Van Halen: Finish What You Started (1988)

Eddie Van Halen came up with the riff at 2am one morning. He woke up neighbor and band mate Sammy Hagar and the pair penned this song about unfulfilled sex. The song is about blue balls and is quite straight forward.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIlBeqM0mRE

Tom Petty: Learning to Fly (1991)

A coming of age song for Tom Petty at his peak. There's some fun guitar work by Mike Campbell as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5BJXwNeKsQ

Pink Floyd: Lost For Words (1994)

Floyd openly examines the relationship between David Gilmour and Roger Waters in "Lost for Words." The song is openly sarcastic and honest. By the end, Gilmour is admitting that "sometimes you just can't win."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPwucFar9kM

Mother Love Bone: Chloe (1989)

"Chloe/Crown of Thorns" is Mother Love Bone's most famous song. It appeared in Say Anything with John Cusak, but did not break into the public consciousness until Singles three years later. It proved the late Andrew Wood's greatest moment. It also led to a spate of babies named Chloe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lH0gnwtSEGI

Little Richard: Long Tall Sally

The song was originally titled "The Thing."  As "Long Tall Sally", Little Richard's classic has been covered hundreds of times. It's a 12 bar blues tune done to a rock n roll beat. It's one of the greatest songs of all time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqxNSvFMkag

The Cult: Sweet Soul Sister (1990)

At the time, Ian Astbury said the song was about the Americanization of European culture. Years later, he said it was about Black Panther Angela Davis. It's one of The Cult's best songs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNobN73F2JY

David Bowie: Modern Love (1983)

This might be Bowie's most infectious song. He claims Little Richard inspired the song about the battle between God and man. Nile Rodgers produced and played guitar and Stevie Ray Vaughan played lead guitar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hDbpF4Mvkw

The Doors: People Are Strange (1967)

I think this is the first Doors song I ever heard. I have been hooked ever since.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GB67l9velBI

Garbage: Empty (2016)

Garbage's first album in four years is a dark affair. The themes are a reaction to the current pop scene which is shiny, happy, and sucky. The video makes me dizzy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSa_hbutFt0   

Red Hot Chili Peppers: Dark Necessities (2016)

"Dark Necessities" is the 30th RHCP song to reach the Billboard charts. Danger Mouse produced the album marking the first time in 25 years that Rick Rubin did not produce a RHCP album.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJ_Tw0w3lLA

Top 9 Coldplay Songs

Viva La Vida
Violet Hill
The Scientist
Clocks
Charlie Brown
Yellow
Talk
Speed of Sound
Fix You

Top 10 songs of 1988

My favorites...

1. Desire- U2
2. Pour Some Sugar on Me- Def Leppard
3. Armegeddon It- Def Leppard
4. Orange Crush- REM
5. Finish What Ya Started- Van Halen
6. Black and Blue- Van Halen
7. Tall Cool One- Robert Plant
8. God Part 2- U2
9. Take It So Hard- Keith Richards
10. Bad Medicine- Bon Jovi

Top 30 songs of 1988: #11-20

11. Mine All Mine- Van Halen
12. Sweet Child O Mine- GnR
13. Handle Me With Care- Travelin' Wilburys
14. Spare Parts- Bruce Springsteen
15. Got My Mind Set On You- George Harrison
16. When We Was Fab- George Harrison
17. When It's Love- Van Halen
18. Ragdoll- Aerosmith
19. Heatseeker- AC/DC
20. Hawkmoon 269-U2

Top 30 songs of 1988 (#21-30)

My favorites...

21. Heaven Knows- Robert Plant
22. Angel of Harlem- U2
23. I Used to Love Her- GnR
24. Paradise City- GnR
25. Born to be My Baby- Bon Jovi
26. Cabo Wabo- Van Halen
27. I Hate Myself For Loving You- Joan Jett
28. Say You Will- Foreigner
29. I Don't Wanna Go On With You Like That- Elton John
30. Tougher than the Rest- Bruce Springsteen

The Doors: Five to One (1968)

Jim Morrison experienced a meltdown while performing "Five to One" in Miami. He was arrested for inciting a riot and indecent exposure. STP frontman Scott Weiland said this song inspired him to go into rock n roll. Like Morrison, Weiland died young from drug abuse. In college, a friend put this on at his house parties at 12:55.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tHPsphg9xc

Eric Clapton: Pretending (1989)

"Pretending" features some of Clapton's greatest vocal work. It also contains a great riff and hook. It marked a transition between 80s pop and Clapton's move back to his blues roots.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zm2PvnM7Vds

