Modern Rock Tracks Review: 2003

Welcome back to another Modern Rock Tracks Review. Let’s get started.

Always-Saliva: I briefly talked about Josey Scott in the last review. Now, here he is with his band Saliva, who went to number one on this chart with Always. Meh, it doesn’t do much for me. Just another generic post-grunge song that goes in one ear and out the other. I give it a 2/5.

No One Knows-Queens Of The Stone Age: We move on to Queens Of The Stone Age and their big hit No One Knows. I like this. It has a groovy guitar riff that’s extremely catchy and the drum work from Dave Grohl is amazing. There’s a bounce to the song that makes me want to listen to it more. Check out Queens Of The Stone Age if you haven’t, they’re really dope. I give this song a perfect 5/5.

Can’t Stop-Red Hot Chili Peppers: Even if the writing is random nonsense for the most part, the grooves and riffs of the music carry this song to solid levels. It’s a 3.5/5 for me.

Bring Me To Life-Evanescence: So there’s people out there who don’t like this song and Evanescence in general. Speaking for myself, I never understood the hate. Their music is not bad. I’ve always liked Bring Me To Life as a kid and I still like it now. The cold piano and strings along with the gothic guitars just blends together well, Amy Lee is a great singer, and Paul McCoy adds some extra spice with his contributions. It’s a very early 2000s song, but in a good way. Funny thing is that some people interpret this song as Christian rock even though the band stated that’s not the case. It’s easy to get that interpretation if you squint hard enough at the lyrics. Yeah, the song got overplayed (especially being in that awful Daredevil movie with Ben Affleck), but it had a formula that made it and Evanescence a success. I give this song a 4.5/5.

Somewhere I Belong-Linkin Park: And while we’re on music from my childhood, Somewhere I Belong is the first single for Linkin Park’s second album Meteora. It’s another example of LP’s strengths as a band not just in the music department, but in the writing that describes mental pain and anguish and wanting that pain to go away. This might sound like a corny cliche, but it’s a true statement that this song was made for fans who could relate to the lyrics. There were moments in my life where I could relate. I give this song a 5/5.

Like A Stone-Audioslave: Audioslave was a supergroup that included the late Chris Cornell of Soundgarden and Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine. They scored a big hit in Like A Stone, which has that melancholic 90s grunge sound updated for the 2000s along with Tom Morello’s signature guitar work. Speaking of melancholy, death is a big theme of the song, which puts things in new perspective since Chris Cornell is no longer with us. Anyways, I still really enjoy this song and I would give it a 5/5.

Headstrong-Trapt: Oh, boy. Trapt. So the most relevance this band has garnered these days is due to the nuclear takes from their frontman Chris Taylor Brown, who uses the band’s social media to spew right-wing talking points that mirrors the MAGA crowd and bragging about the band’s supposed success. On another note, why are dudes named Chris Brown such major assholes? It’s a shame because I used to really like Headstrong. Now? Okay, setting aside Brown as a person, I still think the music to Headstrong is really good, hitting that sweet spot with both heavy and melodic riffs. Unfortunately, the song has one fatal flaw: Chris Taylor Brown is not a good singer. The song is about being headstrong and taking on anyone, but Brown’s strained performance does not give off a convincing tough guy vibe. He sounds more whiny than intimidating. It’s damn near the same problem I have with Limp Bizkit. Good musicianship, shitty immature frontman and Chris Taylor Brown is the bigoted Fred Durst. It’s the perfect music for WWE and drunk fratboys getting into fights. Then again, none of their other songs are worth listening to. Overall, Headstrong is not a bad song, but I’m not in a rush to listen to it again. I give it a 2.5/5.

Send The Pain Below-Chevelle: It’s a cool song. A lot of people compared this band to Tool and I can hear it. 3/5.

Seven Nation Army-The White Stripes: If you’ve ever been to any sporting event, there’s a chance that you’ve heard this song or at least its melody. The White Stripes made their mark on the world with Seven Nation Army. Aside from the signature riff that’s become ingrained in pop culture, Jack White’s guitar work and Meg White’s drumming sound excellent and going for that minimalist garage rock sound makes the song an instant classic for years to come. I give Seven Nation Army a perfect 5/5.

Just Because-Jane’s Addiction: Like most people, I remember this song from the 2003 S.W.A.T. movie. It’s pretty solid. 3/5.

Faint-Linkin Park: Another great Linkin Park song that gets the crowd hyped up. 5/5.

So Far Away-Staind: It’s okay. 3/5.

Weak And Powerless-A Perfect Circle: It’s a song that exists. Not bad, but not great, either. That’s all I have to say about it. It’s a 3/5.

Numb-Linkin Park: And now, we end things on a Linkin Park classic. What’s there to say about Numb? The electronic glitches and the heavier riffs blend together well to make room for Chester to express his pain and anger at someone who doesn’t care about his well-being, a feeling that a good chunk of LP fans can relate to. In terms of the band’s overall music, Numb is definitely Top 5 best. Unsurprisingly, I give it a perfect 5/5.

BEST

Numb

HONORABLE MENTION

Seven Nation Army

WORST

Always

DISHONORABLE MENTION

Headstrong

And those were the number one songs on the Modern Rock Tracks chart of 2003. Next time, we’ll be looking at the Modern Rock Tracks of 2004.

Peace!!

SONG OF THE WEEK

Run-Joji

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