Top 10 Lists (by the Friends of BMOWP)

March 24, 2006


The Corey Vilhauer Top-100: a list that defines the idea of a “great song,” in my opinion at least. Beginning Monday, and progressing through until the end of the week, I’ll be posting my top 100 countdown.

My top 100 is centered in indie rock — widely varied and obscure to most of those that haven’t listened to college radio in the past ten years. It is one person’s tastes in music (mine) and it’s bound to be skimmed by a majority of my readers. One hundred songs is a lot of entries. I’d skim it myself, if it wasn’t my list.

Because of this I asked others to list their top ten; their 10 favorite songs. I also wanted to bring together my friends and family – the real life ones and the members of my adopted blogosphere family – and I’ve assembled a rather interesting group of people.

One striking thing is how different everyone’s tastes are. It was rare to see an artist repeated, let alone a specific song. Some people’s picks were stationed primarily in one genre, while others bounced throughout the spectrum of music. A few people slipped in some really obscure stuff, while others stuck to the well-known, time-tested classics. In short, every list was original.

There’s also an amazing lack of songs that would be considered “important” in the history of popular music. As Scott Hudson said when compiling his top ten, “There is a huge difference from the ten greatest songs (or singles) of all time and my personal favorites.” It’s true. Sure, we all know that “Hey Jude” could be considered the most important – the “best” – Beatles song written, but it’s not my favorite. Give me “In My Life.” Scott would take “Help!” My mother chose “Helter Skelter.”

Like Rob Gordon in High Fidelity, I believe a person can be defined by the music, movies, and books that they indulge in. It’s not an exact science, but you can really tell a lot by glancing at someone’s music collection or book shelves. Additionally, there’s a certain excitement in knowing someone likes the same stuff as you.

I’ve recently realized how close, at times, my friend Sara (the 2nd grade teacher who often camps out at Bonnaroo) and I overlap in musical tastes. The same goes for Hudson, though his indie-rockerness is a few years removed from mine. And the fact that Kerrie and I often overlap goes without saying – we’ve influenced each other’s tastes quite a bit over the past eight and a half years.

So without further adieu (as they say in “the biz”) I present to you The Friends of BMOWP’s Top Ten Lists.

Enjoy.

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UPDATE:

Yes. Sometimes my friends get me things after the deadline. That’s okay — I do the same thing; often, actually. You’ll have to go to the second page, and you’ll have to scroll to the bottom, but they’re there. Eric brought two lists, as did his roommate Tim. An old friend, Jason, rounds out the rest.

So enjoy — regardless of the lateness.

Tammy Briggs
Mother of BMOWP blogger, Oblate, Church secretary.

1. “Stairway to Heaven” — Led Zepplin

2. “D’yer Mak’er” — Led Zepplin

3. “Angie” — Rolling Stones

4. “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” — Bob Dylan

5. “Mary, Did You Know?” — Kathy Mattea

6. “Thief” — Third Day

7. “Because I Am” – Harvest

8. “Helter Skelter” — The Beatles
Preferably on high volume!

9. “The Boxer” — Simon and Garfunkel

10. “The Wall” – Kansas

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Deane Barker
Partner in Blend Interactive, Founder of Gadgetopia.

Only ten? How cow, man — I’ll try to narrow it down…

1. “On the Loose” — Saga
It’s odd, old, rarely played. Great song.

2. “Fantasy” — Aldo Nova
Great guitar riff to start it out, and perhaps the stupidest, most embarrassing video to go with it.

3. “Something About the Name Jesus”> — Kirk Franklin
It was on Kirk Franklin’s “Nu Nation Project,” but I don’t know who sang it. Hardcore gospel at its best — always gives me goose bumps.

4. “Why Can’t This Be Love” — Van Halen
Love the guitar riff. Classic 80s music stupidity. I can’t listen to it without smiling from ear-to-ear.

5. “Big Willie Style” — Will Smith
I’m a complete dork for liking this, but it’s handy to play for my 11-year-old in the car. It’s about as innocent a hip-hop tune as you’re going to find, and it’s essentially just a big song about how cool Will Smith it. And he is pretty cool.

6. “Bad Day” — Fuel
Just a good song. “Hemorrhage” is good too, even better since I heard Chris Daughtry sing it on American Idol. He sung it better than Fuel ever did.

7. “Father Figure” — George Michael
That whole album is great.

8. “Fade to Black” — Metallica
Great song about a sad subject. Classic 80s metal tune. I saw it played live twice.

9. “Hold the Line” — Toto
Good piano work on this.

10. “Danke Schane”> — Wayne Newton.
I thought it was sung by a woman for years. I don’t know why I like it, but my wife has it on a CD, and I’ll play it over and over again until my kids scream for mercy.

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Ryan
Substitute teacher (almost), certified teacher (not officially), (occasionally) a daycare provider, and (no longer) a student.

To get this list started I decided that Corey has a much easier job of finding his top 100 songs. For me narrowing it down to 10 was tough and I inevitably left my real top ten out. This was my best shot at 10 which kind of turned into 15 because I couldn’t make a list without a few of them but also couldn’t justify leaving them of the list for various reasons. I might just have to try this top 100 thing, or at least top 10 albums.

1. “Sorry About That” – Alkaline Trio
This will likely show up on other lists if any of our friends choose to participate. The great late night sing along.

2. “Moonpies For Misfits” – Hot Water Music
One of the first Hot Water songs I really got into.

3. “Bob Dylan’s Blues” – Bob Dylan
Anyone who knows me shouldn’t be surprised to see Dylan near the top.

4. “LA” – MU330-
Too many awesome shows and amazing experiences to leave this song off the list.

5. “Radio” – Rancid
This song was on the first “punk” tape that I stole from my brother when I was in 8th grade. It was hard not to make this one higher up. (NOFX and Bad Religion were also part of that tape)

6. “Three Summers Strong” – Hot Water Music
It reminds me of my friends and great times.

7. “Sunday Morning Comin’ Down” – Johnny Cash
Written by Kris Kristofferson made famous by Cash.

8. “Unity” – Operation Ivy
I can’t imagine my top ten without some Op Ivy showing up somewhere.

