I received a lot of positive feedback the last time I wrote one of these lists of some of my favorite songs. I wrote that last one because I was tired of reading lists of greatest albums and greatest songs in Rolling Stone Magazine and in other publications. I’m still scratching my head wondering how the editorial boards of those publications come up with those lists. Do they study sales? Requests for airplay? How much of an editorial board member’s persona taste come into play?
I prefer to post lists of some my personal favorites based on my own taste, and I’m not pretending it’s anything other than a reflection of what I like, and have liked, in my 48 years on this spinning orb. The following is by no means a complete list. There is no way I could logically or honestly come up with a list of what I like best. There are just too many songs out there that have impacted me in one way or another. But here is a brief sampling from the mind and taste and reflections of me, Bill Copeland. The key word for me in most of these is expression.
“Black” By Danger Mouse With Norah Jones. This song was the ride out theme music for the closing episode of Breaking Bad’s fourth season on AMC. Not only does this song fit perfectly into that scene, the music is stirring and Norah Jones is wholly expressive without trying to be.
“Hollywood Boulevard” by The Kinks. Ray Davies not only adds a melancholy timbre with his voice, he injects a poignant aspect about every deceased star he sings of. You can feel it more if you’re up on each long gone film actor. Even the line about Bela Lugosi, “He’s liable to turn and bite” refers to a lot more than Dracula. Lugosi was a sad, pathetic man who turned nasty on anybody to ease his own pain. The verses about “Dearest Marilyn” are heartbreaking.
“Moving In Stereo” by The Cars. I’ve always found this to be a haunting song. The music is alluring and disturbing at once. Lyrically, it goes beyond sadness into desperation: “You’re shaking in tremolo.”
“I Feel The Earth Move” by Carol King. This might be one of the classiest songs ever recorded about basic human passion. “Oh baby/When I see your face/Mellow as the month of May/ Oh darling/I can‘t stand it/When you look at me that way.”
“Smiling Face” by James Taylor. Maybe too sweet and upbeat for some, I find its positive outlook irresistible, especially as Taylor sings it even more passionately near the end.
“Stranglehold (Live Version)” by Ted Nugent. I know. A lot of you don’t like him because of his politics. I just like the way he plays his guitar and belts out his hard rock songs. The guitar work and vocal creep up are startling, revealing an artist who can create dynamite out of thin air and ignite it in glorious tones. Hopefully, not inside a federal building.
“Voodoo” by Godsmack. I just like the way the song comes grooving up to me and the how Sully Erna sings those spooky lyrics: “I’m not the one who’s so far away when I feel the snake bite into my veins.”
“Strawberry Letter 23” by The Brothers Johnson. Many of us who heard this on AM radio as children in the 1970s were reminded of it when Quentin Tarantino included it in his soundtrack for Jackie Brown. The song plays just as Samuel L. Jackson cold bloodedly murders an accomplice who will likely rat him out. The keyboard parts are engaging and the painterly lyrics inspire the imagination. And no, the song has nothing to do with murder.
“Sing For The Moment” by Eminem. Like most white, suburban music fans, I had no interest in paying attention to this famous rap star until I heard this song in the movie 8 Mile. That’s when I got it. Eminem is a genius, even if his means of expression belongs to another generation I don’t fully understand. He tells it like an urban anthem of hope and the sheer power is undeniable.
“Fame” by David Bowie. Expansive, eccentric, and danceable. Bowie captured even more fans without compromising his musical integrity. Only he could have come up with this fun, funky madness.
‘Like A Prayer” by Madonna. The woman who single handedly launched the second sexual revolution and freed young women everywhere from false modesty brings us to heaven and orgasm in the same song. The gospel choir backing vocalists are spiritually uplifting and the old fashioned R&B groove makes you want to move. It’s just a cool song to follow along with, singing, dancing, or imagining as you listen.
“The Stranger” By Billy Joel. This song has always haunted me with its straight forward lyrical expression: “Well we all have a face/That we hide away forever/And we take them out and show ourselves when everyone is gone.” Scary to think about, but even the people closest to us can shock us with personal revelations, intended or not. Joel rocks this one up a bit for an even more stabbing, sobering message.
“Dad’s Gonna Kill Me” by Richard Thompson. This protest song by the former Fairport Convention guitarist references our young soldiers dying in Bagdad, Iraq. Fearfulness in the vocal approach, urgency in the music, and tense lyrical images makes this one unforgettable. Released on 2007’s Sweet Warrior album, the song turned up two years later in an episode of Sons Of Anarchy. Fitting.
