I was going to write this entry and I read Squishy, and now I'm kind of sad and happy all at the same time. Sad to see Pamie go, because I loved reading her journal, but happy that she is moving on and moving ahead and doing what she thinks is right. And man, that girl has a lot of class.
So anyway, I had a funny story to tell, and I wanted to get another entry in June, so here you go. First, a little backstory.
Jim took the day off from work on Wednesday to burn up his vacation time before he loses it. He had a dentist appointment and then went over to his parents' house for a while. He and his dad went to some stores and he got home around noon. He parked the car in our parking area, in back of our house, and left the car unlocked because A) we frequently do, having nothing of value in there anyway, and we live in a very, very low-crime neighborhood and B) he figured since it was early, he'd probably be going out again anyway. We usually do lock the car before going in for the night.
Thursday morning, I had to drive Jim into work because I needed the car to run some errands. So he woke me up at 7:15 AM and I threw on some clothes and followed him out to the car a few minutes later. I noticed that the trunk was slightly open, but I figured that Jim hadn't closed it very tightly. We got rear-ended a few years ago and never bothered to get it fixed, resulting in the trunk being difficult to close sometimes. I noticed that the passenger window was rolled down a little, and I was going to tell Jim to make sure to roll it up in the future, in case it rains at night. Then I noticed that the glove compartment was open, and the contents were strewn all over the seat. At the same time, Jim was going to close the trunk and he said, "My suit!"
Being early, my brain wasn't working very well, and I thought, "What suit?" Then I said, "What suit?" Jim said, "No, my Ramen soup! It's gone!" I said, "There was soup in the trunk?" He said, "Yeah, I bought some when I went out with my dad yesterday. Two cases. I was going to take it into work to eat for lunch."
Jim often buys those little styrofoam bowls of Ramen soup from the vending machine at work -- you know, the ones where you just add hot water? So he realized that buying them from a warehouse club would be cheaper than the vending machine, and bought two cases. Then he left them in the trunk of the car, so that he could take them into work on Thursday.
And someone stole them.
Once we realized that the car had been broken into (well, we did leave it unlocked) we started taking an inventory. We realized that they had taken a handful of change from the console (probably a little over a dollar) and the soup, and that was it. Meanwhile, our unlocked porch door was mere feet away, and on the porch was Jim's bike, Jim's golf clubs, and other objects that actually had some value. We figured it was just a bunch of teenagers or something, who were looking for CDs.
I had to crack up at the idea of a bunch of teenagers running down the street, carrying two cases of Ramen soup and pocketful of change.
So when I got back home from dropping Jim off, I decided to call the cops. Not because I thought they would catch the crooks, but because I thought maybe the crooks had gone on to one of my neighbor's houses and stolen something of value, and so it might be helpful for the police to know what happened. Hey, I'm just trying to be a good citizen.
I joked with the lady who answered the phone, about the $9 value of the stolen soup, and asked her if she thought it was worth sending a cop over. She said it probaably was, and it wouldn't hurt. I was thinking, "What else does a small town cop have to do at 9 AM on a weekday? At the very least, he'll get a chuckle out of it."
So the cop showed up and he was right out of Central Casting. In his early forties, cop moustache and all. I took him out back and showed him where the car had been parked, and explained what was taken, and showed him how nothing was gone from the unlocked porch. He just looked at me the whole time like I was an idiot. I explained why I was reporting it, and that I wasn't really interested in wasting their time pressing charges. He didn't crack a smile. The only joke he made was when I said I thought the perpetrators might have gone on to break into a neighbor's car or house, and he said, "Yeah, to cook their soup."
Okay, that was kind of funny.
So then he left, and I still felt dumb. But not dumb enough to refrain from sharing this story with you. Because it did crack me up. And we lock our car and porch doors now.
Forthwith, the rest of the Top 100 Pop Songs of all time, as determined by Rolling Stone and MTV.
49. "Tangled Up In Blue" by Bob Dylan: I don't think this is really a pop song. I think they just wanted to put Bob Dylan on the list. I don't think Bob Dylan gives a flying fuck if he's on this list or not.
