Modern Rock Tracks Review: 2005

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

E-Pro-Beck: Beck records is one of the more eclectic music acts of the past 3 decades. His records have experimented with different sounds and styles, making no one Beck record sound like the other. He’s best known for his 1994 hit Loser, but another song of his that he’s known for is E-Pro. The music kicks all sorts of ass thanks to the distorted guitars and the dirty drum. This production was built upon a sample of So What’cha Want from the Beastie Boys. Theres not much deeper meaning in the writing, but it’s clear that Beck was having fun making this song and was more focused on the production. Overall, I still really like this song and I would give it a 4/5.

Be Yourself-Audioslave: And now for the other well-known Audioslave song, Be Yourself. It’s a self-empowering song about staying true to oneself and it works. It sounds great musically and Chris Cornell sounds really good. I give it a 4.5/5.

Holiday-Green Day: We move on to Green Day, who delivers another middle finger to the American political system of the time with Holiday. This song called out the Bush administration for the war in Iraq and it could easily apply right now. Aside from that, the music rocks and Billie Joe Armstrong is great, delivering every line with a sarcastically mocking tone. I give this song a perfect 5/5.

The Hand That Feeds-Nine Inch Nails: Oh, you thought we were done with songs that have a social-political message? Oh, you silly fool. The Hand That Feeds is another song aimed at the Bush administration, but it can also apply to any overreaching authority, whether it’d be an abusive parent or major corporations in general. That, plus the pulsing industrial rock production and Trent Reznor’s performance, makes for a timeless working class anthem and it’s one of my favorite NIN songs. I give this song a perfect 5/5.

Beverly Hills-Weezer: Funny story, I used to hate this song when I was younger. It was a big hit at the time and I got sick of hearing it all the time, so I would always change the station every time it came on. As I got older, I’ve gained a newfound appreciation for it. So, yeah. Beverly Hills by Weezer. I love it. The music is great, especially the talk box solo. Rivers Cuomo wrote this song about wanting to be part of that celebrity lifestyle and living in an affluent place like Beverly Hills. Despite my history with the song, it’s pretty damn good and I’m giving it a 4/5.

Best Of You-Foo Fighters: It’s one of my favorite Foo Fighter songs of all time. The big arena rock instrumentation, Dave Grohl’s amazing vocal performance where he does more screaming, and the inspirational content of being a better person than you are. It’s another Foo Fighters classic. I’m giving it a perfect 5/5.

Feel Good Inc.-Gorillaz ft De La Soul: I don’t think I’m breaking any new grounds in saying that Demon Days by Gorillaz is one of the best albums of the 2000s. That shouldn’t be surprising since the Gorillaz have always put out dope music. The success of this album is driven by the big hit Feel Good Inc., which I named the best hit song of 2005. I really like the groovy bass line alongside the dissonant guitar riffs in the verses along with the gentler acoustic and swells of the chorus. Rap group De La Soul make an appearance on this song and they do their thing on here. Oh, and those demonic laughs are a nice addition to the song that makes a memorable song even more memorable. Unsurprisingly, it’s also getting a perfect 5/5 from me.

Only-Nine Inch Nails: It’s no The Hand That Feeds, but this is still good. I like the production the most from this song, especially with its distorted groove. I’m giving it a 4/5.

DOA-Foo Fighters: Another solid rock jam. It’s a 4/5.

BEST

Feel Good Inc.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Best Of You, Holiday

WORST

N/A (I know this is a copout, but I genuinely enjoyed all of these songs and even the ones I enjoy the least are still good)

And those were the number one songs on the Modern Rock Tracks chart of 2005. Next time, we’ll be looking at the Modern Rock Tracks of 2006.

Peace!!

SONG OF THE WEEK

Americans-Janelle Monae

Advertisement