9. “Mama Tried” – Merle Haggard
Haggard, of course. Anyone surprised it wasn’t Okie From Muskogee?

10. “9th And Pine” – Less Than Jake
One of the first songs I learned how to play on the trombone!

11. “Patience” – Guns N’ Roses
Hey they taught me how to swear when I was in 2nd grade. What can I say.

12. “It’s the Sound” – Patient 957
Almost made the top ten guys — it doesn’t mean I don’t love the song and wouldn’t love to hear it again.

13. “Lovesick Blues” – Hank Williams
This one got pushed off at the last minute.

14. “Gimme Alcohol” – Eric Swanson
Great sing along, got to keep it in the family.

15. “Man in Black” – Johnny Cash
Cash made bridges for so many people to new kinds of music, he opened my eyes to music I never imagined myself listening to.

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PP
A day job doing computer work, Lots of odd jobs, but evenings are spent either with kids or blogging at the SD War College.

My top ten is based on what I enjoyed listening to through High School and College. It was really a transitional time in music as popular tastes moved from arena based rock to sales driven by music videos.

Most of that took place in the 80′s and this is the music that’s stuck with me over time. I DJ’d in High School and College, so I listened to a lot of music; lots of good stuff, and a lot of crap.

There’s everything from hard rock to soft rock with a country twang. One thing that will stand out is the new wave and the early influences of MTV and pre-MTV Music videos. (Remember “Radio 1990″ on the USA network?)

1. “Rock and Roll Band” – Boston
To me, this is the epitome of 70’s arena rock. The song is purely about the music in the era before we cared what bands looked like. What other song talks about “Dancin’ in the streets of Hyannis?”

2. “Call Me” – Blondie
There’s a reason why they just got inducted into the Rock and Roll hall of fame this year. Back in the 80’s they were just that damn good. And this song produced by Georgio Moroder was my favorite Blondie song. It still rocks with the best.

3. “Masquerade” – Berlin
It didn’t chart as high as the novelty song “Sex (I’m a..)” or the “Metro” off of the Pleasure Victim album, but I preferred its driving guitar. (the bad John Travolta movie “Perfect” has an awesome remake of this song). For the fans who liked Berlin before the top gun soundtrack, it’s one of the favorites.

4. “Come on Eileen” – Dexy’s Midnight Runners
The best one-hit-wonder ever. (Didn’t VH1 agree with that assessment?)

5. “The Reflex” – Duran Duran
If you liked 80’s music, this song was just infectious. It didn’t do too badly for them, either (I think it was their first #1.)

6. “Heavy Metal” – Sammy Hagar
Before my senior year, when Def Leppard got big, this defined hard rock. Leading off the sound track for the movie of the same name, It was hard driving rock when no one else was doing much for that type of music in movies at that time.

7. “Hot for Teacher” – Van Halen
For a top ten list in my era, you can’t do one without Van Halen. While it’s hard to choose just one, this song off the 1984 album was a little naughty without it being forced like it was on 5150. Besides, even though I preferred Sammy to Dave, Van Halen wasn’t Van Halen without David Lee Roth. And this song was David Lee Roth and Eddie Van Halen at their best.

8. “Secret Agent Man” – Johnny Rivers
A throwback to the 60’s that people still include in band playlists. Uncomplicated guitar rock.

9. “Hotel California” – Eagles
Tell me why it shouldn’t be on the list? I originally had Sister Golden Hair from America on it, but in thinking of why I liked it so much, I had to refer back to the band that’s thought of as originating that Southern California Rock with the slight country twang. And this was their best song, although it was a tough choice between this one and “Take it easy.”

10. “Our Lips are Sealed” – Go Go’s
Early music videos and MTV. (You know, back when MTV used to play music). They influenced plenty of other artists and we will probably see them in the hall of fame someday.

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Dave Wick
Donkey herder, artist, male model, blogger for I Stared Straight Into The Sun

1. “All Around the World” — Red Hot Chili Peppers
Fast, hard, loud, yet funky, gets your day going in a flash.

2. “Monkey Wrench” — Foo Fighters
I dig Dave Grohl screaming about that infectious woman who has wrecked all our lives at one point in time.

3. “Doesn’t Remind Me” – AudioSlave
Melodic and True.

4. “Sabotage” — Beastie Boys
Takes me back to the days when I ran the beat.

5. “Pinball Wizard” — The Who
Opening guitar riff will move you every time.

6. “Yellow” – Coldplay
Brings me back to a drunken night in the dorms.

7. “It’s Been Awhile” – Staind
Kinda depressing, but I dig it.

8. Soundtrack to the movies: Braveheart and Gladiator
Great to play in the background while drawing.

9. “Frontin’ (BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge) — Jamie Cullum
Good to get things in the “mood” :) (works for me anyways…)

10. “Can’t Stop” — Red Hot Chili Peppers
John Frusciante on guitar.

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Bob Schwartz
Technician, blogger for Moderates From South Dakota

1. “Smooth” – Santana
Carlos can play.

2. “Fade to Black” – Metallica
Cut my teeth as a metal head.

3. “Every Little Thing She Does” – Police

4. “One Vision” – Queen
Freddy Mercury was a genius.

5. “Bohemian Rhapsody” – Queen
See #4

6. “Solsbury Hill” – Peter Gabriel

7. “He Can’t Love You” – Michael Stanley Band
My Cleveland roots are showing.

8. “Hey Jude” – Maynard
Jazz remake of the Beatles tune.

9. “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” – Meatloaf

10. “Who’s Your Daddy” – Toby Keith
Token country song.

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Scott Hudson
Music collector, radio personality, Prime columnist, blogger for Rant-A-Bit by Scott Hudson

Let’s make this clear. There is a huge difference from the ten greatest songs (or singles) of all time and my personal favorites. You’re not going to see “Satisfaction”, “Heartbreak Hotel”, “Dock of the Bay’, or “Hey Jude”, let alone “Stairway to Heaven” or “Free Bird”. These are MY songs; tunes that I’ll go to my grave defending to anybody and everybody.

