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

[Uruk-Hai]

simey:

Cover Me - Percy Sledge

Awesome choice, @simey . I haven't thought about this one in too long.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Today's known-to-me favorites:

Marquee Moon -- Television (Krista4)
(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay -- Otis Redding (Neal Cassady)
American Girl -- Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (Marco)
Ball and Biscuit -- The White Stripes (KarmaPolice)
Rikki Don't Lose That Number -- Steely Dan (Worrierking)
Jessica -- The Allman Brothers Band (Sullie)
A Change Is Gonna Come -- Sam Cooke (Uruk-Hai)
Hit It and Quit It -- Funkadelic (OH)
Night Moves -- Bob Seger (DrIanMalcolm and jwb)
Nuthin' But a 'G' Thang -- Dr. Dre with Snoop Dogg (Just Win Baby)
I Got a Name -- Jim Croce (Zegras11)
Criminal -- Fiona Apple (Binky)

 

[Hawks64]

Hawks64:

The Mountain - Dierks Bentley
(new song)

I did not expect one person's list to have three Dierks Bentley songs.

I went by the would I rather listen to A or B. More of Dierks were A vs other artists, I'd say he's my favorite country artist.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Oliver Humanzee:

Hit It and Quit It - Funkadelic

The second hardest-rocking song of 1971 (in a tie with a few others from Zep and Jackson Browne - none of 'em beat "Super Stupid"). The mix on the youtube version is weak, though. I don't have Spotify anymore, so hopefully that's better.

Um...

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Pip’s Invitation:

Eight Miles High - The Byrds
(new artist)

The Byrds ushered in folk rock with their version of Mr. Tambourine Man. Not long thereafter, they helped usher in psychedelia with Eight Miles High. It is considered one of the first psychedelic songs, and appears to be the first one to hit the top 40. (A ban on it by some radio stations because of alleged drug references in the lyrics prevented it from hitting the top 10). It was inspired by the Indian ragas that Roger McGuinn was growing fond of, as well as by the playing of John Coltrane. McGuinn wrote most of the music, Gene Clark wrote most of the lyrics, and David Crosby made contributions to both.

Every second of this song is a huge adventure, from McGuinn's Coltrane-inspired guitar solos to the blissful harmonies. It's the sound of the music world expanding right before our ears.

The song's possibilities were expanded even further by the 1968-72 incarnation of the Byrds, one of the best live bands of their time. (They could have carved out a Grateful Dead-like existence on the road after their hits dried up, but McGuinn wasn't interested in that.)

Crosby performed this at several shows on the CSNY reunion tours of the '00s, but not at any of the ones I attended.

This is an incredible-sounding record. It's even better when tripping. Or so I've heard from friends

I never looked into to it, but @Pip's Invitation do you know who played on this recording? I know who did on "Mr Tambourine Man", and it wasn't The Byrds (outside of McGuinn). I'm not asking to knock The Byrds or the song, but to trot out my usual rant about Rolling Stone's hypocrisy.

I've never seen anything indicating that this particular track wasn't McGuinn, Clark, Crosby, Hillman and Clarke.

 

[DrIanMalcolm]

Night Moves features the best ever pause in a song ever, and it's not an insignificant part of why it's in my list. Seger wrote regret better than almost anyone else, and it's this bit:

Oh, the wonder
Felt the lightning, yeah
And I waited on the thunder
Waited on the thunder

(Pause. Sound gives out, goes quiet.)

I woke last night to the sound of thunder
How far off I sat and wondered?
Started hummin' a song from 1962
Ain't it funny how the night moves?


15 years disappear in that one moment in time - that one pause, and he's an older man now, in his 30s.

And he switches the meaning of the title, changing from the phrasing, referring to his teenage hookup days to roughly 15 years later, all in a beat. But it doesn't end there.

He isn't done.

When you just don't seem to have as much to lose
Strange how the night moves
With autumn closin' in


He's been talking about summer this entire time. But it was actual summer - the days of being in the woods, hanging out, enjoying the season.

But when he's talking now about autumn, he's not talking about the season. He's talking about life, slipping into the autumn years.

Bob Seger is a very underrated songwriter, as he wasn't quite as flashy as Bruce or melancholy as Jackson Browne. But he had a great prime from roughly 1974-1982 that featured brilliant work all around after years of kicking around as a regional favorite up in Michigan.

