Lewy's Hottest 200

Then can take away our freedom, but they will not take away... our MUSIC!

In 2009, triple J one-upped itself by adding an additional listener poll to their yearly Hottest 100 songs  – the Hottest 100 of All Time. Following the countdown (won by Nirvana’s "Smells Like Teen Spirit") the station's Music Director Richard Kingsmill unveiled his own top ton.

Recently, while in lockdown and in search of something –  anything – to pass the time and glean some level of stimulation, I searched Apple Music to see if anyone had pulled together Kingsmill’s one hundred songs into a playlist. 

They had – and what a cracker of a collection it was: a fairly contempary concoction that leant to punk and rock but infused with most genres. For me, it meant a handful of songs discovered, many others resurrected, and, of course, some that would also feature in my list, should I ever do one.

And then the thought: why shouldn't I? I had the time (sort-of), and the conviction. So I got going on a spreadsheet, listing songs as they came to me. But of course, narrowing a music-lover’s 44-year exposure to history’s tunes to a mere 100 songs proved a task nigh on impossible. So, 200 songs it became.

It only took a few weeks in the end, and, after a full play-through and a few last-minute tweaks (including moving a few places around to make the playlist flow better), I landed on a final playlist. Thirteen of Kingsmill's list made it to my 200, and I went with his rule of only one song per artist to ensure the playlist had a wider, more flavourful pallette. 

Of course, this meant agonising over entries for many bands, including Radiohead and the Beatles, both of whom I could have included 20 tracks.

But each song has a story, a reason for being here. One of the more memorable ones is Kate Bush's "Wuthering Heights", a song I'd heard here and there throughout my childhood but really gained traction when a somewhat intoxicated young Irishman enthralled a packed Galway pub as he stood on a table, pint of Kilkenny to hand, and belted out the full tune, almost blowing a gasket trying to reach Bush's criminally high notes in the chorus. Fun times.

There’s a few guilty pleasures – songs that some may think ‘what the fuck?’ – and, in the case of entries by Simon & Garfunkel, Roy Orbison and The Bee Gees, inspiration from my mother, a music lover herself who used to tune into Rage very Saturday morning with me as a child. 

There’s also a bit of dad’s influence in Eagles, and Neil Young’s "Cinnamon Girl", off Neil’s 1969 masterpiece Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, an album dad had in his collection but never played.  

So, to the list. The 200 songs span the years 1961 to 2019 (there's a playlist link at the bottom). The 1990s – my "peak" period, from age 13 to 23 – had the most entries with 54, followed by the 2000s with 46, the 1980s with 33, the 1970s with 30, the 1960s with 20 and the 2010s with 17. On the whole, it's a very solid representation of what I've been exposed to over the years. It's my soundtrack; a sonic navigation of the ups, downs and merry-go-rounds. 

Now that this is done, I look forward to what the next few decades brings to my ears – and heart – always hopeful that some worthwhile newcomers complement the treasure trove of tracks from the past that belatedly find their way into my psyche.   

Full List:

