Weezer Archives - Ryan's Countdowns

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#100 – 91 #90-81 #80-71 #70-61 #60-51
#50-41

40. “Freakin’ Me Out” – The Mowglis

As if the song itself isn’t fun enough, this original video from Flood Magazine will get you through your day the next time you run out of “your” prescription Xanax. With a catchy upbeat track and the spot-on harmonies that The Mowglis have become known for, “Freakin’ Me Out” will undoubtably make your day a little brighter.

39. “Favorite Liar” – The Wrecks

According to their Twitter account, The Wrecks are “5 kids who snuck into a recording studio to self-produce their debut EP.” But after listening to their first track, “Favorite Liar,” they sure as hell could have fooled me.

The song, about being in a rocky relationship and knowing that your significant other (or ex) is a liar, but you still have feelings for them anyway, will get your blood pumping and heart racing. For maximum enjoyment listen to it on full blast while driving down the highway and singing at the top of your lungs (while pretending that is not what you are doing every time you drive by a car.)

38. “Live While I Breathe” – The Moth & the Flame

Easily one of the most passionate and dramatic songs of the year, “Live While I Breathe” by The Moth & the Flame is so unique that it almost seems futuristic. With a hauntingly beautiful melody and deep soulful lyrics, “Live While I Breathe,” is the brightest light yet for The Moth & the Flame.

37. “Ride” – Twenty One Pilots

Unless you have been in a coma or possibly on a deep-sea ice fishing trip in Antarctica for the last year, you are certainly familiar with the band Twenty One Pilots and their hit song, “Ride.”

In fact, if you still haven’t tired of hearing the song, I dare you to not sing along with the oooooh, ooooooh, oooooh, oooooh, oooooh, ohhhh part, as I am pretty sure it is impossible to not sing along to. Even if you don’t want to. But love it or hate it, you can’t deny that Twenty One Pilots have become hit making machines, and “Ride” was one of the biggest and most catchy songs of the year.

36. “Red Dress” – Magic!

From the first few notes of the song, it is obvious to any music fan familiar with Magic! that “Red Dress” is from the Canadian reggae band.

The song is about a pain in the ass woman who takes forever to choose what she wants to wear to dinner while her man waits patiently while growing more and more hungry. But when she finally makes up her damn mind and walks out wearing her red dress, he quickly forgets that he is famished and his focus changes from eating to his attraction to his woman.

Reggae meet rock meets pop in this Magic! track that will make sales of short little red dresses quadruple in numbers.

35. “King of the World” – Weezer

“King of the World” is the old school Weezer you have been waiting over ten years to hear again. It is the story of a man who compares what life is actually like, to what life would be like if he was king of the world.

“If I was king of the world
You’d be my girl
You wouldn’t have to shed one single tear
Unless you wanted to
‘Cause yeah I know what it’s like
If I was king of the world
Yeah, girl
We could ride a Greyhound all the way to the Galapagos
And stay for the rest of our lives”

After being a fan of Weezer for over 20 years, I have decided to no longer question Weezer on their otherwise nonsensical lyrics. Now that I have decided to do this, I somehow have an urge to put “ride a Greyhound all the way to the Galapagos” on my bucket list. If it is good enough Rivers Cuomo, it is good enough for me.

34. “Bury It” – CHVRCHES

CHVRCHES (pronounced Churches) the Scottish synthpop band from Glasgow, have been described as Indietronic, Indie Pop, and even electronic pop. And while their latest hit, “Bury It,” may be all of those things, it is also downright rock.

One of the most memorable songs of the year by a female lead, “Bury It” will help you to push down all those feelings that are dragging you down, and enable you to rise above. Try running to this infectious track, and every time you feel like you are going to keel over and die, just “bury it, and rise above” and you will be surprised at how far you can go.

33. “Fire Escape” – Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness

While the fun-loving pop rock song itself is more than deserving of a spot in the top 40 songs of the year, it is the hysterical video that you will first fall in love with if you are unfamiliar with the latest track by Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness, “Fire Escape.”

The concept of the video is following around two starry-eyed inflatable wavy armed dancers, the kind that you may find in a used car lot to bring in customers. From their first date all the way until the birth of their first inflatable child, you will see their budding romance grow. You will not only fall in love with the inflatables, but you will fall in love with this killer song by Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness.

32. “My Church” – Maren Morris

Frontrunner for Best New Artist of 2016, Maren Morris not only broke into the country music world, but made a name for herself outside of the genre as well. While “My Church” is as country as it gets, even the biggest opponent of the genre would be lying if they said they didn’t find the song catchy as hell. Music fans of any genre will be able to appreciate the fact that the song is about a girl who is so at peace with driving down the highway and listening to her beloved music that she likens it to being her church.

While Morris had other hits this year, “My Church” will be the song that gets the ball rolling for her inevitable progression into the world of pop and rock music.

31. “Critical Mistakes” – 888

Denver, CO band, 888, urges listeners to “come wake me

up before I die, and I never get to live” in their rock gem, “Critical Mistakes.”

“I want a house on the hill by the ocean, I’d let the tide wash away all my critical mistakes” is one most memorable lines of 2016, and some of the best use of imagery any rock band has used all year.

888 has come out swinging and 2017 will be a “critical” time for them to build on their well deserved success from “Critical Mistakes.”

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90. State of My Head, Shinedown

After a brief hiatus, Shinedown is back and as intimidating as ever (see above video.) While they seem to be having a bit of a difficult time finding the radio success of their earlier work, Shinedown’s latest album Threat to Survival is packed with radio friendly hits like “State of My Head.”

