#lo14

Eluveitie - LVGVS 2017

Eluveitie is a Swiss folk metal band from Winterthur, Zürich, founded in 2002 by Chrigel Glanzmann. The project's first demo, Vên, was released in 2003, as a studio project of Glanzmann's, but its success led to the recruitment of a full band, and the re-release of Vên as an EP in 2004. The band then released a full-length album, Spirit, in June 2006. The group rose to fame following the release of their first major-label album, Slania, in February 2008. The album peaked at number 35 in the Swiss charts and number 72 in the German charts.

The band's style incorporates characteristics of melodic death metal combined with the melodies of traditional Celtic music. They use traditional European instruments, including the hurdy-gurdy and bagpipes, amidst guitars and both clean and harsh vocals. Their lyrics include references to Celtic mythology, particularly of Celtic Gaul. The lyrics are often in a reconstructed form of the extinct ancient language Gaulish. The name of the band comes from graffiti on a vessel from Mantua (c. 300 BC). The inscription in Etruscan letters reads eluveitie, which has been interpreted as the Etruscan form of the Celtic *(h)elvetios (“the Helvetian”), presumably referring to a man of Helvetian descent living in Mantua.

"Lvgvs" was released in 2017 as part of their acoustic-focused seventh studio album album Evocation II: Pantheon. The track is titled after Lugus, a prominent deity in the Celtic pantheon. As part of the Evocation series, the song focuses on acoustic instrumentation rather than heavy electric guitars, though it retains a folk-metal atmosphere. "Lvgvs" use the traditional Breton tune "Son ar chistr" (song of cider). The song is still used by folk groups around the world and has been translated into many languages. Though many groups keep the popular motif, the lyrics sometimes differ completely from the original. Glanzmann says; "I think we really managed to take this sort of drunken party thing out of it. Our song has this rather melancholic, mystical atmosphere to it; it’s nothing like a drunken party song."

"LVGVS" received a total of 86% yes votes!

L'Arc~en~Ciel - Ready Steady Go! 2004

L'Arc-en-Ciel (French for "The Rainbow") is a Japanese rockband formed in Osaka in 1991 by bassist Tetsuya and vocalist Hyde, with guitarist Ken and drummer Yukihiro joining in 1992 and 1998, respectively. While the band first got their start as a visual kei band, L'Arc-en-Ciel have not had any association with the movement since their major label debut in 1994. With a reported 40 million records sold, L'Arc-en-Ciel are one of the best-selling music artists in Japan. Their 1999 simultaneously-released albums Ark and Ray are each one of the best-selling albums of all time in Japan. L'Arc-en-Ciel have had seven number one studio albums and 21 number one singles. They were ranked number 58 on a 2003 list of the top 100 Japanese pop musicians by HMV Japan, and were the first Japanese act to headline Madison Square Garden in New York City.

"Ready Steady Go!" is the 23rd single by L'Arc-en-Ciel. It was released on February 4, 2004, and peaked at #1 on the Oricon single chart. It was used as the second opening song in the original Fullmetal Alchemist anime, used in Episodes 14 through to 25. It was featured as a song in the Japan-exclusive Nintendo DS launch music video game, Daigasso! Band Brothers, along with the Japan-exclusive 2005 iNiS music video game Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan as the last stage.

"Ready Steady Go" received a total of 71,3% yes votes!

Depeche Mode - Stripped 1986

"Stripped" is a song by the English electronic band Depeche Mode. It was released as the lead single from their fifth studio album Black Celebration on 10 February 1986. It was the band's sixth consecutive single to enter the UK Top 20, peaking at number 15. Elsewhere, it peaked at number 4 in Germany and reached the top 10 in Finland, Sweden, and Switzerland. German metal band Rammstein covered "Stripped" for the 1998 Depeche Mode tribute album For the Masses.

In the US, label Sire Records decided that B-side "But Not Tonight" was a better choice for their American audience, and so "Stripped" was not released as a single in that country. Martin Gore expressed his frustration with the American release in the 2007 documentary The Songs Aren't Good Enough, There Aren't Any Singles and It'll Never Get Played on the Radio, saying, "The worst thing, though, about "Stripped" was the Americans, who somehow decided to not release it at all and to put out the B-side, "But Not Tonight", because they got it into some dodgy film. For "Stripped", we took nine days mixing and God knows how long recording, and, you know, "But Not Tonight" I think we did in about three hours. And the Americans in their wisdom decided to release that instead." "But Not Tonight" failed to chart in the US.

