Song of the decade

Well, as we now find ourselves just two months away from the end of 2009, it is probably inevitable that the media begin to get into reflective mode and start to review the past decade and all of the events that have happened in that time. When you think of what you were doing in your life, it is often easy to place a particular point in your life through a musical timeline, the soundtrack to your life at a certain stage in life.

With this in mind, Absolute Radio, which in a former life was called Virgin Radio, is currently in the process of getting its listeners to choose the Song of the Decade, the song which in the humble opinion of its listeners was the song of all songs to be released between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2009. Absolute will be playing out its listeners top 100 choices just before the end of the year. People can vote in the poll at songofthedecade.com .

For those not familiar with Absolute, it is a radio station that tends to largely play popular rock, indie and alternative music from recent years, as well as a reasonable portion of "classic" songs from popular recording artists from the past four decades. Therefore, given the nature of the music policy of the station, you would expect the higher echelons of the poll to be dominated by bands such as Coldplay, The Killers, Kings Of Leon, Snow Patrol and Oasis, while more manufactured acts such as Girls Aloud, McFly and even Take That are not likely to feature too much.

Bearing in mind the criteria I have laid down about the type of music that Absolute plays and which is therefore likely to be eligible, I have compared my own list of my ten favourite songs of the past decade. These are not necessarily the most popular songs of the last decade, nor do I expect all of them to even make the cut in Absolute's final poll. In some cases, the songs in question didn't even chart that well, although that is rarely an indicator any more of how good a song is. No, these are simply the 10 songs that I'd say on reflection have just about given me the most pleasure over these past 10 years, taking into account the type of music that would be played on a station like Absolute. So, in reverse order...

10. White Lies - Farewell To The Fairground
This was a close call between the standout single from this London combo's 2009 debut album and The Chemical Brothers's 2004 hit Galvanize for the last place in my top 10. In the end, I opted for White Lies on account of the fact that this song is currently fresher in my mind and also due to The Chemical Brothers probably not technically meeting the criteria of the kind of music that Absolute Radio would play.

White Lies have the distinction of providing me with the album I have played most in 2009 and this song for me remains the highlight. It is an edgy jaunt about leaving behind the place you have called home but which you have now outgrown. The lyrics to this track rather typify the dark and thought provoking nature of White Lies's excellent debut album, yet although dark, this track is also very uplifting in its outlook. It may have only reached number 33 in the UK singles chart earlier this year, but it does 23 places better in the chart that really matters!

9. The Coral - Dreaming Of You
Back in the early part of the decade, this Liverpudlian band looked and indeed sounded like a band that could evolve into one of the most original and innovative of the decade. That this evolution has not happened is one of the disappointments of the past few years, as with each passing album The Coral have instead become sadly more derivative and uninspiring. In truth though, it may just be that whatever followed their output from their first two albums could never really compare. Although their second album Magic and Medicine is arguably their finest work to date, this track from their self-eponymous first album remains their most commercially successful track and their signature piece.

What struck me when I first heard this track was how original the musical arrangement on the track was, with brass music in the middle of what was an otherwise jaunty indie song. This gives the song the feel of being crossover of both standard indie music and also Ska influenced music, such as The Specials. What particularly marks this song out as a classic is that it is only 2 minutes and 21 seconds long and so much is crammed into that time.

Although The Coral do not seem likely to ever match the quality of their offerings, perhaps this tells us more about how great their early output was, rather than how mediocre their subsequent efforts have been.

8. U2 - Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of
U2 remain rock and roll's equivalent of Marmite some 30 years after they first arrived on the scene, but they have remained both active and relevant over the past decade, even if they have not quite consistently managed to churn out the quality that they managed back in their late 1980s heyday. Nonetheless, like the girl with the curl, when the Dublin fourpiece are good, they are very very good and this was probably best demonstrated during this decade on their 2001 album All That You Can't Leave Behind, which was regarded by many as a fine return to form after a few years in the doldrums.

