Top 500 Favorite Songs, #20-11

On July 9, 2020 By EK OhioIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

So close … we’ll finish just outside the top 10 today.

Playlists: Amazon and Spotify.

#20 “Take Me Out” – Franz Ferdinand: I can’t remember who said it, maybe someone on Pitchfork, but a great description of “Take Me Out” is a song hidden within another song. Each part could have existed on its own, but would be less than the whole.
#19 “Boy from School” – Hot Chip: The perfect dance song. Unrelenting beat, beautiful harmonies, subliminal synth line, breaks. I tend to think of Hot Chip as the logical progression of the Pet Shop Boys in the 21st century.
#18 “Danny Nedelko” – IDLES: The newest song to crack the top 20, this is the song we need now from the band we need now. It is raw, but in its core, it is a compassionate song about people.
#17 “Life is Sweet” – Chemical Brothers: Soaring, anthemic rave music. Tim Burgess pretty much laid the model for guest vocals on electronic songs with this. Most shocking to me, 25 years later the Chemical Brothers are still going strong.
#16 “A New England” – Billy Bragg: Billy and his green guitar. That’s all we have here. Yet, someone, the song feels alive even after almost 40 years. Somehow, Billy wrapped but youthful anxieties, politics and folk-punk in a perfect swirl.
#15 “The Power of Love” – Huey Lewis & the News: It is impossible for me to separate this song from Back to the Future. Do I love this song so much because its inclusion in one of my favorite movies of all time? Is it a perfect pop rock song? Can it be both? Of course it can and if you are so bitter to think that Huey Lewis isn’t good, then maybe you need to question how seriously you take … everything?
#14 “Screenwriters’ Blues” – Soul Coughing: Talk about mood music. The narrative presented by M Doughty is so perfectly matched by the paranoia-inducing sonic landscape. It is almost more beat poetry than alternative rock, yet it still ensnares you, transports you to Reseda someday … to die.
#13 “Holland 1945” – Neutral Milk Hotel: Their history is so odd, mostly thanks to Jeff Mangum. Yet, as strange as his music and lyrics might be, this is a nearly perfect pop song. I dare anyone to hear it and not have it stuck in their head for days. Part lo-fi indie, part punk, part mariachi? It doesn’t relent for a moment across its 3 minutes and 12 seconds.
#12 “Under Pressure” – Queen with David Bowie: Is there a better vocal combination than David Bowie and Freddie Mercury? They could make any song work, but when they do it on a song with an absolutely classic bassline (which some of us were introduced to by Vanilla Ice … but we’ve gotten over it), you end up with one of the best rock songs ever written.
#11 “Ana Ng” – They Might Be Giants: I don’t want the world, I only want your half.

Top 500 Favorite Songs, #40-21

On July 7, 2020 By EK OhioIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Gettin’ close to the top!

Playlists: Amazon and Spotify.

