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Favorite 31 Songs by US Artists According to a Bunch of Middle-Aged Dummies (1 Viewer)

Pip’s Invitation:

Aja - Steely Dan

This is probably Steely Dan's jazziest composition, and is notable for the incredible performance on drums by Steve Gadd. Everything about it hits the pleasure zone for me. It's one of the best examples of how to make jazz "accessible."

Becker and Fagen went through multiple takes with multiple drummers before Gadd gave them what they were looking for. Fun/weird fact: I was an acquaintance of the guy who procured and laid out the lines of coke that Gadd did before the successful take. (There was a LOT of coke at the Aja sessions, which were Brian Wilson-esque in their excessiveness.)
 
My selection of Richie Havens' cover of "Strawberry Fields Forever" isn't intended to cheat to get a Beatles song in here. What I wanted was to honor Richie Havens. He was introduced at his iconic Woodstock performance with, "Ladies and gentlemen, one of the most beautiful men in the whole world," and I understand why they said that. There was something about this man, something transcendent and sublime. Listening to him makes me feel electrified yet somehow extremely calm. Exuberant.

Unrelated to his music, I think this piece from NPR gives a beautiful look into this beautiful man.

I considered taking High Flying Bird or Freedom, but if I were only to hear him perform one song again for the rest of my life, it would be this one.

(Hawks, please be sure to use the version I linked, live at the Cellar Door. Thanks.)
I saw him in the Supermarket a few times in Jersey City when we both lived there. It’s an odd experience to see a legend pushing a shopping cart around looking at apples.
Since you capitalized supermarket I thought it was the name of a venue in Jersey City. I didn't realize you meant an actual supermarket until you mentioned the shopping cart. :laugh:
 
Round 18:

Thanks for getting it back into my life: Oh Girl - The Chi-Lites, Could It Be I'm Falling In Love - Spinners, and Operator - Jim Croce
The best: You Can't Hurry Love - but it's nowhere near the medal stand cause round 18's loaded.
Guilty Pleasure: Real Wild Child, Iggy Pop - no idea how long it's been since I heard it, but that's a fun track
Wouldn't have been my pick, but Billy Joel gets too much undeserved heat in these waters: Miami 2017 - much better live than studio
Random comment that may only be applicable to me: I always enjoy Fugazi whenever it hits my orbit, but I never hit the heart
Another random comment: how is Jolene nowhere near the medal stand? What a stacked list.
One more random comment: I always get a little emotional listening to The World I Know, but it fell just short of the medal stand
Bronze: Tutti Fruti - Little Richard didn't make my 31, but every contribution so far has made the medal stand. This appears to be a me problem.
Silver: Crazy On You, Heart - they didn't make many good songs, but they made a handful of great ones.
Gold: Bernadette, Four Tops - what a jam.
 
My selection of Richie Havens' cover of "Strawberry Fields Forever" isn't intended to cheat to get a Beatles song in here. What I wanted was to honor Richie Havens. He was introduced at his iconic Woodstock performance with, "Ladies and gentlemen, one of the most beautiful men in the whole world," and I understand why they said that. There was something about this man, something transcendent and sublime. Listening to him makes me feel electrified yet somehow extremely calm. Exuberant.

Unrelated to his music, I think this piece from NPR gives a beautiful look into this beautiful man.

I considered taking High Flying Bird or Freedom, but if I were only to hear him perform one song again for the rest of my life, it would be this one.

(Hawks, please be sure to use the version I linked, live at the Cellar Door. Thanks.)
I saw him in the Supermarket a few times in Jersey City when we both lived there. It’s an odd experience to see a legend pushing a shopping cart around looking at apples.
Since you capitalized supermarket I thought it was the name of a venue in Jersey City. I didn't realize you meant an actual supermarket until you mentioned the shopping cart. :laugh:
It was more of an indoor farmer's market type place. It wasn't a club- it was a literal supermarket type store.
 
