"Top Ten Songs You've Probably Never Heard"

by Dom B.
2002.06.10

Here we go, these aren't in any particular order:

10.) "Tony Adams" - Joe Strummer and The Mescaleros
That's right, it's Joe Strummer, formerly of the Clash. His latest efforts are much closer to his Big Audio Dynamite days, but with influences from ska to jazz to world beat. This song is as melodic as it is random, it makes me think of Mexico City at dawn, even though I've never been there.

9.) "Screenwriter's Blues" - Soul Coughing
I can't tell you what type of music soul coughing is, you need to listen for yourself, and make your own opinion. This isn't even the best Soul Coughing song, but M. Doughty's (vocals) crazy spoken word style is at it's best here, and I just love a song with the lyrics "teenagers with automatic weapons and boundless love". A good song for driving on empty freeways at 5 am.

8.) "Source Tags and Codes" - And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead
A band with a long name. They are saving Rock n' Roll, right now, even as we speak.

7.) "Story of My Life" - Social Distortion
Somehow this song makes it all seem okay. If you haven't listened to any Social D, please, stop what you are doing, and find some. This song keeps unemployed people like me going.

6.) "Sorrow" - Bad Religion
Once again, just the tip of the iceberg of a band that's been doing this for years. Here they make Punk that sounds like Scripture, Old Testament Scripture where the rains don't stop.

5.) "747/Shoe Glue" - The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
This is the last song(s) on the amazing album Don't Know How to Party. There's a horn section here that makes you want to headbang, that puts fire into your veins.

4.) "Sink to the Bottom" - Fountains of Wayne
When you're almost 25 and you're rotting in the suburbs, this is you. An upbeat look into the heart of despair the stationary people have in a society that's constantly moving.

3.) "Plane Crash" - The Toadies
I hope The Toadies don't get labelled as 'one hit wonders' after Possum Kingdom came out so many years ago. Granted, two albums and then breaking up isn't the most amazing career, but I, dear friends, am a Hardcore Fan. This is the first track off their last album, and as soon as I heard it I knew all was right with the universe. I dragged Elvis, John, and Ted to a Toadies concert in 2001, and they didn't have a very good time. But that's all right.

2.) "Where Is My Mind" - The Pixies
This is the song at the end of the movie Fight Club, which, you may have noticed, is something I am Very Excited About. Listen to this song, listen for the eerie "ooooh-woooo" sound. And I ask myself, where is my mind?

1.) "Bohemian Like You" - The Dandy Warhols
I listen to this song when I'm just not alernative enough. I've met people like this.