THE FAVORITES OF POWHERTZ' AUTHOR
IN 2001
So here we are once again, the moment I'm eagerly waiting for every year,
the time to recap the ending year in music. So here are the top songs of
Powhertz' author in 2001 followed by the "top sucks 2001" but first, a word
on the record that conquered Powhertz the most in the last 12 months.
Let's be honest, I bought, to date, only 3 albums released in 2001, but
nothing that I heard on the radio convinced me that Mutter from Rammstein
might not have been the best rock CD released in the last year. A little
bit strange the first time (as any Rammstein disc), but becomes an essential
as soon as the 2nd or 3rd listening (regarding this, I didn't count the total
number of times I could have listened to the whole Mutter , but I
know that after only a month, it was already one of the 10 CDs I listened
to the most often in my life). It is an exceptional success for a well-established
band to come back after 4 years without any studio album (it's easy to forget,
but Sehnsucht dates of 1997...) and to deliver an album that completely
fulfills the expectations without any single deception. Many great bands
failed that kind of tests once in their career (think of the Smashing
Pumpkins with, for example, Adore), but Rammstein passed this test
with a very high level of success. Not only it fulfilled the fans expectations,
but it also highly increased their credibility amongst critics, for whom
Mutter is a symbol of the reach of maturity for the band.
I would'nt say that they took their distances from their previous style,
not at all! Although a bit less "dance metal" (a label that stuck to them
following after their international smash Du Hast) than Sehnsucht
, we can easily recognize the kind of music and deep voice of the
famous German band. I would even say that nearly every song of the album
reminded me, the first times I heard them, an old Rammstein song:
1- Mein Herz Brennt : a little bit of Bestrafe
Mich (mostly for the "...macht mich klein"), as well
as a bit of Led Zeppelin's classic Kashmir and even littlier Joga
from Björk .
2- Links 2 3 4 : Laichzeit and Asche
zu Asche (Links 2 3 4 's guitar chords are exactly the same
as Asche 's), maybe a little bit of Wollt Ihr Das Bett in Flammen
Sehen? too for the crowd sounds.
3- Sonne : (really just a little but) Du Riechst
so Gut, only for a question of form, style.
4- Ich Will : nothing particular
5- Feuer Frei! : Weisses Fleisch and Bück
Dich, well, the most violent ones from the band, but not only for their
violence, also for the siren sounds.
6- Mutter, nothing to mention
7- Spieluhr : Seemann for its beautiful ending
of the same kind.
8- Zwitter : a bit of Asche zu Asche, a bit also
of Feurrader, a rarity from the band that you can easily find on
the net.
9- Rein Raus : a bit of Eifersucht , a bit
of Rammstein, a bit of Spiel Mit Mir, and finally a bit of
Weisses Fleisch for the solo.
10- Adios : Der Meister
11- Nebel, definitely the less "pushed" of Mutter
(it also looks to be the fans' opinion in general because both at Rammstein.com
and the fans' site Herzeleid.com, this song got the least votes as
Mutter 's best song), it however reminds me nothing of the previous
albums.
Rammstein was able to maintain its style while gaining in maturity
without falling into copy and repeat of what it already did in the past.
In word word, a masters work. You'll see that Till, Richard, Paul, Christian,
Christoph and Oliver dominates very strongly the chart of my favorites songs
of 2001 with 3 entries, but be sure that it could have been even worse.
If all of the CD's tracks were released as radio singles, the song
Mutter would have easily made its way in the top 5, Mein Herz
Brennt would have also done the top 10, and all of the album's other
tracks except Nebel would have also been in the top 100! The only
bad thing I could say about this album is something very common, it's the
fact that the album's best songs are all packed at the beginning of the
CD, the 7 first ones being the best 7 and the remainder slowing down a bit,
without being bad neither. Let me also mention that two of the year's best
videos were from this album: Sonne and Links 2 3 4.
I would recommend Mutter to any fan of solid rock. It is really
at least as good as their mid-90s essentials Herzeleid and Sehnsucht
. And now ladies and gentlemen, the dessert! Note the new record of Quebecker
bands Vénus 3 and The Respectables who become the first artists to
place 2 songs in the first 75 positions of my annual chart for 2 consecutive
years.
