The 100 Greatest Songs Of 1978 #1. Werewolves of London (1 Viewer)

[Dr. Octopus]

So good. The only question people who know this may ask is, why isn’t it even higher? 
 

 

[beer 30]

52. Bruce Springsteen “Badlands” (from Darkness On the Edge of Town) 

https://youtu.be/7T_6Ua6fd5s

More Bruce goodness. I’m discovering that I respect this album a lot more than I thought I did. All the songs that I have selected from it (with yet one more to come) are Springsteen classics, impossible to ignore or for me to leave out. 

Darkness and Born To Run are the quintessential Bruce albums for me. Greetings From Asbury Park is good but not as polished as these two. The River was good but started down a path where I began to lose some interest with it being gone by the time Born In the USA came out. Nebraska did nothing for me. There was also a bootleg I bought Live at Winterland that I absolutely wore out during this time.

I graduated HS in 83, Growing Up was our class song thanks primarily to me and my best friend's efforts to promote it.

 

[jwb]

You're right about their being no "right" answer for this. 

I'm just here to send  for the possessive adjective in front of the gerund

That’s hot.  Being somewhat of a grammar freak, I mean that sincerely.

I feel inadequate. I make my living as a writer, and I didn't know what a gerund was until a few minutes ago.

Ok, enough with the grammar.  Badlands is a great song. 

 

[zamboni]

Admittedly, I'm getting mixed up on the front page between the 1978 and 1988 threads. When I saw Badlands in the title, I thought it was possibly the 1988 one with these guys.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

52. Bruce Springsteen “Badlands” (from Darkness On the Edge of Town) 

https://youtu.be/7T_6Ua6fd5s

More Bruce goodness. I’m discovering that I respect this album a lot more than I thought I did. All the songs that I have selected from it (with yet one more to come) are Springsteen classics, impossible to ignore or for me to leave out. 

I can't with this one. He sounds like he's about to sneeze and/or poop throughout the whole track. 

 

[Uruk-Hai]

Weird admission. I have never liked Parliament or Funkadelic. The obvious criticism of that admission is one I'll let slide and I'll admit the music wasn't made for me, but there's lots of music that wasn't made for me that I really do feel and get. Clinton and Bootsy and crew? I just don't feel it, man. 

I've never tried to sell anyone on P Funk, other than to play them a few songs to see if they drew any interest. Because a lot of folks are like you. It is not an easily accessible music - it's knotty and baroque and (especially with late 70s Parliament) has its own mythology that can be off-putting if you aren't buying in.

You don't need to know the mythology to like "Tear The Roof Off The Sucker" or "Flashlight", but you're most likely not going  to like Parliament if you don't like  "Tear The Roof Off....: or "Flashlight".

Funkadelic was a little different. They were much more guitar-based (especially early on) in the vein of classic rock acts like Hendrix or Zep, though still more Sly-and-Zappa--influenced than either. They started to converge more to Parliament's sound in the late '70s - I sometimes think Clinton may have forgotten with act he was recording in those days. 

Bootsy was a whole 'nother thing and FBGs doesn't have enough bandwidth for me to describe his output.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

They started to converge more to Parliament's sound in the late '70s - I sometimes think Clinton may have forgotten with act he was recording in those days. 

George was very shrewd about some things and not at all shrewd about others. It's just as likely that he took note of the commercial success of the 1975-76 Parliament albums and decided to make subsequent Funkadelic albums more like those. 

 

[Dennis Castro]

I feel inadequate. I make my living as a writer, and I didn't know what a gerund was until a few minutes ago.

Ok, enough with the grammar.  Badlands is a great song. 

You think that’s bad? I’m a copy editor and I didn’t know that rule. Apparently, I must not be very good. 

 

[Leroy Hoard]

Of all the Clintons, George was always my favorite.  Even ahead of Roger.

 

[rockaction]

George was very shrewd about some things and not at all shrewd about others. It's just as likely that he took note of the commercial success of the 1975-76 Parliament albums and decided to make subsequent Funkadelic albums more like those. 

The reason he was sampled so heavily in the nineties is that he had been, let's say, in a state and signed his copyrights away for not very much. They were easily licensed by Dre and others from Bridgeport Music, I think. There was a bunch of sour-grapes-type controversy surrounding that, IIRC from my music copyright law days. 

 

[Pip's Invitation]

The reason he was sampled so heavily in the nineties is that he had been, let's say, in a state and signed his copyrights away for not very much. They were easily licensed by Dre and others from Bridgeport Music, I think. There was a bunch of sour-grapes-type controversy surrounding that, IIRC from my music copyright law days. 

