Bands And Albums.

Here's the deal:

I'm going to go with 10/day and count down. This is a favorites list first, so basically, I figured out my Top 100 favorite songs and then am scoring them to determine the "Greatest," order of my favorites.

I do understand that this list will be subject to criticism, but I would first like to point out that these being my favorite songs is subjective AND being on the list of my 100 favorite songs DOES NOT, ABSOLUTELY NOT, does it mean that I think these are the 100 greatest songs.

In fact, in looking over my list, I think only the top 20-30 songs would survive and make it on a list of what I consider the Top 100 greatest songs to be.

100-91: The Ridiculous

100.) The Evaporators "Woof, Woof, I'm a Goof"

Music: 70
Lyrics: 50
Vocals: 60

Total: 180

"Woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, I feel like a goof."

Favorite: This makes my list of favorites because it is a really great memory. We were playing in Philadelphia at the same venue as The Evaporators one night, anyway, they didn't open and we didn't close, but we went on after them.

We're waiting to go on, and I'm just sitting there not really listening to the music, and then I hear, "Woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, I feel like a goof," I turn to our drummer and say, "WTF is that guy up there singing?"

Anyway, he just keeps doing it and I went into hysterics. Eventually, we went up and I couldn't even start the first song because I went into hysterics again. When I finally calmed down, I looked right at him and asked, "Woof, woof, woof, I feel like a goof?" He just shrugged and grinned.

The funny thing was, he was saying, 'woof,' and, 'goof,' both with a soft, 'o,' basically pronouncing, "goof," wrong.

I turned to the band and yelled, "Buddy Holly," and everyone's looking at me like, "What?" I said, "Just play it," because they all knew the song.

I sang it, horribly, but when it got to the first chorus I sang:

"Woof, woof, woof,
I feel just like a goof;
Oh, oh,
Yeah, I feel like a goof.

(I pointed at The Evaporators singer)

...He don't care what they say about them anyway,
No he don't care about that."

Greatest: There's nothing that makes this song great. The lyrics are ridiculous, his high notes are awkward, the music is just OK, but I still love it!"

99.) Stryper-"Honestly"

Music: 80
Lyrics: 40
Vocals: 97

Total: 217

"...And I love you can't you see, that I love you honestly, and I will never betray your trust in me!"

Favorite: I don't even know why I like this.

Greatest: The vocals are fantastic, powerful. The singer really is incredible, the first time I heard the song, I had no idea what was going on and was like, "What the Hell are Styx singing about?"

The lyrics are just weak. Yeah, it's a Christian song, and the lyrics are freaking weak by those standards.

98.) Salt & Pepa-"Push It"

Music: 95
Vocals: 85
Lyrics: 40

Total: 220

"Yeah, you come here, gimme a kiss; better make it fast, or else I'm gonna get pissed."

Favorite: Want to see a tall overweight man dance? This is one of the only funky-@$$ hip-hop tracks that will make it happen, ya' feel me, son?

Greatest: See above. The music is just great, I don't know why because I don't know anything about hip-hop, but I love it.

The lyrics are nothing short of completely ridiculous. I don't even know what it is that they are demanding of me to push.

97.) Buddy Holly-"Everyday"

Music: 85
Lyrics: 70
Vocals: 80

Total: 235

"Everyday, it'sa gettin' closer, goin' faster than a rollercoaster; love like yours will, surely come my way. A-hey, a hey-hey."

Favorite: Memory. There was this girl in middle school who accompanied me to the dance, and I was joking with her to the effect of, "Everyone seemed so happy in the 50's, maybe we can just go up there and slow dance to 'Everyday,' by Buddy Holly or something crazy like that and my parents will stop getting divorced and everything will be cool. Hell, my Mom won't even have to work all the time because she'll be like Mrs. Cleaver and just bake awesome cookies."

Anyway, she went up and requested, "Everyday," (I didn't know) and somehow, he had it with him. There was a kiss at the end.

Greatest: It's a pretty average song all-around, I like the beat, but the lyrics are a bit generic even for the 50's.

96.) Nirvana-"Smells Like Teen Spirit"

Music: 90
Lyrics: 60
Vocals: 85

Total: 235

"A mulatto, an albino, a mosquito, my libido."

