Boomer Top 5

Top 5 works of fiction by musicians

1.     Motel Life, Willy Vlautin

2.     Edson, Bill Morrissey

3.     Tales from Margaritaville, Jimmy Buffett

4.     The Ass Saw The Angel, Nick Cave

5.     In His Own Write, John Lennon

I LOVE Wlly’s down-and-out but redemptive in Reno novel. (Willy's band, Richmond Fontaine is catching on, here and in Europe.) Don't miss Bill Morrissey’s down and out in New England. Yes, Buffett can write; don’t miss the hurricane story. I confess I have not read # 4 or # 5, but those were the only other works of fiction by any musician I could find!

Now, who else do we think could write some great fiction? Chuck Prophet, Joni Mitchell, Alejandro Escovedo.

 

It's surprising that so many storytellers can't tackle a longer form.

Top 5 Marshall Crenshaw songs

1.     Cynical Girl

2.    T.M.D. (Truly Madly Deeply)

3.     Somehow Someway

4.     Rockin’ Around NYC

5.     What Do Your Dream of

Honorable mention: Mary Anne, Whenever You're On My Mind.

 

I think Marshall's been way overlooked, and it's a cryin' shame that his album from '99 - #447 - is now o/p. It's really, really good!

baseball!

Best baseball song is John Fogarty's Centerfield, of course. Terry Cashman's Talking Baseball pretty great, too...ALL the versions!! A brief baseball ref in American Pie. HATE Mr. Loaf's dashboard light song but LOVE Phil Rizzuto's spoken bit, which won him a Grammy! And my favorite funky players' names?

1.     Poompsie Green

2.     Walt Dropo

3.     Choo Choo Coleman

4.     Coco Crisp

5.     Moose Skowron

quick 2 item list on the fly...love songs

Well, almost all of rock and pop is about love and love lost, but for me, the 2 songs that FEEL like how love and heartbreak feels are:

IN MEMORY OF ELIZABETH REED, Allman Bros.

THEN YOU CAN TELL ME GOODBYE, The Casinos

Top 5 groups with female lead singers

1.    Jefferson Airplane – Grace Slick

2.    Blondie – Deborah Harry

3.    Pretenders – Chrissie Hynde

4.    Seekers – Judy Dunham

5.    We Five – Beverly Bivens

 

 We’re not including all-girl bands; duh. Nor the great female singers who went mostly by their name, not the band’s. (Janis, Gladys, Pat et al; your list is coming.) As for the matter of Chahka Khan and Martha Washington, the soaring voices on so many hits; we have to find a unique category for them.

 

Back to the list above, Chrissie deserves a special shout-out for also playing an instrument. She’s one of our favorite rockers, and still at it! Deborah Harry always seemed a little out of it to us; Grace was out of it, but held it together, mostly. And what a voice.

 

The Seekers’  I'll Never Find Another You and We Five’s You Were on My Mind are wonderful, wonderful songs, viewable on Youtube. Beverly Bivens was a bit of a mystery, turns out.

literary mash ups

David of Watermark Books writes: Take an existing group (Doobie Brothers), find an appropriate book to graft them onto (Brothers Karamazov), and voila: Doobie Brothers Karamazov!

Top 5 Motown song covers

1.     Heard it Through the Grapevine, Credence

2.     Losin’ You, Rod Stewart (with one great drum solo)

3.     Get Ready, Rare Earth

4.     Go Now, Moody Blues

5.     Take Me In Your Arms, Doobie Brothers

pop quiz!

Which 3 bands changed male lead singers mid-career and became even more successful?

Top 5 songs about the music business

1.     Free Man in Paris, Joni Mitchell

2.     Welcome to the Machine, Pink Floyd

3.     Into the Great Wide Open, Tom Petty

4.     Creque Alley, The Mamas and Papas

5.     Smoke on the Water, Deep Purple

Joni gets the # 1 spot for her “stoking the star-making machinery behind the popular song” line. The song is about David Geffen, early in his career.

need your song title submissions

Looking for help with names of songs about wine, girl's and boy's names, and fruit, songs where the singer calls out an instrument or another group, best cover versions ever, and any themes that you have. I have about 100 other lists ready to go but would love your help. Thanks!