Yep. Signing stuff he shouldn’t have also is behind why the major-label Funkadelic albums aren’t on Spotify.

 

[rockaction]

And I actually must come clean lest I mislead people in the profession of editing. Regarding the grammar expertise/question: I think that there needs to be a verb in the sentence that acts upon the gerund to make that usage correct. I could be wrong again -- and this betrays me knowing the rule cold -- but I think it was just a simple there/their mistake in autocorrect (I know the difference cold, I will say that). So, for everyone surprised, I think k4 was being charitable or reading it differently than I still am. 

And that pains me, because I could be wrong about that. Again. 

This was a fun interlude. Learn something new every day. 

 

[Pip's Invitation]

And I actually must come clean lest I mislead people in the profession of editing. Regarding the grammar expertise/question: I think that there needs to be a verb in the sentence that acts upon the gerund to make that usage correct. I could be wrong again -- and this betrays me knowing the rule cold -- but I think it was just a simple there/their mistake in autocorrect (I know the difference cold, I will say that). So, for everyone surprised, I think k4 was being charitable or reading it differently than I still am. 

And that pains me, because I could be wrong about that. Again. 

This was a fun interlude. Learn something new every day. 

I pledge the grooveallegiance to the funk

To the United Funk of Funkadelica

 

[krista4]

And I actually must come clean lest I mislead people in the profession of editing. Regarding the grammar expertise/question: I think that there needs to be a verb in the sentence that acts upon the gerund to make that usage correct. I could be wrong again -- and this betrays me knowing the rule cold -- but I think it was just a simple there/their mistake in autocorrect (I know the difference cold, I will say that). So, for everyone surprised, I think k4 was being charitable or reading it differently than I still am. 

And that pains me, because I could be wrong about that. Again. 

This was a fun interlude. Learn something new every day. 

Well, I didn't want to say after pointing it out, but I don't believe the issue is a verb but that there is no substitute pronoun there.  As a result, in this case I do believe "there" would have been correct, but in most cases people do incorrectly use a pronoun instead of the possessive in front of a gerund.  I always hesitate to correct people on that, because it is not the way most people write and will "seem" incorrect to them, so I just let it go.

For instance, "I appreciate him having my back" is incorrect, and the correct would be "I appreciate his having my back."  In the sentence you typed, the substitution of "their" is for "there," not the pronoun "them," so actually it was incorrect as you wrote it.  And I read it incorrectly when I complimented you.

I believe we've all learned a little about our friend, the gerund, though?

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Well, I didn't want to say after pointing it out, but I don't believe the issue is a verb but that there is no substitute pronoun there.  As a result, in this case I do believe "there" would have been correct, but in most cases people do incorrectly use a pronoun instead of the possessive in front of a gerund.  I always hesitate to correct people on that, because it is not the way most people write and will "seem" incorrect to them, so I just let it go.

For instance, "I appreciate him having my back" is incorrect, and the correct would be "I appreciate his having my back."  In the sentence you typed, the substitution of "their" is for "there," not the pronoun "them," so actually it was incorrect as you wrote it.  And I read it incorrectly when I complimented you.

I believe we've all learned a little about our friend, the gerund, though?

When you base your love on credit
And your loving days are done
Checks you signed with a-love and kisses
Later come back signed "insufficient funds"

 

[rockaction]

Awesome. Thanks for the   regardless. I was flattered. Just couldn't take credit for it, hence the initial jokes.

Fast forward: I'm watching a video on the gerund. Was actually aware of the rule, just without formal education on it. My sentence was, sadly and as you note, incorrect. 

That was a burst now put to bed, huh? 

 

[krista4]

Fast forward: I'm watching a video on the gerund.

  Now I'm afraid I'm going to have to as well.

 

[rockaction]

When you base your love on credit
And your loving days are done
Checks you signed with a-love and kisses
Later come back signed "insufficient funds"

Substance of lyrics:

Actual post: 

and 

ITALICS, MAN! 

 

[rockaction]

I'm kidding, Pip. Just wanted to use the emojis to construct a thought. 

 

[Pip's Invitation]

I'm kidding, Pip. Just wanted to use the emojis to construct a thought. 

Of course. Italics much harder to do on a phone. 

 

[Leroy Hoard]

Hopefully youse guys and gals can quit nerding things up and get back to the music. If George Clinton were still alive he'd be rolling in his grave.

 

[rockaction]

Of course. Italics much harder to do on a phone. 

They're a bear. I love the music threads, not so much on my phone when I want to bust lyrics. I wind up dragging all sorts of text around I don't mean to, leaving fragments on one side of the text box, splicing words, all that. Love the desktop for this. 

