The Jason 540 Part I of XI (#1-50)
54 Years of Music Since My Birth--November 16, 1970
Birthday week for me as you can see. There is nothing milestoney about age 54 but I’ve had some time on my hands (ahem) and have been kind of fooling around with this for a few weeks. My original intent was to rank the best songs since I was born. You find out pretty quick that is next to impossible. Song #391 and song #43 are practically interchangeable. You could make a list today and then again a year from now getting wildly disparate results. So other than the first 30 or so, I would advise not paying much attention at all to the number assigned to each song.
I don’t know if I’ll finish this or not. If I do, it will consist of 11 volumes. The problem is I keep thinking of stuff I’ve left out. Then you realize something is too high or too low and it creates anxiety. I finally settled in my mind that the rank doesn’t matter as alluded to above. I had initially titled this “Greatest Songs Since My Birth” but realized that is pretentious. Who is to say what is “great”? I wouldn’t even say these are necessarily my favorite 540 songs. If I did that it would consist of 15-20 bands entire catalogs. I would say almost all I greatly enjoyed at least for a spell, are memorable for one reason or another, or were enormously impactful culturally. It’s fair to call it the Soundtrack of my life and the lives of many Gen Xers.
The vast, vast majority is lifted from the 80’s understandably. The 70’s and 90’s are probably represented about equally. There is next to nothing here from the ‘00’s and ‘10’s and I think only one from the ‘20’s that is a pretty obscure country song I stumbled into.
What you won’t see: Queen. Not my deal. Don’t like anything about them. I do include the one song with David Bowie somewhere in here. Also Rolling Stones. Most of their best stuff is before my time and I’m not wild about them anyway. Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd are contained to their best known work (since 1970 keep in mind). I have avoided most deep track gems for not just them but my favorite bands too. Finally if an artist has morphed into over the top political crap (Springsteen and the Dixie Twats come to mind) they won’t be found much here at all without a very compelling case.
I have no idea what I think I’m accomplishing here. As stated, there will be a lot of stuff I’ve omitted. Feel free to let me know about it. But if nothing else, I bet I’ll remind you of music you’ve long forgotten and maybe give you reason to refresh your playlists. Off we go!
1) Photograph—Def Leppard, from Pyromania 1983
2) Everybody Wants to Rule the World—Tears for Fears, from Songs from the Big Chair 1985
3) Heart of the Matter—Don Henley, from The End of the Innocence 1989
4) Dream Weaver—Gary Wright, from The Dream Weaver 1975
5) Don’t Look Back—Boston, from Don’t Look Back 1978
6) Bette Davis Eyes—Kim Carnes, from Mistaken Identity 1981
7) In Your Eyes—Peter Gabriel, from So 1986
8) The Rose—Bette Midler, from The Rose (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) 1979
9) Don’t You (Forget About Me)—Simple Minds, from The Breakfast Club (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) 1985
10) Where the Streets Have No Name—U2, from The Joshua Tree 1987
11) On the Turning Away—Pink Floyd, from A Momentary Lapse of Reason 1987
12 Stairway to Heaven—Led Zeppelin, from Untitled (IV) 1971
13) You Shook Me All Night Long—AC/DC, from Back in Black 1980
14) Hotel California—Eagles, from Hotel California 1977
15) Every Breath You Take—The Police, from Synchronicity 1983
16) Sailing—Christopher Cross, from Christopher Cross 1979
17) Tiny Dancer—Elton John, from Madman Across the Water 1971
18) Hysteria—Def Leppard, from Hysteria 1987
19) Little Red Corvette—Prince and the Revolution, from 1999 1982
20) Comfortably Numb—Pink Floyd, from The Wall 1979
21) Young Turks—Rod Stewart, from Tonight I’m Yours 1981
22) Alone—Heart, from Bad Animals 1987
23) Dixieland Delight—Alabama, from The Closer You Get… 1983
24) Juke Box Hero—Foreigner, from 4 1981
25) Hungry Like the Wolf—Duran Duran, from Rio 1982
26) The Boys of Summer—Don Henley, from Building the Perfect Beast 1984
27) Detroit Rock City—KISS, from Destroyer 1976
28) Sweet Emotion—Aerosmith, from Toys in the Attic 1975
29) Working for the Weekend—Loverboy, from Get Lucky 1982
30) Flying High Again—Ozzy Osbourne, from Diary of a Madman 1981
31) Unwell—Matchbox 20, from More Than You Think You Are 2002
32) Always Something There to Remind Me—Naked Eyes, from Burning Bridges 1983
33) Every Rose Has Its Thorn—Poison, from Open Up and Say… Ahh! 1988
34) Don’t Let Him Go—REO Speedwagon, from Hi Infidelity 1980
35) Africa—Toto, from Toto IV 1982
36) Golden Ring—George Jones & Tammy Wynette, from Golden Ring 1976
37) Kiss From a Rose—Seal, from Seal II 1994
38) Limelight—Rush, from Moving Pictures 1981
39) Wanted Dead or Alive—Bon Jovi, from Slippery When Wet 1986
40) Night Fever—Bee Gees, from Saturday Night Fever (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) 1977
41) Forever Young—Alphaville, from Alphaville 1984
42) Our Lips Are Sealed—The Go-Go’s, from Beauty and the Beat 1981
43) Knowing Me, Knowing You—ABBA, from Arrival 1977
44) Subdivisions—Rush, from Signals 1982
45) Don’t Stop Believin’—Journey, from Escape 1981
46) L.A. Woman—Doors, from L.A. Woman 1971
47) Seven Bridges Road—Eagles, from Eagles Live 1980
48) Do Ya—ELO, from A New World Order 1976
49) Open Your Heart—Madonna, from True Blue 1986
50) Take It to the Limit—Eagles, from One of These Nights 1975