#40 “Down in It” – Nine Inch Nails: I don’t remember exactly when I first heard Nine Inch Nails, but I do remember going to a practice for a play and showing people my copy of Pretty Hate Machine. I got a lot of looks of “what the…?” at the time.
#39 “Hope I Never Lose My Wallet” – Mighty Mighty Bosstones: This song is very much in the same vein of “The Impression That I Get”. Or better said, the latter is in the same vein as the former. “Hope I Never Lose My Wallet” is the finest of old school Bosstones.
#38 “Kings of the Wild Frontier” – Adam & the Ants: Somehow, Adam & the Ants never get the due they deserve for recording some real cool music.
#37 “Free Fallin'” – Tom Petty: This song could easily be unlistenable – insipid, boring and generic. Yet, somehow, Tom Petty reached into the song and made it unforgettable. A tale of disappointment, regret and sadness yet a pop masterstroke. Yet, somehow, a song that samples it will be coming up even higher on this list.
#36 “Sabotage” – Beastie Boys: Few people know or acknowledge the Beastie Boys hardcore roots, but in what is by far their best song, they merge the hardcore and the hip hop masterfully.
#35 “The Fly” – U2: Just think how people who last heard U2 on Rattle & Hum must have reacted to this. Their band had become clanking, grinding, distorted. The schism starts here and it was never healed.
#34 “Girlfriend” – Matthew Sweet: Once we get into the top 40, you could put most of these songs in almost any order. For high school me, hearing this power pop guitar anthem and seeing the anime-themed video (on 120 Minutes I think) that went with it was pure magic.
#33 “Jesus Built My Hot Rod” – Ministry: It is hard to really love Ministry, mostly because Al doesn’t want to be loved. So, it kind of makes sense that my favorite Ministry song is actually fronted by Gibby Haynes. Speed metal, industrial, what might become known as grindcore.
#32 “Fallin'” – Teenage Fanclub & De La Soul: Here it is, that song that samples “Free Fallin'”. Judgement Night was many things but mostly it was a soundtrack so far ahead of its time.
#31 “After You” – Pulp: Weird, right? The last Pulp single that didn’t even ripple in the States is this high. Released over a decade after the Pulp’s previous single, this was a tease of what a James Murphy-produced Pulp album might have been. Yet, all we get is this one masterpiece.
#30 “Personal Jesus” – Depeche Mode: The first album I ever bought myself (on cassette!) was Violator. The foot stomping banger that is “Personal Jesus” was why. Me at 13 had never heard such a sound.
#29 “Hunger Strike” – Temple of the Dog: Grunge was a strange time. The sound literally took over rock and roll, yet I find myself with very few true “grunge” songs on this list. Temple of the Dog wasn’t even directly one of the big players of grunge. They were part Pearl Jam, part Soundgarden, all coming from the ashes of Mother Love Bone. Yet, few “duets” seem so natural as Eddie Vedder and Chris Cornell.
#28 “X, Y & Zee” – Pop Will Eat Itself: I have always been a sucker for British music, yet no band really personified the quest I took finding their albums in the States like PWEI. That mission was launched by the song, the ultimate Madchaster dance song.
#27 “It’s a Sin” – Pet Shop Boys: Maybe the most important song of the 1980’s for a whole variety of musical and thematic reasons.
#26 “Common People” – Pulp: Jarvis Cocker has always sang from the working class perspective, maybe like a disco Billy Bragg. Not only does “Common People” tackle the class differences, but it also indicts the upper crust. The song builds and builds like a mini-revolution with Jarvis leading the way.
#25 “The Ship Song” – Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds: Nick Cave might be most famous for his dark side, but it is the tender Nick Cave that sets him apart. Very few songs really make me choke up almost every time like “The Ship Song” does. The way that Nick crawls from the verse to the chorus, he’s singing up to the balcony.
#24 “Lola” – Kinks: Is this song appropriate? Who is being wronged? Anyone? Ray Davies really skirts a fine line yet the dry wit of the song makes it absolutely captivating. A real pop anomaly.
#23 “Johnny Mathis’ Feet” – American Music Club: Mark Eitzel really nailed a song about feeling like a failure in the eyes of a success.
#22 “Heart of Glass” – Blondie: When I first heard this song (junior high?), I just lumped it in with all disco. This really meant I thought it was goofy and not particular good. Over the intervening 30 years, how that worm has turned.
#21 “Losing My Edge” – LCD Soundsystem: I might have been in my mid-twenties when this song came out, but even then I got the whole “getting older is hard” thing that James Murphy nailed: “But I’m losing my edge to better-looking people with better ideas and more talent … and they’re actually really, really nice.“

Top 500 Favorite Songs, #80-41

On July 6, 2020 By EK OhioIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Playlists: Amazon and Spotify.

