Favorite Songs: 20 - 16

20: "Tomorrow" by James (Wah Wah)
Wah Wah was an interesting album. It was recorded at the same time as Laid, but in a different studio. There weren't many songs that actually got completed, as it was mostly just jam sessions and experiments, some of which ended up being songs on later James albums. One of the completed songs was "Tomorrow," which Tim Booth (lead singer) has said was written to keep a friend from jumping off a roof. Turns out it's a pretty nifty song. The version on Wah Wah was kind of rough and unpolished, then a few years later it was cleaned up and included on the album Whiplash. Both versions are good, but I like the Wah Wah one a tad bit more.
Line: "Gotta keep faith that your path will change, gotta keep faith that your luck will change tomorrow."

First time I've ever seen this video... It's the more refined version off Whiplash.


19. "In My Life" by The Beatles (Rubber Soul)
My all time favorite Beatles song. It still amazes me what this band was able to accomplish in 7 years. 27 #1 singles. (20 in the U.S., 17 in the U.K., 7 of them different.) For the week of April 11, 1964, the Beatles had fourteen singles on the Billboard Hot 100. They held the number 1, 2, 4, 7, 9, 14, 38, 48, 50, 52, 61, 74, 78 and 81 slots. One week earlier, five Beatles singles had filled the entire top five. (Both of those would be records.) 8 consecutive #1 albums. And, oh yeah, a cultural revolution. All from 1964-1971. Fucking astounding. This song, for me personally, is the ultimate achievement of that 7 years of chaos.
Line: "Though I often stop and think about them, in my life I've loved you more."



18. "Only In Dreams" by Weezer (Weezer)
I've just always loved this song. I like how the instruments fade in one by one, then the two quick verses, then the fade out fade in fade out thing with each instrument to end the song (and album).
Line: "You walk up to her, ask her to dance. She says, 'Hey, maybe I just might take a chance.'"



17. "The Dance" by Garth Brooks (Garth Brooks)
The only country song on this entire list ranks this high because of what it means to me personally. It talks about how avoiding a situation would have resulted in missing out on a lot of pain, but that the joy that was also involved was worth not avoiding the situation. Like you couldn't figure that out for yourself. Ha ha.
Line: "Holding you, I held everything."



16. "Never Tear Us Apart" by INXS (Kick)
The (synthesized) violin intro... The silent pauses between verses... Michael Hutchence's fucking voice... Kick was INXS at their best, and this was, without question, the best song off that album. A song of complete, absolute devotion.
Line: "If I hurt you, I'd make wine from your tears."