There were 1,082 songs across my weekly mixes in 2004. Here are my favorite 108 0f them.
"Add It Up" by The Violent Femmes was a high school staple for me, sounding so lewd to my Catholic school ears. Shuggie Otis was a hot new rediscovery in 2004 and "Aht Uh Mi Hed" is so atmospheric. The Replacements ode to Big Star, "Alex Chilton", is a perfect pop song. I had it as a ringtone a couple years ago, and the chorus "I'm in love" magically became true. "American Girl" by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers is so iconic it deserves its title. The spooky "Ashes To Ashes" is my favorite David Bowie song. Led Zeppelin's version of the folk standard "Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You" was inspired by Joan Baez, but has such muscular power. I've always loved the summery feel of The Beatles' "Because". Reminds me of steamy backseats in high school. Iggy Pop's late-period "Beside You" features back-up singing by the B-52s and reminds me so much a late night bar in Chicago right after college. The obscure "Bing Bong Goes My Heart" by The Determinations has such charm and passion, and is one of those rare soul singles I love collecting. "Black Cherry" may have been the first Goldfrapp song I heard, so sensual and dreamy. "Bonita Applebaum" by A Tribe Called Quest boasts great wit and production. "C.R.E.A.M." was possibly the first song I ever heard by The Wu-Tang Clan and I felt like I'd never heard anything quite like it. "Can We Try Love Again" by Kool Blues is another obscure soul nugget, with great organ and guitar. I fist heard "Cigarettes And Coffee" by Otis Redding at a perfect time and place: in the middle of the night on the radio in Chicago. It's so simple and moving. TLC's "Creep" has such a great jazzy hook to go along with great singing. Blondie's "Dreaming" is so dense yet airy and slightly surreal, like a dream I suppose. "Drivin' On 9" by The Breeders has a great loping country sound and a little bit of a wink, with the prettiest singing Kim Deal ever did. Nirvana's "Dumb" was on the radio all the time after Kurt Cobain's suicide, a chilly reminder of depression. Such a gorgeous melody, perfect lyrics, it makes sadness seem really beautiful. Much happier is Roy Ayers' "Everybody Loves The Sunshine", which reminds me so much of long dog walks through NYC in the spring of 2004.
"Everybody Needs Love" is an overlooked Marvin Gaye song, so full of compassion and gorgeous melody. The part at the end, after reciting all the things that need love, when he mentions a "mean old man" is especially sad given his death at the hands of his father. The Notorious B.I.G.'s "Everyday Struggle" strikes an unusual chord in me, somewhat melancholy for a hip hop song but determined to keep pushing on. There's a little Steely Dan in the mix of "Eye Know [The Know It All Mix]" by De La Soul and it's about the happiest song ever. Sly & the Family Stone's "Family Affair" is both comforting and slightly unsettling at the same time. Sly's vocals are just amazing. The gorgeous "Girl" by The Beatles is John Lennon at an early peak: I remember being in college, parsing the lyrics for alleged anti-religion sentiment. I remember a friend alleging that the appeal of "Got Your Money" by Ol' Dirty Bastard featuring Kelis was all that Neptunes production and her vocal hook. Both great, but ODB is a genius on here. The romantic "Heaven Knows" by Donna Summer was written by Luther Vandross and features uncredited singing by him. "Here" is a nice moody ballad on Pavement's "Slanted & Enchanted" but I love the harder rocking version from their Peel Sessions. "Here Comes The Sun" by The Beatles never gets old, George Harrison's singing as gentle as his guitar. "Honky Tonk Women" by The Rolling Stones features the best use of cowbell ever, reminding me of my childhood and the first time I ever smelled beer. "How Deep Is Your Love" by The Bee Gees is such a beautiful song, I'm surprised it hasn't been covered more. Bjork's "Hyperballad" lives up to its title and the production on it and the energy make it one of my very favorites of hers. I also love the covers of it by The Twilight Singers and Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the former so strong and the latter so tender. "I Can't Wait" ingeniously uses the theme from 80s tv cop show TJ Hooker to match the insanity of Ol' Dirty Bastard's frantic rap. This is exciting, crazy music. Prince's "I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man" is so full of drama, feeling and hope. Anyone who wonders why I like a few 80s Janet Jackson singles so much needs to hear the production by her team, Jam & Lewis, on Robert Palmer's slinky "I Didn't Mean To Turn You On". It's hard to imagine that the haunting "I Hung My Head" was written by Sting, given how perfect Johnny Cash's voice and the spare production is. Equally inspired production by The Neptunes can be found on Jay-Z's "I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)". Todd Rundgren's "I Saw The Light" is also a dense layer of production, led by a sweet vocal. From the same time period with a decidedly different feel is "I Wanna Be Your Dog" by The Stooges, with Iggy Pop's growl competing with the raw crunch of the guitars and sleigh bells.
Ray Charles' simple and heartfelt "I Want A Little Girl" is one of my favorites of his. Bob Dylan's "I Want You" was what he described as "that wild mercury sound". I love the plaintiveness of his singing, the poetry of the lyrics and the jangle of the guitar. There is no more joyful song than Stevie Wonder's "I Was Made To Love Her". Marlene Dietrich's weary "I've Been In Love Before" captures a romantic feeling I've never heard in another song: a perfect blend of caution and hope. It reminds me so much more of 2007, but it was in 2004 when I discovered it. Raekown's "Ice Cream" boasts great cameos by fellow Wu-Tang Clan members Method Man and Ghostface Killah, and great ice cream truck-like sound effects. Bjork's "Immature" is so sorrowful, full of regret but also deeply inspiring to me. GZA's "Investigative Reports" has an eerie beat with news clips sampled that lend a veracity to the story. "King Of Pain" is the crowning moment for The Police, so spare and haunting yet oddly uplifting. "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" is a great Bob Dylan song and my favorite version is the live version from 1975 when Dylan performed with The Rolling Thunder Review. The steel guitar and the fuller band and chorus are amazing. "Look At Me" is one of John Lennon's more beautiful solo ballads, and I love the acoustic version on here even more, as his singing is a little more naked. Duke Ellington's "Lotus Blossom" is possibly too beautiful for description. "Love Minus Zero/No Limit" might be Bob Dylan's greatest love song. Paul Westerberg's "Love Untold" might be his best and most moving ballad since The Replacements' days, and I also love the spare acoustic version also on here. Rod Stewart's cover of Bob Dylan's "Mama You Been On My Mind" adds a country flavor to it as well as Rod's great soulful singing.