POWHERTZ' FAVORITE SONGS OF 2001
(radio singles only, humoristic songs not included)
Legend:
Artist from Québec
French language (the logo was taken from http://www.theodora.com/flags/france_flags.html)
Artist from Canada (except province
of Québec)
1. Sonne [RAMMSTEIN]
Sublime. I little bit deceived the first time I heard it, but
I quickly changed my mind. A song to take seriously because it is for sure
amongst the best rock songs of the last 5 years.
2. Links 2 3 4 [RAMMSTEIN]
Definitely lower musical aspirations than Sonne, but still a song that
I couldn't have got out of my head in 2001, a lot (which doesn't mean "only")
for its military march that really puts us in the beat!
3. Chop Suey [SYSTEM OF A DOWN]
Until one or two months ago, I would have never thought that someone could
break the fortress that Rammstein and the Cowboys Fringants had raised
over the top spots of my personal chart of 2001. However, Chop Suey
did it with force, grabbing a 3rd place that could have well been a 2nd
place if it had been released earlier in the year. Like Sonne (and
most very good rock songs), it's not an instant one. If it is catching and
surprising already at the first time, it might look a bit raw and of very
average credibility, but that's where we get in the trap of the first listening
and that we understand all the importance to be able to modify our primary
judgements. Despite very minor defaults that keeps it from being a real
chef-d'oeuvre, Chop Suey is definitely a great song with the potential
to become a classic thanks to a special, disconcerting but highly efficient
style and an incredibly brilliant finale. I would say even more, one
of the best song endings since a very long time ago. Congratulations again
to System of a Down, a band that took a lot of experience since its first
major record in 1998 and today rewarded with the fruit of the maturity they
just reached.
4. Maurice au Bistro [LES COWBOYS FRINGANTS]
It's very sad for my Cowboys Fringants; if they had released this song
only 2 months earlier, it would have been #1 of 2000 and the band would
have got the 2 peak spots of my top 90, but unfortunately it arrived too
late on the radio and two things happened: it fell into a year with greater
competition and my interest for the song slightly dropped with time. So,
it's a little bit sad, but I repeat it again in these early days of 2002:
Maurice au Bistro is probably the best song of the excellent album
Motel Capri , or at least the 2nd.
5. Ich Will [RAMMSTEIN]
Ja, Rammstein again! What do you want, Ich Will is very good too!
I would say the 5th or 6th best of this masterpiece titled Mutter
.
6. Boules à Mites [DANIEL BOUCHER]
F*ucked up, almost funny sometimes, but good! No hesitation in naming it
the Quebec's 2nd best song of 2001. Pretty much as good, maybe even better,
that his last year's two big successes, Silicone and La Désise
. Don't go too much crazy though, because these were really the 3 best
songs of the album! The rest is much more average (which doesn't mean bad
either).
7. Hash Pipe [WEEZER]
Maybe Weezer's best this year, but the competition is strong...
8. Photograph [WEEZER]
...so strong that I can't find anything better to put between them
both! This time, more in the style of their greatest hit Buddy Holly
, I really hooked at the first listening, something that doesn't happen
often.
9. Between Angels and Insects [PAPA ROACH]
It's funny. I perfectly agree that Last Resort is the best from
Papa Roach, but this one was my #23 last year and look where Between
Angels and Insects lands this year!... Don't try to understand, it's
a song that doesn't listen to anymore today but that I liked very much in
the beginning of 2001.
10. One Step Closer [LINKIN PARK]
Even funnier, a song released in late 2000, that I didn't like in 2000,
to which I still don't find much great qualities today, but it's one of the
songs that got me the craziest this year! It unleashes in me an energy that
is greatly due to the very efficient introduction.
11. Island in the Sun [WEEZER]
And for a 3rd time, Weezer! What an incredible comeback after so many years
out! The proof that the actual scene was missing them... Island in
the Sun is however very different from the two others, pretty much "kitch"
and sentimental, but I love it anyway. Well, that makes me wonder, how come
I still doesn't have the green album?!
