Just because it is now officially NME Thursday and everyone loves themed lists, how about we talk about the Greatest Indie Anthems ever... and what NME / Xfm and the general UK public think they are.
The top 50 Greatest Indie Anthems as listed in NME:
1. Oasis - 'Live Forever'
2. Nirvana - 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'
3. Pulp - 'Common People'
4. The Smiths - 'There Is A Light That Never Goes Out'
5. The Libertines - 'Don't Look Back Into The Sun'
6. The Libertines - 'Time For Heroes'
7. The Smiths - 'How Soon Is Now?'
8. The Stone Roses - 'I Am The Resurrection'
9. The Strokes - 'Last Nite'
10. Arctic Monkeys - 'I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor'
11. The Smiths - 'This Charming Man'
12. The Stone Roses - 'She Bangs The Drums'
13. The Libertines - 'Can't Stand Me Now'
14. Oasis - 'Don't Look Back In Anger'
15. Blur - 'Song 2'
16. Franz Ferdinand - 'Take Me Out'
17. The Stone Roses - 'I Wanna Be Adored'
18. The Verve - 'Bitter Sweet Symphony'
19. Joy Divison - 'Love Will Tear Us Apart'
20. Joy Division - 'Transmission'
21. The Smiths - 'Panic'
22. The Breeders - 'Cannonball'
23. The Gossip - 'Standing In The Way Of Control'
24. Babyshambles - 'Fuck Forever'
25. Oasis - 'Supersonic'
26. Radiohead - 'Creep'
27. Oasis -' Wonderwall'
28. Pavement - 'Cut Your Hair'
29. Arcade Fire - 'Rebellion (Lies)'
30. Manic Street Preachers - 'A Design For Life'
31. Oasis - 'Cigarettes & Alcohol'
32. The Stone Roses - 'Fool's Gold'
33. The Killers - 'Mr Brightside'
34. Radiohead - 'Just'
35. Pixies - 'Monkey Gone To Heaven'
36. Kaiser Chiefs - 'I Predict A Riot'
37. Kasabian - 'LSF'
38. Pixies - 'Gigantic'
39. Oasis - 'Champagne Supernova'
40. Klaxons - 'Golden Skans'
41. Blur - 'Parklife'
42. The Cribs - 'Hey Scenesters'
43. Suede - 'Animal Nitrate'
44. The Stone Roses - 'Love Spreads'
45. The La's - 'There She Goes'
46. Dinosaur Jr - 'Freak Scene'
47. The Libertines - 'Up The Bracket'
48. Sonic Youth - 'Bull In The Heather'
49. The Rapture - 'House Of Jealous Lovers'
50. My Bloody Valentine - 'You Made Me Realise'
What do you guys think? Surely, everyone realizes that there are better songs than these -- but we're talking anthems here. I am proud of Pavement t 28, but what about Ash's "Kung Fu" or "Jack Names the Planets"? Idlewild "Rosability"?
And by 'anthem,' do they mean songs with which drunk people sing along in unison?
Reviews
1 Erik Gonzalez said on May 3, 2007
Of course, the context here is important considering these are UK "indie" (uuunh, there's that word again) songs, so it's a little hard to judge. I mean, the ridiculous amount of Oasis and the Libertines on the list negates it for me more or less. However, I do love seeing lots of Smiths (though I would have put "How Soon Is Now?" at #1). I think this list mostly highlights how much NME has become the UK Spin, with a lot of new bands on the list that just don't deserve to be there (Klaxons, Killers, Kasabian, Babyshambles) and leaving a lot of classic things off...
2 imaginary liz said on May 3, 2007
Totally -- but then their drinking age is lower than ours - so maybe that accounts for the unruly "anthemness" of those newcomers.
I wish they would do a tally of the UK's most karaoke'd songs. The karaoke books there are chock full of indie athems... and Frank Sinatra (which, I believe, in some circles is indie).
3 imaginary dana said on May 3, 2007
I second the Idlewild "Rosability" nomination (and add "I Am What I Am Not" for its anthemic qualities.
And the La's, as per usual, are direly underrepresented at #45 with "There She Goes."
Though I'm not really so sure that song is a anthem, really. According to dictionary.com, an anthem is:
1. a song, as of praise, devotion, or patriotism: the national anthem of Spain; our college anthem.