 

[Mt. Man]

Hoping for 16s later today. Well see, as it certainly won't happen for a while. Meanwhile, more tough choices were made.

#17s
Recognized by title alone: 20
Sounded familiar: 2
Didn't know: 14

Selected Favorites:
Hold On, I’m Coming (Uruk-hai)
I Am The Highway MAC_32)
Superstition (AAABatteries) - In before I struggle to not put this in this category multiple times
Everyday (Oliver Humanzee)

Songs I didn't know that I ended up liking:
If I Needed You (simey)
Lover, You should’ve come over (neal cassady)
The Underdog (Dr. Octopus)
All My Happiness is Gone (The Dreaded Marco)

 

[Pip's Invitation]

The 1968-72 live versions of Eight Miles High are definitely worth checking out if you're into psychedelic music. This lineup -- Clarence White, Skip Battin and Gene Parsons alongside McGuinn -- was extremely skilled in concert.

This one is from the live disc of Untitled (1970): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnAd8uJyj_A. They did get around to the vocals on this night -- on other nights, they didn't!

 

[DrIanMalcolm]

And to answer my own question of "Best Opening Acts Ever" :


GOLD: Nile Rodgers and Chic - saw them open for Earth Wind & Fire a few yrs back in Newark and boy, did they rock the house.
SILVER: Luscious Jackson - first time I saw REM, honestly. They were pretty great. This was 1994.
BRONZE: (tie): Adia Victoria, opening for Jason Isbell at Pier 17, and one other who comes into my list later who I'll avoid naming.

 

[Hawks64]

I'm so far behind on listening I may never catch up Work is going to be brutal for the next few weeks so it'll be tough

 

[Uruk-Hai]

Night Moves features the best ever pause in a song ever, and it's not an insignificant part of why it's in my list. Seger wrote regret better than almost anyone else, and it's this bit:

Oh, the wonder
Felt the lightning, yeah
And I waited on the thunder
Waited on the thunder

(Pause. Sound gives out, goes quiet.)

I woke last night to the sound of thunder
How far off I sat and wondered?
Started hummin' a song from 1962
Ain't it funny how the night moves?


15 years disappear in that one moment in time - that one pause, and he's an older man now, in his 30s.

And he switches the meaning of the title, changing from the phrasing, referring to his teenage hookup days to roughly 15 years later, all in a beat. But it doesn't end there.

He isn't done.

When you just don't seem to have as much to lose
Strange how the night moves
With autumn closin' in


He's been talking about summer this entire time. But it was actual summer - the days of being in the woods, hanging out, enjoying the season.

But when he's talking now about autumn, he's not talking about the season. He's talking about life, slipping into the autumn years.

Bob Seger is a very underrated songwriter, as he wasn't quite as flashy as Bruce or melancholy as Jackson Browne. But he had a great prime from roughly 1974-1982 that featured brilliant work all around after years of kicking around as a regional favorite up in Michigan.

Seger's songs resonate with me much more than either Springsteen or hard-rockin' Jackson Browne. I think you nailed it with the bolded.

 

[krista4]

In addition to all the other amazing qualities of the song, the nearly 11 minutes of Marquee Moon are one of my favorite ways to muscle out people playing country music on TouchTunes.

 

[Hawks64]

In addition to all the other amazing qualities of the song, the nearly 11 minutes of Marquee Moon are one of my favorite ways to muscle out people playing country music on TouchTunes.

The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald does it too....I've gotten it removed from two places because of me using it as my trump card...the only downside is you also have to listen to it.

 

[Don Quixote]

I had to look up what TouchTunes was, as never heard of it. I’m telling myself that it’s just not in my area, and not because I’m lame and don’t go out to bars enough.

 

[falguy]

Yankee23Fan:Boys of Summer - Don Henley
Mrs. Rannous:Paper in Fire - John Mellencamp
jwb&DrIanMalcolm::Night Moves – Bob Seger
Zegras11:I Got A Name – Jim Croce
The Dreaded Marco:American Girl - Tom Petty

Of the songs I know today there are quite a few that I love. I considered all of these for my list and all would likely be in my top 50.


Did you know we have had over 600 selections now and only 43 duplicated. Of those 43 still only 3 that have been on >2 lists (Use Me, Don't Fear The Reaper, and Reelin' In The Years)


So many songs, so little time

I'll update the spreadsheet tomorrow (time permitting)

 

[KarmaPolice]

I will post specific thoughts later, but this might be my favorite yet. Great mix of artists I new but songs that are newish or not overplayed and new artists/songs.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Sheesh. I looked at my podcast app, and I've listened to 38days worth of episodes this year.

