Q101: 2000

How did we get here?


2000 (Or, the year you still listened to Creed and weren’t ashamed to say so)

5. “Boyz-N-The-Hood” – Dynamite Hack

'Cause the boyz in the hood are always hard / Come talkin' that trash and we'll pull your card / Knowin' nothin' in life but to be legit / Don't quote me, boy, I ain't said shit

Despite being a strong year overall, 2000 offers up a fairly weak top 5 relatively speaking.  This list was weakened by the fact that my top 3 songs were ineligible for this year’s list.  So here we are with an acoustic cover of a hip-hop song.  I get a kick out of the way this song mocks the original, which is further punctuated by its video.  I always felt like this song was a win for alternative in the world of terrible cross-genre covers.   

4. “Stellar” – Incubus

How do you do it? / You make me feel like I do / How do you do it? / It's better than I ever knew

In the late ‘90s and early 2000s, Incubus had a steady stream of radio hits.  Incidentally, it’s what I would call their prime.  I always liked their stuff but never loved it, so I was surprised to see one of their songs crack the top 5 upon revisiting.  I feel as though I never gave Incubus their full due back then but I’ve gained a stronger appreciation for their work over the years.

3. “Take A Picture” – Filter

Could you take my picture? / 'Cause I won't remember

Apparently this song was based on actual life events.  The lead singer got drunk on an airplane, took off all of his clothes, and fought with the flight attendants.  I suppose you would want visual evidence of those proceedings.  “Take A Picture” has a dreamlike aura and its chorus was catchy enough to hook me in.

2. “Californication” – Red Hot Chili Peppers

Space may be the final frontier / But it's made in a Hollywood basement / And Cobain can you hear the spheres / Singing songs off station to station / And Alderaan's not far away / It's Californication

Instantly recognizable by the opening guitar riff that repeats itself over and over.  It’s a fun music video as you get a third-person view of the band members in a video game.  There are a lot of references in this song and if you blink, you might miss some.  Just in the snippet provided, you’ve got a shout out to the moon landing conspiracy, a mention of Kurt Cobain and a David Bowie album, and a Star Wars reference.  I tend to go through phases where I grow weary of the Chili Peppers but this is one of their songs I can always find time for.

1. “Adam’s Song” – Blink-182

I never conquered, rarely came / 16 just held such better days / Days when I still felt alive /… I couldn't wait till I got home / To pass the time in my room alone

I professed my love for Enema of the State in the previous year’s installment.  This is about as serious as Blink will get.  I feel like my life is finally starting to turn around but I spent much of my 20s mired in depression.  I often wondered if high school was going to be the highlight of my life and everything was just going to be a slow decay.  Those sure seemed like better days.  I’m still a homebody and I enjoy my alone time but it doesn’t feel like I’m rushing home to enter my tomb any longer. 

Q101: 1999

How did we get here?

1999 (Or, the year Napster turned me into an insatiable song-acquiring beast)

5. “Learn To Fly” – Foo Fighters

Run and tell all of the angels / This could take all night / Think I need a devil to help me get things right

Foo Fighters were the only group to crack my top 5 in three consecutive years after looking back at this project.  Spoiler alert:  this may not be the last we hear from them.  This is a fun music video.  How many different characters can Dave Grohl play?  We even get cameos from the fellas from Tenacious D.

4. “What’s My Age Again?” – Blink-182

And that's about the time she walked away from me / Nobody likes you when you're 23 / And you still act like you're in freshman year / What the hell is wrong with me?

This is the song that introduced me to Blink-182. From that first listen in my old Bonneville, I knew I had found a group that would tag along for the ride in my life.  I’ve heard all the knocks against Blink and their limited musical talents.  Whatever.  I don’t care.  Enema of the State is still one of my favorite albums.  It doesn’t have to be sophisticated music.  I like to think I’m making grown-up decisions now but I’ve still got a lot of immaturities.  I don’t want to completely abandon all forms of my youth.  When the time calls for it, I can pop in some Blink and forget how old I am.  