1. “I Will Dare” – Replacements
It’s no surprise that the fanboy that I am would pick a Paul Westerberg song as his favorite of all time…but it really should be everybody’s favorite. In a parallel universe it’s the biggest hit of all time. In a life full of disappointment and angst, there’s something about the optimism of the lyrics that somehow brings a smile to my face no matter how down in the dumps I’m currently feeling. “Meet me anyplace or anywhere or anytime/I don’t care, meet me tonight/If you will dare, I will dare!” Plus, it’s the song (and the album it came from, Let It Be) that made me aware that the ‘mats were something more than another noisy Minneapolis band.

2. “Wild Horses” – Rolling Stones
This choice is probably a huge surprise to anybody who knows me. Yes, everybody’s aware that I’ve always been a huge fan of Mick, Keith, and the rest of rock’s greatest geriatrics, but it’s generally the hard-driving rock tracks that appeal to me. “Wild Horses” is that rare ballad that isn’t overly sentimental. In fact, it’s the last nails in the coffin of a relationship, sort of what happens after the thrill of “I Will Dare” is gone forever. “Let’s do some living after the love dies”, sings Jagger. Supposedly, the song originated from a line used after girlfriend Marianne Faithfull came out of a drug-induced coma in Australia.

3. “Idiot Wind” – Bob Dylan
I guess my selections are loosely compiling a story. “Idiot Wind” comes after the dying relationship of “Wild Horses”; that inevitable period where a spurned lover truly hates their former mate. Dylan has written plenty of bitter songs over the years but never has his lyrics been THIS biting. “You’re an idiot, babe/It’s a wonder you still know how to breathe”.

4. “Windfall” – Son Volt
Rock ‘n’ roll (and country) has a long history of road songs, but Jay Farrar’s country-rock lament of a lonely soul traveling the empty highways of middle America is one of the most beautiful examples of the genre. “Switching it over to AM/Searching for a truer sound/Can’t recall the call letters/Steel guitar and settle down/Catching an all-night station somewhere in Louisiana/It sounds like 1963, but for now it sounds like heaven…May the wind take your troubles away”.

5. “No Surrender” – Bruce Springsteen
It would have been easy (and expected) to pick any one of a handful of Springsteen tunes for inclusion -“Rosalita”, “Thunder Road”, “Born To Run”, to name a couple. Yet I’ve always had a soft spot for this declaration of friendship, particularly in it’s place on Born In the U.S.A. right before “Bobbie Jean”’s goodbye note to departing guitarist Little Steve Van Zant. “We learned more from a three-minute record than we ever learned in school” – truer words have never been sung.

6. “I’m Not Like Everybody Else” – The Kinks
Over a decade before the arrival of punk rock, Kinks leader Ray Davies issued the genre’s manifesto – “And I don’t want to ball about like everybody else/And I don’t want to live my life like everybody else/And I won’t say that I feel fine like everybody else/’Cause I’m not like everybody else/I’m not like everybody else”. Too bad that the band buried it as a b-side.

7. “White Man In Hammersmith Palais” – The Clash
A biting look at the English punk scene that they helped create, “White Man” marks the introduction of elements of reggae into the Clash’s sound. It’s also his finest vocal to date. “Turning rebellion into money” indeed.

8. “Help” – The Beatles
Years after the breakup of the Fab Four, John Lennon explained that this song was his first cry of help. While Lennon was known for embellishing his feelings about the band, he certainly wasn’t in a happy place when he wrote this plea. Nonetheless, “Help” was a turning point for the group as it was one of the first songs to break away from the “Love Me Do”/”She Love You” lyrical template. (Other Beatles songs I contemplated using include “Nowhere Man”, “A Day In the Life”, and “I Am the Walrus”.

9. “Radio Radio” – Elvis Costello
The rise of punk rock coincided with the decline of commercial radio. Instead of being run by music fans, radio became big business. The Eagles, Peter Frampton, Bee Gees, Styx…the list goes on and on of the bands that were corporate-friendly. “Radio Radio” was our call to arms – “the radio is in the hands of such a lot of fools tryin’ to anesethise the way that you feel”. Too bad that the situation is miles worse almost thirty years later.

10. “Right In Time” – Lucinda Williams
Probably the most erotic song of all time. Accompanied by a Byrds-y folk-rock backing, Williams “lie(s) on (her) back and moans at the ceiling”. To be the person she’s longing for.

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Chris
Site host, occasional blogger for Driscocity.com and Misc.Asst., Personal and Charitable Tech Support for BMOWP.

Randomized 10 songs that I frequent (most in car).

1. “Revolution” — KMFDM

2. “Reise, Reise” — Rammstein

3. “Trust” — Megadeth

4. “You Can Call Me Al” – Paul Simon

5. “Speed Me Towards Death” — Rob Dougan

6. “That’s My Boy” — Vast

7. “Cells” — The Servant

8. “My Name is Prince” – Prince

9. “Tears In Heaven” — Eric Clapton

10. “Banana Man” – Tally Hall

(ed’s note: What, no “PoPoZau”?)

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Andres Torres
Alcohol drinker, culture junkie, artist

1. “Light in the Harbor” — Rumbleseat

2. “We’re All to Blame” – Sum 41

3. “Crack Pipes” — Sage Francis

4. “The Widow” — Mars Volta

5. “Bleeder” — Hot Water Music
(Cover of an Alkaline Trio song)

6. “Bedshaped” — Keane

7. “My Michelle” — Guns N’ Roses

8. “Two Words” — Kanye West & Mos Def

9. “13 Monsters” — Lightning Bolt

10. I think it’s called “Testimony” — Kanye West

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Dawnne
Photographer & Programmer, blogger at Synthaetic Synapse

Yes, I live somewhat in the past. So what.

1. “Silence” — Delerium (with Sarah McLaughlin)
The seminal crossover between electronica and the 1990′s version of pop culture.

2. “A Forest” — The Cure
If you don’t care about flashy lights and fireworks, this was, in my humble opinion, the best song to be heard live in the early 1980′s. Later versions of it mix incredibly well with music spanning three decades.

3. “Once in a Lifetime” — Talking Heads
I no longer have the original. Pretty much self-explanatory.

