And for my 1 Year Anniversary (of this blog) The top 25 songs of all time.

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So I had to do something completely self-indulgent for the Some Might Say (my blog) 1-Year Anniversary…I figured nothing is great like a top # list…what could I do that would make people mad, and me happy…hmm…movie quotes? Nah…How about Actors…closer but no…hmm how about a list like the TOP 25 SONGS OF ALL TIME…yeah that’s it…that’ll piss people off…and show my dorkiness…so here it is…with some bonus chatter of course…Enjoy!

The Top 25 Songs of All-Time (Let’s Keep in Mind I Turn 30 This Year…late this year!…for perspective on where I’m coming from):

But first some odds and ends J

Best Holiday Song-All I Want For Christmas Is You-Mariah Carey (Most memorably done in the film Love Actually, performed by Olivia Olsen)-Runner Up: Baby Please Come Home For Christmas by Charles Brown and Gene Redd (Best performance is a push between Jon Bon Jovi and the U2 version).

Best Sports Song (That’s actually about sports)-Centerfield by John Fogerty-Not even close if you’re a baseball fan.

Best Song Used in a Martin Scorsese Film-I’m Shipping Up To Boston-by The Dropkick Murphy’s (used in the film The Departed)-Runner Up: Gimmie Shelter by The Rolling Stones and from Casino. (And an Honorable Mention to a Great Song-It’s In The Way That You Use It by Eric Clapton and in The Color of Money)

Two Songs I was too embarrassed to put on this list but like-Born To Make You Happy-Britney Spears and Drowning-The BackStreet Boys.

Jimmy Buffet was in the CIA, just throwing that out there.

Most Obtuse Song-Tik Tok-By Ke$ha…um she has a money symbol in her name…that can’t be good. Hon mention-Taylor Swift’s recent hit-You Belong To Me.

Meaning of obtuse-Linguistic ambiguity, lacking sharpness or quickness of sensibility. (Best used by Andy Dufrane in the Shawshank Redemption and he got some solitary time for saying it).

Favorite Song Film Moment-In About A Boy, Hugh Grant and Nicholas Hoult have to sing Killing Me Softly With His Song…and it is priceless…the song is by Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel, but most memorably performed by Roberta Flack. (Eye of the Tiger from Rocky 3 gets a shout out due to the frolicking of Apollo and Rocky during the training sequence, which the song accompanies…two adult men jumping up and down and hugging in the water, while wearing those 70’s style short shorts…hmm unless you watch it again now…you will never understand the comedy value in that scene).

Speaking of Hugh Grant-In the category of cheesiest song, not sung by singers, and in a Hugh Grant movie…it was close but I will go with Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore singing-Way Back To Love…which I later put on my IPOD…yeah I did that. (From Music & Lyrics)

Best Song From Disney Film-Part Of Your World (Written by Alan Menken and Howard Asham and from The Little Mermaid)…why do I feel people will comment most on this one…Incidentally the Oscar from this year went to Under The Sea…which is also good…but this is better, not close…Shout out to: Kiss the Girl.

Speaking of Oscar-Best Oscar Winning Song Ever-(Push) Both: The Way You Look Tonight (1936 from the film Swing Time and most memorably done by Frank Sinatra) and Moon River (1961 from the film Breakfast At Tiffany’s) are so, so great, but I will give some props to 3 more…Up Where We Belong, Let The River Run, and Falling Slowly.

Song that won the Oscar this year (2010)-The Weary Kind-By T Bone Burnett and Ryan Bingham, from the Film Crazy Heart-The verdict of this song-it is great…just great.

Newest Song I Really Like-(Push) How You Like Me Now (by The Heavy) and Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart (by Alicia Keys).

Best Bob Dylan Song that pokes at the Bible (settle down it was Old Testament)-Highway 61 ("God said to Abraham next time you see me you better run"…Mr. Tony approved).

Reason Coldplay doesn’t make the list-It’s Personal with those guys…but if it wasn’t I would put Fix You on it.

