For music lovers (like me), this can be quite the challenge. So pardon me while I bang my head against the wall and burn through a few dozen legal pads of scribbled notes, because coming up with only 20 is probably the biggest challenge here. Heck, I could probably choose 20 alone by Tom Petty, or The Beatles, but where would get me? What purpose would that serve? And how many more rhetorical questions would I be remiss in not asking?
This actually took more than a few minutes to compile - more like, a few days? - and even longer to rationalize with myself that these songs were the right ones. I mean, I am sure there are a few compositions that are pretty pissed off at me now, and would love to put my head on a stick - if, of course, songs could actually do such a thing. Lucky for me, I suppose, this isn't possible.
So ... here we go!
1: "The Waiting," Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers: Choosing a TP song was definitely a challenge, but I went with this track from Hard Promises (over "Learning to Fly" and "You Wreck Me," very worthy runners-up). A catchy tune that speaks volumes about the quest for love, and finally finding the right one, with an all-too-true mantra about life in general: The waiting is the hardest part.
2: "The Star-Spangled Banner," Branford Marsalis & Bruce Hornsby: From Ken Burns' Baseball soundtrack, this sax-and-piano instrumental duet is the perfect mixture of melodic harmony. It doesn't strive to mock, make noise, or fail in an attempt to hit the high notes. It is hauntingly perfect, and for me to list this over Karen Newman's version speaks volumes.
3: "Life is Beautiful," Achinoam Nini (Noa): Yes, this is the theme song of Life Is Beautiful, Roberto Benigni's Oscar award-winning film. Noa also wrote the lyrics to the song, together with long-time collaborator Gil Dor. (What, you've never heard of her? You're probably not alone. It's difficult to find this Israeli singer's CDs here in the good ol' USA; in fact, I've had to special-order her collection from Israel).
4: "Voices Carry," 'Til Tuesday: I have always loved this song, in part because of the gritty guitar riff, in part because I wanted to be a white knight and kick Aimee Mann's loser boyfriend to the curb (if you've ever seen the video, you know what I'm talking about ... and if you haven't seen it, look below!).
5: "Ballroom Blitz," Sweet: The song that fellow Central Michigan University Chippewa alums Brian Sowa, Mark Wiecek and I danced to countlessly when at our favorite 1960s-themed nightspot, Wooly Bully's. I have no clue when or why this song became "our" song, but it is, and probably always will be.
6: "Call and Answer," Barenaked Ladies: Catchy and powerful lyrics, but not too wacky-crazy or over-the-top (like many BNL songs can be); mellowish, but really cool when factoring in the acoustic guitar.
7: "Imagine," John Lennon: The ultimate optimistic, utopian song. Can you picture a world without borders, without bias, without prejudice? Now, can we make it a reality?
8: "The River of Dreams," Billy Joel: A very biblical, spiritual song. It's about faith and searching for a greater meaning to life ... basically, it's a deeply philosophical song.
9: "Nutbush City Limits," Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band: You can take the Detroiter out of Detroit, but you can't take Detroit out of the Detroiter. What makes this April 1976 cover of the Tina Turner classic special to me is Seger's commentary to the Cobo Hall crowd at the 2:44 mark of the song (re: the Rolling Stone article). Still true today, Bob, still true!
10: "Atlantic City," Bruce Springsteen: A dark, depressing, bleak song about the Philly mob who had all the concrete contracts to build the hotels and casinos in Atlantic City, this song - and album - stuck a chord with me the moment it was released. Nebraska became my favorite Springsteen album, and remains so today.
11: "Soul Food To Go," Manhattan Transfer: The most powerful jazz volcalese group today, and possibly ever. The versatile quartet recorded their approach to Brazilian music with a definitive jazz slant, and the result was magic.
12: "The Fighting Chippewa (Central Michigan University Fight Song)": How could I live without a fight song? Seriously! Fire Up Chips! (And yes, I was at the game where this was videotaped!)
13: "Anniversary Song," Cowboy Junkies: The fact this was the bridal song for my brother Charles and his wife Elisabeth has no bearing on this choice; it does, however, mean they have excellent taste in music! As lead singer Margo Timmins told the audience at one of the shows Jeff Falcon and I attended, "This is our lone upbeat song." It's true. Cool sidebar: The Junkies are one of the few - if not the only - established bands that stays after concerts and meets with fans, often for several hours.
14: "Romeo and Juliet," Dire Straits: The most amazing song about Shakespearean lovers. Ever.
15: "I'll Never Fall In Love Again," Elvis Costello & Burt Bacharach: From the second Austin Powers movie. The film version is only 87 seconds long; the full version is much better. A song about the dangers and disappointments of falling in love, and the ultimate realization that it's better to try, try again.
16: "The Wanderer," U2 & Johnny Cash: A song about redemption - something the Man in Black was so very, very good at presenting in lyrical form. I stumbled across this one by accident when working at WBFH, and it immediately became one of my favorites.
17: "Temptation Waits," Garbage: To the best of my knowledge, this was never released as a single. A pity; I love its catchy beat and energy.
18: "Under Pressure," Queen & David Bowie: The first part of the song is about widespread poverty and society's lack of compassion for those in the trenches. The second asks why we can't love our fellow man. Combined, it's a powerful social statement about the world in which we live.
19: "Mari-Mac," Great Big Sea: How many songs do you know about forced marriages? If you need to know one, this is the one to know. I love the alliteration and tongue-twister lyrical structure of the chorus (Mari Mac's mother's making Mari Mac marry me / My mother's making me marry Mari Mac / Well I'm going to marry Mari for when Mari's taking care of me / We'll all be feeling merry when I marry Mari Mac), as well as the way the song speeds up as it progresses.
20: "Black Widow," Jefferson Starship: My friend Randy Docks turned me on to this one years ago, and it's been a staple ever since!
