BBC 6 Music's Greatest Hits - My Favourite 5 Tracks

BBC Radio station brings its 10th anniversary celebrations to a close.

Poll to find the listeners' favourite single from 2002-2012.


BBC 6Music have released a list of the Top 100 singles released during their first 10 years on the airwaves and have given its listeners the near impossible task of picking their favourite song.

Naturally, I took a look at the list and tried to pick a favourite. I failed. I took a second pass at the list and wrote down any track which I thought might be the one. This produced a short list of 12. 

In no particular order, here are the 5 tracks which made the final cut.

The National - Bloodbuzz Ohio

Bloodbuzz Ohio caught my attention with its toe-tapping beat and sustained my attention through its captivating yet wilfully cryptic lyrics. Like many The National songs, Bloodbuzz Ohio is deceptively simple in its structure but the band manage to build up the instrumental layers to create their great sound (look no further than Bryan Devendorf's fantastic drum beat). Bloodbuzz Ohio also exemplifies Matt Berninger's ability to write songs about universal themes of adulthood in a wonderfully poetic manner.

 Arctic Monkeys - I Bet That You Look Good On The Dancefloor


Shifting over 360,000 copies in the first week (with just under 120,000 of those on day 1), the band's debut album Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not was the must own album across the country. Thankfully, the hype was deserved as WPSIA,TWIN is an outstanding record and lead single I Bet That You Look Good On The Dancefloor is the perfect exemplifies the album's brilliance. It grabs you by the throat, throws its bombastic urgency into your face and puts you down in the blink of an eye.

Janelle Monae [feat. Big Boi] - Tightrope


Janelle Monae is one of the most exciting artists to emerge in the past few years. Taken from her astounding debut album The Archandroid, Tightrope is an infectious soul-funk-rap mix that manages to create something original and exciting from well worn musical genres. In a world of studio moulded pop groups, it's refreshing to see a record label (Sean Combs' Bad Boy Records) give a chance to an artist with such uncompromising ambition and crystal clear vision of what they want their music to say. 

Foals - Spanish Sahara
Spanish Sahara begins with a drum beat so quiet, you check that your radio or computer is working properly. The lack of noise catches you attention. What follows is a masterful lesson in building tension through delicate layering of sounds. This was the first track released from Foals' second album Total Life Forever and it grabbed everybody's attention. More importantly, Spanish Sahara was a great indication of Foals' progression as a band.
Arcade Fire - Wake Up
One of the 3 stand out tracks on Funeral (an album full of great songs) along with Rebellion (Lies) and Neighbourhood #3 (Power Out), Wake Up is a wonderfully rousing song. Yet the lyrics speak of entering adulthood and learning that the world is not what you thought it was.  As children we are told everything will be alright but as we grow older, we realise that was a lie. Now we have to adjust to this harsh reality and move on with our lives. Wake Up perfectly captures Arcade Fire's ability to merge stirring music with an underplayed and often downbeat lyricism.

And The Winner Is ?

 Erm... good question.

 Hmm...

 Foals - Spanish Sahara

 The 6Music poll closes this Friday at 7pm. The countdown of the top 100 will take place on February 1st.

 I'll post again after the Top 100 are revealed.

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