Favorite Songs: 45 - 41

Hooray for not taking a week between posts! Ha.
This is probably the moodiest set of 5 songs on the list. At least so far, anyway. Think there will be a few even moodier groups coming up, if I'm not mistaken.
So I recall something about saying that I'd respond to comments from previous posts in the next post. So, to that end...
Young Matthew writes:
"MCR has always been one of my favorite lyrical bands. And Helena is right on the top of my list of MCR songs too!!"
Aye lad, I knew I liked you for a reason. "Helena" is not quite my favorite MCR song, though. It's my 2nd favorite. The first is about 3 songs away...

45. "Push" by The Cure (The Head On the Door)
If I were ever in a band, I would insist this song be in the play list. Are there more lyrically interesting songs out there? Absolutely. But musically, this just seems like it would be a fun song to perform live. All sorts of energy, great tempo, great changes. It's about 80% instrumental, the music acting more like verse and chorus than the vocals. Just a great tune. The video is from the video The Cure In Orange. No, they aren't "in orange" they are in Orange, France, in an old castle. One of my favorite concert videos ever, and right before Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me came out and "Just Like Heaven" actually made the band famous outside Europe. And one of the few periods of the band's history that Robert Smith doesn't have the tweaked out hair. Sorry 'bout the rambling, here's the song.
Line: "A smile to hide the fear away."



44. "True Colors" by Cyndi Lauper (True Colors)
Seriously, do I even need to try to convince anyone how beautiful this song is? Never mind the millions of commercials it's been used in. We all gots ta make that money, right? I'll just stand back and let the awesomeness that is Cyndi Lauper shine.
Line: "Can't remember when I last saw you laughing."
(The time she whispers it, after the musical break. For whatever reason that's my favorite part of the song.)



43. "Cancer" by My Chemical Romance (The Black Parade)
This song, as awesome as it is, is kind of hard to listen to sometimes. One of my wife's very close friends, who was a bride's maid in our wedding, died of cancer right around the time we started listening to these guys in general and specifically this album. Grr... Can't even write about it right now.
Line: No single line suffices, thus the reason I picked a video that just shows the lyrics.



42. "If I Fell" by The Beatles (Something New)
Lennon and McCartney. Has there ever been such perfect harmonizing on a song these two didn't sing together? I don't think so. Many have tried, all have failed.
Line: "I must be sure from the very start that you will love me more than her."



41. "King Of Birds" by R.E.M. (Document)
Most of Document is kind of hard, to an extent, especially for R.E.M. Even "The One I Love" is pretty rough and edgy, really, but the real rock songs are "Oddfellows Local 151" or "Finest Worksong" or even "It's the End Of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)". But then, near the end of the album, right before the aforementioned "Oddfellows Local 151", which itself is a bad ass song, just to satisfy your need for some classic R.E.M., there's "King Of Birds". It sounds like it's got a bit of a Middle Eastern influence, in a way, but not quite. Kind of hard to peg. The live version on the Tourfilm video is phenomenal, but there wasn't a version on YouTube with the awesome a capella intro or the sweet ass finishing section, so I'm just going with the album version with the horribly cheesy video. Enjoy.
Line: "I am the king of all I see - my kingdom for a voice."



As always, comments are appreciated.

Favorite songs: 50 - 46

Finally getting to this, a couple days later than I wanted to. The first 25 songs out of the top 50 are pretty interchangeable ranking wise. The top 25, though, when we get there, are pretty steadfast and, in my humble opinion, miles above every song on this list. But, before we can get there, we have to start here...

50. "Helena" by My Chemical Romance (The Black Parade)
My second favorite MCR song. This song absolutely rocked when we saw them live. Obvious choice to close out the show. Love the music, the energy, the Queen-esque theatricality, everything. Just a great song. The video rules too.
Line: "Came a time when every star fall brought you to tears again."



49. "High On a Riverbed" by Toad the Wet Sprocket (Pale)
The first 4 songs off Pale were all singles, but for some reason none of them really got any airplay until fear, the next album, came out. Funny, since all 4 are better than the 2 singles from fear that made the band famous ("All I Want" and "Walk On the Ocean"), which I've stated at some point on this list that I hate. This one's kind of a depressing song, but really good.
Line: "Why try when everything I do feels half-right?"



48. "Ana Ng" by They Might Be Giants (Lincoln)
Another song that's just really fun and goofy. Not to say that it's not a quality song, because it is, very much so. Fur song to sing at the top of your lungs while driving down a busy street with the windows down. Over and over. And over.
Line: "They don't need me here, and I know you're there."




