A musical blog...

Since I did a blog based on my top 10 favorite movie moments, as inspired by a fellow Tweeter, I thought I should do a music one. I know that this one will be even harder than the film one since I tend to hoard music. Also as I said with the film one, my tastes change from day to do as to what I want to listen to/watch, but I'm going to try to pick 20 songs that I never get tired of, maybe 25, we'll see how it goes. If I can link the videos in here, I will. I'm still not sure I know how to do that. I have to say that my two loves are music and books. Always have been. Ever since I was very small, I had some sort of stereo, whether it was an 8 track player that yout had to wait until a certain point in the song to change the track to get to the beginning of another song, or a record player. Music has always been a part of my life, that being said, I'm not musical at all. I tried to learn to play the guitar with no luck, I can't sing but I do love singing along (very badly) to my favorite songs. Who doesn't? And yes the rumor you may have heard is true, I seem to have a thing for drummers. Jon Farriss from INXS, Roger Taylor from Duran Duran and Larry Mullen Jr. from U2 have always been crushes of mine. I also seemed to gravitate towards drummers in local bands when my friends and I would go to shows. I don't know why, it's just a thing. I don't even do it on purpose. I'm also going to try to not have more than 2 from the same artist. Just to make things more difficult for me of course.Not every song will have a great story, but some will have stories, great or otherwise. Anyway......enough nonsense, let me get this list started.

So here it goes....in no particular order, my top 20 (maybe 25 or even 30) songs of all time (or today). Oh alright, let's make it an even 30.

30. Charlie Rich "The Most Beautiful Girl"

This is a song that always reminds me of my dad. He was a big Charlie Rich fan, and having grown up in Alabama, a big country music fan. That's the music I grew up on. I have fond memories of traveling with my parents in our motorhome and this song coming on the 8 track (there's that blast from the past again) and my dad singing it, with me joining in. It's a song that just takes me back to a happy time, but at the same time it does make me miss my dad. I do feel lucky that I have the memories of him that I do. Bittersweet I'd say.

29. Donny and Marie Osmond "Little Bit Country/Rock n Roll"

Again a song from my childhood. My cousin and I would put this on at my grandmother's house and pretend to be Donny and Marie. I remember us in my grandmother's living room, singing into hairbrushes as loud as we could, dancing around. In some ways it seems odd because I was always a very shy child, but I suppose since I was in a place where I was comfortable, I was fine. Sometimes my cousin would try and switch it up so he could be a little bit country, but I'd never let him. Don't tell him I said that ;)

28. Elvis Presley "Moody Blue"
I honestly don't remember where I first heard this song or who had the album. It might have been my aunt that used to babysit me. She's the one that also introduced me to the Beatles at about the age of 4. This song always makes me feel better no matter how I was feeling before, and I can't help singing along. I suppose it's the way some men feel about us women.

27. Tom Jones "Delilah"
Yes, I'm a Tom Jones fan. I even went to see him concert once, but I didn't throw my knickers on stage. I wouldn't do that. This song reminds me of my 29th birthday, which I spent in England, Liverpool to be precise. I was visiting a good friend of mine and she took me to a club called Flares I think it was. I just remember this song coming on and everyone in the place singing along, something that I had never seen happen here in the States. It just added something extra to my birthday celebration. Good times.

26. Generation X "English Dream"

This may have a lot to do with me loving anything British for as long as I can remember. I did go through a small punk rock phase when I was younger, not in the way I dressed, but with the music I listened to. On the outside I looked preppy, but on the inside I was punk, well I thought I was anyway. I know now just how wrong I was. I still loved listening to the music though. I think I actually heard about them from my cousin, of the Donny and Marie song. He was younger than me, but still knew about all the cool music. I don't even know how he knew, but he always did. Anyway, this song  has always been a favorite of mine. Not for any special sentimental reason, just because.