48. "Jeremy" by Pearl Jam: Again, not really a pop song. I mean, if I were going to choose a Pearl Jam song that was pop, I'd choose...well, none of them, really. Maybe "Elderly Woman" because it's very sing-along-able.
47. "Jump" by Van Halen: I have absolutely nothing to say about this song. Except that it's not really better than a lot of the songs lower down on the list.
46. "The Tracks Of My Tears" by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles: Okay, how is this song so low? I would put this on the top fifty songs of all time, not just pop songs. This is a great song. It's a sad song disguised as a pop song.
45. "Tears In Heaven" by Eric Clapton: Oh, for crying out loud. Yes, it's sad that his son died. Yes, the lyrics are touching. But one of the greatest pop song of all time? Not nearly.
44. "Dancing Queen" by Abba: This, on the other hand, is one of the top pop songs of all time, and I'm glad they put this Abba song on here instead of others that may have charted higher. Although it's difficult for me to think of this song without thinking of Miriam's Wedding.
43. "Miss You" by The Rolling Stones: Why? I'm sure "Satisfaction" is higher up on the list, but I would have put something like "Sympathy for the Devil" or even "Brown Sugar" or "Paint It Black" here. Yeah, "Paint It Black" should be here instead.
42. "Every Breath You Take" by The Police: As overplayed (and now oversampled) as this song is, it's still just a terrific song. You think it's all romantic and you get seduced by the cool riff and Sting's voice and then you realize how fucking creepy it is. Classic.
41. "Proud Mary" by Creedence Clearwater Revival: I'm sure this version charted higher, but really, can anyone out there claim that this is better than the Ike and Tina Turner version with a straight face? Come on. And I'm even a closet CCR fan.
40. "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston: Really, I'm not against cover versions of songs. I appreciate a good cover. But this song sucks and Dolly's version is so much more heartfelt. Whitney Houston is like a robot programmed to sing this song at ear-shattering levels, to the point where people who heard it didn't even get that it's sad, not happy.
39. "Iris" by Goo Goo Dolls: Gack.
38. "Changes" by David Bowie: Wha? I mean, it's a good song, but does it deserve to be higher on the list than, say, "Dancing Queen"? I never thought of this as a pop song. It was always that song that the quote came from at the beginning of Breakfast Club.
37. "O.P.P." by Naughty by Nature: I guess, but as far as hip-hop anthems go, why does this one rank so high, and we haven't seen "It Takes Two" or "Bust a Move" or "Jump Around"?
36. "Waterfalls" by TLC: Okay, here's one I won't argue with. I love this song, and the spot seems about right to me.
35. "Born To Run" by Bruce Springsteen: I don't really think of Bruce as pop, and I'm not sure why they picked this song, which seems more iconic, over something like "Dancing in the Dark". Oh well. Bruce Springsteen is one of those artists that I respect in the abstract, but I don't really ever care to listen to his music. I understand why some people like him so much.
34. "Ironic" by Alanis Morissette: No. No, no, no, no, no! This song sucks! It's not even her most catchy song. I think "One Hand in My Pocket" song is catchier, because you think that you can sing along, because it's got that simple, "I'm this but I'm opposite this" structure, and then you realize that you don't know any of the words, so you kind of mumble the first part and then use that word to figure out what the second part is by the context. Ironic is the bane of English majors everywhere.
33. "My Generation" by The Who: Jim and I decided once that when you are fourteen years old, it is very important to be really into The Who. But most people get over it. This song got picked because of the title, not because it's a particularly good song.
32. "(Sittin On) The Dock Of The Bay" by Otis Redding: It makes me sad that usually the most mediocre songs by an artist are most popular. Of all the great songs Otis Redding has either written or sung, this is the one that makes the list? Sad.
31. "Smooth" by Santana featuring Rob Thomas: Too recent to be this high. As I've stated before.
30. "Your Song" by Elton John: Not the Elton John song I expected to see this high, but I'll take it. By the way, where are the Madonna and Michael Jackson songs?
29. "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen: Queen should thank Mike Meyers for this one. Before Wayne's World, this song was just a classic rock radio chestnut that rarely if ever got trotted out. Now it's just a classic.
28. "MMMBop" by Hanson: This may prevent many of you to stop reading this site forever, but I think this song should be in the top three. It's about as close to a perfect pop song as you can get.