My selection of Richie Havens' cover of "Strawberry Fields Forever" isn't intended to cheat to get a Beatles song in here. What I wanted was to honor Richie Havens. He was introduced at his iconic Woodstock performance with, "Ladies and gentlemen, one of the most beautiful men in the whole world," and I understand why they said that. There was something about this man, something transcendent and sublime. Listening to him makes me feel electrified yet somehow extremely calm. Exuberant.

Unrelated to his music, I think this piece from NPR gives a beautiful look into this beautiful man.

I considered taking High Flying Bird or Freedom, but if I were only to hear him perform one song again for the rest of my life, it would be this one.

(Hawks, please be sure to use the version I linked, live at the Cellar Door. Thanks.)
Thanks for letting me know as I tend to grab the studio versions versus live versions.

I have two picks later that I specifically gave Krista a link to a particular live version. Please use those. TIA.
 
Pip’s Invitation:

Aja - Steely Dan

This is probably Steely Dan's jazziest composition, and is notable for the incredible performance on drums by Steve Gadd. Everything about it hits the pleasure zone for me. It's one of the best examples of how to make jazz "accessible."

Becker and Fagen went through multiple takes with multiple drummers before Gadd gave them what they were looking for. Fun/weird fact: I was an acquaintance of the guy who procured and laid out the lines of coke that Gadd did before the successful take. (There was a LOT of coke at the Aja sessions, which were Brian Wilson-esque in their excessiveness.)

Aja is also one of the go-to songs for audiophiles checking out new audio gear. There's a lot going on in it. Great choice!
 
Okay, so today is chock-full of goodies, including the following favorites - many of which I didn't know (too many to organize):

krista4: Strawberry Fields Forever – Richie Havens - have we ever done a Beatles covers draft, or a similar list like this? Would be pretty fascinating.
simey: Oh Girl - The Chi-Lites
scorchy: Waiting Room – Fugazi
neal cassady: Simple Twist of Fate - Bob Dylan
Uruk-Hai: Luckenbach Texas - Waylon Jennings
Yankee23Fan: Miami 2017 - Billy Joel
New Binky the Doormat: Bernadette – Four Tops
Chaz McNulty: Glory Days - Bruce Springsteen (I mean, of course)
worrierking: If You Don't Love Me (I'll Kill Myself) - Pete Droge
Zegras11: Operator – Jim Croce - He died way too young.
Ilov80s: Jolene - Dolly Parton




Gold: Just Win Baby: What’s Going On (1971), from What’s Going On - Marvin Gaye - stone classic. Could have been on my list.
Silver: Dr. Octopus: Dixie Chicken – Little Feat. This one's a great sound.
Bronze: Hawks64: Mardi Gras - Dierks Bentley, Trombone Shorty. Fun.
 
Round 19 commentary:


*This isn't a criticism of the pick as saying a song isn't a top 20 Bruce song for me is just a testament to his catalog, but while it's the case I love the Brilliant Disguise pick. Mid-late 80's Bruce mostly lost me, but this was an exception.

Tunnel of Love is a very underrated album; I've often heard people say that it's the kind of album where you need a few years of marriage under your belt to really get it.
 

So this one, apparently, was one of those perspiration-over-inspiration situations, where nobody believed in the track (which cops "Grandma's Hands" by Bill Withers), so Teddy Riley had to sing the first verse as the rest of the group didn't think it was worth anything. And then Jimmy Iovine wanted Dr. Dre involved, so Teddy said okay if Dre got a verse. And here we are. It's one of those ridiculously damned infectious ones.
 
Way behind on all the unknowns. Each round there are fewer so maybe I'll catch up.

My favorite known song in this latest bunch is Red-Headed Stranger, which got consideration for my list. It explains the obvious fact that if a woman tries to steal your horse you can shoot her with impunity.
 