4. “The Eternal” — Joy Division
Where depression meets….I dunno…more depression. This was never mainstream, but it’s an awesome song.

5. “Paranoimia” — The Art of Noise
One of the first massively digitally-abused pop works. There are somewhere above two-dozen unique versions of this song.

6. “Happy House” — Siouxsie and the Banshees
Her first song that got serious play outside of the original Goth set & the first semi-mainstream crossover song for her.

7. “People Are People” — Depeche Mode
Beyond being the real US-breakthrough song for DM, some people actually listened to this song and thought for a while.

8. “Under the Milky Way” — The Church
Yeah, okay, it’s just my favorite sappy love song from the late 1980′s.

9. “All I Want” — Echo and the Bunnymen
One of the original angst with harmony groups, and a pivotal concert song for them.

10. “Blue Room” — The Orb
The grandfather song of techno-ambient/slow trance.

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Roberta
Counselor, dog mom, cat mother, lazy blogger for Noise From The Zoo, Element Owner, overweight slacker, friend, sister, daughter, aunt. I long to be outdoorsy but I get sunburned really easily…and I don’t really like bugs.

I don’t know about “all-time favorite songs,” but when these songs are shuffled I never skip them.

1. “Eternal Flame” — The Bangles
Unforgettable memories from college.

2. “Your Song” — Elton John
I love all of Elton John’s music, but this one makes the list.

3. “Kind and Generous” — Natalie Merchant

4. “Power of Two” — Indigo Girls
Always been a favorite.

5. “I Will Never Be the Same” — Melissa Etheridge
There’s a movie called “Welcome Home Roxy Carmichael,” my sister and I watched it nonstop. This song is used in the movie and that’s all the explanation there is.

6. “Better Man” — Pearl Jam

7. “Both Hands” — Ani DiFranco
I used to fight the ‘Ani-Fever’ my college roomies had, then I gave in. She is like a fine wine—an acquired taste.

8. “The Mountains Win Again” — Blues Traveler

9. “Saving All the Love” — Joe Firstman
Little known artist, can really play guitar and piano.

10. “I’m Movin’ On” — Rascal Flatts

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Sara C.
Currently, 2nd grade teacher. Spare time: worry about what I should be doing.

First of all, this sucks. I decided to go with songs since I was born. Ones that I can listen to over and over. You suck, this sucks, I spent way too much time on this and really don’t think all but my top 3 really count. This is way too much pressure.

(ed’s note: Sorry Sara.)

1. “Delicate” — Damien Rice
Do you really even need to ask? This is the intro song on possibly the best album I own. I could probably listen to this for days straight. The perfect song from the best thing to come from Ireland (I don’t drink much).

2. “Trouble” — Ray LaMontagne
The most soulful voice you’ll ever hear (from a white guy). This guy has hurt and lets it show through lyrics and voice. I heard him talk about how musically the album is not that challenging, but it sure got to me. Honorable mention from this album, Narrow Escape, I literally cried when I figured out the lyrics.

3. “Black” — Pearl Jam
Great song, great album, great band.

4. “Both Hands” — Ani Difranco
The addition of the orchestral arrangement makes this great!

5. “Wish You Were Here” — Pink Floyd
Pretty much the only song I listened to in high school. I was obsessed and never got sick of it.

6. “Crush” — Dave Matthews Band
I know, DMB–too bad! This is a beautiful song.

7. “Homeless” — Paul Simon with Ladysmith Black Mambazo
LSBM- I love the African vibe of this song. Obviously they are from Africa and you can’t go wrong with Paul Simon.

8. “Philosophy” — Ben Folds
The improvising toward the end is unbelievable. It’s only Ben playing.

9. “Kiss Off” — Violent Femmes
A good sing along (or to the dog) in the car song.

10. “I Should’ve Known Better” — Nickel Creek
Spontaneous add on- I really like the bluegrassiness of this. I like to think that I can sing just as well as she. I am wrong.

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Big Dave
Soldier currently stationed in Iraq.

1. “Hotel California (Live)” – Eagles
Remake of a classic from the Hell Freezes Over album. The bass drop about 30 seconds in is awesome.

2. “Devil Went Down to Georgia / Devil Came Back to Georgia” — Charlie Daniels w/ Johnny Cash
Two separate tracks but really the same song. Classic country at its best.

3. “Anna Begins” — Counting Crows
A very nostalgic song for me. Enuff said.

4. “I’m Not That Way Anymore” — Alabama
Being a responsible adult sucks sometimes. I long for the day that “my razor is rusted and my barber is bored.”

5. “The Shiznit” — Snoop Doggy Dogg
Original old school rap. I still know every word.

6. “Shape of My Heart” — Sting
Haunting melody from the closing credits of the Professional. “The hidden law of a probable outcome,” stuff to think about.

7. “Only God Knows Why (Live)” — Kid Rock w/ Trey of Phish
Live remake with an acoustic twist. Great improvement over the worn out radio version.

8. “Here I Go Again” — Whitesnake
Text book example of a power ballad. I dare you not to sing along.

9. “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah” — Uncle Kracker
“I don’t know why I come here, but I know I’ll never leave.” Over time, the things we hate are the things we can’t live without. Did somebody say Army?

10. “The Load-Out (Live)” – Jackson Browne
Life on the road is tough. I’ve hung my hat in five different places in the last six months. This song is always on my Mp3 player during the trip.

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Kerrie
Newsletter Coordinator, Contributor to Misc.Asst., Beautiful, intelligent, and charming wife with great taste.

I cheated. And I’m still not sure that these are the songs I’d take with me if I plan on stranding myself on an island.

1. “Fire Door (live)” — Ani DiFranco
I especially enjoy when she rolls into Amazing Grace. My favorite version, on a bootleg, adds a little funk. Oh Ani, the diversity amazes me.

3. “Sweet Lullaby” — Brenda Weiler
A folkie at her finest. Not only does she have a good acoustic beat, but also great lyrics.

4. “Canned Goods” — Greg Brown
OK, so this isn’t the best Greg Brown song, but right now I’m a sucker for anything that reminds me of summer in the middle of March.

