Favorite 31 Songs by US Artists According to a Bunch of Middle-Aged Dummies (2 Viewers)

[krista4]

Going from 15-20 lists caused some major shake-ups in the rankings.

Regarding songs, we have a new #1 on the basis of having two (2) #1 rankings. That's right, we finally got a song that received two first place votes! It has made only three lists, but with two #1s and one #3.

The current #1 is edging out (by two points) two songs tied for second, with one of them having, oddly enough, only three rankings, but all of them at #3, and the other having the most overall votes, with five. No other song has more than four.

The fourth place song remains the only song listed from that particular artist, with four votes and a total that trails #1 by only six points.

Still a wide open game, as after the top three we have three other songs within four points. Given how much difference one high ranking can make, there are still several other songs that might also vie for the crown.

 

[Val Rannous]

On the same note, so far we only have 7 entries so far in the Charity Contest - and it's easier than ranking your 31 choices, trust me! In fact, you don't even have to be planning on submitting a Favorite 31 list to have a shot at getting a donation to your favorite charity - just IM me with your picks for "Most Popular Song" and "Most Popular Artist", and we'll take care of the rest!

Bummer...hopefully entries will pick up. Benefits: it's free, it might lead to a donation on your behalf, and you get board bragging rights! Downsides: endless mocking by the Rannouses if you're wrong? It's worth the risk!

Val, I have your guesses, which I'm not sure if you counted in the official entries.

Yep, it's counted. Me, Mrs. R., and 5 other brave souls. 7 entries, 7 different top songs selected, by 7 different artists - which is good because so far the selections for top artist are less... variable.

 

[krista4]

Artists! The new lists have caused an even bigger shake-up in artists.

We have a new #1! Our new #1 is the artist who also has the #2 song that has three #3 votes. This artist has 10 votes overall, and amazingly all but one with at least 20 points. People who love them, love them!

Our mystery artist who had 11 different songs on 15 lists has now upped their game to 12 different songs (no duplicates), but they have moved down the overall list to #5 due to some surges from other artists. And the other artist who had been battling with that one with eight different songs has now increased that number to 10 (also no duplicates) and have held steady at #2. At #3 is another with a big surge in this round of lists. The artist with the current #1 song has moved into fourth in artist rankings.

Movers and shakers! Well, I don't want to dwell on this one too much since it will all come out in the wash, but we have an artist in the top 10 now who is there solely based on ranking from only one voter. Who knows, maybe they'll make a mark with others, too.

There were some others that now I've forgotten.

One noticeable aspect of the top artists is that women are woefully underrepresented. I can't complain since I think I'm going to have 0.5 women on my list. Maybe we should have a separate contest to see which female artist will do the best. Right now, it's close, and not necessarily those I would have expected.

 

[Chaz McNulty]

Artists! The new lists have caused an even bigger shake-up in artists.

We have a new #1! Our new #1 is the artist who also has the #2 song that has three #3 votes. This artist has 10 votes overall, and amazingly all but one with at least 20 points. People who love them, love them!

Our mystery artist who had 11 different songs on 15 lists has now upped their game to 12 different songs (no duplicates), but they have moved down the overall list to #5 due to some surges from other artists. And the other artist who had been battling with that one with eight different songs has now increased that number to 10 (also no duplicates) and have held steady at #2. At #3 is another with a big surge in this round of lists. The artist with the current #1 song has moved into fourth in artist rankings.

Movers and shakers! Well, I don't want to dwell on this one too much since it will all come out in the wash, but we have an artist in the top 10 now who is there solely based on ranking from only one voter. Who knows, maybe they'll make a mark with others, too.

There were some others that now I've forgotten.

One noticeable aspect of the top artists is that women are woefully underrepresented. I can't complain since I think I'm going to have 0.5 women on my list. Maybe we should have a separate contest to see which female artist will do the best. Right now, it's close, and not necessarily those I would have expected.

Hmmm.... plural. a band or duo rather than a solitary artist?

 

[krista4]

Artists! The new lists have caused an even bigger shake-up in artists.

We have a new #1! Our new #1 is the artist who also has the #2 song that has three #3 votes. This artist has 10 votes overall, and amazingly all but one with at least 20 points. People who love them, love them!

Our mystery artist who had 11 different songs on 15 lists has now upped their game to 12 different songs (no duplicates), but they have moved down the overall list to #5 due to some surges from other artists. And the other artist who had been battling with that one with eight different songs has now increased that number to 10 (also no duplicates) and have held steady at #2. At #3 is another with a big surge in this round of lists. The artist with the current #1 song has moved into fourth in artist rankings.