1.      Fools Gold - The Stone Roses
2.      Let Down - Radiohead
3.      New Grass - Talk Talk
4.      A Day in the Life - The Beatles
5.      One Sunday Morning - Wilco
6.      Unfinished Sympathy - Massive Attack
7.      Born Slippy .NUXX - Underworld
8.      Kashmir - Led Zeppelin
9.      Marquee Moon - Television
10.    One Crowded Hour - Augie March
11.    The Mercy Seat - Nick Cave and the Black Seeds
12.    Neighorhood #1 (Tunnels) - Arcade Fire
13.    Bohemian Like You - The Dandy Warhols
14.    Sweet Thing - Van Morrison
15.    Good Vibrations - The Beach Boys
16.    Venus in Furs - The Velvet Underground
17.    Hoppípolla - Sigur Ros
18.    Friday On My Mind - The Easybeats
19.    Wolf Like Me - TV On the Radio
20.    How Soon Is Now? - The Smiths    
21.    The Dead Flag Blues - Godspeed! You Black Emperor
22.    Empire State of Mind - Jay Z ft. Alicia Keys
23.    Nosferatu Man - Slint
24.    Waterloo Sunset - The Kinks
25.    Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen
26.    September Gurls - Big Star
27.    Dreams - The Cranberries
28.    Hurricane - Bob Dylan
29.    Never Ending Happening - Bill Fay
30.    Money - Pink Floyd
31.    When Doves Cry - Prince
32.    Golden Brown - The Stranglers
33.    Blue Line Swinger - Yo La Tengo
34.    Sparky's Dream - Teenage Fanclub
35.    Twenty Four Hours - Joy Division
36.    Fake Empire - The National
37.    Cinnamon Girl - Neil Young & Crazy Horse
38.    Hey Joe - Jimi Hendrix
39.    Alright - Supergrass
40.    Forty Six & 2 - Tool
41.    An Ocean In Between the Waves - The War on Drugs
42.    Caring Is Creepy - The Shins
43.    L.A. Woman - The Doors
44.    Stand By Me - Ben E. King
45.    Tractor Rape Chain - Guided By Voices
46.    Bulls on Parade - Rage Against the Machine
47.    Faster - Manic Street Preachers
48.    Go Your Own Way - Fleetwood Mac
49.    Tonight, Tonight - The Smashing Pumpkins
50.    Closer - Nine Inch Nails
51.    Grace - Jeff Buckley
52.    Blue Monday - New Order
53.    My Sweet Lord - George Harrison
54.    The Day I Tried to Live - Soundgarden
55.    Telephasic Workshop - Boards of Canada
56.    re: Stacks - Bon Iver
57.    Dogs Are the Best People - The Fauves
58.    Gimme Shelter - The Rolling Stones
59.    Myth - Beach House
60.    New Year's Day - U2
61.    Mykonos - Fleet Foxes
62.    Windfall - Son Volt
63.    One - Metallica
64.    Farewell Transmission - Magnolia Electric Co.
65.    I Bleed - Pixies
66.    Big Sur - The Thrills
67.    On a Plain - Nirvana
68.    Rearviewmirror - Pearl Jam
69.    Breaking Glass - David Bowie
70.    He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother - The Hollies
71.    Anarchy In the UK - Sex Pistols
72.    Rattlesnake - King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
73.    The Real Thing - Russell Morris
74.    Being Followed - Rocket Science
75.    Sweet Lullaby - Deep Forest
76.    Bitter Sweet Symphony - The Verve
77.    Pink Moon - Nick Drake
78.    Supermassive Black Hole - Muse
79.    If I Could Talk I'd Tell You - The Lemonheads
80.    Banquet - Bloc Party
81.    The Seabirds - The Triffids
82.    Reptilia - The Strokes
83.    Common People - Pulp
84.    More Than This - Roxy Music
85.    Original Sin - INXS
86.    California Love -  Dr. Dre and 2Pac
87.    The Rip - Portishead
88.    For Tomorrow - Blur
89.    Sleeping Ute - Grizzly Bear
90.    White Shade of Pale - Procul Harum
91.    Under the Bridge - Red Hot Chili Peppers
92.    Hotel California - Eagles
93.    Waltz #1 - Elliott Smith
94.    Money Trees - Kendrick Lamar
95.    Cathy's Clown - You Am I
96.    Black Steel - Tricky
97.    Slate - Uncle Tupelo
98.    Wuthering Heights - Kate Bush
99.    Monsters - Something for Kate