12. Paranoïa [VÉNUS 3]
Vénus 3's second best according to me, very close to (if not equal
to) Une Bonne Journée . A song to sing.
13. Imitation of Life [R.E.M.]
...and another song to sing! At first, it was looking too much retro
for me (it is really a sound of the '80s), but like almost any R.E.M. song,
it is built on solid foundations: a good melody that will touch almost any
music lover.
14. Fat Lip [SUM 41]
Just as I thought that I wasn't able to swallow any more punk arrived Sum
41. The band, that I saw in a summer 2000 concert that really didn't interest
me, comes out this year with a punk song that, surprisingly, doesn't look
like any other song of any other punk band and that is in fact hugely better
than any other punk hit of the year (The Rock Show from Blink 182,
Fuck Authority from Pennywise, etc...). My sincere congratulations
to the young Canadian band.
15. Roll On [THE LIVING END]
A rock song that really got me for a short period but still had its effect.
Much better than Prisoner of Society, the band's first hit.
16. Voices [DISTURBED]
Another good solid rock song. What more to say?
17. Speed Kills / The People That we Love [BUSH]
A great comeback for Bush! Really back to its roots, a song very close
in style to Sixteen Stone (1994), glorious era that Deconstructed
(1997) and The Science of Things (1999), although more explorant,
made us regret! Obviously, their will be very distinct opinions about this
one: those who didn't like the first years of Bush will say that The
People That we Love is a copy of themselves after realizing that they
failed at their attempts of doing more original stuff, while the other category
of people will be happy that Bush finally gives us, after so much years of
wait, a song that respects the style in which they are confortable and compose
well. I'm in that second category.
18. Greed [GODSMACK]
Very much (too much?) alike Awake, but it looks like I like Godsmack!
The American band does something great: getting a 4th song in my annual
top 20 over the last 3 years (Whatever in 1999, Voodoo and
Awake in 2000).
19. Sophie [LES RESPECTABLES]
The intro and the chorus. The rest is very ordinary, but the intro and
the chorus worth them this position!
20. Idiotheque [RADIOHEAD]
Another jewelery in Radiohead's colleciton. The band continues to be one
of the most respected ones in music history. From the album Kid A
, another one that the critics consider as one of all-time's best.
21. Dread & the Fugitive Mind [MEGADETH]
I thought that Megadeth was to remain at only one really good song (
Symphony of Destruction), but I found out, at my big surprise, The
Dread & the Figitive Mind that really worth a place in this chart
with its very catchy guitar in the chorus, its super bass performance à
la My Name is Mud near the half (starts at about 2:03) and a very
cool finale.
22. Schism [TOOL]
Objectively, there is no doubt that this one is amongst the 3 best songs
of 2001. Now, personnally, I find the ending too long and comes to bother
me, and there must be also something else I can't explain because as you
see, we aren't very close of a #3. However, don't see too much negative in
that comment, I'm always very happy to hear Schism when it plays
on the radio!
23. Aisle 10 (Hello Allison) [SCAPEGOAT WAX]
Don't ask me how a so few rock song made its way that high, but I stuck
to this one! Though so simple that we almost feel like it is played by a kid,
I like the guitar of this composition. And what a surprising chaotic
end!
24. Alive [P.O.D.]
A song that doesn't start strong but has what's missing to a lot of songs:
a very catchy chorus. Let's also mention that P.O.D. is one of the rare
solid rock bands with a very positive vision of life.
25. Short Skirt/Long Jacket [CAKE]
Not very original when we know their hit Never There, but I
would say, not without a little hesitation though, that Short Skirt/Long
Jacket is Cake's best original song. The word "original" is important
here because there is their cover of I Will Survive that is really
excellent.
26. Two Shots for the King [SILMARILS]
A bit strange to have chosen an English title and an English chorus when
almost all of the song is in French, but it doesn't matter. Two Shots
for the King ends up being my 3rd favorite European song of 2001, first
of French language! A big surprise!
27. Down With the Sickness [DISTURBED]
Not the composition of the century, but we'll recognize it as Disturbed's
most "animal" song.