John Mellencamp: Lonely Ol Night (1985)

The song was inspired by Hud starring Paul Newman. The strained relationship between father and son informed many of the lyrics. The song emotes loneliness especially for a mid-80s teen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQMkRzWT8mo

Cream: SWLABR (1967)

The b-side to "Sunshine of Your Love" stands for "She Walks Like a Bearded Rainbow"--whatever that means...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngIxuGOVGeQ

Pink Floyd: Arnold Layne (1967)

"Arnold Layne" is based on a real person. In the song, the character steals women's clothes from a wash line. In real life, Roger Waters knew someone that stole knickers and bras for fun. This provided inspiration for the tune.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQTFRq1hjtM

U2: Running to Stand Still (1987)

The song, like "Bad,"  is about heroin addiction. In fact, Adam Clayton called it "Bad Part II." It reminds me of high school and a time now long gone. However, the theme still resonates as drug addiction continues...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvUI-s4Azw4

Eric Clapton: Motherless Child (1994)

In 1994, Eric Clapton released a wonderful album of blues covers. "Motherless Child" might be the best song on the album. It's about an orphan that refused to follow their deceased mother's advice and regretting it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uf84YrUPQUU

Thunderstruck by AC/DC (1990)

This single surprised the critics as it raced up the charts.  It could have been the anthem for the 1994 midterms.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2AC41dglnM

Jimi Hendrix: Purple Haze (1967)

Psychedelic rock with obvious drug references combined with one of the all-time greatest riffs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjwWjx7Cw8I

Top 10 songs of 1989

My favorites.

1. Rockin' in the Free World- Neil Young
2. Running Down a Dream- Tom Petty
3. Armageddon It- Def Leppard
4. Chloe- Mother Love Bone
5. I Won't Back Down- Tom Petty
6. We Didn't Start the Fire- Billy Joel
7. Beds Are Burning- Midnight Oil
8. Free Fallin'- Tom Petty
9. Dirty Blvd- Lou Reed
10.Dr. Feelgood- Motley Crue

Top 25 song of 1989 (#11-20)

My favorites again...

11. Living in Sin- Bon Jovi
12. A Girl Like You- The Smithereens
13. This Monkey's Gone To Heaven- The Pixies
14. All I Want Is You- U2
15. Figure of Eight- Paul McCartney
16. Personal Jesus- Depeche Mode
17. Higher Ground- RHCP
18. Pop Singer- John Mellencamp
19. Get Up- REM
20. Pop Song '89-REM

Top 25 songs of 1989 (#21-25)

My favorites...

21. Fire Woman- The Cult
22. Paradise City- GnR
23. My Brave Face- Paul McCartney
24. You Got It- Roy Orbison
25. Zombie Zoo- Tom Petty

Nathaniel Rateliff and the Nightsweats: SOB (2016)

The song is about alcohol addiction. Although it seems to take a lighthearted poke at it, there is some real horror behind the jocularity.

http://www.westword.com/music/nathaniel-rateliff-on-the-sobering-story-behind-sob-7105811

Pink Floyd: Shine on You Crazy Diamond (1975)

The band wrote this as a tribute to Syd Barrett. The song was split in two to bookend the Wish You Were Here album. Barrett appeared in the studio with a shaved head and eyebrows while the band worked. Rick Wright and Roger Waters failed to recognize their former band mate. At first, the guys claimed they were recording this song, but years later they claim they can't remember if it was "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" or another track.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UXircX3VdM

Johnny Cash: Rusty Cage (1996)

Johnny Cash completely owned this Soundgarden song. In fact, the band dedicated the song to him after it won Cash a Grammy. People rightly focus on "Hurt" as one of the great covers of all-time. However, "Rusty Cage" is right up there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtbuUlSGXzc

Soundgarden: Burden in My Hand (1996)

The protagonist murders his girlfriend and leaves her in the desert. The man regretted his action and admitted to having anger issues.  The band called it "Hey Joe" for the 90s. At the time, I thought the song could have been partially inspired by the O.J. Simpson case.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmIqIVxUuKs

Pearl Jam: Daughter (1993)

"Daughter" is about learning disabilities and abuse. The victims have to live with the abuse for the rest of their lives. I thought it was about someone disavowing their parents in typical teenage fashion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivNJqaWCDNk

John Williams: Duel of Fates (1999)

"Duel of Fates" provided the soundtrack to the lightsaber duel between Darth Maul, Qui-Gon Jinn, and Obi-Wan Kenobi. It contains a chorus providing a religious feel. The suite returned for Episode II and III.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzVBqBosf5w