Round 19 commentary:

*My Favorite Things would be a great 4-5 minute instrumental - 13:44 is excessive (says the guy that only listens to Tool **HYPOCRITE**)
*Generally I listen to Soundgarden the least among the early 90's Seattle bands, but Loud Love is certainly one exception - great add
*Mother Blues was the best new to me, by quite a bit
*This isn't a criticism of the pick as saying a song isn't a top 20 Bruce song for me is just a testament to his catalog, but while it's the case I love the Brilliant Disguise pick. Mid-late 80's Bruce mostly lost me, but this was an exception.
Loud Love is a great representation of what Soundgarden was before they were huge. Wish I could've seen them at a club circa Louder Than Love. I prefer the Soundgarden thru Badmotorfinger.....after that, still good, but more commercial, and radio hits.

If you like Loud Love, you might enjoy my song for today's round.....More Cornell!!
 
Uruk-Hai:

Luckenbach Texas - Waylon Jennings
Time and place thing, though I had always loved this record. It's a long story that would bore the hell out of everyone, but it involved a painful breakup. She did something very sweet for me a couple of days after dumping me and I won't forget it. The scene where this record comes into play was us sitting on a stone jetty in the Chesapeake Bay as the sun was coming up.

Anyway, Waylon's kind of an *** here. He's trying to talking his love in going back to Luckenbach because "they" need a fresh start. But what he really wants to do is get back down there with his buddies, party, and play music. I love the vocal melody and also the way Willie switches the order of their names in his verse. It's a wonder any of the relationships in this song lasted very long :lol:
 
I figured if a Havens-Beatles thing was gonna appear, it would be his version of Here Comes the Sun, which I believe was his biggest hit.

I don't really associate "Richie Havens" and "hit records," though I'm sure you're right that that one did the best. It was under consideration, but (1) I wanted something he performed at Woodstock, and (2) I like Strawberry Fields Forever better.
 
My selection of Richie Havens' cover of "Strawberry Fields Forever" isn't intended to cheat to get a Beatles song in here. What I wanted was to honor Richie Havens. He was introduced at his iconic Woodstock performance with, "Ladies and gentlemen, one of the most beautiful men in the whole world," and I understand why they said that. There was something about this man, something transcendent and sublime. Listening to him makes me feel electrified yet somehow extremely calm. Exuberant.

Unrelated to his music, I think this piece from NPR gives a beautiful look into this beautiful man.

I considered taking High Flying Bird or Freedom, but if I were only to hear him perform one song again for the rest of my life, it would be this one.

(Hawks, please be sure to use the version I linked, live at the Cellar Door. Thanks.)
Thanks for letting me know as I tend to grab the studio versions versus live versions.

I have two picks later that I specifically gave Krista a link to a particular live version. Please use those. TIA.
:hifive:
 

So this one, apparently, was one of those perspiration-over-inspiration situations, where nobody believed in the track (which cops "Grandma's Hands" by Bill Withers), so Teddy Riley had to sing the first verse as the rest of the group didn't think it was worth anything. And then Jimmy Iovine wanted Dr. Dre involved, so Teddy said okay if Dre got a verse. And here we are. It's one of those ridiculously damned infectious ones.
Love Teddy Riley. Love New Jack Swing. Love Dr. Dre. This one has it all.
 
Uruk-Hai:

Luckenbach Texas - Waylon Jennings
Time and place thing, though I had always loved this record. It's a long story that would bore the hell out of everyone, but it involved a painful breakup. She did something very sweet for me a couple of days after dumping me and I won't forget it. The scene where this record comes into play was us sitting on a stone jetty in the Chesapeake Bay as the sun was coming up.

Anyway, Waylon's kind of an *** here. He's trying to talking his love in going back to Luckenbach because "they" need a fresh start. But what he really wants to do is get back down there with his buddies, party, and play music. I love the vocal melody and also the way Willie switches the order of their names in his verse. It's a wonder any of the relationships in this song lasted very long :lol:
My favorite country song ever and would have been top 5 in my list if I went back that far. Part of the reason I didn't pick pre-80s songs is that I lack a personal connection to most of them. But every time I hear Luckenbach, Texas, I'm back in my dad's beat up Ford truck with the windows down and not a care in the world. They had a little exhibit for the song at the Country Music Hall of Fame and I couldn't adequately explain to my wife why I was tearing up a bit. I still give her crap about rushing me through, but that's payback for all the times I've hurried her through an art museum.
 