27. "When Doves Cry" by Prince: I actually heard both this song and "Little Red Corvette" (which was in the fifties) on the radio last weekend. "Little Red Corvette" is clearly the superior song.
26. "Go Your Own Way" by Fleetwood Mac: I neither like nor dislike Fleetwood Mac. I know it doesn't seem possible, but it's true. I'm ambivalent about them. Stevie Nicks? I like her voice and some of her songs (like "Landslide"). So I don't know. This one just leaves me cold.
25. "Baby One More Time" by Britney Spears: I have no problem with a Britney Spears song being this high. I personally like "Oops...I Did It Again" better, even though they're practically the same song. But I think this song is the epitome of pop music to me -- fun to listen to, fun to sing along with, and ultimately forgettable.
24. "What's Going On?" by Marvin Gaye: This song has just one thing that makes it fail to qualify as pop in my mind: it's issue-oriented. Okay, so it's kind of about every issue, instead of one specifically, but to me, that's not pop. I'm starting to feel like one of those stupid TNN commercials.
23. "Oh, Pretty Woman" by Roy Orbison: This is definitely a pop song, but it's been so overplayed that I really dislike it. It has ceased to have meaning. I hear that riff and I just tune out.
22. "Beat It" by Michael Jackson: I honestly thought this would be higher, but the thing is, it's not that great of a song. I don't think it's as good as "Rock With You" even. But it was more popular, and it was on Thriller, and so here it is.
21. "Brown Eyed Girl" by Van Morrison: I remember when I thought this song was just really popular at my college. Like I would go home for break, and it would come on the radio or whatever, and I'd be like, "Oh, this is such a LeMoyne song!" Until I found out that it's really popular and overplayed at every college, just like that "Oh What A Night" song and anything from Grease. Anyway, I really do enjoy Van Morrison, even some of the religious stuff, but this song just annoys me now because it makes me think of people spilling beer on me, and no one wants that.
20. "Like A Rolling Stone" by Bob Dylan: So not a pop song. Whatever.
19. "Vogue" by Madonna: What? Huh? This one shouldn't even be this high. I seriously hope they had some sort of scientific ranking system that took into account weeks on the Billboard charts or something, because I do not understand why this song would be higher than "Lucky Star" or "Borderline" or "Like a Prayer" or any number of other songs. I would even put "Cherish" higher than this, and I don't really like that song.
18. "Losing My Religion" by R.E.M.: I guess. I would rather see "Stand" here, but I think that's because I associate "Stand" with doing the little dance they do in the video during sixth period math class, while waiting for the teacher to arrive, and I associate this song with 90210.
17. "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder: I think I was asking earlier where this song was. Here it is.
16. "Nothing Compares 2 U" by Sinead O'Connor: You may scoff at this one, but I just heard this song for the first time in a long time, and it's a really good song. I mean, it was written by Prince, so it can't be all bad. And there's no denying that Sinead has a beautiful voice, whether you agree with her politics and such or not. You know what else is a good song? "The Emperor's New Clothes". Also? "Black Boys on Mopeds". This album kind of rules.
15. "Imagine" by John Lennon: Don't get me wrong. I love the Beatles. I love John Lennon. But this song kind of makes me want to yak. I know -- I have a cynicism problem.
14. "Brown Sugar" by The Rolling Stones: Hey, I was asking where this song was earlier too! Damn, it feels good to be a gangsta.
13. "Sweet Child O Mine" by Guns N Roses: As much as I would like to argue that this is not a pop song, it totally is. And as much as I would like to pretend I don't rock out when it comes on the radio, I totally do.
12. "Where Did Our Love Go" by The Supremes: No. "Baby Love" is clearly the better song, if only for the "Oooh ooh Oooh" at the beginning. Anyway, I don't understand how you can put this song on the list and not about a million other Motown songs. "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" or "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" or "Heat Wave". And that's just off the top of my head.
11. "Hotel California" by The Eagles: God, I fucking hate this song.