28. Black Black Heart [DAVID USHER]
David Usher in solo had always maintained a style different from the
one of its star band, but Black Black Heart could really have been
a Moist tune, and a good one! Very brilliant integration of the opera to
the rock.
29. How You Remind Me [NICKELBACK]
I first seen Nickelback as a good band but only average good like a Better
Than Ezra, but after hearing How you Remind me a good couple of
times and learning the long way and the influences of the Vancouver band,
I came to the conclusion that it's much more than that. A band that deserved
its success. By the way, if I counted correctly, the song spent 11 weeks
on top of the Billboard modern rock chart, which is very a good sign when
we know that they were only a few weeks from the all-time record held by
the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
30. Le Vent Vient Lentement [GUÉRILLA]
A menacing song with haunting lyrics in certain life situations (the chorus
means: "my hope is violent, even if the wind comes slowly"). The best I
know from Guérilla.
31. Thank You [DIDO]
Very tough to rank because I love the touching first minute and a few seconds
(good for a top 15), but I find the rest of the song boring (a 100th place
at most)! That's why I made the compromise that you currently see!
32. La Journée Molle [CAPITAINE RÉVOLTE]
A very nice song on a subject I start to know pretty well: fatigue! Jokes
aside, it is a very good song that compensate very well its so-so vocals
by a fluid melt of rock and violon. If certain bands already brought the
violon to French rock (Louise Attaque, Les Cowboys Fringants), it is, as
far as I know, the first time that we push the exploration as far as marrying
the violon with electric, distortionned guitars. A real success!
33. Toxicity [SYSTEM OF A DOWN]
Here is one that really suffers from its late release date. Although I
don't believe that it could catch up Chop Suey, I listen to it
in repeat mode since I downloaded it from the Web, so much that I start
thinking of purchasing the CD of the same name. I really feel like if it
has been released 3 months earlier, it would have rank much higher in this
chart! The title is a brilliant play on words between the word "toxicity"
and the "Toxic City" which in this case is Hollywood. In fact, the band
wants to use this song to make people know about the other face of Hollywood,
its poor area, while most people idealize this city as a capital of wealth
and property. The music is not far from Chop Suey stylisticly, and
the finale, although uncomparable to Chop Suey's, shows a surprising
clever.
34. Wouf! Wouf! [PHÉNOMEN]
That one got very close to be out of the list for being considered as humoristic,
but finally it falls just on the side of the admissibles (although not
necessarly serious; we've seen it with my #1 of 2000: Awikatchikaën
) to find itself where it is right now. However more funny than really good
music.
35. Gwen et les Rats [GWENWED]
A cool little song without too much pretention, not to take too seriously.
36. Marijuana [MONONC SERGE]
Although I never had very much respect for songs with no other goal than
the legalization of the popular forbidden plant (I think of some GrimSkunk,
Cypress Hill, etc...), I really like Marijuana from Mononc Serge which,
unlike the others of this category, really says something else than a too
simple "legalize it". He put up a very interesting story that exposes, critics,
certainly fantasizes but presents real conflicts made possible by the actual
ban of marijuana. And what a tremendous year for Serge! Marijuana is his
only song that I considered as a non-humoristic one (and so admissible to
this chart), but if I was also accepting humor in there, he would also have,
this year, La Führer in my top 10 as well as Couscous,
Maman Dion and Fourrer all also in my top 100.
37. Breakdown [TANTRIC]
Something to represent the new band Tantric, which following single was
way too much the same thing as Breakdown for me to get into it. A band
that reminds me bit Days of the New for its "power-acoustic" side.
38. Movies [ALIEN ANT FARM]
A song that was released twice in the same year! I liked it at the first
release.
39. Feel so Numb [ROB ZOMBIE]
Satisfying comeback for Rob Zombie.
40. Clint Eastwood [GORILLAZ]
Pretty special song, ten times better in its choruses than in its verses,
but still makes a whole.
41. Life [OUR LADY PEACE]
The Ontarian band really lost his magic touch of the Superman's Dead
, Starseed, Automatic Flowers, Thief, Is Anybody
Home? and other great songs of a not so long past but still a period
that ended with the latest album Spiritial Machines . However, I
just can't refuse a little place in my heart to a Raine Maida song! Although
two times less good than the previously mentionned songs, it still has a
relatively high value.