"Miss World" by Hole is so infectious. The "ATCQ Q-Tip" remix of Wu-Tang Clan's "Da Mystery Of Chessboxin" lays the vocals over the more dreamy production of "Electric Relaxation" by A Tribe Called Quest, drawing out the otherworldliness of the lyrics. "Never Let Me Down Again" by Depeche Mode is one their best, for that piano hook alone. Bob Seger's "Night Moves" is so soulful, it sounds like Ray Charles to me. "No Aloha" by The Breeders is so underrated, the guitar and hook and surreal lyrics all make a perfect weird pop song. John Lennon's "Oh Yoko" has such a pretty melody and sense of joy. "Once In A Lifetime" by Talking Heads is so hypnotic and strange, I'm grateful I could hear it as an 80s suburban kid. "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" by Neil Young is so wise and heartfelt, like so much of his music. It is a puzzle to me how more of his songs did not make these "best ofs". Van Halen's "Panama" defines the word "swagger" and was a great song for a boy to hear when he was going through puberty. The gospel-tinged "Piece Of Clay" is another lesser-known Marvin Gaye ballad that sounds even more sad in relation to his father. "Pop Life" might be my favorite Prince song, so sly and funky and cool. "Queen Jane Approximately" is considered a minor Bob Dylan song, but it was always one of my very favorites, so nakedly adoring. Maxine Nightingale's "Right Back Where We Started From" is so sweet and upbeat. "Rudie Can't Fail" by The Clash always reminds me of bartending in college, when my friend would get the d-jay to play what was at the time my favorite Clash song. Ghostface Killah's "Run" with Jadakiss is thrilling and visceral, funny and scary all at once. I love the harpsichord accompanying the voice of Cat Power on her cover of Phil Phillips' "Sea Of Love". her singing is less smoky yet prettier than on any of her other songs. "Shadows Of The Night" by Pat Benatar is so bombastic but so brave and so beautiful. It's disparaged as "disco dead" but I love "Shakedown Street" by the Grateful Dead, so weird and atmospheric, to my ears the most interesting thing they did after their early run of pretty acoustic singles. Speaking of which, nothing beats "Skyway" by the Replacements. The wise "The Sly, The Slick And The Wicked" by The Lost Generation has such perfect harmony singing and layered production. At the end of the sweeping, dramatic "Song 3 (instrumental)" you can hear Marvin Gaye say "ain't that a bitch!". It is, and it's a real bitch that he didn't get to live long enough to go back and lay vocals over this beautiful track.
"Soul Train Theme" is a very rare "instant composition" Stevie Wonder composed as a guest on the tv show Soul Train. Instant proof of his genius. I love how he gets the audience to sing with him. Candi Staton's cover of Tammi Wynette's "Stand By Your Man" adds some soulful grit to the country flavor. Liz Phairs's "Strange Loop" features perfect lyrics against chiming guitars. Led Zeppelin's "Tangerine" reminds me of the warmth of friendship in college. "Tell Her No" by the Zombies is so cool and timeless. There may be funkier songs than Sly & The Family Stone's "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Again)" but none of those as hypnotic and enduring. Led Zeppelin's "That's The Way" is another more melancholic but beautiful ballad of theirs. Earth, Wind & Fire's "That's The Way Of The World" is so lush and wise. People often forget that Nico's "These Days" was written by her teenage lover Jackson Browne. This arrangement remains the best of the many versions, so autumnal. "This Is Radio Clash" by The Clash is still so powerful and uplifting. I have an odd memory of blasting it off humongous speakers across our campus lawn. "Waiting In Vain" is my favorite song by Bob Marley & The Wailers, so vulnerable yet generous. "Waiting On A Friend" by The Rolling Stones is one of their best later ballads, the lyrics and singing a late peak for Mick Jagger, with a perfect saxophone by Sonny Rollins. I love the swirling romanticism of Van Morrison's "The Way Young Lovers Do". "What A Fool Belives" by The Doobie Brothers reminds me so much of my childhood around my parents' divorce. Michael McDonald's singing is so empathetic and wise, this song has always stuck with me and proves to be true over and over again. Dangermouse's version of "What More Can I say" mashes up the Jay-Z song against "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" by the Beatles, and was an exciting discovery in 2004. "Who Loves The Sun" by The Velvet Underground is either a perfect pop song or a sly parody of one, but the sentiment is perfect just the same. I love the Parliament homage "The Whole World" by Outkast, as well the cameo by Killer Mike. The first time I heard Moby's "Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?' I felt like I'd been knocked over. Nothing of his, or very little else, has struck me that way since. It's so soulful and dreamy and an exciting blend of new and old. Paul McCartney's ballad with Wings "A Little Luck" is so sweet and hopeful. His best post-Beatles song. And it's hard to compare it back-to-back with his earlier ballad with The Beatles "You Never Give Me Your Money". Except to say that no one will write songs like this again. Nor will they ever sound like Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell's duet "You're All I Need To Get By", which is inspiring and so ethereal that I'm sure if there's a heaven this is playing.
