Top 250: #16 - #20

Finally, we have reached the Top 20 of our Top 250 list. For a change, in this section all five tracks are from different artists and even more refreshingly from such artists that didn't appear last time or haven't appeared in a while in general. There is even one debutant on the list this high up.

20. We Subside, by The Pineapple Thief
(Variations on a Dream, 2003)

The British prog related guitar art rock group The Pineapple Thief has appeared on the list a few times before. Vapour Trails (#67), Remember Us (#113) and Resident Alien (#206) were all taken from their early masterpiece Variations on a Dream; only What Have We Sown? (#222) is from a more recent album. Our track number 20 is also from their pinnacle album, in fact it is the opening track. In our opinion, it is easily the finest song that the group has released.

When it comes to lyrics, We Subside is nothing special. But when it comes to music, it is absolutely brilliant. It elevates guitar rock into an art form. As you can hear by clicking the video embedding above, the song opens like a piece of classical music and manages to sustain that impression even when more regular rock instrumentation is introduced a little later on. Art rock has rarely been quite this artsy, and one might accuse the group of almost crossing the fine line between art and the artificial. We don't think they do that. In all the best ways, We Subside simply works.

19. Sending a Signalling Glance, by Maju
(Maju-1, 1999)

Immediately preceding the new millennium, the Tokyo based instrumental electronic music group Maju debuted with Maju-1 which perhaps isn't quite as significant a success as their second album that came out the following year. Still, it contains our number one favorite track in their output. Sending a Signalling Glance is nothing less than a perfect piece of electronic music. Its structure is very simple: a relatively simple melodic passage is repeated several times but in each iteration it becomes deliciously varied while new synthesizer sequences are added - and towards the end, removed.

Maju has appeared on the list twice before, with Once Again, I Revert to That Perspective (#55) and I Drew a Final Breath in the Dream (#106). Both of those two compositions are taken from their next album Maju-2 (2000). This one remains our favorite; there will be no more Maju songs further up on the list. We may have already mentioned that the group's publicly declared ambition is to describe what it is like to live in modern Tokyo through means of instrumental music. Sure sounds like that life is quite enjoyable. Mellow, even.

18. It's Natural to Be Afraid, by Explosions in the Sky
(All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone, 2007)

The previous blog entry (#21 - #25) seemed to imply that there would be no more surprises in store on the list - just more of the same. This track goes to disprove that. The Texan post rock group Explosions in the Sky has not appeared on the list at all prior to this, so it is one of the highest rated debuts on it. (Fourth highest, in fact - there will be not only one but two first time appearances next time, on places #11 - #15, and one even in the top five!)

This lengthy instrumental captured our attention originally because of its memorable opening sequence - the first four minutes and ten seconds. However, the rest of the composition is also great. It is kind of strange to see a post rock group this high on the list since we have never been big fans of that particular genre of rock - the typical noisy guitar sounds irritate us too much. But here, the Texas group has evidently succeeded in mesmerizing the side of us that enjoys ambient music. Hence, a place in the Top 20.

17. All the Blue Changes, by No-Man
(Together We're Stranger, 2003)

There are no Blackfield or Porcupine Tree tracks present this time around, but what would a Top 250 blog entry be without Steven Wilson or at least one of his many projects? Mr. Wilson has made music with Tim Bowness as No-Man since the early nineties and the duo has appeared on the list already five times before, with Soft Shoulders (#81), All Sweet Things (#130), Truenorth (#161), Close Your Eyes (#185) and Pigeon Drummer (#219).

All the Blue Changes is the first pick from their peak album, 2003's impressive Together We're Stranger. This effortlessly beautiful song has played at ProgActive endlessly: it is one of those tracks that you never seem to grow tired of and is arguably the finest piece of work that No-Man has ever released as a recording. Sad, then, that it looks like the duo is now on an endless hiatus, with Steven Wilson busy with his solo career. Following Together We're Stranger, there has been only one more album release, Schoolyard Ghosts, and even that was six and a half years ago.

16. Emergency Room, by Engineers
(Three Fact Fader, 2009)

The British shoegazers Engineers need no further introduction. They have appeared on the list already seven times before, most recently with Thrasher (#37), A Given Right (#52) and Said and Done (#64). A major favorite of ours, obviously. Their peak album is not hard to select: Three Fact Fader, released five years ago, is an astonishing achievement even though its greatness didn't come as a total surprise. Their almost equally excellent self titled debut from 2005 already showed enough promise for music fans to expect great things from the group.

When it begins, Emergency Room sounds perhaps a little non-typical for Engineers - as well as for the top positions on this list. The guitar sounds are hard rocking and the soundscape seems overly filled with instruments. On top of that, the composition doesn't at first sound like it's going to be anything special. This false impression is quickly fixed when we reach chorus and suddenly realize that this is actually one of the group's most memorably written songs with some particularly beautiful passages repeating themselves over and over again. Rock meets mellow pop with incredible results.