#80 “Ballroom Blitz” – Sweet: Everyone always wonders if this was in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Answer: no.
#79 “True Affection” – The Blow: I still feel like Paper Television could have been Give Up if it was given the chance.
#78 “Suspicious Minds” – Elvis Presley: So, some of you may have noticed that no Beatles songs appear on this list. Or Rolling Stones songs. It’s not that I don’t like a lot of what those bands did, but they don’t elicit the same reaction of love that they do in others. Much the same is Elvis … except this song. I adore this song.
#77 “Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side” – Magnetic Fields: When I was living in Seattle, I saw a Magnetic Fields tribute Valentine’s Day show put on by my former employer Three Imaginary Girls. A band called “For Better or For Awesome” did a punk cover of this song and it is my musical holy grail, to find a copy of that performance.
#76 “Hey Ya!” – Outkast: So back when this song was big, you literally could not turn the radio dial end to end without hearing “Hey Ya!” It was on the urban format stations, it was on the alternative rock stations, it was on the AOR stations. It was everywhere and all for very good reason. It is a slapper.
#75 “(This is) the Dream of Evan & Chan” – Dntel: The song that launched 1,000 sad kids.
#74 “Blue Monday” – New Order: Ever notice just how weird Bernard Sumner’s vocals are on this song? I don’t know if he’s trying to sound as robotic as possible.
#73 “Foundations” – Kate Nash: So, she is a little like a female Billy Bragg, right?
#72 “Bring Tha Noize” – Anthrax & Public Enemy: What a trip. I wish I heard the song when it first came out although I likely would have had no idea what to make of it.
#71 “A Boy Named Sue” – Johnny Cash: Most people don’t know that Shel Silverstein wrote the lyrics to this song.
#70 “Rock Lobster” – The B-52s: Although fellow Athens band R.E.M. overshadowed the B-52s, they might be as musically important.
#69 “I’m on a Boat” – The Lonely Island with T-Pain: I still say this is the best genre parody ever put to tape.
#68 “You are the Light (By which I Travel into This & That)” – Jens Lekman: “Yeah, I got busted, so I used my one phone call to dedicate a song to you on the radio.“
#67 “Night & Day” – Frank Sinatra: Cole Porter really nailed it with this song but Frank hit it out of the park.
#66 “Brother, My Cup is Empty” – Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds: This might be the ultimate Nick Cave song, especially in this free-wheelin’ live version from Live Seeds.
#65 “Don’t Cry” – Guns ‘n Roses: I have such mixed feelings about Axl Rose, but “Don’t Cry” is epic.
#64 “Black Metallic” – Catherine Wheel: I have always thought Catherine Wheel was better than My Bloody Valentine. Bite me.
#63 “Please” – U2: From the unfairly maligned POP, remember, always choose the album version.
#62 “Inner City Blues (Makes Me Wanna Holler” (Live) by Marvin Gaye: 9:06 of perfection, even if Marvin thinks it needs to restart to be groovy.
#61 “Number Ones” – Push Kings: Pop song about pop songs.
#60 “Kiss” – Prince: My wife dislikes this song. I, for one, cannot fathom how one could think that.
#59 “Fake Plastic Trees” – Radiohead: I had a girlfriend in high school who used to sing this at open mic night.
#58 “Step” – Vampire Weekend: Such a lush song, built layer upon layer: synths, harpichord, piano, reverbed Ezra, organ all set to a march.
#57 “Scenario” – A Tribe Called Quest: Why aren’t there rap groups anymore?
#56 “Ace of Spades” – Motörhead: I mean, come on?
#55 “New Dawn Fades” – Joy Division: Peter Hook and Bernard Sumner drive this song off the cliff … and I mean that in a good way.
#54 “Piazza, New York Catcher” – Belle & Sebastian: Really, this is a deeeep cut for Belle & Sebastian, but a song about baseball and the sexuality of Mike Piazza? Yes, please!
#53 “3030” – Deltron 3030: Sci-fi hip-hop space opera with Del at his peak.
#52 “Friday Night at the Drive-In Bingo” – Jens Lekman: The ultimate Jens Lekman song, with the skiffle beat, the saxophone, the reference to rabbit farming.
#51 “One” – U2: Achtung Baby may have a lot of cold, distant dance theme to it, but “One” is the rawest, most genuine song U2 ever recorded.
#50 “Einfach Sein” – Die Fantastischen Vier: So, I admit, I understand like 4 words in this song. Yet, I get what it’s about, especially after watching the video. You, too, should give the Fanta 4 a chance.
#49 “Dream On” – Aerosmith: I do pretend to do karaoke to this song too. I have little idea why I think I can handle a Stephen Tyler song.
#48 “More Than a Feeling” – Boston: So many guitars.
#47 “Breezeblocks” – Alt-J: This is one of the most inexplicable hit songs of the century. I mean, it’s a weird song, right? It almost tries too hard, but pulls back before it really ends up in ridiculous territory.
#46 “Missing Link” – Dinosaur Jr & Del the Funkee Homosapien: Ok, I said Deltron 3030 was peak Del, but really, this is peak Del. The combination of Del and J Mascis, is near perfect.
#45 “Birdhouse in Your Soul” – They Might Be Giants: This song is about a bedroom nightlight, right?
#44 “Like a Prayer” – Madonna: I took a history of rock and roll class when I was in college. I remember some stuff about the class, but I do clearly remember that the professor extolled the virtue of this song. At the time, I was brash and thought “whatever.” He was right.
#43 “Dirty Boots” – Sonic Youth: Everyone has their favorite Sonic Youth song, right? I love the slow build on this song so much, Kim’s growling bass, the maracas, Thurston Moore’s weird, twisting guitar line.
#42 “Stull, Part 1” – Urge Overkill: This is a Stull cemetery 40 miles west of Kansas City.
#41 “Leftovers” – Jarvis Cocker: If there is one song that Jarvis Cocker knows how to write, it’s ones about aging. Of course, we forget that Jarvis is older than most of the Britpop stars of his era. He turned 56 this year, only a few years younger than Bono for chrissakes!

Top 500 Favorite Songs, #100-81

On June 30, 2020 By EK OhioIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

More songs!

Playlists: Amazon and Spotify.

