so your real top 10 faves
they dont have to be in order because thats a bit to hard
1. Everythings not lost-Coldplay(yes another ballad not Fix You!)
2.And Your Bird Can Sing-The Beatles(oh yeah!)
3.When You Come-Crowdies( i enjoy playing it myself and hitting my guitar hard!)
4.Running to a stand still-U2(live versions not the album one)
5.Young Folks-Peter,Bjorn and John(obscure band not so obscure song)
6.Heavy Metal Drummer-Wilco(catchy)
7.Hey Jude-Beatles
8.Titus-Split Enz(hope the enz do another tour so i can see neil play this song!)
9.Take A Walk-ENZ(love it)
10.Someone Saved My Life Tonight-Elton John
so yeah would like to see other peoples!

I don't know, when I'm writing songs my own ones always glut up the mental top ten just from the recent buzz. So let me disqualify myself and retreat to a more distant and eternal position.

1. "Pour Some Sugar On Me" - Def Leppard

I have to put this at number one, because as soon as it came out I said "this is the best song ever written in English." And okay, it's possible that I was somewhat kidding at the time, but I still keep saying it whenever asked. It's my "stock answer", and by no means am I sure that I'm kidding. I'm aware that might reflect on me, in some people's eyes.

2. "Don't Dream It's Over" - Crowded House

Strange since my favorite CH song is "Into Temptation." But there's something about this song that's ironclad and eternal, that transcends bounds of genre and band, even, and lands itself right proud at #2.

3. "Fight The Power" - Public Enemy

This song unleashes a wall of sound that puts Phil Spector to shame - albeit harnessing sounds considerably more unbeautiful than Phil's. One could quibble on which PE song captures them at their absolute peak, but for me this song hits the irreducible core of their message/image - equal parts consciousness raising and rabble rousing - and it does it with a perfect and perfectly funky distillation of their signature funk cacophony. Never did Chuck D sounded more relevant, never did Flav sound less irrelevant.

4. "True Faith" - New Order

I'd peg "Regret" as the song that best encapsulates all the different musical and melodic tricks that New Order can pull, but this song is indelible. With lyrics at best childish, Sumner disarms us - pulling us to within feeling distance of our own lost innocence. Yet the distance is what tells: we're not living it over, we're looking at what we'll never again have. And our lives can no longer depend on the morning sun.

5. "Folsom Prison Blues" - Johhny Cash

Sh*t. I can't talk about this one in such flowery style.

6. "You Shook Me All Night Long" - AC/DC

And another one! This is not my favorite "AC/DC song," but it's a breakout, it's something that transcends what AC/DC normally can do while being perfectly in step with what AC/DC does. A sparkling two-ton nugget of perfect pop alchemy, and they didn't dilute or sweeten themselves to get there! They just took their usual base materials, and by hitting everying just so right, they transmuted it all to heaviest shining gold: a perfect chorus - joy with urgency, expressed with simplicity. The raunchy stomping glide of that choppy/sliding verse riff. The verse lyrics themselves: an impossibly dizzy concoction of idiot double (and single) entendres piling so high on top of each other that they reach a height of giddy genius. And Brian Johnson's voice: for about 4 years, the greatest voice that Rock ever had. Man.

Shoot - I gotta get to work. Top 6 it is.

Ok -

7. "How Soon Is Now?" - The Smiths
8. "Sweetness" - Jimmy Eat World
9. "Alarm Call" - Bjork
10. "Voices Carry" - 'Til Tuesday

Wow, that turned into some kinda rando-mass batch!

This really is a toughy.

1 Solsbury Hill ~ Peter Gabriel love the music, the lyrics, the voice, just love this song.

2 Longer Than ~ Dan Fogelberg beautiful song, super soppy lyrics, and a harp.

3 Matthew ~ John Denver great biographical song about an uncle and telling his story. Sang with beautiful passion in 1975's an Evening with John Denver from the Hollywood Bowl. (Farout!)

4 She Sells Sanctuary ~ The Cult oh those guitars, the drums smacking in, the boom of the band kicking in. Love it up full bore.

5 New York Mining Disaster 1941 ~ The Bee Gees been a favourite song since I was a kid. The harmonies, the quietness.

6 Season's Wheel ~ Hothouse Flowers, fantastic epic song, heartfelt lyrics, beautiful piano. Rarely play the song live, but they did it for me.

