Saturday, February 11, 2012

I've met the challenge...

A week or so ago, I challenged - at least I think it was me doing the challenging - KD Rush , KD_Rush on Twitter to provide a listing of his top 100 songs. He mentioned his love of music and noted that when he's  on the road, driving for hours on end, music keeps him sane. Of course, this meant that I should also provide a top 100, a task that seemed overwhelming when I started to think  on it.

Music really is a life rolled up into a strangely neat package.  Almost every song I hear reminds me of a time, or a person, an event, or a hope.  As an aside, if I could sing I would want to have kd lang's voice.  Everything she sings sounds like a hymn.  If I could write poetry, I would want to write like Paul Simon.  Everything he writes reads like a hymn.  Hmmm....perhaps I should have included some actual hymns?!

The list doesn't include any jazz favourites because, shock and horror, KD doesn't like jazz.  I stuck with rock and pop. I didn't even include crooners like Frank Sinatra or Ella Fitzgerald. My selection criteria: favourite songs that I could listen to over and over on an imaginary road trip across Canada. It's an alphabetical list because I'm not crazy enough to try and number them in order of preference - though if I had to pick a true favourite it would probably be: Round Here by Counting Crows.

I've linked a few, just for variety sake:

Alanis Morrisette You Oughta Know
Annie Lennox    Why
Aretha Franklin    Natural Woman
Beatles    Hey Jude
Beatles    In my life
Beatles    Long and winding road
Bee Gees    How can you mend a broken heart
Bill Withers    Aint no sunshine
Boz Scaggs    Love look what you've done to me
Bruce Springsteen    Born to run
Bruce Springsteen    Meeting across the river
Bruce Springsteen    The rising
Buggles    Video killed the radio star
Carole King    You've got a friend
Cyndi Lauper    Girls just wanna have fun
Cyndi Lauper    If you go away
Cyndi Lauper    True Colors
Counting Crows    Round here
Creedence Clearwater Revival    Fortunate Son
Crosby Stills and Nash    Woodstock
Deep Purple    Smoke on the Water
Dire Straits    Brothers in Arms
Don Henley    Boys of Summer
Don Henley    Heart of the Matter
Doobie Brothers    What a fool believes
Dusty Springfield    Son of a preacher man
Eagles    Hotel California
Earth Wind Fire    September
Elton John    Levon
Eric Clapton    Layla
Eric Clapton    Wonderful tonight
Everything but the girl    Missing (dance version)
Fleetwood Mac    Landslide
Heather Smart    Proud
Jackie DeShannon    Put a little love in your heart
James Taylor    Carolina in my mind
James Taylor    Fire and rain
James Taylor    Up on the roof
Jann Arden    Good mother
John Mellencamp    Check it out
Johnny Cash    Hurt
Joni Mitchell    Both sides now
Joni Mitchell    Chelsea morning
Joni Mitchell    Help me
Joni Mitchell    Raised on robbery
Jose Feliciano    Light my fire
kd lang    Hallelujah
Maroon 5    Sunday morning
Melissa Etheridge    I'm the only one
Michael Jackson    Billie Jean
Michael Jackson    Man in the mirror
Michael McDonald    Take it to heart
Mike and the Mechanics    In the living years
Neil Young    Harvest moon
Neil Young    Heart of gold
Neil Young    Hey hey my my
Neil Young    Old man
Patti Griffin    Up to the mountain
Paul Simon    Fifty ways to leave your lover
Paul Simon    Graceland
Paul Simon    Slip slidin away
Paul Simon    Train in the distance
Pink Floyd    Comfortably numb
Prince    Little red corvette
Ray Charles    Georgia on my mind
Ricki Lee Jones    Rainbow sleeves
Robbie Robertson    Somewhere down the crazy river
Robbie Robertson   Broken arrow
Roberta Flack    First time ever I saw your face
Simon and Garfunkel    The boxer
Soft Cell    Tainted love
Spinners    Could it be I'm falling in love
Stevie Winwood    Back in the high life again
Stevie Winwood    Don't you know what the night can do
Stevie Wonder    Superstition
Sting    Fortress around your heart
Sting    If I ever lose my faith in you
Sting    If you love somebody
Sting    Roxanne
Stylistics    I'm stone in love with you
Supertramp    Rudy
Tears for Fears    Everybody wants to rule the world
Tears for Fears    Shout
Temptations    Papa was a rolling stone
The Cult    She sells sanctuary
The Dream Academy    Life in a northern town
Tracy Chapman    Baby can I hold you
Tracy Chapman    Fast car
Travelling Wilburys    Handle with care
Trisha Yearwood    I would have loved you anyway
U2    All I want is you
U2    Bad
U2    One
U2    Still haven't found what I'm looking for
U2    With or without you
Van Morrison    Crazy Love
Van Morrison    Tupelo Honey
Verve    Bittersweet symphony
Willie Nelson    Always on my mind
ZZ Top    Sharp dressed man

Tell me what you think - what did I miss?  I patiently await KD Rush's list.  He's been pretty darn busy with work, family and life, so he gets a reprieve, for now. :))

12 comments:

  1. Wow, nice list, I've got quite a few those on my ipod!

    As one of those little po-tastic asides, did you know that "Chelsea Morning" is in fact a Neil Daimond song?

    I think this is definitely an idea to go viral - well done you guys!

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    1. I was just going to look up "po-tastic" to see what it meant! I've never heard the Neil Diamond version - I'll have to investigate! In the meantime, one of these days we'll have to get a look at some of the songs on that ipod. What calms the nerves after work,when you're on the way home to your family? Thanks for stopping my blog Chris!

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  3. Ha ha, will think about it!

    Re Diamond, I tend to follow writers more than performers (I've no idea why?!) and his songs turn up everywhere by all kinds of people, but you can always recognise the quality because it's in the writing ;-)

    Also love that you have Supertramp's "Rudy" on there: Crime of the Century was a hell of an album, wasn't it? Almost every track on it shows up on their greatest hits.

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    1. Crime of the Century is INDEED one hell of an album! Couldn't agree more!

      Re: Neil Diamond: one of the best tv performances I've ever seen is he and Barbra Streisand singing, as a surprise, at the Grammy's in the 70s. In case you've never seen it, here's the link: http://youtu.be/2N4veIbJzMY So sexy!

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  4. There are a few that I have never heard of though, so I'll have to find some time to check them out. Saw you had a Travelling Wilburys song too. ;-)

    Some of these songs I had forgotten about. I'll have to make some room on the rotation list now. Great list!

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    1. KD, I was fascinated by your list: http://bit.ly/xhgzK1 and am pleased to see you like so much great music (aka: the same tunes as me). It has been a fun challenge and tells a lot about both of us I think. Hope others will join in!

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    2. Good grief, just realized I missed off Queen - Radio GaGa and These are the days of our lives! Oh no! well, it's 102 then!

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    3. Oh there were a few tunes that I hated to cut out. Perhaps we can do a top 150 in the future. ;-) After seeing some of these other lists, it's evident that I've forgotten about many of my old favorites.

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  5. I really hope it does. When you think that it's very unlikely we will mee t in real life, this is a great way to get to know each better. Great idea you two!

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  6. Ah, happy sigh. So many of these bring back such happy memories. I see that our lists have several performers and songs in common, and that you have others on yours that I'm definitely going to have to check out.

    *meanders off, humming happily*

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