That's all of the first edition's songs done, just before the end of 2025! I'm going to follow up with the second and third edition additions in the new year, but it's close!
The nine hundred and ninety-second song: Dog Days Are Over - Florence & The Machine
The combination of Florence Welch's vocals and the band's strong backing music works to create a lovely combination here. While her voice can easily carry being almost the only sound during the quieter parts of the music, it melds perfectly with the abundant and loud music that celebrates the rest of the song. There's a relief behind it that works well, and the whole abundant sound stays gorgeous.
The nine hundred and ninety-third song: The Fear - Lily Allen
The loud electropop of The Fear never drowns out Lily Allen's more sensitive vocals, the lyrics staying clear throughout the song, providing a lot of meaning and direction to your listening. It's an interesting commentary, while staying accessible and a good song.
The nine hundred and ninety-fourth song: Summertime Clothes - Animal Collective
Some songs really have that power of sticking with you even if you couldn't tell you where you would have heard it. Summertime Clothes has a great flow to its electronic sound, while its lyrics flow through all of that really nicely. It's increasingly memorable as it feels like it ambles along in a simple happy song.
The nine hundred and ninety-fifth song: Rain Dance - The Very Best feat. M.I.A.
The Afro-western beat that underlies rain dance feels modern and in tune that M.I.A.s rap doesn't feel out of place in any of this track. It blends together well, anything traditional slotting in with anything more modern, and the effects surrounding it add to that same atmosphere in an incredibly enjoyable mix.
The nine hundred and ninety-sixth song: Empire State of Mind - Jay-Z & Alicia Keys
Written as an anthem for New York, there's an affection towards the city that fits that of a big city - a lot of love for it while staying a bit low on it, rather than idealizing it. It's a simple setup, Alicia Keys' chorus perfect for the song and as a contrast to Jay-Z's rap.
The nine hundred and ninety-seventh song: Tenalle chegret - Tinariwen
The Saharan sound of this song stands out in this era, a traditional sound that stands out in a louder world. It features a simple, gorgeous build of music, with lovely vocals and a nice backing.
The nine hundred and ninety-eighth song: Harry Patch (In Memory of) - Radiohead
In quite a contrast of what I'd otherwise associate with Radiohead's music, this track is sombre, a lament based on the experiences of a WWI veteran. It's lovely, rich in its sounds and never getting extravagant, staying sombre but not overly aggressive with it. It's just gorgeous and the emotion will reach you.
The nine hundred and ninety-ninth song: Go Do - Jonsi
I'm not entirely sure what it is, but there's still something gorgeous about Icelandic music and its instincts. Go Do is a wonderfully flowing track with the touches other bands from there have, with some lovely vocals in this and a lovely playfulness to the entire thing.
The one thousandth song: Me and the Devil - Gil Scott Heron
From the early days where his music presaged rap music, this becomes a slow blues lament, which feels like it fits the downward path of his life. There's no fight left and the spirit is gone, and the song exudes that really well in all its facets.
The one thousand and first song: Stylo - Gorillaz
The style and set up of Gorillaz' collaborative approach gives them a lot of flexibility on the sounds they want to go with and while the electronic rock is in there, Bobby Womack's chorus pulls the full track in a funky direction that it feels like the band is perfectly happy to follow along on. It's set up to give everything a chance to shine and the collaboration is one that - as is so ofthe the case with Gorillaz - works to create something beautiful.