7 Pleasant Valley Sunday ~ The Monkees, wants to make you go all martini, bbq's and sunglasses. Love Mickey Dolenz voice. Trippy song.

8 Fly Me To the Moon ~ Julie London's version, smooth, swoony, singalong.

9 Romeo's Tune ~ Steve Forbet, been a fav since I first heard it. Good lyrics, great singing, free and easy listening.

10 Stuff and Nonsense ~ Enz beautiful, simplistic, heartfelt, just lovey dovey.

They're basically songs, I stop for, and go off into my own little world.


Tough ask there IP2!

IP2 go to google video and type in Titus Split Enz, took that in Melb.

Thanks Kelly Timtam that video is great

No particular order

Epitaph (King Crimson)

Life On Mars (David Bowie)

For Tomorrow (Blur)

I Spy (Pulp)

Lucky (Radiohead)

Drowned In Wine (Family)

Daddy's Speeding (Suede)

It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) (Duke Ellington - original vocal recording is the best with Adelaide Hall from I think 1931)

Lovey Dovey (Split Enz)

Hole In The River (Crowded House)

Thanks for this topic ip2

okay, I am not including anything Finn related in this because even if I had a lifetime,I could not seperate faves into just 10 songs...I could'nt even start to go there lol

So.... right now (still hard but here goes)

I'm Only Sleeping ~ The Beatles
Drive ~ Bic Runga
Strawberry Letter 23 ~ Shuggie Otis
Helpless ~ Neil Young
Nobody's Fault But My Own ~ Beck
Hallelujah ~ Jeff Buckley
Cornflake Girl ~ Tori Amos
No Aphrodisiac ~ The Whitlams
There Is No Such Place ~ Augie March
Quicksand ~ David Bowie


mind you, that will change by tomorrow

Top ten faves of all time? Yeah right...

Luckily I just made a couple of mix CDs for myself where I threw in some of my all time faves so I kinda got a head start on this. Even then I filled up three discs and STILL forgot about some important ones.

Here's the top ten for this month, not ranked.

One For My Baby And One For The Road - Frank Sinatra: Possibly my all time-fave if push came to shove

My Baby Just Cares For Me - Nina Simone: How can you not smile when listening to this?

Fountain Of Sorrow - Jackson Browne: Superb lyrics. What do you expect from a brilliant songwriter?

Stuff And Nonsense - Spilt Enz: The best love song of all time? It's up there. Actually I prefer the Eddie Vedder/Tim Finn version on "7 Worlds Collide" but I could be hung for saying that on here

Song For Sharon - Joni Mitchell: After this, other singer/songwriters sound very very ordinary

Living For The City - Stevie Wonder: Could have picked any track from "Innervisions" but this is such a stand-out. I'll be there when he plays Adelaide in October

Sail On Sailor - The Beach Boys: Sometimes The Beach Boys didn't need Brian Wilson at all. This is proof that they had talent to spare. After saying that, I will go to the grave defending "Pet Sounds" as a masterpiece

Luck Of The Draw - Bonnie Raitt: So brilliant, it almost isn't true. Both Bonnie's albums "Nick Of Time" and "Luck Of The Draw" are very special albums.

Scenes From An Italian Restaurant - Billy Joel: I don't get why certain people are rubbed the wrong way by Billy. Maybe because he's too successful? Maybe they should ask themselves why he is that successful. One listen to this extraordinary song will answer that question

Turn And Run - Neil Finn: Talking about extraordinary songwriters... This is yet another superb track in a catalogue steaming with brilliant songs. So to stand-out like this, it must be pretty ****n' superb. Which of course this is.

There's ten off my faves. I left out songs from Prefab Sprout, Blue Nile and Beatles but hey, in a war there'll always be casualties that are not fair at all.

First let me say that many of the songs that have been mentioned already would be honourable mentions for me: HEY JUDE, and DON'T DREAM IT'S OVER both in my top 15 for sure. SOLSBURY HILL and LIFE ON MARS? not far off either. Dazz, I agree about Billy Joel - especially his material from "The Stranger" and earlier. SUMMER, HIGHLAND FALLS is a personal fave of mine. You will see some other similarities in my list (i.e., Joni, Stevie).

