HomeEW.com's Greatest Indie Anthems of All Time
May 11, 2007, 06:00 AM | by Adrienne Day
Categories: Music
Okay, PopWatchers, listen up. This week the NME let the proverbial cat out of the proverbial bag by posting the 50 Greatest Indie Anthems Ever, as voted by their readers.
Well, it got us thinking. No, scratch that — it got us pissed. Oasis ahead of Nirvana? Two Libertines songs in the Top 10?? 35 (or so) out of the Top 50 songs are by UK bands??? No hip-hop??? Repeat: Oasis AT NUMBER ONE, AHEAD OF NIRVANA. What are those loony limeys thinking?
It also raises the question: What exactly is an "indie anthem"? I don’t know about you, but when I think indie anthem, I think of fans standing in an arena-like setting, holding lighters aloft in a show of solidarity, while a band sans major corporate ties plays their Big Hit onstage. Y'know, the song that moves you to tears, or anger, or bliss. Or, few dozen fans in a cramped, dingy basement — it doesn’t really matter, does it? It could even be an anti-anthem (note Beck's "Loser," which got the most votes in our office). In the end, it's about the indie "aesthetic," not necessarily the people behind the marketing of the music. So if that band happens to be Radiohead, even though they are signed to a major (Capitol), so be it. Because they're not afraid to sock it to the man. And I love them. So sue me.
So that's what indie rock means to me. But I'm just one very fallible soul over here. So I did an extremely scientific, rigorously empirical poll of my co-workers and determined EW.com's 50 Greatest Indie Anthems Ever, in no order whatsoever except for Beck (pictured), since I don't have the time to enough to rank 'em all, thank you very much!
This is where we need you, PopWatchers. It's time for some corrective action. We know our list is biased and incomplete and full of holes and gaffes and what-were-they-thinking!'s. Speaking for myself, I can't believe no one here chose the Verve's "Bittersweet Symphony," but I've already changed edited the list enough. So now we need you to tell us what we've missed (or where we were spot-on). And the top ten picks (or so) will make it into a very special photo gallery all their own.
OK, PopWatchers? Ready, set... go!!!
Beck, "Loser"
Neutral Milk Hotel, "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea"
Pavement, "Cut Your Hair"
White Stripes, "Fell in Love with a Girl"
Velvet Underground, "All Tomorrow's Parties"
Common, "I Used to Love H.E.R."
Liz Phair, "F--k and Run"
Gang Starr, "Mass Appeal"
Matthew Sweet, "Divine Intervention"
R.E.M., "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)"
Hole, "Violet"
Soundgarden, "Black Hole Sun,"
My Bloody Valentine, "Soon"
Reflection Eternal, "Fortified Live"
Mudhoney, "Touch Me I'm Sick"
They Might Be Giants, "Birdhouse in Your Soul"
Joy Division, "Love Will Tear us Apart"
X, "Los Angeles"
Public Enemy, "Don’t Believe the Hype"
Guided By Voices, "As We Go Up We Go Down"
Le Tigre, "Deceptacon"
Fugazi, "Waiting Room"
NWA, F--k tha Police"
Black Flag, "Rise Above"
Primal Scream, "Come Together"
PJ Harvey, "Sheela-Na-Gig"
Arcade Fire, "Rebellion (Lies)"
The Cure, "10:15 Saturday Night"
Patti Smith, "Gloria"
Black Star, "Respiration"
Antony & the Johnsons, "Hope There's Someone"
Modest Mouse, "Float On"
The Breeders, "Cannonball"
Spoon, "I Turn My Camera On"
Radiohead, "Karma Police"
Sonic Youth, "Teenage Riot"
Built to Spill, "The Plan"
Interpol, "PDA"
Roky Erikson, "You Don't Love Me Yet"
Magnetic Fields, "Papa Was a Rodeo"
New Pornographers, "The Bleeding Heart Show"
Yo La Tengo, "Autumn Sweater"
Talking Heads, "Burning Down the House"
Pixies, "Monkey Gone to Heaven"
Pretenders, "Message of Love"
Violent Femmes, "Blister in the Sun"
The Clash, "London Calling"
Blur, "Song 2 "
The La's, "There She Goes"
Teenage Fanclub, "Star Sign"
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