[V3$$3L.]

It's definitely been, like, a good half a decade since I've actively ****ed with modern rock.

Gonna try to see what I've been missing through your lists.

[ManDown]

You had an excellent '14 list. Looking forward to seeing more of your lists.

[M A R N ✮]

Why you always lying is hilarious

[Fireman25]

"Why You always Lying".. that meme has been everywhere this year

[Ivan]

chvrches is amazing, i hope they get a spot this year too

[holyground]

This probably doesn't look good on me but I've not seen a single one of these videos

[Strangergab]

Cant wait

[Gifted]

St. Patrick, Shut Up and Dance, Bad Blood, The Mother We Share and Come With Me Now making it last year

[sumthintoxic82]

Chevelle, Foster The People, Korn and Walk The Moon

but YAS Steps one of the BEST songs of MVOTC

[Red]

As always, thanks for all of the comments, everyone. You guys are why I continue to do this year after year.

Originally posted by Mr.Link

Nice to see CHVRCHES made it (twice) to your top 10. I loved their previous album, the new one.. err.. not so much.

Originally posted by madonnas

Did you like Every Open Eye?

I'll tackle both of these posts and say that, indeed, I liked Every Open Eye, and it will make my top 20 albums. I don't know if it's as good as Bones, but...I'll say more when we get to the albums list.

Originally posted by Mr.Link

That #1 YT video/song is so weird btw lol.

What can I say? I gravitate to weird videos more often than not.

Originally posted by MC Steven

Jesus Christ!

Can't wait to see your list. Always a good time to be had.

Mucus Curator! I haven't been this surprised since I found out that soylent green...is people!

Originally posted by V3$$3L.

It's definitely been, like, a good half a decade since I've actively ****ed with modern rock.

Gonna try to see what I've been missing through your lists.

The last couple of years have, honestly, been great for the rock scene, especially after it seemed deader than dead shortly before that. Rock's in good hands now!

Originally posted by holyground

This probably doesn't look good on me but I've not seen a single one of these videos

Don't worry, that's why the links are there. Hell, I would have been surprised if most people have actually seen more than one before seeing the list.


The Songs from the Past top 15 will be posted shortly after this post...so WATCH OUT!

[Tom Vercetti]

Nice top 2014 list. I don't remember much from last year on my own so it's great to see recaps.

[Red]

Staying true to my schedule, it's time to tackle the Songs from the Past top 15! Again, there's some heavy hitters on this list this year, including some all-time top artists. It was NOT easy to decide upon a #1 for this one, let me tell you...

Kenny Loggins - I'm Free (Heaven Helps the Man) Let's kick this off with...well, okay, it's Kenny Loggins. Look, I could sit here and talk about how Kenny Loggins actually was a pretty solid musician all day, and I could reel off songs that, believe it or not, are NOT soundtrack songs like "Footloose", "Danger Zone" and "I'm Alright"! But I'm not going to. Instead, I'm going to point you all to...the lesser-known soundtrack song from Footloose. I'm nothing if not deceptive. "I'm Free (Heaven Helps the Man)" has one of the most awesome, ear-catching choruses of the 80's. Kenny Loggins may have been a pretty solid musician, but even better was his ability to create a really catchy earworm of a chorus. I'M FREE!

Montell Jordan - Get It On Tonite Montell Jordan has two big hits that everyone knows him for. The first is "This Is How We Do It", which has become immortalized in recent years by perhaps the most annoyingly memorable tax commercial I've ever seen. The second isn't brought up as often, but it really should be, because "Get It On Tonite" is absolutely ace. Montell Jordan's vocal performance is really smooth, and the chorus is certainly memorable, but the best part of the song, at least to me, is the main beat. Now THAT is a instrumental worth having sex to.

Elton John - Saturday Night's Alright For Figthing People often forget this, but Elton John could absolutely ROCK. Sure, his best attribute was his ability to create a strong piano ballad, but he could also make a mean rock song or two, and "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting" is Elton John's magnum rock opus. He could have easily half-assed this song, but there's no slacking off on this song, least of all Elton John himself, who throws himself into the song like he's been doing it his entire life. And that guitar riff...DAMN. I was always annoyed when Nickelback covered this song, but it wasn't until this year that I figured out why it annoyed me so much: It was impossible to make a more rock version of a song that already kicked everyone's ass.

Siouxsie and the Banshees - Peek-A-Boo This song, man. Me and this song actually go back to a time before I even really listened to music as more than just a casual fan who listened to a few songs here and there. My sister was really into Siouxsie and the Banshees and bands like them, and the first song I remember her playing is this monstrosity. Young Red was thinking to himself, "What the heck is this nonsense?" "Peek-A-Boo" made no sense to Young Red. Hell, it barely makes sense to CURRENT Red. But, honestly, that's a big part of what makes "Peek-A-Boo" special. It's a mish-mash of sounds that somehow comes together to work like a charm, led by the only voice that could dare to lead it.