5. “Three Summers Strong” — Hot Water Music
This song reminds me of college. And HWM reminds me of my friends…the shows always made me happy because it was a “family” friend reunion and good music all wrapped into one.

6. “Closer To Fine” — Indigo Girls
A classic.

7. “Orange Crush” — R.E.M.
I had to pick a song off of Green, cuz it was the first REM album I purchased (along with Elton John’s Greatest Hits) after I bought my first CD player.

8. “The Day’s Refrain” — Texas Is The Reason
Texas and Sensefield equal high school. Not to mention that I thought the singer was totally hot and he gave me a 20-cent tip when I worked at Bagel Boy.

9. “Silent All These Years” — Tori Amos
Again, a song off of the first Tori album I ever bought.

10. “The Good Life” – Weezer
What else can you say about this song? It gots good beats and it’s fun to sing.

11. “Both Hands (live)” — Ani DiFranco
Yes, I can have two Ani songs in my list. Perhaps I should do top 10 Ani songs next. Hmmmm…

12. “Pass The Mic” — The Beastie Boys
I still know every word to this song. Why is it that numbers 3 and 7 seem to be good songs on many albums?

13. “The Mountain” — Mason Jennings
Will always remember hearing this song live right before Modest Mouse at First Avenue.

14. “Custom Concern” — Modest Mouse
“Gotta go to work, gotta go to work, gotta get a job.” Nuf said.

15. “E-Bow The Letter” — R.E.M.
REM is one of those bands that will always transcend time. Patti Smith in the background does this song well.

16. “Liberation Frequency” – Refused
“We want the airwaves back.” That’s why I have satellite radio.

17. “Strung” — Sense Field
This song reminds me of the love of my life… he painstakingly typed out the words to it and sent it to me in an email–and made me cry in a computer lab my first year of college.

18. “Lodi Dodi” — Snoop Dogg
Yup… If only they had this song at karaoke.

19. “Sorry About That” — Alkaline Trio
JHC and New Year’s Eve. The best sing-along I’ve been to.

20. “Ebroglio” — At The Drive-In
This is one of those bands that can grab you at the heart. It’s all the screamy punkiness you need with fabulous melody intertwined. Pretty.

(ed’s note: Kerrie’s hot.)

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UPDATES

Tim
Friend of BMOWP, political guy.

I work a lot and don’t get to do this kind of thing much.

This list isn’t definitive or anything, they’re not in any real order and I didn’t look at my record collection or anyone elses top 10′s before writing it, so I’m probably gonna read everyone else’s and see a million songs that I’m pissed that I didn’t put on my list, so I just went off the top of my head tonight.

1. “Surrendering The Ghost” — Split Lip
I’m just putting this one in because these guys certainly belong on this list and between Fates Got a Driver and The Moon My Saddle I don’t think I could pick just one because I’d just be thinkin’ about one of the other ones while I was writing down that one. Like cheating on one of them.

2. “As Is” — Ani Difranco
I wish I had written this song, but alas I am nowhere near as cool as Ani.

3. “Highway Patrolman” — Johnny Cash (written by Bruce Sprinsteen)
Johnny could do anybody’s song better than they could…just not fair.

4. “Third Planet” — Modest Mouse
I can’t even explain this one.

5. “Sweet avenue” — Jets to Brazil
Might be the greatest love song ever written.
(Ed’s note — God, I’m dumb for choosing “I Typed For Miles” instead. Duh.)

6. “It’s Hard to Know” — Hot Water Music
Fist is pumpin’, heart is singin’, I don’t have the words.

7. “Million” — Jawbreaker
Shit, dude. Million still gets me every time.

8. “Detroit” — Rancid
This song is so great on so many levels. I think rancid was at their best, and that was a beautiful thing.

9. “Unity” — Operation Ivy
What can I say; this shit defined me in alot of ways when I was younger and made into the person I am today.

10. “Into the Fire” — Bruce Sprinsteen
This shit makes me cry.

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Jason Dannenbring
Graduate Student

1. “Beast of Burden” – The Rolling Stones

2. “The Diamond Sea” (LP Version, alt. ending) – Sonic Youth

3. “Sports Car” – The Wedding Present

4. “Forensic Scene” – Fugazi

5. “Car” – Built To Spill

6. “Mile Me Deaf” – Unwound

7. “Can’t Hardly Wait” – The Replacements

8. “Tinfoil” – Rainer Maria

9. “New Jersey” – Red House Painters

10. “Schizophrenia” – Sonic Youth

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Eric Swanson
Rocker, Misc.Asst. Contributor.

Alright, here are my top ten favorite hip hop songs to hear while riding the bus.

10. “Juicy” — Notorious B.I.G.
All i need to hear is “it was all a dream, I used to read Word Up magazine” and I’m good.

9. “Can’t Knock the Hustle — Jay-Z
The Scarface beginning is kinda lame, but the rest is great! I like where he says “high stakes/I got more estate than Philly.” Reasonable Doubt is one of the best first records ever. I swear to god don’t get it fucked up.

8. “All Eyez On Me” — 2pac
Yes!

7. “re:DEFinition” — Blackstar
Gotta love Mos and Kweli — best alliance in hip hop y-o!

6. “Fuck the Law” — Dead Prez
Any song where the first words are “slap a white boy” is probably sweet. Plus this song kinda makes me wanna burn shit.

5. “Dog Shit” — The Wu-Tang Clan
ODB RIP. Still collecting welfare checks in heaven, I hope.

4. “Jigga That Nigga — Jay-Z
“Gnarly dude.. I puff Bob Marley dude, all day like Rastafaris do.” Yup, Hova’s the shit. Nuff said.

3. “Living in the World Today — GZA
I think it’s true that “if you livin in the world today, you be hearin the slang that the Wu-Tang say. Niggas that front we don’t have ‘em. So we blast ‘em. (chk-chik PLOW) Well all right, well ok.” Sweet. If you don’t have GZA’s Liquid Swords, immediately go get it, don’t even read the top two before you buy this record and listen to it twelve times. I’m dead serious.

2. “Ambitionz Az a Ridah” — 2pac
This song is so hard for me to listen to just once, I almost always listen twice. All Eyez On Me is the best double album in the world, two songs in the top ten. Get it.

