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.)
“Among media critics (and who, after all, is not a media
critic — there is so much to criticize), one sees a dangerous trend. Reporters
are increasingly urged to be definitive, to call out “liars” and defend
“science” and hurl all sorts of Zeus-like thunderbolts adjudicating the Truth.
This is a terrible idea.”
“It is not the journalist’s job to tell people what to
think. The job is to question, to learn and to share those learnings — as well
as their limits. In weighing the credibility of sources, we must first examine
ourselves.”
What? ANOTHER semi-obscure 1980s act from across the pond?
Sorry about that, but this really is a worthwhile
compilation. While the band had only one single that even reached the UK top 20,
it had better luck with its albums, 8 of which made the top 25. Unlike the Housemartins,
Prefab Sprout rarely ventured into politics. The 1992 edition of the Rolling Stone Album Guide characterizes
their mood as “one of refined impressionism: intelligent, clever, bittersweet,
romantic” while praising their “melodic pop, complex but irresistible.”
Songwriter Paddy McAloon is aptly characterized as “a cult figure with decent
sales, virtually no air play and truckloads of critical raves.”
“When Love Breaks Down” is, deservedly, the most likely
track to be heard on this side of the Atlantic, at least if you listen to
suitably discerning radio stations. But “Cars And Girls”, a
good-natured commentary
on The Boss’s early oeuvre, is also
well worth seeking out.
Catherine Rampell makes a number of cogent arguments to
support her point that Democrats are better off “narrowing their priorities and
funding them permanently, instead of financing everything for just a few years.”
