Glen Thoughts

The past decade has been filled with conflict, from Iraq to Afghanistan, to rising crime in the Western World.  Today I look back at the songs from the past 119 months that have had the most impact on me personally that all have to do with conflict.

Before we start, just a reminder from last time our playlist so far was:

1.  The Killers – All These Things That I’ve Done

2.  Bloc Party – This Modern Love

3.  Beck – Lost Cause

4.  Stars – Your Ex-Lover is Dead

5.  The Arcade Fire – Rebellion (Lies)

The next five additions are….

Track #6

Matthew Good – Weapon

Album:  Avalanche (2003)

One of my favourite albums of the 1990s was Beautiful Midnight by the Matthew Good Band, with Underdogs not far from that list.  So imagine my disappointment when the band broke up in early 2002 after a sub-par (but occasionally brilliant) Audio of Being album.   Then in late 2002, Matthew Good released his first solo single and quite frankly, it blew me away.  The slow acoustic build, the hard rock crescendo and then the slow fade out.  It was like all the best parts of Beautiful Midnight combined into one great song.

To top this off, it was around this time that I became much better friends with a few fellow Matt Good fans.  To say that we listened to this song a lot would be an understatement.  But whenever I hear this song I am always taken back to my 3rd year of University, which may have been my favourite of them all.

Favourite Lyric: And you give in/And you give out/For it ain’t so weird/How it makes you a weapon”

Track #7

Metric – Monster Hospital

Album:  Live it Out (2005)

One of the biggest stories of the decade was the American-lead invasion of Iraq.  Back in 2002 and 2003 the Bush administration really pulled out all the stops to convince the world to topple Saddam Hussein’s regime.  As it seemed more and more likely that an invasion was going to happen there were more and more protests against the war.  Sadly, the side of peace lost again.

This song with it’s powerful chorus really captures the futility that fills people who protest the decisions of the powerful.  But damnit, they’ll keep fighting.  Add in a sweet reference to The Clash and you have a song that evokes the rebel in us all.

Favourite Lyric: “I fought the war, but the war won’t stop for the love of God”

Track #8

M.I.A. – Paper Planes

Album:  Kala (2007)

Like many hip-hop songs there isn’t much that I can personally relate to in the narrative.  I mean, what do I a white upper-lower-middle class male in his mid-twenties know about someone who is committing armed robbery?

I remember very distinctly the first time I heard this song.  I was in Laos on a Community Service trip with a bunch of students.  After working very hard in very hot weather laying concrete in a very poor village we hoped in the back of a truck to ride back into town.  I got talking about music with a number of students and one of them handed me her iPod to play this song.  I listened to it as we drove past some very impoverished villages on the way back to our rather nice accommodations.

Right then and there I got it.  I felt like I truly understood why people turn to a life of crime and violence.  If you were in that situation, wouldn’t you consider a life as a bonafide hustler?

Favourite Lyric: “No one on the corner has swagger like us”

Track #9

White Stripes – Seven Nation Army

Album:  Elephant (2003)

I have always said that I was born at the wrong time, and this song is a perfect example of it.  My teenage years were filled with a soundtrack of rock.  However, the chart toppers at the time were anything but rock as Britney, Christina and N’SYNC battled it out for the top of the pops on a weekly basis.   While I quite like pop music, there was something lacking in the mainstream discourse as far as I was concerned.

And then this song happened.

Sure there had been other rock songs hit #1 in the years leading up to this point, but none of them were nearly this iconic.  This song defined the summer of 2003, and when was the last time that a rock song was the indisputable “song of the summer”?  I certainly couldn’t remember.

After years of “Macarenna” and “Mambo Number 5″ rock was finally king again.

Favourite Lyric: “And I’m bleeding, and I’m bleeding, and I’m bleeding/Right before the Lord”

Track #10

Ryan Adams – New York, New York

Album:  Gold (2001)

While the last four songs have dealt with conflict in some way, this song is all about resolution.

The success and symbolism of this song is more happenstance than anything, but it doesn’t make it any less powerful.  The video for this song featuring Manhattan’s iconic sideline was filmed September 7, 2001.  Four days before the city changed in a profound way.

The song was used in the weeks and months after the terrorist attacks as a sort of inspiration.  However unlike Tim McGraw’s song about revenge, this song was used to incite far more positive emotions. This song is completely defiant of the acts of terror, unaffected by their violence and horror that they intend to create.  No matter what happens, no matter what you do, this song will still love New York and there is nothing anyone can do to change it.

After making my first of hopefully many visits to the city this summer, I can completely understand where Ryan Adams is coming from.  Don’t worry New York, I still love you.

Favourite Lyric: “And love don’t play any games with me/ Anymore like she did before”

That does it for this edition.  The next five songs are all about the most powerful force of this decade, and Time Magazine’s 2006 Person of the Year.

Until next time,

G

Tags: special songs

This entry was posted on Monday, November 30th, 2009 at 5:45 am and is filed under About G, Muzzak, Year in Review. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.