3. “My Own Worst Enemy” – Lit

It's no surprise to me / I am my own worst enemy / 'Cause every now and then I kick the living shit out of me

I feel like if I could get out of my own way, or my own head, things would be so much better for me… Alright, enough serious talk.  This is another song that doesn’t require too much work for the old brain cells.  I’d nominate this song as one of my go-to’s when I’m looking to play something on the jukebox and turn back the clock.  Who doesn’t enjoy a little Lit?  I haven’t met that person.  My high school memory of this song revolves around giving a couple “popular” kids a ride home after practice one day.  The ride was pre-arranged so I tried to stack the deck of coolness in my favor.  “My Own Worst Enemy” was a really popular song and it wasn’t the Backstreet Boys.  I had the song on a mix cassette tape and I queued up the song so that it would just be starting when we got in the car.  The idea, of course, was that I would be seen as someone with good taste in music.  Word would spread and doors would open.  In theory, it seemed like a brilliant idea.

2. “Everything You Want” – Vertical Horizon

He says all the right things / At exactly the right time / But he means nothing to you / And you don't know why

I should have copied & pasted the entire song in here.  Truer words have never been echoed for the way I feel almost all the time.  I’ll talk to a single girl I have a crush on and she’ll seemingly enjoy the conversation as much I do.  I’ll wait for someone to push us together or push us apart.  The girl never does ask me to hang out.  WHY?  I’m everything she wants and everything she needs.  Maybe she just doesn’t realize it.  Or maybe she does but the feelings just aren’t there and she can’t explain why.  And that’s where this song fits in.  It’s the justification I use when I’m convinced I couldn’t have said things any better during our conversation.  On another note, Vertical Horizon may be the nicest group of famous musicians out there.  My friend Tom (who’s in the radio business) met a guy whose band was the opening act for Vertical Horizon on some tour.  Apparently, VH went out of their way to befriend the random guy’s band.  They even helped the random guy’s band set up on stage beforehand when I’m sure there were plenty of lackeys to do that sort of thing.  Therefore, I have been charged with holding Vertical Horizon as the gold standard for musicians when it comes to being friendly and accommodating.  You may have met some musicians that were really nice, but you’ve got to ask yourself, “Were they Vertical Horizon nice?”

1. “Slide” – The Goo Goo Dolls

And I'll do anything you ever dreamed to be complete / Little pieces of the nothing that fall

I’m not really a big concertgoer, perhaps because I don’t have the necessary appreciation for live music.  My brother is probably even less likely to attend a concert than I am, but even he got to see the Goo Goo Dolls and even has one of their guitar picks.  I’m a little jealous.  “Slide” tops them all in what I consider to be a pretty strong top 5, all years considered.  The Goo Goo Dolls do happen to be one of my favorite groups and Dizzy Up The Girl happens to be my favorite album by them.  For whatever reason, I never drew the connection that this song was about a young couple deciding between abortion and marriage.  I guess I just got swept up by the song and never questioned why.

Q101: 1998

How did we get here?


1998 (Or, the year I looked forward to hearing Natalie Imbruglia’s “Torn” on the school bus radio just a little bit more than I’d really like to admit right now)

5. “Iris” – The Goo Goo Dolls

And I don't want the world to see me / 'Cause I don't think that they'd understand / When everything's meant to be broken / I just want you to know who I am

Alright, Dan, you win.  I DO like “Iris” despite my refusal to acknowledge that fact in your presence.  I have a tendency to inflate a song’s value if I also enjoy its corresponding music video.  However, there are rare exceptions when the video hurts the song.  I hate hate hate the video to “Iris.”  I don’t really have a strong reason why.  I guess the sight of Johnny Rzeznik rolling around in a chair inside a tower and peering out various telescopes like some creepy Peeping Tom stirs up some negative feelings inside me.  As such, I held this song down for a while.  I suppose the video makes a lot of sense when you consider the lyrics, and I can certainly sympathize with those lyrics.  I write this blog; I reveal things.  And yet, there’s still part of me that doesn’t want the world to see me.

