“I Believe She’s Lying,” Rhett Miller, The Believer
Rhett’s band, the Old 97s, have been on the alt-country music scene for years, but he works out his more pop-oriented side on his solo albums. I like the rhymes and wordplay in this track.
“Mony Mony,” Billy Idol, Greatest Hits
One of the great party classics for amateur partiers like me.
“I’m No Angel,” Gregg Allman, I’m No Angel
I’ve always liked this song – for no particular reason – so when Tall Paul bought it, I put it on my playlists too.
“The Name of the Game,” ABBA, 20th Century Masters
I loved ABBA back in middle school, and then I denied them for over 25 years. One of the nicer things that’s happened since I turned 40 is that I’ve felt freer to go back and re-embrace many of my youthful enthusiasms.
“Here Comes the Sun,” The Beatles, 1967-1970 (Blue)
It is impossible for me not to smile when I hear the intro; for me, this song embodies the sound of “happy.”
“Fountains of Wayne Hotline,” Robbie Fulks
This one cropped up in my iTunes recommendations recently, and I bought it just because of the title. Robbie Fulks is a country singer I’m not familiar with, but the way he works so many of FOW’s trademarks into this song is quite accurate, and very funny in an in-joke way. I think you probably need to be an FOW fan to appreciate it properly, but the way he does it also made me appreciate FOW’s pop craftsmanship even more than I usually do.
“Magic,” Bruce Springsteen, Magic
I just bought Bruce’s latest album and haven’t gotten too familiar with it yet.
“I’m a Woman,” Melinda Doolittle
Yes, I downloaded some American Idol Season 6 performances – please don’t judge me. Girlfriend needs a record contract! That is all.
“For You,” Bruce Springsteen, Greetings from Asbury Park, New Jersey
This one’s from Bruce’s first album – long, long ago (1971?). It’s in a similar stream-of-consciousness poetry mode to “Blinded By the Light,” but I like this song much more.
“Dear God,” XTC, Skylarking
A theme song for skeptics everywhere.
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You’ve named two of my all-time favorites: “For You” (I totally agree about the comparison with “Blinded”) and “Dear God” (I remember KROQ used to play that in their Christmas rotation, back in the day).
I need to check out some of these others!
Donna – “Dear God” in a Christmas rotation?! Well, I guess that’s KROQ. Since I’ve only lived out here for five years, I missed that.
“For You” is actually one of my favorite Springsteen songs too, and that’s a hard category for me to narrow down.
It’s more fun for me to do this post with commentary instead of just making a list every Friday.
Fans of Bruce Springsteen are not only devoted but articulate about why they worship the Boss. The new book “For You Original Stories &
Photographs by Bruce Springsteen’s Legendary Fans”is the work of disciples from Boise to Barcelona.The mayor of Delray Beach, Fla., says it best:“Bruce fans are a fraternity — we share something deep and special, a relationship with the artist and with each other.”