Some hardcore Shinedown fans are a bit put off by the band “going soft,” as they have been known as one of the more successful hard rock bands to emerge in the past ten years. But for the majority of Shinedown fans, “State of My Head,” as well as a handful of other tracks on Threat to Survival confirm that their favorite hard rock band is still capable of releasing catchy, adrenaline pumping rock music.

89. Kick the Dust Up, Luke Bryan

“Kick the Dust Up” is another instant classic party song from Luke Bryan. If “Kick the Dust Up” doesn’t make you wish that you lived in the mid-west where you had corn fields easily accessible to you, than I don’t know what will.

The song focuses on the awfulness of going to a crowded bar, waiting in long lines, having no personal space, and paying way too much for a drink. Why would any country-folk put themselves through that if they could go out in the fields and have their own party? I don’t know about you, but I have already begun searching for flights to Nebraska for a relocation.

88. The Next Storm, Frank Turner

“The Next Storm” is the first single off Frank Turner’s sixth studio album, Positive Songs for Negative People. If you are saying to yourself “SIXTH ALBUM? I’ve never heard of this guy,” then you have been missing out on some brilliant music. Might I strongly recommend starting with “The Way I Tend To Be” and going from there.

When asked about the inspiration of “The Next Storm” Turner says…

“Emerging from a storm shelter to find that, while the tornado destroyed the town, you and your family survived, the sun is out, and you can start rebuilding.”

Frank Turner is rock, folk and punk all tied together and blended beautifully. Throw in his past experience as the lead vocalist of the post-hardcore band Million Dead, and you have a recipe for success. Turner continues to write relevant, inspiring music that is effortless to enjoy.

87. I Was Me, Imagine Dragons

“I Was Me” is no ordinary Imagine Dragons mega-hit. It is a charity single that the band wrote for the One4 Project with all proceeds going to the UN Refugee Agency to support fleeing refugees in the Middle East.

The guys in Imagine Dragons continue to use their fame to make positive changes in the world. First they created the Tyler Robinson Foundation to raise money for young people battling cancer, then they release this beautiful track to help fleeing refugees, and just a few weeks ago they helped Miss Piggy by appearing on her talk show on ABC’s “The Muppets.” These guys are full-on, modern day Mother Teresa’s.

86. I Feel Love (Every Million), The Dead Weather

Supergroup The Dead Weather is composed of members from The Raconteurs, Queens of the Stone Age, The Kills, and other successful bands. While the most notable member of the band is Jack White, it is lead singer Alison Mosshart that makes “I Feel Love (Every Million Miles)” instantly unforgettable. The track, however, should come with a warning tag cautioning listeners that they may experience sudden outbursts of rage.

Not many other bands in music today can compare to the uniqueness of The Dead Weather. “I Feel Love” is angry, jaded, and meant to be played at maximum volume: a true rock and roll gem.

85. Up Up Up, Waters

Unlike the previous song, “Up Up Up” is an upbeat pop-rock track that will improve your mood rather than darken your mood such as the aforementioned “I Feel Love”.

Formed in Oslo, Norway back in 2011, Waters have recently found success in the States and have the potential to tear up the alt rock charts in 2016. While “Up Up Up” barely got any radio play, the band clearly has the ability to produce radio friendly music. After just one listen, Waters will have you singing up up up up up up up up up a storm.

84. Uma Thurman, Fall Out Boy

“Uma Thurman” left people scratching their heads more than any other song this year. Is it even about Uma Thurman? Is it about Pulp Fiction? Is that the theme from The Munsters?

Regardless of what the song is about, it is incredibly catchy and impossible to get out of your head.

83. Do You Wanna Get High?, Weezer

Despite the fact that Weezer currently has no record label, and there are no plans for a new album, the band released two songs last month. And “Do You Wanna Get High?” is classic Weezer.

Rivers recently admitted that the song is about a former girlfriend that he had around 2000. This was also the same time that he was hanging out with Fred Durst quite often. Anyone that hung around Fred Durst “quite often” in 2000 and is still alive to write songs about it deserves the utmost respect and recognition.

82. Run, Coin

The fact that the video for Coin’s “Run” does not come with a DO NOT TRY ANY OF THIS AT HOME warning is mind boggling. But other than that, these hooligans, who refer to themselves as “products of the 90’s” are the real deal.

After recording their debut album in Nashville, Coin released this track, “Run” as their first single. In a March 26, 2015 interview with Billboard Coin describes the song as..

“‘Run’ is the story of our post-teenage [and] pre-adulthood ambition: the freedom of moving out of our parents’ house, the angsty idea of ‘anti 9-5,’ and the possibility, although unlikely, of attaining success.”

What twenty year old will not consider “Run” perhaps the most relatable song of the year?

81. High Dive, Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness

Last year Andrew McMahon re-introduced himself to alt rock fans with the wildly popular “Cecilia and the Satellite,” a tribute to his daughter. McMahon, the former lead singer of the bands Something Corporate, and Jack’s Mannequin, followed up “Cecilia” with this year’s “High Dive.”

“High Dive” is a “what if?” scenario about his relationship with his wife. Unlike his first single, “High Dive” is a pop-rock track that will make you want to dance. McMahon has proven that he can be a stand alone artist, and just as successful as he was when he had the support of his bands. Hopefully McMahon has a few more family members that he can write some killer songs about.

Songs 80-71 will be released on Wednesday 12/9/15