4. “I Will Buy You A New Life” – Everclear

They might make you think you're happy / Yeah maybe for a minute or two / They can't make you laugh / No they can't make you feel the way that I do

That pretty much sums up my plea to women.  Forget those guys with the chiseled good looks or fat wallets; I will make you laugh (sometimes not even at me) and that’s what will make you the most happy.  So Much for the Afterglow was always near the front of my album rotation in high school, so this song’s inclusion is well earned.  The album accompanied me during many bus rides and pre-game warm-ups for soccer.  Despite the claims of my portable CD player, anti-skip protection didn’t seem to be something it was capable of providing. 

3. “Closing Time” – Semisonic

Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end

Now this is a cool music video.  I always had this dream of becoming a major league closer and using this as my intro music.  Sure, “Enter Sandman” or “Hell’s Bells” would do much a better job at providing the adrenaline rush these closers live by.  But I’m a mellow guy and the suggestion that ‘I’m coming into the game to shut it down so you best get ready to go home’ always appealed to me.  With all the changes happening in my life, this song is a good reminder that one beginning must end for another to begin.  And yet, I can’t help but be reminded how some beginnings never end.  Just last night, I was at an after-work gathering enjoying some frosty beverages.  One by one, the group dwindled down to me and another guy I barely know.  Everyone else had left with someone or to go to someone.  So, I’ve become the guy who represents the last man standing.  I guess somebody’s has to do it and I’m just the guy for the job.

2. “My Hero” – Foo Fighters

Too alarming now to talk about / Take your pictures down and shake it out / Truth or consequence, say it aloud / Use that evidence, race it around

Back to back top 5’s for Foo Fighters, which isn’t surprising given the strength of The Colour and the Shape.  Mandie and I almost had the same top song for 1998.  This song will forever be linked with the climatic final game in Varsity Blues.  Back in high school, my pal Josh (he of the hundreds of albums) did me a nice favor.  He took a stack of post-it notes and wrote a new song on each one.  He told me to think of it as a “Song of the Day” kind of thing.  Each day, I’d tear away the previous note and see what new exciting song awaited me.  My goal was to familiarize myself with the song and, ideally, add it to my music collection.  That story isn’t unique to this song but I’m sure “My Hero” was one of the presents I got to open.

1. “Shimmer” - Fuel

She calls me from the cold / Just when I was low, feeling short of stable / And all that she intends / And all she keeps inside isn't on the label

This song was an instant favorite from the moment I heard and it has remained that way ever since.  I remember getting it onto a custom mix CD and listening to it on bus trips to compete in Scholastic Bowl.  When you’re riding down to Clifton, you need something to get you through.  I just love everything about this song – the lyrics, the way it builds slowly and shifts its pace to something more up-tempo, even the cello that you can distinctly hear in parts of it.  I think we can all understand the struggle of letting someone back into your life even though you know it might cause you pain again.  What exactly are their intentions this time?  You vow to move on and you may even believe that you have.  Boom!  They reach out to you again and suck you back in.  It almost doesn’t seem fair.

Q101: 1997

How did we get here?


1997 (Or, the year Sugar Ray inexplicably flew to the top of the countdown)

5. “Crash Into Me” – Dave Matthews Band

Touch your lips just so I know / In your eyes, love, it glows so / I'm bare boned and crazy for you / When you come crash / Into me, baby

So does including this song mean I have to relinquish my man card?  Perhaps only in a year where Sugar Ray’s “Fly” tops Q101’s list could this song have cracked my top 5.  I’ve got a lot of guilty pleasures when it comes to music.  If for no other reason, enjoy this song because it reminds you of this Mastercard parody commercial.

4. “The Impression That I Get” – The Mighty Mighty Bosstones

I've never had to knock on wood / And I'm glad I haven't yet / Because I'm sure it isn't good / That's the impression that I get

Interestingly, this is the 2^nd song from a group with a large ensemble.  Even though this song crossed over in a big way, it’s nice to get a song from a ska punk group in here.  It’s an upbeat song that takes me back to a simpler time roaming the jungle that was the hallways of PHS.