 

[timschochet]

51. The Boomtown Rats “Rat Trap” (from A Tonic For the Troops) 

https://youtu.be/opd14v2I7Ik

The early albums of The Boomtown Rats are filled with songs that sound like a post punk version of classic Bruce Springsteen. Gems like “Joeys On the Street Again”, “Me and Howard Hughes”, and most famously “Rat Trap” all sounded like they could have been written by the Boss, complete with a saxophone that eerily mimicked Clemons. And they are great songs. “Rat Trap” is the best of them. 

 

[timschochet]

50. The Rolling Stones “Beast of Burden” (from Some Girls) 

https://youtu.be/-tRdBsnX4N4

RIP Charlie Watts. Such great drums on this tune. And such a classic, timeless song by the Stones. I’ve always loved it. 

 

[rockaction]

I always thought, that after my twenties and my love affair with Aftermath, that Some Girls was my favorite Stones album, largely on the strength of "Miss You." My GB Dr. Octopus and other GBs like wikkid have deepened my appreciation of the Stones, though, and I'd have to go with either 1971's (that year again) Sticky Fingers or 1972's Exile... as my favorite now. Or I reserve the right to further explore the catalog. Any of that. 

 

[timschochet]

49. John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John “Summer Nights” (from Grease: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) 

https://youtu.be/ZW0DfsCzfq4

You guys thought I was done with schlocky material on this list? Not quite. Unfortunately this will be the last Grease song, as there was no room in the top 100 for the Frankie Valli headliner or any of the rest. But no worries, there is plenty more cheese upcoming! 
 

Tell me more, tell me more! 

 

[DocHolliday]

Admittedly, I'm getting mixed up on the front page between the 1978 and 1988 threads. When I saw Badlands in the title, I thought it was possibly the 1988 one with these guys.

That first Badlands album is still great.  

 

[DocHolliday]

50. The Rolling Stones “Beast of Burden” (from Some Girls) 

https://youtu.be/-tRdBsnX4N4

RIP Charlie Watts. Such great drums on this tune. And such a classic, timeless song by the Stones. I’ve always loved it. 

I’m not a big stones fan.  Micks voice irritates me.   

That being said, there are some stones songs that I really like.  Beast of burden is one of them.  

 

[Andy Dufresne]

49. John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John “Summer Nights” (from Grease: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) 

https://youtu.be/ZW0DfsCzfq4

I was thinking this was the Glen Campbell song. But that was '77.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

I was thinking this was the Glen Campbell song. But that was '77.

It's also called Southern Nights. 

 

[wikkidpissah]

49. John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John “Summer Nights” (from Grease: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) 

https://youtu.be/ZW0DfsCzfq4

You guys thought I was done with schlocky material on this list? Not quite. Unfortunately this will be the last Grease song, as there was no room in the top 100 for the Frankie Valli headliner or any of the rest. But no worries, there is plenty more cheese upcoming! 
 

Tell me more, tell me more! 

i've just taken xtra heart medicine so i'm sure to be around when Summer Lovin' goes ahead of Miss You...

ETA:        niii-HAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHTS!

not quite

 

[Andy Dufresne]

It's also called Southern Nights. 

Of course it was.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

It's also called Southern Nights. 

It’s always Summer in the South.

 

[rockaction]

You hated my Grease 1978 album pick in the '70s timdraft and said you hoped you never heard another Grease song in your life, yet here we are...

 

[timschochet]

48. Heart “Straight On” (from Dog and Butterfly) 

https://youtu.be/BE2-gpM2tNc

Gotta love the Wilson sisters, so damn adorable. And what a voice Ann has. She hits the high notes so flawlessly. Just a great band back in the day. 

 

[timschochet]

You hated my Grease 1978 album pick in the '70s timdraft and said you hoped you never heard another Grease song in your life, yet here we are...

What can I say? I’m fickle. 

 

[Pip's Invitation]

What can I say? I’m fickle. 

Grease is the word now, but it wasn’t back then.

 

[worrierking]

The '78 countdown is on Straight On, while the 1988 countdown is on Straight Up.  

This is confusing. 

Love Straight On, my favorite Heart tune. 

 

[timschochet]

47. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers “Listen To Her Heart” (from You’re Gonna Get It!)

https://youtu.be/HlIegN1unss

”Listen To Her Heart”, like “American Girl”, “Here Comes My Girl”, and “The Waiting”, was one of those songs in which Tom Petty expressed his love and adoration for Roger McGuinn and the Byrds, complete with 12 string jangly Rickenbacker and soaring harmonies. For me these songs are the best of Petty. 
 