47. "Carpet Crawlers '99" by Genesis (Greatest Hits)
The original version of this song, from the epic 1974 album The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, would have made this list as well, but probably closer to the back end, 120's or so. The reason this version ranks so high was that it marked the first (and last) time that all five "original" members of Genesis performed together since Peter Gabriel left the band after the Lamb tour. Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins share vocals on this one, and sound remarkable together. The quick little one-song-only reunion sparked rumors of a reformation of the original line up, but it was not to be. Not only was it the last time Gabriel sang with Genesis, but Collins also left the band soon after.
Line: "We've got to get in to get out."

(Naturally, I can only find the original version on You(piece of shit)Tube. Go figure.)



46. "Time After Time (Ann Elise)" by R.E.M. (Reckoning)
Most of the time, with R.E.M., anyway, the best song on any given album is not released as a single. That is the case on Reckoning without question. This song is superior to every other song on that album in every possible way. It's just a shame that you can't understand half the words. Mumbling bastard.
Line: "If your friends took a fall, are you obligated to follow?"

Favorite Songs: 110 - 106

I changed the comments settings. Didn't realize you had to have an account to leave one before. Now anyone can leave one, so please do so if you feel so inclined.

110. "Wind It Up" by Barenaked Ladies (Barenaked Ladies Are Me)
More of a silly break up song, the type of song BNL are more known for. The guitar part in this song is one of the better ones in their catalogue, and overall it's just a nice steady rock song. The video is also one of my favorites. BNL had an air guitar contest for this song, and the winners got clips of their videos in the official video. My personal favorite is the little kid doing the "Addicted To Love" type video.
Line: "I was a baby when I learned to suck, but you have raised it to an art form."



109. "Hollow Hills" by Bauhaus (Mask)
Definitely one of the more somber and morose songs on my little list. For only being around for about four years or so, Bauhaus had an amazing impact on the "Goth" music scene, yet you rarely ever hear them being named as an influence for anybody, even when they are blatantly ripping them off. At any rate, this is one of the most haunting songs I've ever heard, even if you can't really understand half of what's being sung.
Line: "Love lies there still... So sad."



108. "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" by My Chemical Romance (Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge)
Probably the best pure rock song My Chemical Romance have recorded. And yes, it's another break up song. Love the guitars in this song, too.
Line: "Forget about the dirty looks, the photographs your boyfriend took."



107. "High Hopes" by Pink Floyd (The Division Bell)
This is one of only two Pink Floyd songs on here, surprising with how much I like them. Then again, I like The Who even more, and they aren't on here at all. Go figure. A lot of people didn't really like this album, but I thought it was pretty good. Since it ended up being their last studio album, this song, the final one on the album, seems like a fitting finale for one of the best bands ever.
Line: "Our weary eyes still stray to the horizon, though down this road we've been so many times."



106. "A Few Hours After This" by The Cure (B-side of "Inbetween Days" single)
One of the very few B-sides on this list, but one of the many by The Cure that could have been album tracks, or even singles in some cases. I personally think this song would have fit better on The Head On the Door (the album "Inbetween Days" is from) better than at least 3 songs that actually made it on to the album. The orchestration is some of the best they did in the earlier years, and the drum part is one of my favorite of any song they've done, even with as simple as it is.
Line: "Put your hands around my heart and squeeze me til I'm dry."

(Video note -- There's no video of any versions that are actually by The Cure, so this is from a Cure cover band called The Curse. The live strings don't sound as impressive as the synthesized strings on the original recording, but it's not too bad of a version.)

Favorite Songs: 119-116

119. "Dead!" by My Chemical Romance (The Black Parade)
So yeah, I never really read the lyrics to this song before, and actually debated moving it up the list once I did. The Black Parade is basically all about someone dying, and all the situations and emotions surrounding it, and this is one of the more central songs to that theme. Great song.
Line: "Tongue-tied and oh-so squeamish you never fell in love did you get what you deserved?"



118. "Softly" by The Soup Dragons (Lovegod)
Just a really pretty song that got lost on a mediocre at best album. Met these guys at a pre-concert meet-and-greet at the old Empire in downtown Cleveland. One of the girls at the table I was at was telling the bass player about a friend of theirs that came to the show hoping to get a ticket at the door, but was stuck waiting in the car because it was sold out. The dude took the girl out to the car, got her friend, and brought him in, completely free. Thought that was pretty bad ass. Too bad the rest of the band were a bunch of douche bags. Throwing another song by them on here that is also pretty good, called "Dream-E-Forever," because I can't find any videos for "Softly."
Line: "Every time I see your face, you know I softly die."