3. “Everlong” – Foo Fighters

And I wonder / When I sing along with you / If everything could ever be this real forever / If anything could ever be this good again

The Foo Fighters are rock royalty.  Anyone who questions this song’s inclusion should be tied up in a burlap sack and beaten with a ball peen hammer.  Fun fact:  This is apparently David Letterman’s favorite song.  I wouldn’t have guessed that but even he must bow before the power of the Foo.

2. “3 A.M.” – Matchbox Twenty

She believes that life is made up of all that you're used to  / And the clock on the wall has been stuck at three for days and days / She thinks that happiness is a mat that sits on her doorway / But outside it's stopped raining

Yourself or Someone Like You became one of my favorite albums to listen to in high school.  Being reminded of the Homerpalooza episode of The Simpsons every time I looked at the album cover didn’t hurt matters.  “Real World” was always my favorite song off the album back then.  Over time, “3 A.M.” gradually took its place.  There is nothing quite like a good sleep during a thunderstorm.  I always believed the song was about a woman with all sorts of little idiosyncrasies.  Maybe she was even a little crazy, but Rob Thomas loved her all the same.  That’s what a true relationship is to me.   It turns out the song is about dealing with his mom fighting cancer.  I think I'll stick with my interpretation.

1. “The Freshmen” – The Verve Pipe

For the life of me I can not remember / What made us think that we were wise and we'd never compromise / For the life of me I can not believe we'd ever die for these sins / We were merely freshmen

The lyrics in this song always spoke to me.  No, I’ve never had to abort a child and deal with the guilt while trying to blame the mother.  But I was a freshman in high school when the song came out so there’s some parallel.  There was always something tragic about the thought of being penalized for the mistakes of your youth.  We didn’t know any better.  I didn’t know any better.  My “rules” about life and women?  I thought I was positioning myself for a big payday.  What made me think I was so wise and would never compromise?  I feel like whatever sins I’ve committed, I’ve paid for them and then some.

Q101: 1996

How did we get here?


1996 (Or, the year Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness dominated airwaves and described life)

5. “Popular” – Nada Surf

Being attractive is the most important thing there is / If you wanna catch the biggest fish in your pond / You have to be as attractive as possible / Make sure to keep your hair spotless and clean / Wash it at least every two weeks / Once every two weeks

Fun fact: Except for the chorus, the lyrics from this song are taken from a teen advice book from the ‘60s.  That adds to the sarcastic, quirky nature of this song.  Who knew that Nada Surf would give us such words of wisdom for the high school scene?  Date insurance – that IS a novel idea.  So how can I acquire this insurance?

4. “Counting Blue Cars” – Dishwalla

Tell me all your thoughts on God / 'Cause I’d really like to meet her / And ask her why we're who we are

Remember when people thought Dishwalla was gonna be huge?  God.  Female?  Whaaaaaat?  Blasphemy!  Mind.  Blown.  I wonder if Kevin Smith used this song as inspiration to cast Alanis Morissette as God in Dogma.  I never knew the name of this song for the longest time.  I didn’t know what to search for in order to download it.  Apparently it never occurred to me to search for the lyrics.  I was at the mercy of the DJ every time it came on the radio.  Pleeeease, say the name of this song.  For whatever reason, this song has just steadily moved up my charts over the years to finally stake its claim in my 1996 top 5.  Maybe I’m intrigued by the fact that we don’t really know who or what God is and it could really be anything.  I think “Counting Blue Cars” was cemented in my top 5 when it was featured in an episode of How I Met Your Mother (one of my favorite shows).  Ted, as a mysterious college radio DJ named Doctor X, claims to have “discovered” this song and released it to the masses.   