Movers and shakers! Well, I don't want to dwell on this one too much since it will all come out in the wash, but we have an artist in the top 10 now who is there solely based on ranking from only one voter. Who knows, maybe they'll make a mark with others, too.

There were some others that now I've forgotten.

One noticeable aspect of the top artists is that women are woefully underrepresented. I can't complain since I think I'm going to have 0.5 women on my list. Maybe we should have a separate contest to see which female artist will do the best. Right now, it's close, and not necessarily those I would have expected.

Hmmm.... plural. a band or duo rather than a solitary artist?

I’ve purposefully used “they/them” pronouns to describe every artist in each update so as not to give anything away.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

One noticeable aspect of the top artists is that women are woefully underrepresented. I can't complain since I think I'm going to have 0.5 women on my list. Maybe we should have a separate contest to see which female artist will do the best. Right now, it's close, and not necessarily those I would have expected.

My list was almost as male as an incel convention.

DrIanMalcolm did much better on that front.

 

[Val Rannous]

One noticeable aspect of the top artists is that women are woefully underrepresented. I can't complain since I think I'm going to have 0.5 women on my list. Maybe we should have a separate contest to see which female artist will do the best. Right now, it's close, and not necessarily those I would have expected.

My list was almost as male as an incel convention.

DrIanMalcolm did much better on that front.

Weird. My Top 31 list had 7 Female fronted acts or solo artists, my last 5 out had 3 more, and the cut list from my original 56 selections had another 6. Why am I the only one listening to the girls?

 

[New Binky the Doormat]

I had 2 womens. And one guy/girl duo.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

Sonny & Cher were more popular than I thought.

 

[Zegras11]

I had 2 womens. And one guy/girl duo.

Donnie and Marie?

 

[MAC_32]

One noticeable aspect of the top artists is that women are woefully underrepresented. I can't complain since I think I'm going to have 0.5 women on my list. Maybe we should have a separate contest to see which female artist will do the best. Right now, it's close, and not necessarily those I would have expected.

My list was almost as male as an incel convention.

DrIanMalcolm did much better on that front.

Same- my prelim list I started from (50some?) had at least close to a dozen, but only one made it to the final list.

 

[DrIanMalcolm]

On the same note, so far we only have 7 entries so far in the Charity Contest - and it's easier than ranking your 31 choices, trust me! In fact, you don't even have to be planning on submitting a Favorite 31 list to have a shot at getting a donation to your favorite charity - just IM me with your picks for "Most Popular Song" and "Most Popular Artist", and we'll take care of the rest!

How does one do this?

 

[DrIanMalcolm]

One noticeable aspect of the top artists is that women are woefully underrepresented. I can't complain since I think I'm going to have 0.5 women on my list. Maybe we should have a separate contest to see which female artist will do the best. Right now, it's close, and not necessarily those I would have expected.

My list was almost as male as an incel convention.

DrIanMalcolm did much better on that front.

I counted up and my split was 17 male/13 female.

 

[falguy]

@krista4
I"m close to finishing my list. I'll have it submitted today, or tomorrow.

 

[simey]

Hi folks

 

[simey]

Why am I the only one listening to the girls?

I have 6 songs on my list that have a female lead singer (solo or band).

 

[Dr. Octopus]

Going from 15-20 lists

I’m actually surprised only 20 people have sent in lists - guess there’s still time though.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

I had 2 womens.

At once? You dirty dog you.

 

[jwb]

One noticeable aspect of the top artists is that women are woefully underrepresented. I can't complain since I think I'm going to have 0.5 women on my list. Maybe we should have a separate contest to see which female artist will do the best. Right now, it's close, and not necessarily those I would have expected.

My list was almost as male as an incel convention.

DrIanMalcolm did much better on that front.

Weird. My Top 31 list had 7 Female fronted acts or solo artists, my last 5 out had 3 more, and the cut list from my original 56 selections had another 6. Why am I the only one listening to the girls?

Nope. My list has 4 solo women and one (.5) woman-fronted band. Another solo woman was a late cut.

No top 10, but 11/12/14 are solo women.

 

[falguy]

I only have 2 female artists (1 solo, 1 group). Most of my selections are from pre-1990 and almost all are songs I like to sing along with. No deep tracks and I'm sure most will have heard of all of my list. I also expect to have many on my list that appear on no one else's. I think it's a pretty chalky list. Or not chalky. I can never remember which it is.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

I have either 5 or 6 female-led records, depending on how you look at it. There are others I could have easily included, but I had to stop revising at some point before I lost my mind.