#100 “Sit Down” – James: The century song is a shout out to former WCFM music director Jorge Just and his dislike of James!
#99 “Mysterious Ways” – U2: Fun story: when I was in high school, I lip-synched this song dressed as Bono. I had to borrow a leather jacket from a friend of a friend’s brother and accidentally found a picture of this brother posed with a topless dancer in the pocket. Good times!
#98 “Let’s Not Shit Ourselves (To Love and To Be Loved)” – Bright Eyes: “Tonight, here’s a goddamn song … for all you goddamn people.“
#97 “Love Song” – Tesla: So, this song starts off with a full minute and a half classical guitar intro and slowly builds into a barnburner. Tesla was a real overlooked hair band.
#96 “Heart It Races” – Architecture in Helsinki: A banger. A raging banger.
#95 “No More Kings” – Pavement: Weird that my favorite Pavement song is a cover of a song from School House Rocks! Sometimes, it is moments in a song that capture your imagination and really, “That’s what I call taxation without representation … and that’s not fair!” is just that.
#94 “<2” by Sad13: No song saved my sanity more than this in November 2016. Sadly, not available on Amazon Music, so enjoy the video instead.
#93 “How Soon is Now?” – The Smiths: Can you name another band whose most famous song is so different than the rest of their ouevre?
#92 “The Magic Position” – Patrick Wolf: Xylophones! Foot stomps! Hand claps! Violins! It’s all there!
#91 “Divine Intervention” – Matthew Sweet: Two, maybe three, false endings. Matthew, keep ’em coming.
#90 “Trailer Trash” – Modest Mouse: I know that the Mouse became huge, but they could have been huge so much sooner. Absolutely epic indie rock.
#89 “Suspect Device” – Stiff Little Fingers: I can’t imagine what it would have been like to hear this song when it originally came out. What a revelation it must have been.
#88 “Folsom Prison Blues” – Johnny Cash: “Hello, I’m Johnny Cash…“
#87 “Neat Neat Neat” – The Damned: I won’t blame Edgar Wright for stealing my thunder of discovering this song the same summer as Baby Driver, but then again, a few decades is a little late.
#86 “What It Takes” – Aerosmith: On the shortlist of my karaoke songs. Why the hell not?
#85 “Do-Wah-Doo” – Kate Nash: This has nothing to do with the crush I had on Kate Nash. I mean, wouldn’t she make a great companion for the Doctor?
#84 “Just Like Heaven” – The Cure: That guitar riff is absolutely divine. (And what’s up with the ending of the also-excellent Dinosaur Jr version?)
#83 “My Sanity” – Bad Religion: Their best song. Their most poignant song. The song I need today.
#82 “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now)” – Otis Redding: Absolute scorcher of a song.
#81 “The Mercy Seat” – Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds: 7+ minutes of dread, all heading to the electric chair.

Top 500 Favorite Songs, #140-101

On June 28, 2020 By EK OhioIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

We’ll get all the way to 101!