So, italianplastic2 I couldn't resist your topic here. Recently I was challenged to work out my desert island top 20 songs. I just whittled that list down to ten. I suppose it could be argued that one's desert island songs (i.e., the ones with the most longevity) might be different from one's all-time favourite songs which might be associated with a specific moment or feeling.

Anyway here's my list - impossible to rank so I just put them in random order:

SHE WILL HAVE HER WAY - Neil Finn
I have a crush on the world when I hear this song. A perfect recording.

STILL FIGHTING IT - Ben Folds
A hugely powerful song about keeping ideals and passions alive in the face of the inescapable truths of disappointment and mortality.

HEJIRA - Joni Mitchell
Another song about mortality - well it's one of the things it's about. In terms of lyrical beauty, nothing can touch this song (or this album).

DEACON BLUES - Steely Dan
A strangely poignant tale of a man on his way down. Soulfully sung and played, and elegantly recorded.

HIGHER GROUND - Stevie Wonder
Has there ever been - and will there ever be - an artist as prolific as Stevie Wonder at this stage of his career? This one is my pick for amazingest kick-ass groove and all-bets-are-off vocal performance. If you've never played this song really loud, do it. NOW.

NEW DRESS - Jonatha Brooke
An astonishingly beautiful love song. See this thread for lyrics and discussion - http://frenzforum.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/7701061171/m/9081040505

MONA LISAS AND MAD HATTERS - Elton John
Elton and Bernie (Taupin) at their absolute finest.

MAN OUT OF TIME - Elvis Costello
Easily his best song for me. And that's saying something. Can't explain why; it just hits me every time.

NIGHT TRAIN - Rickie Lee Jones
This would get my vote for the most honest, tender vocal performance of all time. I have seen her in concert eight times and she has never played it. I heard it's because she can't get through it without weeping.

RADAR - Chris Whitley
One of the sexiest songs of all time. Sometimes you just have to escape.

Oh Kelly, I love John Denver's song Matthew too. And I agree that version live at the Bowl is wonderful!

My top ten (not in any order):

Across The Universe - The Beatles
I've been mesmorised by this song since I was a child

Life On Mars - David Bowie
Loved the version he did on his last tour - just made it even better

Mean To Me - Crowded House
Not only because it was a great time of my life but because the Crowdies made it our anthem

Ghost - Indigo Girls
Beautiful and brilliant

What A Fool Believes - The Doobie Brothers
Love the piano, the beat, the lyrics, everything really

Have To Say I Love You In A Song - Jim Croce
The most beautiful intro to a song and the lyrics pull your heart out

Liquid - The Rasmus
I'm always in the minority here but I think these kids are great and this is a wonderful song. Beautiful music

Sister Goldenhair - America
Love the bass in this song and it's special to me as it used to be sung for me by a friend in a band

You Know That I Love You - Santana
Love everything about this song. Great to dance to.

Poor Boy - Split Enz
Love it, love it, love it!!!

These are the songs that I immediately start singing once heard on the radio, no matter how many times I have heard them. For most of these songs, I am transported back to AM radio stations on Long Island. There is something about the Kings of Soul that compel me to disregard the lyric to this songs which is saying something because usually the lyric is my way of entering the song. In these cases, it is the spirit of the vocals that capture me.

A Dream Goes On Forever - Todd Rundgren

Philosophy - Ben Folds Five (Would love to see Ben and Neil get involved on a song or project.)

If You Really Love Me - Stevie Wonder
(We need a separate list for this absurdly abundant talent.)

Three Little Birds - Bob Marley

Tired of Being Alone - Al Green

Try a Little Tenderness - Otis Redding

Beyond the Sea, Bobby Darin

Let's Get It On- Marvin Gaye

Brandy (You're A Fine Girl) - The Looking Glass

Day After Day - Badfinger

Hon Mention (Songs that I love that have had a long shelf life in my memory):

Leave A Tender Moment Alone, Billy Joel
Only Love Can Break Your Heart, Neil Young
Jingle Bells, Bing Crosby with the Andrew Sisters Crazy, Patsy Cline
I Wish I Was The Moon, Neko Case
Maybe I'm Amazed, Paul McCartney
Caroline, No, The Beach Boys
We Let The Stars Go, Prefab Sprout
Heavy Metal Drummer, Wilco
Message to My Girl, Split Enz
Better Be Home Soon, Crowded House