“Poker Face” by Lady Gaga. I know. A lot of you are making faces and asking “What the fuck is Copeland talking about? Lady Gaga is crap.” I can certainly understand how Lady Gaga might not go over with the blues-roots-classic rock artists that I write about. I’m sorry, folks, but Lady Gaga is a brilliant song crafter and her success is no accident, no simple marketing gimmick. She can write irresistible dance songs and infectious beats with the greatest of ease. If you’ve seen her duet with Elton John, her solo piano spot on Ellen, or her leading a New Orleans marching band, you’d know what I’m talking about. Lady Gaga is here to stay, and she’ll likely release others forms of music that will eventually win over people who are now saying she sucks.
“Oh Well” by Peter Green. Some say this lineup was the better version of Fleetwood Mac. I say it doesn’t matter which era you like better. This song is just so cool. I always liked it’s stop-start groove and the attitude and the voice expressing it are so earthy, raw, and real.
“City Of New Orleans” by Arlo Guthrie. Guthrie brings this huge, lumbering, twisty song to vivid life with his massively rich vocal timbre. This song will make anybody feel like they’re on a journey though the country, taking in various scenery, and traveling alongside other passengers.
“Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” by Bob Dylan. It just moves well, verses and music, and Dylan’s for real everyman’s voice brings it home.
“Palace Of The King” by Freddie King. King’s big, soulful voice running alongside the mountainous arc of this song is a thing to behold. It’s just a great sound that looms large in the imagination. It’s fit for a king.
“Mannish Boy” by Muddy Waters. It’s hard to explain what I like about blues in general. The sound. The expression. The stories. On this one, I just like the way Waters sings out “I’m a man” in the verses.
“Outlaw Pete” by Bruce Springsteen. I’ve had an affinity for this song since its underwhelming album Working On A Dream was released to critical disappointment in 2009. Whatever the quality of the CD, Springsteen hits a grand slam homerun with this mythical portrait of the American outlaw. The Boss came up with a great soundscape, as large as the range Pete rides over. The western film score meets timeless folk ballad works here.
“We Take Care Of Own” by Bruce Springsteen. The opening song on Springsteen’s follow up to and apology for Working On A Dream lets everyone know where the boss stands. He’s for the average person. This is just a great anthem-like rock song with folk inspired lyrics.
“Shakedown Street” by The Grateful Dead. Before some of you Deadheads hit me over the head with a giant bong, here me out. I know this is one of the Dead’s more commercialized songs, with elements of disco in the rhythm section and in Jerry Garcia’s funky guitar riffs. But that is its charm. That these crazy jamming hippies breathed in their contemporary sounds and turned them into their own thing is amazing and humorous. I think Garcia played those guitar parts with a wink in his eye.
“Detroit Rock City” by Kiss. Aside from my pre-pubescent nostalgia, Destroyer being the first record I ever purchased, this song rocks right out with a great bass line from Gene Simmons, and it’s what rock and roll is all about. Freedom. Rebellion. Paul Stanley’s in your face attitude makes it a winner.
“Over My Head” by King’s X. It’s just a great pro-music hard rock song. And the genre-defying trio make it a lot of fun at their live shows, which I was blessed to see at Chantilly’s Lounge in Manchester. That show was also less than a full week before The Station nightclub fire in Rhode Island, marking the last time I felt naively safe at a show.
“Seasons In The Sun” by Terry Jacks. I know. It’s considered a cheesy one hit wonder from the 1970s. But, the 1970s was when I was an elementary school child. This song about mortality impacted me greatly as a kid. I was much too young to look at life as chapters in a book that will eventually end. Today, the song affects me because it forces me to remember how I felt about it as a child.
“Beautiful Sunday” by Daniel Boone. Yes, I know, it’s another of those dreaded one hit wonders from the 1970s. I remember hearing it on my grandfather’s AM car radio on the way to my family’s camp in Maine. Spending time with my grandfather was always a beautiful day, and those times felt as grand, happy, and lofty as this tune.
That is all for now, folks. As I said, there is no such thing as a complete list of my favorite songs and I could go on forever. As an exercise, gentle readers, you might want to jot down your list of your own favorite songs from over your lifetime. After you have a song written down, try to think about WHY it became a favorite song. Was it the sound? The message? Did it relate to a special time in your life? Render those reasons in writing and read it back to yourself. You may find it more enjoyable and meaningful than you can ever imagine.