42. Cité d'Ariane (Univers) [PROJET ORANGE]
I liked De Héros à Zéro, but it's really
Cité d'Ariane that made me appreciate Projet Orange's universe.
I like the soft melody on tones we are not used to hear.
43. Depuis que tu es Parti [LILI FATALE]
Probably my favorite from Lili Fatale. I like the entire song but I
like the electronic portion in particular.
44. In the End [LINKIN PARK]
Objectively, the best of Linkin Park.
45. Un P'tit Fou [SANDWITCH]
A song that cleverly saved my opinion of Sandwitch that wasn't very high
after the release of their first single J'Veux t'Voir Brûler
(I Want to See you Burn)!... A very good song, a rock that is solid but
still accessible for most of us.
46. Smooth Criminal [ALIEN ANT FARM]
Obviously the remake of the year. I found it unuseful and opportunist at
first (strange coincidence that it comes out just for Michael Jackson's
comeback!), but it finally got me. I really found that the remake was not
bringing any real advantage over the original and that it was just yet another
one of these numerous covers of old songs in punk or hard rock version, but
Alien Ant Farm finally got me with time! Still, certainly not as high in
my personal chart than in the most popular songs of 2001.
47. Irresponsable [OKOUMÉ]
48. Carole [LAPALME]
49. I Did it [DAVE MATTHEWS BAND]
For the guitar, mostly for the riff of the first few seconds.
50. Sofa [FRESH PERSIL]
51. Lullabye [THE TEA PARTY]
52. L'Argent Fait le Bonheur [LES RESPECTABLES]
53. Revolving Door [CRAZY TOWN]
54. Rococo Bowling [ÉRIC MAHEU]
55. Un Homme de mon Temps [OKOUMÉ]
56. Drive [INCUBUS]
57. In Too Deep [SUM 41]
58. Flavor of the Weak [AMERICAN HI-FI]
59. Enfoiré de Première [VÉNUS 3]
60. Evolution/Revolution Love [TRICKY & ED KOWALCZYK]
61. Médiatribes [LOCO LOCASS]
62. Nexall [DAVE NAVARRO]
63. Histoire d'Espions [JÉRÔME MINIÈRE & KARINE
VANASSE]
64. No One [COLD]
65. The Shame of Life [BUTTHOLE SURFERS]
66. Fleurs d'Argent [RICHARD PETIT]
67. Waiting [GREEN DAY]
68. Wise Up [RAID]
69. My Sacrifice [CREED]
70. Arturo Gatti [LUDGER]
71. Crawling [LINKIN PARK]
72. Elevation [U2] (if I can make a comment, it's
U2's first interesting song since Hold me Thrill
me Kiss me Kill me in 1995, or Staring at the
Sun in 1997 to be generous...)
73. Me Gustas Tu [MANU CHAO]
(well, more in Spanish than in French!)
74. Astounded [BRAN VAN 3000]
(too much disco for me, but so much of higher
quality than anything else that was ever done in this kind of music!)
75. Days of the Week [STONE TEMPLE PILOTS]
76. Wasting my Time [DEFAULT]
77. Cambre tes Hanches [LES RESPECTABLES]
78. My Way [LIMP BIZKIT]
79. Ton Amour est Trop Lourd [HÉPATITE B]
80. (Loin d'être) Over [BIG SUGAR]
81. I Love Myself Today [BIF NAKED]
82. I Wish You Were Here [INCUBUS]
83. How I Could Just Kill a Man [RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE]
84. Alone in the Universe [DAVID USHER]
85. All Zippers Down [STEFIE SHOCK]
86. Underlined [CROSSBREED]
87. Left Behind [SLIPKNOT]
88. Control [PUDDLE OF MUD]
89. La Manne [ALAIN SIMARD]
90. Make it Right [ECONOLINE CRUSH]
91. Capitaine Disco [LES MARTIENS]
92. Ô Phaarmaciel [GROOVY AARDVARK]
93. Blurry [PUDDLE OF MUD]
94. Defy You [THE OFFSPRING]
95. Le Poète des Temps Gris [DANIEL BOUCHER]
ex-aequo 95. Crawling in the Dark [HOOBASTANK]
Pop surprises: Although we could almost say that pop is against
my religion, I always mention the pop songs that, according to me, were
above the average in the last year. It's the case of I'm a Slave 4 U
from Britney Spears, a sexy song which dare impressed me from Britney,
this same singer who always looked to me like she's losing all her time to
imitate herself from one hit to another. There are also Ms. Jackson
from Outkast (which, by the way, might have been released in late 2000,
I'd have to check) which is simlpy one of the best songs ever from a rap
band and, a choice that might be a little bit controversial, Turn the
Tide from Sylver that found good in its kind.