117. "Pray Your Gods" by Toad the Wet Sprocket (fear)
These guys were popular for about 5 minutes, and it was mostly due to some of their worst songs, such as "Walk On the Ocean" and "All I Want." This song was off the same album, which wasn't anywhere near as good as their first album, Pale. This is probably the best song off fear, just a beautiful, haunting, chilling song. This is also one of my favorite lines from any song...
Line: "Is it that they fear the pain of death? Or could it be they fear the joy of life?"



116. "A Thousand Hours" by The Cure (Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me)
Definitely one of the prettier Cure songs from the pre-Disintegration albums. Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me is probably one of the most... I don't know... odd, I guess, albums that I have. Never quite follows one specific path. Goes from angry hate filled songs ("The Kiss", "Torture", "The Snakepit") to some of the more romantic songs Robert Smith has ever written (""A Thousand Hours", "Catch", "One More Time") to just straight up pop ("Just Like Heaven", "Hot Hot Hot!!!", "Why Can't I Be You?"). It would have probably been better if it was split up into two separate albums instead of one double album, because in the end it is such a mess that some really good songs get lost in all the chaos.
Line: "A thousand wasted hours a day, just to feel my heart for a second."

Favorite Songs: 139-135

139. "Jealousy" by Pet Shop Boys (Behaviour)
I am kind of surprised there aren't more Pet Shop Boys songs on this list, honestly. Granted, the only CD I have of theirs is Discography, the singles collection that came out in 1991. However, that only encompassed their first 3 albums. Since then, they've released 9 more albums, a live album, and a couple more singles collections and greatest hits albums. Anyway. That has nothing to do with this song. Honestly, when I bought Discography it was only for "West End Girls" and their cover version of "Where the Streets Have No Name." It instantly became one of my favorite CD's to listen to, especially for the slower moodier songs, like this one. If you can hunt down the actual video on YouTube, it's worth it. The live version I linked is good too, but the original video's better. Just couldn't embed it.
Line: "I never knew time passed so slow. I wish I'd never met you."



138. "The Last Beat Of My Heart" by Siouxsie and the Banshees (Peepshow)
This story is kind of the same as above. The only difference is I actually have a few other albums by Siouxsie and the Banshees, not just their singles collection. Peepshow is one of those albums, and the album version of this song is amazing. The version on the singles collection is live, and while it's still good, it kind of misses the atmosphere of this version. Either way, bad ass song from one of my favorite female singers.
Line: "At the close of the day the sunset cloaks these words in shadow play."



137. "Your Song" by Elton John (Elton John)
This one kinda had to be on here, seeing as how it was the song Holley and I danced to at our wedding. Otherwise, it honestly might not have even been included on this list. Still a classic song though.
Line: "I hope you don't mind that I put down in words how wonderful life is while you're in the world."



136. "Drop" by The Jesus and Mary Chain (Automatic)
I used to like this album a lot more in high school, but it's still a solid offering. My love for this song, though, has never changed. Clocks in at just under 2 minutes, and just leaves me longing for more.
Line: "The way you drop is like a stone. Make like you're flying, but you've just been thrown."



135. "Teenagers" by My Chemical Romance (The Black Parade)
When we went to see My Chemical Romance in '08, this was one of the highlights of the show. (But not the highlight. That's later on the list. Ooooh! Foreshadowing!) I wasn't really a fan of this song until then, but it just stood out so much that I've liked it since. The video is so much of a ripoff of the "In the Flesh" scene from the movie Pink Floyd's The Wall that it's amazing these guys weren't sued for infringement.
Line: " They said all teenagers scare the living shit out of me."

Favorite Songs: 150 - 148

150. "Whiter Shade Of Pale" by Procol Harem (Procol Harem)
Easily one of the most instantly recognizable songs on this list for one simple reason -- the bad ass organ. A study of British radio airplay logs showed that this was the most played song in England over the past 70 years. Over The Beatles, the Stones, The Who, everyone. There are over 800 known cover versions of this song. Not bad for a one hit wonder group.
Line: "And so it was that later, as the miller told his tale, that her face, at first just ghostly, turned a whiter shade of pale."


149. "Raining In Baltimore" by Counting Crows (August and Everything After)
I have loved this song ever since I got this album. In fact, it's the only song I ever really listen to by Counting Crows any more. Absolute desperation, longing and loneliness at their best.
Line: "I miss you. I guess that I should."


148. "The Ghost Of You" by My Chemical Romance (Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge)
Yeah, I'll admit it. I'm a My Chemical Romance fan. I like the theatricality of the music and videos, I like that they don't write about getting drunk or fucking, I like that their songs actually tell stories. Sue me.
Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge is a pretty decent album, and this is one of the three best songs off of it.
Line: "I never said I'd try and wait forever. If I died we'd be together now."