3. “1979” – The Smashing Pumpkins

And we don't know just where our bones will rest / To dust I guess / Forgotten and absorbed into the earth below

Among many Smashing Pumpkins songs I enjoy, this one probably tops the list.  Billy Corgan has got that loud-soft voice thing down pat.  I just love the way this song flows.  I’m not a music critic though.  However, Chicago-based internet publication Pitchfork Media said "'1979' was Billy Corgan asking, 'You know this feeling?' and the second you heard that guitar line the immediate answer was, 'I do-- tell me more.'"  Yeah, that about sums it up.  P.S.  I realize I went with a lot of chalk this year (3 of my top 5 being in Q101’s top 10). I don’t really have to defend that, do I?

2. “Wonderwall” – Oasis

And all the roads we have to walk are winding / And all the lights that lead us there are blinding / There are many things that I would like to say to you / But I don't know how

It doesn’t get much better than this.  I probably have an unhealthy obsession with this song.  In fact, I have an ongoing game (with myself) to get this song played whenever I’m out listening to live music and the group is taking requests.  I was successful in my mission this past fall when we went to a bar with dueling pianos during our vacation at Walt Disney World.  Last month, some co-workers and I were on a business trip to visit a client in Nashville.  Nashville – lots of live music downtown but also the headquarters of country music.  This was going to be tough.  On our first night out, the entertainment was a husband and wife couple covering pop songs and doing some original material.  They were pretty young, but I still couldn’t get past my thoughts of the Will Ferrell SNL skit and bring myself to submit a request.  We ate at an Irish pub the second night.  Based on the music being played and the looks of the group, I had serious doubts.  However, I rationalized that Oasis is from England and, well, that’s pretty close to Ireland.  I was actually going to chicken out but those in the group convinced our waitress to deliver the request.  I eyed the bass player when he received the request.  He shook his head and I detected a hint of disappointment in his expression.  How could someone request THAT song here?  Oh well, I had figured as much.  Just as we were getting up to leave, the lead singer acknowledged the request.  “I just want to let whoever requested this Oasis song know that none of us know it, but we’d be happy to try any other requests you’ve got.”  Slightly blushing, hoping not to be exposed, I made a dash for the door.  On the third and final night, we ate at a barbeque joint and, not surprisingly, the band was covering country songs.  I’m a country fan and I enjoyed their contribution but it wasn’t “Wonderwall.”  Then I heard a rock song sneak its way in there and I felt a surge of hope.  When the lead singer was making his way from table to table to solicit tips, I took a stab.  “I don’t suppose there’s any chance you know how to play Wonderwall by Oasis, is there?”  “Of course I do.  Anybody who knows anything about playing guitar knows that song.”  (Nudging the tip jar towards me)  “We’ll play it.”  SUCCESS!  I was in such a good mood that I even let my co-worker Leah draw a stick figure man with a penis on my cheek.  The only weird look I got was from some guy in the candy shop we visited afterwards.  In closing, I suppose if you were ever going to get me on stage to do karaoke (after several shots of liquid courage), this song would be your bait.  Because after allllllllllll, this song is my wonderwallllllllllllllllll.  *Ahem*  Sorry, just warmin’ up.

1. “Machinehead” – Bush

Got a machinehead / Better than the rest / Green to red / Machinehead

I had to chuckle to myself when Mandie commented that Bush songs make her feel feelings even though none of us really understand what they’re talking about.  My brother, who isn’t really a big alternative fan, likes to give me grief whenever a Bush song comes on.  “[Insert lyric here] What does that even mean?”  I don’t know.  I don’t care. I just like it. Okay?  But I never have figured out what Gavin Rossdale is saying in the background at around the 3-minute mark of the song.  I remember sitting on my uncle’s couch seeing the music video for “Machinehead” for the first time and thinking, yes, this video fits the song perfectly.   The instantly recognizable guitar parts always give me goose bumps.  It almost makes me want to go outside and run…at a million miles an hour.  I can do this.  Breathe in, breathe out.

Q101: 1995

How did we get here?

