As a fan of a wide variety of popular (and not-so-popular) music from the 1950s (and sometimes even earlier) up through the present, one of my bucket list projects for years has been to put together a list of my 100 favorite songs of all time. At some point I decided that, once I got around to figuring that out, I could put it out on a blog, for the infinitesimally small proportion of the Internet world that might be interested. So, here we are. While the Top 100 will be a major focus, I also plan to post on a variety of other musical (and occasionally non-musical) topics, in which you may or may not be interested. (If a particular posting doesn’t ring your bell, you’re only a few clicks away from a dancing cat video on YouTube.)
This sounds as though it might have been written yesterday,
but it’s actually from "I.G.Y. (What a Beautiful World)," the opening
track on one
of my all-time favorite albums. It was released in 1982, but reflects an
optimistic mid-50s sensibility. The chorus repeats the following two lines:
WXPN in Philly expanded their usual “Friday Morning Mixtape”
from one hour to two this morning to accommodate more listener requests. You
can check out that list of songs (from 8am to 10am) at their online playlist.
Ten days after the attack, I watched (and purchased the DVD
from) the America: A
Tribute to Heroes benefit concert, which was simulcast on all the major
television networks. The list of songs and performers is below:
My City of Ruins – Bruce Springsteen
Love’s In Need of Love Today – Stevie Wonder featuring Take
6
Peace on Earth / Walk On – U2
There Will Come a Day – Faith Hill
I Won’t Back Down – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Hero – Enrique Iglesias
Imagine – Neil Young
Someday We’ll All Be Free – Alicia Keys
Wish You Were Here – Limp Bizkit / John Rzeznik
New York State of Mind – Billy Joel
I Believe in Love – Dixie Chicks
Everyday – Dave Matthews
Redemption Song – Wyclef Jean
Hero – Mariah Carey
Livin’ On a Prayer – Bon Jovi
Safe and Sound – Sheryl Crow
Fragile – Sting
Long Road – Eddie Vedder
Bridge Over Troubled Water – Paul Simon
God Bless America – Celine Dion
America the Beautiful – Willie Nelson
On a non-musical note, New York City native Nelson Figueroa,
who was then pitching for the Phillies, was inspired the night of 9/11 to
design a t-shirt that featured an American flag in the shape of a baseball. He
initially had just 6 copies printed at Kinko’s the next day, but that proved to
be not nearly enough; everyone who saw it wanted one. Eventually there was a
mass-production run, blessed by both MLB and the Players Association, with
proceeds going to the 9/11 Fund. I was fortunate enough to get one before they
ran out.
