My favorite songs of my lifetime

I was thinking today about all of the songs that I loved and was obsessed with when I was younger that I still think are good. To be on this list I A) had to love them in the past, and B) still think they're cool, and C) not be embarrassed to name them.

Note: I'm going to go in the order that I liked them- not the order in which they came out.

My first favorite song, and also the first record I ever owned, is "Summer Nights" from the Grease soundtrack. The ending has always gotten to me; I think the song really sets a mood. The first record I ever bought was "What A Feeling" by Irene Cara from the Flashdance soundtrack.

I think my first two choices need a little explanation: when I was younger I spent a lot of time with my two older cousins, Krissy and Shari, and it had a big impact on my musical tastes, probably permanent. These first two songs are a little girly, but I feel a sense of excitement when I hear them.

I loved Michael Jackson- pre-Bad- but I can't think of a favorite song, one that I was really obsessed with. On the other hand, my fascination with Prince came next and I've got a lot of favorites. Prince has been known for putting out excellent B-sides. The two Prince favorites come from that catagory. I couldn't get enough of "17 Days"- it's almost hypnotic. It has the coolest sound and the coolest lyrics. It made me want to smoke, though I wouldn't start until 8 years later.

"All I got/ Is 2 cigarettes/ And this broken heart of mine/ So let the rain come down"

"Another Lonely Christmas" is amazing, start to finish. When I first heard it I hadn't had a banana daquari, and I still haven't. I hadn't had a girlfriend, never mind a dead one, but still I felt like I could relate to this song. I was 8 years old, but I understood completely.

Of all the songs on this list, the one that most of you don't probably don't know, and probably never will, is also probably the best. For the We Are The World album, Tina Turner recorded a cover of The Motels's song "Total Control". It's an awesome song (I've heard the original, and while it's great, Turner tops it), the guitars are awesome, and it holds up very well for a song that came out right in the middle of the 1980s- a decade that has a very distinct, and very awful sound. I would bet that this song could be released today, in 2011, and be a big hit, and nobody would guess that it was recorded in 1985.

There are a lot of Cyndi Lauper songs that I could list. I'd like to put on "The Goonies R Good Enough" or even its B-side, "What A Thrill", but my favorite Lauper song, the one that I'm most obsessed with is "Heading For The Moon", the B-side to "True Colors". It is easily the most dated song on this list, but I believe that it was dated at the time, so it's canceled out. It's such an odd song, but it really stays with you.

Actually, I'm not done with Cyndi Lauper yet. I loved her A Night To Remember album, though it was really the start of the end of her career (I know, she's put out a bunch of albums since then and she still has a huge fanbase. But I mean this is when she started to become practically "alternative"). There are a ton of good songs on Night, but the one that I cherish is the closer, "I Don't Want To Be Your Friend" , the sweetest and catchiest bitter song ever.

Madonna's put out a lot of records, but aside from "Has To Be" from the "Ray Of Light" single, she's only had one real B-side: "Supernatural" from "Cherish". It was always instrumentals or lesser album tracks (though "True Blue" was back with "Ain't No Big Deal", the song that was originally meant to be her first single but ended up getting shelved and left off Madonna). But "Supernatural" was a Like A Prayer out-take and it really shares the sound and attitude of that album. How much better would that album be if "Supernatural" took the place of "Dear Jessie"? Number one, the LP would be 30% less gay. "Supernatural" is an awesome song, perfect pop with a Jimi Hendrix-style guitar intro (I wonder if it was Prince- he did play on "Love Song" and "Act of Contrition", though I'm not sure if he's on the song "Like A Prayer").

In the 1990s my interests turned more towards rock music. The song that led me in that direction was the Divinyls's "I Touch Myself". I love the intro- it still gives me a thrill. That summer I played the shit out of the Divinyls album and that fall I bought all their old LPs on tape and played the shit out of them too.

From there I moved on to "Kiss Them For Me" and The Sugarcubes's "Hit". Of those two songs "Kiss Them" has held up the best- the sound is so mysterious and I still think the video is beautiful.

The song that totally led me in a new direction is The Breeders's "Cannonball" . I still think it's a perfect song, I'm still amazed by it. But also, my interst in The Breeders brought me to try The Pixies- one night I just went to the record store and bought Doolittle and I was hooked. I loved the sleeve design and the weird song titles. I listened to the tape on the drive home and I was in love. Over the next few months I bought every single Pixies recording I could find.

I'd like to list a Pixies song here but there's really no way. I wouldn't even listen to a Pixies album today- I just played it all too much. Even the B-sides. Even the rare songs. I've played "Rock-A-My-Soul" as many times as "Debaser". It's all worn out.

The song "Feed The Tree" got me into Belly, Tanya Donelly, Throwing Muses, and Kristin Hersh, but here I'd have to list "Gepetto"[Remix]/"Slow Dog"[U.S. Radio Remix]. Those are the two tracks on the "Gepetto" cassette single that I played over and over in my first car. Nothing made me happier back then.

I'm not a big Whiney Houston fan, though I do own The Bodyguard soundtrack. Still, she sings one of my favorite songs of all time, "My Love Is Your Love". That's about as close as a song gets to perfection and nobody could do it better than she does. It wasn't a huge hit for her. It isn't "I Will Always Love You". It isn't even "Where Do Broken Hearts Go?", but I think that in the future it will be the song that Whitney Houston is remembered for.

Around 2003 or 2004 I finally saw Magnolia. I never liked Boogie Nights, and I don't even like Magnolia, but I was amazed by it and I became obsessed with Paul Thomas Anderson. But even more importantly, I heard Aimee Mann's "Save Me" and I fell in love with that song. I love the guitars, I love the drums, and her voice sounds perfect- so cool. Everything about the song is perfect and, of course, it should've won the Oscar for Best Song (I think Phil Collins won that year).

I was out driving one night a few years ago. Actually, I was driving by my old apartment, the one where I'd first watched Magnolia, and I heard this awesome song that I'd assumed was sung by Jewel. I didn't find out until about a month later that it was actually a band called Riley Kilo. The song is called "Silver Lining". I don't know what to say about it. If you've heard it, you know. If you haven't heard you should seek it out. Buy the album (Under The Blacklights), download it, look up the video on Youtube. You're going to love it.

There are a few more songs I could throw onto the list, but I think that's enough. Besides, my fingers hurt and we've both got other things to do.

Good night,
RJ Battles