Favorite: It defined a generation. I didn't even care for it at all until recently, but it deserves respect. For a long time, I've not been very objective due to my personal dislike of Kurt Cobain and his irresponsiblity to his child with the drugs and everything. It's a good song, though.

Greatest: The solo is memorable and the intro is memorable. The lyrics are mostly nonsense with a couple of cool-sounding gems, "I find it hard, it's hard to find," but the lyrics, as a whole, are still complete nonsense. I gave Vocals an 85, and that's probably Cobain's peak with how limited he is.

95.) Toby Keith-"Courtesy of the Red, White & Blue"

Music: 80
Vocals: 80
Lyrics: 80

Total: 240

"We'll put a boot in your @$$, it's the American way."

Favorite: I don't actually like the song, but I like that this song made so many people feel happy and confident after 9/11. I like that it brought the Patriotism that so many desperately needed, even though I'm not necessarily Patriotic.

Look, it's just a song that did a lot for a lot of people. It made them smile, it made them proud, it gave them confidence in a country they love, and for that...I will NEVER change the station when this comes on the radio because it makes me happy to think of all the people listening to it and smiling.

Greatest: I just gave it all 80's. I wouldn't know the first thing about critiquing Country music.

94.) Europe-"The Final Countdown"

Music: 95
Lyrics: 50
Vocals: 95

Total: 240

"We're heading for Venus, and still we stand tall; 'cause maybe they've seen us, and welcome us all...yeah!"

Favorite: There are only two possibilities:

1.) You love it.
2.) You're a liar.

This is the best song in the world to rock out to in the car and get all 80's Glam style with the wincing and fist-clenching, it's just so over-the-top ridiculous that you have to love it.

Greatest: In the meantime, it has one of the most memorable, if not the most memorable, keyboard lines ever. The guitar solo after the second chorus is pretty incredible. The vocals are terrific, though not as much so live, but still very good.

The lyrics are awful. They're just stupid. I should have scored them lower, but...I can't. I love the song too much. I'm biased, sue me.

93.) Korn-"Got the Life"

Music: 95
Lyrics: 60
Vocals: 90

Total: 245

"Get your boogie on...get your boogie on."

Favorite: Honestly, I really liked the video. The video is basically just about this band that's being forced to sell out and put up with filming a video with a ridiculous stage set up while the big wigs sit around with frozen smiles on their faces. Eventually, JD walks out of the studio and is hounded by paparazzi until he goes nuts with a baseball bat. In the meantime, the other bandmembers turn over the keys to an expensive car to a homeless dude who ends up running it off a hill.

OK...I've covered it. Yes, I covered it. It was only two shows. Are you happy now? I've admitted it. I'll talk about it more when I'm ready. I don't need your f***ing help...just leave me alone.

Greatest: The opening is extremely memorable. Davis sings it well and hits a couple of abrupt high notes in the chrous which work well with the song...somehow. The lyrics are sometimes generic teenage angst and other times too obscure to mean much of anything to anyone except the writer.

92.) Drowning Pool-"Bodies"

Music: 85
Lyrics: 70
Vocals: 90

Total: 245

"One, nothing wrong with me, Two, nothing wrong with me, Five-hundred and eighty-seven..." (Not the Exact Lyrics)

Favorite: I sing it very, very well. It always gets a good reaction, even if we were ten songs in and sucked to that point.

Greatest: I think the vocals are much better than average. It's heavy, but very understandable. The lyrics are pretty generic. Okay, they're completely generic and the counting is silly. If it was just, "There's nothing wrong with me," x8 or x three million that would still be less silly. There's nothing standoutish musically, but it all works very well.

91.) El Pus-"Suburb Thuggin'"

Music: 80
Lyrics: 95
Vocals: 70

Total: 245

"You're just thuggin' in the suburbs, and you better watch yourself, 'cause when you're thuggin' in the suburbs, you might run into real gangstas."

Favorite: It's hilarious.

Greatest: The lyrics are outstanding. It's basically just about snot-nosed suburb kids thinking they're bad-@$$es by virtue of the fact that they listen to rap music.

The music is pretty good, El Pus considers itself, "Ghetto-Punk," even though it leans more ghetto. It's basically just hip-hop/rap with an electric guitar incorporated.