1. “Let Me Ride” — Dr. Dre
When this song comes up, I usually listen to it like four times, I don’t really know why. Probably because it’s really sweet. In regular life, I like this song, but in transit I absolutely love it! Oh man, I can’t wait to ride the bus home from work today, I’ll probably listen to all ten of these once, but ‘Ambitionz..’ twice and ‘Let Me Ride’ as many times as possible.

And Later:

Here’s a pretty sweet one. Top (first) ten songs to come up in my iPod right now. I’m gonna put my iPod on random and call the first ten songs the top ten. Here we go.

10. “Just Like a Woman — Bob Dylan
Hell yeah, this song is great great great. It makes me really happy. It’s the weirdest sounding pretty song I can think of except “Lay Lady Lay.”

9. “300mhz” — At The Drive-In
This is going well so far. This is my favorite song on that Vaya record. It reminds me of robots and when I had a car, I used to drive to this song alot.

8. “4th Chamber” — GZA
Yeah, this is off the great liquid swords record. Ghostface Killah’s verse at the beginning is so great, I can’t stand it! In a good way.

7. “Two Dope Boyz in a Cadillac” — Outkast
Yeah, ATLiens is a great record and I probably should have included a song from it in the top ten hip hop bus songs, but I didn’t, which was dumb. This song is okay, but there are better songs on the record.

6. “Under Everything” — Hot Water Music
Yeah, I like this song too. It sorta seems like he’s singin about bein’ dead, but I won’t pretend to know that for sure.

5. “Clone” — Avail
This is that “no time for rest no” song. I like it. One of the background vox sounds like a toad if you listen carefully. For a long time Dixie was my favorite Avail record, now I like Over The James. My copy skips, luckily it’s finally being re-released! Hooray for me.

4. “Part II (The Numbers Game)” — Bad Beligion
My iPod has brought bad religion back into my life and I thank the little robot for that. Victory through domination!

3. “Picket Fence Cartel” — At The Drive-In
This song is by far my favorite on this record too. For those of you who don’t know it’s the “if these walls could speak I wouldn’t tell them anything..” song. Really sweet. What’s gonna be next?

2. “Are You Guys Drug Dealers?” — Bill Hicks
Thank you, my iPod, for playing Bill Hicks. Hicks is a hero of mine, and the fact that he was alive gives me faith in humanity. This track is awesome, it’s from the Flying Saucer Tour cd, where he talks a lot of shit to the audience. This is where he’s making fun of a couple of guys for using cell phones. Ah yes, 1993, a different time…

1. “Armchair” — Avail
How is this happening? This is my favorite song on 4am Friday! Yeah, Avail is cool. This record was one I never liked as much as people around me, but I still thougth it was good and I still listen to it today. Hooray!

That was fun. Why did I count backwards? That was weird.

- – - – - – - – -

And that’s it. If you’re still with us after this all-out-assault by top-ten lists, congrats. If not, well, you’re not reading this anyway.

Thanks to everyone who submitted their lists. Music lists RULE!

Tags: Blogging, Friends, Music, The Top... |

15 Comments

Vilhauer. Corey Vilhauer.

March 23, 2006


Thanks to MySpace, I’ve become quite familiar with the wide spectrum of “quizzes,” most of which spell out exactly how well you kiss, how “freaky” you may be, and additionally, how hot you are in the sack.

Of course, every once in a while a quiz pops out at me, and it took this one (sent to everyone by my good friend Jimmy P.) to realize my full potential.

Which Action Hero would I be? Why, Bond himself.

- – - – - – - – - – -


You scored as James Bond, Agent 007. James Bond is MI6′s best agent, a suave, sophisticated super spy with charm, cunning, and a license’s to kill. He doesn’t care about rules or regulations and somewhat amoral. He does care about saving humanity though, as well as the beautiful women who fill his world. Bond has expensive tastes, a wide knowledge of many subjects, and his usually armed with a clever gadget and an appropriate one-liner.

James Bond, Agent 007 71%
Captain Jack Sparrow 63%
Maximus 63%
Neo, the "One" 58%
Indiana Jones 54%
Lara Croft 46%
The Amazing Spider-Man 46%
William Wallace 42%
Batman, the Dark Knight 33%
The Terminator 33%
El Zorro 29%

Which Action Hero Would You Be? v. 2.0
created with QuizFarm.com

- – - – - – - – - –

That’s too bad — I always pictured myself as Indiana Jones — the history loving archaeologist that just happens to hate — hate! — the Nazis.

And snakes.

Oh well — James Bond is witty, intelligent, and incredibly attractive. Not only do I get to save the world, but I also get all the hotties now. Go MySpace!

Tags: Random |

4 Comments

$500,000: un-cut

March 22, 2006


Awesome news for us public broadcasting junkies: Terry Woster reports that the $500,000 cut in SDPB’s budget has been given back.

Legislature decides to restore $500,000 to South Dakota Public Broadcasting

The South Dakota Legislature voted Tuesday to restore $500,000 in general funds taken three weeks from public broadcasting in a budget-cutting move.

The Senate voted 29-4 to approve a new bill that returned general funds to South Dakota Public Broadcasting. The bill also restored $21,600 taken from a program to enhance salaries of state banking examiners.

The House followed with a 63-3 vote on the new bill, perhaps the most significant development on the Legislature’s final day for the year. Lawmakers adjourned about 5:10 p.m.

…

Before the House voted to restore the general-fund money, Klaudt said the Government Operations and Audit Committee he chairs will do an in-depth look at public broadcasting this summer, going through the agencys’s budget, audits and spending.

“We need to know what we’re spending that money on,” Klaudt said.

Andersen said she welcomed the opportunity to discuss her agency with legislators.

She said the concern over the $500,000 in the past three weeks perhaps “opened some people’s eyes to the programs we provide,” and “The investigation is a huge opportunity to show what we do.”

How does the budget cut pass, yet weeks later get reversed by such a huge margin? I’ll never understand politics.

