Friday Top 5 – Page 13 – Austin Town Hall

FT5: 80s Songs In Film

February 27, 2009 Vijay 6 comments

The 80s saw the birth of the best music from the better half of the century. The problem is that like many similar great works of art, these songs weren’t always immediately recognized for their brilliance. So when Van Halen’s sexually-rowdy “Hot For Teacher” blares in the strip club scene in Varsity Blues, you can’t help but give it a “ten” (a f-ing ten!). It’s from there that the song earns it’s immortality and lives in film fame for years to come. The only rules to this list: the song couldn’t have been written for the movie or debuted in the movie (sayonara Top Gun, Breakfast Club, and Kenny Loggins). So here’s a list of the most memorable 80s songs from the movies…
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FT5: Forgotten Nirvana Songs

February 20, 2009 Ed Booth 6 comments

Twenty-eight years ago today Kurt Cobain’s uncle gave him a choice of either a bike or a guitar as a present for his 14th birthday. Kurt chose the guitar. As the front man for Nirvana, he would spearhead a cultural shift in rock music by bringing underground rock overground with the album Nevermind. DGC records hoped to move 250,000 copies. It went on to sell millions and symbolically dethroned Michael Jackson from the #1 spot on the billboards. Suddenly the hair metal bands and carefully crafted pop icons that dominated before Nevermind’s release looked dated and ridiculous. Nevermind was more than just an album, it was a pivotal moment in rock history. Follow the jump as we unveil our Top 5 Forgotten Nirvana Songs.

FT5: Songs with the Word Valentine

February 13, 2009 nathan.lankford 3 comments

Seeing as the Hallmark Holiday is hours away, I thought I would browse through my collection and throw out my Top 5 Favorite Songs with the word “valentine” in the title. Sure, one would think that songwriters have better things to do than sing about a nonsensical holiday with little or no meaning, but then again, they are just love songs in the end, aren’t they? Some of these bands have made appearances on our lists before, and some you might not be aware of, until now that is. So here is to you and yours on this most sacred of holidays. I hope your Valentine’s Day is as good as these songs.

FT5: Pub Rock

February 6, 2009 corey.ayers 3 comments

While it’s true that most early Pub rock was just a bunch of British dudes ripping off The Band, at it’s core it was a roots rock movement reacting to the wankering of Emmerson, Lake and Palmer and other over-the-top progressive rock acts of the early 70’s. You can just imagine a working class kid in England seeing this on the telly. More of a circuit of pubs and music halls than an exact musical genre, Pub rock created an outlet for stripped down roots rock that would eventually pave the way for punk rock in England. Ranging from bluesy country to basic rhythm and blues, if there was one aesthetic that was common to all of the Pub rock scene it was a no frills return to basics. So grab a pint, start calling your friends your mates and your pants your trousers, and check out the Pub rock top five.

FT5: Second Wave Emo Records

January 23, 2009 nathan.lankford 17 comments

Looking back at my sad excuse for a life, I realize that my obsession with music had to begin at some point. I flirted with metal, as I alluded to last week, but mostly I found my love in classic California pop music and punk rock. Along the way, I meandered a bit off the path, as most did during the late nineties. Where did I land? I landed in the wonderful world of emo. Sure, you’re thinking that I shopped at Hot Topic and couldn’t get Fall Out Boy out of my head, but I’m talking about the predecessors to the entire scene; well, the predecessors of the predecessors. I’ve devoted this week’s Top 5 to my one true love, emo. We’ll call it my Pop 5 Emo Records, and the countdown is after the jump.

FT5: Egregious Indie Rock Sell Outs

January 9, 2009 corey.ayers 25 comments

Some poor kid is listening to Iggy Pop’s “Lust for Life” for the first time today and he wants to like the song, he really does. The problem being that each time he hears Iggy say “I got a lust for Life” he pictures some nine year old cracker with a goofy smile running down the deck of a cruise liner. Thanks to the marketing gurus at Carnival Cruise Lines that song is most likely ruined for a generation. I know nowadays the kids like to fall all over themselves defending their decision to sell out, and I’m not saying that I wouldn’t punch my grandmother for a little extra bread, but it’s never a pretty sight when you see an artist you respect making a sales pitch for some crappy chain restaurant. Like it or not, when an artist lends their music to a commercial it then loses its creative and artistic merit and is relegated to the status of jingle. So here it is; after the jump is a list of five of the more heinous indie rock sellouts.

FT5: Cover Songs

January 2, 2009 -1893llzws 12 comments

“CUM ON FEEL THE NOIZE!” Without those five words, Quiet Riot’s career would’ve lasted three months instead of thirty-four years. It’s a lowdown-dirty shame “Cum on feel the Noize” was actually a cover originally performed by an English glam rock band called Slade back in 1973. Woah…just felt like Matt Pinfield for a moment. This week’s edition of the Friday Top 5 is dedicated to the greatest cover songs of all-time…according to me, of course. Sadly, the following list does not include Limp Bizkit’s disturbing version of The Who’s “Behind Blue Eyes,” Michael Bolton’s take on Otis Redding, or anything off the I am Sam soundtrack. Follow the jump to see if your favorite cover song made the list.

FT5: Disappointing Albums Of 2008

December 5, 2008 nathan.lankford 17 comments

In 2008 we saw all kinds of releases across the board. Noise-pop seemed to be a pretty big deal, as did lo-fi production. But when preparing for our year-end lists, we came across the conundrum of deciding the biggest disappointments in 2008. Today’s Friday Top 5 is full of albums that our staff really looked forward to listening to when they were released, but instead fled in fear as to what our ears had just heard. List is after the jump

FT5: Underrated Guitar Solos

November 21, 2008 -1893llzws 7 comments

No countdown is more contested among guitar geeks than the list of the top guitar solos of all time. Heavily dominated by Metal and Classic Rock bands, top 100 lists have spawned all over music media outlets everywhere. Comfortably Numb, Stairway to Heaven, All Along the Watchtower, Freebird. We know the usual suspects. Today we pay homage to some the lesser known solos that, we believe, deserve more attention than they have gotten in the past.

FT5: 2008 FFF Fest Memories

November 14, 2008 nathan.lankford Leave a comment

After a sun filled, chilly and wild weekend at FFF Festival, ATH is ready to bring you some of our favorite things that went down during the two day event. Obviously the best way to do that is through our recurring Friday Top 5 series. Follow the jump to read our top things about last weekends FFF Festival.

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