I realize, in trying to come up with this Top 10 thing, my conflict: I dislike lists. I am anti-canon. In creating a list (ala Nick Hornby) one contributes to the mediocrity and homogenization of the very thing the list is purporting to define. To dissect is to destroy. It's Rock and Roll for Christ’s sake!
That said, I am approaching this as something fun rather than something academic. Surely a review of the last 50 years of popular songs would inherently destroy any ambitions of narrowing down (in order) the BEST SONGS EVER. Going over the forum boards at
www.xpn.org, one thing is clear: You can’t authentically create a list which expresses everyone’s opinion of what is good. A song is invisible. It comes out of a speaker and floats in the air until it enters a listening portal, like your ears. It is art.
Of course the Beatles could easily occupy the top positions of such a list. I personally would have to add my favorites in general, and then find the song they are best represented by. Radiohead, Neil Young, Dylan, U2, Wilco, Sonic Youth, Velvet Underground, R.E.M., Beck and so on. But I also must consider Pavement, Lemonheads, The Stooges, The Pixies, Dinosaur Jr, Nirvana, as well as the Jackson 5, Willie Nelson, Elvis, Dean Martin... Songs that mean something to ME. Impressions made years ago which can still cause one to pause, turn up the radio (in theory) and smile. (see: Tom Stoppard’s play “The Real Thing,” where the fulcrum of his main character’s life is represented by the Monkee’s “I’m a Believer!”)
So, in no particular order of importance or quality, here is a listing of great songs which make me smile when I hear or play them. (It is rare these days to actually HEAR your favorite songs on the radio if they are not part of this USA corporate generic so-called Rock‘n Roll Canon.) I think they are wonderful, and as such, I am choosing here the less obvious “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” or “Sweet Jane” or “Wish You Were Here,” in favor of some slightly overlooked or under-represented gems.
Roger Miller-King of The Road
Ray Stevens-El Paso
Roy Orbison-Crying
The Kingsmen-Louie Louie
Barry Mann-Who Put The Bomp
Fats Domino-Blueberry Hill
Buddy Holly-Everyday
The Troggs-Wild Thing
Stevie Wonder-Superstition
Springsteen-I’m on Fire
This could continue all day. I hope the Fan Forum members out there will add some color and spice to this post. I am interested in what YOU really get up and move to, or cry to, or lay down and dream to, not what Blender or Rolling Stone or Lester Bangs (may he rest in peace) would confer as most influential or pivotal.
PS- I excluded Daniel from the list cuz, well, it's on his forum, and of course I'd pick "Speeding Motorcyle" or "Walking The Cow" or "I Killed the Monster"... dozens really. I also left off more contemporary rockers. I don't know why. Help me out here, friends...
PSS-
For those REALLY interested, I'm including the lyrics to perhaps one of the first post-modern pop songs done well over 20 years before post-modernism beacame a term!
"Who Put the Bomp"
One of my favorite songs, ever.
I had the 45 when I was a little boy, and played it on an old RCA 45 player that was tube based, had a built-in speaker and was made outta that hard industrial NASA like plastic that lasted forever and would never break.
Because of the tubes, the thing would get HOT after about 20 minutes of play. What wonderful associations were created sitting at the kitchen table in the cold coal mining town of Ashley, Pennsylvania, my arms wrapped around that player, my face up against the little speaker, the “on” switch glowing orange and these beautiful invisible words spinning around and around, making all the sense in the world to me.
A song about the joy, love and heartbreak of a song-writer, his song, inside a song....
WHO PUT THE BOMP
©1961 Barry Mann/Gerry Goffin
I'd like to thank the guy who wrote the song
That made my baby fall in love with me.
Who put the bomp in the bomp-a-bomp-a-bomp?
Who put the ram in the ram-a-lam-a-ding-dong?
Who put the bop in the bop-she-bop-she-bop?
Who put the dip in the dip-de-dip-de-dip?
Who was that man? I'd like to shake his hand,
He made my baby fall in love with me.
Yeah!
When my baby heard
"Bomp-a-ba-bomp a-bomp-a bomp-bomp",
Every word went right into her heart,
And when she heard that singing
"Ram-a-lam-a-lam a-lam-a-lam-a-ding-dong",
She said we'd never have to part.
Well!
Who put the bomp in the bomp-a-bomp-a-bomp?
Who put the ram in the ram-a-lam-a-ding-dong?
Who put the bop in the bop-she-bop-she-bop?
Who put the dip in the dip-de-dip-de-dip?
Who was that man? I'd like to shake his hand,
He made my baby fall in love with me.
Yeah!
Each time that we're alone,
"Boogety-boogety-boogety-boogety boogety-boogety-shoop"
Sets my baby's heart all aglow,
And every time we dance,
"Dip-de-dip-de-dip, dip-de-dip-de-dip",
She always says she loves me so.
Well!
Who put the bomp in the bomp-a-bomp-a-bomp?
Who put the ram in the ram-a-lam-a-ding-dong?
Who put the bop in the bop-she-bop-she-bop?
Who put the dip in the dip-de-dip-de-dip?
Who was that man? I'd like to shake his hand,
He made my baby fall in love with me.
Yeah!
[Spoken]
Darling,
Bomp-a bomp-a bomp-a bomp,
My honey,
Ram-a-lam-a-ding-dong for ever,
When I say dip-da-dip-da-dip-da-dip,
You know that I mean it from the bottom of my boogety-boogety shoop.
Who was that man? I'd like to shake his hand,
He made my baby fall in love with me.
Yeah!
Who put the bomp in the bomp-a-bomp-a-bomp?
Who put the ram in the ram-a-lam-a-ding-dong?
Who put the bop in the bop-she-bop-she-bop?
Who put the dip in the dip-de-dip-de-dip?
(fade)
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