 

[Pip's Invitation]

47. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers “Listen To Her Heart” (from You’re Gonna Get It!)

https://youtu.be/HlIegN1unss

”Listen To Her Heart”, like “American Girl”, “Here Comes My Girl”, and “The Waiting”, was one of those songs in which Tom Petty expressed his love and adoration for Roger McGuinn and the Byrds, complete with 12 string jangly Rickenbacker and soaring harmonies. For me these songs are the best of Petty. 

Arguably Petty's best lyrics.

You think you're gonna take her away
With your money and your cocaine
You keep thinkin' that her mind is gonna change
But I know everything is okay

She's gonna listen to her heart
It's gonna tell her what to do
She might need a lot of loving
But she don't need you

 

[rockaction]

You think you're gonna take her away
With your money and your cocaine
You keep thinkin' that her mind is gonna change
But I know everything is okay

She's gonna listen to her heart
It's gonna tell her what to do
She might need a lot of loving
But she don't need you

Petty wrote some of the most dirty boots songs about men and women in the '70s and '80s

Edited: the sad parts. 

 

[krista4]

He was marrying someone else, not the ex-rock-girlfriend, right?  I want to make sure I'm getting that correct.  And the ex-gf was nowhere to be seen again by either of you?

Did he know who you were when you saw him?

Also, why is Colombia god-forsaken?  Or maybe it just was at the time (late 90s, perhaps?).  I've had a couple of the best meals of my life there in more recent years and thought Cartagena was gorgeous.

So many questions.

 

[rockaction]

Sad parts edited again. Sorry folks, it dragged down the thread. Not sure why this thread has seen fit for a bunch of that by me. 

 

[zamboni]

The '78 countdown is on Straight On, while the 1988 countdown is on Straight Up.  

Just imagine if there was a Dire Straits thread going on. 

 

[timschochet]

46. Bruce Springsteen “Darkness On the Edge of Town” (from Darkness On the Edge of Town) 

https://youtu.be/6PC60gY6LRQ

This will be the last song on this list recorded by Bruce Springsteen. It will not be the last song written by Bruce Springsteen; one more of those. 
I think “Darkness” is the best song on the album, with some of the best lyrics he’s ever written. Apparently Brian Williams thinks so as well as he quoted the title in his farewell speech on MSNBC last night. 

 

[worrierking]

46. Bruce Springsteen “Darkness On the Edge of Town” (from Darkness On the Edge of Town) 

https://youtu.be/6PC60gY6LRQ

This will be the last song on this list recorded by Bruce Springsteen. It will not be the last song written by Bruce Springsteen; one more of those. 
I think “Darkness” is the best song on the album, with some of the best lyrics he’s ever written. Apparently Brian Williams thinks so as well as he quoted the title in his farewell speech on MSNBC last night. 

My favorite Springsteen song period.  It would be way up near the top of my 1978 list.

 

[rockaction]

Apparently Brian Williams thinks so as well as he quoted the title in his farewell speech on MSNBC last night. 

OMFUG ROFL 

 

[beer 30]

46. Bruce Springsteen “Darkness On the Edge of Town” (from Darkness On the Edge of Town) 

https://youtu.be/6PC60gY6LRQ

This will be the last song on this list recorded by Bruce Springsteen. It will not be the last song written by Bruce Springsteen; one more of those. 
I think “Darkness” is the best song on the album, with some of the best lyrics he’s ever written. Apparently Brian Williams thinks so as well as he quoted the title in his farewell speech on MSNBC last night. 

Thata boy Timmy 

Now some folks are born into a good life
Other folks, they just get it anyway anyhow
Me, well I lost my faith when I lost my wife
But those things don't seem to matter much to me now

'Cause tonight I'll be on that hill 'cause I can't stop
I'll be on that hill with everything I got
Lives on the line where dreams are found and lost
I'll be there on time and I'll pay the cost
For wanting things that can only be found
In the darkness on the edge of town
In the darkness on the edge of town

 

[timschochet]

45. Generation X “Ready Steady Go” (released as a single) 

https://youtu.be/Di44bACr03w

Generation X was a British punk rock band featuring a very young looking 17 year old lead singer who called himself Billy Idol. The band tended to be more pop-oriented than many of their contemporaries at the time. This was their best, and most famous effort. 

 

[Andy Dufresne]

45. Generation X “Ready Steady Go” (released as a single) 

https://youtu.be/Di44bACr03w

Generation X was a British punk rock band featuring a very young looking 17 year old lead singer who called himself Billy Idol. The band tended to be more pop-oriented than many of their contemporaries at the time. This was their best, and most famous effort. 

And also featured Tony James who went on to form Sigue Sigue Sputnik.