1995 (Or, the year that way too many good songs had to be left off the list)

5. “Hurt” – Nine Inch Nails

What have I become? / My sweetest friend / Everyone I know / Goes away in the end

Another top-5 finish for Nine Inch Nails.  1995 might very well be my favorite year of the ‘90s for the countdowns, so that’s saying something.  I’ll always associate this song with not getting accepted into the College of Business at the University of Illinois because I thought they would make an exception for me.  I had the grades and I had a winning application.  What I didn’t have was 1 measly prerequisite computer class and the admissions office wouldn’t budge.  I was hurt and figured my life was ruined.  I lay flat on my back, played this song, and focused on the pain – the only thing that was real.  I wonder how different my life would be today if I had gone away to college at U of I.  I also wonder if Johnny Cash ever dreamed in a million years that he would cover a NIN song.  Yep, didn’t see that one coming.

4. “Plowed” – Sponge

Will I wake up / Is it a dream I made up / No I guess it's reality

Ah, Sponge.  Your typical grunge group.  For the longest time, I believed the title of this song to be “Human Wreckage.”  In fact, I even still have the track listing for the custom CD I created that lists the song as such.  I knew “Human Wreckage” and I knew “Molly (16 Candles).”  I enjoyed both songs, so I was quite excited when I read about a song called “Plowed” by Sponge.  You see, my friend Tom and I always shared a “rule of 3.”  In order to buy a CD, we had to know and like 3 songs off of it.  As I excited as I was about the new song, I was just as disappointed to discover that “Plowed” was “Human Wreckage” (well, technically the other way around).  Alas, there would be no Rotting Piñata album for me.

3. “Comedown” – Bush

Who was there to take your place / No one knows never will / Mostly me but mostly you / What do you say do you do when it all comes down

Sixteen Stone was the first album I ever owned.  Technically, it’s tied with Sheryl Crow’s Tuesday Night Music Club but I’ve sort of blocked that from memory.  If Dookie wasn’t playing on my stereo, there was a good chance Sixteen Stone was.  Hearing “Comedown” always puts me in a good mood and I don’t want to come back down from this cloud, this cloud, this cloud…

2. “Nothingman” – Pearl Jam

Walks on his own / With thoughts he can't help thinking / Future's above / But in the past he's slow and sinking / Caught a bolt of lightning / Cursed the day he let it go

This turned out to be the only Pearl Jam song to crack a top 5.  Their place as one of my favorite groups holds firm so I’m pleased they were able to get a little recognition.  As much I enjoy Eddie Vedder’s wild screaming on their more up-tempo offerings, I prefer their “softer” stuff a little more.  The lyrics definitely hit home here.  I’ve walked on my own for most of my life and I can’t help but feel a little cursed sometimes.  The song always put me in a reflective state.

1. “When I Come Around” – Green Day

You may find out that your self-doubt means nothing was ever there / You can’t go forcing something if it’s just not right

Green Day tops the list in back-to-back years!  I might go so far as to say that THIS is my favorite song of all-time.  For a guy afraid of commitment, that’s a pretty bold statement.  At the very least, “When I Come Around” is on my Mount Rushmore of songs.  I’ve already mentioned how often I played Dookie back then.  If I needed to unwind after a rough day or get pumped up for soccer or bowling, “When I Come Around” was my go to.   Even now if I’m out and about and this song happens to randomly come on, you’ll see me crack a smile regardless of my prevailing mood.  I have but one negative memory of this song.  In high school, I took a public speaking course for college credit.  One of the assignments was to perform a demonstration in front of the class.  Another group performed this song.  I still struggle to get that noise and the singer’s voice out of my head.  The teacher, an older woman who didn’t know any better, complimented the boys on a “nice job.”  I fought back the rage at hearing my favorite song butchered.  Promise me you’ll never attempt to perform this song in karaoke or one of those band-imitation video games unless you’re going to nail it.  That is, if you want to remain friends.

Q101: 1994

How did we get here?


