labels subsequently, but this track comes from the middle of a golden period where the band frankly didn't put a note wrong for three albums.

99
Nine Inch Nails
Somewhat Damaged
The Fragile
1999

The awesome opening track from one of the most self-indulgent, overblown albums I've ever heard (really, this album would have benefitted from being cut down to a single CD - although it would have been some of the vocal tracks I'd cut), this is cleverly built to add one layer at a time before exploding into a trademark freakout for the close. An impressive track live nowadays, too...

98
Pearl Jam
Jeremy
Ten
1992

Still a shocking, powerful song even now, this is a rare example of a video adding to an already astonishing track. Everything about this track has a sense of foreboding, right from the bassline that opens the track, and the lyrics do a great job of giving you an idea of what is going on, but not the whole story, wrapping parts of it in metaphors ("Jeremy spoke in class today") which the video makes explicit at the very end. By a long chalk (in my view) PJ's finest moment, and making an eloquent statement on an issue that was to become rather too common in the media in the following decade or two.

97
Spahn Ranch
Locusts
The Coiled One
1995

Let's be honest - in industrial circles, it seems you either love Spahn Ranch or you really, really don't. I can see how their later stuff, featuring much more in the way of dub and house influences, not to mention some other unexpected directions, could be divisive, but I always thought that The Coiled One was an album that had a slightly wider appeal. Even so, it was chock full of sampled, cyclic guitar riffs, strange-sounding beats that were almost-live-drums-but-not-quite, and then Athan Maroulis' warm but detached vocals. All of these come together to amazing effect for this track (side note: I'd never even known of the existence of this video until writing this...)

96
Rob Zombie
Living Dead Girl
Hellbilly Deluxe
1998

Now an astonishing eleven years old, this track - like all of Zombie's best - hasn't dated a minute. With it's old horror B-movie samples, slinky, bass-heavy prowl, anthemic chorus - not to mention the bonkers video based on The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari - how was this ever going to fail?

95
The Levellers
Liberty Song
Levelling the Land
1991

I was a big Levellers fan in the 90s. No, I didn't have dreadlocks, or a dog on a string, but I did have an appreciation of a nakedly political band who had a good line in folkish-rock. I've seen them live a few times - they have always been an awesome live band - and this rabble-rousing call-to-arms is one of their greatest live tracks and a big fan favourite, even after all these years. Another that I didn't know had a video, too…

94
The Prodigy
Their Law
Music for the Jilted Generation
1994

Talking of protest, this album was a huge statement against the Criminal Justice Act of 1994, and it's most obvious statement was this rocking collaboration with Pop Will Eat Itself: "Fuck 'em and their law". Hulking great beats Prodigy-style, and vocals and guitars PWEI-style. A meeting of minds that worked so well it's amazing it wasn't done again...

93
Radiator
Who Is Your God
Radiator
1998

Another of those bands who had a fleeting glimpse of "fame" and vanished, Radiator were an intriguing electronic/industrial-rock band who only ever made one album (I understand they were another band to suffer from the rash of major label rationalisation at the end of the decade). The album was good, but it was the final, climactic track that was the pick - a steadily build-up, exploding into a techno-metal dancefloor monster, before reaching even greater heights as the song stampedes through just four frantic minutes.

92
Tindersticks
Can We Start Again?
Simple Pleasure
1999

Tindersticks' jazzy, bluesy music is meant for the darkness, for smoky rooms where people go to escape from life…and as such, are perhaps not quite loved as much as they should be. For this album, they introduced a soulful influence that produced this extraordinarily tender single, with Stuart Staples' baritone vocals the utterly perfect match.

91
Will Haven
I've Seen My Fate
El Diablo
1997

An absolutely fearsome live band back when they first appeared on various support bills in the UK (they nearly cleared half the Astoria when supporting Pitchshifter once, they were that loud - a rumbling juggernaut of fury), it was brutal tracks like this sludgy, hardcore monster that sealed our approval. Judging on the oppressiveness and heaviness of this track, the fate forseen was not good, and this was an attempt to simply scare the fates away. Judging on the fact that Grady Avenell has recently rejoined the reformed band, it could be said to have worked well.