The vocals aren't terrific. The main problem is he does this weird high snorty-breathy thing after every line, and the whole thing sounds like he's out of breath to begin with. Maybe he's trying to sound scared to go with the lyrics, but nothing about that sounds good.

Impressive amount of thought went into this ... I think I'm getting a headache.

LOL

The songs from here on out are going to get more legitimate, slowly, but eventually in terms of potentially being, "Greatest," songs. My wife actually points out that a few songs from 100-91 could make a run at being, "Greatest," songs such as, "Smells Like Teen Spirit," and, "The Final Countdown."

I pointed out to her that she has a valid point in terms of popularity as well as influence, but that I have to disagree with her due to my belief that for a song to be truly, "Great," it must satisfy all three general categories of music, vocals and lyrics, unless it is an instrumental.

I think that she's very correct in that many would make an argument particularly for, "Smells Like Teen Spirit," because it contributed to changing the music scene greatly for nearly five years. I just don't know if that's enough for something to be, "Great," let us not forget that the Backstreet Boys also contributed to changing a music scene for over five years...

Fortunately, you won't have to worry about the Backstreet Boys being on this list one way or another...

90-81: The Less Ridiculous

90.) Weezer "Buddy Holly"

Music: 80
Lyrics: 80
Vocals: 85

Total: 245

"What's with these homies dissing my girl, why do they gotta front? What did we ever do to these guys, that made them so violent?"

Favorite: If you'll recall the story from song #100, then you'll know we covered, "Buddy Holly," the one time and changed the chorus the first time around. What you won't know, however, is that we continued to cover, "Buddy Holly," even after that.

I doubt if I ever got any better at actually singing the song, but p!$$ poor as it was, it got a great reaction from the crowd the first time around, and everyone just had so d*** much fun doing it that we kept doing it.

Greatest: It's definitely a vocals-driven song, with the music being greatly secondary, and the vocals aren't the greatest ever. He brings it up high here and there in a few awkward places, but that just has the fell of being for the hell of it. It's basically just a semi-punk, semi-rock sounding vocals. There's nothing inherently wrong with any of it, it's just nothing special.

The lyrics are what they are, it's kind of funny and kind of silly, but nothing world-beating.

89.) R.E.M. "Losing My Religion"

Music: 85
Lyrics: 82
Vocals: 80

Total: 247

"Every whisper, of every waking hour, I'm choosing my confessions..."

Favorite: There's a brief story behind this. I had a good friend who absolutely hated this song, anyway, I was spending the night at his house and he had a drop ceiling in his bedroom. I had an old-school Walkman CD Player (remember those?) and I cranked it all the way up and put it up there in that ceiling and it came down as a faint whisper. I had him going nuts for two hours about the song REALLY being stuck in his head (claiming I heard nothing) until he finally found the Walkman and threw it at me.

Greatest: This song makes you think, and what it makes you think is, "WTF is this song about?" The lyrics are great in that they don't really form anything coherent, but they sound JUST coherent enough to get you to spend hours trying to think of what the underlying message (that may or may not be there) is.

The music is just there as this is another vocals-driven song, so no real bonus points for that, except the outro is kind of cool. No great points for the vocals as this is so close to being spoken word, semi-spoken, I call it, that it doesn't really call for any points.

88.) Boys II Men-"Motown Philly"

Music: 70
Lyrics: 80
Vocals: 97

Total: 247

"Motown Philly's back again, doing a little East Coast fling, Boys II Men going off, not too hard, not too soft."

Favorite: Once again, I really don't know why this is one of my favorites.

Greatest: The verses aren't bad, but I think the harmonies through the chorus are just really, really, cool. It's just so smooth sounding that I can't help but love it.

The lyrics are pretty simple, I actually deduct a few points for using the name of the band in the lyrics. Aside from that, it just talks about getting together to play a gig (That's what they mean by, 'fling') and just about it being what they dreamt of in school not knowing if they were going to make it or not despite outside encouragement. Not bad.

They could have done so much more with the music and made this a really great song, but instead they just went with the same old generic hip-hop beats and sounds that I was already bored of even though I never really listened to hip-hop to begin with. This song just screams to me, "Give me a few great tenor sax solos," that would climb it up to 90, easily. It was almost like they said, "The vocals are great, the harmonies are fantastic, the lyrics are pretty good, we're done here."