2. a piece of sacred vocal music, usually with words taken from the Scriptures.
3. a hymn sung alternately by different sections of a choir or congregation.
To me, "I Predict a Riot" is anthemic. "Don't Look Back in Anger" definitely is not.
4 greggoir said on May 3, 2007
RE: #48
surely 'teen age riot' is much more of an anthem than 'bull in the heather'
5 Erik Gonzalez said on May 3, 2007
It is also fun to see how they love their Gossip (#23) in the UK (well, at least at NME).
6 toby said on May 3, 2007
What, no Super Furry Animals? The Man Don't Give a Fuck, now that's an anthem from the scriptures of Steely Dan!
7 imaginary liz said on May 3, 2007
toby - you're so right! I forgot all about that song -- but I enjoy drunkenly singing it whenever given the chance.
8 ChrisB said on May 3, 2007
There are some things that please me on this list (Strokes #9, Arctic Monkeys #10 [I even referred to "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" as an anthem this morning, before I even knew of this list's existence]), but it seems to be fatally flawed in that the Libertines (who put out two records and only one is actually pretty good) to have as many songs on the list as the Smiths. Plus, four American songs in the top 25? I know this is a British list/magazine, but come on!
Oh, and what's the deal with NME's Oasis fetish? I will never, ever get it.
9 Jacob said on June 17, 2007
I liked the Radiohead...
Is Nirvana indie now? What happened to the grunge stuff.
10 Jake said on August 14, 2007
where the fuck is where is my mind?
11 dfle3 said on February 3, 2008
There are no Australian songs on this list. Major drawback. Not too sure as what counts as "indie", but you'd think that The Saints' classic punk song "Know your product" would top, or nearly top this list. Or perhaps Do Re Mi's classic "Man overboard"...a song I would nominate as perhaps the greatest song of all time, in my view. Joan Jet and the Blackhearts "I love rock'n'roll" deserves to compete for top spot in this list too.
I think Oasis have only two great songs...Wonderwall, and Free. The latter did not make the list. They wrote a lot of rubbish too, some of which makes this list.
Really, no Aussie songs equals inferior, British centric compilation.
12 SmilingPolitely said on May 15, 2008
I agree with the Oasis fetish wtf is with that? None of the Oasis songs they listed are even any good. Where the hell is all of the Smashing Pumpkins anyway? I would have expected "Disarm" to be somewhere at least.
dfle3 that is the stupidest thing I've ever read, I live in Australia and I've never heard anything from the Saints and I've only ever heard of Do Re Mi, anything that isn't generic pop/rock gets no exposure over here, in addition to that Australians are talentless and act like sheep following trends that occur in America. Your comment conforms with the typical "if it isn't australian it isn't worth shit" attitude that is disgusting and often racist in certain situations (like your attitude to Indians and outsourcing).
Australia = inferior
(btw it might sound weird me saying this while living in Australia but I was forced here and consider myself Canadian)
13 facts about rob said on May 16, 2008
having lived in scotland for awhile, i can tell you why Oasis is so huge over there (Robbie Williams is huge in scotland for the same reason)... they were working class blokes who made it big. drunkards, arses, mean bastards who took bucketfuls of "the man's" money.
that will forever endear them to the UK populace. nothing is more bizarre than a bunch of hockney, hard ass, toothless, working class guys, fighting one minute in the crowd, banging bottles over each other's heads, and then the next moment holding up lighters, arms around each other, singing "you're my wonderwall" all at the same time.
it reminds me of an interview i saw with ewan macgregor once, when he said "the main difference between americans and brits is that you look up at the rich guy with the big house on the hill and say 'someday i'm gonna be that guy', we look up at the rich guy with the big house on the hill and say 'someday i'm gonna GET that guy'!"
i met plenty of people over there who didn't get nirvana too- "that guy slurred his words, couldn't play his guitar, and dressed like crap!"
oasis was pretty much the UK's nirvana back in the day. watch their earliest DVD, "Live By The Sea"... you'll see a lot of what I'm talking about (somebody throws a shoe at Liam and he picks it up and yells back "if you're gonna throw something at me, you better fucking hit me!").
and no matter what anyone says "I'm A Rock 'n Roll Star", "Live Forever" and "Cigarettes & Alcohol" off Definitely Maybe are great rock 'n roll anthems... even if neither made the list!