Playlists: Amazon and Spotify

#140 “Disappointed” – Public Image Ltd.: Nothing like being judged by Johnny Lydon, in song!
#139 “The City Sleeps” – MC 900ft Jesus: Arson: the Musical.
#138 “Country Roads” – Lancaster County Prison: Version #2 of this song, neither of which are the original. This one ranks higher mostly for the banjo and tempo shift.
#137 “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” – The Temptations: Has there been a more epic diss track?
#136 “Untrustable, Part 1” – Built to Spill: Doug, I’m holding you to the idea that there will be a Part 2.
#135 “Just a Friend” – Biz Markie: Oh boy, did my parents hate this song.
#134 “Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want” – The Smiths: High school me liked this song a little too much.
#133 “In Hell I’ll Be in Good Company” – the Dead South: The best whistling solo on this countdown.
#132 “(Love is Like a) Heart Wave” – Martha Reeves & the Vandellas: I think I only found out about this song because it was mostly ripped off by the Rumble Strip’s for “Girls and Boys in Love“.
#131 “She’s the One” – The Beta Band: Possibly the first song readily identified by the children.
#130 “Dry the Rain” – The Beta Band: Folk drone is awesome.
#129 “Ice Cream Man” (Live) – Jonathan Richman: I don’t know if I can fully capture how much my wife dislikes this song.
#128 “We Share Our Mothers’ Health” – the Knife: This is one of the strangest bangers ever constructed.
#127 “Groove is in the Heart” – Deee-Lite: A song so far ahead of its time we haven’t even caught up yet.
#126 “Threshold” – Sex Bob-ombs: Fake band made of actors.
#125 “Doctor Who (Belgian Jazz Version)” – Bill Bailey: Avec L’Dalek?
#124 “I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone” – Sleater-Kinney: Easily one of the most punk songs howled.
#123 “Warm Heart of Africa” – The Very Best with Ezra Koenig: Why wasn’t this a worldwide smash?
#122 “Black Betty” – Ram Jam: This song is so stupidly rock and roll yet I love every moment.
#121 “Ain’t No Sunshine” – Bill Withers: Peak Bill Withers in a career of so many peaks.
#120 “The Shining” (Avalanches Mix) – Badly Drawn Boy: The original version is good, sure, but the Avalanches Mix, which is supremely hard to find, is truly divine.
#119 “Love Will Tear Us Apart” – Joy Division: Do yourself and your loved ones a favor and watch Control.
#118 “Gimme Tha Power” – Molotov: This song is like 20 years old but is as relevant today as ever.
#117 “Goody Two Shoes” – Adam Ant: Maximum New Romantic.
#116 “Dr. Worm” – They Might Be Giants: If it wasn’t for “Tribute to Pants“, it could be my kids favorite song.
#115 “Hip Hop” (Live) – Dead Prez: …speaking of songs with renewed relevence.
#114 “Heaven 90210” – Urge Overkill: Now, I’m no A&R guy, but how on Earth Geffen didn’t release this as a single is beyond me.
#113 “Bizarre Love Triangle” – New Order: Bernard Sumner has always had an odd vocal style, but this track really shows it off.
#112 “Epic” – Faith No More: Such a good song launched so many bad bands.
#111 “Where There’s a Will There’s a Whalebone” – Islands: Can you understand like more than 5 words in Busdriver’s verse?
#110 “Always on My Mind” – Pet Shop Boys: Another cover that the Pet Shop Boys made transcend the original.
#109 “Me & Mia” – Ted Leo & the Pharmacists: Such power pop. Such awesome.
#108 “Here Comes Your Man” – Pixies: The Black Francis/Kim Deal schism is so painful, isn’t it? It’s like John and Paul.
#107 “Nothing Better” – Postal Service: I have karaoke’d this song in my car too many times.
#106 “Robin Hood in Reverse ” – Bad Religion: Greg Graffin’s lyrics can be a little convoluted sometimes but, yeah, he nails what’s wrong with this country sometimes.
#105 “Superstition” – Stevie Wonder: Read the entry on this song over on Stereogum’s Number Ones column to find out how badass Stevie Wonder was.
#104 “All Her Favorite Fruit” – Camper Van Beethoven: David Lowery writes killer slow songs. Now, if only this song was streaming.
#103 “All is Full of Love” (Plaid Mix) – Björk: Rarely does a remix so exceed the original, but this remix by Plaid of “All is Full of Love” takes a good song and makes it transcendental.
#102 “Have Love, Will Travel” – the Sonics: The Sonics should have been bigger than the Beatles.
#101 “Drown” – Smashing Pumpkins: So, Billy Corgan and his band are from Chicago, yet this might be the defining song for the Seattle-centric Singles soundtrack. By the way, don’t sell yourself short, listen to the full 8:16 version.

Top 500 Songs, #190-141

On June 23, 2020June 23, 2020 By EK OhioIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Ok, big update today. As always, check out the playlists: Amazon and Spotify