Arctic Monkeys - Arabella ROCK BAND IS BACK, BITCHES. And with the return of one of my all time favorite video game franchises comes, naturally, more songs to love and appreciate. As far as this particular Rock Band is concerned, the first that I gravitated to was an Arctic Monkeys song I had cast aside for the other, hotter tracks on AM. Whoops. My bad. How could I ignore the bass riff of "Arabella"? Or the ultra-smooth vocals of Alex Turner? Or the instrumental that takes a cue from Black Sabbath's "Iron Man"? You could just chalk it up to "Red being Red again", but really, I have no excuse. I love AM! It's a great album! Sometimes, I wonder how I can live with myself.

Silversun Pickups - Dots and Dashes (Enough Already) When in doubt, go back to your year-end lists from a few years ago, because you can always rediscover a song that you didn't care about all that much and fall in love with all over again. That's what happened with "Dots and Dashes", a song that pretty much failed as soon as it was let out of the gate as a single for Silversun Pickups. People may remember "Bloody Mary" or "The Pit" from Neck of the Woods, but it's much more difficult to find someone who remembers this groovy tune. It's a shame, too, because this is probably the best song off of that album.

Deafheaven - Dream House "Deafheaven's overrated", "Deafheaven is just noise", "Deafheaven is garbage"...just listen to the opening of "Dream House" and understand how some of us MAY just appreciate Deafheaven. Even before the shrieking, screaming vocals come in, how can one who likes rock music at least not appreciate just how epic, secretly melodic, and, well, let's face it, LOUD this song is? But it's not just loud for the sake of being loud. It's loud because it has to be. This music cannot be performed softly, it just doesn't work. It has to blast into your ear drums and consume your soul. And more than any other Deafheaven song, "Dream House" did just that.

Rage Against the Machine - The Ghost of Tom Joad I love Rage Against the Machine and how ahead of their time they were. The issues that the band were taking a look at are just as relevant today as they were twenty years ago, if not more so. But you know what people don't really talk about with Rage, and perhaps rightfully so? Their covers album, Renegades. There's a few fun covers, like their takes of "Renegades of Funk" and "How I Could Just Kill A Man", but there are certain other covers that just don't even really need to exist. (I'm looking at you, "Kick Out the Jams".) "The Ghost of Tom Joad", at first glance, is the most needless of all the covers. A cover of a Springsteen song? It was originally sung by THE BOSS. It doesn't need a cover! Well, I like the original...but my god, the power in this cover could light up an entire country. This cover is absolutely ferocious...and as much as I love The Boss, I don't think you could ever say that about Bruce Springsteen.

Beck - The Golden Age Sea Change might be one of the ten most essential albums of the 2000's, right up there with the likes of Kid A and Funeral as albums that any person that considers themselves to be a "serious" music fan needs to check out. It will forever change your perception of Beck, regardless of the music he has made before or since. It's a breakup album where you absolutely, 100% feel the hurt in every song. I choose "The Golden Age" here purely because it's the song I reconnected with the most in 2015, but Sea Change, as a whole, continues to work incredibly well, if only because the emotion felt on the album continues to radiate as the years pass.

Rush - The Camera Eye "The Camera Eye" was the one song on Moving Pictures that, for the longest time, I just could not get into that much. I mean, it's ELEVEN MINUTES LONG. The song seems to take forever to even build to a decent instrumental, and, at least at first, I didn't really care all that much when it DID reach the other side. Years have passed, though, and upon a recent revisit of Moving Pictures, I decided to give "The Camera Eye" another chance, with a clear mind and a new perspective. And, honestly, it may actually be the best song Rush ever wrote. It's the culmination of everything the band had been working for since they became RUSH, with Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart. It's the future that Rush was always capable of illuminating, but never quite perfected until this tune. Is it my FAVORITE Rush song? Probably not. It's probably not even my favorite song on Moving Pictures, as I'll always have a soft spot for "Limelight". But I now get why "The Camera Eye" is beloved by many Rush fans. It's just gorgeous.

Journey - Separate Ways (Worlds Apart) The music video for "Separate Ways" is one of the most legendarily cheesy music videos of all time. That isn't an opinion. One view of that video will confirm its status as fact. There's just no getting around it, really. I mean, people always think of three things with Journey: "Don't Stop Believin'", "Any Way You Want It", and the music video for "Separate Ways". That's how memorably cheesy the video is. You know what everyone conveniently forgets about "Separate Ways"? The song that the video was made for. And it's insane, really, because "Separate Ways" is an INCREDIBLE rock song, a bonafide epic and one of the best songs of its kind from the 80's. There's nothing "guilty" about liking "Separate Ways" whatsoever.