10. "I Want It That Way" by Backstreet Boys: If you read my journal when this song was popular, you know that I have an unnatural love for this song that persists to this day. I think it is the perfect pop song. If I were making this list, first of all, I would exclude any Beatles or Motown songs, because why bother? And then this, along with "Mmm Bop" by Hanson, would be in the top five, definitely.
9. "I Want You Back" by The Jackson 5: Hey, I was wondering where these guys were. And I can't believe this is their only song on the countdown. I would put "ABC" and "I'll Be There" on here too. And, hell, let's throw "One Bad Apple" by the Osmond Family in there too. They're the white Jackson Five anyway.
8. "With Or Without You" by U2: Heh. I was talking about this list with JIm, and we were trying to decide which U2 song should be on here. It was between this one, "Mysterious Ways" and "One", with an outside vote for "I Will Follow".
7. "Respect" by Aretha Franklin: First, let me say that this song should be even higher. But how can this song be on here and not "Think" or "Natural Woman"? Or, if we're going to talk about female artists, how about "Piece of My Heart"? Or even something by Sheryl Crow, like "All I Wanna Do"? Or something by Stevie Nicks?
6. "I Want To Hold Your Hand" by The Beatles: Like I said, I won't argue with any Beatles songs on here, and this is one of the most poppy of their songs. Although a case could probably be made for "I Saw Her Standing There".
5. "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson: It was like they were making this list, and they said, "Michael Jackson needs to be in the Top Ten! No, the Jackson 5 doesn't count. Shit, we already used 'Rock With You' way back there. 'The Way You Make Me Feel'? 'Black or White'? 'Remember the Time'? 'Bad'? Fine, we'll go with 'Billie Jean'."
4. "Like A Virgin" by Madonna: Yuck. This is my least favorite Madonna song. And I thought of another one that should have been on the list. "Material Girl".
3. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana: In what universe is this a pop song? I mean, I know it has the same chord structure as "More Than A Feeling" but it's hardly the same song. This list sucks.
2. "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" by The Rolling Stones: I wonder how the Rolling Stones, a band that probably considers themselves to be pretty big rock stars, felt about having so many songs on the Top 100 Pop Song Countdown. P.S. Should have been "Paint It Black".
1. "Yesterday" by the Beatles: Whatever.
Although I still haven't figured out how the hell they picked these songs, I did notice some things that were left out -- one-hit wonders. How can you name the Top Pop Songs with no one-hit wonders? Where is "Sugar Sugar" by the Archies? "I'm Too Sexy" by Drop Dead Fred? It's like they could only pick songs by artists who had some modicum of respectability. Where are Hall and Oates? Huey Lewis & the News? You're telling me that Bob fucking Dylan is more pop than Huey Lewis? I don't think so.
So that's what's wrong with this list. Among many, many other things. Fucking MTV and Rolling Stone.
People seemed to like my top 100 video comments, so I thought I would take on the 100 best pop songs of all time as decided by Rolling Stone and MTV. Apparently, they only considered songs from the "Beatles era" forward, for what it's worth.
As with the movies, I feel like I need to give some criteria. These are "pop" or "popular" songs -- songs that probably charted on the Billboard 100 singles chart. Songs that are not difficult, or complex (usually), but easy to sing along with and instantly recognizable. So, here we go.
100. "Tainted Love" by Soft Cell: Okay. Fine. I like the song. I like the little break into "Where Did Our Love Go?" It's instantly recognizable, and everyone loves to do the "I want to
99. "Just A Friend" by Biz Markie: While I have a soft spot for this song, I don't think it belongs on this list. Yes, I know the song, but I bet a typical seventeen-year-old today would not know this song, nor would a typical forty-year-old. It seems too much like a novelty song, and it has no lasting power.
98. "She Drives Me Crazy" by Fine Young Cannibals: See above. I love this song, but is it a great song? Do people who weren't in high school when it came out remember this song, really? I'm going to say no.
97. "Love Shack" by The B-52s: This used to be a fun song, but somehow it has turned into fodder for wedding receptions. Although I still like to feel superior when I can yell (correctly), "Tin roof -- rusted!" even though everyone knows that part now.
