top 100 (continued)
in this episode of 100 favorite POP songs we take a closer look at how pop music can attach itself to one's psyche whether we want it to or not.
we will also start to uncover some over-arching life themes of the staff members here at the annex. of course, we will leave those up to you, the reader, to figure out.
'cause we are tired and lame.
here we go:
80 - "solsbury hill" / peter gabriel -- peter gabriel (1) (1977) track 2 - growing up, i loved genesis. somewhere along the line, the prog rocker in me all but died. there are two indirect remnants of that band in this list. along with #91, this is the second one. funny how that's all that's left.
79 - "free" / phish -- billy breathes (1996) track 1 - phish hasn't necessarily been my cup of tea as a whole, but they can put together some pretty amazing tunes. free is harmonic perfection.
78 - "pink moon" / nick drake -- pink moon (1972) track 1 - if you don't know it...you've undoubtedly heard it. advertisers have profitted off of drake's untimely death quite well. that changes nothing of the song in my opinion.
77 - "paper scratcher" / blind melon -- blind melon (1992) track 4 - sure, the bee girl got all the press. but this is just that much groovier and trippier than no rain. alas, another stupid death also cut this act short.
76 - "don't look back in anger" / oasis -- (what's the story) morning glory (1995) track 4 - i like oasis. sue me. morning glory is full of great cuts, but this one still kills me. in the good way.
75 - "experimental film" / they might be giants -- the spine (2004) track 1 - after an unexplained hiatus from my consciousness, TMBG stormed their way back into my world through the quirky humor of homestarrunner.com. we've been back together ever since.
74 - "two of us" / the beatles -- let it be (1970) track 1 - the (not really) last album of the world's greatest band starts off with this love song that frollicks along to surprisingly touching effect.
73 - "these are days" / 10,000 maniacs -- our time in eden (1992) track 2 - simple minds meets the '90s...with natalie merchant. we came so close to having this as our senior class song. but, we weren't quite cool enough to pull it off apparently.
72 - "luritja way" / midnight oil -- capricornia (2001) track 4 - a band that is out there simply because they still love making music. and this song proves that dispite the heavy poilitics that permeate their body of work..they can still make it fun.
71 - "hey jealousy" / gin blossoms -- new miserable experience (1992) track 2 - yeah it was overplayed. but that didn't mean i couldn't sing along loudly in my car whenever it came on. and i did. a lot.
70 - "god put a smile upon your face" / coldplay -- a rush of blood to the head (2002) track 3 - there are arguably better songs on this landmark album. but like i said, i am a sucker for a killer bass line.
69 - "deadweight" / beck -- a life less ordinary OST (1997) track 1 - the best use of the guiro in any song...ever. it's beck at his oddest. and finest.
68 - "china grove" / the doobie brothers -- the captain & me (1973) track 3 - the best thing about texas since agent b. or maybe that's vice versa. either way, this stuff is what the 70's SHOULD have been remembered for.
67 - "in the waiting line" / zero 7 -- simple things (2001) track 8 - introduced to me (and most of the world) by zach braff in his movie "garden state," i was haunted by this song for months. not easy to do.
66 - "camera one" / josh joplin group -- useful music (2000) track 5 - i give up on pop music about every 3-4 years (see #87.) in the boy band wasteland that was 2000, there were three songs that gave me hope. this one and two more later in the countdown.
65 - "open up your eyes" / tonic -- lemon parade (1996) track 1 - the song alone would stand solid on my list, but the video...it was the tuxedo-tshirt-roller-skate-laden video...well, that cemented it.
64 - "here's where the story ends" / the sundays -- reading, writing and arithmetic (1990) track 2 - a band that has a few really great songs but nothing else that has captured me. this tune is holding a place for not only itself, but also for the more poppy "summertime." ('97's static and silence) which rightfully belongs on this list, but i didn't think about until i was typing this. call it a 2 for 1.
63 - "1308 ohio" / lori (coscia) chaffer -- old stuff (1998) track 10 - originally recorded on her solo cassette in the early '90s, the only place to find it now is on this waterdeep retrospective. it's a fun experiment in parallel song writing. and i just happened to live in that house in college. automatic bid onto the list.