David Bowie: Blackstar (2015)

Originally, "Blackstar" was supposed to run over 11 minutes, but iTunes refused to release anything over 10. So, Bowie cut it down to just under 10 minutes. The music video is an amazing homage to Bowie's career.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kszLwBaC4Sw

Chris Cornell: Nearly Forgot My Broken Heart (2015)

"Nearly Forgot My Broken Heart" was the lead single off Chris Cornell's album Higher Truth.  Eric Roberts appears in the video as a prisoner doomed to hang.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhJ9IwYc5NU

In the Valley Below: Peaches (2013)

Creepiest video ever.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4zbFEHZbOU

My favorite Albums: The Who

Quadrophenia- The Who: The story ends ambiguously, but the album is an adventure.

Tommy- The Who: A pinball Messiah? Brilliant.

Who's Next- The Who: One of my all time favorite albums. A concept record that never was. It transformed into a rock classic.

Jason Isbel: 24 Frames (2015)

This is a great example of songwriting and imagery. They don't write them like this anymore.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtgPeNKpnyw

David Bowie: Lazarus (2016)

David Bowie is suffering from terminal cancer when he filmed this video. Like Johnny Cash's "Hurt", "Lazarus" is a goodbye to fans. At the same time, this song explains the dying process to the audience. Bowie's composure at the end of life is simply amazing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-JqH1M4Ya8

Mumford and Sons: Ditmas (2015)

The song is named after Ditmas Park in Brooklyn. The video features a Cossack and his horse. I don't think anyone has ever considered using Cossacks in videos before.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOBPiOdyGEM

My Favorite Albums: Weezer

Everything Will Be Alright in the End- Weezer: The band returns to its roots with a wonderful album.

Pinkerton- Weezer: Completely misunderstood at the time.

Weezer-Weezer (Blue): This is a classic. Period.

My Favorite Albums: Van Halen

For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge- Van Halen: Another one of those soundtrack to life albums.

Live-Right Here Right Now- Van Halen: Saw them on this tour multiple times.

Van Halen- Van Halen: Great rock album that came at the right time.

Van Halen II- Van Halen: Better than VH1?

My Favorite Albums: U2

Actung Baby- U2: One of my all time favorite albums. Special album at a special time.


All That You Can't Leave Behind- U2: Opened the 2000s for me in a great way.

Joshua Tree- U2: One of the great moments in music history.

Favorite Albums: S artists

Singles soundtrack- The soundtrack of a generation

Born in the USA- Bruce Springsteen-Favorite album from JHS

Born to Run- Bruce Springsteen-The Album that saved rock

Darkness on the Edge of Town- Bruce Springsteen-A worthy followup to Born to Run

Greetings from Asbury Park- Bruce Springsteen-Just love it

Magic- Bruce Springsteen- This could be one of the last great rock albums

Nebraska- Bruce Springsteen-Raw

The Rising- Bruce Springsteen- A much needed album during a trying time.

The River- Bruce Springsteen- Childhood

Star Trek II soundtrack- This really pulls on the heartstrings

Star Trek III soundtrack- Ditto

Star Trek: First Contact- A coda to college

Dream of the Blue Turtles- Sting- Loved this one

Ten Summoner's Tales- Sting- Once again, awesome

Core- STP- Just a great rock record

Purple- STP-Ditto

My Favorite Albums: Rush

2112: Sci Fi/Ayn Rand inspired epic.

Moving Pictures: Great album from start to finish.

My favorite albums: The Rolling Stones

Exile on Mainstreet- The Rolling Stones- This is a contender for greatest album ever.

Let it Bleed- The Rolling Stones- Classic stones.

Some Girls- The Rolling Stones- Their "comeback" album. Amusing to think of it that way nowadays.

Sticky Fingers- The Rolling Stones-Just love this album from start to finish.

My favorite albums: REM

Accelerate- REM- Wonderful album that came at the right time.

Automatic for the People- REM-Radical departure from their previous albums.

Document-REM- High School soundtrack

Life's Rich Pageant- REM- Just love this song

Monster- REM- College soundtrack

New Adventures in Hi Fi- REM-One of my all time favorite albums.

My favorite albums: "P" artists

Lightning Bolt- Pearl Jam: Just a reminder of how much time has passed.

Ten- Pearl Jam- A breath of fresh air in a cluttered world.

Vs.- Pearl Jam- For whatever reason, I remember exactly where I was when this came out.

Vitology- Pearl Jam- College

Full Moon Fever- Tom Petty- Best album of the 80s?