Songs forgotten in 2000 (in order of importance): Jeune et Con from Saez,
Back to School from The Deftones, Darkside from Crazy Town, Je Combats
le Spleen from Stefie Shock.
More forgotten songs of 1999: I'm With Stupid (Static X), Welcome to the
Fold (Filter), Furia (Mass Hysteria)
TOP SUCKS 2001
Oh yeah, here is the bonus of a second consecutive year: the worst songs
of 2001! I admit that there must be a few "sucking songs" missing in this
chart since Powhertz' author didn't listen to any "sucking radio station"
over the last year, but still, most of the worst songs of the year should
be there.
1. Whazzup? [THE TRUE PARTY]
For me, the new symbol of the stupidity of American culture. I was already
fed up of those stupid "whassup", but now, a song dedicated to that is way
too much for me! No melody, not a single bit of intelligence, it makes an
easy to "honor" #1 this year!
2. Caprice [ANNE-MARIE LOSIQUE]
3. L'Horoscope du Coeur [ANNE-MARIE LOSIQUE]
At least, this Quebecker TV compere knows she has now talent and no content
in music, but she did release her crappy stuff anyway and she gets high
spots in the top sucks 2001! Two songs (or more two 3-minute breaths) in
which she seems to believe she's damn sexy, which is not the case.
4. La Bomba [KING AFRICA]
Well, listen, it's about twice as bad as Inner Circle's old (1992) Sweat
(Ha la la la long)! Unbelievable that some people managed to like that!
5. Le Big Bang [GABRIELLE DESTROISMAISONS]
An attempt to copy, not only for the music but also visually in the video,
of the disgusting pop of Céline Dion before reaching her international
diva status (Unison, Des Mots qui Sonnent, other boring
stuff...). And that's not all, the lyrics are even worst than some old Céline!
Here's my translation of the chorus for those who didn't have the "chance"
to hear the Quebecker Destroismaisons (who is pretty cute by the way): "When
were both of us, both of us, it's like the Big Bang, Oh baby! Baby, you
and me is like the Big Bang."
6. Près de moi [LORIE]
I heard it only once and it would be impossible for me to sing it right
now, but what I remember of it makes it obvious: it's a very obvious copy
of a singer who was already a mess herself, Britney Spears! Opportunism has
always its place in kiddy pop. Her only positive aspect, just like almost
any self-parodic pop singer, is that she's cute!
7. Hot Dog [LIMP BIZKIT]
Let's say that Limp Bizkit has never been a texts band, but this time
I almost can't imagine worse! Fred Durst, leader of the most meaningless
teens, shouts a whole lot of f*cks and a dishonor of Nine Inch Nails' classic
Closer in this aimless songs only made to introduce their disc
Chocolate Starfish and that is absurd to hear on the radio.
8. Criminal [EMINEM]
I just can't stand anymore rappers who boast themselves of using explicit
language and write the dumbest, nastiest, unsubtle and skocking lyrics and
who then come on the public place to claim that they are the unfortunate
and unfair victims of other's attacks! Eminem is even worst than a Marilyn
Manson for shocking, shocking and then maybe think music; so he should expect
shit to get back in his face sometimes. Of course, some people that
he doesn't even aim at will hate to see that a thrash of life like him makes
millions of dollars on the back of inconscious consumers while those pissed
off people are working hard and intelligently for a few thousands dollars.