96. "Photograph" by Def Leppard: I don't know about this one. It's neither my personal favorite Def Leppard song (which would be "Pyromania" or "Bringing On the Heartache") nor is it the one I think that most people would recognize (probably "Armageddon It" or "Pour Some Sugar On Me") and thus I'm a little confused as to why this one was picked. Meanwhile, when did I turn into some sort of Def Leppard expert?
95. "Good Times" by Chic: I guess this is one of the more recognizable disco songs, and we're still pretty high on the list. It's not like this song gets me running to the dance floor, but if it starts playing and I'm already there, I wouldn't leave.
94. "All The Small Things" by Blink-182: I have to guess that the MTV people argued for this one. I figure if my mom has never heard of the group OR the artist, it probably shouldn't be on the list.
93. "Stayin' Alive" by The Bee Gees: Wow, I would have put this one higher. Even if it is responsible for the finger pointing thing on the dance floor.
92. "You Shook Me All Night Long" by AC/DC: The song that launched a million roller skating parties. Also the perfect song to play near the end of a wedding reception to get the people who've been standing by the bar all night because they "don't dance" out to the dance floor, now that they are good and drunk.
91. "No Diggity" by BLACKstreet featuring Dr. Dre: This one wouldn't have made my list. Maybe that says something about me.
90. "The Boy Is Mine" by Brandy and Monica: I have a problem with a song so recent being on this list, even though I like this song.
89. "Careless Whisper" by Wham! Featuring George Michael: When did Wham! become Wham! featuring George Michael? Clearly around the time of "Careless Whisper". I haven't peeked ahead, but this shouldn't be the top Wham! song on the countdown (I would put "I Don't Want Your Freedom" higher), nor the top George Michael song ("Faith" or "Freedom '90"). We'll see what happens.
88. "Gone Till November" by Wyclef Jean: Am I this out of touch with popular music? I know this song -- barely.
87. "Brass In Pocket (I'm Special)" by The Pretenders: I freaking love this song. I wouldn't have thought to put it on here, but when I saw it on the list, I was like, "Of course."
86. "Don't You Want Me" by The Human League: A classic in the male/female call and response genre. This song made me want to work as a waitress in a cocktail bar.
85. "Surrender" by Cheap Trick: This song should be SOOO much higher up. I would put it in the thirties, at least. This song is better than the more widely-celebrated "I Want You To Want Me" any day. Any day.
84. "Wonderwall" by Oasis: I still don't know what the fuck a wonderwall is. Is it a compliment that Liam Gallagher tells me I'm his wonderwall? After all? As a sidenote, I thought it was super ballsy that I saw Oasis in concert recently, and they did not play this song. Ballsy!
83. "I Want To Know What Love Is" by Foreigner: Not my favorite Foreigner song. I would have picked "Hot Blooded" or "Jukebox Hero" (although I guess that one's more rock than pop) or "Cold As Ice" ahead of this one. This one is too VH1-y for me.
82. "Rock With You" by Michael Jackson: I'm sure this won't be the last Michael Jackson song on the countdown. This is the song that introduced me to Mr. Jackson (if you're nasty) and started my crush on him that lasted for about five more years. Hey, I was like eight years old. Cut me some slack.
81. "Don't Speak" by No Doubt: I kind of wish they had eliminated ballads from the competition, because I have a hard time judging the worth of this song versus a more upbeat tune. I'm not a big No Doubt fan. So, in conclusion, whatever.
80. "I Need Love" by LL Cool J: There are about ten LL Cool J songs that are better than this one, starting with "Mama Said Knock You Out" and ending with "Round the Way Girl". Bleh.
79. "Nasty" by Janet Jackson: Heh. I referenced this song above, and then it showed up on the countdown. Not the best song from this album, I don't think. That honor would go to "What Have You Done For Me Lately" if only for the little vignette before the song starts on the album that ends, "I know he used to do nice stuff for you -- but what has he done for you late-ly?" I don't know why I remember these things.
78. "Longview" by Green Day: Not the Green Day song I would have chosen. I wonder if they are picking some songs because it was that artist's breakthrough hit. I don't think that should be how it works. You should judge it on the greatness of the song as a pop song, I think. Which means that if they wanted Green Day to be represented, they should have chosen "Basket Case" or "Time of Your Life (Good Riddance)". Although the latter isn't really indicative of Green Day's work as a whole (and has been massively overplayed by both television shows and graduation ceremonies), it's still a great pop song, I think.