14 dfle3 said on July 24, 2008
SmilingPolitely-hmmm, what an idiotic comment you make. You've never heard anything by The Saints? And? What's your point troll? When the released the punk song in England, one magazine over there said it was the song of the week for that and every week.The song was "I'm stranded". Read that stuff on Wikipedia. The Saints are a TRUE indie band...their debut record was a diy job. It's not a fave of mine. I like "Know your product" is way better.
I'm not saying that if the song isn't Australian it's rubbish. I'm just saying I can't take seriously such lists when they are ignorant of music from anywhere but the US or UK. Oasis' "Whatever" is a great song. Not on the list. Other rubbish of theirs is on the list.
My attitudes to Indians and outsourcing? What are you smoking? Wtf?
Troll somewhere else. Listen to that profoundly original Canadian of yours Celine Dion. Yeah, she's a real musical trailblazer. Like Shania Twain too. Or Nickelback. Trailblazers all.
15 Chris Estey said on July 24, 2008
Considering that artists on Merge AND SST in the States could both be considered indie, from the 80s to the 90s to the 00s, the absence of any Magnetic Fields, Husker Du, Le Tigre, and a million other of our bands makes this list hilarious. Not to mention the predominance of Oasis, who I actually have never thought of as "indie" before. (Aren't they the Brit equivalent of Huey Lewis or something?) And I love the Libertines, but half an album's worth of their songs don't belong in this list either. This wack stack of tracks is strictly for the punters, as they say.
Great, underrated, overlooked book on UK indie as a milieu: "Empire of Dirt" by Wendy Fonarow.
16 dfle3 said on July 24, 2008
Hey Chris Estey- I've thought the same thing about Oasis, re how "indie" they are. If I was to compile my own such list, based on the limited knowledge I have of this field, I would consider some heavy metal songs. That's pretty indie/alternative right? E.g. Iron Maiden's "Run to the hills" and Metallica's "Fade to black" or Megadeth's "Prince of darkness". If these songs were not on major record labels, would they not count as indie or alternative anthems? They're definitely not mainstream, hence the 'alternative' moniker. Looking for an opinion on this from someone who is into this music.
P.S. I like a few Pixies songs a lot-they should have had more tracks and Oasis less in this list, but it is a UK poll, so you expect that. Some of my fave Pixies songs not on this list include "River Euphrates" and "The happening", amongst others.
Not sure if my Aussie contender, Do Re Mi are properly indie. They're not mainstream but I'm not sure if they were with a major record label or not, which is what part of this list is about, right?
Back to Australian songs-I would think that a list compiled by Australians would be better than one compiled in the US or the UK. Australians hear songs from both countries whereas with a UK list like this, you get a brazilian Oasis songs included. A US list would have zero Oasis songs, I think. The benefits of an Aussie list is that you would have the best of our three countries, without the parochialism of either the US or UK.
17 Chris Estey said on July 24, 2008
I really do think that some metal belongs on an indie list, yes. For example, I think the first Danzig record is an indie rock record -- I was there when it came out, and it was punks and indie kids more into it than metal guys. Think of Rick Rubin's career, and the effect of producing rap and metal was just a reflection of what indie kids were into at the time (catchy hard rock and current hip-hop). That said, hip-hop being left off of this list -- also soul or soul-pop in general like Fine Young Cannibals or Nicole Willis -- is pretty alarming. "Indie" is actually an umbrella term for the DIY record business began in the UK and America and yes even Australia (throughout the world, actually) that includes the original wave of punk, the evolution of punk, the crossover of marginalized subcultures (including metal), and finally becoming its own aesthetic as "indie rock" by the mid-80s. Australia had a huge part in this, for sure. Any group house in Seattle in the late 70s had Radio Birdman's records; The Birthday Party were so adored in the indie scene here one of our very best bands (U-Men) seemed sincerely inspired by them. Etc. There's an enormous amount of Aussie music I want to seek out and try ...
