John’s 300 favorite songs: 180-171

180. The Beatles — “Here Comes the Sun” — This right here is the reason George is my favorite Beatle.

179. Beyonce featuring Jay-Z — “Crazy in Love” — Normally I’m not a fan of sampling. The exception is when you take an old riff and put it to better use, like with Beyonce’s catchiest song.

178. Better Than Ezra — “Good” — Wah-ah, this song is good. Awah-awah-ah-wahah, yeah it’s good.

177. Aerosmith — “I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing” — The perfect over-the-top ballad for an awesomely over-the-top movie.

176. matchbox twenty — “All I Need” — Yeah, MB20 started to get overproduced on their later albums, but on this track, the songwriting overpowers the production. (And, frankly, the riff ain’t too shabby, either.)

175. Hilary Duff — “Wake Up” — It’s Saturday night, and anything seems possible in this little pop gem.

174. Belle and Sebastian — “White Collar Boy” — Some songs are great because they mirror the listener’s emotion. This one is great because it creates the feeling of longing after a girl, regardless of what you were thinking about when it started playing. Best lyric: “She said ‘You ain’t ugly, you can kiss me if you like’/ Go ahead and kiss her, you don’t know what you’re missing.”

173. Dido — “White Flag” — Traditional social standards say Dido’s behavior in this narrative is pathetic, but I find it rather admirable that she opts to go down with the ship of this relationship. After all, she’s in love, and always will be.

172. Bruce Springsteen — “I’m Goin’ Down” — Not getting the girl never before sounded so sweet. Everyone can relate to lyrics like “I’m sick and tired of ya setting me up/ Just ta knocka knocka knocka me down.”

171. Rihanna featuring Jay-Z — “Umbrella” — No one tells Rihanna that “umbrella” only has three syllables. No one. When you think outside the grammatical box, an irresistible pop hook can result.

Comments

Matt's Gravatari didnt realize you were such a big matchbox 20 fan# Posted By Matt | 7/17/10 12:24 AM

chance's Gravatar180. and 174. are awesome!
George is my favorite Beatle too… you have redeemed yourself# Posted By chance | 7/17/10 4:39 AM

John Hansen's GravatarA lot of my list is ’90s stuff — which I know you don’t care for — but it’s front-loaded with 2000s and pre-’90s stuff, so I think you’ll like the direction it’s headed in.# Posted By John Hansen | 7/17/10 9:24 AM

John Hansen's GravatarMB20 is good for a gem or two off of each album. I like their earlier stuff better. I pretty much dismiss Thomas’ solo work out of hand; it’s popular, but not as interesting as his early MB20 work.# Posted By John Hansen | 7/17/10 1:20 PM

chance's Gravataroh good… when it comes to ’90s i only care about radiohead and belle & sebastian! that’s not good… i know# Posted By chance | 7/18/10 12:25 AM