Beautiful Day tends to be the most acclaimed track from the aforementioned album and it is a song that has its merits. However, Stuck In A Moment, to my mind has all the hallmarks of a classic U2 song. Brilliantly written lyrics, heartfelt emotive vocals by Bono and a song which expresses a good sentiment. The sentiment of the song, as has been discussed on this blog previously, was a recollection by Bono of a conversation he had had with Michael Hutchence, former lead singer of INXS and close friend of the permanent wearer of sunglasses. Hutchence had taken his own life while U2 were recording the album.

In the years since this song came out, for some reason it does not appear to have maintained the popularity of some U2 tracks and yet in many ways, it is arguably one of their most hauntingly beautiful compositions.

7. Kings Of Leon - Use Somebody
I have a confession to make as far as Kings Of Leon are concerned. This confession being that I am not a great fan of theirs as a band and I may be one of very few people on the planet that does not like the song that shot them to super stardom, Sex On Fire, a song which I have no doubt in believing will finish in the top 5 when Absolute plays out its poll. In some ways, Kings Of Leon remind me somewhat of REM in that they have achieved massive global success and yet for the most part, I am largely indifferent to their music and fail to see what marks them out as special. However, just as REM have had occasional flashes of genius with songs like Orange Crush and Drive, so Kings Of Leon pulled out a glorious exception with Use Somebody, the follow up single to Sex On Fire.

Because Sex On Fire was an astonishing worldwide hit, it is easy to overlook the fact this track sold by the bucketload as well. As with several of Kings Of Leon's other tracks, the theme of the song appears to be a hedonistic one, but in truth, what makes this song stand out is the sheer rockiness. The heavy guitar sound at the beginning of the track sets the tone for what follows and even I as a somewhat reluctant member of the Kings Of Leon posse has to admit that this track provides some of the finest riffs to emerge from this decade.

6. White Stripes - Seven Nation Army
No finer musical judge than Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker provided validation for this song recently when he nominated this as his song of the decade describing it as "the Smoke On The Water of the new millennium". I can see exactly what he means with this description. The opening riffs of Deep Purple's 1974 hard rock hit are iconic and were amongst the most popular to that particular generation of sideburns sporting, flares wearing rockers. Fast forward some 30 years and the guitar riffs featured throughout this track are among the most familiar to the new generation of budding Guitar Hero players. In fact, I hear that it is one of the most popular riffs of choice in the aforementioned console game.

What appeals to me about this track is how the tempo often changes subtly from a relatively gentle riff and solid drum beat into the cacophony of noise that surrounds the chorus. As with some of the other nominations, I do not feel that Jack and Meg White have managed to quite match the epic sound they produced in this song in anything they have put together since, but that may simply confirm the future "classic" status of this song.

5. Dirty Vegas - Walk Into The Sun
This is what an American audience would refer to as a curveball, a surprise choice out of leftfield. It is possibly a surprise on a few levels. Firstly, Dirty Vegas are barely known in the United Kingdom, despite the fact that they originate in London. Despite their birthplace, they have been based in and enjoyed more critical acclaim across the pond for several years. This lack of exposure in the UK was reflected in the chart placing of this track when it was released back in 2004 when it reached the dizzy heights of number 54 in the UK singles chart. Despite this low placing, it remains Dirty Vegas's highest ever chart entry. What is odd is that although on the surface, you would think this is an obscure track, it has been used as background music on several television programmes, it's just that they tend to be the run of the mill daytime TV offerings like Cash In The Attic or Flog It where no-one is really paying attention. Much like most of Dirty Vegas's work, the sound is kind of a fusion of dance, house and electronica mixed in with a more conventional indie sound. They are a band that seem to borrow much from bands like New Order and the Happy Mondays, bands that were at the forefront of the Acid House scene of the beginning of the 1990s. Although Dirty Vegas have not been commercially successful in the UK, this is not a reflection of their talents and this gentle, uplifting track with well written lyrics and a bouncy sound is in some ways a typically understated Dirty Vegas work, despite being a masterpiece.

