My all-time favorite songs (Pt. 1)

Here's a list of some (!) of my all-time favorite songs. This is not, as Andy thought, a ranking of my favorite songs, just attempted descriptions of why I like them. Some are deep (“Atlantic City”), some are not (“Flava in Ya Ear”), but what ties them all together is I’m always glad when they come up on shuffle. If I had to burn one CD for the rest of my life, these songs would be on there without question. I’d never get tired of these. [Due to this last fact, some newer (to me) songs that I really like have been left off, because I’m not quite sure yet if they quite make it to that standard (see, or listen to, rather, Hayes Carll “She Left Me for Jesus” and Spoon “You Got Yr Cherry Bomb”).] Without further ado, to the music [in no particular order, of course]!

The Replacements - “Bastards of Young” – Tim—The best song about being young and confused about damn near everything, and having no idea what/who you want: ‘The ones who love us best/are the ones we lay to rest/we visit their graves on holidays at best/The ones who love us least/are the ones we die to please/if it’s any consolation, I don’t begin to understand it’.

El-P – “The Overly Dramatic Truth” – I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead—Yeah, as my friend described it, it’s really angry. But I love it because it’s a rap song that’s different from damn near every other rap song. It’s about a screwed-up relationship, with a remarkably mature perspective that’s equally as ambivalent about the situation: “Do as I say not as I do.” I think everybody who’s been in a crumbling relationship but not sure how to act can relate to that sentiment. Plus it sounds cool, so it’s got that going for it.

Tom Waits – “Come On Up to the House” – Mule Variations—I’m not sure if this song is about death or Jesus or both, but it’s fucking beautiful. There’s something about the phrase ‘come on up to the house’ that, to me, evokes an image of a house, very cozy and home-y, on a hill above a road, and the friendly sentiment of the invitation: things are tough here out on the road, you’re tired, hungry, why don’t you come on up to the house? What can I say, it just gets me.

Squarepusher – “Theme for Ernest Borgnine” – Feed Me Weird Things—Why Ernest Borgnine? I don't have a fucking clue. But it’s good. So good. I know not everybody likes it, but I do, and I have a blog. I guess that makes me (self-)important.


Craig Mack – “Flava In Ya Ear” – (I have no idea what album’s this on)—Probably the best rap song of the 90s, and I’m not kidding. For everybody who hasn’t listened to it since the sixth grade, get that shit on iTunes. The beat is great, it’s catchy as all hell, Mack’s flow is smooth. No, the lyrics aren’t deep; it’s a song about how great of a rapper he is. But since when is that a problem? This song bounces, and you’ll be singing the hook for the next eight years (as long as it was between when it came out and when I finally downloaded it).


Hey, remember when hockey jerseys were cool? My closet does.

Rancid – “It’s Quite Alright” – Rancid (2000)—I’m not really sure what to say about this song, other than it’s genius, so I’ll just pass along how Vic Ruggiero of the Slackers described it to me: “It’s like something Dylan would write.” Yeah, but the lyrics are comprehensible, too. Plus profound AND concise, which is a great combination.

The White Stripes – “Ball & Biscuit” – Elephant—The lyrics to this song, however, are completely incomprehensible, and I get the impression that they were intended that way. Nonsensical is the best way to describe them. But that’s not the point. Just listen to the way the guitar comes in at the very beginning, and that’s it. You’re hooked. I don’t even like guitar solos, and this is a 7-minute song with about 40 seconds of lyrics, and it’s still one of my favorites. How the hell does that work? Well.

Ryan Adams – “To Be Young” – Heartbreaker—Is that David Spade? [Honorable mention to “My Sweet Carolina” from this same album. I just didn’t want to load up on ‘Heartbreaker’ songs.]

Common w/ Kanye West – “The Food” – Be—Like “Flava In Ya Ear” for the 00s, except with a social conscience, and better lyrics. But that beat, good lord, does it bounce.

Black Star w/ Common – “Respiration” – Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star—The only reason this is listed after “The Food” is I was thinking of Common songs I like. They really have nothing to do with each other, except for they’re both about living in the city and how it’s shitty. But other than that, not much. The big difference is this song has heft behind it. And I mean that in the best possible way. The song is profound without being heavy-handed, unlike basically all of Kweli’s solo work. (As a complete aside, I’m waiting for the day when the word ‘Message!’ is inserted into Kweli songs like in “Don’t Be a Menace”.) I’ve always liked Mos better than Kweli (obviously) and I think this song is a good companion piece to “Thieves in the Night” which follows immediately after on the album. According to the liner notes, “Thieves” was completely Kweli’s creation, where he basically decided take a key paragraph from “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison and turn it into a song (which is cool, though it works way better as a piece of prose than a hook). “Respiration”, despite Kweli and Common, is pretty clearly Mos’ baby, and it works, I think, so much better as a song. It’s substantial, it’s deep, and it moves. But I think the best, and most accurate thing I can say about it is that it’s just good. Check out the AV Club’s Permanent Records Hall of Fame for their description of this album, written by Nathan Rabin, who’s just cool:
www.avclub.com/content/feature/permanent_records_albums_from_9
[I don't know what's up with links on this site. Just add a 9 to the end to get it to work.]

