Artist: VV Brown
Song: Shark in the Water
Genre: Pop
Parent Advisory?: None, it's good, clean fun.
Other Songs Of This Artist I Like: None, really.
First Lyrics: "Sometimes I get my head in a dilly, Feeling so lost, ticking you off."
And so begins one of the most fun songs of the new decade. This song is fashioned in an undeniable 50's? 60's? 70's? Let's say Old-Fashioned style, and to be honest, I don't usually like Old-fashioned. But I love this. It's pop in its purest form, making you want to dance and/or skip down the street. (Take it from me. >_>) The lyrics are catchy and almost nonsensical, and the beat is... well, it's where the song shines.
#14
Artist: Sons of Sylvia
Song: 50 Ways
Genre: Pop/Bluegrass
Parent Advisory?: None
Other Songs of this Artist I love: Ghost Town, Love Left to Lose, Revelation
First Lyrics: "She Left Me In The Middle Of The Night, In The Middle Of A Fight."
I'm one of the people who have been lucky enough not to ever have been dumped. (Mostly cause I never dated to begin with.) And hopefully none of us will ever get dumped like this guy does. The singer sings of his love who leaves him with no explanation, no consolation, she's just gone.
Sons Of Sylvia is one of my favorite bands. I followed them since they were the Clark Brothers on FOX's The Next Great American Band. Their Pop/Bluegrass fusion was irresistible and backed up by the lead's incredible vocals and the band's incredible music skills. They definitely deserved the title they won on TNGAB. This song is no exception.
#13
Artist: Kevin Rudolf ft Lil Wayne
Song: Let it Rock
Genre: Rock/Rap
Parent Advisory?: Yes. Language and Sexual Content from Lil Wayne, if his entire solo were blotted out, it'd be perfectly fine.
Other Songs from these artists I like: Kevin- No. Lil Wayne-Drop the World
First Lyrics: "I see your dirty face, high behind your collar."
Shocking, yes. A mainstream radio song I like. I have room for few of these in my music tastes.
Lil Wayne... if you can get past all his language and crude content, he's actually pretty good. His voice is unique and rapping flow is good.
But the star here is newcomer Kevin Rudolf. His lyrics tell a story of sorts and his music is good. It is definitely a danceable track, but it has a rock vibe, a hip-hop vibe and rap to top it all off, courtesy of Lil Wayne. It's a one-of-a-kind track.
#12
Artists: MGMT, Chiddy Bang
Songs: Kids, Opposite of Adults
Genres: Alternative, Rap
Parent Advisories?: On the MGMT Track, No. On The Chiddy Bang Track, Yes, Moderately: A brief swear word and drug reference is used.
Other Songs I like from these artists: Am currently browsing, just found these tracks yesterday
First Lyrics to the MGMT Song: "You were a child, crawlin' on your knees toward it."
First Lyrics to the Chiddy Bang song: "I once was a kid all I had was a dream, mo' money mo problems when i get it imma pile it up"
Wow. See the contrast between these two songs? The first lyrics, the Parent Advisory, the Genres, but to your surprise, these two rather brilliant songs are are quite similar. Opposite of Adults is a loose remix of Kids.
Let's start with Kids. This is obviously the better of the two. The beat is hypnotic, the voices are as well and the lyrics... heck, so are they! This song is a vortex of hypnotism. And it's done brilliantly.
A similar beat and beginning is found in Opposite of Adults, and the lyrics have something to do with being a kid, but this time it's from the first person being a kid, rather than it being the observance of childhood from an adult as found in kids.
However, where this song is weak in some of its lyrics, it's strong in others, and the beat is a lot catchier than Kids, if not better. It's definitely worth a few listens.
#11
Artist: The Prodigy
Track: Stand Up
Genres: Electronica/Rock
Parent Advisories: No Lyrics=No Bad.
Other Songs I Like From This Artist: I remember awhile back playing Under My Wheels From a Need For Speed game to death.