 

[New Binky the Doormat]

I guess Skid Row opening for GnR isn't really what you're asking here.

Oh crap, I forgot to mention I saw GnR open for Aerosmith in 1988. That was an experience.

I was at that show also. Giants Stadium with Deep Purple also in between those two bands?

No, it was at the Spectrum in Philly and there were no other bands on the bill.

Oh. At Giants Stadium it was billed as "3 generations of heavy metal" (don't think that's quite accurate for a few reasons) - GnR opened, Deep Purple went on next followed by Aerosmith.

Also later I saw Soundgarden open for GnR at MSG.

Saw Bob Seger (after "Artful Dodger") open for KISS at the Cincy Coliseum back in the day.


Paul Stanley says that although KISS has always been impressed with the band's choices of opening acts, back in the day it was BOB SEGER AND THE SILVER BULLET BAND who really gave KISS a run for their money.

Stanley recalls that during Seger's stint opening for the band in 1976, he set the bar pretty high for KISS to follow every night: "Bob got his first gold album on tour with us. And there were nights, where I can remember being in the dressing room and listening to the crowd reaction, and looking at the band and saying (laughs) 'We better go out there and kick some ***.' Bob was no nonsense great rock and roll, and the band delivered the goods, and the crowd went crazy. And that always made us work harder. We always wanted great bands on the bill because it made us prove why we were the headliner."

 

[scorchy]

For the last week, I've been pulling up the Spotify playlist without looking at the post first, then listening in random mode so I'm sure not to know who selected what. One day, I really hope to be shocked to discover that it was simey who picked The Melvins and krista who loves Ludacris.

Known:

Gold: American Girl (marco)
Silver: Marquee Moon (krista)
Bronze: Regulate (80s)

Unknown:

Gold: The Golden State (Eephus)
Silver: A History of Bad Men (Manster)
Bronze: Cover Me (simey)

 

[scorchy]

KarmaPolice:

Ball and Biscuit - The White Stripes
(new song)

I should have given this an honorable mention. If I had picked a White Stripes song (which I considered), it would have been this one. I just had to give a little more love to Regulate because I needed some Warren G in my life after an annoying day of conference calls.

 

[Ilov80s]

I’ve fallen behind, tough to keep up working all week. Hopefully I can catch up this weekend.

 

[Hov34]

Don Quixote:

Rhapsody in Blue – composed by George Gershwin, conducted by Leonard Bernstein (Columbia Symphony Orchestra)
(new artist)

This is very cool.

My daughter was in a 90-person orchestra at Mission Viejo HS. They were very good and got invited to play at Carnegie Hall.
It wound up being a week long trip for the kids and wife and I went also. Did all the tourist things.

On the last day, about a dozen HS orchestras performed. MVHS was the featured one at 8pm. I had to work in the AM , so a buddy of mine told me to try and get a seat in first row of balcony for the best experience.

My daughter played the opening solo on the clarinet to "Rhapsody in Blue," the first song they performed. She killed it. I literally cried like a baby.

The next morning at 7am, we flew back to OC, and at 4pm we were all at her graduation ceremony from HS.

That is pretty cool. I like the clarinet solo in Rhapsody in Blue a lot and one of the reasons up there on my list. I played clarinet in grade school, but was never good at it and could never have pulled off what your daughter did. (Maybe a band teacher whose only instruction to me was to blow more out of my diaphragm partially to blame, as, 30+ years later, I still just have a vague knowledge of where my diaphragm is and not sure how to breathe more out of that.)

I go through some phases in my music listening and was listening to a lot of classical and jazz in particular when pulling this list together (this is my second Gershwin composed one, with Summertime by Louis and Ella being the other). This is probably the first piece that really combined classical and jazz, and still just love listening to it.

First "concert" I ever went to (probably 7 years old?) was "Rhapsody in the Park" an outside venue with an orchestra playing all Gershwin. This was the only piece I really fell in love with.