87.) The Bravery "An Honest Mistake"

Music: 90
Vocals: 90
Lyrics: 70

Total: 250

"People...They don't mean a thing to you, they move right through you, just like your breath..."

Favorite: Awesome, "Domino-Effect," music video. It was clearly contrived, and I'm sure not filmed sequentially or even all at once, but it still made for a really neat video. Aside from that, there's a high-note in the chorus that I can more-or-less hit.

Greatest: The music is just great because it's the type of ridiculously addictive beat that just resonates with everyone, and, if you're not tapping your foot to it, then you must be a quadripalegic. (No offense intended) The beat is just highly habit-forming.

The vocals are great, he just sings with this pain in his voice that resonates what the whole song is about, and that type of pain in his voice just is how he naturally sounds. It's pretty cool when two elements come together like that and it's not forced.

The quote is the high point of the lyrics, there's nothing else about the lyrics even remotely memorable...

86.) Bowling for Soup-"The Bitch Song"

Music: 85
Lyrics: 85
Vocals: 80

Total: 250

"You make me sick, but don't ever go away."

Favorite: It's a hilarious love song!

Greatest: It's got a few pretty memorable guitar lines, aside from that, the music is slightly better than average all the way through.

The lyrics are simple, and there isn't much of them, but the premise of the song is so amusing that the lyrics get a score boost. I mean, the song is TRUE, not all the time, but sometimes...

The vocals are just standard nasally, whiney punk...it's on the brighter end of the nasally, whiney punk spectrum, but still nasally and whiney.

85.) Bad Religion-"Generator"

Music: 85
Vocals: 80
Lyrics: 95

Total: 260

"Like a rock, like a planet...Like a f**king atom bomb, I'll remain unperturbed by the joy and the madness that I encounter everywhere I turn."

Favorite: It's my third-favorite Bad Religion song.

Greatest: The harmonies are almost part of the music when it comes to Bad Religion, and the music in this song is fast and furious yet very well-organized.

The vocals are so-so, Graffin is EXTREMELY limited, so it's pretty close to the best he can do. I'll give Graffin credit for vocal tempo changes throughout, "Generator," because he doesn't even do that at all sometimes.

The lyrics are fantastic. It's all metaphorical without being obscure, if you'll refer back to what is quoted, I think that's just great. Isn't it incredible that he would compare it to both a rock AND an atom bomb and be making sense? The rock is constant and represents solidity while the atom bomb is static, destructive and represents great change, yet they are both equally unperturbed by the joy and the madness of the world...f***ing genius!

...Just genius

84.) Oasis-"Wonderwall"

Music: 85
Vocals: 85
Lyrics: 90

Total: 260

"And all the roads that lead you there were winding, and all the lights that light the way are blinding."

Favorite: Either this or #81 is the most melodramatic sounding f***ing song of all time.

Greatest: First off, the lyrics are fantastic. It's about someone who has failed in virtually every respect, but the narrator is still in love with this person because the narrator has the same problems. They're the only ones left that can tolerate the other and they need one another equally in order to improve themselves, "Because maybe, you're going to be the one that saves me," and he's talking about the person who has failed.

There's tense disagreement in the first line above, but that's ok...I guess.

I think the vocals are cool because Gallagher is British and perfectly content to sing in his natural voice, you don't get that much.

The music doesn't add anything or take anything away, it's a vocals-driven song pretty strictly.

83.) Red Hot Chili Peppers-"The Zephyr Song"

Music: 80
Vocals: 90
Lyrics: 90

Total: 260

"Fly away on my zephyr, I feel it more than ever, and in this perfect weather, we'll find a place together."

Favorite: It's really soothing. I especially like, "In the water where I center my emotion, all the world can pass me by." I haven't smoked marijuana in nearly ten years (as soon as it was illegal for me to do so and WOULD stay on my record) and nothing gives me the feeling of complete and total serenity than holding my baby daughter (or son, when he was a baby) and singing this song to him/her. There are a few lines I selectively leave out in the presence of the kids, but that's for another time.

Greatest: Kiedis outclasses himself, by far, on these vocals and holds a terrifically long note at the end. The whole serenity of it really just comes from his delivery, though the music also helps out a bit in that regard, as it is somehow kind of ocean sounding.

