Binderama60for60

I’m a music fan but not a music-phile. As a kid, I shopped the 45s rack; my first purchase was either “Kung Foo Fighting” by Carl Douglas or Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods’ “Billy, Don’t Be a Hero.” The presence of the 78 rpm “Mambo Mickey Mouse” in the family library predates my own record-buying days.

I didn’t buy a lot of albums so I don’t know a lot of deep cuts. I bought K-tel compilations off the TV and belonged to the Columbia House record club. To my mind, Casey Kasem and Dick Clark were deft curators of high art.

When I plotted this post, I told myself I’m not doing a Top 10 list — or God forbid a Top 60. That would be futile. Instead, I thought it more relevant to choose a few songs that have had an impact on my life. They aren’t my favorites, per se, but they’re here for a reason I can’t quite explain, though I will try.

Five Songs

These songs have stuck with me over the years, both in sentimentality and in omnipresent ear-wormed-ness. In all cases, there is more to the appreciation than the song itself.

• “Sympathy for the Devil” The Rolling Stones. This masterpiece was perfect for the times and defined the Stones’ brand as sexy, sinister and sophisticated. I love this video that tracks the drudgery of the creative process as the young bandmates spend months returning to the germs of a grand idea, finally forging the sound and story of a symphony. That takes serious vision and commitment, and a lot of cigarettes.

• Roam, B-52s. Fun, bouncy, perfect for the mood of the end of the 80s. The vocals make you want to get up, get out and get down: “Fly the great big sky, See the great big sea, Kick through continents, Busting boundaries.” I cut a number of videos to this track, including a recap of an Intel international tour and a day in the life of Tori Spelling at Universal that we shared with her really wealthy and powerful parents.

• “Thunder Road.” Everything Bruce in a single song. Raucous storytelling, endless aspirations, relentless energy from everyone in the band, launching forth from a lithe little piano ditty and harmonica. Experiencing this live is a genuine spiritual awakening, an explosion of dreams and possibility, like a full-throated rapture that goes on and on.

• U2’s “Where the Streets Have No Name” has me on many levels. As with other faves, the song is just one part of a multi-mediated experience. The first time I heard it was in the trailer for the documentary “Rattle and Hum.” Silhouettes of the band members against a retina-blistering red backdrop as they step onto stage. The musical prologue builds and builds and builds, and then on the cusp of the first verse, cut to an aerial of Sun Devil Stadium where the red gives what to pure, clean and uproarious white blasting over the crowd. They still do it: I’ve seen the band in concert several times, including at the Sphere, and this single transition blinds me with joy.

• “Electrolite.” R.E.M. played a big role in my musical sensibilities since Dan Harvey put “Murmur” on the turntable of our frat house room sophomore year. It was messy and headstrong, mostly indecipherable and seeking, just like life at the time. Fifteen years later, this song came along talking about the end of the century and standing on a cliff, facing fear and celebrating survival, all things I was grappling with. The coolest sensation though was seeing this performed at the Hollywood Bowl under a full moon. It was as if the song had been written for that place and moment: “Mulholland Drive, up in the sky,” (and so it was, visibly and viscerally, looming over the shell) and “Hollywood is under me,” (ditto, I had parked there and hiked up Cahuenga). Still gives me chills.

Aw Screw It: My Top 60

Okay, I couldn’t resist choosing 60 songs for this. Very few deep cuts and lots of music of the 80s, including a few I used to lip-sync-scream into the beer taps at the Kappa Sig house. And yes, there are a few songs from the past 10 years as well, just no Taylor Swift or Harry Styles.

These are not ranked, though I did a little mixing around.

Once again, WordPress limits any plugins without a serious upgrade (4X the price I’m paying now). So I’ve added the link to Spotify as well as a series of screen grabs. The Spotify list has been updated from the screen shots. I’m just too lazy to update them too. Carpe diem and Rock on!

https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/7wk2bFpVXo8ACiBVAY6Nt6?utm_source=generator