Queen - I'm In Love With My Car No, not EVERY Queen song was sung by Freddie Mercury. Sure, almost all of the Queen classics were sung by Freddie, and rightfully so. I mean, Freddie was only the most bombastic and grand singer to ever live. It would make sense for Freddie to sing the epics. But as much as I love Freddie (he is my favorite male vocalist ever, after all), there was only one person that could ever sing "I'm In Love With My Car", and that's Roger Taylor. I mean, the subject matter is fairly simple in "I'm In Love With My Car": Roger Taylor is deeply, madly in love with his car, "the machine of a dream". It doesn't go any deeper. It's just a love song dedicated to a particularly majestic car. Here's the thing, though: Roger Taylor absolutely SELLS you on the love of his favorite car. He doesn't just love his car. He LOOOOVES his car, and he wants everyone to know it. By god, do we ever know it.

Weezer - Only in Dreams Time for the elephant in the room, the statement that would probably get me in trouble with music snobs more than any other on this list: Pinkerton isn't my favorite album of all time. Or anywhere close, really. I mean, I appreciate the album, and I understand how important Pinkerton was in the grand scheme of things, but, outside of a couple of songs, I just don't really care for it as much as I do the Blue Album. And it's really not hard to understand why when you listen to "Only in Dreams". As strong as Pinkerton can be, nothing on that album comes close to the emotion and the powerful punch that this song provides. The climax in "Only in Dreams" is genuinely one of my favorite endings to any song. It builds...it builds...and it builds some more...and it builds even more...and then, BOOM. I love Weezer, but they're never topping this. It just isn't happening.

Sigur Rós - Untitled #1 (Vaka)/Untitled #3 (Samskeyti) Well, I'll be damned...Sigur Rós have done it again. Just when I thought that Ágætis byrjun was untouchable, the next album of theirs just rolls in with a one-two punch that rivals anything off of that album. Go figure, one of the greatest bands of all time were able to find a way to match a masterpiece. "Vaka" is one of the most heartwrenching songs I have ever listened to, and a song that, when I die, I will probably want playing at my funeral. Sigur Rós have never been one to half-ass anything, sure, but man, "Vaka" alone is enough to make me tear up every single time I listen to it. When I throw in the haymaker that is "Samskeyti" right after 'Vaka", it's physically impossible for me not to feel like a broken shell of a human being. This combo really should have been my #1 for this list without much trouble...if not for the fact that one song convinced me that it was, suddenly, one of my favorite songs ever.

Dexys Midnight Runners - Come On Eileen How do you top a stomach punch/haymaker combo from a band that was #1 on this very list just last year? Well, how about with a band wearing overalls and singing one of the most iconic songs of the 1980's? The thing is that I have always liked "Come On Eileen", even considering it one of my favorites from the 1980's even before I really started caring about music. You would think that would disqualify this song from making this particular list, but the thing is that I've always liked...but never really LOVED "Come On Eileen". That changed this year. "Come On Eileen" went from being merely a song that I really liked from the 80's to a song that has completely won me over, a song that has quickly (and I do mean QUICKLY) become one of my favorite songs of all time. I struggled to understand how it was happening for the longest time. I've always liked "Come On Eileen", but why was I suddenly loving the song in such a profound manner? I think it has to be because, the more and more I listen to the song, the more I fall in love with. One listen, I'm in love with the lyrical content. Another listen, it's just how lively the instruments are. Another listen, and it's that show-stopping ending that brings the house down every time. And eventually, all of those listens added up, and I found myself falling hopelessly in love with a song from a (US) one-hit wonder. And as much as Sigur Rós continues to amaze me, no song from the past impacted me in the same way as "Come On Eileen" in 2015. Hell, I'm wondering if ANY song impacted me this much in 2015.

Okay, the Songs from the Past top 15 is done and dusted! I contemplated doing the video games list next, but I figure that, ultimately, it doesn't REALLY matter when I do that particular list, since it's the list that everyone cares about the least. Instead, as the schedule dictates, we're going to take on one of the biggies next: My top 20 albums of 2015. The first set, 20-16, will more than likely be posted tomorrow, but, if inspiration strikes, I may post it later today instead. See you...whenever.

[ethann.]

OMG not come on eileen - i've been too too many parties where the white people put it on and i cower in the corner and cry as they dance around to it!

i'm super eager to see your top songs of this year though - I love the graphics in the first post!

[JGibson]

8/15

Come On Eileen + Dots and Dashes (Enough Already) + The Ghost of Tom Joad

[TRF.]

YESSSS Deafheaven, Sigur Rós and Siouxsie and the Banshees.



Honestly, TRF.

[madonnas]

Peek a Boo One of their best.

[Stark]

Come On Eileen (loved the The Perks Of Being A Wallflower scene), Arabella, Get It On Tonite

[umich]

Montell

[ColdKeane]

11 | 15

Sigur Ros, Come on Eileen, Queen and Beck

Can't wait for your countdown these year, looks amazing

[Lee!!]

I was not expecting to see Come On Eileen but hell yeah!