Check out the entire article here: “Legislature decides to restore $500,000 to South Dakota Public Broadcasting.” (Argus Leader)

Tags: Politics |

1 Comment

Relief

March 21, 2006


I’m feeling incredibly prolific, writing-wise, these past few days.

I know exactly what it is, too. It’s my new job. More specifically, the rush that came with being offered a position that I truly believe in my heart to be a perfect match. And even more, the relief that comes after weeks of waiting.

For weeks I would check my messages three times daily while at work, each time hoping for that elusive call that would offer me a job – and, ultimately, a way out of my current situation, a situation that has frustrated me for the last couple months. I got into the habit of checking my home e-mail account from work every couple of hours. It was the first thing I would do upon returning home; regardless of how long I’d been gone.

Waiting is a hard thing to do, especially when you’ve got a myriad of personal feelings wrapped up in it. I was hopeful – hopeful of getting an opportunity to put my writing skills to use. I was eager – eager to start, eager to impress, eager to switch careers and head down a road I’ve sought out for years.

Most of all I was becoming frustrated. I knew that this job was within my reach. I could extend my arm a bit and take full hold of it, but unfortunately there was a thin film impeding my grip. Meanwhile, my arm was being stabbed, continuously and slightly, by my current position, a situation that I was just as excited to get out of. Getting hired as a copywriter wasn’t an escape route. But an opportunity to leave my current job certainly added to the hopefulness, and it was a very positive side effect to breaking into the writing business.

And a breakthrough it was. By small increments I picked away at that film that held me back from my desired position until, finally, it broke. Finally, there was nothing that could hold me back.

With that, everything washed away. I had spent the last three weeks in a sullen state about what I had chosen as an intermediate career. I was demoralized by crumbling communication, by the possibility of a complete restructuring and by an incredible feeling of waste. Some people become depressed because they’re not successful at what they do. I am successful, but I don’t like what I’m doing.

Sometimes I think that being successful in something you dislike can be a completely somber experience – the worst kind of disappointment. I have skills that I want to put to use, but until recently I was never given the tools to accentuate them. I was bogged down by a completely functional, yet hardly satisfying, career. Being nearly free of it has really opened up the emotions. I don’t think I’ve been this happy with what I do to make money since being hired at Best Buy at the age of 16.

As I said before, this is a sort of renaissance for me, a personal enlightenment. I’m going to be working with what I want to work with – not children, not supervisory duties, but with words. Precious words. The light that concludes this tunnel has been brightened considerably. I’m proud of what I’ve become. I feel as though I wouldn’t mind having my career be a subtle piece of my personality – Corey Vilhauer, writer.

Relief comes in many forms. But regardless of how it shows up, it’s always welcome.

Tags: Career, Writing |

1 Comment

More complete thoughts on professional wrestling

March 20, 2006


Okay. Let’s get some things straight.

I am not on the anti-wrestling bandwagon. I still have a warm spot in my heart for certain aspects of the sports-entertainment world – I still use a vast section of the vocabulary, and I’m still enamored with a tightly wrestled technical battle along the lines of Benoit vs. Angle.

I don’t hate wrestling. But I will say that professional wrestling, a hobby that I put a considerable amount of time into, has done me wrong. Really done me wrong. I was always a fan of lucha libre, of puroresu, of the Super J Cup Tournament and of Bret Hart, Chris Benoit, and Chris Jericho. I turned my nose up at the more lowbrow humor, the punchy-kicky superstar matches, and the intelligence insulting.

I hated the sexism and xenophobia that is still prevalent in professional wrestling. I hated the poo-poo humor that permeated any “humorous” skit or angle. I truly was insulted when an 80-year old woman gave birth to a hand, when female wrestlers were relegated to mud wrestling, and when a seven-foot “monster” performed an act of necrophilia.

Wrestling requires some reality suspension. Obviously. I just can’t do it anymore because, well, there has to be a little continuity involved. For some reason the entire genre turned me off. I’m not saying this to sound conceited, to sound as if one kind of reality suspension – clay figures going to the moon and eating cheese in a spacecraft flown by a dog, for example – is better than another (the fact that grown men wait until they’re in an arena full of people to settle their differences by flopping around on the mat comes to mind).

The thing is, I used to be able to suspend reality for a few hours while watching wrestling. But that is when the storylines where still fresh. When the art of wrestling was still followed. Three things ultimately ruined professional wrestling for me.

1. The downfall of the independent circuit. I used to love watching ECW. I also loved watching the mid-card level personalities in the WCW and WWF. I loved watching them because they were different – they were doing things that you couldn’t see in Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Undertaker. They were wrestling. And to me, it was fresh.

Eventually, I realized that what they were doing wasn’t interesting – it was the fact that I hadn’t seen it before that made it stand out. Once it became commonplace, I tired of it. I gave it up. That’s about the time that the great wrestlers started getting relegated to punchy-kicky type matches and started being involved with storylines that were designed to give them personalities – personalities that they didn’t have.

2. I got too involved backstage. I, like Kerrie mentioned, used to make changes (with a red pen) in The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Professional Wrestling. It was horribly inaccurate. It was outdated within a week of its publishing date, and it was incorrect throughout anyway. I knew what was going to happen before it happened, thanks to the Internet. I over analyzed Pay-Per-View events. I had actual interest in whether or not a wrestler’s comments were “shoot” (real life comments) as opposed to scripted.

There were no surprises left for me. And even when surprises tried to manifest themselves, I was always disappointed. I thought way too much about programs that were designed to make you think as little as possible. It’s like analyzing the backstage antics of ER, and then trying to figure out if a patient’s comments were in some way directed at George Clooney’s departure nearly ten years ago.

3. I realized that a figure-four leg lock doesn’t really hurt (unless it’s applied incorrectly). Thank you, Owen, for reminding me of this.

A lot of the glamour of wrestling disappeared when I started watching American wrestling exclusively. Gone from my repertoire were the stiff forearms of Mitsuharu Misawa. Forgotten were the neck drops of ECW’s Taz. Lost were the suicide moonsaults of Toryumon’s Dragon Kid. Instead, I watched move after move that did nothing to convince me that they were even painful.

Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle were still putting on wrestling clinics – using moves that borrowed heavily from the laws of physics, leverage, and balance. The rest of the league was flopping around and using half-assed fists to swing past their opponent’s head. Wrestling is more ballet than boxing, and I always knew that. But I don’t like ballet. And really, I don’t like boxing. So why was I watching it so much?

I say all of this because I don’t want it to seem like I’m on some high and mighty pedestal, throwing stones at the people – of which many of my close friends are included – that still watch wrestling. I have no problem with professional wrestling. I’ll always feel a little warmth in my heart for a soundly contested suplex-fest. It’s just that I personally can’t take it seriously anymore.

No, that’s the wrong way to put it. A person who takes professional wrestling seriously is in more trouble than they ay think. What I mean is that I can’t bring myself to watch it. Things have gone so far off course that I don’t think I’d ever be able to come back. The main event companies are boring retreads of what I used to watch, which ultimately was a boring retread of what ECW did in the mid 90’s. The indie leagues are trying to hard to be successful, a feat that can really only be completed by creating a league that is nearly identical to the WWE.

I’ve lost the heart for wrestling. I’m not sad about it at all. I’ve filled that empty space with things that I find more personally fulfilling. But far be it for me to completely write it off. Currently, the product is only a fraction as interesting as it used to be, and at some point in the past few years I must have grown apart from whatever it was that led me to enjoy it in the first place. I still think wrestling is lame now. I’m wrestling free, but I’m not forgetting my roots. I can still hold my own with the rest of you wrestling fans – almost as if it’s ingrained in my DNA. But that doesn’t mean I have to like it, or even admit it.

I hope that explains my position a little better.

And yes, I promise — no more ‘rasslin.

For now.

Tags: Wrestling |

13 Comments

Nacho Libre

March 19, 2006


Yeah, I used to watch professional wrestling. And not just during my youth – I watched it very closely up until about two years ago. I’m not proud of it. In fact, I’m a little ashamed. It took a wrestling sabbatical to realize that yes, wrestling is pretty lame. Sorry, friends – it is.

These thoughts of shame were compounded when I was flipping channels the other day. Without cable, I was wrestling free. I never even ran across it anymore. But now that the WWE has started showing Saturday Night Main Events again I’m finding professional wrestling being beamed into my house through the antenna instead of the cable cord. We’ve got wrestling on free television.

I stopped on the show last night to see Shane McMahon, the son of WWE leader Vince McMahon, grappling with Shawn Michaels, a former multiple-time WWE Champion. And even though I had seen Shane wrestle before numerous times, it took the clarity that came from stepping back from the product to understand that a match like this, to put it in a family-friendly way, is utter bull-poop.

Seriously? This scrawny wimp is actually supposed to be getting a decent fight from a former champion? Reality is suspended in wrestling, I realize, but stuff like this insults whatever intelligence the average viewing public still has. But this is just how it is now. Professional wrestling outfits have gotten lazy with their product, their storylines, and their overall effectiveness to sell merchandise (which, ultimately, is the only reason they’re still around).

With all of this said, I can’t help but love the idea of a tongue-in-cheek movie about wrestling. No, nothing like the horrible Ready to Rumble. Something with a little star power. Something with, say, Jack Black.

Enter Nacho Libre, starring Jack Black. A priest who moonlights as a Lucha Libre star.

Awesome.

Thanks to Dave at I stared straight into the sun for the link. Also, a big “hooray!” that he’s putting out posts more consistently. We missed you, DWiddy!

Tags: Wrestling |

1 Comment

Spring fever

March 18, 2006


In all my life – through the 27 winters that have passed by before my bundled eyes – I have never experienced a spring fever like the one I’m being attacked by this year. It’s an unfounded, completely encompassing fever. Unfounded? Our winter has been remarkably mild. We’ve experienced more days of 55-degree weather than we have seen days with snow on the ground. Completely encompassing? It’s all I can do to keep myself from going ballistic; from running outside with a hair dryer and melting the frozen ground just enough to warrant getting the patio furniture out.

I don’t usually get spring fever. In fact, I’ve got no reason to have it. As I said, we’ve been blessed with an unseasonably warm winter. Our snow has been so sparse that I’ve only broken out the snow blower three times since getting it fixed, and two of those times the snow was so wet that the blower just clogged up and was rendered useless.

But when you look at the grand picture it’s not so unusual. You can see that I’ve got my reasons.

I know that this year will be the first that Kerrie and I go camping on Memorial Day – an ultra busy campground day and the official first day of camping season. We’ve already got our spots reserved (our favorite: a cozy little tent spot set away from the RV’ers at Lake Herman) and I’m gearing up for it. Even though it’s over two months away.

Additionally, I won’t have to worry about working holidays anymore. This means that I can make plans to enjoy the beautiful weather on Memorial Day. And the Fourth of July. And Labor Day. As far as I know, most nights will be open. Weekends will, for the most part, be completely free. I’ve got nothing but time to enjoy the outdoors. My yard will be yearning for the days of less attention, especially after I’ve trimmed the grass under the fence with my little grass scissors.

I’m going through my own personal renaissance right now. I’ve gone from a time of industrial drudgery, dutifully putting in my time as management, to a time of grand creativity. It’s as if the gentle springtime sound of young’ns at play have invaded my soul, leaving me feeling happy and refreshed and not the least bit stressed or anxious at all.

How’s that for over the top?

The truth is, I’ve been waiting for spring since last fall. I’ve become an outdoorsy guy, now. I’d go camping every weekend if it wouldn’t mean neglecting our yard. I’d play in the yard every night, except I fear the land would revolt and send me flying onto the driveway. I eagerly anticipate our first trip to the greenhouse – the one that ends up costing way more than I’d ever imagined – to plan our front gardens. And our vegetable garden. I’m ready to dig up the old and start working on the new.

Okay, snow, you’d better listen to me. Start melting. Go away. Sure, I may hate it when people complain about the weather, especially when it’s been so mild, but to hell with winter. Let’s bring on the warm weather. I’m ready to break out of this shell I’ve been cooping myself in for the past six months.

Bring it on, Mother Nature. I dare you.

Tags: Outdoors |

3 Comments

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