"Stripped" received a total of 76,7% yes votes! Previous Depeche Mode polls: #101 "It's No Good", #358 "Personal Jesus", #568 "Enjoy the Silence".

Faun - Walpurgisnacht 2014

Faun is a German band band that was formed in 1998 and plays pagan folk, darkwave, and medieval music. The vocals are performed in a variety of languages, including German, English, Latin, Greek, Scandinavian and Hungarian. Their instruments include Celtic harp, Swedish nyckelharpa, hurdy-gurdy, bagpipes, cittern and flutes.

Faun is an example of "Mittelalter" music, a German musical style mixing Medieval folk and folk metal. The band coined the term "Pagan Folk", initially to describe their electronically amplified concerts, and later their music itself. The Münchner Merkur defines it as "a sometimes experimental mix of folk elements, medieval and traditional music from different epochs and regions as well as modern, even electronic influences".

"Walpurgisnacht" received a total of 85,3% yes votes!

Enya - Boadicea 1987

Enya is the debut studio album by Irish singer, songwriter and musician Enya, released in March 1987. The album features a selection of music that Enya recorded for the soundtrack to The Celts, a BBC documentary series about the origins, growth, and influence of Celtic culture. Enya worked with her longtime recording partners, producer and arranger Nicky Ryan and his wife, lyricist Roma Ryan. Several track titles are titled or based on various historical and mythological figures and stories associated with the Celts, and established Enya's sound of keyboard-oriented music and layered vocals.

Enya received mostly mixed reviews from critics when it was initially released. It was a commercial success in Ireland, peaking at number 8, and number 69 on the UK Albums Chart. After the commercial success of her next two albums, Enya was reissued as The Celts and outperformed its original sales; it went to number 10 in the UK and was certified Platinum in the UK and the US. In 2009, The Celts was reissued in Japan with a bonus track.

"Boadicea" has been sampled by many artists, most notably in 1996 by the Fugees. They sampled it without Enya's prior permission on the track "Ready or Not" featured on their debut album The Score and were consequently sued by WEA. Their label Sony agreed to add a sticker to all existing copies of The Score with the words: "We are very grateful to Enya for her kindness and consideration in allowing us of her track "Boadicea", from her album The Celts, which appears on the title "Ready or Not", which was used initially without her permission" and she dropped the lawsuit.

Boudica, or Boadicea, was a queen of the ancient British Iceni tribe, who led a failed uprising against the conquering forces of the Roman Empire in AD 60 or 61. She is considered a British national heroine and a symbol of the struggle for justice and independence. When Boudica's husband king Prasutagus died, he had left his kingdom jointly to his daughters and to the Roman Emperor Nero in his will. The Romans ignored the will, and the Iceni kingdom was absorbed into the province of Britannia. The Romans' next actions were described by the Roman historian Tacitus, who detailed pillaging of the countryside, the ransacking of the king's household, and the brutal treatment of Boudica and her daughters. In 60/61, Boudica led the Iceni and other British tribes in revolt, and they destroyed Camulodunum (modern Colchester). Upon hearing of the revolt, the Roman governor Gaius Suetonius Paulinus hurried to Londinium, the 20-year-old commercial settlement that was the rebels' next target. Unable to defend the settlement, he abandoned it. Boudica's army defeated a detachment of the Legio IX Hispana, and burnt both Londinium and Verulamium. In all, an estimated 70,000–80,000 Romans and Britons were killed by Boudica's followers. Suetonius, meanwhile, regrouped his forces, possibly in the West Midlands, and despite being heavily outnumbered, he decisively defeated the Britons. Boudica died, by suicide or illness, shortly afterwards. The crisis of 60/61 caused Nero to consider withdrawing all his imperial forces from Britain, but Suetonius's victory over Boudica confirmed Roman control of the province.

"Boadicea" received a total of 76,2% yes votes! Previous Enya polls: #433 "Orinoco Flow".

