As we are about to say hello to 2016, it is once again time for The Music Court to countdown the best songs of 2015; And, yes, I did make an Adele pun. Her hit song will almost certainly end 2015 at the top of the Billboard charts (as her new LP is selling like hot cakes doused with maple syrup). It may even start 2016 at the top and pull an “Uptown Funk,” which ravaged the Billboard charts for around four months before giving way to the melancholic summer hit, “See You Again.” That said, let’s move beyond these introductory pleasantries and get to the nitty gritty of the list.
Last year, Zoe and I labored over several songs to choose a Top 10 list fit for the music kings and queens, and this year is no different. Thus, as always, some well-deserving songs were left off the Top 10. Thus, like each year we have done this list, on the eve of the list’s start we bring you a few songs that just missed the top 10 and found themselves on the environs, still excellent songs in their own right.
#12: “Ong Ong” by Blur
After a 12 years, the longest album gap in Britpop mainstay Blur’s illustrious career, Damon Albarn and the boys released The Magic Whip in April of 2015 and with it released track 11, “Ong Ong,” a jaunty, repetitive track that just might be one of the best songs ever released by the band. Why? It’s droning underbody hums like that of a dying car’s roar, which sounds awful, I know, but in reality it is infectious. The song carries from there in a tight, skilled manner only an organized, experienced band can create.
#11: “Stressed Out” by 21 Pilots
We go from sagacious songsters Blur to relatively new kids on the block Twenty One Pilots whose blend of alternative-rock hooks mixed with hip/hop make for a unique and exciting sound. “Stressed Out” is excellent for two reasons – lyrics and hook. I’m not a big rap fan (as the music selection on this blog may suggest); however, the rap in this piece is effective – the song’s message is that of nostalgia.
“It’d be to my brother, ‘cause we have the same nose,
Same clothes homegrown a stone’s throw from a creek we used to roam,
But it would remind us of when nothing really mattered,
Out of student loans and treehouse homes we all would take the latter”
21 Pilots does an effective job melding youthful memories with current mid-20s problems. The hook talks about turning back time and does so with an almost reserved vigor that is melodic and catchy.
Great songs and they missed the list! The top 10 starts tomorrow. Stay tuned.
The Music Court 
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