He must expect that, and even if the goal of Criminal is people's
pitty, it mostly have the opposite effect on me which is: "Assume your acts".
9. Fuck Authority [PENNYWISE]
Yet another punk song for anarchy that doesn't even know what it's talking
about. Only the title would probably give them a place in the top sucks
2001, but there is more: the song is an hyper-typical, boring, uninteresting
punk.
10. (j'emmerde toute la planète)
I have no clue of the song's title nor the band that's singing it, but
why should I make some searches for these crappy dumb rappers?!?
11. Don't let me be the Last to Know [BRITNEY SPEARS]
Certainly not Britney's worst, but certainly one of the least able to interest
anyone! Simply boring.
12. Sous le Vent [GAROU & CÉLINE DION]
Céline did not retire for long! She's already back at haunting
us, needless to say that I didn't missed her! The worst is how she must
have done: René Angelil, strangely Garou's manager and Céline's
husband, certainly said to her wife that it would help Garou's image and
international position (by the way, I like Garou's voice very much, it's
just his compos that I find poor) so René's check and so the "retired"
family's income. Anyway, it remain in the song itself, it just has no originality;
the music even strangely look like some old uninteresting pop-rock songs
of the early '80s.
13. Je serai (ta meilleure amie) [LORIE]
I could have ranked it higher, but I'll give Lorie a little break! Still,
it's yet another excellent example of Britney-like bad song.
14. J'veux te Voir Brûler [SANDWITCH]
A certain dosage of violence can be appeciatable in rock. A chorus like
"It's the head I want to see you burn. I will start with the hair. It's
the head I want to see you burn. Only the teeth will remain.", however, is
hardly acceptable. Let's also mention the not very professional garage sound,
which confirm its place amongst the worst rock songs of 2001! I admit not
to hate the music of the verses though.
15. Faut que je Sois Saoûl [PHÉNOMEN]
The lyrics are just too dumb to be given the lowest respect, which is too
bad because otherwise, if would be one of the best French rap songs that
I know!
16. Ma Route [YVON KREVÉ]
If I can't hear anymore rappers complain that they are misunderstood,
I cannot more hear rappers use their bad and even criminal past to make
their music and make their money with. I don't want to know what Yvon Krevé
was doing at 16 years old and finally regrets today, several years too late.
I don't want to hear it and I don't see why it should catch my interest.
Thanks!
17. Straight Pipe [MARTIN DESCHAMPS]
A rock that is old, cliché and almost funny so much it sucks, equally
for the music than the singing and the lyrics. I keep my idea on Martin
Deschamps: his only good song is Ma Blonde est Tellement.
18. Whenever, Wherever [SHAKIRA]
A copy of the old pop of Luba in the '80s. Truly not original and no songwriting
qualities neither. The girl is very sexy though!
19. I'm Like a Bird [NELLY FURTADO]
Grammys winner, breakthrough in the USA, but how overestimated this
little Canadian! Please don't try to tell me that I'm Like a Bird
is a good song, come on!
20. When it's Over [SUGAR RAY]
Sadly, Sugar Ray is really, like The Offspring or Live, a band that's rapidly
fading away. Those 3 bands indeed have something in common: having released
one of the 40 best rock records of the '90s and only releasing records that
are less good than the previous one since then. Sugar Ray has fallen so
deep that it now has a composition in the top sucks for a soppy song with
clichéd lyrics and a very deceiving overall view. Nothing more than
a failed attempt to reproduce their own Someday.
Other big deceptions:
Simple Creed [LIVE] : An okay introduction, but the chorus is a total
mess. By far Live's worst first radio single for an album.
It Wasn't me [SHAGGY]: I was respecting him for his very special voice,
but the least we can say is that he doesn't really use it in this song.
Chez Nous [DANIEL BOUCHER]: A was expecting a new hymn for the Quebec
nation, but he finally came out with wasn't much more than a badly-constructed
bunch of expressions in a song that has few music. Boucher could have definitely
made better when we know his excellent album Dix Mille Matins .
Powhertz
2002/01/05
(rev. 2002/04/21)
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