#190: “Always” – Erasure: This is likely the perfect Erasure song. Soaring harmonies, plentiful beeps and whirs, romantic imagery. Pure, delectable ear candy. (Also, enjoy’s Xiu Xiu’s deviant cover.)
#189: “Until the End of the World” – U2: As always, the drums and bass drive this song, although The Edge’s guitar line is lean and fierce as well. That being said, I think one of my favorite things on this song might be how much Bono’s restrains his vocals. Might be one of the band’s most cohesive songs.
#188 “Thunderstorm” – Matthew Sweet: Can you encapsulate an entire career in one song? Matthew Sweet did.
#187 “You Could Be Mine” – Guns ‘N Roses: This is GnR at its most metal and even though Slash’s guitar is as good as ever, it is the backing guitar that propels the song.
#186 “Paranoid Android” – Radiohead: I guess Radiohead also encapsulated their career in one song too, eh?
#185 “El Scorcho” – Weezer: I kind of feel less comfortable with this song every time I hear it and that makes me sad. (Bonus: a spanish semi-cover by Los Miserables that doesn’t make me feel uncomfortable.)
#184 “Mama Said Knock You Out” – LL Cool J: The perfect song for certain moments. And you know what moments I mean.
#183 “Ziggy Stardust” – David Bowie: We need more Martian-based rock.
#182 “Fell in Love with a Girl” – the White Stripes: Not a single wasted second on this song.
#181 “Enjoy the Silence” – Depeche Mode: Anton Corbijn’s video is next to perfect.
#180 “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling” – Righteous Brothers: Surprising, eh? Take those headphones, throw them on and really, really listen to the production on this song. Listen to Bill Medley’s vocals. Listen to that string section. The song is a rollercoaster and that’s wonderful.
#179 “Love is Blindness” – U2: The Edge played the keyboard line for this song with his feet on the Zoo TV tour. Just sayin’.
#178 “Big Pimpin'” – Jay-Z: If you haven’t heard/seen the MTV Unplugged version of this song, you should if only for the recorder.
#177 “Releasing Hypnotical Gases” – Organized Konfusion: How we live in a reality where this is not available on any streaming service is baffling. Also, there is an awful lot of science in this song.
#176 “California Uber Alles” – Dead Kennedys: Jerry Browne seems real harmless right now, eh?
#175 “Wicked Game” – Chris Isaak: Maybe the most haunting top 10 song ever?
#174 “Ulysses” – Franz Ferdinand: I tend to think that Franz Ferdinand has been under appreciated for their career. This song is a banger.
#173 “Cocaine Blues” – Johnny Cash: Think about the plot to this song: a guy does a bunch of coke, kills his woman, sleeps with the murder weapon under his pillow and gets chased to Mexico. And that’s just the first verse.
#172 “Memphis” – Push Kings: Another song missing from streaming.
#171 “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” – The Proclaimers: David Tennant’s favorite band!
#170 “Emily Kane” – Art Brut: “I’ve not seen her in 10 years, 9 months, 3 weeks, 4 days, 6 hours, 13 minutes, 5 seconds.“
#169 “Headache” – Frank Black: I shouldn’t always be sending you to watch videos, but this John Flansburgh video is a gem.
#168 “Big Bang” – Aesop Rock: The best of early Aesop and a real literary wonder.
#167 “Where the Streets Have No Name/I Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” – Pet Shop Boys: The Pet Shop Boys were doing mashups before people knew they existed.
#166 “Add It Up” – Violent Femmes: Kind of a dark song when you think about it.
#165 “Let’s Dance to Joy Division” – The Wombats: Total, dumb, rollicking brit pop.
#164 “The Tide is High” – Blondie: Maybe the oddest Blondie song for so many reasons.
#163 “Nuclear War” – Yo La Tengo: I want to know the story behind the recording of this song.
#162 “Go West” – Pet Shop Boys: Another sublime Tennant/Lowe cover.
#161 “La Piragua” – Los Black Stars: There are like 1,000 versions of this song, which is a standard in Colombia. This is, in my opinion, the best.
#160 “The Gambler” – Kenny Rogers: My totally unbiased opinion is that this is a baller song.
#159 “Music is Worth Living For” – Andrew WK: An inspiration.
#158 “No New Tale to Tell” – Love & Rockets: Ok, so maybe a little sophomoric at times. Whatever, it is an ear worm.
#157 “Like a Friend” – Pulp: No better song about aging ever written.
#156 “You Left the Water Running” – Otis Redding: His last single, released after he died and a total masterpiece.
#155 “Curl of the Burl” – Mastodon: The only song on this list about killing a goat.
#154 “La Grange” – ZZ Top: Similarly, the only song on this list about a brothel.
#153 “To Hell with Good Intentions” – Mclusky: “We’re going to fuck on at the end like you wouldn’t quite believe…“
#152 “Empty Box” – Morphine: A tidy tale about taking postal deliveries seriously.
#151 “Virginia Reel Around the Fountain” – Halo Benders: Somehow I had no idea this was a Smiths cover.
#150 “Generator” – Bad Religion: Someday, Bad Religion will release the killer live version of this song.
#149 “Parentheses” – The Blow: “Something in the deli aisle makes you cry…“
#148 “Tainted Love” – Soft Cell: Shoutout to Fletcher for burning down the house doing this song at a karaoke night in Seattle during 2004.
#147 “New York City” – Cub: So, when I wrote about the TMBG version, I implied this version was not on the list … and apparently I was wrong. Sorry.
#146 “March of the Pigs” – Nine Inch Nails: 7/5 time, am I right? (Likely not).
#145 “Don’t Ask Me” – Public Image Ltd.: This song introduced me to Johnny Lydon/Rotten before any Sex Pistols. Weird, right?
#144 “Hotel Yorba” – The White Stripes: Their most charming song. Jack White can be charming.
#143 “She’s An Angel” – They Might Be Giants: Perfect lo-fi indie love song.
#142 “Fool’s Gold” – The Stone Roses: The song that launched a million bands.
#141 “Hope There’s Someone” – Antony & the Johnsons: The opening verses almost bring me to tears every time.

