Top 6 "Dance" Songs
1. Limbo Rock - Chubby Checker
2. The Twist - Chubby Checker
3. The Hustle - Van McCoy
4. Electic Boogie - Marcia Griffiths (The Electric Slide Song)
5. Do the Funky Chicken -- Rufus Thomas
6. The Bird - Morris Day
Don't Worry, The Madison Time is on a list....just not this one!
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Songs of the Apocalypse
Cheery, I know....but, did you hear about the Doomsday Clock? They just moved it two minutes forward because of the threat global warming has posed. So, having come of age during the super-sized cold war 80's (remember Reagan on during a radio interview- he didn't realize the tape was rolling when he quipped..."we begin bombing in five minutes." I was truly scared. Add THE DAY AFTER to the mix, and I truly was a child of apocalyptic angst. Here are my top 10 tunes that fueled the fear.
1. Nena- 99 Luftballoons (I'm with Patchen on this one- the German version rules)
2. Tears For Fears- Famous Last Words (sip your last glass of wine with someone special)
3. Sting- Russians (Trudy Styler gave birth to this song- at least in the Blue Turtles doc)
4. Men At Work- It's A Mistake ("We'll not fade out too soon. Not in this finest hour")
5. The Fixx- Stand Or Fall (""Crying parents tell their childrenIf you survive don't do as we did")
6. The Smiths- Ask ("If it's not love, than it's the bomb that will keep us together")
7. Bruce Cockburn- If I Had A Rocket Launcher (in a sort-of reverse, ironic way)
8. Ultravox- Dancing With Tears In My Eyes (see video below)
9. The Clash- London Calling ("A nuclear era, but I have no fear")
10. U2- Seconds - ("Push the button and pull the plug, say good-bye, uh-oh-oh")
1. Nena- 99 Luftballoons (I'm with Patchen on this one- the German version rules)
2. Tears For Fears- Famous Last Words (sip your last glass of wine with someone special)
3. Sting- Russians (Trudy Styler gave birth to this song- at least in the Blue Turtles doc)
4. Men At Work- It's A Mistake ("We'll not fade out too soon. Not in this finest hour")
5. The Fixx- Stand Or Fall (""Crying parents tell their childrenIf you survive don't do as we did")
6. The Smiths- Ask ("If it's not love, than it's the bomb that will keep us together")
7. Bruce Cockburn- If I Had A Rocket Launcher (in a sort-of reverse, ironic way)
8. Ultravox- Dancing With Tears In My Eyes (see video below)
9. The Clash- London Calling ("A nuclear era, but I have no fear")
10. U2- Seconds - ("Push the button and pull the plug, say good-bye, uh-oh-oh")
Planes, Trains and More
Top 5 Transportation Songs
I got to do some traveling and I got to thinking about how getting from one place to another turns up in great songs all the time. Here's a list I came up with. We're just a little over a week away from the end of voting....so make sure you cast your thoughts for the Greatest 897 Greatest Songs of All Time.
1. Midnight Train to Georgia-Glades Night and Pips
2. Leaving on a Jet Plane- Peter, Paul and Mary
3. Highway to Hell - AC/DC
4. Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon and Garfunkel
5 . Tunnel of Love - Springsteen
I got to do some traveling and I got to thinking about how getting from one place to another turns up in great songs all the time. Here's a list I came up with. We're just a little over a week away from the end of voting....so make sure you cast your thoughts for the Greatest 897 Greatest Songs of All Time.
1. Midnight Train to Georgia-Glades Night and Pips
2. Leaving on a Jet Plane- Peter, Paul and Mary
3. Highway to Hell - AC/DC
4. Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon and Garfunkel
5 . Tunnel of Love - Springsteen
Monday, January 15, 2007
Patchen's Top Ten
Hey all! It's your Saturday Guy here, reminding you to get your Top 10 Greatest Songs of All Time votes in.
My list may come as a shock to those who think of me as a straight-ahead indie and folk rocker. I am, but that doesn't mean I don't like big ballads or musical proficiency. And part of what makes indie vital and necessary is the long shadows cast by some of these artists. Needless to say, this music (and the bushels of songs I was forced to leave out) just thrills me.
Honorable Mentions: It causes me physical pain not to have Jane's Addiction’s "Been Caught Stealing" and anything—anything—by Smashing Pumpkins on the following list (especially since Stephen Perkins and Jimmy Chamberlin are among the best drummers of all time, behind Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham and Rush’ s Neil Peart).
10. "King of Carrot Flowers" – Neutral Milk Hotel
The sweetness and rawness of indie rock in one lovely three-movement piece that starts soft, becomes a prayer, and then cascades into rock. Let this song stand in for indie rock, especially all the Death Cab for Cutie that should be on this list.
9. "One Night in Bangkok" – Murray Head
Great ’80s music and even a proto-rap. I stop whatever I'm doing when this song comes on. If I see the Chess soundtrack on a friend's shelf, I commandeer their stereo. I'll also let this song stand in for Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar, and The Who's Tommy. I love rock opera with a shameful, burning passion.
8. Pictures at an Exhibition – Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Can an album be a song, since all the individual songs are really movements? ELP does Mussorgsky with superhuman proficiency. Let this song also stand in for "Karn Evil 9," Iron Butterfly’s "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida," and anything by Mozart, Beethoven, or Shostakovich.
7. "Magic Man" – Heart
The female Led Zep.
6. "99 Luftballons" – Nena
In German. I cannot stress this enough. If I hear it in English I actually get upset, except as part of the amazing Jay-Z/Nena mashup "99 Luft Problems." Let this song stand in for all of '80s pop.