1994 (Or, the year I used Dookie to test if you could break a CD by listening to it too many times)

5. “Closer” – Nine Inch Nails

My whole existence is flawed / You get me closer to god

Word of caution: you probably shouldn’t click the above link unless you’re willing to view some freaky shit.  Trent Reznor has no interest in hiding his intentions or sugarcoating his lust; he really does want to fuck you like an animal.  I think I was probably drawn to this song because of its forbidden nature.  I was a pretty straight-laced kid (shocking, I know) but I had my moments of feeling rebellious.  In my youthful mind, listening to this song felt like how that rebellion should manifest itself.  I just had to be careful not to turn up the sound too loudly when this song came on in my room for fear of explaining to my mom what in the hell I was listening to.  Sort of like when the intro to White Zombie’s “More Human Than Human” came on.  I still feel like I need to ask god for forgiveness or perform some sort of charitable work after hearing “Closer.”

4. “Far Behind” - Candlebox

Now maybe I could have made my own mistakes / But I live with what I've known / And then maybe we might share in something great / But won't you look at where we've grown / Won't you look at where we've gone

I don’t really have a problem with Candlebox making the top 5.  This song was a huge success back in the day and continues to be one of the most included songs on any ‘90s rock compilation.  “Far Behind” represents a time when I didn’t need to know any more than what was being force-fed to me.  I can count the number of Candlebox songs I know on one 1 hand (don’t even need all the fingers) and I don’t even know the lead singer’s name.  This song has the distinction of being on one of the first custom mix CDs I made for myself in high school.  I heard the DJ once describe these guys as jerks who let their fame go to their head.  I won’t hold that against this song though.

3. “Buddy Holly” – Weezer

Woo-hoo, but you know I'm yours / Woo-hoo, and I know you're mine / Woo-hoo, and that's for all time

Come on, you know you want to.  Join in on the infectious woo-hoo’s and sing along.  I’m sort of glad that Mandie identified this time period as the height of Weezer’s career because I agree.  I’ll pump the brakes on any notion that they’ve descended into complete crappiness but this is the Weezer I want to think of.  I’d like to give a shout-out to “Say It Ain’t So” by Weezer.  It would have been first on this list but couldn’t crack the top 5 in 1995, which speaks to the strength of that year in my eyes (ears?).  Fun fact:  Rivers Cuomo originally didn’t want to include this song on the [insert color here] album.  How dare he try to deprive me of learning who Mary Tyler Moore is?

2. “Mayonaise” – The Smashing Pumpkins

We'll try and ease the pain / But somehow we'll feel the same / Well, no one knows / Where our secrets go

This song has retroactively become one of my favorites and I’m proud of how its inclusion symbolizes my growth as a music fan.  I was still trying to gain my musical identity in 1994, and my alternative universe was almost exclusively limited to songs I heard on the radio.  This definitely isn’t one of the first songs that would come to your mind when recalling ‘90s hits from the Pumpkins.  It wasn’t even on my radar back then, or even during high school for that matter.  Over the years I’ve gone back and listened to some of the full albums from this time period that contained songs I enjoyed.  Siamese Dream became one of my all-time favorite albums with “Mayonaise” obviously being a big part of it.  It hooked me with its dreamy intro and those distorted, whistle-sounding guitar parts.  When listening to the 1994 countdown one year, the DJ (Electra maybe?) commented how this was her favorite Pumpkins song.  It isn’t quite mine but I took her admission as further justification of the song’s place on my list.

1. “Basket Case” – Green Day

Do you have the time / To listen to me whine / About nothing and everything / All at once

That’s pretty much what I’m asking you all to do with the blog isn’t it?  It sure seems that way sometimes.  I wouldn’t be shocked if my readers consider me a basket case after reading some of the things I’ve written, especially about past crushes and my “rules.”  I’m just a melodramatic fool.   Dookie was my favorite album at the time (and still ranks very high) so it’s fitting that one of its songs would top this year’s list.  I was always perplexed and fascinated by the inaudible “Uh yuh yuh yuh” that replaced “Am I just stoned?” the second time through the chorus.  I wanted to know WHAT that lyric was or why Billie Joe felt the need to utter it but only at that one part.  I guess some things are better left a mystery so the legend can grow.