77. "Let's Stay Together" by Al Green: I'm a little biased on this one because this is mine and Jim's song. I had the word song in quotes, and I don't know why. Anyway, obviously, I think this is a great song. I even have a little dance that goes with the "good or bad, happy or sad" part. Have I revealed too much?
76. "Creep" by Radiohead: This is an example of a song that I really wouldn't consider a pop song, but it's still a great song, although Radiohead fans may be annoyed by its inclusion. I love this song.
75. "Hot Fun In The Summertime" by Sly and the Family Stone: Could someone explain to me why this made it on instead of "Thank You" or "Everyday People"? Seriously. I don't get this list at all. Maybe I just need to work my way into the top fifty.
74. "Tiny Dancer" by Elton John: I know everyone is going to think this only made it on because of Almost Famous, but it was in that scene for a reason. It's hard to pick one Elton John pop song (and I suspect there will be more on the list) but this is a great one. I mean, it was a joke on Friends -- it's made it into the pop culture lexicon!
73. "Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?" by Culture Club: Sure. I don't have much else to say about this one. The right song at the right spot.
72. "Free Fallin'" by Tom Petty: I have a feeling this is going to happen more and more as I work my way up to number one. This is a song that I probably enjoyed when it first came out, and I like Tom Petty's other stuff, but it was SO overplayed that I just can't enjoy it anymore. I would have rather seen something like "American Girl" or "Refugee" here instead.
71. "I Wanna Be Sedated" by The Ramones: God, yes. This should be even higher up. A perfect pop song.
70. "Good Vibrations" by Beach Boys: I thought this was supposed to be post-Beatles? Which I took to mean post-1970 or so? Anyway, this is one of those songs that I can't view objectively because it's always just been there.
69. "Just Can't Get Enough" by Depeche Mode: Hee! I just cracked myself up because this was number 69. I am twelve years old. Anyway, did anyone else think the words to this were "Just can't get it up?" No? Just me? Okay, then.
68. "Only Happy When It Rains" by Garbage: What is it with me and the alternate song selections? Because here, I would have put "Stupid Girl". Listen to both songs and tell me which one sticks in your head longer. I swear I'm not just doing this to be contrary.
67. "My Name Is" by Eminem: If this is the top rap song, I'm going to be pissed.
66. "Time After Time" by Cyndi Lauper: See what I said above about ballads vs. pop songs.
65. "Just What I Needed" by The Cars: Well, it probably should have been "My Best Friend's Girl," but at least it's not "You Might Think" or "Magic" or God forbid, "Drive".
64. "Bennie And The Jets" by Elton John: This is about my least favorite Elton John song. Although I think "Crocodile Rock" would take top honors in that department. Which I'm sure will be on this countdown. How could the same man write those songs, and also "Tiny Dancer" and "Daniel"? I ask you.
63. "In My Life" by The Beatles: The Beatles are just showing up? Dude. This whole list could be The Beatles and I wouldn't really argue.
62. "Maybe I'm Amazed" by Paul McCartney: I have a confession to make. I don't really get why people think this song is so great. People are like, "Oh, it's a great love song." Well what song written by Paul McCartney isn't, really? I'm just saying. This is not one of my favorite songs and I don't get what the big deal is.
61. "Papa Don't Preach" by Madonna: This is one of my least favorite Madonna songs. But I'm interested to see which ones made this list.
60. "The One I Love" by R.E.M.: I guess. I don't really like this song, although I do like R.E.M. I guess it's better than "Losing My Religion", a.k.a. "The Brenda on 90210 Song".
59. "Just The Way You Are" by Billy Joel: Okay, so I heard a long time ago that there's a verse to this song that Billy Joel never sings anymore, because it was written expressly for his (now ex-, and not Christie Brinkley) wife, and for some reason I find that so incredibly sad. I think there's something wrong with me.
58. "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life" by Stevie Wonder: Of all the Stevie Wonder songs, this is the one they picked? What about "Superstition"? And...and..."Superstition"? Or "Higher Ground"? Or "Sir Duke"? I guess I should count my blessings that it's not "I Just Called To Say I Love You".