Ross: Speaking of Billy Joel, The Stranger album was to Long Islanders as Carole King's Tapestry was to women-only universities in the early 70's. Everyone had a copy as if it was standard issue to all residents. Ross, Turnstiles should have been the break-out album for him: NY State of Mind, Summer, Highland Falls (his best relatively unknown song to the general public), James, Say Goodbye to Hollywood, etc.

quote:

Originally posted by Kazzie:
What A Fool Believes - The Doobie Brothers
Love the piano, the beat, the lyrics, everything really

There's actually a pretty interesting story story about how that song came about...

EDIT: um, warning. Some foul language. Some adult themes. No violence or nudity though.

Absolutely agree with you about Billy Joel, Dazz. I grew up listening to his music..I don't consider him a guilty pleasure either like some people do. Are you going to any upcoming Aussie shows in Nov?

Anyway, here are my 10..in no particular order:

1. She Makes my Day- Robert Palmer
2. Something- Beatles
3. The Longest Time- Billy Joel
4. Massachusetts- Bee Gees
5. Paranoid Android- Radiohead
6. God Only Knows- Beach Boys
7. Handle with Care- Traveling Wilburys
8. Space Oddity- David Bowie
9. Photograph- Ringo Starr
10. If You Want my Love- Cheap Trick

Oh I wish I could go on..

quote:

Originally posted by Above the Kitchen:
Ross, Turnstiles should have been the break-out album for him: NY State of Mind, Summer, Highland Falls (his best relatively unknown song to the general public), James, Say Goodbye to Hollywood, etc.

YES! Turnstiles definitely his best work. Especially the four tunes you mentioned. BTW, where is Highland Falls?

quote:

quote:
Originally posted by Above the Kitchen:
Ross, Turnstiles should have been the break-out album for him: NY State of Mind, Summer, Highland Falls (his best relatively unknown song to the general public), James, Say Goodbye to Hollywood, etc.


YES! Turnstiles definitely his best work. Especially the four tunes you mentioned. BTW, where is Highland Falls?

Well on my list, it is one of his best but not my favorite Billy Joel song. On the map, Highland Falls is near the Hudson River in Orange County, New York, not far from West Point. One of my college teammates was from Highland Falls. Did Billy write the song while spending time in Highland Falls with his first wife? Ross, do you have any background info on this gem of a song?

Unfortunately I won't be seeing Billy on this tour because I'm going to see Stevie Wonder. In a perfect world, you wouldn't have to make a choice because the tickets would be a reasonable price and you could see both. It's corporation greed and stupidity that's killing music, not downloading.

Anyway I have seen Mr.Joel twice so I know how brilliant he is in concert.

For me Billy's best album is Songs In The Attic, an absolutely phenomenal album. It's the one I play the most anyway! It's all thriller, no filler.

I still don't understand why Billy Joel gets undercut all the time by critics and so-called 'hipsters'. Maybe if they heard Songs In The Attic, one of his lesser known albums therefore not tainted with over saturated airplay, they may change their mind. That's only if they listen with their ears, not their eyes.

quote:

quote:
Originally posted by Kazzie:
What A Fool Believes - The Doobie Brothers
Love the piano, the beat, the lyrics, everything really

There's actually a pretty interesting story story about how that song came about...

That was a riot; Hall and Oates just killed me. LOL. For a minute, I thought Steve Zahn was John Oates.

I still love What A Fool Believes. You could not escape that song and its very catchy synthesizer riff when it charted many moons ago. It reminds me of growing up with soft serve ice cream: very tasty, you always wanted more but it was quick to melt on a summer day.

Dazz, I've heard Billy likes to kick back with the piano after a gig, so work out where he's staying and have a few dollars ready for the jar . He's gobsmacked a few staff & startled drinkers in Brisbane doing just that, so you never know your luck.

Kazzie, John Denver, that'd have to be one of my favourite live albums. Remember watching the concert on tv back then. Luckily, found it had been put to cd a few years back.

I would like to add "Kate" by Ben Folds Five to my honorable mention list.

For a very funny video for this buoyant song, watch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLkVOvHn-sU