62 - "landed" / ben folds -- songs for silverman (2005) track 4 - it's a "flying as being lost" metaphor. i couldn't possibly relate to that. besides, it's flippin' beautiful.
61 - "counting blue cars" / dishwalla -- pet your friends (1995) track 3 - you can go ahead and ask me why this radio-friendly, borderline sacrilegious* song sticks with me to this day...and i won't be able to answer. it just does.
more soon. have a great weekend.
* - to some people. myself not included.
we will also start to uncover some over-arching life themes of the staff members here at the annex. of course, we will leave those up to you, the reader, to figure out.
'cause we are tired and lame.
here we go:
80 - "solsbury hill" / peter gabriel -- peter gabriel (1) (1977) track 2 - growing up, i loved genesis. somewhere along the line, the prog rocker in me all but died. there are two indirect remnants of that band in this list. along with #91, this is the second one. funny how that's all that's left.
79 - "free" / phish -- billy breathes (1996) track 1 - phish hasn't necessarily been my cup of tea as a whole, but they can put together some pretty amazing tunes. free is harmonic perfection.
78 - "pink moon" / nick drake -- pink moon (1972) track 1 - if you don't know it...you've undoubtedly heard it. advertisers have profitted off of drake's untimely death quite well. that changes nothing of the song in my opinion.
77 - "paper scratcher" / blind melon -- blind melon (1992) track 4 - sure, the bee girl got all the press. but this is just that much groovier and trippier than no rain. alas, another stupid death also cut this act short.
76 - "don't look back in anger" / oasis -- (what's the story) morning glory (1995) track 4 - i like oasis. sue me. morning glory is full of great cuts, but this one still kills me. in the good way.
75 - "experimental film" / they might be giants -- the spine (2004) track 1 - after an unexplained hiatus from my consciousness, TMBG stormed their way back into my world through the quirky humor of homestarrunner.com. we've been back together ever since.
74 - "two of us" / the beatles -- let it be (1970) track 1 - the (not really) last album of the world's greatest band starts off with this love song that frollicks along to surprisingly touching effect.
73 - "these are days" / 10,000 maniacs -- our time in eden (1992) track 2 - simple minds meets the '90s...with natalie merchant. we came so close to having this as our senior class song. but, we weren't quite cool enough to pull it off apparently.
72 - "luritja way" / midnight oil -- capricornia (2001) track 4 - a band that is out there simply because they still love making music. and this song proves that dispite the heavy poilitics that permeate their body of work..they can still make it fun.
71 - "hey jealousy" / gin blossoms -- new miserable experience (1992) track 2 - yeah it was overplayed. but that didn't mean i couldn't sing along loudly in my car whenever it came on. and i did. a lot.
70 - "god put a smile upon your face" / coldplay -- a rush of blood to the head (2002) track 3 - there are arguably better songs on this landmark album. but like i said, i am a sucker for a killer bass line.
69 - "deadweight" / beck -- a life less ordinary OST (1997) track 1 - the best use of the guiro in any song...ever. it's beck at his oddest. and finest.
68 - "china grove" / the doobie brothers -- the captain & me (1973) track 3 - the best thing about texas since agent b. or maybe that's vice versa. either way, this stuff is what the 70's SHOULD have been remembered for.
67 - "in the waiting line" / zero 7 -- simple things (2001) track 8 - introduced to me (and most of the world) by zach braff in his movie "garden state," i was haunted by this song for months. not easy to do.
66 - "camera one" / josh joplin group -- useful music (2000) track 5 - i give up on pop music about every 3-4 years (see #87.) in the boy band wasteland that was 2000, there were three songs that gave me hope. this one and two more later in the countdown.
65 - "open up your eyes" / tonic -- lemon parade (1996) track 1 - the song alone would stand solid on my list, but the video...it was the tuxedo-tshirt-roller-skate-laden video...well, that cemented it.
64 - "here's where the story ends" / the sundays -- reading, writing and arithmetic (1990) track 2 - a band that has a few really great songs but nothing else that has captured me. this tune is holding a place for not only itself, but also for the more poppy "summertime." ('97's static and silence) which rightfully belongs on this list, but i didn't think about until i was typing this. call it a 2 for 1.