18 dfle3 said on July 26, 2008
Hi. You touch upon why I'm a bit puzzled by this list. I actually tried emailing the people behind it but never got a reply. The issues that bother me are: is "indie" referring to the kind of people who like this music or a style of music or the status of the company which is manufacturing the music? Not sure, but presumable even a band like Metallica got a major label behind them at some point, and the Sex Pistols were with EMI first, so do they count? Does having been indie at one time mean that later, non indie stuff by the act gets counted here anyway?
Also, I suppose "alternative" denotes a style more so, than, say "indie".
Lastly, on this list-"anthem"-that sort of limits what kind of song you can have, doesn't it? That seems to imple some sort of stadium type singalong song, with lighters waving, perhaps!
Back to your points-re Aussie music-yeah, I heard that The Saints really manufactured their debut release themselves and posted it around the world to industry players. It doesn't get any more 'indie' than that.
Re Oz influence in indie and the US-have been reading stuff on this. I was staggered to read reported that Cobain or Nirvana were influence by Aussie band "The scientists". Now, I consider myself pretty knowledgeable about Aussie music, but that band had gone under my radar. I couldn't even imagine how Cobain knew about that band, before the age of You Tube and MySpace.
Re seeking out Aussie music-I have my own group where I've posted my lists of the best songs from various countries-Australia, US, Britain, New Zealand, Canada, rest of the world. Provide You Tube videos as well.
My tastes tend to be a bit mainstream but I do have punk songs, metal songs, alternative, hip hop etc. My biggest lists are for the US,Britain and Australia-over 200 songs for each. That's because I know a lot of those countries songs.
If you're interested, maybe try emailing this id of mine at Bill Gates' site. I can share those vids with you if you like.
P.S. re Radio Birdman-they went under my radar. "one of these days" I'm gonna check out some alt/indie albums which are well regarded-The Scientists' (something about Red River or something) and The Triffids "Born sandy devotional" which sounded a bit interesting when I heard it one the Aussie version of Classic albums. In recent years have seen The Scientists on music video shows here and wasn't too keen on it.
Got loads of reviews up on Amazon...some Aussie cds reviewed as well as metal and alternative or indie music. Quickest way to find them would to be search for Coldseed's "completion makes the tragedy", which is a great metal album but hardly reviewed, so I'm easy to find their...then just click on "see all my reviews".
Cheers.
19 dfle3 said on August 7, 2008
Here's a top 10 indie/alt list of mine-let me know if it's not technically indie or alt enough:
1-The Saints-Know your product
2-Kate Bush-Wuthering Heights
3-B52s-Rock Lobster
4-Do Re Mi-Man Overboard
5-Pixies-Monkey Gone To Heaven
6-Metallica-Fade To Black
7-Nirvana-Smells Like Teen Spirit
8-Oasis-Whatever
9-Blur-Song 2
10-Sex Pistols-God Save The Queen
11-Pixies-River Euphrates
12-Oasis-Wonderwall
13-Elastica-Connection
14-Iron Maiden-Run To The Hills
15-Breeders-Cannonball
16-The Vines-Get Free
17-Pixies-The Happening
18-The Strokes-Last Nite
19-Megadeth-Prince Of Darkness
20-The Vines-Ride With Me
21-Sex Pistols-Anarchy In The UK
Pretty good list, right? Not exactly in order, but close enough.
20 dfle3 said on September 9, 2008
Hey, I tried posting an extended list on this topic, but one which included the URLs for You Tube videos. Didn't get up. Is there a reason for that? Wouldn't mind posting up my top 30 indie songs with links for You Tube videos.
Can we do that? That would be pretty much the last thing I post here and I'd be happy for my previous post to get deleted.
21 imaginary dana said on September 9, 2008
@dfle3 -- hmm, I don't see the list anywhere. I thought our spam might have just nabbed it, but no. I'm sorry about that. If I saw it, I'd definitely post it. :(
22 dfle3 said on September 11, 2008
I'm not exactly sure which bands qualify as being 'indie'-if you don't want to count metal as indie, or punk, I could count other acts as indie. Personally, I think my list is way better that the British NME list above, or the US Entertainment Weekly list. That's just me though!