57. "One Headlight" by The Wallflowers: I don't know if this song really deserves to be this high up, but I like it. Except the part where Jakob Dylan sings, "Me and Cinderella," I always sing "The Insinkerator" because that was the name of our garbage disposal in the apartment I lived in at the time this song was popular, and that's what I heard. So this song always reminds me of my garbage disposal. Nice.
56. "Our Lips Are Sealed" by The Go-Go's: I actually just heard this song last night and I was thinking about what a great song it is. How can you not be happy when you hear this song?
55. "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor: This kind of goes in the "so overplayed that I can't really judge it on its own merits anymore" category.
54. "Bye Bye Bye" by N Sync: This is a great pop song, but is it really better than "Tiny Dancer" in the grand scheme of things? I don't think so.
53. "Under The Bridge" by Red Hot Chili Peppers: This song would not be on my list at all. I don't really think of RHCP as pop, anyway.
52. "Faith" by George Michael: I told you this would be coming up.
51. "Just My Imagination" by The Temptations: See, if Motown songs can be included, why even bother with this list? Just make it all Beatles and Motown songs. Everything else is just a derivation thereof, pretty much.
50. "Little Red Corvette" by Prince: I wonder what other Prince songs will be on there. And isn't it nice that we can call him Prince again? That whole symbol thing just made it so difficult. I guess a true pop song has to be about sex, cars, or looking for sex while driving in a car. So this one really epitomizes all of those themes.
Tune in later for the top forty-nine.
I had kind of an exciting day yesterday. I didn't bring my camera, so I don't have any pictures. You'll have to use your imagination.
Molly and Andy were going to the Black Crowes concert at Six Flags Darien Lake, and they had an extra ticket. The Black Crowes are my favorite band, and I'm always up for seeing them live, but they're touring with Oasis, not one of my favorites. So I wasn't planning on going. But then they had this ticket which was just going to be wasted, so I decided to go.
Jim dropped me off at Molly and Andy's house in the morning and we headed out. There were five of us in Andy's truck -- Andy was driving, and Mike was shotgun. Then, Molly, Vanessa, and I were in the backseat (which is really like a half-seat) along with Molly's two dogs. It was a little crowded, to say the least. But we didn't mind. We stopped off at Tom Wahl's for lunch -- they make their own root beer! I love Tom Wahl's. I had a Hollywood burger, if you were wondering. Next, we had to stop off in Caledonia to pick up Molly's younger brother, Matthew, who was attending the concert with us. It was his first rock concert without a parent, so that was kind of exciting. For him. And for us too, because he was so wide-eyed about it. Molly's mom was dogsitting, so we dropped the dogs and picked up Matt, and got back in the truck to go to the park.
Have I mentioned yet that it was really cold here yesterday? I had thought about wearing shorts, because it is June after all, but then went with pants and a T-shirt, bringing a sweatshirt along. Thank God. It was about fifty degrees out, and windy and rainy. At certain points, I could see my breath.
We got to the park, and decided to hit the Predator, a wooden roller coaster. I've never been a big fan of wooden roller coasters because they're too herky-jerky. And this one was all squealy, too. But everyone wanted to go on it, and it's been a number of years since I rode a wooden coaster, so I figured, "Why not?" Plus, the line was pretty short.
Yeah, I should have stuck to my instincts, because it kind of sucked. I mean, it was okay, but it gave me whiplash, I think. After riding the Predator, we decided to head over to the newest roller coaster, Superman. I had actually been on this one before, when I went to Six Flags with Jim, Ken, Dave, and Tara, so I knew what to expect. No one else had been on it before. Out of our group, the only people who would dare to ride it were Andy, Scott, Adrienne, and me. The rest of the gang hung out and waited for us. Oh, I think they went on the swings first. Yeah, the swings. I don't know.