Song we think Adam Sandler could actually pull off-Real Love by John Lennon-He actually does a not half bad job on the Funny People Soundtrack.

Song we think Gilbert Godfrey could pull off-Um none, but I heard a great joke of his once…So A guy walks into a talent agency…

Last 5 Things I put on my IPOD-The Weary Kind from Crazy Heart and by Ryan Bingham & T Bone Burnett (What a great song…did I say that already?), We Are The World (I had to…it’s for Haiti), Terrified sung by Katherine McPhee (I have no justification), Let It Be Me by Ray LaMontagne (very soulful performance), Shine A Light by The Rolling Stones (couldn’t believe I didn’t have it).

Closest Led Zeppelin Song to be considered-D’yer Mak’er, but it went out early.

Song that I really like but really shouldn’t haven’t lasted as an option as long as it did-I Am, I Said- by Neil Diamond…and no I didn’t give America a chance (Fist Clenched…on the boats and on the planes…we’re coming to America…indeed…and when you get there…a jumpsuit that has been bedazzled is waiting for you Mr. Diamond).

Last Cut From the List-Tiny Dancer officially.

How about A whole bunch that don’t make the cut…though it was very difficult to cut each of these ( I started with a 100 or so), it had to be done, and there are many, many, many, more…aww the gift of music...in no order-Tiny Dancer (Elton John), All these things i've done (The Killers), Slide/Hate This Place (Goo Goo Dolls), God Only Knows/Wouldn’t It Be Nice (Beach Boys), Georgia On My Mind (Ray Charles), I’ve Just Seen A Face (Beatles), Blinded/How’s It Gonna Be (3^rd Eye Blind), Hero (Mariah Carey), Free Fallin (Tom Petty), Shelter From the Storm/Like A Rolling Stone (Bob Dylan), Fortune Faded (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Running on Faith/Tears In Heaven/Layla (Eric Clapton), Civil War/Patience (Guns & Roses)Try A Little Tenderness/Hard To Handle (Otis Redding), Let’s Get It On (Marvin Gaye), The Only Answer/Fort Hood/White Lexus (Mike Doughty), Revolution/Hey Jude (Beatles…yes them again), Brown Eyed Girl (Van Morrison), Wonderwall/Don’t Look Back In Anger/Slide Away/The Masterplan (Oasis), Stuck In a Moment (U2), Eternal Flame (The Bangles), Foreplay/Long Time (Boston), I Got A Name (Jim Croce), If You Could Only See (Tonic), Land of Confusion (Genesis), Always/Blaze of Glory (Bon Jovi), Do You Remember (Phil Collins), Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen), In My Life/While My Guitar Gently Weeps/She Came In Through The Bathroom Window…and Yes! Yes! Every (Beatles) song ever…can we carry on now, The Sound of Silence/America/Mrs. Robinson (Simon & Garfunkel), Leaving Las Vegas (Sheryl Crow), Handle With Care (The Traveling Wilburys), Vienna/Only The Good Die Young/Miami 2017 (Billy Joel), If the Brakeman Turns my Way/First Day Of My Life (Bright Eyes).

#26 (The Bonus Red Sox Fan Only Song)-Sweet Caroline…and in the words of the fans…So Good! So Good! So Good!.

Ok The Top 25…please don’t use physical violence when attacking me for my list…but feel free to use bad language if you so desire.

#25-Push (the first of many pushes)Torn-By Natalie Imbruglia and Always Be My Baby-By Mariah Carey. These two songs were my (ages 15-17 songs) that helped me through my very confused teenage years.

#24-Bright Lights-By Matchbox Twenty, I had to include a Matchbox 20 song because they are so great live…I am guilty of really liking lots of “radio” type music, it’s a great song though. “I gotta hole in me now…I gotta a scar I talk about” {FYI-A gut wrenching song by Matchbox that I couldn't bring myself to include is-Leave, on the Mad Season album, it will tear out your soul...but it's great as well and is probably better than Bright Lights}

#23-Push (hey it’s hard to narrow this thing down to 25) #41 and Say Goodbye-By Dave Matthews –He is the best college campus friendly singer ever…his albums are very love-making friendly…as an added bonus.