Top 500 Favorite Songs, #220-191

On June 17, 2020 By EK OhioIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Playlists: Amazon and Spotify

I fell a little behind …

#220 “Listen to Your Heart” – Roxette: Yes, I am a sucker for Roxette.
#219 “My Definition of a Boombastic Jazz Style” – Dream Warriors: I’m pretty sure I heard this on the late great WFNX in Boston (well, Lynn). They just don’t make songs like this anymore.
#218 “Unseen Power of the Picket Fence” – Pavement: R.E.M. fought Sherman in the Civil War, or something?
#217 “Do You Realize???” – Flaming Lips: Sometimes this song gets to me to the point that I can’t listen to it.
#216 “The Shade” – Metric: This song has been approved by our 5 year old.
#215 “New York City” – They Might Be Giants: I also love the original by Cub, but I was introduced to the song by TMBG.
#214 “Ms. Jackson” – Outkast: Andre 3000 – a national treasure.
#213 “Kick out the Jams” – MC5: “Right now, right now, right now, it’s time to kick out the jams motherfuckers!”
#212 “Ciao!” – Lush (with Jarvis Cocker): So bitter.
#211 “Sister Havana” – Urge Overkill: They sure knew how to write that perfect rock and roll song.
#210 “I was Born (A Unicorn) – The Unicorns: “You said that you believed in me…”
#209 “Good Vibrations” – The Beach Boys: Many people need to give this era Beach Boys a second look. I mean, this is better than anything the Beatles were putting out at the same time.
#208 “1 Train” – A$AP Rocky: So many guests.
#207 “This is America” – Childish Gambino: One of the most important songs of the 21st century.
#206 “Just a Gigolo/I Ain’t Got Nobody” – David Lee Roth: Talk about cultural whiplash from “This is America” to this. Also, the video is a gem from the real-life Zaphod Beeblebrox.
#205 “Get Up” – The Coup with Dead Prez: Sorry, try to keep up here.
#204 “TV Party” – Black Flag: I can understand if you’re feeling a little dizzy now.
#203 “Private Idaho” – The B-52s: Maybe the most under-appreciated 52s song, I listened to this on my old 45 rpm 7″ so … many … times.
#202 “Werewolves of London” – Warren Zevon: Shout out to my high school friend Greg’s dad for being into Zevon.
#201 “That’s When I Reach for My Revolver” – Mission of Burma: If this were a just world, Mission of Burma would be superstars.
#200 “Jackson” – Johnny Cash and June Carter: I prefer this version from Live at Folsom Prison
#199 “Would?” – Alice in Chains: Few songs start with a more snarling bass line than this.
#198 “Bloodbuzz Ohio” – The National: This came out right around when I moved to Ohio and no, I wasn’t carried here by a swarm of bees.
#197 “(I’ll Love You) ‘Til the End of the World – Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds: My gateway song for the world of Nick Cave, thanks to Wim Wenders and Until the End of the World. Not on any streaming service, so find it here!
#196 “Handle with Care” – Traveling Wilburys: This song is back, but in its original form.
#195 “Panic” – The Smiths: Obnoxious teen me would incessantly request this song when faced with a crappy dance DJ.
#194 “Fuck & Run” – Liz Phair: Speaking of teenage me, I didn’t get this song until well after that.
#193 “Pictures of You” – The Cure: This was my favorite song for sooooo long. However, things change, tastes change.
#192 “Guns of Brixton” – The Clash: Kind of a dark song if you listen closely.
#191 “Death Note” – Speedy Ortiz: Such an overlooked gem of a song. Not on Amazon music, but you can find it on Spotify or here.

Top 500 Favorite Songs, #230-221

On June 14, 2020 By EK OhioIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Playlists: Amazon and Spotify

Let’s go …

#230 “None Shall Pass” – Aesop Rock: Ah, the joy of hip-hop laced with Gandalf references.
#229 “Made of Steam” – Dengue Fever: One of the most haunting songs on this list.
#228 “Long Way Down (Look What the Cat Drug In)” – Michael Penn: Some many times did I listen to this song and fantasize about such relationship paranoia. Only once did it really come to fruition (that I know of).
#227 “Aenima” – Tool: No, there likely won’t even be an “Arizona Bay” but extra credit for all the geology in this song.
#226 “Don’t Change” – INXS: I somehow missed that this song existed (consciously) until this year and I am that much better now for knowing.
#225 “Where the Streets Have No Name” – U2: An under-rated U2 song that will be eclipsed on this list by a cover of the song.
#224 “When She Begins” – Social Distortion: Mike Ness is a badass.
#223 “The District Sleeps Alone Tonight” – Postal Service: If you search for this song on any streaming service, you will discover a shocking number of covers of it. Is this song a “standard” now?
#222 “I Get A Kick Out of You – Frank Sinatra: I always opt for the Capitol Record version where Frank sings about doing coke.
#221 “Total Eclipse of the Heart” – Bonnie Tyler: I offer no remorse for my love of this song.