4. Snow Patrol - Run
If Dirty Vegas are largely undiscovered and commercially unknown, the same accusation can no longer be levelled at Snow Patrol and the reason for their commercial viability can be traced back to this song which burst into the charts at the beginning of 2004. Such was Snow Patrol's obscurity before this track was released that it is largely forgotten that they had released two albums before their commercial breakthrough Final Straw hit the shelves, from which this was the first singles cut.

Sometimes when you hear a song, it requires several listens before you fully appreciate its quality. With Run, that was not the case, upon hearing it the first time, I realised I was listening to a modern classic. There are those that proclaim Chasing Cars as Snow Patrol's jewel in the crown, but while there may be a beautiful sentiment in that song, musically Run is far superior. Again, as with White Stripes, there is an edginess to the song that results from the subtle changes of tempo during the 5 minutes and 55 seconds of this composition that makes this such a masterpiece and Gary Lightbody's brooding vocals do justice to the song. As with many of Snow Patrol's back catalogue, it would appear that the song is a love song of some kind, albeit the lyrics would suggest it is a plea to a lost love rather than a straightforward love song.

Whatever it is, I am a believer in the saying that imitation is the greatest form of flattery and this can be seen in Leona Lewis's decision to cover this song earlier this year. The only injustice was that her butchering of the original version rocketed to number 1, four places higher than Snow Patrol had managed. It has been noticeable how commercial popularity has taken some of the edge off of Snow Patrol's music and due to that, it is debatable whether they will ever hit the heights again that they showed in initially establishing themselves to the mainstream audience with the excellent Final Straw album. If they do not, it will not diminish the enduring brilliance of this track, which will remain a classic in twenty years from now.

3. Elbow - One Day Like This
Like Snow Patrol, Elbow's commercial success was something of a slow burner. The Mancunian band fronted by Guy Garvey were formed back in 1990 and had released three studio albums prior to the release of their Mercury Music Prize winning Seldom Seen Kid in 2008. Victory in this coveted prize ensured that a more commercial audience started to sit up and take notice and further success in the BRIT Awards means that this band's time in oblivion is now surely a thing of the past. Of any number of excellent mellow compositions from Seldom Seen Kid, such as The Bones Of You and Mirrorball, One Day Like This is both the most commercially popular track and also the rightful standout track from an almost faultless album. The album version of the track is six and a half minutes long, but the single version was cut to just over three and a half minutes for the benefit of radio airplay.

It is a sign of the quality of the song, both musically and lyrically, that both versions are worth listening to in their own right. For me, this song has particular resonance because the sentiments expressed in the song were ones that I was feeling at the time the song was being played on the radio. Although this song brings to mind certain bittersweet and poignant memories, there is no escaping the simplicity in the beauty of the song. The lyrics really capture the feeling in Guy Garvey's soul and Garvey's vocals do the lyrics full justice. It is possible that the amount of airplay this song has had in the past year have given this a sense of overkill, but I think time will be kind to this song.

Possibly in 10 years time, people will have difficulty recollecting other Elbow songs, but they should still remember this one. It's a beautiful song and it is the kind of song that will have a special meaning to many people because of the association they will have with being in a bright and happy place when they heard the song, even if they have not remained there since.

2. Coldplay - Violet Hill
The top two places in my list are occupied by, to my mind, the best two bands of the past decade. Firstly, we find Coldplay, who burst onto the scene with their debut album Parachutes at the beginning of the decade and who were still going strong at the fag end of the decade, by which time they had released a further three studio albums and had pretty much conquered the world. In the space of the past nine years, Coldplay have gone from being a band fresh out of university to being one of the biggest stadium rock bands in the world, with a Hollywood wife to boot. The difficulty in putting this list together was deciding which Coldplay song should make the list, given that they have had several epic singles worthy of consideration.