63 - "1308 ohio" / lori (coscia) chaffer -- old stuff (1998) track 10 - originally recorded on her solo cassette in the early '90s, the only place to find it now is on this waterdeep retrospective. it's a fun experiment in parallel song writing. and i just happened to live in that house in college. automatic bid onto the list.
62 - "landed" / ben folds -- songs for silverman (2005) track 4 - it's a "flying as being lost" metaphor. i couldn't possibly relate to that. besides, it's flippin' beautiful.
61 - "counting blue cars" / dishwalla -- pet your friends (1995) track 3 - you can go ahead and ask me why this radio-friendly, borderline sacrilegious* song sticks with me to this day...and i won't be able to answer. it just does.
more soon. have a great weekend.
* - to some people. myself not included.
posted by cade at 2:02 PM
14 Comments:
I heard China Grove on the drive home. I thought "hmm, #68." Ok, I didn't but I could have, you know?
Yeah, you can't go wrong with anything Peter Gabriel.
I was unaware the Doobie bros were from TX. And thanks for the compliment. It's a compliment, right? right?
not so much that they are FROM texas (not sure they are, but maybe) but "china grove" is definitely ABOUT texas...or at least a part of it.
as for the compliment: yeah it is one. i've never hidden my overall distaste for most things texas. i like finding nice things about it. what can i say? i'm a kind of bigot that way.
at least i like to think i can go on a case by case basis.
Various comments compiled for easy deletion/ignoring:
You picked a song from an album called "The Captain & Me". How appropos.
Some interesting choices here. "Experimental Film" is your best choice from TMBG? (Assuming they don't reappear elsewhere on the list) Great song, but I dunno...
#76 is right on. Please tell me "Two of Us" and "Landed" aren't the sole songs on the list from those artists. Though "Landed" is darn good. No, it's damn good. I just can think of at least 3 more Ben Folds songs that compete (with or without the band): "Smoke", "Emaline", and "Still Fighting It" come to mind first. And the Beatles...don't get me started!
71, good choice. The Tonic song was to be expected, knowing you. I'm glad you mentioned the video. Tonic was freakin' underrated in their radio heyday. :(
I disagree with Dishwalla on many counts, but I also have songs I like for reasons I can't explain. And "Solsbury Hill" should have taken a back seat to "In Your Eyes" anyday. Yeah, it's a gimme, but isn't that what a top 100 list is? Or, like most published subjective top 100 lists, is this mainly meant to stir up controversy?
Hadn't heard the Zero 7 song before; I like it a lot.
By the way, I hereby declare that when you finish this top 100 list, you will have completely turned into Rob Gordon from "High Fidelity" ... not that that's a bad thing. I need to watch that film again. And then I need to learn how to sing like Jack Black singing like Marvin Gaye...
dones-
all valid points except you are forgetting one thing...this is my opinion. not a "best" anything list.
i like "solsbury hill" better than "in your eyes." period.
and to answer your question: i stated the purpose of the list in the first post. "it is merely a chance for you, the loyal viewers, to get some insight into what makes my musical ear happy."
you will be fine with the beatles songs. you will more than likely be in a toss up regarding ben folds. you will probably curse me for the remainder of the tmbg songs.
but it's just my opinion. so i don't really care. :)
keep the info comin' though. i like it.
"you will be fine with the beatles songs. you will more than likely be in a toss up regarding ben folds. you will probably curse me for the remainder of the tmbg songs."
So there's more coming? You're forgiven.
You're forgiven.
whew, that was close.
This isn't like those VH1 countdowns where I discover that Ashton Kutcher is the sexiest man alive, is it? That would be disappointing. I can see it now... and the #1 pop song Cade loves is ...Rock Chalk Jayhawk.
"rock chalk jayhawk" is a chant, not a song.
"i'm a jayhawk" is a song....and it's not on the list.
ashton kutcher is not on the list.
yet.
Will you please sell a compilation when the list is complete? I'll be your best friend.
PS. I haven't seen you in, like, 2 months. Hi.
They Might Be Giants also do all those quirky jingles for Dunkin Donuts now too-like "1 Billion degrees...it's like one billion degrees..." and the smoothie song with the line, "And time has taken my boat away...but now...I won't be hungry anymore!" I still love They Might Be Giants though.
le- now that i am getting my computer back...i amy be able to do that.
how are you?
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