Those who follow me on Twitter or have friended me on Facebook might recall that my brother asked me to put together a list of My Top 40 Favorite Songs of All Time. That he asked me while I was under major deadline pressure to finish the first draft of the sequel to BUMPED should have deterred me from this undertaking..but it did not.
Actually, what really should have deterred me from completing this project is my taste in music. Let’s put it this way: With this list, I’m not looking to impress anyone with my coolness. Roughly 25 songs came to me right away. They were locked in. The other 15 spots shifted constantly as I listened to potential selections over and over again and asked myself, “Am I sick of this song yet?” I made a rule that I wouldn’t let any artist have more than two songs, otherwise this list would probably be limited to The Beatles, REM, Morrissey and Andy Gibb. (Though if I include his back-up vocals on another track, none other than Phil Collins actually appears on this list three times. PHIL FREAKING COLLINS, people.) After some musical soul searching, I opted to include a Band of Horses cover by Cee-Lo that I only just heard for the first time a few months ago but instantly became the kind of song I could listen to a dozen times on repeat and still want to hear it again. (Though I did not extend the same courtesy to LCD Soundsystem or Girl Talk, both artists I’ve loved for a few years now but on a whole album kind of level.)
I am under no illusions that these are the 40 best songs of all time. There might be one or two or a dozen songs on this list that some critics might dismiss as heinous affronts to the auditory canal. For whatever reason—be it nostalgia, awesome singalongability or a deep appreciation for falsetto over a disco beat—this is my Top 40. (As arranged alphabetically by iTunes.)
1. What it Takes – Aerosmith
2. I Just Want to Be Your Everything – Andy Gibb
3. I Want it That Way – Backstreet Boys
4. Weekend in New England – Barry Manilow
5. God Only Knows – The Beach Boys
6. Here Comes The Sun – The Beatles
7. And Your Bird Can Sing – The Beatles
8. How Deep is Your Love – The Bee Gees
9. Poison – Bell Biv DeVoe
10. See a Little Light – Bob Mould
11. Love Will Keep Us Together – Captain and Tennille
12. No One’s Gonna Love You – Cee Lo Green
13. Train in Vain – The Clash
14. (What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding – Elvis Costello
15. It’s Only Natural – Crowded House
16. In Between Days – The Cure
17. Enjoy the Silence – Depeche Mode
18. Barely Breathing – Duncan Sheik
19. I Guess That’s Why They Call it the Blues – Elton John
20. Respect – Erasure
21. That’s All – Genesis
22. Freedom 90 – George Michael
23. No One is To Blame – Howard Jones
24. On the Wings of Love – Jeffrey Osborne
25. Stronger – Kanye West
26. Borderline – Madonna
27. Sick of Myself – Matthew Sweet
28. No Myth – Michael Penn
29. Everyday is Like Sunday – Morrissey
30. Suedehead – Morrissey
31. Wonderwall – Oasis
32. Xanadu – Olivia Newton John
33. Elderly Woman Behind The Counter in a Small Town – Pearl Jam
34. Supernova – Liz Phair
35. Easy Lover – Phillip Bailey and Phil Collins
36. Every Little Thing She Does is Magic – The Police
37. So. Central Rain – REM
38. Losing My Religion – REM
39. Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses – U2
40. One – U2