Now for what you've all been waiting for... the top 5.
5. U2 - City of Blinding LightsBono has said the "city" he's talking about in this song is New York, but whenever I hear this song, I'll think of Las Vegas. I bought
How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb in December 2004, but never got around to listening to this song until February. My initial reaction was that it reminded me of Coldplay's "Clocks". A good thing? Well, "Clocks" was my #2 song of 2003.
After a relatively disappointing single release in "All Because of You", U2 rebounded on my chart with "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own". That song peaked at #3 (and finished #29 on the year-end chart). Their momentum was sustained until the release of the fourth single, "City of Blinding Lights" in late May. The realization that I still loved the song, and the fact that I'd be going to a city of blinding lights (Vegas) in early August, converged into a perfect storm. Although the song only spent 20 weeks in the top 50, six of them were at #1, and its third week at the top was the strongest a #1 song has been this year. And that's why "City of Blinding Lights" finishes at #5 for the year.
4. The Killers - Mr. BrightsideThe first time hearing this one in fall 2004, it didn't measure up to "Somebody Told Me" for me. ("STM" was a #5 hit on my chart that finished top 20 for 2004.) It was struggling late in November, rising only 28-26* one week. But since radio here sucks when it comes to playing alternative music, I never knew until a few months later that I hadn't been listening to the album version of the song. After I eventually heard it, the song got a new life, and it fought to #1 for the last week of January and the whole month of February. It was helped out by the video, maybe my favorite one of the year.
The most impressive attribute of "Mr. Brightside" was its longevity -- it very nearly hit the 30-week mark in the top 50, something only one song that peaked in 2005 was able to do. But although I liked it a lot for a long time, I never really
loved it, and that's why it's at #4.
3. Green Day - Boulevard of Broken DreamsThis had all the makings of a #1 song of the year -- if only it had come a little later. It had already racked up 6 weeks at #1 by the time the year began, and was #48 on the 2004 year-end chart. But in this case, the burnout was fairly low for a song played as much as it was (number one on six formats at the same time!). It stayed in the top 50 until May, and finished with 40 weeks in the top 100, tying Switchfoot's "Dare You to Move" for the longest-lasting song in the top 100 era (although "Bring Me to Life" spent 40 weeks in the top 50 alone).
"BOBD" showed, like 3 Doors Down's "When I'm Gone" before it, that a song can peak early in the year (or even late in the year before) and still hold its own. "When I'm Gone" was the #3 song of 2003, and "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" is the #3 song of 2005.
This year, the question of which song would be #1 was by far the closest call in the five years I've been doing my chart. 2004 was fairly close until the last few months of the year, but the decision this year was not made until I actually started compiling the chart.
Last year, the second-biggest album track on my year-end chart was "Stockholm Syndrome" by Muse. It finished #4 for 2004. That year, my #1 was "Dare You to Move"... which had finished #5 for
2003 as an album cut. A sign of things to come, possibly? In March, "Stockholm Syndrome" was announced as the third single off
Absolution, following up "Hysteria". My immediate reaction was that the song would be going straight to #1 on my chart, and for quite a while.
Two months later, the Foo Fighters released "Best of You" as the first single from their double album
In Your Honor. It was already #23 in its second week on the chart, and #1 by its sixth week... displacing "Stockholm Syndrome" after an eight-week run. On the June 3rd chart, "BOY" was #1 and "SS" #2; it was clear by that point that these would be my top 2 songs of the year. But in which order?
"Best of You" held in the top 10 for an amazing length of time, 21 weeks in fact. Just as it was falling from #1 after a six-week run, it was announced that the Foo Fighters and Weezer were going on a fall tour. I went to see them a month and a half later, and sure enough, "Best of You" made it back to the top for a 7th week -- never falling below #3 in the process.
So which song squeaked out the victory? "Stockholm Syndrome", which spent the first 19 weeks of its chart life in the top 5 despite disappointing radio airplay (and zero spins in my area)? Or "Best of You", which matched "SS" step for step and had a prominent part in my favorite concert experience ever?
I'd been listening to them a few times more in the weeks before making the chart, in anticipation of this decision. And each time, it was one song that I felt just a little more.
That song was "Stockholm Syndrome".
2. Foo Fighters - Best of You
1. Muse - Stockholm Syndrome
Let's take a look at the guesses, in order of submission:
a Nick O!:1. Green Day "Boulevard of Broken Dreams"
(+2)2. The Killers "Mr. Brightside"
(+2)3. Muse "Hysteria"
(-1)4. Foo Fighters "Best of You"
(+2)5. Muse "Stockholm Syndrome"
(+1)Total: 6 pointsWhile "Hysteria" peaked at #3 on my chart, it did so in November of 2004. It didn't last long enough this year to make the top 100.
Mega248:1. Muse- "Stockholm Syndrome"
(+5)2. Killers- "Mr. Brightside"
(+2)3. Foo Fighters- "Best of You"
(+3)2. Green Day- "Boulevard of Broken Dreams"
(+3)5. U2- "City of Binding Lights"
(+5)Total: 21 points (incl. 3-point bonus for guessing all 5 songs)
I'll assume you meant "BOBD" was #4.
halo191. The Killers - "Mr. Brightside"
(+1)2. Green Day - "Boulevard of Broken Dreams"
(+3)3. U2 - "City of Blinding Lights"
(+2)4. Foo Fighters - "Best of You"
(+2)5. Anberlin - "Paperthin Hymn"
(-1)Total: 7 points"Paperthin Hymn" was at #18.
radical3475. U2 - City of Blinding Lights
(+5)4. U2 - City of Blinding Lights
(-1)3. U2 - City of Blinding Lights
(-1)2. U2 - City of Blinding Lights
(-1)1. U2 - City of Blinding Lights
(-1)Total: 1 pointNice try, Davey.
