What do prog metal titans Tool, smooth crooner Chris Isaak, and Kanye ‘Yeezus’ West all have in common? They are all responsible for writing the greatest songs ever.
At least, that’s if you agree with the eclectic tastes of a certain Canadian pop futurist.
Rather than get swept up in the usual end-of-year festivities (just as Tone Deaf has) with her own Best of 2013 list, Grimes – the musical alias of Claire Boucher – has gone one better and put together a her personalised list of the greatest songs of all-time.
Either in a moment of inspiration (or sheer boredom), Grimes shared her ‘Greatest Ever Songs’ list to her legion of tumblr followers, and once again proving she’s one of the most entertaining music figures in the social media world, the self-described “surrealist yuppie, urban faery, [and] aspiring warrior poet” presents her list in a scatterbrained fashion, as Exclaim.Ca points out.
The Webby Award-winner’s list reads like stream-of-conscious rant that demonstrates the exact kind of eclectic tastes you’d expect of the Visions hit-maker; a veritable poster girl for the Spotify generation, as anyone who caught her energetic set at Meredith Music Festival last year will tell you. Grimes also humorously admits of NIN that she’d prefer a version of ‘March of the Pugs’ from Reznor…
There’s plenty of powerful female musicians on the list, with selections from Beyoncé, Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Lauryn Hill (credited for her Fugees’ turn on ‘Killing Me Softly’), and Enya (an artist that Grimes is often compared to), contrasted with a strong presence of 90s alt-rock heroes – including Marilyn Manson’s breakout 1997 single ‘Beautiful People’, the aforementioned Tool’s ‘Ænema’, and Nine Inch Nails.
Boucher also humorously admits of NIN that she’d prefer a version of ‘March of the Pugs’ from Reznor – no surprise considering she’s previously requested the presence of “one cute bulldog, french bulldog, pug or pomeranian” on her tour rider.
Grimes also tips her hat to modern contemporaries, including neo-RnB and soultronica group Majical Cloudz, doe-eyed singer Lana Del Rey, and Brooklyn femcee “Azelea [sic]” Banks, but being a self-admitted Dolly Parton tragic, Grimes recently tweeted that “most good music today is based on dolly parton” (whose ‘Jolene’ also makes an appearance on the list).
Other selections that make the cut aren’t songs at all, such as a plug for Portishead’s trip-hop masterpiece Dummy, “all of” Tchaikovsky’s music for ballet Swan Lake, and the complete soundtrack to seminal 1995 anime film, Ghost In The Shell.
Much like the recent playlists from musical chameleon Beck and Parisian robot duo Daft Punk, Grimes’ song list offers a unique insight into the creative mind and listening habits of its creator. Boucher has also hinted that she might be updating her post, so hit up her Tumblr page if you’re keen for more curious cuts and check out her full list below.