#22-Long December-By The Counting Crows…this song is the perfect tone for front man Adam Duritz, this band had some nice moments in their time, but none topped this song.

#21-Push (Again these lists are tough to make) Gimmie Shelter and Dream On-By The Rolling Stones and Aerosmith…The Rolling Stones had to make the list even though they are before my time (many on this list are) and Gimmie Shelter is such a great song, Dream On is a legendary tune and hearing it live solidified it as list worthy, Stephen Tyler sings it the best…and will always be the front man of Aerosmith to me, no matter what happens (Billy Idol has been recently rumored to take over).

#20-Push-Parallel Universe, Around the World, Scar Tissue, Otherside, Easily…OK so the entire Californication album-By The Red Chili Peppers (the greatest album of all time in my book)…from start to finish the most solid album ever…get on “The Tube” in London or “The T” in Boston and turn this album on…that ladies and gentleman is as good as it gets.

#19-I’ll Have To Say I Love You In A Song-By Jim Croce, I have a bit of a weakness for folk music, this Jim Croce song is the definition of a sweet song. “Everytime I Tried to tell you the words just came out wrong…so I’ll have to say I love you in a song” and the crowd all goes: aww.

#18-Man In The Mirror-By Michael Jackson-The King of Pop hits just the right chord with this song…it is destined to be sung on American Idol every year that show exists.

#17-Don’t Worry Baby-By The Beach Boys-So if you had to throw a runner up award to The Beatles in the “generally same time period” greatest bands…maybe it’s The Beach Boys…although their name is goofy and simple…their sound is distinct and unforgettable…their best work is this song.

#16-Push-A Change Is Gonna Come/What’s Going On-By Sam Cooke-By Marvin Gaye-What an awesome voice Cooke had, he was a truly memorable singer and a must for anyone’s ITunes collection…this song was released shortly after his death in 1964…and it is truly his legacy in many ways. For Gaye who released this song in 1971, effectively trading his Motown sound for a more political sound, did it seamlessly…on most people’s top song’s list including (Rolling Stone’s) it has been covered by many and its meaning is universal so long as the world remains as it is today.

#15-The Book of Love-By The Magnetic Fields-A truly sweet song, maybe most memorably done by Peter Gabriel in the film Shall We Dance…this song has stood the test of time for me so far and I anticipate it will forever…I have five covers of it on my Itunes…try out the Mike Doughty Version!

#14-Imagine-By John Lennon-It had to make the list somewhere..Lennon’s song is an anthem for those of us who think the world is ruled by the haves and not the have-nots…but we can imagine something better.

#13-Redemption Song-By Bob Marley-In 1980 Marley, stricken with cancer, released this song as a single, it was loosely based on a speech by Marcus Garvey and it sounds like it, he did it acoustically on the single…and we wouldn’t want it any other way. (Try the Wyclef Version!)

#12-Live Forever-By Oasis-Though I am a huge fan of this band I will admit that their sound is repetitive…this song stands out as their first megahit, it is the best from the brothers who spent the rest of their careers trying to top themselves and tolerate each other.

#11-Overkill-By Men at Work-Many years ago Colin Hay presented this song to his Men at Work band-mates and they said it was terrible…years later Scrubs fans all over thank him for not listening to them.

AND THE TOP 10…I immediately regret the decision to make this list…

#10-Time of Your Life (Good Riddance)-By Green Day-This was the first of many Green Day poignant songs (ballads with meaning if you will)…it was their best as well, you couldn’t be anywhere near my age and not have heard this song at least a 100 times a day on the radio…(around 30ish).

#9-One-By U2-A wonderfully powerful and soulful song that is being played way too much in department stores these days. “We are one, but we are not the same, we get to carry each other.”

#8-Sweet Child of Mine-By Guns & Roses-The most memorable intro of my lifetime is as timeless as it gets, though Axel will be remembered mostly for bad botox and a album that took a generation to make, he can rest assured that if this song comes on, all is forgotten and forgiven in the G&R world.

