Some songs that I believe are going to be the type of songs to stick with me for multiple years and make the singles list in multiple years don't quite live up to that kind of expectations. Others simply don't have the kind of staying power that I expect. Others actually live up to your expectations and perform very well in its second attempt on the top 100 (this is DEFINITELY the case this year, as well). Then, there's the rare few that actually improve upon expectations. "Black Soap" actually did better than I expected it to. I thought that it would be on the top 100 in 2015, but top 50? This song? But, really, "Black Soap" stuck around in a pretty strong year for singles, all things considered. In some ways, it even thrived compared to where it was a year ago. Well played, you too. Keep surpassing expectations.
I don't think that any song's lack of success in the US bothered me more than "Body Talk". It just baffles me that Foxes has been unable to find success here as a solo artist. She's had some really, REALLY good pop tunes. "Let Go For Tonight" still kills, "Glorious" is proving to be more beautiful by the day...and now, we have this absolute monster of a pop tune, and it can't find acceptance in the mainstream? No, really, this isn't "Red Crush" Red talking. This is "Music Enthusiast" Red talking, and I cannot, for the life of me, understand how a song like "Body Talk", a song with a wonderful beat, a beautiful vocalist, and retro undertones, cannot break through, or, even worse, not even be shopped around outside of Europe. This should have been Foxes' breakthrough here, even moreso than "Let Go For Tonight". Instead, we get more successful pop singles from inferior pop artists. Yeah, okay.
For those of you who know me very well, you may know that I'm not easily susceptible to overplay, other than my own tendencies to play a song a little too much. There are noteworthy exceptions, though. For example, "We Are Young" by fun was absolutely everywhere when it went big three years ago, and it was impossible to escape, even if you didn't listen to the radio all that often. Now, multiply the WAY effect by ten, and you have the curious case of "Uptown Funk", a song so good that everyone and their mother played the song over and over. For seemingly the entire year, there was no escaping the funk that funked us up. It may actually go into next year as an omnipresent force. And yet, despite the fact that "Uptown Funk" is still everywhere you look and listen...I can't bring myself to hate it. I just can't. Every time that main beat kicks in, I'm swaying along as if I listened to the song for the first time. Feel free to keep running, "Uptown Funk" train. I won't stop you.
Alison Mosshart, the Red Crush that never was? It's possible. I've always found myself attracted to her singing style, if nothing else, and I don't normally get that way with vocals. Looks? Yeah, sure. But it's another different beast entirely to pique my crush interest with your voice. FKA twigs is a rare exception, and I'd argue that Alison is another exception, albeit a much, MUCH different exception. Whereas twigs relies on lust and pure, unadulterated sexual overtones, Alison exudes a sense of unpredictability and a lack of control that piques my interest every time that I listen to it. Despite the unpredictability and uncontrollable nature of her voice, you can also tell that Alison is extremely confident with her voice, which is yet another huge boost. Oh, by the way, "I Feel Love" is a badass song. I mean, badass even by Jack White standards. Thought that was worth mentioning.
How in the world did Carly Rae Jepsen blindside me the way that she did? It's not like I never liked anything she was involved with musically. "Good Time" was one of my pop jams of three years ago, and she was the main reason why. And yet, all I could think about before sitting down to listen to "Run Away With Me" was, "Am I really taking the time to listen to the new single from the 'Call Me Maybe' singer? What am I doing? No, seriously, WHAT AM I DOING?" What I was doing was discovering one of my favorite pop songs of 2015, a song that has completely ensnared me recently and has helped Carly become as much of a part of my playlist as artists like Muse and Agent Fresco. As much as I harped about the talent involved with Carly's album E*MO*TION, Carly is easily the driving force behind "Run Away With Me" being as good as it is. It's her presence and personality that elevates the song into special pop territory.
Speaking of Agent Fresco...man, Agent Fresco had a big impact on my 2015. I know that at least one person thought that the "favorite discovery of 2015" would be Nothing But Thieves, and they're definitely up there, but the answer was Agent Fresco. I had listened to one of their songs in 2014, but 2015 was the year I fully embraced Agent Fresco and how awesome of a band they were. Agent Fresco could get epic, they could get grand, they could be badass, but "Wait For Me" was the moment when I realized that Agent Fresco also had the chops to pull off "delicate and intimate". "Wait For Me" is such a powerful song that it tends to give me chills more often than not. When Arnor Dan Amarson wails "Will you wait for me?", you feel every pained emotion in his voice. It's impossible not to.
This was definitely quite the year for Zac Brown Band with me. I wrote them off consistently as the "Toes" band in the past. For the uninitiated, "Toes", despite being mostly harmless, still gnaws at my existence as one of the most excruciatingly annoying country songs I've ever listened to. It's hard to shake that much of an impression, but Zac Brown definitely worked toward getting on my good side in 2015. As it turns out, one of the quickest ways to get back into my good graces is embrace Southern Rock, especially if you're adept at it. I'll have more to say about this soon, but "Junkyard" is a seven-minute monstrosity that simmers and broods before unleashing a show-stopping climax at the end. It's basically Zac Brown's take on the Southern epics like "Freebird", and it's quite enjoyable as such.
Do I need to remind people that Florence Welch is a whirlwind of a female singer? No? Well, I'm doing it anyway, because "What Kind of Man" is a great example of what happens when someone with such a forceful personality and voice as Florence grabs a hold of a song created to get the most out of that personality. Is it overwrought? Overdramatic? Honestly, yes, it is. And I am TOTALLY okay with that. The difference between similar songs and "What Kind of Man" is that Florence Welch clearly has the voice to pull off the song. Sometimes, certain artists try to perform this song and fall flat on their face. Not Florence. Florence takes the wheel and promptly steers the song into awesome territory purely through talent alone. Florence Welch is awesome. That's basically the extent of this blurb.
Disturbed is back! After a five year hiatus, one of America's most prominent hard rock bands returned with a vengeance (pun intended). "The Vengeful One" is basically exactly what you'd expect out of a Disturbed single, right down to the instrumentalization and David Draiman's vocals. You could even say that it's Disturbed in song form. But what really helps make "The Vengeful One" stand out is how forceful of a song it is, even for Disturbed. This song is bound and determined to make you feel every drum beat, every guitar riff, and every shout from Draiman, and it works because Disturbed have the chops to be able to make you feel every single second. There's another single still to come, but "The Vengeful One" was definitely the correct choice for a comeback single.
My love of The Killers has been waning ever so slightly in recent years. Their most recent material just hasn't been as strong as their first couple of albums, and it's fairly obvious that Brandon Flowers is putting WAY more effort into his solo career than into the band that made him famous in the first place. On one hand, it's a shame, because The Killers always had the potential to be something truly special, and now, it looks as if they'll never fulfill that potential. On the other hand, if Mr. Flowers' emphasis on his solo career leads to gems like "Can't Deny My Love", then, by all means, focus on that solo career! I mean, "Crossfire", "Only the Young" and "Can't Deny My Love" are better than anything The Killers have collectively released in almost a decade. If The Killers won't ever be special again, at least Brandon Flowers' solo career continues to bring the goods.
Well, it took a day longer than anticipated, but we're into the top 40! Hey, yesterday WAS Christmas. It's okay to cut me some slack...right?
Songs 40-31 is next. That set will feature not one, but TWO artists who just appeared in the set above, the second of two appearances from not one, but TWO artists that appeared MUCH earlier in the top 100, the second of two appearances from one of my favorite bands, and the first of two appearances for MY BOYS. See you guys tomorrow.