Btw, I think it was @KarmaPolice who took Ben Folds Five - Philosophy and at the end of the song he does a nice nod to Gershwin:

Philosophy- Ben Folds Five

youtu.be

 

[KarmaPolice]

Too many to mention. As I said, I think it was my favorite day so far. I also need to get better at looking up who took what after listening to give proper kudos. I think what made today different is that the songs on the list that I would consider ones played a ton are also ones that I wouldn't tire of hearing. Other playlists some in that category were skips for me because I am worn out on them a bit.

New to me songs:

@scorchy - Yep, that Rilo Kiley song is now my favorite new to me song so far. I listened to it a few times already.
@Manster - damn, that Melvins song. I posted that I saw them open for Primus, but I guess I just know a couple albums.
@MAC_32 - I couldn't have told you a thing about Ludacris' music. I think in my mind I had him pegged for more of a Will Smith type artist. This track was fun as hell.

And a special shoutout to @Hov34 I am guessing I have heard that Sturgill song in other drafts, but today I HEARD it, and actually dug it a bit. You nerds are slowly chipping away at my anti-country bias it seems.

Here are songs by bands I know, and songs I know but they just hit today because I haven't heard them for a bit or I think maybe go under the radar from other songs of theirs.

@Oliver Humanzee with the Funkadelic track. Love it, and I had it on my list before deciding to go 90s+ in the tracks. I ended up listening to all of Maggot Brain today in honor of the multiple picks I've seen from the album in this exercise.
@Dr. Octopus with the ZZTop. Holy hell that guitar solo is awesome and the whole tracks cooks. Also would have been my pick for them.
@shuke - Loved that track. That's an album I used to listen to a bunch and have gotten away from for some reason.
@Mrs. Rannous Love some Melloncamp in small doses, and this is a jamming track that I don't hear a ton.

A few stand outs from the "will never get old" category:
@krista4 with Television. Another album I need to get in the rotation more.
@neal cassady timeless song that I could play on a loop.
@jwb @DrIanMalcolm with the Night Moves double up.


And I will tie American Girl to Silence of the Lambs until my dying day.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Again - great mix today, everybody!
I am liking this format a lot, and it seems there is a little more of a group effort to listen and comment on picks.

 

[DrIanMalcolm]

Stanley recalls that during Seger's stint opening for the band in 1976, he set the bar pretty high for KISS to follow every night: "Bob got his first gold album on tour with us. And there were nights, where I can remember being in the dressing room and listening to the crowd reaction, and looking at the band and saying (laughs) 'We better go out there and kick some ***.' Bob was no nonsense great rock and roll, and the band delivered the goods, and the crowd went crazy. And that always made us work harder. We always wanted great bands on the bill because it made us prove why we were the headliner."

I was lucky enough to see him twice. Once about 13-14 years ago, where he actually managed to bring Bruce out for a rendition of Old Time Rock & Roll, and then on his farewell tour two summers ago in NJ, and he of course always did a great show.

 

[simey]

There are several favorite songs on the list that I've already listed as favorites, so I won't repeat them.

Favorite Five of Round #15:

So. Central Rain
Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers
Night Moves
I Got A Name
Ball and Biscuit
Eight Miles High
American Girl

A couple songs spilled over the 5 limit. * I also forgot to add (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay. The list goes on and on.

Favorite new to me song(s):

Portions for Foxes
Under the Pressure
The Golden State
You've Got A Friend in Me

 

[The Dreaded Marco]

Number 15:


krista4:

Marquee Moon – Television
(duplicate – second vote)


neal cassady:

(Sittin’ On) the Dock of the Bay - Otis Redding
(new song)


New Binky the Doormat:

Criminal – Fiona Apple
(new artist)


Pip’s Invitation:

Eight Miles High - The Byrds
(new artist


falguy:

So. Central Rain – R.E.M.
(new song)

Very difficult list to cut to my top 5 known.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Ooooooo...now I wonder if we can get Krista into the Deftones. Let's try...My Own Summer, Headup, and 7 Words.

I listened to these today, as well as checking out "Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)" again. Still enjoyed that one a whole lot, and "7 Words" was another winner for me. Good bass part and "groove," which is an odd word for this type of music, I suppose.

I liked the instrumentation of the other two, especially "Headup," but couldn't get into them due to the vocals. "Headup" was too much Cookie Monster, and My Own Summer was too breathy. Batting .500 on these is pretty damn good!