 

[Don Quixote]

Looks like I had 9 female-led, including a couple in the top ten.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

On the same note, so far we only have 7 entries so far in the Charity Contest - and it's easier than ranking your 31 choices, trust me! In fact, you don't even have to be planning on submitting a Favorite 31 list to have a shot at getting a donation to your favorite charity - just IM me with your picks for "Most Popular Song" and "Most Popular Artist", and we'll take care of the rest!

How does one do this?

Send a private message?

I don't know how it works on a phone, but on a desktop hover the mouse over the user name of the poster and some options will pop - one of them is "start conversation". You can also click on the user name and go to their profile page for the option to start a PM/IM.

 

[Hov34]

Have it whittled down to the low 40s and got stuck, so I decided to do a deeper dive on band members birth certificates. Tuns out I thought The Smithereens were a good wholesome Jersey Power Pop band. But I see some places say Jim Babjak was born in Austria. Can someone fact check me?

If that's true add The Smithereens to the banned foreigners list.

 

[Hov34]

Also, not that this will affect anyone (it did me), the lead singer of Lake Street Dive, Rachel Price grew up in Tennessee, but was born in Sydney Australia.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

Also, not that this will affect anyone (it did me), the lead singer of Lake Street Dive, Rachel Price grew up in Tennessee, but was born in Sydney Australia.

I didn't have any of their songs in consideration for this exercise, but that's a damned fine band.

 

[Zegras11]

Why am I the only one listening to the girls?

I have 6 songs on my list that have a female lead singer (solo or band).

I'm down to 44 artists. 11 have a female lead singer.

 

[krista4]

Have it whittled down to the low 40s and got stuck, so I decided to do a deeper dive on band members birth certificates. Tuns out I thought The Smithereens were a good wholesome Jersey Power Pop band. But I see some places say Jim Babjak was born in Austria. Can someone fact check me?

If that's true add The Smithereens to the banned foreigners list.

It appears you're right.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

Have it whittled down to the low 40s and got stuck, so I decided to do a deeper dive on band members birth certificates. Tuns out I thought The Smithereens were a good wholesome Jersey Power Pop band. But I see some places say Jim Babjak was born in Austria. Can someone fact check me?

If that's true add The Smithereens to the banned foreigners list.

It appears you're right.

Jim Babjak (born November 17, 1957) is an American guitarist and ex-banker.[2] He is the lead guitar player and co-founder of The Smithereens. Babjak has written and sung several songs for the band. He also is the leader of the band Buzzed Meg

Origins[edit]​

Babjak, from Carteret, New Jersey, formed The Smithereens together with fellow Carteret High School alumni Dennis Diken and Mike Mesaros, along with Pat DiNizio of Scotch Plains, New Jersey.[3]

Is it possible that this is another "military base" birth? I get he could be an "American" by becoming a citizen later and that he was "from Carteret" before joining the band but something seems off here.

Not trying to cause any additional work or making a case for their inclusion - I'm more just speaking out loud here.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

I have one record that was recorded later than 1980 (and it's not from the '80s).

 

[krista4]

Have it whittled down to the low 40s and got stuck, so I decided to do a deeper dive on band members birth certificates. Tuns out I thought The Smithereens were a good wholesome Jersey Power Pop band. But I see some places say Jim Babjak was born in Austria. Can someone fact check me?

If that's true add The Smithereens to the banned foreigners list.

It appears you're right.

Jim Babjak (born November 17, 1957) is an American guitarist and ex-banker.[2] He is the lead guitar player and co-founder of The Smithereens. Babjak has written and sung several songs for the band. He also is the leader of the band Buzzed Meg

Origins[edit]​

Babjak, from Carteret, New Jersey, formed The Smithereens together with fellow Carteret High School alumni Dennis Diken and Mike Mesaros, along with Pat DiNizio of Scotch Plains, New Jersey.[3]

Is it possible that this is another "military base" birth? I get he could be an "American" by becoming a citizen later and that he was "from Carteret" before joining the band but something seems off here.

Not trying to cause any additional work or making a case for their inclusion - I'm more just speaking out loud here.

Unless there’s evidence that someone fits under the military base category, we’ve been excluding them. This is consistent with the rulings on all the others.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

Have it whittled down to the low 40s and got stuck, so I decided to do a deeper dive on band members birth certificates. Tuns out I thought The Smithereens were a good wholesome Jersey Power Pop band. But I see some places say Jim Babjak was born in Austria. Can someone fact check me?

