Monday, January 24, 2011

Top 10 Songs


This blogfest is a fun one. Alex Cavanaugh  has asked us what our favorite songs of ALL time are and why... So here we go... you will note SOME of these I love truly and deeply for sentimental reason, so for lyrics, and SOME because they just are so fabulous...




Dream On  by Aerosmith I have a soft spot for a ballad that totally rocks. And I have a soft spot for Aerosmith ANYWAY. I adore Steven Tyler (any man who can scream like that, really), too, but this is definitely my favorite of theirs.



Beautiful  by Carol King I grew up with Carol King—one of the few from my mom's collection that stuck. I love this as a mantra for attitude and believe it wholeheartedly. “You got to get up every morning, with a smile on your face and show the world, all the love in your heart. And people gunna treat you better, you're gunna find, yes you will, you're as beautiful, as you feel!”


Love Hurts  by Nazareth This was one I never heard until Junior High dances, not having an older, hip sibling, but from the first, I loved it, and it fit SO WELL with the angst of that age.



Bohemian Rhapsody  by Queen Can there be ANY question how much this song rocks? I mean seriously? It is classic, fun, drama, and rock all rolled into one.



Sex, I'm a...  by Berlin I loved Berlin already when I left for college, but hadn't heard this older song until a dorm neighbor exposed me. It struck a chord with my rebel self.


Kiss Off  by Violent Femmes This is another freshmen year college discovery and the whole album reminds me of my favorite year ever. This particularly one though, I adore for THIS:

I take one one one cause you left me and
two two two for my family and
3 3 3 for my heartache and
4 4 4 for my headaches and
5 5 5 for my loneliness and
6 6 6 for my sorrow and
7 7 for no tomorrow and
8 8 I forget what 8 was for and
9 9 9 for a lost god and
10 10 10 10 for everything everything everything everything



Don't Forget About Me  by Simple Minds This Breakfast Club theme holds a place, I think, for a whole generation. I love Simple Minds anyway, but I think this speaks to how we all want to be memorable—to make a difference to the lives we touch.


Self Esteem  by the Offspring This one I first heard AFTER I was past this part of my life (thankfully) and having survived it, I just have such incredible fondness for that... erm... promiscuity because you think it's all you've got? (was that a TMI moment?) Whatever the case—I love these guys all-around... the playful scream-song is something I dig, but the lyrics on this one touch me.



You Learn  by Alanis Morrisette And here we have my life philosophy. Never sit on the sidelines, no matter how painful. Buck up. Live life. Because the lessons from the pain are really what it's all about.



Unwritten  by Natasha Bedingfield I love this song for its philosophy and as a writer. It really is the newest one that really moves me.\



And just so you know... if you asked me tomorrow, about half this list would change...

66 comments:

Andrew said...

This is a good idea....
I may very well use it in my own blog.

And I like several of your choices. Dream On, in particular.

RHYTHM AND RHYME said...

I knew several of yours but others not. A great selection. Well done.
Yvonne,

Ted Cross said...

Dream On, Carole King, and Queen are all favorites of mine.

Ellie Garratt said...

I'm so with you on the list changing! A great list - I nearly included the Queen and Simple Minds songs on mine.

My Top Ten Songs

Melissa said...

Queen! Aerosmith! SImple Minds! GOSH! You are after my own heart, aren't you???

Old Kitty said...

Simple Minds!! Love em!! Especially this song cos I love the film too!!!

Great eclectic choices!! Thanks for sharing! Take care
x

Elizabeth Spann Craig said...

Great songs here~! The Femmes remind me of college, too.

Jessica Bell said...

LOVE your list! Violent Femmes, Simple Minds, Offspring! LOVE LOVE LOVE! :o)

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Nazareth! I have all of their albums.

T. Powell Coltrin said...

My list changes every day too depending on the mood, hormones and life experience.

Great list!

