Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Top Ten: Backstreet Boys

In anticipation of my attendance of the upcoming Backstreet Boys concert (buy tickets!) I've composed the following list of my favorite BSB songs. Admittedly, it's heavily biased in favor of Millennium, Black and Blue, and Never Gone, as those are the albums on my iTunes, and God knows I'm terrible at sticking with Top Ten lists, but these are all great songs that I adore.

(A Note: Unlike Ryan, I haven't figured out how to upload songs. So, instead, I'm providing YouTube videos that are mostly BSB pics to each of the songs.)

10. TIE: What Makes You Different (Makes You Beautiful)



Really, it's a combination of two of my great loves: BSB and The Princess Diaries. It's on the Princess Diaries soundtrack, which is actually rather listen-able, plus it's just so delightfully happy and love-conquers-all, telling its "being unique is awesome!" message:

"I know sometimes you feel
Like you don’t fit in
And this world doesn’t know
What you have within."

Seriously. Lyrics every misfit pre-teen clings to for dear life.

10. TIE: I Still...


The song is rocking, plus the title ends in an ellipses. How could I not love it?

9. It's Gotta Be You


(The vid is a pic-spam to the song, but at 2:06 they have a photo from when BSB guest-starred on Arthur--which was a fab episode, btw.)

My love for this song started when my friends in middle school came up with a routine to it for the Variety Show. But beside that, it's super-catchy and not in an annoying way like my least favorite BSB song (which you will find out at the end of this list).

8. Siberia


A confession: I made a Smallville music video to this song. And, in fact, you can see it in the above YouTube video. Am I actually that pathetic? Yes. Is the video actually that poorly constructed? Yes. As for the song itself: what I love about Never Gone is that so many of the songs were stories. They weren't just in-the-moment love songs. They really took "The Call" to the next level. "Siberia" is a song about how a lover leaves the song's protagonist for someone else and covers so much: sadness, anger, and acceptance. It's just lovely. Although I don't list it, "Poster Girl" from Never Gone has the same lovely story-telling and I would advise listening to it.

7. Shape of My Heart


This stands in the list and kinda represents both itself and "As Long As You Love Me." Both are hits that are the patented BSB mix of smooth yet pop-y.

6. The Call


(Yeah. Face-shifting psycho takes on cheating BSB-ers. Their music videos never made much sense.)

Hello, eighth grade. While my conservative thirteen-year-old self despised this song because it was about cheating on your girlfriend, my growing teenager within swiftly slapped the idealist in me with the convincing argument of "It's catchy and you love it." I figure that dichotomy is the best insight you can get into my head.

5. Incomplete



Not to be confused with "Inconsolable" which was not nearly as good.

4. How Did I Fall in Love with You




BSB recorded so many great slow ballads that are often overlooked, as did *NSYNC. (One of my favorite *NSYNC songs is "Selfish," which is a slow song that is yearning in its simplicity.) "How Did I Fall in Love with You" is the classic dilemma of falling in love with your best friend:

"Those days are gone, and I want you so much.
The night is long and I need your touch.
Don't know what to say,
I never meant to feel this way.
Don't want to be
Alone tonight."

If you like this song, I also recommend BSB's "Time."

3. I Want It That Way


(Oh, Chinese Backstreet Boys.)

Duh.

2. Drowning


Off of their Best-Of Album (which, strangely, they called The Hits: Chapter One...and then they proceeded to fall of the face of the earth), "Drowning" is a great addition to their established hits. It has all the metaphor-ness of "Bleeding Love," but doesn't annoy me. Instant win in my book.

1. Just Want You to Know


My first song ring tone, as my entire cog sci class soon learned. So embarrassing, but I love the song enough to swallow the shame. That, my friends, is love.


And the one song I just can't stand? "Larger than Life." Maybe it's the maniacal laugh or the the rhyme of "see" with "reality." I don't know. But I'm pretty over it.

Bonus! BSB and Shania Twain!

2 comments:

Ryan said...

1) I'm going to the concert now; I think I got Lauren's ticket, 'cause Caitlin said that she had an extra.

2) I love "The Call" and "I Want It That Way." In fact, my mom loves "I Want It That Way" more than most other songs in the world, as well as most people.

3) I'll show you how to upload songs when you come pick up your VCR :P

Melissa said...

YAY RYAN GOING TO BSB CONCERT!!! HUZZAH!!!

Ah! VCR! I am so over that. I'll pick it up sometime...