If that's true add The Smithereens to the banned foreigners list.

It appears you're right.

Jim Babjak (born November 17, 1957) is an American guitarist and ex-banker.[2] He is the lead guitar player and co-founder of The Smithereens. Babjak has written and sung several songs for the band. He also is the leader of the band Buzzed Meg

Origins[edit]​

Babjak, from Carteret, New Jersey, formed The Smithereens together with fellow Carteret High School alumni Dennis Diken and Mike Mesaros, along with Pat DiNizio of Scotch Plains, New Jersey.[3]

Is it possible that this is another "military base" birth? I get he could be an "American" by becoming a citizen later and that he was "from Carteret" before joining the band but something seems off here.

Not trying to cause any additional work or making a case for their inclusion - I'm more just speaking out loud here.

Unless there’s evidence that someone fits under the military base category, we’ve been excluding them. This is consistent with the rulings on all the others.

Yeah, that’s obviously fair. I picked them first time around - was “sure” they were American so never checked. That’s my bad.

 

[krista4]

Found this, which should conclude the matter (he isn't eligible), but again I am not generally going to dive any deeper into an artist that appears on his/her face not to qualify. If a person selecting them wants to do that to prove eligibility, that's great.

“We have mutual friends of relatives from Hungary,” said Jim, who was born in Austria after his family escaped the havoc of the Soviet invasion of Hungary following the Revolution of 1956. They fled to Austria and finally made it to Carteret in 1958. “I don’t remember it, but (Jim and Betty’s parents) have pictures of me with her mom while she was pregnant with Betty.”

 

[New Binky the Doormat]

I had 2 womens. And one guy/girl duo.

Donnie and Marie?

peaches and herb ...but that's not important right now.

 

[krista4]

Actually I meant to mention Tom Petty and that ilk, by the way. When I am calculating points "by artist," I'm throwing, for instance, Tom Petty solo in with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. I am keeping score of solo vs. band, but in looking at "artist" I have a calculation that includes both. So far I think it covers Tom Petty, Paul Simon, and maybe Dr. Dre in his collaborations. Not a ton of people. But if we're doing a guessing contest, people should know that I'm grouping those together for the individual artist.

PLEASE SEE ABOVE. Apparently someone asked Val this question, though I had already posted about it a week ago.

If you have questions about a particular artist, feel free to PM me.

 

[krista4]

Heads up 4 Non Blondes fans: they not only had a dude in the band (which I didn't know, but maybe you did), but he was from Brazil. Presumably he was, at least, not blonde. They are fully ineligible as a result.

 

[Eephus]

Heads up 4 Non Blondes fans: they not only had a dude in the band (which I didn't know, but maybe you did), but he was from Brazil. Presumably he was, at least, not blonde. They are fully ineligible as a result.

I scream from the top of my lungs what's going on?

 

[Eephus]

I'm stuck at 30 (or possibly 29)

 

[New Binky the Doormat]

Heads up 4 Non Blondes fans: they not only had a dude in the band (which I didn't know, but maybe you did), but he was from Brazil. Presumably he was, at least, not blonde. They are fully ineligible as a result.

I scream from the top of my lungs what's going on?

attractive eephus reaction

 

[Hov34]

Was looking for a reason to cut a Death Cab for Cutie song off my list and the drummer is from West Germany. Didn't see him on the list and doubt it will mess anyone's list up, but there it is.

The Postal Service is still A-Ok.

 

[krista4]

I'm stuck at 30 (or possibly 29)

Great, I'll take your two extra. TIA.

In all seriousness, I got stuck with my last two as well. And now not figuring out those has thrown the rest of my list into chaos.

 

[krista4]

Was looking for a reason to cut a Death Cab for Cutie song off my list and the drummer is from West Germany. Didn't see him on the list and doubt it will mess anyone's list up, but there it is.

I'm surprised no one had mentioned them, since they seem popular around here. Added to list. Am I the only one who has had a sense of relief when I found that a band was ineligible, because it made my cuts easier?

 

[Hov34]

I'm surprised no one had mentioned them, since they seem popular around here. Added to list. Am I the only one who has had a sense of relief when I found that a band was ineligible, because it made my cuts easier?

Yes! They were on the bubble anyway, but it was a relief that I could "cut them" due to a technicality.

By the way, who came up with 31 as the number? I want to punch him in the nads.

 

[MAC_32]

Was looking for a reason to cut a Death Cab for Cutie song off my list and the drummer is from West Germany. Didn't see him on the list and doubt it will mess anyone's list up, but there it is.