Musashi Project - Naruto - Main Theme 2003

Naruto is a Japanese anime television series based on Masashi Kishimoto's 1999–2014 manga series. It follows Naruto Uzumaki, a young orphan ninja who seeks recognition from his peers and dreams of becoming the Hokage, the leader of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. The anime series were animated by Pierrot, produced by Aniplex, and licensed by Viz Media in North America. Besides the anime series, Pierrot also developed 11 animated films and 12 original video animations.

The anime series achieved significant commercial success, becoming one of Viz Media's top-earning franchise and being a cultural impact with the run of the series. It was the third most-watched series in the US by 2020. Naruto: Shippuden was consistently ranked as one of the most-watched in Japan. It was lauded for its improved animation, more mature tone, well-crafted character interactions, and balanced storytelling. The first anime ranked 38th in IGN's Top 100 Animated Series and Shippuden earned a nomination from the Crunchyroll Anime Awards for Best Continuing Series.

Musashi Project and Toshio Masuda composed and arranged the Naruto soundtracks. Naruto Original Soundtrack was released on April 3, 2003, and contains 22 tracks used during the first season of the anime. Musashi Project is an instrumental band that are known for fusing the sound of traditional Japanese instruments with hard rock.

"Naruto Main Theme" received a total of 75,6% yes votes!

Garbage - The World Is Not Enough 1999

"The World Is Not Enough" is the theme song for the 1999 James Bond film The World Is Not Enough, performed by Scottish and American rockband Garbage. The song was written by composer David Arnold (who also scored the film) and lyricist Don Black. With 30 years of experience writing Bond themes, Black wrote the lyrics to Tom Jones's "Thunderball", Shirley Bassey's "Diamonds Are Forever", Lulu's "The Man with the Golden Gun" and K.D. Lang's closing credits theme, "Surrender", from Tomorrow Never Dies. The lyrics reflect the film's plot told from the viewpoint of antagonist Elektra King (Sophie Marceau), with themes of world domination and seduction. The song and its accompanying soundtrack were released when the film premiered worldwide at the end of November 1999. "The World Is Not Enough" was praised by reviewers; it reached the top 40 of ten singles charts and the top 10 of four.

"Part of the reason I thought Garbage would be such a good idea [for the theme song], is that I think Shirley Manson is someone who could easily inhabit Bond's world. The whole thing about the song is that it needs to entice you, and beckon you in. […] Shirley is the only person I can think of in the world of contemporary music who is the musical equivalent of Elektra. It is as important as casting the characters – getting the right voice and right attitude for the song." – David Arnold.

"The World Is Not Enough" received a total of 69,5% yes votes! Previous Garbage polls: #356 "I Think I'm Paranoid", #512 "Push It".

Adam and the Ants - Stand and Deliver 1981

Adam and the Ants was an English new wave band that formed in London in 1977. The band existed in two versions, both fronted by Adam Ant, between 1977 and 1982. The first phase began when the band were founded in May 1977 and were called the Ants until November of that year. They later changed their style from punk rock to post-punk and new wave and released one album. The second version of Adam and the Ants was noted for its use of Burundi drums. This band existed from February 1980 to March 1982 and achieved significant commercial success in the UK. With their music videos receiving airplay on MTV and Ant appearing as a guest VJ on the station, they are associated in the US with the Second British Invasion.

"Stand and Deliver" was released as the lead single from their third studio album, Prince Charming (1981). It became the band's first number 1 when it debuted at the top spot on 3 May 1981, and remained there for five weeks. Listed as the third best-selling single of 1981, it has sold 1.03 million copies in the UK, and was in 2023 included on the Official Charts Company's list of the UK's best-selling singles of all time at number 141. On the US Dance chart, "Stand and Deliver" peaked at #38. The phrase "stand and deliver — your money or your life", used in the lyrics, is commonly associated with highwaymen in 18th century England.

The costume and general plot of the video show a strong influence from the 1973 Monty Python sketch "Dennis Moore", although the highwayman scenario had also formed the basis for the Dick Turpin series on UK television. It features Adam Ant dressed as a dandy highwayman who threatens his victims with the mirror image of their unfashionable selves and who is captured and escapes being hanged from the gallows with help from his accomplices (his band members). The video's opening sequence of Adam Ant putting on his make-up before going out on a robbery became a defining visual image for Adam Ant in the years that followed; a still from this was used as the sleeve for the band's next single. English pop singer Limahl (poll #60) appears in the video as an extra.

"Stand and Deliver" received a total of 74,8% yes votes!