I was thinking and couldn't remember the couple that Mac suggested. I was was just listening to some Deftones, and what I came up with as next step suggestions were off of White Pony: Change (In the House of Flies), Digital Bath, and Knife Prty. I think Passenger has been on other draft playlists, so I guess if you like most of those, you will probably like most of the album. If not, hey - I'm just glad you liked the one song, and gave others a listen!

 

[KarmaPolice]

I also missed the Dino Jr. back and forth. I am very late to the party. During college, in my mind I put them with a group of bands like Sonic Youth and Pixies who in my ignorant head were just making screeching noises with their guitar and I couldn't be bothered with them. During one of our many drafts and digging through music, I randomly listened to Beyond and absolutely loved it. It was between Pieces and Almost Ready as my pick for them, as that was the song that hooked me out of the gate. I can't recommend those two albums enough, and then went backwards through their catalog. Long story short, I prefer their late stage output over very early Dino.

 

[MAC_32]

No repeats, hip hop, nor Otis cause this batch was stacked.

Best new to me: Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers and I Got A Name - in each case they weren't new to my ears, but they were new to my shuffle...but not anymore **heart**
Honorable mention: Paper In Fire - cause one of these 4 needed left off the medal stand.
Bronze: Ball & Biscuit - only way I could decide this gets the bronze was because I'd have chosen a different Stripes song (this would be #2)
Silver: Criminal - one of our staff popped in my office as I was belting this out mid day today and rather than get embarrassed without missing a beat I turned it up to 100 for so what would an angel say the devil wants to know and Desperado'd her until the end of the last chorus...I've never seen her laugh so hard
Gold: Night Moves - my heart filled reading @DrlanMalcolm's write up - beautifully written (much like this classic)

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Favorite new-to-me of today:

A History of Bad Men -- Melvins (Manster). The Melvins are another blind spot. I know they were a huge influence on the grunge bands (and good friends with many of the bands from that scene who hit big), but because they never made it into the mainstream, they never really got on my radar. This song more than justifies their place in grunge history.
Cover Me -- Percy Sledge (Simey). I can't say I've heard much from Sledge other than THAT song. A great vocal here.
Under the Pressure -- The War on Drugs (Shuke). Everything I said about the other WoD song applies here too, though I like this one a tad better, mainly thanks to the instrumental work in the last 3 minutes.

And this:

Portions for Foxes -- Rilo Kiley (Scorchy)

Was another one I didn't recognize by title but did once I heard it. Extremely catchy.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

You've Got A Friend in Me

Not into Disney movies, I presume?

 

[simey]

You've Got A Friend in Me

Not into Disney movies, I presume?

Toy Story is from 1995. I saw it once, and I don't remember what songs were in it.

 

[MAC_32]

You've Got A Friend in Me

Not into Disney movies, I presume?

Toy Story is from 1995. I saw it once, and I don't remember what songs were in it.

A LOT of Randy Newman

 

[AAABatteries]

You've Got A Friend in Me

Not into Disney movies, I presume?

I expected exactly zero other people to pick this or like it but as I said at the beginning I was picking my 31 favorites and my kids and Disney/Pixar have been such a huge part of my life the last 21 years that I had to pick a song. There was a lot of material to choose from but from the beginning I knew it would be this one. All four of my kids loved Toy Story (as do I). My oldest son was Woody for Halloween.

It doesn’t hurt that Randy Newman is a genius.

——-
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
When the road looks rough ahead
And you're miles and miles
From your nice warm bed
You just remember what your old pal said
Boy, you've got a friend in me
Yeah, you've got a friend in me

You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
You got troubles, I've got 'em too
There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you
We stick together and see it through
'Cause you've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me

Some other folks might be
A little bit smarter than I am
Bigger and stronger too
Maybe
But none of them will ever love you
The way I do
It's me and you, boy

And as the years go by
Our friendship will never die
You're gonna see it's our destiny
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me

 

[krista4]

Again - great mix today, everybody!
I am liking this format a lot, and it seems there is a little more of a group effort to listen and comment on picks.

This is a good point. In a draft, we kinda comment if we know it or complain about being sniped, but then we move on to another pick. This format, with the playlists every day, really encourages listening and commenting, and it seems almost everyone has been an active participant!

 

[MAC_32]

You've Got A Friend in Me

Not into Disney movies, I presume?

I expected exactly zero other people to pick this or like it but as I said at the beginning I was picking my 31 favorites and my kids and Disney/Pixar have been such a huge part of my life the last 21 years that I had to pick a song. There was a lot of material to choose from but from the beginning I knew it would be this one. All four of my kids loved Toy Story (as do I). My oldest son was Woody for Halloween.

