Top 16 Songs I Like By Bands I Don’t Like

Originally Published Here: http://shutter16.com/wp/2011/09/24/top-16-songs-i-like-by-bands-i-dont-like/ Published Saturday, September 24, 2011 By amanda_caines. Under Editor : Amanda Caines, Top 16, Writer: Amanda Caines Tags: Amanda Caines, Fallout Boy, Five Finger Death Punch, Godsmack, Kings of Leon, Korn, MCR, metal, Mudvayne, My Chemical Romance, Nickelback, Nine Inch Nails, Papa Roach, Paramore, Puddle of Mudd, Rage Against The Machine, rock, Skillet, Theory of a Deadman, Three Doors Down, Top 16 All of these songs on this list represent the sole reasons I don’t wish these bands’ music to be stricken from the Earth. For some of these songs, I can tell exactly why I like them, while others just have an inexplicable pull. Maybe it’s subliminal messaging. 1. “Far from Home” by Five Finger Death Punch – After they butchered their cover of “Bad Company,” I thought I had lost all possible respect for this band, but then they put out this song. While I’m still not a fan of the auto-tuned vocals that sound like they’re just trying to be creepy, the music and the vocal melody are beautiful. Now, if only they can find a singer that doesn’t suck. 2. “Love, Hate, Sex, Pain” by Godsmack – Speaking of bands that need a new singer, Godsmack surprised me with its somewhat polyrhythmic approach in this song. It’s a sharp contrast to their in-the-pocket, mediocre-local-band sound that they’re usually putting forth. 3. “By the Way” by Theory of a Deadman – …And speaking of bands with major label deals that sound like some sort of mediocre garage band, Theory of a Deadman really pulled a great song out of its ass with this one. It’s beautiful. Too bad the radio never picked this one up, because it’s much better than anything they do play. 4. “Do What You Do” by Mudvayne – In addition to having a stupid name, this band’s songs have at best not impressed me, and at worst made me roll my eyes and change the channel. I’m not sure what it is about this song that I like. It’s mostly just the chorus, really, but this is one song I will actually turn up and sing along with… when no one’s looking. 5. “Got the Life” by Korn – This is a band that thrives on shocking people with disturbing lyrics, and from that agenda has developed a cult following of die-hard goth kids. I’m not one of them, but I can appreciate the energy and underlying positive message in this song. 6. “Burn It to the Ground” by Nickelback – I used to like Nickelback, but I feel like lately they’ve been all about exploiting the same formula for attracting the low-lifes and propagated music like that through other clone bands that follow in their slime trail. This song, though, just makes me laugh, and I like the heavy guitar riffage paired with a hi-energy driving beat. 7. “Decode” by Paramore – Don’t get me wrong; I think Hayley Williams is a highly talented female vocalist, but I really just don’t dig their music enough to buy a CD. This song, however, even though it’s trapped in the “Twilight” movie soundtrack, has a darker tone to it than the rest of their too-poppy-for-me songs and allows me to appreciate her voice a little more. 8. “Psycho” by Puddle of Mudd – I liked a couple of their other songs until the local radio stations wore them out like an old pair of undies, but this is one I never truly got sick of hearing. I think I like the abnormal rhythmic interplay between the vocals and the guitar on the verses. Not to mention, I love having a song available where I can sing an accusation of schizophrenic psychosis. They sucked at Carnival of Madness last summer, though. I was unimpressed. 9. “Sex on Fire” by Kings of Leon – After hearing this as their first single, I had high hopes for Kings of Leon, but everything they’ve put out since this fantastically energetic tune has been overdone, radio crap. The title does kind of remind you of STDs for some reason, though. 10. “Kryptonite” by Three Doors Down – Here’s another band that puts out songs I like at first and then get sick of hearing. This song, though, their first single, is still awesome after more than a decade. 11. “Awake and Alive” by Skillet – I think everyone I know who likes Skillet is sick of this song, but I still turn it up when it comes on. I kind of like other Skillet songs, but this is the only one I would actually pay to listen to. 12. “I’m Not Okay” by My Chemical Romance – MCR’s singer says they’re not an “emo” band, but many fans beg to differ. I’m not sure if they are or not, but with a song that shouts “I’m not o-fuckin’-kay!” … sounds like they might be. Regardless, this is a good one to crank up and sing along with when everything’s falling apart. 13. “Dance, Dance” by Fallout Boy – As much as I like the misheard lyrics version of “This Ain’t A Scene,” there’s really only one Fallout Boy song I like, and it’s “Dance, Dance.” It’s fast, it’s catchy, and has a little falsetto note in the chorus. You can almost tell what he’s saying in this one, for once. 14. “Hurt” by Nine Inch Nails – Another band I used to really like when I was an angsty teenager was NIN, but I’ve grown out of that. The only song of theirs that stuck with me was “Hurt;” Johnny Cash liked it, too, so it must be a good one. 15. “Killing in the Name” by Rage Against the Machine – It depends which day you ask me, but I think I actually like this song. Other than that, RATM just sort of annoys me, as rap metal really isn’t my thing, especially when laced with political whining. 16. “Burn” by Papa Roach – So many of my buddies like Papa Roach, and my band has even worked on covering a Papa Roach song, but, honestly, I could do without this band… until their recent single. I like it, but I don’t know why. Maybe because we wrote one with the same title at about the same time and I feel a weird kinship with Papa Roach.