25
Maps
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Fever to Tell (2003)
“Wait, they don’t love you like I love you.” This line is repeated over and over again in “Maps,” and it’s heartbreaking every time. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs have become a surprisingly enduring rock band that’s willing to taste samples of a bunch of genres while never compromising their sound (the electro-inflected “It’s Blitz!” is a great album). “Maps” was the song that, uh, put them on the map, so to speak, and it feels like the aural equivalent of a raw, exposed nerve. It hurts, but in a cathartic way.
Also check out: “Publisher” by Blonde Redhead – from one of the best albums of the decade, “23.”