100.  When You Were Young - The Killers
101.  Crosseyed & Painless - Talking Heads
102.  Cloud City - Hiatus
103.  Praise You - Fatboy Slim
104.  Alone Again Or - Love
105.  Crazy - Gnarls Barkley
106.  Estranged - Guns N' Roses
107.  Sounds of Then - GANGgajang
108.  Feel Good Inc. - Gorillaz
109.  Don't Dream It's Over - Crowded House
110.  Casimir Pulaski Day - Sufjan Stevens
111.  Stronger - Kanye West
112.  Memory Machine - The Dismemberment Plan
113.  Little Bit of Rain - Fred Neil
114.  The Sound of Silence - Simon & Garfunkel
115.  Oh My - The Drones
116.  Talking Shit About a Pretty Sunset - Modest Mouse
117.  There She Goes - The La's
118.  Inside Looking Out - Mark Hollis
119.  Live Forever - Oasis
120.  House of the Rising Sun - The Animals  
121.  Roxanne - The Police
122.  Dilly - Band of Horses
123.  Hospital Beds - Cold War Kids
124.  Take Me Out - Franz Ferdinand
125.  Step On - Happy Mondays
126.  Strange Ways - Madvillain
127.  Khe Sanh - Cold Chisel
128.  Who'll Stop the Rain - Creedence Clearwater Revival
129.  (Looking for the Heart of) Saturday Night - Tom Waits
130.  Mother - John Lennon
131.  Bring the Noise - Public Enemy
132.  Sugar for the Pill - Slowdive
133.  Band On the Run - Paul McCartney & Wings
134.  Blitzkrieg Bop - Ramones
135.  You and Your Sister - Chris Bell
136.  Longview - Green Day
137.  Pictures of You - The Cure
138.  Slice of Heaven - Dave Dobbyn
139.  The Boys of Summer - Don Henley
140.  Thrilloilogy - Powderfinger
141.  Redemption Song - Bob Marley & the Wailers
142.  Oh Sherrie - Steve Perry
143.  Dirty Hearts - Dallas Crane
144.  Clocks - Coldplay
145.  Hey Ya! - Outkast
146.  Billie Jean - Michael Jackson
147.  Get Free - The Vines
148.  A Street Scene - Bark Psychosis
149.  Hammerhead - James Reyne
150.  Behind Blue Eyes - The Who
151.  Gloria - Patti Smith
152.  Setting Sun - The Chemical Brothers
153.  Clay Pigeons - Blaze Foley
154.  Layla - Derk & the Dominoes
155.  Come Together - Primal Scream
156.  Wind of Change - The Scorpions
157.  Thrift Shop - Macklemore
158.  Away From the Mire - Billy Strings
159.  Pyramids - Frank Ocean
160.  My Girls - Animal Collective
161.  Radio Free Europe - R.E.M.
162.  Light - Crow
163.  I Predict a Riot - Kaiser Chiefs
164.  Refugee - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
165.  Hearts a Mess - Gotye
166.  Paper Planes - M.I.A.
167.  The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down - The Band
168.  Laid - James
169.  One Day Like This - Elbow
170.  Move With Me - Tim Buckley
171.  Personal Jesus - Depeche Mode
172.  Gone Tomorrow - Lambchop
173.  Get Lucky - Daft Punk
174.  Seven Nation Army - The White Stripes
175.  Electric Feel - MGMT
176.  Forgotten Years - Midnight Oil
177.  The River - Bruce Springsteen
178.  Don't You (Forget About Me) - Simple Minds
179.  Maggie May - Rod Stewart
180.  Under the Milky Way - The Church
181.  Oh, Pretty Woman - Roy Orbison
182.  Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors - Editors
183.  The Nosebleed Section - Hilltop Hoods
184.  Sunken Waltz - Calexico
185.  Stayin' Alive - Bee Gees
186.  Jump Around - House of Pain
187.  The City of Chicago - Christy Moore
188.  Fade Into You - Mazzy Star
189.  Summer in the City - The Lovin' Spoonful
190.  Jim Cain - Bill Callahan
191.  Dog Days Are Over - Florence + the Machine
192.  Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of) - The Mars Volta
193.  Fisherman's Blues - The Waterboys
194.  Animal Nitrate - Suede
195.  Girl From Mars - Ash
196.  Shipbuilding - Robert Wyatt
197.  Black Swan - Thom Yorke
198.  The Beast - Angus & Julia Stone  
199.  Fuzzy - Grant Lee Buffalo
200.  Vincent - Car Seat Headrest

