Tuesday Top Ten: '10s Social Distancing Songs

Prior decades:
-Top Ten Pre-1960s Social Distancing Songs
-Top Ten '60s Social Distancing Songs
-Top Ten '70s Social Distancing Songs
-Top Ten '80s Social Distancing Songs
-Top Ten '90s Social Distancing Songs
-Top Ten '00s Social Distancing Songs

Well folks, we've reached the most recent decade in our look at COVID-19-related songs from the pre-rock and roll era to the present day.  When I started this seven-week-long experiment, I wasn't sure if I would have (or know) enough songs from the teens to make a top ten list, but alas, it turned out not to be an issue at all.

The teens were a weird decade, and an up-and-down decade as well.  When we started, we were in the process of recovering from the Great Recession, under our nation's first African-American president.  When we ended, we had an orange-faced former reality TV star who is more authoritarian dictator than democratically elected president.  In between, we had, not necessarily in chronological order, the "Tea Party Revolution" (which has scarred political discourse to this day), the Blackhawks won three Stanley Cups, same-sex marriage legalization in the U.S., Sandy Hook and too many other horrible mass shootings to count, iPads, Arab Spring, fucking selfie sticks, the rise and dominance of social media, 5000-1 shot Leicester City wins the English Premier League, various high-profile murders of African-Americans by white cops, Edward Snowden, memes, the fucking Cubs won a World Series, the death of Osama bin Laden by U.S. troops, viable electric cars, cryptocurrency, WikiLeaks, Australian wildfires, California wildfires, Michael Phelps becomes the most decorated Olympian ever, fidget spinners, Hurricanes Matthew, Harvey, Irma, and Maria, the city of Cleveland won a major sports championship, fucking millennials, 3D printing, e-cigarettes, a new Pope, the increased legalization of marijuana in various states, FIFA's bribery scandal, the fire that ravaged Notre Dame Cathedral, the deaths of Prince, David Bowie, Lemmy, and Tom Petty, and, of course, the birth of COVID-19.  Personally, I went from being a condo-owning father of one to a home-owning father of three, and I went to ten Lollapaloozas, four Oktoberfests, and one Saved By The Bell pop-up restaurant.

I think it's still too early to know what we'll think of last decade in terms of music.  There was some good music and some not so good music, as is the case with any decade.  Personally, I enjoyed a lot of what I suppose would be classified as indie rock, but there was music released in the 2010s from nearly all genres that I like.

But enough about me, here are my top ten '10s songs that relate to social distancing, COVID-19, and what we are all going through, in alphabetical order by artist.  As always, I tried to go with songs that best fit the theme, and not necessarily my favorite songs or the "best" songs.  And as always, only one song per artist.  If you don't like it, feel free to move on me like a bitch.

1.  "Hospital!" by Art Brut
In 2018, art rockers Art Brut released their first album in seven years, Wham! Bang! Pow! Let's Rock Out!  To be clear, that's the name of the album, not just exclamatory phrases I'm using to show my excitement.  Anyway, "Hospital!" is one of the tracks from that album.  The first line of this song is "When I get out of the hospital / I'm gonna be unstoppable."  If you've had COVID-19 and you get out of the hospital, that's pretty much true.  Yay immunity!


2.  "Sit Around And Miss You" by The Black Keys
The Black Keys released their "Let's Rock" album last year, which was their first album in five years.  "Sit Around And Miss You" was one of the tracks from the album, and over the past three months, we have had plenty of time to sit around and miss pretty much everyone, including you.


3.  "Not Alone" by JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound
It was a toss-up between this and Andrew W.K.'s "You're Not Alone," since the message is basically the same.  Though I love both Andrew W.K. and JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound, I decided to go with this one, since they're a local Chicago band.  This song, off of 2013's Howl, exclaims that "you're not alone," and with the rise of Zoom, Google Hangouts, FaceTime, and Microsoft Teams over the last few months, no one should be alone, even in a global pandemic.


4.  "Work from Home" by Fifth Harmony (feat. Ty Dolla $ign)
Though it was released in 2016, this is essentially the theme song of 2020.


5.  "Wait A While" by The Hold Steady
You know I love The Hold Steady, and "Wait A While" is a great song off of their 2014 Teeth Dreams album.  What I have found so mindnumbingly frustrating throughout this whole COVID-19 and stay-at-home thing is how impatient people are -- as if this infectious disease has the capacity to say, "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry.  I didn't realize I was inconveniencing you.  You know what, if you want to go to gyms, bars, casinos, churches, and Chuck E. Cheese, then I will just have to stop jumping from person to person with exceptional precision.  My word, how persnickety have I been?!"  Yes, it sucks, but it turns out, if you wear a mask, wash your hands, and practice social distancing, COVID rates will decrease.  And until there is a vaccine or a treatment, that is the new norm.  So, in the words of The Hold Steady, why don't you wait a while?


6.  "S.O.B." by Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats
This 2015 footstomper about dealing with DTs put Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats on the map.  I don't know about you, but I've yelled out "son of a bitch, gimme a drink!" approximately once every 42 minutes over the past three months.


7.  "Brave Man's Death" by J. Roddy Walston & The Business
One of my favorite bands from the last decade was J. Roddy Walston & The Business.  Other than The Hold Steady, I saw them the most in concert between 2010 and 2019 (8 times).  They were fantastic live.  One of my favorite songs is "Brave Man's Death," off of their eponymous 2010 album.  It's the tale of a man who doesn't want to die a coward -- or even in the middle of the night -- but rather, he wants a brave man's death.  Much like the idiots who have said they will sacrifice themselves to the risks of COVID if it means reopening the economy sooner.  That's fucking stupid, not brave, but nonetheless, it reminds me of this song.


8.  "Dancing On My Own" by Robyn
I had no idea Swedish pop star Robyn continued to make music after 1995, but it turns out she did!  2010's electropop hit "Dancing On My Own" is perfect for those of us (well, not me) who have found themselves sitting at home alone over the last three months and just getting that irresistible urge to dance.  So you blare some Jamiroquai and fucking go to town in your living room, kitchen, bedroom, or all three at the same time if you have a studio.


9.  "Only Just A Call Away" by The Struts
The Struts are another of my favorite bands to emerge in the last decade.  "Only Just A Call Away" is a track off of the U.S. release of their debut album, Everybody Wants.  Whether it's only being able to talk to friends and family by phone (or Zoom), ordering food from a local restaurant (which you should do directly from the restaurant, rather than through Grub Hub, Door Dash, or another similar service, if possible, so the restaurant doesn't get charged a fee), or calling the local party line to see what cool singles in your area are up to tonight, what is clear from having to stay at home for months at a time is that everything is only just a call away.


10.  "Alone In My Home" by Jack White
If "Work From Home" (see above) is the official theme song of 2020, Jack White's "Alone In My Home" has to be a close second.  If you're not sure why, perhaps you live in one of those states where COVID-19 cases and deaths are spiking.


Honorable mention:  "Separations" by Diarrhea Planet; "I Need A Doctor" by Dr. Dre (feat. Eminem and Skylar Grey); "No Place Left to Hide" by Jessica Hernandez & The Deltas; "Barely Breathing" by The Hold Steady; "Die Young" by Kesha; "Distance" by Emily King; "Sleeping By Myself" by Pearl Jam; "Blue And Lonesome" by The Rolling Stones; "I Don't Need No Doctor" by The Sonics; "Go Away" by Weezer; "You're Not Alone" by Andrew W.K.; "Cough Syrup" by Young the Giant