Before we start, I have to say that I'm sorry about not getting the first part of this YECA c/d posted on time. As some of you know, I've been in college for what seems like forever, and this has been one of the more strangely brutal finals weeks I've ever encountered. When it gets to the point where I literally cannot update the YECA on time simply because it's so demanding, you start to realize how truly demanding finals week can truly be. But I digress.
Okay, after a one-countdown-only return to my old YECA layout, we're back to this year's model with the third YECA countdown (and one that is quickly becoming a personal favorite of mine to do every year), as we take a look at the top ten songs from the last five years that I just discovered/fell in love with this year. As I'm always trying to discover music that I haven't listened to before, I'm almost positive that this top ten will become a YECA staple. Right now, it's just in its second year...and boy, does the second installment look WORLDS different than the first based on this first set alone. Just look at this first set and judge for yourself...
| Lady Antebellum
Need You Now
This year's catchup list begins with this year's Grammy winner for Record and Song of the Year. Believe it or not, I did not really get into this song until LONG after this song won those respective Grammys. One day, I got around to listening to their hit single "Just A Kiss", which directly led to me seeking this song out again. That single listen inspired...well, not very many listens for a while after THAT. It was in October that I got around to listening to this song again, and now, there are very few days that go by now where I DON'T listen to this song. I connect with "Need You Now" at the moment in a way that I never would have when it was released, hence why this song is on this list. |
| Rihanna ft. Jay-Z
Umbrella
Unlike #10, where I mostly ignored the song before falling in love with it, I outright HATED "Umbrella" before 2011. And then, a funny thing happened: a show that I also outright HATE somehow inspired me to seek out the original version of the song...and I somehow fell in love with the song four years later. Obviously, I'm referring to the first episode of Glee to feature Gwyenth Paltrow and the show-defining "Singin' in the Rain/Umbrella" mash-up. Falling in love with this song inspired me to seek out other songs of Rihanna's, and, while I wouldn't say that I'm a big fan of hers still, she has definitely made some legitimately good tunes, and this song is chief among them. |
| Skillet
Rebirthing
I know what some of you are thinking: "Finally, rock music! It's about time!" (Yeah, right.) Well, it took long enough, but it was 2011 where I finally "got" Skillet. "Awake and Alive" and "Hero" both hit me in a pretty hard way in 2011, as I can relate to their respective meanings despite my own religious beliefs. That being said, it was one of the songs that I sought to listen to after finally "getting" the band, "Rebirthing", that makes this very list. There's not much else that I an say other than to say that this song is absolutely epic. At under four minutes, that's quite the accomplishment. |
| Lady Gaga
Bad Romance
No, this wasn't inspired by a situation quite like my hatred of "Umbrella". One of the biggest personal music moments of 2011 for me was finally embracing the music of Lady Gaga, which helped to inspire the latest sea change in music taste for yours truly. I've always believed that Stefani Germanotta is an extremely talented musician, but I've also felt that her Gaga gimmick has completely held her back from true greatness. Well, in 2011, Gaga released Born This Way, an album where she embraced the extreme side of both beliefs: The gimmick was more present than ever (and overbearingly so, at times), but her true talent also shown through in a way it never had prior. What's the point of all of this? It was Born This Way that inspired me to listen to her other songs more than I had in the past, and that's how "Bad Romance", a song that I didn't care for too much when it was first released, quickly became a personal favorite in 2011. |
| Robyn
Dancing On My Own
A direct beneficiary of that sea change in my music taste was Robyn, a talented musician who I mostly ignored because of her teen pop past. Big mistake, as I would soon learn. Body Talk would have almost certainly made my albums list last year had I listened to the album in 2010, and one of the standouts of that album is this piece of pop power, "Dancing On My Own". At the same time, this song showcased the brilliance of Body Talk and also connected with me in a way that no other song on the album has so far. So, for those of you who were trying to recommend Robyn to me last year, you may very well have Gaga to thank for finally causing me to discover Robyn's brilliance in 2011. |
|
Alright, FINALLY, we get to the first set of this soon-to-be YECA staple. This also means, however, that we have five more songs to go! Stay tuned as I (hopefully) unveil my top five songs from the last five years today, which include a duo that I've always loved with a piece of music that I did not listen to until this year, the only song on this year's top ten to have made the list because of a video game, the best song from a tragic muse, my favorite discovery of 2011, and WUB-WUB-WUB-WUB. That last joke might be a little bit too "insider". Let's see if anyone gets it.