Although I didn't specifically say that no song should be guessed more than once, they clearly aren't true guesses.
friday1) Muse - Stockholm Syndrome
(+5)2) Foo Fighters - Best of You
(+5)3) U2 - City of Blinding Lights
(+2)4) Green Day - Boulevard of Broken Dreams
(+3)5) The Killers - Mr. Brightside
(+3)Total: 21 points (incl. 3-point bonus for guessing all 5 songs)
Special recognition goes to friday for being the only one to nail my top 2.
The final standings:
51 - Mega24835 - friday
21.5 - halo19
19.5 - a Nick O!
16 - crash46
4 - radical347
4 - jcmf3
1 - bellhorn12
1 - slinky
Thanks everyone for playing.
Matt's Top 100 of 2005
1. MUSE - Stockholm Syndrome
2. FOO FIGHTERS - Best of You
3. GREEN DAY - Boulevard of Broken Dreams
4. THE KILLERS - Mr. Brightside
5. U2 - City of Blinding Lights
6. ANBERLIN - dance, dance Christa Päffgen
7. ANBERLIN - the Runaways
8. ANBERLIN - the Feel Good Drag
9. FALLING UP - Escalates
10. THE ARCADE FIRE - Rebellion (Lies)11. COLDPLAY - Speed of Sound
12. THE ARCADE FIRE - Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)
13. GREEN DAY - Wake Me Up When September Ends
14. JIMMY EAT WORLD - Work
15. MUDVAYNE - Happy?
16. DAVE MATTHEWS BAND - American Baby
17. MUTE MATH - Control
18. ANBERLIN - Paperthin Hymn
19. MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE - I'm Not Okay (I Promise)
20. ANBERLIN - A Day Late
21. SYSTEM OF A DOWN - Question!
22. MAE - Suspension
23. GORILLAZ - Feel Good Inc.
24. JEM - 24
25. WEEZER - We Are All On Drugs
26. THE KILLERS - All These Things I've Done
27. ATREYU - Right Side of the Bed
28. BREAKING BENJAMIN - Sooner or Later
29. U2 - Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own
30. MARIO - Let Me Love You
31. COLDPLAY - Fix You
32. 10 YEARS - Wasteland
33. JIMMY EAT WORLD - Futures
34. MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE - Helena
35. PITTY SING - Radio
36. ANNA NALICK - Breathe (2am)
37. FALL OUT BOY - Sugar, We're Going Down
38. 30 SECONDS TO MARS - Attack
39. KANYE WEST - Diamonds From Sierra Leone
40. FOO FIGHTERS - DOA
41. KEANE - Everybody's Changing
42. MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE - The Ghost of You
43. THE EXIES - Ugly
44. EMINEM - Mockingbird
45. SWITCHFOOT - Stars
46. THE KILLERS - Smile Like You Mean It
47. SLIPKNOT - Before I Forget
48. EARSHOT - Someone
49. SNOOP DOGG f/Pharrell - Drop It Like It's Hot
50. THE GAME - Dreams
51. FALL OUT BOY - Dance, Dance
52. 3 DOORS DOWN - Let Me Go
53. AUDIOSLAVE - Doesn't Remind Me
54. ROB THOMAS - This Is How a Heart Breaks
55. THE FRAY - Over My Head
56. HIM - Rip Out the Wings of a Butterfly
57. SHINEDOWN - Burning Bright
58. SNOOP DOGG f/Justin Timberlake & Charlie Wilson - Signs
59. ALKALINE TRIO - Time to Waste
60. FALLING UP - In My Dreams (Exit Calypsan)
61. STORY OF THE YEAR - We Don't Care Anymore
62. SEETHER - Remedy
63. RA - Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
64. WEEZER - Beverly Hills
65. SUBMERSED - Hollow
66. LOSTPROPHETS - I Don't Know
67. SNOW PATROL - Chocolate
68. LIFEHOUSE - You & Me
69. CHEVELLE - The Clincher
70. ALL-AMERICAN REJECTS - Dirty Little Secret
71. QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE - Little Sister
72. LIL' JON & THE EAST SIDE BOYZ f/Usher & Ludacris - Lovers & Friends
73. THE BRAVERY - An Honest Mistake
74. FINGER ELEVEN - Thousand Mile Wish
75. VELVET REVOLVER - Dirty Little Thing
76. SLIPKNOT - Vermilion Pt. 2
77. LOUIS XIV - Finding Out True Love Is Blind
78. WEEZER - Perfect Situation
79. AUDIOSLAVE - Be Yourself
80. SNOW PATROL - Run
81. SANCTUS REAL - Everything About You
82. THE KILLERS - Jenny Was a Friend of Mine
83. MARC BROUSSARD - Home
84. COHEED AND CAMBRIA - Welcome Home
85. AVRIL LAVIGNE - Nobody's Home
86. BREAKING BENJAMIN - Forget It
87. GARBAGE - Why Do You Love Me
88. A PERFECT CIRCLE - Passive
89. FABOLOUS - Breathe
90. C-CITY RYDERZ - Vibrate
91. FLYLEAF - I'm So Sick
92. INSTITUTE - Bullet-Proof Skin
93. AVENGED SEVENFOLD - Bat Country
94. GREEN DAY - Jesus of Suburbia
95. SUGARCULT - She's the Blade
96. MUTE MATH - Peculiar People
97. BLOC PARTY - Banquet
98. RISE AGAINST - Give It All
99. FOO FIGHTERS - End Over End
100. MAE - Painless