This week... FIRST SINGLES
Pearl Jam – Alive
Not only is it a song that has managed
to stand the test of time, still being considered one of the genre-defining
greats, but it got Eddie Vedder his job. He received the instrumental track,
wrote the lyrics, recorded his part, sent it back, got the audition, and has
been with them ever since. And tell me you don’t already have it stuck in your
head.
Jareth Wolfe
Brand
New – Jude Law and a Semester Abroad
Comparing old Brand New to new Brand New
is crazy, as they seem to have become a totally different band throughout the
years. They’re my favourite band, though, and they developed at the same pace as
my music tastes developed; they adhered to them perfectly. This song is full of
angst and emotion, set to the backdrop of an upbeat pop-punk tune, and I love
it.
Siobhan Hewison
Bloc
Party – She’s Hearing Voices
A song about a “schizophrenic friend”,
the debut single from the London-based four-piece is threaded by a drum line
that manages to be simultaneously clean and twisted. The words are practically
shouted by lead vocalist Kele Okereke, and it was this sense of urgency that
took the British indie rock movement to a mainstream audience on
critically-acclaimed, and Mercury-nominated, record Silent Alarm.
Joe Sutherland
Jonsi
– Animal Arithmetic
Not what I was expecting when I heard
Jonsi, of Sigur Ros fame, had his first solo effort coming out back in 2010. A
stunning cacophony of percussive instruments, glued together by the constant
pounding of a bass drum, provides the framework for this beautifully crafted
pop song. On top of it all, a plethora of intertwining vocal parts weave
something sort of magical.
Dallas James
Paramore
– Pressure
This was the first song I ever heard by
Paramore, and I loved it so much that I went on to buy their album and then the
two after that. There’s something about the song that makes me feel a bit
better if I’m in a bad mood; as if I’m not alone. Paramore have done a great
job in writing a single song that can make you fall in love with a band; it
remains one of my favourites years after first hearing it.
Emma Wright
Radiohead
– Creep
Perhaps nowadays a song that sticks out
in the back catalogue, and indeed a song that the band themselves felt was too clichéd
to play live for many years, Creep
nonetheless shows why Radiohead stood head and shoulders above the crowd in the
early 90s. A simple and beautiful intro is ruined by a stuttered crack and roar
of guitars – reportedly Johnny Greenwood’s way of showing his distaste of an
earlier incarnation – before Thom Yorke’s soaring vocals finish it off. It may
feature clichéd vocals and a very different sound, but it’s still an absolutely
superb track.
David Lovie
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