Dark Side of the Moon- Pink Floyd- all time classic.

The Division Bell- Pink Floyd- College

Wish You Were Here- Pink Floyd- The whole album could appear on a best of album

The Wall- Pink Floyd- Dark and hopeful at once

Synchronicity- The Police- Elementary School

My Favorite Albums: H-N Artists

Nostradamus- Judas Priest: A fun spectacular.

Nevermind- Nirvana: A game changer

My Favorite Albums: G artists

Genesis-Genesis: This really takes me to a time and place


Invisible Touch- Genesis: High School soundtrack

American Idiot-Green Day:Green Day captured the zeitgeist of 2004


Appetite for Destruction- GnR:  A breath of fresh air. It still stands up today.


Use Your Illusion- GnR: College soundtrack

My Favorite Albums: Artists D-F

Hysteria- Def Leppard- A high school soundtrack...much better than anything high schoolers get today.

Pyromania- Def Leppard- An amazing rock album

The Doors- The Doors- As everyone is going peace and love, The Doors drop this.

The Empire Strikes Back-SDT- Amazing piece of cinematic music history. Iconic.

The Dance- Fleetwood Mac- I just enjoy it.

Wasted Light-Foo Fighters- IMO, the Foos best effort. It harkens back to a better time in music.

My Favorite Albums: Artists A-C

The first installment of my favorite all-time albums.

Magical Mystery Tour- The Beatles: I know it's not their best album, but I love it.

Sgt. Peppers- The Beatles: I still think this is the greatest album of all time.


461 Ocean Blvd- Eric Clapton: This reminds me of a nice summer day...not sure why.

August- Eric Clapton: A high school soundtrack.

Xylo- Coldplay: One of the few recent albums I like.

Top 10 Creedence Clearwater Revival songs

My favorites

Proud Mary
Bad Moon Rising
Lodi
Down on the Corner
Fortunate Son
Travelin' Band
Have You Ever Seen the Rain?
Who'll Stop the Rain?
Someday Never Comes
I Heard It Through the Grapevine

Top 10 Songs of 2015

My favorites from the past year.

1. Mercy by Muse
2. 24 Frames by Frank Isbel
3. Every Breaking Wave- U2
4. Mess is Mine- Vance Joy
5. First- Cold War Kids
6. Rattle That Lock- David Gilmour
7. Stolen Dance- Milky Chance
8. Renegades- X Ambassadors
9. Uptown Funk- Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars
10. Peaces- In the Valley Below

Bob Dylan: Lay Lady Lay (1969)

Bob Dylan turned to Nashville for influence. The classic has been covered by groups ranging from Ministry to The Byrds and Duran Duran.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrZnnvEyTUs

The Kinks: All Day and All of the Night (1964)

Great garage rock tune. Four years later, controversy struck when The Doors released "Hello, I Love You" which many felt blatantly ripped off The Kinks classic. Ray Davies refused to sue, but UK courts found in The Kinks' favor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4DV-5d6a5g

The Supremes: Reflections (1967)

The Supreme fired Florence Ballard shortly after recording this classic. The song also reflects the psychedelic movement of the period. At the same time, the country seemed to be going crazy. So, the song had to have resonated with people wanting a return to normalcy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhxUmjVQNtI

The Band: The Weight (1968)

This song has everything in it. It's part gospel, part rock, part folk, and part R&B. It's Biblical, it's someone coming home from work, it's a world traveler. The song is everything to everyone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjCw3-YTffo

Led Zeppelin: Babe I'm Gonna Leave You (1969)

Jimmy Page and Robert Plant loved Joan Baez. So they covered her  "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wO6bRjcyQN8

Cold War Kids: First (2015)

One of the strongest songs in Cold War Kids catalog. Makes one want to clap along and say amen!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZzJ78FWjl8

Cage the Elephant: Come a Little Closer (2013)

A sunrise inspired Matthew Schultz to write "Come A Little Closer." Basically, he wanted to know what everyone around him was feeling and what they brought to the world and immediate surroundings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVYup3Qwh8Q

Milky Chance: Stolen Dance (2015)

German Band Milky Chance released their first album with "Stolen Dance" on it in 2013. The song finally made its way to America and broke in 2015. The upbeat song is accompanied by a video in which the singer appears rather bored.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iX-QaNzd-0Y

Vance Joy: Mess is Mine (2015)

Australian artist Vance Joy crossed the ocean and found success in 2015. The song has steadily received increased airplay as the year wore on. The video for the song is a bit of a trip with a polar bear doubling as a cabbie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1C816p-KTNk