It doesn’t hurt that Randy Newman is a genius.

——-
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
When the road looks rough ahead
And you're miles and miles
From your nice warm bed
You just remember what your old pal said
Boy, you've got a friend in me
Yeah, you've got a friend in me

You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
You got troubles, I've got 'em too
There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you
We stick together and see it through
'Cause you've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me

Some other folks might be
A little bit smarter than I am
Bigger and stronger too
Maybe
But none of them will ever love you
The way I do
It's me and you, boy

And as the years go by
Our friendship will never die
You're gonna see it's our destiny
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me

I'll never get through the incinerator scene in Toy Story 3 without a tear rolling down from my eye.

 

[KarmaPolice]

You've Got A Friend in Me

Not into Disney movies, I presume?

I expected exactly zero other people to pick this or like it but as I said at the beginning I was picking my 31 favorites and my kids and Disney/Pixar have been such a huge part of my life the last 21 years that I had to pick a song. There was a lot of material to choose from but from the beginning I knew it would be this one. All four of my kids loved Toy Story (as do I). My oldest son was Woody for Halloween.

It doesn’t hurt that Randy Newman is a genius.

——-
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
When the road looks rough ahead
And you're miles and miles
From your nice warm bed
You just remember what your old pal said
Boy, you've got a friend in me
Yeah, you've got a friend in me

You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
You got troubles, I've got 'em too
There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you
We stick together and see it through
'Cause you've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me

Some other folks might be
A little bit smarter than I am
Bigger and stronger too
Maybe
But none of them will ever love you
The way I do
It's me and you, boy

And as the years go by
Our friendship will never die
You're gonna see it's our destiny
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me

It's a great song, but I had to skip it today. I just got the 7year old to do a new playlist, so I can give the previous 20 Disney/Pixar songs a rest for a little bit. This was one of the songs on the old playlist.

 

[KarmaPolice]

I'll never get through the incinerator scene in Toy Story 3 without a tear rolling down from my eye.

It's the end scene that gets me way more.

 

[Mrs. Rannous]

It doesn’t hurt that Randy Newman is a genius.

God, yeah. So many things to choose. When we get to the Brit picks, I'll be having "You Can Leave Your Hat On" as sung by Tom Jones on my list. I would have chosen "When She Loved Me" from Toy Story 2, but it makes me cry every time. He is also one of the people who can write funny songs. "Burn On", which opens the movie Major League, is just wonderful. Whoever edited that for the film totally got it.

I'm kind of a fan.

 

[New Binky the Doormat]

No repeats, hip hop, nor Otis cause this batch was stacked.

Best new to me: Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers and I Got A Name - in each case they weren't new to my ears, but they were new to my shuffle...but not anymore **heart**
Honorable mention: Paper In Fire - cause one of these 4 needed left off the medal stand.
Bronze: Ball & Biscuit - only way I could decide this gets the bronze was because I'd have chosen a different Stripes song (this would be #2)
Silver: Criminal - one of our staff popped in my office as I was belting this out mid day today and rather than get embarrassed without missing a beat I turned it up to 100 for so what would an angel say the devil wants to know and Desperado'd her until the end of the last chorus...I've never seen her laugh so hard
Gold: Night Moves - my heart filled reading @DrlanMalcolm's write up - beautifully written (much like this classic)

I don't sleep to dream ...

 

[shuke]

Top 5:
krista4: Marquee Moon – Television
scorchy: Portions for Foxes – Rilo Kiley
Sullie: Jessica - The Allman Brothers Band
jwb/DrIanMalcolm: Night Moves – Bob Seger
landryshat: Monsters - Band of Horses

Favorite new to me:
New Binky the Doormat: Criminal – Fiona Apple
Eephus: The Golden State - John Doe

Especially that John Doe song. Wow, really good.

 

[krista4]

Well, we're getting to the point where we're seeing lots of songs we've seen before. And tomorrow we have not one but two Deja Votes. In fact, one of the songs that has the Deja Votes also has a triple-up with another song from the same artist. The "odd man out" second song from that artist is my pick. I'm right and you two are wrong.

In addition to the two Deja Votes and triple-up, there's a double-up of yet another artist.

Plus a bunch of songs we've seen before.

I think you guys are going to love this round.

