First Post; Top Ten Breeders Songs

So here we go, the first post in my blog, holy crap right? Exciting I know. I built this place to talk about all the cool shit in my life. I think people are getting tired of me talking about the runaways and nightmare on elm street all the time so I'm just going to do it here, where they can come and read about it whenever they'd like. I also, you know, wanna be really hip and cool and all. This will make me a household name right? I'm pretty sure that's how it works.

So for my first post I went for the impossible- compiling a top ten list of songs by one of my favorite bands, The Breeders. I saw them in Tempe for the first time last weekend and I’m still not over it, it was incredible. It is of course completely subjective, but that don't really matter because maybe two of my friends have actually heard these songs, so just know it's absolutely right, because it is. Shall we...


The Top Ten Breeders Songs:

10. Freed Pig- A cover of the Sebadoh song, amazing. Screaming guitars and Kim’s soft, pretty voice against the blunt, sarcastic and bitter lyrics set this one apart and make this the best "yeah, I was creepy and obsessive and ultimately just trying to irritate you but now I don't care enough to keep trying" song. I love it. "Now you will be free, now you don't have to depend on me tapping till I drive you insane." "I've got nothing better to do than pay too much attention to you, it's sad but its not your fault...". The Breeders know how to pick em.

09. Flipside- A straight up surf rock dance song, no lyrics, just excellence.

08. German Studies- “this song is called German studies, not we speak german fluently, so remember that”- Kelley Deal at the tempe show, so hilarious. I don’t know german yet, so their german sounds amazing and perfect to me, but it could be way off. Either way, this song is great and shows what geniuses Kim and Kelley are. They don’t even speak the language and the composition of the words is INCREDIBLE. Seriously, the first few lines are just excellent, even when you have no idea what their saying. It’s all about how the words sound together, and they sound wonderful. One day I’ll actually know what their saying, so I guess that'll be cool too. Oh yeah, and this sounds FANTASTIC live, they do it perfectly. Genius.

07. No Aloha- “No Bye, no aloha”. Don’t you hate when people leave without saying bye? It’s sounds impossible and crazy, but believe me people somehow find ways to do it, and Kim’s gonna sing about it. At least I know I’m not alone ha. This is another great surf grunge rock song from the band with an absolutely AMAZING breakdown at the end that will leave you spinning, really. It’s awesome. And sure, this songs about the band going with a different promoting company, or something like that, but ultimately it’s about getting no goodbye when being left, and that goes straight to the heart.

06. Here No More- this song takes a cue from acts like Hank Williams and all that great old country western stuff and fits perfectly in the genre as a beautiful, simple country song. Great everything. At the show Kim said she wrote this with her mom. On Mountain Battles.

05. Safari- they played this at the Tempe show, it was the biggest and best surprise of the night. I’ve always loved the Safari ep and the title track is the greatest song on it, also one of the bands best. Can’t really say what it is about the song or why it grabs you but it’s awesome anyway, I love it. “He couldn't leave the flock...Always hugging the man, and crying out for me”. Ahhh.

04. Saints- “I like all the different people, I like sticky everywhere” Saints is the ULTIMATE summer song, and it’s about being at the fair no less, so it’s the ultimate life song for me too. “I like all the different people, I like every kind of fair, in the crowd- you bet I’ll be there, walking around, going nowhere...”. It’s excellent in all ways, I love it. “The hid are out, out for the year” and the best, most epic line ever, “Summer is ready when you are”. AMAZING. It's also what you'd call "very beefy", so that's awesome, guitar is suhweeet. mmm.

03. Divine Hammer- One of the few singles the Breeders actually released, this is Kim Deal’s ode to everyone’s favorite male body part, and man has she hit the nail on the head. While it’s a great pop song, the lyrics are what really set the song apart and make it incredible. When Kim pleads and sighs, “I’m just looking for one divine hammer, I’d bang it all day…” she manages to speak of a theme that’s not only personal, but you know, universal, and does it with all the cuteness and class the world has ever seen. She‘s too good! “I’m just looking for the divine hammer….just one divine hammer..."

02. Night of Joy- The third track from the new album “Mountain Battles”, this song is all kinds of melancholy and beautiful. Its like watching a movie that you realize has somehow, someway, captured the exact mood and tone of your entire life. Crazy right? That’s this song, and it‘ll do that. Its dark, its muddy, we kind of know what kim deal is singing about, and, rather than just singing or playing a song, they create a mood, a whole world inside of a song. It’s fantastic.

01. Cannonball- This is obvious, and I could be really weird and indie and say theres some obscure, rarely heard track by the Breeders that’s “actually way better than cannonball” but the truth is, Cannonball is their masterpiece, it’s excellent, and it‘s their best. There’s no getting around it, the song is just bomb. It’s a three minute surf rock grunge trip that all at once defines a time, the band, and makes you dance your ass off. It’s magic.

So there you have it, my first blog post AND the top ten breeders songs. What more could you want? Oh yea...a goodbye right? Later!

-Josh