90
Kenickie
Punka
At the Club
1994

A bunch of Sunderland teenagers form a band, and write, in the main, songs about going out on the lash. Which made this album marvellous fun - and, it should be added, is one of my girlfriend's favourite albums ever - however this track is where it deviated slightly from the core subject. This track - a three-minute powerpop masterpiece - is a viciously sneering put-down of the mid-90s lo-fi scene and those who were, umm, "more indie than thou". It's not hard to side with Kenickie when they produce a song with this much wit...

89
Ned's Atomic Dustbin
Kill Your Television
God Fodder
1990

Long maligned in the press, this band were always rather better than the music press would have you believe. Their finest moment is still the opening track on their debut, though, a rampaging, two-bass attack seemingly about a somewhat testy relationship that has happily endured twenty years and still sounds great.

88
Björk
One Day
Debut
1993

Björk's first solo album-proper is a wonderfully diverse collection of songs, that gave a good idea of just how broad-minded a musician she was. From frankly odd musings on human nature, to sexuality, to simply losing it in a club, lyrically things were just as strange. At the heart of the album, though, was this gorgeous, tender declaration of love and hope that was a lot less complex than the rest of the album, and in this case all the better for it.

87
Jane's Addiction
Three Days
Ritual de lo Habitual
1990

Jane's most majestic moment, this epic, eleven minute masterpiece is a track worth persevering with. Apparently telling the tale of a lover's tryst involving Perry Farrell and two others, it's lyrics are never exactly candid, but really, this is all about the music. It's vast length allows it to unfold gradually, and is evidence of just how talented a band of musicians JA were. You get guitar solos, bass solos, drum solos, and the most awe-inspiring climax to the song, that was even more extraordinary live when i saw it earlier this year.

86
Pitchshifter
W.Y.S.I.W.Y.G.
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1998

This album was Pitchshifter's big breakthrough to the metal mainstream, moving from their heavier, Godflesh-influenced sound of before into a drum'n'bass-punk-metal hybrid that came along at just the right time. I'm hardly short of highlights to pick from this album, either, such was the strength of it, but I've plumped for the big live favourite that is always welcome to hear. As usual it has a subtle political theme, but for once it's all about the music, the punk charge and then electronic breakdowns with the stomping 'pit finale...

85
Portishead
Strangers
Dummy
1994

One of a number of tracks on this album that sound like they had been beamed in from another planet, so different did they sound at the time - Beth Gibbons' scratchy, distant vocal in the verses, the heavy, lumbering beats for other parts, the exquisite melancholy of it all. What's all the more remarkable is that over fifteen years and three albums, they have never been short of enthralling and unique (try as they might, no band has ever even come close to sounding like Portishead).

84
Tricky
Suffocated Love
Maxinquaye
1995

I'll say more about the wonder that is this album at a later point, so for now I'll concentrate on just the one song. And that one song is this glorious, after-dark lament of two lovers giving their views on a relationship that may or may not be falling apart. Either way, it's a song utterly dripping with lust and eroticism, but never becoming seedy as some songs that try this do.

83
Skinny Puppy
WARLOCKed
Warlock EP
1990

The mighty Puppy's finest five or six minutes (someone is going to slay me for this, I'm sure), I've never had any clue as to what nivek ogre was on about, but no matter - this is an awesome track that is unusually simple in structure for SP. Little more than the thumping beat, the odd synth line and sample, and Ogre's vocals, it's far less dense, and in this case all the better for it - also one of SP's more melodic moments, it's been a staple of the live set for years, and with good reason...

82
Brainiac
Sexual Frustration
Bonsai Superstar
1996

The track that frankly, should have made Brainiac stars. It never quite worked out like that, although by the time Tim Taylor died in a car crash a few years later, they were recording their major-label debut. When the track first starts on record, it's a storm of distortion and Taylor's voice is buried within, but all it takes is one guitar chord for things to snap into focus, and it all kicks off from there. Basically Taylor detailing how he isn't getting any, the music is as chaotic as his mind, going on the lyrics, and in a parallel universe this would have been the all-conquering hit it deserved to be.

81
Death in Vegas
Aisha
The Contino Sessions
1999

This album had an extraordinary amount of praise lavished on it, and that was partly down to the exquisite sound and mood, and also down to the amazing vocal performances gained from the guests that joined in. The pick of them, though, was this utterly demented appearance from Iggy Pop, ranting and raving about a serial killer who may or may not be confined to his head. The low-end rumble of the music matches Iggy's crazy delivery perfectly, and the video is just as fucked up.

Friday: My top 200 tracks 1990-99 Pt.04: 80 to 41