![The Smiths - 'Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want': Dripping with a sense of unashamed, last ditch desperation and despair, 'Please, Please...' has become, despite its relative brevity, one of The Smiths' most famous and best loved songs.]()
The Smiths - 'Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want': Dripping with a sense of unashamed, last ditch desperation and despair, 'Please, Please...' has become, despite its relative brevity, one of The Smiths' most famous and best loved songs.
![The Stone Roses - 'Elizabeth My Dear': Sung to the tune of 'Scarborough Fair', and with a simple guitar part underneath, 'Elizabeth My Dear' is far more sinister than its simple folk tune would suggest.]()
The Stone Roses - 'Elizabeth My Dear': Sung to the tune of 'Scarborough Fair', and with a simple guitar part underneath, 'Elizabeth My Dear' is far more sinister than its simple folk tune would suggest. "Tear my apart and boil my bones/ I'll not rest till she's lost her throne."
![alt-J - '(Piano)': No words, just oohs, and - as the title suggests - some gentle resonating piano chords. Part way through, there's a noise that sounds like someone putting a teacup into a saucer, and it's louder than anything else in the song.]()
alt-J - '(Piano)': No words, just oohs, and - as the title suggests - some gentle resonating piano chords. Part way through, there's a noise that sounds like someone putting a teacup into a saucer, and it's louder than anything else in the song.
![The Libertines - 'Arbeit Macht Frei': Named after the sign above the gates of Auschwitz concentration camp, which cruelly and misleadingly translates to]()
The Libertines - 'Arbeit Macht Frei': Named after the sign above the gates of Auschwitz concentration camp, which cruelly and misleadingly translates to "work makes you free", this song is a powerful reflection on the hypocrisy of human nature. Its lyrics are almost unbearably brutal: "The guard said he could stay alive if he shovelled and burned his friends to die."
![Kyuss - 'Capsized': The ominous, urgent guitar riff feels as if it's building up to something huge. Instead, a second guitar kicks in, gentler, higher-pitched, and the whole thing fades out surprisingly peacefully.]()
Kyuss - 'Capsized': The ominous, urgent guitar riff feels as if it's building up to something huge. Instead, a second guitar kicks in, gentler, higher-pitched, and the whole thing fades out surprisingly peacefully.
![Perfume Genius - 'You Won't B Here':]()
Perfume Genius - 'You Won't B Here': "That was all a lie pretended to you," comes the opening line of this vulnerable, minimalist song of regret and disappointment. "You are hurting everyone you touch / And they won't be here tomorrow."
![Kanye West - 'All Of The Lights (Interlude)': The piano and string instrumental that precedes the poppier, Rihanna-featuring 'All Of The Lights'. Anyone who dismisses the musicality and thoughtfulness of West's music should take note of this interlude's placement between two incredible, anthemic songs on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.]()
Kanye West - 'All Of The Lights (Interlude)': The piano and string instrumental that precedes the poppier, Rihanna-featuring 'All Of The Lights'. Anyone who dismisses the musicality and thoughtfulness of West's music should take note of this interlude's placement between two incredible, anthemic songs on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.
![Laura Marling - 'Crawled Out Of The Sea': Marling might have come a long way since her 2008 debut Alas I Cannot Swim, but its interlude showcases her soaring vocals, lyrical obtuseness and ability to invent a melody from which she delights in deviating.]()
Laura Marling - 'Crawled Out Of The Sea': Marling might have come a long way since her 2008 debut Alas I Cannot Swim, but its interlude showcases her soaring vocals, lyrical obtuseness and ability to invent a melody from which she delights in deviating.
![Simon & Garfunkel - 'Bookends': Appearing twice on the duo's fourth album of the same name, 'Bookends' is wistful, and heartbreakingly nostalgic.]()
Simon & Garfunkel - 'Bookends': Appearing twice on the duo's fourth album of the same name, 'Bookends' is wistful, and heartbreakingly nostalgic. "Preserve your memories," it implores, "They're all that's left you."
![James Blake - 'Why Don't You Call Me': This isn't a song, though its title invites you to assume as much, about telephone calls. The end of the sentence changes its meaning entirely,]()
James Blake - 'Why Don't You Call Me': This isn't a song, though its title invites you to assume as much, about telephone calls. The end of the sentence changes its meaning entirely, "Why don't you call me / What we both know I am," he asks desparately, his voice cascading up and down a scale known only to James Blake.
![Pixies - 'Isla De Encanta': Sung entirely in Spanish, aside from the sudden injection of English -]()
Pixies - 'Isla De Encanta': Sung entirely in Spanish, aside from the sudden injection of English - "Hey babe, what are we doing here?" - 'Isla De Encanta' is an infectious guitar hook and drum beat that repeatedly cuts out to make way for the equally infectious, though inpenetrable to non-Spanish speakers, melody.
![Cat Stevens - 'The Wind': Uplifting and heartbreaking in one fell swoop, as is Cat Stevens' speciality, the song tackles themes of uncertainty with a stark beauty.]()
Cat Stevens - 'The Wind': Uplifting and heartbreaking in one fell swoop, as is Cat Stevens' speciality, the song tackles themes of uncertainty with a stark beauty. "I listen to the wind / To the wind of my soul. / Where I'll end up well I think, / Only God really knows."
![Blur - 'Bank Holiday': This one is like a four minute song sped up and crammed into two rip-roaring minutes. It's not exactly a lyrical masterpiece, and it absolutely revels in that fact.]()
Blur - 'Bank Holiday': This one is like a four minute song sped up and crammed into two rip-roaring minutes. It's not exactly a lyrical masterpiece, and it absolutely revels in that fact.
![Daniel Johnston - 'True Love Will Find You In The Find': Though he has suffered all his life with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, Johnston's lyrics have a beautiful, childlike optimism. None more so than in this track, which adds a disclaimer to the sentiment of its title,]()
Daniel Johnston - 'True Love Will Find You In The Find': Though he has suffered all his life with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, Johnston's lyrics have a beautiful, childlike optimism. None more so than in this track, which adds a disclaimer to the sentiment of its title, "This is a promise with a catch / Only if you're looking can it find you."
![Frank Ocean - 'Fertilizer': A jazzy, distorted funk track with spacey, muffled vocals. It's part video game soundtrack, part lift musack, but somehow combined together to create something great. It ends abruptly, with an intrusive beep.]()
Frank Ocean - 'Fertilizer': A jazzy, distorted funk track with spacey, muffled vocals. It's part video game soundtrack, part lift musack, but somehow combined together to create something great. It ends abruptly, with an intrusive beep.