50. The Bee Gees — “Alone” — I never cared for most the Bee Gees catalogue, but on this tune, the voices and instruments blend beautifully to create one of the most epic sad songs ever recorded.
49. Bruce Springsteen — “No Surrender” — “Maybe we could cut someplace of our own/ With these drums and these guitars.” This is the anthem of every garage band musician that dreams of being a superstar.
48. Doug Spartz — cover of Glen Campbell’s “Galveston” — I knew Doug from my time on the Brainerd lakes area music beat. He was one of those old guys who seemed to have a heart attack every year and had all kinds of problems in life –except when he got in front of a microphone. Then all those years of hard living served him well on every lyric. Doug’s version of “Galveston” supplies a wistful depth that the too-polished original never had.
47. James Blunt — “You’re Beautiful” — This was my (and many other people’s) song of the summer of ’05. Wow, that summer must’ve been depressing as hell.
46. Hootie and the Blowfish — “Sad Caper” — In 1996, sad songs made me happy. So basically I listened to this downbeat masterpiece (“It’s like sometimes you wanna see the rain/ But the sun gets in your eyes …”) every night before I went to bed. I have since started taking pills for my condition.
45. Collective Soul — “The World I Know” — This song finds the sometimes-hidden beauty of everyday life … after a struggle through some sad violin chords. I like Collective Soul, but this song transcends the band that’s playing it. CS just did it a favor by bringing it to life.
44. Belle and Sebastian — “Asleep on a Sunbeam” — If I hadn’t already heard this song and I just stumbled upon something called “Asleep on a Sunbeam” and saw it was by Belle and Sebastian, I’d assume it would be amazing. And I’d be right.
43. Camera Obscura — “Country Mile” — An unapologetic song about missing someone terribly that starts off good and ends up great. “I won’t be seeing you for a long while/ Though I hope it’s not as long as these country miles/ I feel lost/ I feel lost.” Listening to this song in my car, I don’t want to reach my destination anymore. I just want to pull over and cry.
42. Michael Jackson — “Man in the Mirror” — MJ bottles up all the pain and misery in the world and lets it out in this song, and then adds a dash of hope. The message resonates because Michael isn’t blaming anyone specific — if he wants things to change, he’s going to start with himself.
41. The Flys — “Got You Where I Want You” — The soundtrack to lusting after Katie Holmes circa 1998. It works because the Flys aren’t pretending to be cool rock stars who are surrounded by girls; they pour their average-Joe frustrations into the lyrics and vocals (“Tell me your name/ I’m dying here …”).
Comments
haha, 44 is accompanied with such badass commentary!# Posted By chance | 8/1/10 12:22 AM
Kind of an odd choice for a B&S song, I know, but I like the smooth, relaxing feel of it. I also just realized it’s a rare B&S tune that doesn’t feature Stuart as the main singer.# Posted By John Hansen | 8/1/10 10:39 PM