Top 200 Favorite Songs, Part 5

(If you're just tuning in, I'm doing a rundown of my Top 200 Favorite Songs-see the bottom of the page for previous entries and welcome!)

We round out the week (we'll be back with the next fifty songs on Monday, but tune in this weekend as we'll still have plenty of new articles) with ten more songs, and a little discussion of one of the big singers of my youth, Norah Jones.  Jones was a weird aberration when she first became popular.  A 23-year-old singer in the era of Britney and Justin who was singing songs that sounded more like they had just come off of a lounge set in a DC nightclub than from a well-choreographed Madison Square Garden concert.  I loved her though-this was one of my first forays into jazz-style music, and I adored the desperate melodies and the way that her voice and the instruments, and not a stylized beat was what we were supposed to focus on.  Later she made a foray into country just when I was really starting to become one with that particular genre, picking up more love from me.  She never really had the stage presence of some of the jazz greats, admittedly, and has seen her career buckle a bit as a result (though let's be honest-she was more an Alison Krauss-style singer, never meant for the superstardom she randomly achieved).  All-in-all, though, her music continues to be something I constantly recall and enjoy, especially while driving on a summer night.  Don't know why, but Norah Jones moves me.

160. "London Calling," The Clash (1979)

Not many songs decide to sing about armageddon, but not many bands are The Clash.  Led by the punk rock genius of Joe Strummer, the song tackles everything from the Thames Barrier to the song's casual drug use.  With a constant, drumming bass line and a poetry in the lyric that rivals Jefferson Airplane, the song is magnificently ominous.

159. "I'm the Only One," Melissa Etheridge (1993)

I didn't really get Melissa Etheridge when I was younger.  Her lyrics seemed too angry, too rough for a teen who was crooning Whitney Houston songs in my room.  That all changed when I had my first rejection from a guy I was dating in college.  Suddenly I got the urge to sing about the cheating bastards in my life, and prove that I was "the only one."  Some ten years later, Melissa and I are now kindred spirits.

158. "Redemption Song," Bob Marley & the Wailers

Like Etheridge, I didn't always get Marley.  I had incorrectly grouped him into the likes of the Grateful Dead and Phish, and I was never really high enough to get that kind of music (though I did enjoy their ice creams).  Later, though I realized the errors of my ways, as Bob Marley's harmonious voice and political conviction made him one of the finest singers of all-time.  Knowing that he was dying while writing this, considered by many to be his magnum opus, only adds to its majesty.

157. "The Long Way Home," Norah Jones (2004)

Originally written by Tom Waits (of course), the song is indicative of wanting to find the best way to experience life by taking an adventure with the person you love.  It's a beautiful song, and much like "Come Away With Me," I think is better than the song that eventually became the radio hit off of the album.  Watch the video to see the way that Jones goes from being awkward with the audience to finding a convicted voice in the hopeful, spirited lyrics.

156. "Suspicious Minds," Elvis Presley (1968)

So much has been written about the King that it's gotten to the point where you can't really be a casual fan of him-either you're an annual ticket-holder at Graceland or you write him off.  I am somewhere in-between, but to dismiss Elvis is a fool's errand. He has too much presence in his voice, as is evidenced by "Suspicious Minds," written in the wake of his "comeback special" period before the inevitable end of his mortal reign.

155. "I Can't Make You Love Me," Bonnie Raitt (1991)

I'm hoping you're learning something in these write-ups, as I just did at least (I had no idea this wasn't on the Nick of Time album).  Bonnie Raitt's pleading for a man who won't love her even when she's desperate for it struck a nerve for me when I was first introduced to unrequited love, and I suspect that's the case for anyone who ever hears this melancholy ballad.

154. "This Magic Moment," Jay and the Americans (1969)

I swear I'm not just a hopeless romantic in these write-ups, there's just not a lot of topics outside of love and loss in the annals of popular music.  Still, only a grinch wouldn't get giddy while listening to Jay and the Americans singing about the pleasure of kissing someone you love for the first time, and how it goes on-and-on-and-on.  If you haven't felt that way before, you need to date more.  It's worth it.

153. "My Favorite Things," Julie Andrews (1965)

I used to have the same routine every time I was sick from elementary school.  I would go to my grandma's house, play Stratego, eat white macaroni-and-cheese, and then spend the afternoon with Maria von Trapp.  No matter how ill I was though, I couldn't help but sing along to this Rodgers & Hammerstein pleaser.  After all, who can resist cream-colored ponies and crisp apple strudels?

152. "Stan," Eminem featuring Dido (2000)

Issue songs happen so rarely these days when everything is created by a board rather than just as a source of artistry (sorry, but Lady Gaga has never said a damn thing in her songs that wasn't run through a committee and completely pandering to fans).  Eminem, on the other hand, still takes a risk, singing about politicians, domestic abuse, and here, mental illness and stalkers.  "Stan" is a masterwork, a song with a powerful message and video (which is unfortunately always edited to death) about the dangers of celebrity obsession.

151. "Chill in the Air," Amos Lee (2013)

I had never heard of Amos Lee before 2013, when a random "best of the year" article listed his Mountains of Sorrow album as one not to miss.  As a result, I spent weeks just investigating this moving folk singer, and in particular his best song "Chill in the Air," a rough ode about dealing with a bitter breakup and the many emotions that result from cutting someone from your life.

There you have it-our fifth edition.  Have you been enjoying so far (I'm hoping so, as we've got 150 songs to go)?  Anyone else have a favorite amongst this crew?  Any you can't stand?  Let's see the opinions below!

If you've missed any of the past installments, go ahead and click: Part 1, 2, 3, 4,