Very Most Favorite Songs

My pal Allie Cat did a blog post today about the 1966 hit "Red Rubber Ball" by the Cyrkle. I love that freaking song.



How adorable is that video? Very adorable, that's how adorable.

Anyway, that got me thinking about the select group of songs that I consider among my Very Most Favorite in the World Ever. These are songs I never turn off if they play on the radio, that I would add to my highest quality playlists, that I would never, even under Guantamano Bay torture, renounce.

I went there, Dick Cheney.

This isn't an exhaustive list, but it's a good sampling. Check it out.

"Baker Street" - Gerry Rafferty
This is the single version rather than the album track, but it's the best video I found.



"Roll with the Changes" - REO Speedwagon
There are some bands that just capture a specific, significant moment in your life. REO Speedwagon does it for me. Love this song. Love Kevin Cronin's hair.




"Step," Vampire Weekend
Based on the musical structure of Pachelbel's "Canon in D." But with gorgeous, inscrutable vocals. So beautiful. My heart breaks.




"Like a Rolling Stone," Bob Dylan
Still the most electrifying, polarizing, norm-defying song I've ever heard. Listen to each backing instrument individually if you can - Al Kooper's revolutionary organ riff, Mike Bloomfield's sinuous lead guitar, Paul Griffin's plaintive piano. And absolutely kick-ass Tom Wilson production bringing them all together.




"Crazy," Patsy Cline
This is my go-to karaoke song, not that I do it justice. One of Willie Nelson's finest compositions (which is really saying something). We lost Patsy way too soon. Amazing performance of an incredible song.




"Don't Go Back to Rockville," R.E.M.
You may know that I'm a huge R.E.M. fan, and that I consider five of their albums to be among the greatest American rock ever recorded. Their 1984 album Reckoning probably literally saved my life back in the day, and this song is my very favorite among a group of utterly brilliant tracks. The piano is heartbreaking (a particular weakness of mine - see "Like a Rolling Stone" above), the lyrics manage to be universal despite telling a very specific story. Thanks, R.E.M. I still don't forgive you for "Shiny Happy People," but, you know....




"River Deep, Mountain High" - Tina Turner
Written by Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, produced by Phil Spector, and sung by the incomparable Tina Turner, this song is by any measure a masterpiece of pop music. And it was a total slop when released in the U.S. in 1966. Let this sink in for a moment: Phil Spector became crazy because this song wasn't a hit.  Powerful stuff.



What's on your list, Drunkards? I totally want to know.