Playlist, from 200 to 1, here. 

Top 20 Mark Hollis Songs (Talk Talk and solo)

The word 'genius' is thrown around far too liberally -- be it a creative, academic or sporting endeavor.
But it's a label that sits deservedly with British musician Mark Hollis, who turned 62 today.
Many won't have heard of Hollis -- or even the seminal band he fronted, Talk Talk. (Although, No Doubt, there'll be ripples of acknowledgement upon hearing "It's My Life".)
But to those luckily in the know, he's the gift that keeps on giving.
This list was a tough one to compile. I don't care so much for the of-its-time synth-pop of Talk Talk's first few albums, but their immersive sign-offs, Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock, and, to a lesser extent, the critical and commercial trump card The Colour of Spring, changed my world -- and did so when I needed it most.
So, to the list. Despite having less than 50 songs to play with -- there were only five Talk Talk albums and one solo offering -- I couldn't whittle down to a mere 10. Or 15. So I went with 20. Time to move your cursor to "John Cope" and work your way up through 20 spellbinding experiences.

 1.  New Grass Laughing Stock

 2.  I Believe in You Spirit of Eden
 3.  After the Flood Laughing Stock

 4.  April 5th The Colour of Spring
 5.  The Colour of Spring Mark Hollis
 6.  Eden Spirit of Eden
 7.  Taphead Laughing Stock
 8.  Inside Looking Out Mark Hollis
 9.  Myrrhman Laughing Stock
10. Westward Bound Mark Hollis
11. The Rainbow Spirit of Eden
12. Desire Spirit of Eden
13. Ascension Day Laughing Stock
14. A Life (1895-1915) Mark Hollis
15. Inheritance Spirit of Eden
16. Life's What You Make It The Colour of Spring

17. Time It's Time The Colour of Spring

18. Tomorrow Started It's My Life

19. It's My Life It's My Life

20. John Cope Asides Besides

Top 15 Coldplay Songs

For a long time now – probably since their world-conquering first two albums, Parachutes and A Rush of Blood to the Head – Coldplay have been a band too big to be critically cool.
No doubt there's some tall-poppy-syndrome at play – after all, what good is a band when they become ultra-mainstream? – but much of their output since Rush of Blood has been all too easy for those of critical eyes and ears to poke holes in.
By-the-numbers stadium pop-rock (at times sounding more like U2 than U2).
Cloyingly sentimental.
Made-for-FM electro tosh.
And some of the lyrics! "You cut me down a tree / And brought it back to me / And that's what made me see / Where I was going wrong..."
All that said, the band's back catalogue is decent, as evidenced by the 15 cuts below. It's a list dominated by Parachutes and Rush of Blood but 2008's Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends holds up pretty well in terms of track quality.
Their Australian tour kicks off in Brisbane tonight, and they hit Melbourne this weekend. As far as concerts go, they put on a good show. I went along when they last toured in 2012 and was impressed... especially when they dug out the nuggets from, yep, the first two albums.

 1. Amsterdam A Rush of Blood to the Head
 2. Clocks A Rush of Blood to the Head
 3.   Strawberry Swing Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
 4. Spies Parachutes 
 5. Viva la Vida Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
 6. Politik A Rush of Blood to the Head
 7. Don't Panic Parachutes
 8. Yellow Parachutes
 9. Warning Sign A Rush of Blood to the Head
10. Bigger Stronger Blue Room (EP)
11. In My Place A Rush of Blood to the Head
12. Lost! Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
13. Lovers in Japan/Reign of Love Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
14. Trouble Parachutes
15. Low X&Y

Top 15 Title Tracks

As a kid I always thought the title track should be the best song of its namesake album. I know now, of course, that this isn't the reality - although a title track should, at the very least, be thematically representative of the album's whole.
The following list comprises tunes that are not only great in their own right, but also act as central points on the albums from which they are lifted. Not all the albums are classics, but this is an exercise in choosing the best title tracks, not albums. At any rate, with albums like Pink Moon, Astral Weeks, Kid A, What's Going On and Grace represented, it's a fine roll call by anyone's language...  whether it's the song or the album we're talking about.
Same old story regarding the final cut; there's only 15 spots, so title-track gems like Bowie's ""Heroes"", The Boss' "Born to Run", Prince's "Purple Rain", The Beatles' "Let It Be" and The Doors' "L.A. Woman" (among a host of others) don't get a look in. But it's hard to dispute those that did.
Well I don't, anyway.