 

[Hov34]

Favorite new to me:
New Binky the Doormat: Criminal – Fiona Apple

Wat???

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Well, we're getting to the point where we're seeing lots of songs we've seen before. And tomorrow we have not one but two Deja Votes. In fact, one of the songs that has the Deja Votes also has a triple-up with another song from the same artist. The "odd man out" second song from that artist is my pick. I'm right and you two are wrong.

In addition to the two Deja Votes and triple-up, there's a double-up of yet another artist.

Plus a bunch of songs we've seen before.

I think you guys are going to love this round.

If Binky and I both pick the same Todd Rundgren song in the same round, it will be a Deja vote since you have us listed back to back...

 

[shuke]

Don Quixote:

Rhapsody in Blue – composed by George Gershwin, conducted by Leonard Bernstein (Columbia Symphony Orchestra)
(new artist)

This is very cool.

My daughter was in a 90-person orchestra at Mission Viejo HS. They were very good and got invited to play at Carnegie Hall.
It wound up being a week long trip for the kids and wife and I went also. Did all the tourist things.

On the last day, about a dozen HS orchestras performed. MVHS was the featured one at 8pm. I had to work in the AM , so a buddy of mine told me to try and get a seat in first row of balcony for the best experience.

My daughter played the opening solo on the clarinet to "Rhapsody in Blue," the first song they performed. She killed it. I literally cried like a baby.

The next morning at 7am, we flew back to OC, and at 4pm we were all at her graduation ceremony from HS.

That is pretty cool. I like the clarinet solo in Rhapsody in Blue a lot and one of the reasons up there on my list. I played clarinet in grade school, but was never good at it and could never have pulled off what your daughter did. (Maybe a band teacher whose only instruction to me was to blow more out of my diaphragm partially to blame, as, 30+ years later, I still just have a vague knowledge of where my diaphragm is and not sure how to breathe more out of that.)

I go through some phases in my music listening and was listening to a lot of classical and jazz in particular when pulling this list together (this is my second Gershwin composed one, with Summertime by Louis and Ella being the other). This is probably the first piece that really combined classical and jazz, and still just love listening to it.

First "concert" I ever went to (probably 7 years old?) was "Rhapsody in the Park" an outside venue with an orchestra playing all Gershwin. This was the only piece I really fell in love with.

Btw, I think it was @KarmaPolice who took Ben Folds Five - Philosophy and at the end of the song he does a nice nod to Gershwin:

Philosophy- Ben Folds Five

youtu.be

Great tune. Phish's Bathtub Gin pays homage to Rhapsody. Check the 0:24 and 1:56 marks in this version.

 

[krista4]

Well, we're getting to the point where we're seeing lots of songs we've seen before. And tomorrow we have not one but two Deja Votes. In fact, one of the songs that has the Deja Votes also has a triple-up with another song from the same artist. The "odd man out" second song from that artist is my pick. I'm right and you two are wrong.

In addition to the two Deja Votes and triple-up, there's a double-up of yet another artist.

Plus a bunch of songs we've seen before.

I think you guys are going to love this round.

If Binky and I both pick the same Todd Rundgren song in the same round, it will be a Deja vote since you have us listed back to back...

It happened with the Bob Seger song today!

 

[shuke]

Again - great mix today, everybody!
I am liking this format a lot, and it seems there is a little more of a group effort to listen and comment on picks.

This is a good point. In a draft, we kinda comment if we know it or complain about being sniped, but then we move on to another pick. This format, with the playlists every day, really encourages listening and commenting, and it seems almost everyone has been an active participant!

Possibly my favorite music thread to date.

 

[shuke]

Favorite new to me:
New Binky the Doormat: Criminal – Fiona Apple

Wat???

 

[Doug B]

I indulged my insistent yen for smooth adult contemporary with today’s selection, “Tell Me What You Dream”. The release of this single was risky for Restless Heart. The country music establishment completely rejected the song — for a band that had fifteen country Top 10s to date, this song missed the country singles chart altogether. Instead, “Tell Me What You Dream” became Restless Heart’s first Adult Contemporary #1. They would never place a song in the country Top 10 again.

Restless Heart’s version is a fairly faithful cover of Timothy B. Shmit’s 1985 original. I wonder if the house might prefer Shmit’s version? The bass guitar is a lot further forward in the mix and the electric piano makes it sound kind of ethereal.