A few weeks ago, NPR Music asked us to come up with a list of definitive noise pop (the genre) songs for their website, NPR.org. It was a tall order and a fascinating challenge for us, and of course, we eagerly accepted. With tunes from the early ’70s to modern songs released just a few months ago on our radar, we studiously dove into the decades to find the top 100. We sorted them chronologically in order to to show the evolution of the sound. The full list will post on NPR later this month, but for now we’ve assembled a teaser podcast episode that chronicles the genre’s migration over the past 4 decades. Enjoy this sampler and stay tuned for the announcement of the full list coming soon.
Tracklist:
1. “Rock & Roll” — The Velvet Underground, Loaded(1970)
2. “Radio Free Europe” — R.E.M., Murmur(1981)
3. “Makes No Sense At All” — Husker Du, Flip Your Wig(1985)
4. “Bastards of Young” — The Replacements, Tim(1985)
5. “Freak Scene” — Dinosaur Jr., Bug (1988)
6. “Gigantic” — Pixies, Surfer Rosa(1988)
7. “Barnaby Hardly Working” — Yo La Tengo, Fakebook(1989)
8. “Shine On Sweet Jesus” — The Flaming Lips, In A Priest Driven Ambulance (1990)
9. “Only Shallow” — My Bloody Valentine, Loveless (1991)
10. “Three Years Ago Today” — Built To Spill, Ultimate Alternative Wavers (1992)
11. “Summer Babe (Winter Version)” — Pavement, Slanted & Enchanted (1992)
12. “Web In Front” — Archers of Loaf, Icky Mettle (1993)
13. “Natural One” — Folk Implosion, Kids OST (1994)
14. “Seven” — Sunny Day Real Estate, Diary (1994)
15. “Rebound” — Sebadoh, Bakesale (1995)
16. “Heart Cooks Brain” — Modest Mouse, The Lonesome Crowded West (1997)
17. “Holland, 1945” — Neutral Milk Hotel, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (1998)>
18. “You’re Pretty Good Looking (For A Girl)” — The White Stripes, De Stijl (2000)
19. “Fever Dreaming” — No Age, Everything In Between (2004)
20. “The Rat” — The Walkmen, Bows + Arrows (2004)
21. “Queen of Hearts” — Fucked Up, David Comes To Life (2011)
22. “Open Your Heart” — The Men, Open Your Heart (2012)
