Since travel plans prevented me from leaving comments on the spreadsheet, I'll add a few now...
First of all, I'm always pleasantly surprised by how idiosyncratic our collective tastes are. We're not afraid to nominate overplayed hits when we like them (I'm delighted that the admittedly corny "Free Fallin'" made the final list), but we never simply choose the greatest hits (I was struck by both the Madonna and Peter Gabriel entries, which are not the ones that I would guess).
146. Run-D.M.C. -- Rock Box
I'm surprised this placed so low; I think it's a better integration of rock and rap than the overplayed "Walk This Way."
131. Psychedelic Furs -- Pretty in Pink
So all that good will the Psychedelic Furs garnered in the Moderately Acclaimed contest wore off, I suppose? The Psychedelic Furs are one of my favorite finds in the past year.
124. Tom Waits -- Innocent When You Dream
Which version is the definitive version for people? I think I prefer the "barroom" version, but the 78 one has its merits as well, and maybe even fits into the album a bit better.
122. Talk Talk -- The Rainbow
I appreciate the harmonica (I play myself), but some songs just don't work outside the context of the album.
121. Paul Simon -- The Boy in the Bubble
How is this the lowest rated Paul Simon song? "These are the days of miracles and wonder" is such a compelling and inspiring line, simultaneously promising great things from the modern world while ironically suggesting that these "miracles" are nothing more than terrorism and "lasers in the jungle."
114. The Church -- Under the Milky Way
I'm surprised this made the cut; I only found out about this song when my girlfriend was playing the album in the background, and I became utterly transfixed with the bagpipe solo. (Yes, bagpipe solo!) The rest of the album fails to live up to this track, but they're a deserving one-hit wonder in my book.
111. Tom Petty -- Free Fallin'
I always think I never want to here this song again, but as overplayed radio hits go, it's not bad. I don't think it deserves the scorn that some reserve for it, even if Tom Petty has done better stuff.
109. Prince -- I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man
Prince mainly just baffles me; I like him well-enough, but fail to see the genius that others do. However, this one song, for six beautiful minutes, manages to convince me that the Prince-lovers are right and perhaps he is the best artist of the 80s after all.
107. The Clash -- Rock the Casbah
This has always been a mediocre song to me; as late-period Clash hits go, I much prefer "Should I Stay or Should I Go?", which unfortunately didn't make the cut.
96. Talking Heads -- This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)
I was at a wedding in October where the bride (a big alternative music fan) walked down the aisle to this song. I don't think it would work for every wedding, but it worked for that one and it was beautiful.
95. AC/DC -- Back in Black
Okay, it's an open secret that AC/DC are a terrible, terrible band, but if you don't like this song, you need to get your musical calibration checked. Some songs are so bad that they're secretly good, and this is one of them (see also: Guns'n'Roses).
90. Van Halen - Jump
Speaking of songs so bad they're good...
89. Stone Roses -- I Am the Resurrection
It grates on me that my fellow U.S. music lovers largely ignore the Stone Roses. While a lot of British favorites do nothing for me, the Stone Roses deserve all the acclaim they get from the British press. I'm sad that only one of their songs made it in, but I'm glad it's this one, which one of my favorite guitar solos of all time.
88. Public Enemy -- Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos
I love the righteous anger here, especially the line "It said they were
suckers!"
82. Faith No More -- Epic
Such a bizarre song. I completely understand some people's distaste, as I suppose Mike Patton isn't for everyone. But I think this song (and this whole album, really) is off-the-wall brilliance.
61. Kraftwerk -- Computer Love
For anyone who accuses Kraftwerk (or electronic music) of lacking emotion, this is Exhibit A in their defense. A song even more relevant in 2014 as it was in 1981.
53. R.E.M. -- It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
What stops this from being merely a novelty song are those beautiful backing vocals - "It's time I had some time alone."
This song is amazing!
