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whune recently said he'd like to see my picks for the top 100 songs of all time. He said this after a brief exchange about the virtues of Elton John (more or less agreed, fine 70s/80s output, cloying/unlistenable 90s output) after he mentioned discovering "Rocket Man" after listening to William Shatner's version. The idea of Shatner being anyone's gateway to any song amused me to no end. All the science i don't understand, indeed.
Anyway, since we aim to please here at the Land O'Ledley, I've scribbled down (well, keyed in, OK, OK) a quick list of 100 songs that particularly move me, interest me, amuse me, captivate me or generally get me boppin'. It's not comprehensive or definitive by any means -- had I done it yesterday, it would probably have been a different list; ditto had I done it tomorrow. As it is, it's a snapshot of what I'm digging right now.
As expected, a lot of classic rock; a lot of filk; a fair helping of Dylan, Bruce Cockburn and the Beatles. A few folk and country offerings, a dozen or so faith-based entries past and present; and a traditional number or two. (I couldn't find an author for "Lanigan's Ball" other than that venerable composer Traditional. Perhapsbraider or ohiblather know the song's genesis. I discovered it through a local duo called the Dady Brothers.)
"Drift Away" is here for sentimental reasons, regarding my father. My dad was no rock-and-roller by any stretch of the imagination -- for the most part, he tended to think music began and ended with southern-gospel groups like the Statesmen, the Florida Boys and the Masters V. (Elvis was a big fan of those groups as well; I have an unfinished poem somewhere about the subject linking my dad and Elvis in that regard.) But he would occasionally get an earworm stuck in his head he heard in passing somewhere; most were ephemeral, but the one that stuck around for years was Dobie Gray's "Drift Away." Don't know why or how. But to this day, hearing the song always gives me a wistful smile. Even the far inferior remake a few years back by some modern band -- I want to say Uncle Kracker or some such -- who at least had the good sense to enlist Mr. Gray on the refrain. ("Gimme the beat, boys, free my soul ...")
As anyone who puts together one of these lists finds, 100 is a really, really small number. I could have come up with 100 Dylan songs alone, or 100 filks, or such. There's a lot of Phil Keaggy and Wales Road and Ookla the Mok and Leslie Fish and Asylum Street Spankers that undoubtedly would make the second hundred. (#101 would've been Bruce Cockburn's "Put It In Your Heart," incidentally. And I refuse to revise the list, or I'd sneak in Graham Leathers' "Nantucket Sleighride." Oh, wait -- I just did.
( So, here's the list. The order is more or less arbitrary rather than any kind of real stratification, though I tried to put the bestest of the bestest in the top third or so. And would you believe I've never seen Say Anything? )
whune recently said he'd like to see my picks for the top 100 songs of all time. He said this after a brief exchange about the virtues of Elton John (more or less agreed, fine 70s/80s output, cloying/unlistenable 90s output) after he mentioned discovering "Rocket Man" after listening to William Shatner's version. The idea of Shatner being anyone's gateway to any song amused me to no end. All the science i don't understand, indeed.Anyway, since we aim to please here at the Land O'Ledley, I've scribbled down (well, keyed in, OK, OK) a quick list of 100 songs that particularly move me, interest me, amuse me, captivate me or generally get me boppin'. It's not comprehensive or definitive by any means -- had I done it yesterday, it would probably have been a different list; ditto had I done it tomorrow. As it is, it's a snapshot of what I'm digging right now.
As expected, a lot of classic rock; a lot of filk; a fair helping of Dylan, Bruce Cockburn and the Beatles. A few folk and country offerings, a dozen or so faith-based entries past and present; and a traditional number or two. (I couldn't find an author for "Lanigan's Ball" other than that venerable composer Traditional. Perhaps
braider or ohiblather know the song's genesis. I discovered it through a local duo called the Dady Brothers.)"Drift Away" is here for sentimental reasons, regarding my father. My dad was no rock-and-roller by any stretch of the imagination -- for the most part, he tended to think music began and ended with southern-gospel groups like the Statesmen, the Florida Boys and the Masters V. (Elvis was a big fan of those groups as well; I have an unfinished poem somewhere about the subject linking my dad and Elvis in that regard.) But he would occasionally get an earworm stuck in his head he heard in passing somewhere; most were ephemeral, but the one that stuck around for years was Dobie Gray's "Drift Away." Don't know why or how. But to this day, hearing the song always gives me a wistful smile. Even the far inferior remake a few years back by some modern band -- I want to say Uncle Kracker or some such -- who at least had the good sense to enlist Mr. Gray on the refrain. ("Gimme the beat, boys, free my soul ...")
As anyone who puts together one of these lists finds, 100 is a really, really small number. I could have come up with 100 Dylan songs alone, or 100 filks, or such. There's a lot of Phil Keaggy and Wales Road and Ookla the Mok and Leslie Fish and Asylum Street Spankers that undoubtedly would make the second hundred. (#101 would've been Bruce Cockburn's "Put It In Your Heart," incidentally. And I refuse to revise the list, or I'd sneak in Graham Leathers' "Nantucket Sleighride." Oh, wait -- I just did.
( So, here's the list. The order is more or less arbitrary rather than any kind of real stratification, though I tried to put the bestest of the bestest in the top third or so. And would you believe I've never seen Say Anything? )