This song's greatest strength and weakness is that it has no lyrics. It's all music. Which brings up the point that no lyrics can be a blessing because some lyrics are bad, but a lot of songs I like have uplifting lyrics, so it could also be a curse. In this case, it is not. The awe-inspiring chorus beat is chills-inducing, uplifting and just plain amazing on its own, and the rest of the music is great, too. This whole song is mixed well, which, as we must admit, is The Prodigy's best skill.
#10
Artist: The White Stripes
Song: Seven Nation Army
Genre: Alternative
Parent Advisory?: Nothing but a bit of violence.
Other Songs I like from this artist: You know, I've heard a few, and they're OK, but not really stuff I really like.
First Lyrics: "I'm gonna fight them off, a Seven Nation Army Couldn't Hold Me Back."
And so begins one of the most enjoyable rides music will take you on. This song takes you on a journey with its lyrics, through Wichita and the Hounds of Hell. The famous hook riff that continues through the song is possibly what makes the song frequent top 10 lists, but for me, that takes second to the lyrics, and with me, that rarely happens.
#9
Artist: OneRepublic
Song: All The Right Moves
Genre: Pop
Parent Advisory?: None
Other Songs I like from this artist: Uhm... All of them?
First Lyrics: "All the right friends in all the right places, so yeah, we're going down."
This is one of only two songs that has survived on My MP3 Player for about a year. That's a big feat, considering my very fickle taste in Music.
What makes this song so great that I liked it before it was cool? The Music. The Music, the music, the music, the music, THE MUSIC. Every single instrument known to man seems to be in this song, and they are all fine-tuned lovingly to perfection. The hook is the best hook from any song I've ever heard, and it's just amazing.
The lyrics are good, but the problem is that it's almost unnoticeable compared to the majesty of the music, making the song's weakness. But, hey, #9 is a good spot for a song I'm STILL Not sick of.
#8
Artist: Journey
Song: Don't Stop Believing
Genre: Classic Rock
Parent Advisory?: I don't THINK so...
Other Songs I like from this artist: None
First Lyrics: Oh, come on, we ALL know the first few lyrics.
"Just a small town girl, living in a lonely world. She took the midnight train going anywhere..."
You must be living under a rock to have never heard of this song at all. It's legendary.
To be honest, I'm not much of a classic rock guy at all. In fact, I only have about 5-10 songs that I like that are pre 1995, and only one on this list, too. And this is it.
Everything about this song is historic. The piano at the beginning- historic. The lyrics- historic. The Guitar riffs- historic. Everything about this song is legendary. And I don't think I'll ever forget it.
And does anyone else remember its use in The Soprano's? I didn't even watch the show, I just You-Tubed the ending after hearing about it, and to this day I still like to pause the song for a moment at the time the song was interrupted in respect to that awesome, if not sadistic ending.
#7
Artist: Vampire Weekend
Song: Giving Up The Gun
Genre: Alternative
Parent Advisory?: Nope.
Other Songs I Like from this artist: Johnathan Low, A-Punk, Cousins
First Lyrics: "Your Sword's Grown Old and Rusty, but Beneath a Rising Sun."
Vampire Weekend is one of a kind. Every song is unlike anything I've ever heard, and this song shines as their best. As soon as you hear the first note, you know you're heading for greatness.
Again, the lyrics are amazing on this, as they are for most of my favorites. But the big difference is that these lyrics are so visual, you can see it so well in your mind's eye. And no detail is forgotten in this song's music. Every sound is unique and distinguished.
This is the perfect gateway drug into Vampire Weekend, if not Alternative Music as a whole.
#6
Artist: Coldplay
Song: Lovers In Japan
Genre: Rock/Alternative
Parent Advisory: None
Other Songs From this Artist I like: Wow... Just play any Coldplay song at any time and I have a new favorite song of the moment.
First Lyrics: "Lovers, Keep on the road you're on."
Wow.
If you're not absolutely blown away by this song the first time you hear it, then I'd be shocked.
Someday someone's gonna write a total history of Music of this decade, and Coldplay will probably have their own chapter. These guys are professionals. And this song is addicting.
Most notable is the music. Every sound is amazing, but the lyrics have their own sort of order to them too that is very notable.
