A few weeks ago I shared our obsession with tuning in for just about any show that is based on a subjective rank ordering of music. Or movies. Or...
The whole idea is really pretty dumb other than that it creates a fun opportunity to get angry with society in large for their misguided and unfortunate opinions and tastes. Here is how the top 20 played out...
20. Marvin Gaye
19. U2
A band whose guitarist has the silliest name ever - The Edge. Do people really even call him that? "Uh, The Edge, I was wondering if you might pass the potatoes?" I once passed on a chance to see the Black Crowes, who are a very cool band despite not making this list, in a very small theater so that I could see U2 at Busch Stadium in downtown St. Louis during the Zoo TV tour. There were thousands of people, terrible acoustics, monstrously large TV screens on stage, and a "spontaneous" call to Washington DC so that Bono (another goofy name) could speak his mind to some random White House operator. Hoaky? Yes. Great concert? Definitely. And I was fortunate enough to catch the Black Crowes about five years later.
18. Pink Floyd
17. Queen
One of my all-time favorite bands. But I'd really like to know where "Bohemian Rhapsody" came from. I mean, how do you even start writing something like that? "So fellas, I was thinking maybe an operatic piece for this one!"
16. Madonna
15. The Beach Boys
14. Nirvana
I was shocked they were this high given they only had three or four albums. A few days later I went back and listened to "Nevermind" and was reminded that there's not a single song worth skipping. That's pretty impressive.
13. The Who
12. David Bowie
11. Bob Marley
10. Stevie Wonder
9. James Brown
I was really hoping they'd show that scene from "Rocky 4" and sure enough they did. However, they somehow failed to show the mug shot. That's a shame. I have a feeling James Brown just might be A BIT of a jerk.
8. Elvis Presley
7. Prince
I once had a music professor say that Prince was every bit as important in music history as Mozart. And this was coming from the mouth of someone who loved classical music and directed the university's operas. Am I missing something?
6. Jimi Hendrix
Another artist I think I like yet never really want to listen to. Outside of "Little Wing" and "The Wind Cries Mary" there aren't any other songs that would keep me from hitting skip.
5. Bob Dylan
4. The Rolling Stones
3. Led Zeppelin
2. Michael Jackson
1. The Beatles
How is it The Beatles were only together for ten years? They must have written about a bazillion songs each year!
So when the show was over I started playing around with the idea of my own subjective rankings. Here are a few I came up with...
Top Five Artists Left Off the Original List
5. The Byrds
4. Roy Orbison
3. Red Hot Chili Peppers
2.Woody Guthrie
1. Eric Clapton
How do you leave Eric Clapton off that list? Sure, Cream made it in somewhere but he's been inducted into the R&R Hall of Fame THREE times. That's crazy!
Top Five Favorite Movies
5. Wonder Boys
4. Bottle Rocket
3. Lone Star
2. Little Miss Sunshine
1. The Big Lebowski
"The Dude abides."
Bottom Five Movies
5. Simon Birch
4. Anything starring Pauly Shore
3. The Cutting Edge
2. With Honors
1. Even Cowgirls Get the Blues
Top Five Favorite Books (for adults)
5. On The Road
4. Even Cowgirls Get the Blues
3. Malcolm X
2. A Prayer for Owen Meany
1. To Kill a Mockingbird
It's no coincidence that two of my least favorite movies just happen to show up on my favorite book list.
Top Five Favorite Books (chapter books written for kids but still great for adults)
5. Love That Dog
4. Entire Harry Potter Series
3. Missing May
2. Ruby Holler
1. Charlotte's Web
Top Five Favorite Books (picture books written for kids but still great for adults)
5. Mr. George Baker
4. Letting Swift River Go
3. Roxaboxen
2. The Relatives Came
1. All the Places to Love
Top Ten Beatles Songs
10. When I'm Sixty Four
9. Norwegian Wood
8. I'm Only Sleeping
7. Come Together
6. In My Life
5. Strawberry Fields Forever
4. A Day in the Life
3. Something
2. Let It Be
1. Hey Jude
I tried to do a top 5 but couldn't make a number of the necessary cuts so I broadened it to the top 10.
I know what you mean by the top... whatever lists. Wasn't that the draw to Kasey Kasum's Top 40 Countdown every week. I remembered listening to the crappy songs just so I could see who was in the top 10, top 5 and the number one song in the land.
ReplyDeleteTHe Edge's real name is probably something like Homer which is what his real friends call him.
Never really got into Nirvana. I tried. I can't say I didn't like the ones that made the radio.
"The Artist Formerly Known as Prince" whose name is currently some vague blend of symbols? It never worked for me. Neither did his music.
I admire you for putting together some of your own TOP lists. Mine would be downright bizarre because I am so taken by virtual unknowns - or - those whose known songs are my least favorites. Jackson Browne is one of those. I love that guy but I hate his most popular songs. "She's Got to BE Somebody's Baby" and "Stay" (with the bizarre vocal stylings of David Lindley) are two of my least favorite songs but so many of his others are some of the best songs ever written, me thinks. Who ever heard of John Gorka, Lucy Kaplansky, Richard Shindell. Maybe I like them so much BECAUSE they never really made it big.
I'm going to think about some of my favorites and least favorites.
That is kind of a challenge. My favorite picture books would definitely include Faithful Elephants, Thank You Mr. Falker, Pink and Say, Now One foot Now the Other, Wilford Gordon MacDonald Partridge.