5. "Carrie-Anne" – The Hollies
Let this track stand in for all of '60s pop. A coy, charming tune. (If I had room on this list for '60s psychedelica, Donovan’s "Epistle to Dippy" would be somewhere near here, too.)
4. “What I Got” – Sublime
I was a senior when this song almost became the next "Smells Like Teen Spirit." It helped launch a ska/punk craze the took the industry by surprise for the next few years (note how without Sublime 311 and No Doubt might have been one-hit wonders with "Don’t Stay Home" and "Just a Girl"; instead they were putting out singles like "Down," "All Mixed Up," and "Spiderwebs" a year later). If the greatness of a band could be measured by the number of its imitators, Sublime would top The Beatles.
3. "Over the Hills and Far Away" – Led Zeppelin
Of course I almost typed "Stairway to Heaven." It’s a toss-up. Start soft and folky, then explode: the formula for outstanding rock.
2. "F--- and Run" – Liz Phair
A splash of cold water in the face of male rock. Phair delivers the "shocking" (please note the ironic quotes) revelation that women have an interiority, too.
1. "Molly’s Lips" – Nirvana
"Smells Like Teen Spirit" may be one of the most important songs of all time for changing the musical landscape. But "Molly’s Lips" is the greatest. Nirvana takes an already spare Vaselines song and pares it down even further. The result is rock haiku where an entire story takes place in a mere two lines and a refrain:
She said, she'd take me anywhere, she'd take me anywhere, as long as she stays with me / She said, she'd take me anywhere, she'd take me anywhere, as long as I stayed clean / Kiss kiss Molly's lips (x4)
This song is delightfully plastic: it can clock in at under a minute, or repeat ad infinitum, getting more raw and desperate each time. Pure poetry.
Thanks for reading! And don’t forget to vote…
My list may come as a shock to those who think of me as a straight-ahead indie and folk rocker. I am, but that doesn't mean I don't like big ballads or musical proficiency. And part of what makes indie vital and necessary is the long shadows cast by some of these artists. Needless to say, this music (and the bushels of songs I was forced to leave out) just thrills me.
Honorable Mentions: It causes me physical pain not to have Jane's Addiction’s "Been Caught Stealing" and anything—anything—by Smashing Pumpkins on the following list (especially since Stephen Perkins and Jimmy Chamberlin are among the best drummers of all time, behind Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham and Rush’ s Neil Peart).
10. "King of Carrot Flowers" – Neutral Milk Hotel
The sweetness and rawness of indie rock in one lovely three-movement piece that starts soft, becomes a prayer, and then cascades into rock. Let this song stand in for indie rock, especially all the Death Cab for Cutie that should be on this list.
9. "One Night in Bangkok" – Murray Head
Great ’80s music and even a proto-rap. I stop whatever I'm doing when this song comes on. If I see the Chess soundtrack on a friend's shelf, I commandeer their stereo. I'll also let this song stand in for Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar, and The Who's Tommy. I love rock opera with a shameful, burning passion.
8. Pictures at an Exhibition – Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Can an album be a song, since all the individual songs are really movements? ELP does Mussorgsky with superhuman proficiency. Let this song also stand in for "Karn Evil 9," Iron Butterfly’s "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida," and anything by Mozart, Beethoven, or Shostakovich.
7. "Magic Man" – Heart
The female Led Zep.
6. "99 Luftballons" – Nena
In German. I cannot stress this enough. If I hear it in English I actually get upset, except as part of the amazing Jay-Z/Nena mashup "99 Luft Problems." Let this song stand in for all of '80s pop.
5. "Carrie-Anne" – The Hollies
Let this track stand in for all of '60s pop. A coy, charming tune. (If I had room on this list for '60s psychedelica, Donovan’s "Epistle to Dippy" would be somewhere near here, too.)
4. “What I Got” – Sublime
I was a senior when this song almost became the next "Smells Like Teen Spirit." It helped launch a ska/punk craze the took the industry by surprise for the next few years (note how without Sublime 311 and No Doubt might have been one-hit wonders with "Don’t Stay Home" and "Just a Girl"; instead they were putting out singles like "Down," "All Mixed Up," and "Spiderwebs" a year later). If the greatness of a band could be measured by the number of its imitators, Sublime would top The Beatles.
3. "Over the Hills and Far Away" – Led Zeppelin
Of course I almost typed "Stairway to Heaven." It’s a toss-up. Start soft and folky, then explode: the formula for outstanding rock.
2. "F--- and Run" – Liz Phair
A splash of cold water in the face of male rock. Phair delivers the "shocking" (please note the ironic quotes) revelation that women have an interiority, too.
1. "Molly’s Lips" – Nirvana
"Smells Like Teen Spirit" may be one of the most important songs of all time for changing the musical landscape. But "Molly’s Lips" is the greatest. Nirvana takes an already spare Vaselines song and pares it down even further. The result is rock haiku where an entire story takes place in a mere two lines and a refrain:
She said, she'd take me anywhere, she'd take me anywhere, as long as she stays with me / She said, she'd take me anywhere, she'd take me anywhere, as long as I stayed clean / Kiss kiss Molly's lips (x4)
This song is delightfully plastic: it can clock in at under a minute, or repeat ad infinitum, getting more raw and desperate each time. Pure poetry.
Thanks for reading! And don’t forget to vote…
Meet Mika
You'll probably be seeing & hearing a lot from this artist this year...click the link below to learn about the Freddie Mercury comparisons, his childhood & his soon to be hit single "Grace Kelly"
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