It was tempting to go for Yellow or Trouble, the two singles cuts from Parachutes that set Coldplay on their way some nine years ago, while the poignant Fix You from X&Y and the haunting Clocks and The Scientist from Rush Of Blood To The Head were also worthy contenders. But it is to Coldplay's most recent album, Viva La Vida, where my choice is to be found. While the title track attracted many of the plaudits, to my mind the album's first singles cut Violet Hill was its highlight and to this listener at least, is Coldplay's greatest work to date. The song would appear to have an anti-war theme, as I originally discussed on this blog at the end of last year.

What I like about the song is the sentiment being expressed and the images that the track throws up. Chris Martin is very good at really painting a picture for you with his vocal imagery and this is possibly never better demonstrated than on this track with such as descriptions as there being snow on the rooftops and people being outside freezing while others looked out of the window. What this description does is it really brings home the loneliness of being a soldier fighting for his country thousands of miles from home and I think that is the whole message of the song. Apart from this, I just think the song is so well constructed that it makes it a track you can listen to again and again. This is the cream of a very strong crop where Coldplay are concerned.

1. Killers - Smile Like You Mean It
It was going to take a special band and a special song to keep Violet Hill and Coldplay off top spot, but I think I have found both a band and a song worthy of doing the honours. The Killers have always been a band I have held a special fondness for because I like to think I discovered them before the masses did. The first time they registered on my consciousness was when I heard feminist and that well known music critic Germaine Greer slate their debut album on Newsnight Review back in the summer of 2004. At the time, the Las Vegas outfit were barely known anywhere, not even in the Nevada desert, but on the strength of Greer's criticism, I went out and bought Hot Fuss the following week. What immediately struck me was how The Killers seemed to have a sound that paid homage to new wave music from the 1980s. Now, this is something that just about everyone from Florence and the Machine to White Lies to MGMT have tapped into, but back in 2004, The Killers were the first band to be using that era as the influence on their sound.

Apart from the noticeably 1980s sound, the other thing that struck me about The Killers was how their music and lyrics were dark and edgy. There were songs with rather seedy, sordid lyrics, such as Somebody Told Me and the immensely popular Mr Brightside. There were other songs that seemed to deal with very dark subject matter, such as Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine and All These Things That I've Done. In the end, there were possibly 3 Killers songs that could have occupied this position, All These Things That I've Done being one while Read My Mind was the standout track from The Killers's second album, Sam's Town. In truth though, there was only song that I was ever going to pick.

Commercially, Smile Like You Mean It was far from being The Killers's most successful or most popular song. When it was released in 2005, it only reached number 11 in the UK singles charts, although this may have something to do with it being the fourth singles cut from the Hot Fuss album. What marks this out as my favourite Killers song and my favourite song of the past decade is just that it typifies the Killers' sound and music better than anything else they have done. The sound is very much new wave influenced, and in fact the song title is shared with a previous composition by Talking Heads, who certainly influence much of The Killers' work. There is a wirey edginess to the sound which when coupled with the dark, difficult to interpret lyrics really draws you in to the song.

Even now, over 4 years after the song first came out, I am still not entirely sure what the meaning to the lyrics are. I have a vague interpretation of what I think they mean, but I think this is quite deliberate on Brandon Flowers's part, there is possibly no definitive meaning behind them and they can be open to interpretation. For what it is worth though, I interpret the song to be a message from an older of oneself giving a message retrospectively to a younger version telling them not to get drawn into life's superficialities and falsehoods and to not worry about playing up to an image all the time in order to please life's hangers-on. As with One Day Like This, this song has a special meaning on a personal level because of a shared experience I had around the time the song came out and the sentiments expressed in the song as I have interpreted have rung quite true at times both then and since. Because of the place this song has captured within me, this makes it stand out among The Killers's back catalogue and even as Brandon Flowers and his band mates look set fair to dominate the world over the coming years, I think it will take a very special song to ever better the craft that went into the lyrics and sound of this track. So while Mr Brightside looks likely to be a strong candidate to win Absolute Radio's accolade, to my mind Smile Like You Mean It is THE song of songs over these past 10 years.