Top 5 Songs You Used To Be Into

Here's the deal... I tend to get really into songs over the period of a few days if I like them. But sometimes they aren't always committed to memory. So this list is my attempt to go back and find (I used Livejournal) songs that I used to be into but I had forgotten about. I don't know if anyone else can conjure up a list, but I can, so here goes...

Dan's Top 5

1. John Lennon - Watching The Wheels - This one is the reason I did the list. I was watching Wonder Boys for the first time in years recently, and I rediscovered this classic Lennon tune, which I'm convinced is one of his Top 5 songs. Now I'm hooked on it again.

2. Grand Theft Audio - As Good As It Gets - A little-known crappy industrial band puts out one of my favorite songs ever. The guitar is reminiscent of Sweet Child O' Mine, but it was original enough to get me hooked for months back in high school. Sadly, this artist, whoever they were, didn't go anywhere, and this wasn't even their most popular song.

3. The Cult - She Sells Sanctuary - This used to be the track used in a often-aired car commercial. I don't remember the model or make, but I did get addicted to this song, even putting it on my very first mix CD. Once the CD got scratched, I didn't really listen to the song anymore.

4. George Harrison - When We Was Fab - If I were organizing due to degree of forgotten-ness rather than quality, this would have been right at the top of the list. I think the last time I thought of this song, let alone listened to it, was seven years ago. The sum total of times I had listened to it before tonight fit into a single week.

5. Moby - We Are All Made of Stars - I remember listening to this song a lot when it was first released, because I thought it was so reminiscent of "Heroes." I soon stopped listening to Moby, for whatever reason, and subsequently didn't listen to this song until I rediscovered Moby as a result of the Bourne movies. Good song.

Honorable Mentions: Pink Floyd - Bike, Tenacious D - Wonderboy, The Who - Boris The Spider, Dr. Hook - Looking for Pussy, Camper Van Beethoven - Take The Skinheads Bowling, Stabbing Westward - Angel

Ryan's Top Five

Let's see here... I'm going to go way back.

1. Devo - "Whip It" - This was my favorite song circa the 1980s. Being six, however, is no excuse not to whip it, and whip it good. Into shape. Shape it up. Get straight. Go forward. Move ahead. Try to detect it. It's not too late. To whip it. Whip it good. Great, now you've got me dancing the robot.

2. MC Hammer - "Can't Touch This" - You cannot, in fact, touch this. Repeat--do not try to touch this.

3. The Escape - "Wild, Wild West" - "Headin' for the nine-tays, livin' in the wild wild west!"

4. Meat Loaf - "Paradise By The Dashboard Light" - Or, as I called it when I was 10, The Baseball Song. I did not yet realize that baseball can be a metaphor for other things. (As soon as I figure out what those other things are, I'll pass it on.) Scout's Honor (I was a Tiger Cub for one meeting), this is straight from memory (Cartman/Come Sail Away Style): "Stop right there! I gotta know right now! Before we go any further do you love me? Will you love me forever do you need me? Will you NEVER leave me? Will you make me so happy for the rest of my life, will you take me away, will you make me your wife? (REPEAT) Before we go any further do you LOVE me, and will you leave forever? "Well let me sleep on it, baby baby let me sleep on it (doo doo doo doo doo), let me sleep on it, I'll give you an answer in the morning. (REPEAT) I gotta know right now! Will you love me, will you love me forever do you need me? Will you never leave me? Will you make me so happy for the rest of my life, will you take me away, will you make me your wife? (BOTH PARTS) Let me sleep on it--Will you love me forever?--Let me sleep on it--Will you love me foreveeeer? I can't take it any more (something--didn't know lyric here as kid, still don't) ah crazy feeling coming over like a tidal wave, something something... I swore to _____ and on my mother's grave that I would love you till the end of time, I swore! I would love you till the end of time DUN DUN DUN DUN DUN So now I'm praying for the end of time, to hurry up and arrive! Cuz if I have to spend another minute with you I don't think that I'm gonna survive. I'll never break my promise or forget my vow, we go any further something something right now, Praying for the end of time that's all that I can do, DO, DOOOOO...praying for the end of time so that I can eeeeend myyyyy tiiiiiime wiiiiith yooooooooouuuu..." Phew. That's off my chest.

5. Prince - "Partyman" - Here's a hit from the Batman soundtrack. ("Throw it.") If you ever catch me whinging about my upbringing (I won't), just remind me of this: my parents were apparently cool enough to buy me a "Parental Advisory--Explicit Lyrics" vinyl for my 6th birthday. Maybe I am an example of what happens when you do that. Uh oh...

Honorable Mention: "What's Up?" by 4 Non-Blondes, which wasn't ancient enough to make the list.

Tim’s Top 5:
I don't really know how to handle this topic, because most any song that I used to be into is also a song that I am still appreciative of. So I'm just going to list songs that I knew were my favorite song at one point in my life, all of which were at least 12 years ago.

1. “You Can Call Me Al” by Paul Simon – This was my favorite song growing up. It’s now on an album that would be one of my favorites if I remembered it existed in the middle of an otherwise underwhelming solo career. My first grade art teacher played Graceland all the time. Though I remember nothing about her and nothing from her class, I can therefore declare that she is hands down the best teacher I’ve ever had. Take that, higher education.

2. “The Man Who Sold The World” by Nirvana – It wasn’t until last year (seriously) that I heard the Bowie version, but this recording from the Unplugged album was what made me realize I was seriously late in getting into Nirvana in 1996. It was my favorite song for a while after that before it was displaced by Instant Karma (though like Dan and Ryan, I also actually like the songs from Double Fantasy).

3. “One Stop Along The Way” by Terry Cashman – We’re reaching way back for this classic gem that no one outside of Cincinnati has probably ever heard. Terry Cashman, America’s greatest musical poet, made a living recording songs that were about baseball and nothing but baseball. This song was made upon the event of Johnny Bench’s retirement. Given my proximity to Cincinnati…it’s a must have and I nearly wept when I discovered it was available on ITunes for a mere 99 cents, easily less than 1% of what I would have paid for it if necessary.

4. “Burn On” by Randy Newman – The theme from the magnificent 1989 film Major League, I liked this song too much for words, spent a fair percentage of my college life attempting to locate it on networks and ultimately succeeding. It captures the overwhelming malaise of Cleveland and Cleveland baseball and emphasizes just why it feels like it’s a town for someone like me.

5. “I’m Henry VIII, I Am” by Herman’s Hermits – Give me a break, I was 5. I remember my parents playing this song and me acting like a lunatic. Part of me still wants to shell out actual money to hear Herman’s Hermits songs again. The other part of me has fleeting moments of rationality to counter such cringe-worthy thoughts.

Honorable mention: this is all I remember that fit my above description. In more recent years, I have had a bad-faith appreciation of "Snakes on a Plane (Bring It)" by Cobra Starship that still exists on some level to this day and I have way too much affection for "You Know My Name" by Chris Cornell (see guilty pleasures, music).