"Lovers, keep on the road you're on,
Runners, until the race is won.
Soldiers, you've got to soldier on.
Sometimes, even the right is wrong."
Take out the first word of each verse and it makes sense still, if not even more sense.
This song is very true to the band, its music... well, you'll have to hear for yourself, and the lyrics are cleverly written. This song is an example of Coldplay's greatness.
#5
Artist: The Script
Song: The Man Who Can't Be Moved
Genre: Adult Contemporary/Pop
Parent Advisory: None
Other Songs I like from this artist: Breakeven, We Cry, Before the Worst
First Lyrics: "Going Back to the Corner Where I first Saw you, gonna Camp in my Sleeping Bag, I'm Not gonna move."
The above lyrics are the single best first lyrics to any song I've ever heard. Can you not tell that you're headed for greatness?
The song is another story, following a brokenhearted man who camps at the street corner his former love and he used to love, waiting for her to come back. Now bearing in mind that his former love may never pass that street corner again and very well may have moved halfway across the world, that shows either extreme insanity or extreme love. I like to think of the latter.
#4
Artist: Mumford and Sons
Song: Dustbowl Dance
Genre: Bluegrass/Alternative
Parent Advisory: None
Other Songs I like from this artist: Little Lion Man
First Lyrics: "The young man stands on the edge of his porch. The days were short and the father was gone "
I will admit, sometimes it gets a bit tricky to write about these songs because the reason I like them are usually the same. This song branches off in its own direction.
This song is like a good movie. It starts off quiet, tranquil sounding for its anxious story. And it builds up, into the second set of lyrics, where the lead singer starts furiously belting out his lyrics at his "accuser." It tells an amazing story that hooks you on the edge of your seat, and then it explodes into the music solo. The most epic music I have heard in a long time. And then the song dies down into a confession from the only son, said with a sense of defeat.
Just talking about this song makes me want to go listen to it, it's that good.
#3
Artist: B.o.B. ft Hayley Williams
Song: Airplanes
Genre: Rap/Rock
Parent Advisory: Brief Use of 'The "S" word', other than that, completely clean, and a clean version can almost certainly be found.
Other Songs I Like From This Artist: Really, this guy has one of the best albums of the year. All his music is enjoyable, although I prefer songs like Magic and Don't Let me Fall.
First Lyrics: "Can We Pretend That Airplanes In The Night Sky Are Like Shooting Stars? I could really use a wish right now, wish right now, wish right now."
<----Explicit, and I mean DANG!
And so begins the future Oscar Winner of 2010.
Who doesn't love this song? The lyrics are brilliant, the music is original, and who hasn't quoted that famous chorus at least once on their Facebook Page?
But let's not forget the case of Airplanes vs Airplanes II. Airplanes II has an amazing cameo from Eminem, who totally steals the song. The problem with II is that there is no flow in the music and rapping. It starts and stops in every verse. Airplanes the Original's lyrics are slightly less powerful, but the flow is there, and it is crystal clear. That's why Airplanes the Original is the one on my list, although II is not something to be missed.
#2
Artist:OneRepublic
Song: Good Life
Genre: Pop
Parent Advisory: Use of a swear word in two lyrics, although we all know "sometimes there's BS that don't work" sometimes.
Other Songs I like from this artist: Pretty Much All Of them
First Lyrics: "Woke up in London yesterday, found myself in the city near Piccadily"
This song has all the strengths of All The Right Moves, in the way that the music is unforgettable, and every element is there and perfect. The drumbeat almost lives up to All The Right Moves, whose drumbeat is my favorite out of pretty much any song. Maybe I shoulda mentioned that... But I digress.
The big difference is that the message here is one I live by. Think of every day as a great day, remind yourself that you are living the good life. Then it really will be. The lyrics are among the best, but, hey, you've got Ryan Tedder jotting them down. Of course they're going to be good.
All right! My number one song pick is tomorrow...unless I'm lazy, then it'll be the next day... or maybe the day after that... O_o
Feel free to critique my music reviewing, predict #1 or just tell me what you think!
Anyways, see you around.. 
