Top 200 Favorite Songs, Part 1

All right, all right, all right.  So I have been working on a number of projects for the month of August that I'm super excited to start kicking off, and the first of them I am going to lay on you right now.  Yes, as we have finished the Top 15 TV Shows project (finally), this past weekend, we're now headed straight into my Top 200 Favorite Songs.  Every three years I update my Top 200 Songs list, and I figured that in the Summer Months of August that I would indulge in sharing this with you!  I will point out ahead of time that this will not be a case similar to the Top 15 TV Shows (it will not take me over a year to finish-I have most of these articles already completed, so no delays)-we'll be doing ten songs for each of the next twenty weekdays, and then we'll be done for the month.

You might be wondering how I came up with the list, and while it's a little bit science, it's mostly just personal opinion.  I'm not going to vouch, exactly, that these are the 200 Best Songs Ever, but they are certainly the ones that I loop continuously on my phone or computer, the ones that I love to listen to the most (I also picked the artist that I most loved listening to the recording, though as I'll be using YouTube videos they might not be the exact one that I listen to all day long).  I should warn you that I have an extremely eclectic taste in music.  Literally everyone says that, but the reality is that it's not actually true because they immediately dismiss rap, country, opera, and pretty much everything but rock and pop when they make that statement, but I don't-you're going to find all of those genres on this list.  I picked songs I love to listen to, love to dance secretly in my car to, songs I love to cry in the dark to, and songs that just fill me up.  As a result, I hope like any favorite songs list that you come across some new music, and if you don't, that I at least gave you a fun playlist for the next twenty weekdays to enjoy on your way to work.  Without further adieu...

200. "Downtown," Petula Clark (1964)

I used to remember my mom singing this in the car when we were driving around when I was a kid.  I feel like my parents shaped so much of my taste in music, and in general gave me an appreciation for a world that wasn't of my own era (something I feel most people don't have, and as a result I am eternally grateful).  I love the effervescence Clark brings to this song, and her thrill in just stepping outside.

199. "Town Called Malice," The Jam (1982)

I first heard of The Jam when Lane on Gilmore Girls was putting together her list of musical influences and a guy she was interviewing for her band had never heard of the band, and she was agog.  I hadn't heard of the band either, so I rectified this immediately as I didn't want theoretical judgment from a fictional character-what I found was a fresh punk sound that I couldn't stop, well, jamming to as a result.

198. "I Only Have Eyes for You," The Flamingos (1959)

Is there a smoother, richer love song to dance in the moonlight to?  The group may not have been a major act of the 1950's (this was by far their biggest hit), but The Flamingos knew doo-wop like none other and reinvented this old Harry Warren song in their own jazzy style.

197. "April Come She Will," Simon & Garfunkel (1966)

No one in the world can sing like Art Garfunkel.  This is probably never quite as evident as on this slow, sad, and wonderful song.  Singing the months of the year as if they are his long-lost loves, the song's meaning of a slowly forward moving time is something that becomes more and more evident to me as I get older.

196. "Love and Happiness," Al Green (1972)

This may be TMI, but Al Green does something to me.  Not sure exactly what it is, but when the Reverend is in the house I am listening.  The confidence in his voice, the swagger-Al Green can create such a wink in his songs, and I love this song with its come-on opening ("something that can make you do wrong can make you do right") and then it just sails into such a fantastic swing.  Hot damn.

195. "The Sound of Silence," Simon & Garfunkel (1966)

Hello darkness my old friend, I've come to talk to you again.  Does "The Sound of Silence" mean the same thing to you as it does me?  Probably not.  Does its intense poetry, daunting imagery, and clear melody affect everyone in some way they can't quite explain?  Absolutely.

194. "Dream On," Aerosmith (1973)

Steven Tyler is almost certainly insane, let's be honest.  We all realized when he hosted American Idol-it's a statement of fact.  That doesn't mean that his voice can't shred glass.  He might be too old to rock the glam makeup and his lips may be made of rubber, but his prowess singing "Dream On" always makes me forget it-such a kinetic rock song.

193. "Nights in White Satin," The Moody Blues (1967)

You're going to hear me discuss my parents a lot in these write-ups.  I remember my dad playing "Nights in White Satin" growing up and thinking it sounded like when you're about to fall asleep.  It might be a dream or a nightmare, but it entranced me.

192. "Strange," Patsy Cline (1962)

It's impossible to believe that Patsy Cline died at only the age of thirty.  How could someone with a voice that immortal, who somehow recorded SO many songs that it feels like forty years of hits, have had such a short life?  Indeed, it is strange, and like so many of Patsy's songs, this song features her favorite subject: the weird ironies of love.

191. "Sweet Child O' Mine," Guns 'n' Roses (1988)

I told you we were going to get eclectic, going from Patsy Cline to Axl Rose.  And yet, who can deny this song, with its amazing guitar riffs and wonderfully simple nostalgia not making it onto a rundown of the greatest songs of all time.  Admit it-this was your favorite Guitar Hero song to pretend you could jam out on.

And there you have it-the first ten!  Share your thoughts on these songs-do you have a favorite?  Did you have one you're discovering for the first time?  Share your thoughts in the comments!