40. "Running Down a Dream" (Tom Petty, Full Moon Fever, 1989)
My appreciation for Tom Petty grows with each and every day. For as long as I can remember, this has been my favorite Petty song. I love it when the Cubs use it for day games when the team takes the field. Nothing like an afternoon at Wrigley...
39. "Say It Ain't So" (Weezer, The Blue Album, 1994)
This song has everything. Great riffs, great lyric, perhaps my favorite Rivers Cuomo vocal...."your son is drowning in the flood". The first time I played "Rock Band", my vocal of this song earned a score of 97. Yeah yeah. Yeah yeah....
38. "Don't Let Me Down" (The Beatles, Single, 1969)
This is hands down my favorite Lennon vocal of all time.
37. "Loser" (Beck, Mellow Gold, 1994)
This song is as responsible for my musical tastes branching out in 1994 as weezer is.
36. "Layla" (Derek & the Dominos, 1970)
Both versions are great (the original in 1970, and the acoustic version in the 90's), but this is the one they used in Good Fellas, so I think this was an obvious choice. If I ever kill a guy, I hope the piano instrumental that closes the song is playing in the background.
35. "The Boys of Summer" (Don Henley, Building the Perfect Beast, 1984)
It's so strange how I can love one song by an artist so much, and can't stand really anything else that same artist does (solo). This is Amber's favorite singer, and I think he's got a very unique voice, but for the most part, I don't like any of his solo stuff....with the exception of this song. When Henley played this at the Billy Joel concert at Shea in 2008, I really, really thought the Mets were gonna win the World Series later that year. Would have been great. And I still can't believe that when Henley came out, Amber was three sections away from me. Neither one of us knew he was supposed to be there.
34. "Let It Be" (The Beatles, Let It Be, 1970)
It almost seems sacrilegious that I would rank 33 songs ahead of this one.
33. "Hallelujah" (Jeff Buckley, Grace, 1994)
There have been hundreds of covers of this Leonard Cohen song since 1984. This is the best. End of discussion.
32. "Nowhere Man" (The Beatles, Rubber Soul, 1965)
When I was a kid, my dad made a video of himself drumming to his favorite songs. This was the song he used in the introduction. I'm sure it wasn't the first time I heard that song, but I thought it was a great way to introduce the recording. Every time I hear this song, I think of my dad, doing what he loves to do.
31. (It's Only A) Paper Moon" (James Taylor, 1992)
This song could have been #1 on the list, based on the lyric alone. Written in 1933, this song has been covered by hundreds of artists (I have a good 15 or 20 versions of it myself). This particular version was recorded by James Taylor for the movie "A League of Their Own", which I only bought because Billy Joel recorded "In A Sentimental Mood" for it. To this day, this is my favorite version, which is amazing considering that Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra have also recorded it, not to mention Adam Ant and Johnny Mathis.
30. "Born to Run" (Bruce Springsteen, Born to Run, 1975)
I wonder what Wendy is up to these days.
29. "Unsatisfied" (The Replacements, Let It Be, 1984)
Of all the songs on this list, this may be my favorite vocal of them all. Great song to wail to in the car...
28. "The Boxer" (Simon & Garfunkel, Bridge Over Troubled Water, 1969)
"lie-la-lie.....lie-la-lie-lie-lie-lie-lie.....lie-la-lie....lie-la-lie-lie-lie-lie-lie-lie-lie-lie-lie"....this song has always been great, but took on a whole new meaning for many when Paul Simon performed 18 days after 9/11 on SNL. "I am leaving, I am leaving, but the fighter still remains".
27. "Baby Grand" (Billy Joel, The Bridge, 1986)
The first song I ever sang to Gracie. Changed the lyrics to "Baby Grace". She always smiles when I sing this to her. My goal is to learn piano and play this for her one day.
26. "I Love a Rainy Night" (Eddie Rabbit, Horizon, 1980)
I don't really like country music, but if you're telling me this is a country song, than maybe I do. Note to country musicians....if you want me to embrace your genre, learn something from Mr Edward Thomas Rabbitt.
25. "Glory Days" (Bruce Springsteen, Born in the USA, 1984)
This has always been my favorite song by the Boss. And it always will be.
24. "You May Be Right" (Billy Joel, Glass Houses, 1980)
Fuck the critics, this is a rock and roll song if I've ever heard one. Glass Houses is my favorite Billy Joel album, and probably the album I've listened to more than any other. When I hear that glass break, I still get chills. This was the song that I used to kick off my box set in 2005 (I won't waste your time, but you can ask if you're curious).
23. "Radio, Radio" (Elvis Costello, This Year's Model, 1978)
The song that got Elvis Costello banned from Saturday Night Live for 14 years.
22. "Do You Want to Be Right, or Do You Want to Be Happy" (Union Pulse, 2005)
The only song on this list that the artist has dedicated to me at a live show. Music has always been a huge part of my life, and I've often needed certain songs to get me through tough times. In early 2008, I found myself asking myself the same question that James Redding is asking us in this song. And later that year, I decided that I wanted to be happy. Thank you, James.
