260. Gnarls Barkley — “Crazy” — For about a month in 2006, I thought this was the catchiest song ever. I’m not as crazy about it now, but the craftsmanship is still undeniable.
259. Bruce Springsteen — “Darkness on the Edge of Town” — One of my favorite early epics of Bruce’s. It probably has a more specific meaning, but I just think of the literal darkness on the edge of any town in the USA and how your mind wanders when you think of what’s out there, be it scary, exciting or whatever.
258. The Weakerthans — “One Great City” — This song happens to be about Winnipeg, but that Canadian Plains town is just a stand-in for every listener’s hometown and our mixed feelings about it.
257. Butthole Surfers — “Pepper” — It’s probably my selective memory, but it seems to me like instantly catchy tunes from random bands hit the airwaves every other week in the ’90s. This is a prime example.
256. Natasha Bedingfield featuring Sean Kingston — “Love Like This” — I’m going to get Weak Sauced on this one. I don’t care. It’s too adorable to not be on my list somewhere.
255. Doves — “Words” — This song has so much going on instrumentally that it brings up happy thoughts of going the circus. That’s an odd correlation since I’ve never been to a circus and don’t care to.
254. Treble Charger — “Funny” — I love it when hooky throwaway pop-rock bands suddenly crank out an emotional mini-epic.
253. Lady Gaga — “Poker Face” — This song sounded awesome to my ear before I knew exactly what Gaga was saying (particularly the “Can’t read my/ Can’t read my/ No you can’t read my …” part). That’s a mark of well-crafted pop.
252. Norah Jones — “Don’t Know Why” — Whenever I want to hear something that sounds pleasant but doesn’t require any thought whatsoever, Norah’s my go-to gal.
251. The Refreshments — “Banditos” — You know a song’s awesome when everyone’s singing along with it without precisely knowing the words: “Something, something, something, Jean Luc Picard, and the United Federation of Planets, and they don’t speak English anyway.” And then the chorus about the world being full of stupid people (which, paradoxically, everyone can relate to; does that mean we are all stupid people?). Whatever. It’s good stuff.
Comments
i love 252.# Posted By chance | 7/8/10 3:43 PM
I have to admit I still pull out that Refreshments disc on occasion, especially in the summer. That song Interstate is really good.# Posted By Matt | 7/16/10 11:52 PM
“Banditos” is such a “going to the beach in the summertime” song. I’m not sure why exactly, but that’s what it calls to mind for me. I’m not familiar with the rest of the disc. It’s one of those “knew it from the radio” entries for me.# Posted By John Hansen | 7/17/10 9:15 AM