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Round 20 & 21 new to me catch-up:

*Thelma Houston - Don't Leave Me This Way. It's not new to me, but before that spin I didn't know what it was nor who it was by **heart**
*Beyonce - Crazy In Love. Another not new to me, but I forgot how cool that track is. No heart, but I thought about it.
*Tina Turner - What's Love Got To Do With it. Same, but this one got the **heart**
*Temptations - Ball Of Confusion. I went back to the well on this one multiple times before finally moving on. Best legitimate new to me of this group by quite a bit.
*Bob Dylan - Don't Think Twice, It's All Right. Isn't too often a Dylan performed song gets a **heart**, but this one earned it.

So, I guess this was less not new to me's above, but more re-introductions.
 
Round 20 medal round

My Way made its way a round before me, La Grange just rocks, not much 80's does it for me but Surrender does, and while Gnarls Barkley made me realize I left a different song off and shouldn't have it's great in its own right. But this round's winners?

Bronze: Doo Woop (That Thing), Lauren Hill - tough leaving Folsom or About A Girl out, but this is a my favorite list.
Silver: Leader Of The Band, Dan Fogelberg - LOVE this song.
Gold: Killing In The Name, Rage - not my Rage contribution, but it is the one I expected. We'll see if any others make the cut.
 
Screw it. Nobody's posting much right now and I'm tired of dealing with work crap. This is my "Luckenbach" story.

In the late 1990s, my 1st marriage ended. I went a little wild, since I had been with my ex since I was 21 years old (when I was A LOT wild) and was now in my late 30s. Not chasing ladies so much (though there was a good bit of that), but hanging in bars a bunch. I had changed jobs a few years before, but still hung out with several former coworkers.

Through some of these ex-coworkers, I met this woman who - it turned out - I had kind of a strange history with. Come to realize, my father and her mother dated when they were teenagers. I knew who her mother was once I found out the heritage, but the daughter and I had gone to different schools, never meeting until this point.

We fell into it hard. It seemed to both of us like we were supposed to be together. We had a blast and were making go-forward-forever plans. Problem was, I still wanted to run the bars and she was about over it. I didn't want to date others - just do stupid **** like play Golden Tee video golf, drink 8 million beers, watch sports, etc.... We never argued and I don't ever recall her giving me an ultimatum but - looking back - I can see where she was trying to tell me to make a choice several times. And I don't say this to justify my dumb stuff (I'm the reason this relationship failed), but she was what we called "hyper" (ADD nowadays, I guess) back in the day and you had to be attuned to that at all times to get her.

She got tired of it all and broke us up. I was crushed (even though I knew she did the right thing - I wasn't changing then). She's the one that got away.

So, a day or two after ending the relationship, she called me and asked if she could stop by. I had no hopes things would get fixed because, I knew once she made her mind up about something, it wasn't changing. She came over with two bottles of wine (knowing I'd have about 40 gallons of beer in the house for me) and we talked all night. There wasn't any "break-up" sex. We just talked and she helped me understand myself. And I think I helped her some, too. No repairs for the relationship, though.

I had a couple hundred cassette mix tapes and had some of them playing, and then we decided to get out of the house. I'm guessing this was around 4 a.m. If you Google Map a town called Deale, MD and look toward the south of it, you'll see a stone breakwater (we called it a jetty) where Rockhold Creek meets the Bay. We took what was left of the wine, several beers, and a portable boombox out there. Sunrise hit about when "Luckenbach" played.
 
*Tina Turner - What's Love Got To Do With it. Same, but this one got the **heart**
I remain of the view that it's Tina's vocals that make that song what it is. Many songs are well-written, and have the lyrics that stand the test of time. But a lesser singer, or a more "80s" pop icon, would have ruined that song. As a comeback number, with that raspy voice, which perfectly offsets the clean, synthesized production, its unstoppable.
 