The Articles – “Dragonfly” – Flip f’Real—You’ll be sorely missed, Articles, but your memory will live on with this catchy-ass, grooving song. Let me know when they’re ready. –They’re ready.

Bruce Springsteen – “Atlantic City” – Nebraska—a ton of other people have written whole books (well, more like chapters) on ‘Nebraska’, so there’s not much new that I can add. But I will say this: “Highway Patrolman” is a five-minute emotional pummeling from beginning to end; “Atlantic City” is an emotional sucker punch. (The line “I’ve been looking for a job but it’s hard to find/ down here it’s just winners and losers and don’t get caught on the wrong side of that line” always gets me.) Is that better? I don’t know, they’re both great songs, but “Atlantic City” is a better rock song. If you don’t believe me, check out Springsteen Plugged, where he does an electric version with a full band. Anything can sound haunted if it’s sparse enough, but it takes some serious songwriting for hauntedness to come through with a full-on, 1980s keyboard stack involved. (There’s video on YouTube. It has not aged well.)


Bob Dylan – “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue” – Bringin It All Back Home—Probably (though not for certain) my favorite Dylan song, despite the fact I have no idea what it’s about. The title would suggest the end of a relationship, but if you actually listen to the lyrics, it’s not so clear. But still great.

The Slackers – “The Nurse” – Wasted Days—Another song whose lyrics don't make the most sense, but it’s just a well-crafted song, and you really can’t beat the chorus: “So roll out the stretcher/ and make me feel better/ for what is bad, don’t feel glad/ for what is worse, I’m the nurse.” And if you can see them live, do it. You'll have a great time, especially if they're playing the Blind Pig.


Gladys Knight & the Pips – “Midnight Train to Georgia”—The Pips? “Woo woo!” Come on, man. It even works as high comedy (maybe not high, but certainly comedy):



The Clash – “White Man in Hammersmith Palais”—There’s an on-going debate in my head as to whether this or “Straight to Hell” is my favorite Clash song. Truth is, I don’t know, but this song is just more fun, and if the main criteria is not getting sick of it, then I think this one may have to win.

Cake – “Stick Shifts and Safety Belts” – Fashion Nugget—A song about girls and big American cars? Making fun of Japanese cars? Yes, please.

Murder by Death – “Brother”—I haven’t been blown away by the rest of this group’s songs, but this one, kind of a cousin to “Highway Patrolman” in more ways than one, gets it right. It sounds good and has real pathos in the lyrics: “There may be better brothers but you’re the only one that’s mine.” I wish I could take that line back behind the middle school and get it pregnant.

Tom Waits – “Hoist That Rag” – Real Gone—I was hesitant to include this song, because there’s a real danger any list of my favorite songs could turn into a Tom Waits love fest, but it came on iPod on shuffle and I couldn’t leave it out. If there’s any question of Tom Waits’ greatness (and if there is then I’m gonna have to ask you to leave), this song should settle it. Just stylistically speaking, it’s a remarkable achievement. How many late-70s coffee shop singer/songwriters could produce a song like this in 2004? Just one. Just listen to the interplay between the guitar and his voice with the percussion. It’s fucking genius. This may be my second favorite use of the guitar ever, behind, of course, “Ball & Biscuit”.

Rolling Stones – “Beast of Burden”—My favorite Stones song, easily beating out “Wild Horses” with “Sympathy for the Devil” pulling up in third, and I have Sara to thank for introducing me to it. I’ve always been a fan of simplicity, and that’s the best way to describe this song: simple and uncomplicated, in the very best possible way.

Zion I w/ Knowmatic, Eclipse 427 & Rasco – “All tha Way” – Mind Over Matter—If you don’t get down to this song, then “you don’t need help, you need a good ass-kicking.” Or maybe you just don't like good hip-hop, but either way the ass-kicking thing still applies.

The Roots w/ Cody Chestnutt – “The Seed 2.0” – Phrenology—I realize this may not be the most obscure song to add here, but I don’t give a shit. In a convenient little musical experiment, this song can be heard without the Roots’ contribution, in Cody Chestnutt’s original solo version. Listen to it; it couldn’t do version 2.0’s laundry. My feelings on Roots in general fluctuate pretty frequently between loving everything they do and a broad fondness for them, but “The Seed” always pulls me back towards the former. I like them for the same reasons I like El-P (and to a lesser extent k-os): It’s rap, and noticeably so, but it’s different. Jay-Z distinguishes himself with personality, Mos Def and Common through intelligence, whereas the Roots and El-P are distinguished by simply being distinct, stylistically separate from every other act out there. They’re special, unlike everyone else.

I think I should wrap it up here. I wanted to put in clips for every song, but that was a lotta work, and I didn't feel like it. I know I’ve left a lot of worthy entries off, and so I feel a Part II blog is in order. [WORD’s spellchecker doesn’t recognize ‘blog’, and I feel this is relevant. Way to go, Microsoft, you suck ass at what you do.] I’m still trying to get into the groove of putting up entries on a semi-frequent regular basis, and I’ve actually written quite a bit of stuff that I just don’t feel is quite ready for public consumption. But it’s all in the works. I have big plans for this blog that are just waiting to be dashed. But until then, loyal readers, just know your differing opinions are appreciated, and also wrong.