25. Londonbeat "I've Been Thinking About You"

Now, this one does have some sentimentality to go along with it. When I was almost 21, my best friend and I were down in the Inner Harbor of Baltimore, hanging out. It was one of the few places we would go in the summer, just to walk around and shop. This time there happened to be a Brazilian Naval Academy ship in town, and we ended up meeting some of the guys from the ship, and they invited us to the reception on board. The day before the reception we went to meet up with a couple of them, and one was looking for a song. Because his English wasn't so good, and my Portugeuese back then was non-existant, we were having trouble figuring out what song he wanted. We asked, is it sung by a man or woman. Answer..yes. Is it fast or slow? Answer...yes. This continued until we were in my friend's car and this song came on the radio. Luis got so excited, he started yelling in the car "This is it!! This is the song!!!" So everytime I hear it I think of that moment and it makes me smile.

24. David Bowie "Young Americans"

This was tough because I'm a Bowie fan so picking just one song of his that I liked was almost an impossible task. I picked this one for no other reason than when I was writing this, and listening to music, this happened to be the one Bowie song that came up in iTunes. So there you go. iTunes chose for me in this case. :)

23. The Clash "This is Radio Clash"

Again, huge Clash fan so it's tough to narrow it down to just one (and I still might put another one on the list). This one has always been one of my favorites, and I can't really say why, it just is. It's just one of those songs that I could listen to over and over. It also has a good beat and makes me want to get up and dance. That is very important when picking songs I love.

22. Duran Duran "Lonely in Your Nightmare"

Of course this wasn't the first Duran song I ever heard, but this one has always, always been my favorite. I am also a big Duran fan, and have been since the beginning. This song just makes me happy. I love the beat, the lyrics. I love singing it at the top of my lungs. It's just one of those songs.

21. Tom Waits "I Hope That I Don't Fall in Love With You"

No story, just a song I really like.

20. ABBA "Waterloo"

Yes, I know. It's one of those songs that always seems to be on people's lists, even people who say they don't like ABBA. Really though, how can you not like this song? I know you're thinking about it and singing it in your head as you read this. You're welcome. I still haven't faced my Waterloo......hmm....

19. Dean Martin "Mambo Italiano"

Since I was younger, I loved Dean Martin. I've seen every Lewis/Martin movie that exists. This was a tough choice. It was between this and Volare, which I also love. I think this one just makes me feel more like dancing than the other. I don't have a great explanation for why this is on my list, but it is. So accept it :)

18. INXS "Burn For You"

Again a very tough choice since like the above mentioned bands, I have loved INXS from the beginning. This song just reminds me of their Australian roots. I can't explain why, but I listen to this song and I think "Australia", that doesn't happen with all of their songs, just this one. Oh and of course Jon Farriss is awesome on drums in this song, as he is in all of them.

17. U2 "Desire"

Loved the album Rattle and Hum, reminds me of good times when I was younger. I remember my best friend and I driving around town with the windows down and this song blaring. So it's one of those brings back good memories songs, and well Larry Mullen Jr. on drums ;)

16. Wham! "Club Tropicanna"

Again, the memories of youth. I was a freshman in high school, and we had an exchange student in our school from England. Luckily she and I got to be good friends. One day she had her walkman out and was dancing around the parking lot at lunch. I asked what she was listening to and she let me hear. It was "Club Tropicanna." I listened and really, really liked it. C'mon how can you not like a place where drinks are free?

15. OMD "Sailing on the Seven Seas"

This is one of my favorite OMD songs. Not one I really grew up with in the 80's, but still a great one from when I was still young. I saw them recently in concert and they played this song. I don't think I've ever been as excited as I was to hear a song live. It was the highlight of the concert for me. I can play this song over and over and over again and never get tired of it.

14. Now that I'm at number 14, I'm thinking I may have to create an honorable mentions list. Too many songs....So for # 14 we have New Order "Shell-Shock"

One of my favorite songs off of one of my absolute favorite soundtracks, 'Pretty in Pink'. I love every song on this album. I remember listening to it over and over again my freshman year of university. This song though would have to be my favorite off of the album. I can't explain why I love it, or what it is about it that I love. As soon as I hear it, I have good memory flashbacks. So maybe that's why I love it so much. All tied to sentimentality I suppose.

13. A little off the beaten path, but it's "Nessun Dorma"
I don't have a favorite of this aria, I love them all. Even the Aretha Franklin version! It's one of those arias that just calms me down and kind of makes me go into a zen like state. I can listen to it many times over (as with all these songs) and never get tired of it. Just one of my favorites.

