Blogger is not being friendly today, so let’s hope this gets through.
I Just realized that today is the six-month anniversary of the blog. Seems like it went by a lot quicker than that. I’ve really enjoyed doing it, and it’s been a great way to force myself to keep exploring new music. Though it is sometimes discouraging to read other blogs which consistently find new, great music every single day, and have interesting things to say, and I can’t really find the time or inspiration to do that.
But I guess that’s the great thing about music blogging–there’s a place for I Guess I’m Floating, I Am Fuel, You Are Friends, and Shake Your Fist–but there’s also a place for those of us who may not have quite as much to contribute, but still hopefully have some interesting things to say and music to share.
Speaking of “not all that cutting-edge,” I recently came across another one of those lists that’s always floating around. This one: The 111 Wussiest Songs of All Time. It’s silly, sure, but it’s a moderately interesting premise. As is always the case, there are some real head-scratchers. “Shiny Happy People” as the wussiest song of all-time? “Friday I’m in Love?” “Daydream Believer?” These songs are certainly not barrom-brawlers, but there’s too much genuine emotion going on here to really sound “wussy” to me. And “Walking on Sunshine” shouldn’t be anywhere close to the list. Since when is gloriously happy pop equivalent to “wussy?” This song also gets bonus points for its prominent role on Futurama (perhaps my favorite TV show of all-time).
Another song that doesn’t really belong is “Crash.” Now, I’m not (and have never really been) that much of a Dave Matthews fan, but Crash is the one album of his I still really enjoy, and I find the title song to be often misunderstood. It sure sounds a little wussy, but the weird voyeurism surely belies that. I mean: “Hike up your skirt a little more / And show the world to me” followed closely by “I watch you there through the window and I stare at you / You wear nothing but you wear it so well / Tied up and twisted the way I’d like to be”–if this was anyone but Dave Matthews, there’s no way they could’ve gotten away with it.
And don’t even get me started about them putting Dancing in the Dark on there!
That said, there are many songs that certainly deserve their inclusion. The song they had at #12 would almost certainly be my #1: “I Want it That Way” by the Backstreet Boys. Just reading the name of the song inspires a cringe. “I Just Called to Say I Love You” at 64, Barry Manilow, Savage Garden, Journey, Dashboard Confessional, The Carpenters, Neil Diamond, Creed. All the usual suspects are here. Let’s face facts: Creed could fill the top 10 all by themselves. I also approve of the Iron and Wine cover of “Such Great Heights” at 20. As much as I love the original, am I the only one who finds the cover to be lifeless and pathetic?
The song that most perfectly combines wussiness with still being among my favorites places fairly well: Bryan Adams and Everything I Do (I Do It For You) clocks in at #55. Plus, everyone has to love him for providing fodder to make fun of Ryan Adams.
Alright, enough about this. I promise some new and interesting stuff tomorrow.
MP3s:Dancing in the Dark – Bruce SpringsteenEverything I Do (I Do It For You) – Bryan Adams