21. "The Stranger" (Billy Joel, The Stranger, 1977)
The album made Billy Joel a house hold name, and is one of the best albums of all time, in my opinion. The title track is an incredible recording. This is another Billy Joel song I cannot wait to learn on piano. I've already got the whistling down.
20. "Yesterday" (The Beatles, Help!, 1965)
There are a lot of songs about yesterday and tomorrow, and not a ton about today. I find that fascinating. Richard Roma was right!
19. "Fred Jones, part 2" (Ben Folds, Rockin the Suburbs, 2001)
I've been thinking about this song a lot lately.
18. "The Cornflakes Song" (Dick Prall, Weightless, 2007)
Who ? The what what ? I can pretty much guarantee that none of you have ever heard this song, and I doubt you would like it, at least not right away. I'm not even sure Amber knows this, but this is the song I think most about when I think of her.
17. "In My Life" (The Beatles, Rubber Soul, 1965)
Another song that could have been #1 based on lyrics. Hey, James, are you a Beatles fan? I can totally see you guys playing in uptempo version of this song. Just throwing that out there...
16. "Hell" (Squirrel Nut Zippers, Hot, 1997)
So much fun. I "performed" this song at my weeding in 1998. I hope to God there is no video of that. I pretty much made an ass out of myself, but I had a great time doing it. Tom Maxwell is Lord.
15. "Pressure" (Billy Joel, The Nylon Curtain, 1982)
The reason I'm such a big Billy Joel fan is his use of every color in the crayon box. The fact that the same artist that did "New York State of Mind" and "Just the Way You Are" did a song like this just blows me away.
14. "Undone - The Sweater Song" (Weezer, The Blue Album, 1994)
I will go as far as to say that this is the most important record of my life. Without "The Blue Album", there is no Fugazzi Grand, there is no Paste subscription, and there is far, far less music in my life to love and share with you. This song is an anthem for my people, whatever that means (bankers? baseball nuts?)...
13. "Gracie" (Ben Folds, Songs For Silverman, 2005)
Just for the record, my daughter was named long before we heard this song in the summer of 2005. Had no idea what the song would be about before we listened to it, and we all cried within the first few notes. For obvious reasons, this is the most played song in my iTunes.
12. "Vienna" (Billy Joel, The Stranger, 1977)
This song means so much to me, for many, many reasons. The line, "Vienna waits for you" inspired Heather and I to name our first child Vienna if we were blessed with a girl. We were heartbroken with the news of a miscarriage in March of 2004. I like to think that Vienna is watching over her little sister, Gracie, every day. The song is still beautiful, but brings tears to my eyes every time.
11. "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" (Billy Joel, The Stranger, 1977)
Speaking of children, Anthony is very, very high on our list of boys names as well. A colleague of mine, Kevin Schneider made me belly laugh one time when he said that if he ever met Billy Joel, he would walk up to him, exclaim, "ack ack ack ack ack ack" and then punch him in the stomach.
10. "Imagine" (John Lennon, Imagine, 1971)
By far, the best poem on this list. A great song to close your eyes to and.....imagine.
9. "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues" (Elton John, Too Low For Zero, 1983)
This was my #1 song in 1999. I still love it as much as I did back then, and it's still my favorite song from the decade we like to refer to as "the 80's", but it's time for a new # 1.
8. "Pump It Up" (Elvis Costello, This Year's Model, 1978)
Ironically, the first time I heard this song, it was Mudhoney's cover version at the end of "PCU". Costello is the king of double entendres, and I'll let you decide what he's talking about here. I think I've used this song in more of my playlists than any other in the last 10 years.
7. "The Good Life" (Weezer, Pinkerton, 1996)
This song has helped me out on more than one occasion in my life. And you bet your ass I will be rocking out to it on January 8th at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago.
6. "Louie Louie" (The Kingsmen, The Kingsmen, 1963)
This is the highest ranking cover song on the list. Originally recorded by Richard Berry in 1955, the version done by the Kingsmen quickly became a huge hit. I don't know what the hell is being said, and the movie "Coupe de Ville" uses this song in the movie, which each brother having a different interpretation of the lyrics. With that being said, this song embodies everything I love about music.
5. "Buddy Holly" (Weezer, The Blue Album, 1994)
The. Rest. Is. History.
4. "Prelude/Angry Young Man" (Billy Joel, Turnstiles, 1976)
By the way, this and each of the next three songs were at one point going to be my vote for # 1. I changed my mind several times.
3. "Take the Long Way Home" (Supertramp, Breakfast in America, 1979)
There is not another song on this list, or the world for that matter, that can equally make me happy and make me cry like this one, and I really can't explain why. I really can't.
2. "A Day in the Life" (The Beatles, Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1967)
Perfect. Genius. Brilliant. Awesome.
1. "Scenes From an Italian Restaurant" (Billy Joel, The Stranger, 1977)
Never released as a single, based on side two of "Abbey Road", essentially a medley of three different pieces..."Italian Restaurant", "Things Are OK" and "The Ballad of Brenda and Eddie". My favorite song of all time.
Thank you to all who enjoyed my list !!