New-to-me favorites from #19:

Fever -- Little Willie John (Uruk-Hai). More embarrassment. I've heard other versions, including Peggy Lee and Madonna, but not this one. I agree with everything Uruk said.
California Love (Just Win Baby) -- 2Pac with Dr. Dre and Roger Trautman (Just Win Baby). Fun and bumpin'.

Nearly new-to-me favorites from #19:

Lorelei -- Styx (Zegras11) This is not totally new due to the one listen I gave to the Equinox album when I was doing my 1975 countdown. Every bit as good as their late 70s hits.
Take Me Away -- Blue Oyster Cult (jwb). I did not recognize it by title, but when I listened to it, I realized I had heard it on the radio a few times in the '80s, but not since then. And I had no idea it was BOC. A great example of early '80s AOR.
Philosophy -- Ben Folds Five (KarmaPolice). I am not as familiar with the BFF material as I should be. I may have seen this one performed live -- I saw BFF open for Neil Young in 1996 -- but I don't remember. I at least got it by osmosis because one of my roommates at the time played the first BFF album constantly.
 
Favorites from today:

Number 18:

@Just Win Baby
What’s Going On (1971), from What’s Going On - Marvin Gaye - oh man I love this song. Can listen to it over and over.

@simey Oh Girl - The Chi-Lites - nice mellow tune

@Mrs. Rannous - Real Wild Child - Iggy Pop - Iggy is fun. I should have found room for him / The Stooges somewhere in my 31.

@Pip's Invitation - Aja - Steely Dan - Already mentioned this one but it's such a great song.

jwb Keep it Comin’ Love – KC and the Sunshine Band - I'm picking my own because nobody else is going to pick KC and the Sunshine Band and that makes for a sad gloomy world!

@DrIanMalcolm - No Diggity, Blackstreet ft. Dr. Dre and Queen Pen - Did not listen in the 90's - it took the internet to open me to stuff like this but I really like Blackstreet.

@worrierking If You Don't Love Me (I'll Kill Myself) - Pete Droge - new to me. This a great song.

@Eephus Could It Be I'm Falling in Love - The Spinners - Isn't this the third or fourth Spinners song? So many great ones.
 
jwb Keep it Comin’ Love – KC and the Sunshine Band - I'm picking my own because nobody else is going to pick KC and the Sunshine Band and that makes for a sad gloomy world!

@Eephus Could It Be I'm Falling in Love - The Spinners - Isn't this the third or fourth Spinners song? So many great ones.


Responding to jwb's post above:
At the new record store I went to Friday, they had KC and the Sunshine Band in "R&B." I found that...odd. They're a fun band and this is my favorite of theirs. I think simey is a fan of the band, too.
This is the third song from The Spinners and not the last we'll see of them.
 
jwb Keep it Comin’ Love – KC and the Sunshine Band - I'm picking my own because nobody else is going to pick KC and the Sunshine Band and that makes for a sad gloomy world!

@Eephus Could It Be I'm Falling in Love - The Spinners - Isn't this the third or fourth Spinners song? So many great ones.


Responding to jwb's post above:
At the new record store I went to Friday, they had KC and the Sunshine Band in "R&B." I found that...odd. They're a fun band and this is my favorite of theirs. I think simey is a fan of the band, too.
This is the third song from The Spinners and not the last we'll see of them.

Record stores seem to have a hard time with Disco. I've been in a ton of record stores and can only recall seeing a dedicated Disco section in a scant few.
 
@Uruk-Hai , do you know where life took her after that?
Yep - we talk a couple of times a year. She remarried her first husband - who I DID go to High School with - a year or two ago. They married young and had a kid, but broke up long before I met her. She still lives in the same house she owned when we dated. I mean, she's messed up like the rest of us, but her coming to my place to hang was a thing that wouldn't work in most cases. I guess you'd have to know the dynamic between us to know it wasn't meant as anything other than her trying to make sure I was ok.
 