Jeremy [Retro] said...

femmes, simple mind... ahhh the 80's i had a chance to interview the femmes on their tour bus in the late 90's what a great experience!
what a great selection of music
thanks for the melody's,
jeremy
[iZombie]

Dan said...

Great list! Not only have I heard of all of these except one, but I can't argue with any of them.

Dan - my list.

Jules said...

Great list! I so wanted "Love Hurts" on my list put could not find a good sound bite. And "Unwritten," I love her :)
Jules @ Trying To Get Over The Rainbow

Jen said...

Great list! I love angry Alanis.

CA Heaven said...

Some cool songs on that list, in particular Queen and Simple Minds. My favorite Simple Minds song was Someone Somewhere in Summertime >:)

Cold As Heaven

Summer Frey said...

I almost put Aerosmith on mine too!
And honestly, Jagged Little Pill is a great album--I should have cheated and just put the whole damn thing as an entry...

Unknown said...

I love Carol King! Great list.

Jan Morrison said...

I'm a big Carole King fan and I like Alanis too. I'm not festing today - I told Jemi my first fave today, and Rosie my second so you'll get my third favorite TODAY - hmmm....Good Mother by Jann Ardenne.

Carol Kilgore said...

I blogged about music but in a different way today. Couldn't choose ten. I like many of yours, though :)

Luna said...

Great list! Love Kiss Off by the Violent Femmes.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Offspring! Very cool Hart - you rocker chick.
Thanks for participating!

Tara said...

Yep, my list would change weekly, I'm sure. Love the songs on yours.

I Must Be Off said...

Hey! Good idea. Love your list. I've been meaning to do something similar on my blog, but I'll do the top 10 songs played the most around the world (according to my travel experience).

M.J. Fifield said...

This is a very cool list. I love it!

LTM said...

awesomeness awesomeness awesomeness... I'd say the entire albums for Queen AND Violent Femmes, and oh, how I love that classic Berlin~ :D <3

Hart Johnson said...

Ha! I've been reading some blogs, but Lots of comments--YAY! Thanks so much everyone! Now I need to hit everyone elses lists!

Cheeseboy said...

Okay, this is the third one of these in a row that I have read and so far, I relate most with your list.

I have never been much of an Aerosmith fan, but I have to give it up for Dream On, an amazing tune.

And you're not going to believe this but I am IN the SELF ESTEME video! They filmed the video at a concert I went to and I have about a 2 second cameo.

Sarah Ahiers said...

oh man, this is a GREAT LIST!
i prefer Gone Away by Offspring, but Self esteem gets huge props. And Queen should be on everyone's list. For reals

M Pax said...

I have a lot of these songs. Love Hurts is a great song. Love both Nazareth's version and Roy Orbison's original.

vic caswell said...

GREAT LIST!!! aerosmith, the offrspring, queen, alanis.... awesome stuff!! :)

Pat Tillett said...

Fantastic list! Tapestry is one of my all time favorite albums.

Nicki Elson said...

Love, love, love this list! I swear, every song I gave a little squeal. (except for Bohemian Rhapsody. I'm apparently the only one in America who doesn't care for it. :/) And then you top off the fantastic with Unwritten! I've got a whole story about that song & writing. It means a lot to me, plus it's awesome. Nice work here. ;)

VR Barkowski said...

Yowza, you've got a lot of women on here! I think every generation ends up discovering Love Hurts at a Jr. High dance. Pretty funny. Love Queen - Boho Rhap not so much, but Queen in general. And I haven't heard Tapestry in ages. Think I still have a copy on vinyl. *facepalm*

Hannah said...

This is a fantastic list!! Aw, Simple Minds. Every time I hear that song I want to watch The Breakfast Club. And my list changes by the hour too! Currently I'm listening to Your Love by The Outfield. Go figure. "I don't want to lose your love...toniiiight!"

Arlee Bird said...