Previous posts:

Top 500 Favorite Songs, #240-231

On June 13, 2020 By EK OhioIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

I’ve moved the links to the previous songs to the bottom, so find them there.

Playlists: Amazon and Spotify

Let’s go …

#240 “You Got Me” by The Roots with Erykah Badu: I moved to Philly not long after this song came out. Various events during that time of my life made the song feel significant, odd considering I am in no way like any member of the Roots.
#239 “Jane Says” by Jane’s Addiction: I mistyped the name of the band as Jane’s Addition and I feel that Sesame Street missed a great opportunity.
#238 “You are the Everything” by R.E.M.: This song is odd because unless most songs, it doesn’t resolve itself (musically) in a lot of the places. This leaves a lot of tension to the song, but not in a bad way. More like a “butterflies in my stomach” kind of anticipatory tension. Maybe the band’s most striking song.
#237 “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” by Marvin Gaye: It took me, what, 30 years, to separate this song from the damn Claymation California Raisins.
#236 “Frijolero” by Molotov: The fact that English-language music dominates alternative music means that most everyone missed on the greatness of Molotov. This song is almost 20 years old, but it could have been recorded this year, both musically and topically.
#235 “We Want War” by These New Puritans: Sometimes I spend time daydreaming about a movie trailer for a Robotech trilogy of movies I would make. This song would be the music in the trailer for The Southern Cross.
#234 “Ursa Major Space Station” by the Catherine Wheel: I was always amused by how many people thought the Catherine Wheel was a person. Kind of like #238, this song is also full of tension, but more of a “running for your life” tension. So, really, this song is a very Doctor Who song.
#233 “Grey Cell Green” by Ned’s Atomic Dustbin: I think one of the most under-rated aspects of Ned’s Atomic Dustbin was the drums. Sure, the two bass thing really made for some fascinating musical textures, but the drumming really define a song like this.
#232 “Sea within a Sea” by The Horrors: Remember back at CAN’s “Mother Sky” I said I would have another song that sounded like that? Well, listen to “Mother Sky” and “Sea Within a Sea” back to back and try to show me I’m wrong.
#231 “Dancing Queen” by ABBA: ABBA is a weird band. Some songs, like “Dancing Queen” and “Waterloo” are amazing. Other songs, well, they’re unlistenable. So much variability in one band.

Previous posts:

Top 500 Favorite Songs, #250-241

On June 12, 2020 By EK OhioIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Hitting the weekend

Playlists: Amazon and Spotify

Previous posts:

Rollin’

#250 “Maps” – Yeah Yeah Yeahs: The half-way point song is a earworm that was one of the most unexpected hits of the ’00s. (Also, be sure to to check out Ted Leo’s “Since U Been Gone”/”Maps” cover mash up.)
#249 “One” – Metallica: Say what you will about Lars, but “One” is a masterpiece in drumming.
#248 “Deeper Shade of Soul” – Urban Dance Squad: This song foreshadowed the weird California alt-pop of the late 90s. That’s meant as a compliment to the song, maybe not to the knockoffs that came later.
#247 “Kiss Them for Me” – Siouxsie and the Banshees: In the cooking world, the judges would be complimenting this dish on its depth of flavor.
#246 “Hurt Feelings” – Flight of the Conchords: The day after my birthday is not my birthday, mum.
#245 “The Wanderer” – U2 (with Johnny Cash): This song came out before Cash’s big comeback and really, it deserved its own book on how it came about. It is highly divisive for both U2 and Johnny Cash fans, although it might share more with the Man in Black’s pre-American Recordings career than U2. I fall into the camp of people who think this odd retro-futuristic cowboy preacher works. I understand why some people don’t think it works, but if it played any role in getting Johnny Cash back in the public eye, it deserves our praise.
#244 “Mystery Fish” – Aesop Rock: The claustrophobic sound of Aesop Rock hits its apex here.
#243 “So Lonely” – The Police: Ok, so I chose the version recorded live in Atlanta. Sure, it is likely a little bloated but I listened to this version so…many…times.
#242 “Tomorrow” – Morrissey: If there is such a thing as a perfect Moz song, it has to be this.
#241 “Heartbeats” – The Knife: I think many people heard this song after hearing Jose Gonzales’ cover of it. Now, I like Jose’s version well enough for it’s Nick Drake qualities, but the Knife’s original is really sublime in an entirely different way.

The Intellectual Thicket

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