Everyone seems to be compiling lists lately, from the Guardian to Song, by Toad, so I figured I’d have a go at it. Being as its now Wednesday (only just…) I guess we’ll make this a regular feature: a Top Five once a week. This might even convince some of you lurkers out there to get stuck in and leave a comment, as I’m sure everyone will have their own views on what should/shouldn’t make the lists…
So, this week its gonna be songs about hate! More specifically, songs that are so saturated with vitriol and outright hostility that you can’t help but wince when you hear them.
Before we get stuck into the list proper, there are a couple of songs that made the longlist, but missed out on the final top five that deserve an honourable mention: Killing in the Name nearly made it, but was just far too obvious – any band with Rage in their name can’t be taking their anger seriously. Styrofoam Plates, by Death Cab For Cutie came close too (“a b*st*rd in life; thus a b*st*rd in death”); Micah P. Hinson’s Patience just missed the cut, as it only really comes into its own anger-wise when he plays it live (apparently, I myself have never seen it in-the-flesh); and Ani DiFranco’s Lost Woman Song (the only girl to make the top 10; are women less pathologically angry than men?) a challenging rant about abortion – more blunt than Ben Folds’ Brick, but certainly less impartial…
But enough of the alsorans, and on with the main event!
5: Cheers Darlin’ by Damien Rice. Boy meets girl, girl leads boy on, girl gets picked up by fiance, boy goes home and vents his spleen onto DAT tape… what a classic story. The one song that definitely separates Rice from the rest of the acoustic, coffee-table, Jack-Johnson-lite drivel that seems to be so popular at open-mic nights.
4: I’ve Been Eating (for you) by Bright Eyes. Ooh, poor Conor’s been taken for a ride by a floozy who was porking all his friends as well. He sure taught her a lesson with this bilious paean to the injustices of teenage lust.
3: Has Been by William Shatner. My word, Bill must’ve been waiting for years to write this song. Selfdeprecating, venomous and painfully honest. Get’s the spurious distinction of being the only song on this list that’s not about girls…
2: Skinny Love by Bon Iver. A current hit to keep this list contemporary. Our hero gets dumped, shuns society and lives in a cabin in the woods for months, living off moose, and makes a sublime album of heartbreak and isolation, of which this is the stand out track.
1: When Did You Stop Loving Me When Did I Stop Loving You by Marvin Gaye. The title says it all; Marv’ splits acrimoniously from Mrs. Gaye (a.k.a. Anna Gordy), and thanks to his fleet of cars, mansion, and coke habit he can’t pay alimony for his kid. So, the divorce judge orders that all the proceeds from his next album should go to his Ex. missus. The result? Here, My Dear, the bitterest record ever. It flopped when it was released, as per Marv’s plan, but it subsequently went on to become one of Rolling Stone‘s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Take that, ya b*tch!
Eaten by Monsters 
22 October 2008
For hate’s sake, I spit my last breath at thee… The 5 Angriest Songs Ever
Posted by Tom under comment, music, Wednesday Top Five | Tags: anger, ani difranco, bon iver, bright eyes, cheers' darlin, damien rice, death cab for cutie, for emma forever ago, has been, hate, here my dear, i've been eating (for you), killing in the name, marvin gaye, micah p hinson, rage against the machine, when did you stop loving me when did i stop loving you, william shatner |Leave a Comment
Everyone seems to be compiling lists lately, from the Guardian to Song, by Toad, so I figured I’d have a go at it. Being as its now Wednesday (only just…) I guess we’ll make this a regular feature: a Top Five once a week. This might even convince some of you lurkers out there to get stuck in and leave a comment, as I’m sure everyone will have their own views on what should/shouldn’t make the lists…
So, this week its gonna be songs about hate! More specifically, songs that are so saturated with vitriol and outright hostility that you can’t help but wince when you hear them.
Before we get stuck into the list proper, there are a couple of songs that made the longlist, but missed out on the final top five that deserve an honourable mention: Killing in the Name nearly made it, but was just far too obvious – any band with Rage in their name can’t be taking their anger seriously. Styrofoam Plates, by Death Cab For Cutie came close too (“a b*st*rd in life; thus a b*st*rd in death”); Micah P. Hinson’s Patience just missed the cut, as it only really comes into its own anger-wise when he plays it live (apparently, I myself have never seen it in-the-flesh); and Ani DiFranco’s Lost Woman Song (the only girl to make the top 10; are women less pathologically angry than men?) a challenging rant about abortion – more blunt than Ben Folds’ Brick, but certainly less impartial…
But enough of the alsorans, and on with the main event!
5: Cheers Darlin’ by Damien Rice. Boy meets girl, girl leads boy on, girl gets picked up by fiance, boy goes home and vents his spleen onto DAT tape… what a classic story. The one song that definitely separates Rice from the rest of the acoustic, coffee-table, Jack-Johnson-lite drivel that seems to be so popular at open-mic nights.
4: I’ve Been Eating (for you) by Bright Eyes. Ooh, poor Conor’s been taken for a ride by a floozy who was porking all his friends as well. He sure taught her a lesson with this bilious paean to the injustices of teenage lust.
3: Has Been by William Shatner. My word, Bill must’ve been waiting for years to write this song. Selfdeprecating, venomous and painfully honest. Get’s the spurious distinction of being the only song on this list that’s not about girls…
2: Skinny Love by Bon Iver. A current hit to keep this list contemporary. Our hero gets dumped, shuns society and lives in a cabin in the woods for months, living off moose, and makes a sublime album of heartbreak and isolation, of which this is the stand out track.
1: When Did You Stop Loving Me When Did I Stop Loving You by Marvin Gaye. The title says it all; Marv’ splits acrimoniously from Mrs. Gaye (a.k.a. Anna Gordy), and thanks to his fleet of cars, mansion, and coke habit he can’t pay alimony for his kid. So, the divorce judge orders that all the proceeds from his next album should go to his Ex. missus. The result? Here, My Dear, the bitterest record ever. It flopped when it was released, as per Marv’s plan, but it subsequently went on to become one of Rolling Stone‘s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Take that, ya b*tch!