The line was really long. Normally, I like to pass the time by chatting with my friends and checking out the weird-looking people in line. This time, there were these two guys behind us who were entertaining at first, but quickly became annoying. They were both probably in their late-forties, early-fifties, and they looked like refugees from an Allman Brothers concert. I've seen the Allman Brothers in concert, so I know whereof I speak. Anyway, they were clearly drunk, and loud. They refused to go through the line the normal way, winding around. Instead, they would wait for the line to complete one full turn, and then unhook the chain and walk through. Which doesn't make the line go any slower for the people behind them, really, but it's just annoying. And they were cussing up a storm, and there were a ton of kids around, which bugged me. One of the guys had to take a leak, so he just ran off to the side. I don't want to know how he took care of business, ultimately, but he did. Now, you're probably thinking, "What the hell do these two numbnuts have to do with anything?" Oh, just wait. I'm going somewhere with this. I promise.
We finally got up to the front of the line, where you segregate yourselves into multiple, smaller lines, depending on which car you want to ride in. So we were still chatting, and this guy in front of us turns around and says, "Is that Liv Tyler over there, with her hair in a bun?" And I'm like, "Whatever, crazy older man in front of me in line. I'm so sure it's Liv Tyler." Plus, I'm short, so I couldn't see where he was pointing. But Andy, who was behind me and is tall, said, "I don't know if that's Liv Tyler...but that's Steve Gorman (drummer for Black Crowes)!" Which shows how much of a nerd he is, since he recognized Gorman on sight, and not Liv Tyler.
Long story short, it was Liv Tyler. And Kate Hudson. And some other people from the Black Crowes (the drummer and the guitar player, i.e. neither of the Robinson brothers). They were getting on the roller coaster -- security had brought them in through the exit so that they didn't have to mingle with the hoi polloi. And I wasn't complaining because first of all, it would have caused a riot if they waited in line, and second of all, that's the kind of thing celebrities SHOULD use their clout for -- cutting to the front of the line at amusement parks. Wouldn't you? Of course, the two drunk guys I mentioned above were not happy about this turn of events, and yelled loudly about "How fucking dare they?" and "Who the hell do they think they are?" I was hoping they would get kicked out, but no such luck.
So Kate and Liv and the two other guys rode the coaster. When they got off, Scott and Andy were yelling things to Steve Gorman, who ignored them. But it was still a pretty exciting celebrity sighting, I thought. Andy was trying to yell to our friends waiting at the exit to make sure that they didn't miss out. Little did we know that they had gone into the "gift shop" at the exit to try to stay warm. So they were right there when Liv and Kate et all came out! They said hello, and they reported that Liv and Kate were very gracious, signing autographs and being friendly. Then the celebrity group (accompanied by security) walked over to the Predator and rode that, then walked back and got in a golf cart to be driven back to their bus or trailer or whatever. So it was exciting, but we thought it was over.
But no! We ended up walking over to the oldest coaster at the park, The Viper. Molly, Andy, Scott, and Adrienne were going to go on that one. I abstained because two coasters in a row was about enough for me. Minutes later, Molly came running up to us, all out of breath, yelling, "Camera! Camera!" Turns out the celebrity party was on the Viper at that moment, and she was going to try to get a picture as they exited. So we went over there and waited, and saw them leave again. Kate Hudson walked a few feet from me. Both she and Liv were very nice, but Liv was more open to the fans, I think. Liv is also a lot prettier in person than she appears on screen. And she's tall. Kate Hudson looked the same, and she is really tiny. We watched as Kate and Liv thanked the security guards (hugging them each in turn) and took off. So that was cool.
The concert itself was pretty good. Oasis was just all right. Lead Singer Gallagher (Liam?) is one of the more boring performers I've ever seen. He just stands there and sings the songs exactly as they sound on the albums (I guess -- I don't know that many Oasis songs, and they didn't play "Wonderwall" which I thought was ballsy). I was hoping there would be a fistfight or other controversy, but no such luck. The Black Crowes were incredible as always. They played a lot of songs off the new album, which I don't have yet, but I still enjoyed it. I like seeing them better in smaller, more intimate venues -- this one was pretty big. I hear they are going to do a tour later this year of smaller venues, and I'd like to go to that. At one point, they sang a love song (something about a miracle) and Chris Robinson was clearly looking offstage at Kate Hudson during it, which was kind of sweet.
If I ever get my hands on any of the pictures, I'll post them. All in all, it was a tiring, cold, but ultimately fairly exciting day for me, since I never see famous people.