At the new record store I went to Friday, they had KC and the Sunshine Band in "R&B." I found that...odd. They're a fun band and this is my favorite of theirs. I think simey is a fan of the band, too.
My first un-chaperoned concert & the first time I got laid (and also robbed). 1977 at the old Capitol Centre in Landover, MD. I loved KC and the band, but the Trammps blew them off of the stage that night.
 
Today's known-to-me winners:

What's Going On -- Marvin Gaye (Just Win Baby)
Reelin' in the Years -- Steely Dan (Zegras11)
Reach Down -- Temple of the Dog (Manster)
Could It Be I'm Falling in Love -- The Spinners (Eephus)
Take Five -- Dave Brubeck Quartet (Rockaction)
Tutti Fruitti -- Little Richard (Don Quixote)
Strawberry Fields Forever -- Richie Havens (Krista4)
Operator -- Jim Croce (Zegras11)
Bernadette -- The Four Tops (Binky)
Crazy on You -- Heart (Val Rannous)
Oh Girl -- The Chi-Lites (Simey)

A few notes:

Take Five is one of the first songs I remember hearing. My parents had the cassette and played it all the time.

Reach Down floored me when I first heard it. Both music and lyrics are highly emotional and amazingly executed.

Richie Havens could sing the phone book and make it compelling. Not only does he find the perfect way to rearrange SFF, but interspersing the na-nas from Hey Jude is genius.

Back when I was still buying CDs, I rarely bought compilation albums, but I had to find one with all the big Spinners songs because I love them all so much. To the point where I couldn't decide on one for this countdown. Glad to see that three of them have made other lists so far.
 
To cross streams here, I said at the beginning of my latest thread that '86 was a much better music year than '96. So far, the Top 31s bear that out:

1986 has 7 songs so far:

I Against I - Bad Brains (#75)
Real Wild Child - Iggy Pop (#52)
Begin the Begin - REM (#51)
4 More yet to be revealed in the top 25.
This doesn't include the Kim Wilde version of You Keep Me Hanging On in place of Vanilla Fudge.

1996 has 2 songs so far:

Where It's At (#39)
Plus one more song in the top 5 yet to be revealed.
Doesn't include a cover of another song listed here in the top 10.
 
New-to-me favorites from #19:

California Love (Just Win Baby) -- 2Pac with Dr. Dre and Roger Trautman (Just Win Baby). Fun and bumpin'.
OK, now it's my turn to say "Seriously?"
I was in a Phish wormhole when this came out. :laugh:

At least it's not as bad as a friend of mine who spent the first half of the 90s on Dead tour and many years later on Facebook mentioned he'd never heard of Waterfalls. How can you have been alive in 1994 and not heard Waterfalls?
 
What's Going On -- Marvin Gaye (Just Win Baby)
Reelin' in the Years -- Steely Dan (Zegras11)
Reach Down -- Temple of the Dog (Manster)
Could It Be I'm Falling in Love -- The Spinners (Eephus)
Take Five -- Dave Brubeck Quartet (Rockaction)
Tutti Fruitti -- Little Richard (Don Quixote)
Strawberry Fields Forever -- Richie Havens (Krista4)
Operator -- Jim Croce (Zegras11)
Bernadette -- The Four Tops (Binky)
Crazy on You -- Heart (Val Rannous)
Oh Girl -- The Chi-Lites (Simey)
One of these things is not like the others for me.
 
New-to-me favorites from #19:

California Love (Just Win Baby) -- 2Pac with Dr. Dre and Roger Trautman (Just Win Baby). Fun and bumpin'.
OK, now it's my turn to say "Seriously?"
I was in a Phish wormhole when this came out. :laugh:

At least it's not as bad as a friend of mine who spent the first half of the 90s on Dead tour and many years later on Facebook mentioned he'd never heard of Waterfalls. How can you have been alive in 1994 and not heard Waterfalls?

I had never heard California Love, either. I've heard Waterfalls, though!
 

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