#7-Under Pressure-By Queen-Adding David Bowie to Queen was the kind of stroke of genius that doesn’t come around often…that partnership lives forever in a truly great song that cries the kind of motto I can back…”Why can’t we give love one more chance, why can’t we give love, give love, give love!”

#6-What It Takes-By Aerosmith-The 1990 break-up anthem is a standard in every east coast bar jukebox…I heard this one live and it was the only time I wasn’t mad that the band let the audience do all the work.

#5-What a Wonderful World-By Bob Thiele and David Weiss-This1967 hit by Louis Armstrong is an optimistic song that offers a hopeful look to the future…and when I hear it, the future seems bright.

#4-Push (but it’s The Beatles so it doesn’t really count as a push) Yesterday/Let It Be-By The Beatles-Yesterday stands as the most covered song in history (according to Guinness) and Let It Be is the title song from The Beatles last album and it is a great way to cap a never again matchable feat of epic influence on music…these two songs are the definition of genius.

#3-Don’t Stop Believin’-By Journey-It has a legendary opening keyboard riff and contains the undeniably distinct vocals of Steve Perry that could never be equaled…though way too many karaoke enthusiasts do try…it pops up on Billboards’ top 100 frequently though it was released in 1981.

#2-Something-By The Beatles-In order to settle on your favorite Beatles tune one must really consider the ramifications of said decision…one ramification is that upon hearing that this song is now my favorite (and has been for years now) many people from my past will be yelling at me for changing my mind…yell away, I’ll just turn this song up. “You’re asking me will my love grow…I don’t know…I don’t know”

The Greatest Song of All-Time

#1-Motorcycle Drive By-By Third Eye Blind-The 13^th song by the band, it was on their self-titled debut album…many of you probably remember Semi-Charmed Life, or maybe Jumper from this album…but if you don’t know this song you have to download it…it may not be for everybody, but for my money it is the best. The song is an epic journal-entry that is told like a cautionary tale, with music playing in the background…and told from someone who understands. For the record I do think Stephan Jenkins (The lead singer from 3^rd Eye) is an A*@hole who was once upon a time was a rude jerk (when I met him at a concert)…but some genius’s are like that I guess. I give him credit for this incredible song that I have literally screamed in my car a million times…I have drove around the block instead of going home to finish this song out. It took me years to finally hear this song live, and finally at a small concert, at a nightclub in Vegas I got to hear it…the crowd probably was more interested in the nightclub than the band (whose popularity faded with Jenkins manners in recent years apparently), but even though many didn’t know the tune, it hushed the mostly disinterested crowd, and pleased the loyal fans that were there. I sang along to every word, grateful that I finally got to hear it in person, grateful that I finally settled in my mind…what in fact the greatest song of all time is…for now. “I’ve never been so alone, and I’ve never been so alive”

Third Eye Blind still makes records (really they do) and though the songs are not as fit for today’s radio stations as maybe Ke$ha songs are (that makes me sad), they are still great. Their latest album is as good as any album they have done. Ursa Major is the name of the album, and it is available on Itunes. Try the songs: About to Break and Why Can’t You Be.

Final Thoughts:

A list of music like this, or movies, or anything is a living breathing thing that changes as we change…some think numbering things like this is total waste of time…and maybe their right, but if they are wrong, maybe organizing your thoughts with bullet points and numbers is therapeutic and helpful to ourselves…maybe it’s a reminder of where we have been and where we hope we are going…feel free to yell at me for my song list or anything else on the blog that you disagree with. This blog has been great fun to me all year, and though nobody reads it, and those who do certainly disagree with everything I say…it in many ways has been my favorite activity. Go figure a totally self-indulgent opinion launch pad makes me happy. Thanks for reading, feel free to comment or post your own top # lists…and as always enjoy the series of tubes we lovingly call the Internet…and use it for good not evil, if you can.

“Summer dies and swells rise…the sun goes down in my eyes, through this broken wave…darkly coming to take me home…and I’ve never been so alone…and I’ve never been so alive”