 1.  Pink Moon Nick Drake
 2.  Imagine John Lennon
 3.  Astral Weeks Van Morrison
 4.  Marquee Moon Television
 5.  Kid A Radiohead
 6.  Station to Station David Bowie
 7.  All Things Must Pass George Harrison
 8.  What’s Going On Marvin Gaye 
 9.  Wish You Were Here Pink Floyd
10. I See A Darkness Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
11. Grace Jeff Buckley
12. Hotel California Eagles
13. London Calling The Clash
14. Carrie & Lowell Sufjan Stevens
15. American Pie Don McLean

Top 15 Radiohead Songs

It's an event, each new Radiohead release. And this time around, they've outdone themselves, first erasing themselves from the internet and then, in a whirlwind four-day period, unveiling two singles - "Burn the Witch", with its dark, stabbing strings and arresting video, and the glitchy, lugubrious "Daydreaming" - and dropping their first long-player in five years.
A Moon Shaped Pool has been warmly received, even if most are still stabbing in the dark as to what the band are on about; what they're trying to do. ("Gosh, it's depressing." "Poor, heartbroken Thom: such a beautiful soul.") It's an unsettling, sonically layered grower; to these ears on par with The King of Limbs and ahead of Pablo Honey but trailing the rest of the band's albums in terms of song quality and richness. But to dismiss it as underwhelming is the easy way out; it demands a slow unfurling, and my views in two weeks' time might well be vastly different. (Indeed, "Present Tense" and "Identikit" are two tracks to bloom dramatically in my reckoning these past few days.)
At the very least, A Moon Shaped Pool is further proof of Thom's elasticity; his need to stretch out; his band, never stagnant.
Here are their top 15 songs to date.

 1.   Let Down OK Computer
 2.   Paranoid Android OK Computer
 3.   How to Disappear Completely Kid A
 4.   Karma Police OK Computer
 5.   Bodysnatchers In Rainbows 
 6.   Kid A Kid A
 7.   There There Hail to the Thief
 8.   Pyramid Song Amnesiac
 9.   Bones The Bends
10.  Subterranean Homesick Alien OK Computer
11.  2+2=5 Hail to the Thief
12.  Like Spinning Plates (Piano) I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings

13.  Present Tense A Moon Shaped Pool

14.  Fake Plastic Trees The Bends
15.  15 Step In Rainbows 

16.  Separator The King of Limbs  
17.  Myxamatosis Hail to the Thief

18.  Blowout Pablo Honey

19.  No Surprises OK Computer

20.  Lotus Flower The King of Limbs

 

Token thought: Godspeed You! Black Emperor - "The Dead Flag Blues"

If you think you're having a dark day, then don't listen to this, the musical equivalent of an apocalypse.
Perhaps the most arresting piece of music I've ever heard.
Best to consume while the head's in neutral territory on a Wednesday, or to rein in the office worker's internal affray come Friday afternoon.
Don't use as an antidote to Mondayitis.

Top 15 Guns N' Roses Songs

It's the April Fools' joke that never was. Axl Rose, the new lead singer of AC/DC. In light of the news – or furore if you’re a Brian Johnson fan – it’s as opportune a time as any to revisit the catalogue of the controversial, world-conquering band he fronted when we were all kids (or younger adults).
Given Guns N' Roses' legacy it might seem surprising that they only released three 'proper' albums (G N' R Lies is a half-hour hodgepodge of live and acoustic tracks, The Spaghetti Incident a cash-grab, and the less said about Chinese Democracy the better), but in each they packaged in such menace and melody that it was near impossible to look away. Balladry or hard-rocking belters, it didn't matter: they were a band in complete control, and very much of their time. Appetite for Destruction was surely one of the all-time great debuts.
Axl was the consummate frontman; even devout AC/DC fans can’t dispute that. But should he be on board at AC/DC? Well, sometimes things should just be left alone.

 1. Estranged Use Your Illusion II
 2. Welcome to the Jungle Appetite for Destruction
 3. Sweet Child of Mine Appetite for Destruction

 4. Patience G N' R Lies
 5. November Rain Use Your Illusion I
 6.  Coma Use Your Illusion I
 7.  It’s So Easy Appetite for Destruction
 8.  Civil War Use Your Illusion II
 9.  Mr Brownstone Appetite for Destruction
10. Locomotive Use Your Illusion II
11. Paradise City Appetite for Destruction
12. Nightrain Appetite for Destruction
13. Knockin' on Heaven's Door Use Your Illusion II
14. My Michelle Appetite for Destruction
15. 14 Years Use Your Illusion II