A couple that I am unfamiliar with, but overall a great list. I especially like the version of "Dream On" done by Greg X Volz (
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNKdxIy_JDc )

Lee
Make sure you check my Wednesday post!
Tossing It Out

Abby Minard said...

Great list- love Breakfast Club- that song really does speak to that generation. Any Queen song gets an A+ in my book!

Wendy Tyler Ryan said...

Know and like most of these. Great list!

Budd said...

great list, Offspring rock.

SY said...

this is the second blog i've come across (so far) participating in this blog fest.. interesting to see the difference in selections

Colene Murphy said...

Aerosmith, Queen, The Offspring oh my!! What great musical taste! I keep seeing Alanis everywhere today too!

Lydia Kang said...

Whenever that Aerosmith songs comes on the radio, I always listen to it. His voice is amazing!

Ella said...

Great list, I love a lot of your picks, Queen,
Aerosmith, and you put Nazareth, "Love Hurts"! I hear this on the radio yesterday, took me back~
Fun to read

Michael Di Gesu said...

You've got some great ones here, Hart.

YAY, Queen and Berlin!

Michael

Missed Periods said...

I love the Femmes too and "Dream On." It must have been hard to narrow down your selection.

Jane Kennedy Sutton said...

I’m glad you had a song from your mom’s collection so I can say I know one of these songs—and I do agree it’s a great song.

Jennie Bailey said...

Excellent list! I could have added any of these to my Top 30! Dream On is a classic. I can't believe I forget it!

Unknown said...

You have some great tracks. I love Simple Minds that rhythm and that voice :) Fabulous.

James Garcia Jr said...

Nice to meet you, Hart. This is quite a good list. I love Queen, Alanis, Carole King and Aerosmith. Great Simple Minds tune, too. Plus, you've got some other things that I am unfamiliar with. I will definitely check out Violent Femmes and N. Bedingfield.
Thanks,

-James

Vicki Rocho said...

I love this blogfest...reminding me of so many bands I'd forgotten about - Simple Minds! Violent Femmes.

Jemi Fraser said...

Queen, Aerosmith, Carole King... LOVE your list!!! :)

Liz P said...

Dream On and Bohemian Rhapsody. Excellent! Love your list! :)

Anonymous said...

Great list, Hart! A few of these would certainly be on my top ten. Well, in one formation of that list or another. ;-) Love how your tastes span so many different groups and styles.

baygirl32 said...

Great List!

dolorah said...

Awesome list. So fun to travel back to high school and think, man am I glad that's over. :)

......dhole

ali cross said...

Offspring, YES! Your list is fantastic. I love all of those songs!

Karen M. Peterson said...

This is such a great list. Well, I have to admit that I'm over "Unwritten." I had a roommate that played the crap out of that song and I just can't listen to it anymore.

Trisha said...

You've reminded me of some of the tunes I have been wanting to hear for yeeears! Thank you :)

Denise Covey said...

Some excellent songs. Aerosmith! Great! Alanis! Wowie! Love her.

Denise Covey said...

I'll be back to read your above post. Gotta go now! (Oh, that's a song!)

A Beer for the Shower said...

Aerosmith, Queen, and The Offspring would all be on my list too. Groovy list. And nice blog you've got here.

Unknown said...

Dagnabbit!!! I KNEW I forgot a dang song on my list! I lovvvvvvve Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield. SHe should have made my list. Is it too late to change? ;-)

RosieC said...

Great choices, Hart! I really like the songs you picked, though I haven't heard Natasha Bedingfield. Off to YouTube I go :) Thanks!

RosieC said...

Nevermind. I know that song! Nice choice :)

The Words Crafter said...

Simple Minds!!!! Dream On, Love Hurts-what a fantastic list!

Powdered Toast Man said...

I think The Offspring are underrated. They are a great band but sometimes I forget about them. I just added a few songs on my ipod. The song you picked is pretty good.

Deniz Bevan said...

Now that's a fun mix! Most of those are on my player too, especially the rock bands.