I'm surprised no one had mentioned them, since they seem popular around here. Added to list. Am I the only one who has had a sense of relief when I found that a band was ineligible, because it made my cuts easier?

Like a few other ineligibles, Follow You Into The Dark made it to my top 50. The cutdown to 31 was brutal, but several surprise scratches helped.

 

[krista4]

I'm surprised no one had mentioned them, since they seem popular around here. Added to list. Am I the only one who has had a sense of relief when I found that a band was ineligible, because it made my cuts easier?

Yes! They were on the bubble anyway, but it was a relief that I could "cut them" due to a technicality.

By the way, who came up with 31 as the number? I want to punch him in the nads.

@Dr. Octopus to the white courtesy phone.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Heads up 4 Non Blondes fans: they not only had a dude in the band (which I didn't know, but maybe you did), but he was from Brazil. Presumably he was, at least, not blonde. They are fully ineligible as a result.

I scream from the top of my lungs what's going on?

She sounds like Geddy Lee in spots on that song.

 

[krista4]

A couple of items I wanted to throw out there:

1. Do you think that posting once selection per day is workable with so many people involved? That is, in Dr. O's countdown, he posted (like clockwork, by the way) each of the five participant's selections in the morning, and a good discussion would ensue. But assuming we have 30+ participants, does 24 hours allow for enough discussion of each day's selections, or should we extend it a bit? There's some balance between getting the selections out to keep everyone interested, but not having so much to take in that people quickly feel like they've fallen impossibly behind.

2. Since I have the benefit of seeing all the lists, I've realized how many of these songs, and in some cases artists, I am not familiar with. My intention is to listen to each song I'm not familiar with and choose my favorite "new-to-me" selection. It would be fun if others did something similar or whatever. This might actually tie into my first question above, though. With so many participants, this listening party might not be possible if we're rolling out one selection per poster per day.

Thoughts on all of this welcome and appreciated.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Presumably he was, at least, not blonde.

What would have happened if someone left the band, the others held an audition for a replacement, and by far the best candidate was blonde?

 

[Pip's Invitation]

A couple of items I wanted to throw out there:

1. Do you think that posting once selection per day is workable with so many people involved? That is, in Dr. O's countdown, he posted (like clockwork, by the way) each of the five participant's selections in the morning, and a good discussion would ensue. But assuming we have 30+ participants, does 24 hours allow for enough discussion of each day's selections, or should we extend it a bit? There's some balance between getting the selections out to keep everyone interested, but not having so much to take in that people quickly feel like they've fallen impossibly behind.

2. Since I have the benefit of seeing all the lists, I've realized how many of these songs, and in some cases artists, I am not familiar with. My intention is to listen to each song I'm not familiar with and choose my favorite "new-to-me" selection. It would be fun if others did something similar or whatever. This might actually tie into my first question above, though. With so many participants, this listening party might not be possible if we're rolling out one selection per poster per day.

Thoughts on all of this welcome and appreciated.

1. As the poster, do what works best for you. We'll adapt.

2. More or less the same response as 1. However, extending the countdown into late December could mean that songs posted on those days could generate less discussion.

I may decide it's too much to follow through on, but as I did a ranking of Doc Oc's group's rankings, I am pondering doing the same for all picks in this exercise that aren't mine (which would be assumed to be ranked 1-31). But that wouldn't be posted until after the countdown is over and I could listen to the songs I'm unfamiliar with at my own pace.

 

[Val Rannous]

A couple of items I wanted to throw out there:

1. Do you think that posting once selection per day is workable with so many people involved? That is, in Dr. O's countdown, he posted (like clockwork, by the way) each of the five participant's selections in the morning, and a good discussion would ensue. But assuming we have 30+ participants, does 24 hours allow for enough discussion of each day's selections, or should we extend it a bit? There's some balance between getting the selections out to keep everyone interested, but not having so much to take in that people quickly feel like they've fallen impossibly behind.

2. Since I have the benefit of seeing all the lists, I've realized how many of these songs, and in some cases artists, I am not familiar with. My intention is to listen to each song I'm not familiar with and choose my favorite "new-to-me" selection. It would be fun if others did something similar or whatever. This might actually tie into my first question above, though. With so many participants, this listening party might not be possible if we're rolling out one selection per poster per day.

Thoughts on all of this welcome and appreciated.

I think 1 set per 24 hours (not including weekends or holidays, considering the time of year upcoming) should work fine. I'm looking forward to it! Although I will note that nothing is binding - if it's too fast, change midstream - I don't think this is a bunch to complain too loudly.