Most of my “Abysmal 10” lists are in no particular order, but sometimes there are exceptions. For the very first 10 Most Truly Abysmal Songs of the Year list, I have Cage the Elephant’s “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked” at the top of the list. For a reason. Without a doubt it’s my favorite song of the year…and now one of my top 10 of all time. The rest of the disc smokes as well (“Judas” is a close second for me), but this is a song I’ve listened to almost every day for the past 9 months and it still gives me an adrenaline rush.
Click on any of the song titles below to check out the songs (and in some cases the videos, too!) for yourself. And with that, please enjoy the 10 Most Truly Abysmal Songs of 2009. Abysmally, of course…
Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked – Cage the Elephant A bonafide stone cold classic forever and ever amen. Period. End of story. Immediately infectious, this song was my introduction to this band and my favorite CD of 2009. Absolutely slammed it’s way into the 10 Most Truly Abysmal Songs of all time.
Moongazer – Invasion Dr. Chado turned me on to this little gem from way out in left field. The guitarist is wearing a Sleep t-shirt, which tells you stylistically where they’re coming from. Really cool song from out of nowhere.
Struck Down – Clutch My favorite tune from the wonderful Strange Cousins from the West CD. This one will get you movin’ for sure, and Neil Fallon’s vocals breathe more and more soul with each release.
Elephants/Mind Eraser (No Chaser) – Them Crooked Vultures I can’t decide between the two, so they’re both here! Mind Eraser-No Chaser is one of the coolest rock songs you’ll ever hear. Elephants is a great rocker and a great ride with shifting tempos, cool hooks and melodies…and Josh Homme making his guitar trumpet like an elephant (you’ll hear the big one at 1:23 into the song). This is rock, this is art, this is craft.
Black Widow – Jealousy Curve I don’t even know if this song was released in 2009, but it’s the first I heard of it and I absolutely love the tune. So there. lol I hope to hear more from this Philly area bunch.
Sampo – Amorphis Huge. Magnificent. Epic. When I’m in that mood, no band satisfies like Amorphis. This track, which kicks off the incredible Skyforger CD, literally causes my heart to race…and in my opinion it’s the best song the band has ever written. Huge accomplishment for a band with a catalogue 10+ CD’s deep. And no one mixes piano and keyboards into heavy music like Amorphis. Nobody.
Cutthroat – 4 Mag Nitrous Yes, I was partial to 4 Mag from the beginning because I’ve known bassist Kib since the mid 90’s. Truth is, though, when this song first ripped a hole in my Marantz woofers I was suddenly 17 again…tennis racket (or whatever else was handy) getting a thorough air guitar workout.
I Missed Your Mischief – Be My Weapon (sorry I couldn’t find a link for this one) Another great song from one of my favorite songwriters (David Freel), and I’m not sure what else to say other than it’s one of many great songs on the “March/2009” CD. Intimate and textured…I just don’t think music gets any more honest than David Freel, and it shows on his first Be My Weapon release.
Nothing To Cry About – Toadies I had a hard time deciding between this one and “Song I Hate.” Hell, the whole disc is awesome…but this song’s my favorite because of the relentless lumbering groove and the unique hook melody of the chorus. One more reason to love Toadies. My apologies for the sound quality of the link…it was the best one I could find:)
Renegade – Hed(pe) Something about this mixture of aggression and melody on this just gives me an adrenaline rush. Nobody does this style quite like Hed(pe). “I might be bleeding, but I’m still breathing” is one of those lines of survival that has gotten me through many difficult moments over the past year. The video doesn’t do it for me, but maybe I just don’t geddit.