My Top Ten Singles of 1999

Well the year 2000 arrived without any hint of the world ending and that's no surprise, since its just arbitrary timekeeping anyway. What we've really got is another year blown by amazingly fast and a crop of crap grown on the radio, with record companies harvesting the profits. As always, there's a few gold nuggets to be found in the polluted streams of the musical landscape; I managed to find ten shiny ones this year (in no particular order):

• "Vivrant Thing" - Q-Tip - Much as I was sad to see A Tribe Called Quest call it day, leader Q-Tip's first solo single erased all my worries about the future. A bumpin beat, and Tip's inexorably unique flow make this track hot butter on a breakfast toast (to quote the man himself). Sure the Phife counterpoint and Ali's jazzier touch are missing, but truth is Tribe hadn't been this good in a couple years. I've heard their breakup is mainly to ride out their record contract, but even if they never reconvene, Q-Tip looks to be practicing the art of movin butts well into the 21st century.
• "You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You're Drunk" - Pet Shop Boys - I admit it, I'm a sucker for PSB. Who else could redeem a title like that? Their overblown pop orchestration has always appealed to me, but they are also a band which has shown some real creativity and smarts. That's why they're about the only 80s synth-poppers still around making quality music. Their latest single is the strongest track on a very, very good album. While a singles collection of their 90s work would not capture the essence of the the electro-pop 90s the way Discography did the 80s, track for track it would be just as good, if not better. This song would be one of the highlights.
• "Scar Tissue" - Red Hot Chili Peppers - There are two camps among RHCP fans. The ones who loved One Hot Minute and Dave Navarro's classic rawkin' guitar chops, and the ones who longed for a return to the sound of the earlier albums featuring John Frusciante's clearer and more emotional playing. I'm part of the latter group which was pleased to see Frusciante rejoin the band and reinvigorate their sound. Sure this tune was definitely in the mold of earlier hits like "Under The Bridge", but no one else has managed to copy that unique musical interaction between Chad Smith's steady drums, Flea's loping bass, and Frusciante's wispy, melodic guitar, especially on the slow numbers. Add Anthony Kiedis' jazzy cadences and its a mellifluous and delightful combination. One that I was glad to hear brightening the airwaves again.
• "Learn To Fly" - Foo Fighters - Giving up some of their rougher sound has allowed Dave Grohl and his ever-changing lineup to bring the pop-savvy of the songs to the forefront. Sure, they've basically become the epitome of alternative-pop in the process, but if you consider songs like "Big Me" from their first album, that's where they were headed in the first place. And listening to the results, one realizes that's not a bad thing.
• "Teenage FBI" - Guided By Voices - Robert Pollard has written many catchy songs, but it took Ric Ocasek's cleaner production (and burbling synths) to really launch his vision out of the basement and out into the pop universe. The album as a whole is the usual GBV, alternating between shoulda-been hits and shoulda-been left-in-the-vaults (not that Pollard ever leaves anything there). I doubt he'll ever see true mainstream success, but I also hope he won't give up on cleaner production. Songs like this one prove he deserves to be heard loud AND clear.
• "Denise" - Fountains of Wayne - Two and half minutes of crunchy-sweet fun from these power-poppers. A little guitar fuzz provides the power, and the sharp hook provides the pop. The lyric, about being in love with an travel agent, is pure valley of the malls. Which is the turf these guys seem to know better than anyone else.
• "What's My Age Again" - Blink 182 - This one gets over on the basis of being the best three-chord punk-pop riff-a-rama of the year. The lyrics, vaguely about the malaise of growing up for twenty-somethings, aren't exactly poetry, but damn near irresistable to sing along to in the car. Which of course is the hallmark of greatness :)
• "Nookie" - Limp Bizkit - Both a bitter reflection and a propulsive call-to-arms. Its the headbanging classic of the double nine and most likely the cause of the riots at this year Woodstock festival. Even those of us who've basically given up on testosterone-fueled frenzy had to bounce to this one.
• "All For The Cash" - Gang Starr - Okay, I'm not sure if this was a single, but I heard it on the radio, so I'm gonna count it. And although it was released on their Full Clip retrospective (a stunning masterpiece of a 2-CD set) it was a new track. Usually new tracks on a compilation are filler to be skipped over, but this one measures up to their classics. Another amazing DJ Premier backdrop and Guru's incomparable storytelling. Add another round to the overflowing Gang Starr clip.
• "She's So High" - Tal Bachman - A painstakingly perfect power pop piece (dig that alliteration!). Inescapable and ingratiating on the radio.
• "You're So Yesterday" - Marvelous 3 - A clever, calculated sneer set to razor sharp power pop. Oh wait, that makes 11 entries for the year, so we'll dub this honorable mention :)