12. Icicle Works "Whisper to a Scream"

A great track from the 80's, in my opinion. You can't help but sing along at the top of your lungs, well I can't, and I have friends who do the same, so I know it's not just me. I hear the song and I'm instantly transported back to my teenage years, back to school dances, back to the John Hughes era. Not always good times back then, but more good than bad I'd say.

11. Big Country "In a Big Country"

What I said about the above song, applies to this one. I've also always found it to be a good song to sing when you're feeling down. Always makes me feel more positive after.

10. The Cure "In Between Days"

Another song that reminds me of driving around town in my friend's car, singing loudly with this song up full blast. Also reminds me of one of my high school crushes, who of course didn't know I existed. This was almost always played at the school dances and my friends and I would get out there and dance, next to said crush obviously. Since that's what we did in those days. Always brings back good memories.

9. Blur "There's No Other Way"

Tough to choose a Blur song that I love more than the others, but I picked this one. Only because I do find myself singing it from time to time. Doesn't really have any memories attached. Just a song that I really like.

8. The Clash "Janie Jones"

I think this song is just one of those songs that as soon as I hear the first note, I start whipping my hair around. I shouldn't do that at my age, but I can't help it. It just brings that out in me. As I said before, I love the Clash so it's tough to pick just one or two, in this case that are favorites. As I also said, my favorites do change from time to time. For now, this will stick here.

7. Duran Duran "Safe"

A recent Duran song from their latest album. This song also inspires loud, bad singing. I don't know if it's the funky bass line or what, but I absolutely adore this song. I think it's my favorite off of the album. I have actually had this song on repeat for at least an hour and didn't get tired of it. Now that's saying something.

6. INXS "Don't Change"

Again, my love for INXS shows. I love this song, the lyrics, the music, everything. It makes me feel happy, and when they play it at the end of the shows, it makes me tear up a bit. A fantastic song, even better when Michael used to sing it. The new version with Kirk, Andrew and Jon is great too. Especially at the concert, when Jon is up front for a bit. I know, there I go again with the Jon Farriss thing. Can't help it.

5. Ultravox "Dancing with Tears in My Eyes"

Love the song, no explanation, just love it. Always have.

4. Depeche Mode "Shake the Disease"

Finally a Depeche song in here. Again, another of my favorite bands since they formed. This has always been a particular favorite of mine. It also reminds me of a crush of days of yore. This time he did know I existed, but we were good friends. Always the way...anyway it's just a fantastic song.

3. George Michael "Faith"

Loved this song and album when it first came out.I actually had to buy a second copy of the cassette because I wore the first one out. It was released my senior year in high school and I think it just has all those getting ready for university, moving away from home/friends, enjoying my last year with those friends type of memories attached.

2. The Kinks "Waterloo Sunset"

Probably going along with my love of anything to do with London/England/UK. Plus I always visualize the sunset over Waterloo Bridge when I hear this song.

1. The Beatles "In My Life"

One of my favorite songs from The Beatles, and again I had a hard time choosing. They have so many songs I love, but this one has always been a favorite of mine. It's somewhat bittersweet and just lovely. Reminds me of people in my life that are now gone but definitely not forgotten.


That was really tough and as I expected, I picked out far too many songs. So here's a few that didn't make the top 30 list. Not because I don't love them equally, but because I was trying to keep to my limit.

Belouis Some "Some People"
Morrissey "Everyday is Like Sunday"
The Smiths "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now"
Billy Idol "Sweet Sixteen" and "Rebel Yell"
Chris Isaak "I Believe"
PJ Harvey "Good Fortune"
When In Rome "The Promise"
Tears for Fears "Head Over Heels"
Madonna "Borderline"
Berlin "No More Words"
The Verve "Bittersweet Symphony"
Smithereens "Evening Dress"
Nik Kershaw "The Riddle"
Gorillaz "Feel Good Inc"
Kylie "I Believe in You" and "Wow"
Duran Duran "Nice"
INXS "Elegantly Wasted"
Big Audio Dynamite "Rush"
Too Much Joy "Crush Story"

and for now that's it.........