1-The Saints: Know your product (Australian band-true indie punk band)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qatJHDHRwJg
2-Do Re Mi: Man overboard (Australian band. Hey, if Oasis made the
list...)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wc9ISfg_1VA
3-Kate Bush: Wuthering Heights
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BW3gKKiTvjs
4-B52s: Rock lobster
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOFilsK4rPw&feature=related
5-Pixies: Monkey gone to Heaven
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQr4Hbr4cGs
6-Metallica: Fade to black
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7C90sLh5Ok
7-Nirvana: Smells like teen spirit
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPQR-OsH0RQ
8-Oasis: Whatever
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tuPBrSl9Nw
9-Blur: Song 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0Xl0ZEKJzo
10-The Sex Pistols: God save the Queen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8z2M_hpoPwk
11-The Offspring: Gone Away
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3INSQUXH4k
12-Faith no more: Epic
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsETamxkT9E
13-John Butler Trio: Zebra (Australian roots performer)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGWoZuX1PEo&feature=related
14-The Ramones: Rock'n'roll high school
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AE6w4RERMeI
15-Pixies: River Euphrates
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdzoK5jwESM&feature=related
16-The Vines: Get free (Australian band)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eDWrlDR-Ro
17-The Breeders: Cannonball
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AsId-qVIb4
18-Megadeth: Prince of darkness
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ok9VBNDT_ZM
19-The Strokes: Last nite
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tuvX_X7Rlw
20-Iron Maiden: Run to the hills
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5Snehl2bAk
21-Pixies: The happening
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3jNZFcwdg0
22-Oasis: Wonderwall
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAPtTS0TYtU
23-The Sex Pistols: Anarchy in the UK
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bM_l443VV4
24-Pattie Smith: Because the night
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0brHGJ6xqbk
25-Russell Morris: The real thing (Australian act)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1RP9sy1-LQ
26-The Vines: Ride
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYfnf6ydcb0&feature=related
27-Elastica: Connection
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XI2JxSSuahg
28-Antsy Pants: Vampire
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3M0jzK51p9w
29-Cranberries: Zombie
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=HJEySrDerj0
30-The Ramones: Chinese rock
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYqlszAVGTI
23 dfle3 said on September 11, 2008
Um, just submitted my list again. If it doesn't come up, you can delete this post and my previous one. Can you email me at Bill Gates site? Use my ID here. Maybe I can send you my list or something? Just thought it would be a good full stop for me on this thread to post up my own list.
Cheers.
24 imaginary dana said on September 11, 2008
@dfle3 -- I just published it. I think our spam filter nabbed it because of all those URLs. But now it's up! Thanks for your persistence. :)
25 dfle3 said on September 11, 2008
Hi. Nice to see that list up. I'm not exactly sure how my list stacks up, as far as being "indie" is concerned. Presumably the metal and punk might not count. And where do you draw the line at Alternative and Indie? I really love songs like The Prodigy's Breathe, Australian band The Living End which are sort of in the Greenday mold...speaking of which, "The grouch" is a killer punk style song by them...and TLE have a few of their own songs in that class.
Or how about Big Audio Dynamite's "The bottom line" or New Order's "True faith"? Like I say, I'm not a buff of these genres so could be making howlers.
Some other Aussie bands that could qualify for such a list are:
The Go Betweens, for "Your town" and maybe even The Church for "Unguarded moment" and "Almost with you".
P.S. feel free to delete my previous posts and your replies to them, i.e. posts
19,21,22,23,24.
Cheers.
26 Alicia said on September 14, 2008
excuse me but how is oasis indy in any way?
and where is cowboy dan?
27 dfle3 said on September 18, 2008
Hey, are there other such topics on this forum? Like Alternative or something? Wouldn't mind seeing such a list...I like compiling my own lists...got lists for punk, will have one soon for metal, and I've compiled lists for Australian music, US music, British music, New Zealand music and Canadian music.
If yous are interested, I can post up bits of those lists, with You Tube URLs as well. Thought about compiling a best Dance songs list, but, again, I'd want to look at an existing list so that I can get a feel for what kind of songs to include...not exactly sure where dance ends and pop or disco etc begins. Same goes for indie v alternative. Some of the songs in that NME list seem more alt than indie to me.
Cheers.
28 tedward said on March 3, 2010
Post new comment