The lyrics are great because it's the usual sex-song-in-disguise wolf in sheep's clothing sort of thing. I could be wrong. I've talked to lyricists better than I who have agreed, some have said it is about drugs, and some have said it is a genuine love song. I think, "What a way to finally smell her," narrows it down to drugs or sex and, "Get it off with no propellor," brings us to sex. I'd love anybody's opinion on this one.

82.) Dynamite Hack-"Blue Sky"

Music: 82
Lyrics: 91
Vocals: 88

Total: 261

"Is it true? If you were here I'd ask you."

Favorite: It's beautiful and sad. It reminds me of this girl Valerie I used to pal around with growing up who effectively committed suicide. The only reason the lyrics don't get 100 is because I'm trying to be as objective as possible.

Greatest: I'm going to go ahead and re-produce the lyrics in their entirety. Aside from that, there'sd tremendous natural emotion in the singer's voice throughout the song, and the music doesn't take anything away from this vocals-driven song. You'll find that music-driven songs are in the middle and the top songs, obviously, are strong in both.

Here are the lyrics, clearly about someone who died:

Dynamite Hack "Blue Sky"


"i want out of here there's got to be

someplace for the dream in me

looking out at pacific sunsets

to austin sunsets

wish it could've been you
instead of her cold eyelids

that close and close
and never open here's to hopin'


give me one more chance to try and be
a little more unkind

hide those things that

you don't want me to know

is it true? if you were here i'd ask you


don't you think the sky is really blue?

not a cloud in sight, well maybe 1 or 2

too few to mention this music
stares at me so cold and sequential

keeping time with the perfect sounds
[ From: http://www.metrolyrics.com/blue-sky-lyr ... -hack.html ]

of my heart beating slow it down


twist it around and slam me
on my back in anxious waves

of idle time pass over me

and make me aware

is it true? if you were here i'd ask you

the sky is blue.

if you were here i'd ask you


I suck your kisses down

I suck your kisses down

I suck your kisses down

it's true
the sky is blue

if you were here i'd ask you"


Read more: DYNAMITE HACK - BLUE SKY LYRICS http://www.metrolyrics.com/blue-sky-lyr ... z1gHPvPznz
Copied from MetroLyrics.com

*Those lyrics are correct, except, it's "I'd suck your kisses down," future tense.

81.) Bush-"Glycerine"

Music: 80
Lyrics: 84
Vocals: 97

Total: 261

"I'm never alone, I'm alone all the time."

Favorite: Either this or #84 is the most melodramatic sounding f***ing song of all time.

Greatest: The pain in his voice is unmistakable...or so I once thought, it turns out that's just the way Gavin Rossdale always sounds, but it worked impeccably for this song. He holds a couple of hard notes for a not unimpressive duration, as well. Also, if you've ever watched the video (or were at) Woodstock '99 to see Rossdale performing this while getting drenched, it was nearly perfect.

They could have done a lot more to expand the scope of the song musically, it's basically just a few standard beats until just before, "Bad moon whine again."

This song could have scored higher in lyrics with less, he just tries to get too cute and creative in a few parts of the song, "We live in a wheel where everyone steals, but when we rise it's like strawberry fields." That doesn't mean anything!!! Another example, "Should have been easier by three, our old friend fear and you and me," that's just ridiculous.

*80-71 tomorrow.

Impressive amount of thought went into this ... I think I'm getting a headache.

. Ditto. I would really have to think for weeks untl I came up with an appropriate list. And then the next day the list would change. Here's my Top 10: 1) On the Road For Big Boy-Bill Blue. 2) Royz Bluz-Roy Buchanan live Youtube version Austin show 1976 3) Bohemian Rhapsody-Queen. 4) Okalijah-Charlie Pride live version. 5) Remington Ride-Freddie King instrumental 6) Yellow Coat-Screamin Jay Hawkins. 7) They Call Me the Breeze-Lynyrd Skynyrd What My Momma Told Me-Junior Wells. 9) Free Spirit-Tom Barabas. 10) Living On A Shoestring-I had to put one of my songs in the top 10, and it does kick butt if I do say so myself.

I didn't even know anyone paid attention to this thread, that's why I stopped. I'll pick it back up tomorrow.

Great Metal songs & Solos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3z3mdv6PSOA