Kickin' It Off. Christian's Top 20

 Just to start off the blog in true fashion, here's my Top 20 List of Songs. This was tough. Originally it was going to be the Top 10, but I flat out couldn't do it. These are my babies. So here you are, my 20 favorite songs. (Sorry about the no imbedding. Blogger and YouTube apparently don't like each other) Don't worry if you don't like these songs, there will be something for everyone on this blog.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7j2mzeyGZ8Y
Soul Man by Sam and Dave
Funk
This song brings back so many memories, whether it be driving around town with a bunch of friends shouting it at the top of our lungs, or watching the Blues Brothers for the first time with my parents. Speaking of which, WSU brought the Blues Brothers here to WSU for a performance. You may ask yourself, "How can they do that without John Belushi?" Simple, they replaced him with the bane of all things human. JIM Belushi.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngTnToAs4uU
First Suite for Military Band in E Flat by Gustav Holst
Classical
Like most of the songs on this list, this song played a large part in my high school career. It was a favorite of my band teachers, and I can see why. Movement I (forgive me for not remembering the names of the movements) is by far my least favorite, and I almost actually hate it. The bass line written for me to play upright bass was all askew and whatnot, so it's a sore subject. Movement II is possibly my favorite piece of classical songwriting ever, and is a very easy way to show how John Williams got a lot of his inspiration from Holst. And Movement III is.....well, it's just there. Although the 9:33 mark is an absolutely STUNNING moment in musical history. Gives me goosebumps e'ery time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nvMAOmmVpk
Decoupage by Stan Kenton
Jazz
More nostalgia. This song is written SO perfectly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zw_v9E2D6Ag
Times Like These by Foo Fighters
Rock
About 7 years ago, my dad handed me what was to be my first and possibly favorite album (jokes on him, we lost it.) One by One by the Foo Fighters. To go from listening to nothing but Weird Al and his accordion antics to these guys and their full on rock sound was dazing to say the least. This song means a lot to me. It was the first song I *tried* to play on drums, it was the song my brother and I air guitared to until our first bass guitar arrived, and it was the last song I performed in high school. I think that's enough to justify it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcwjJPhhwR0
Go With the Flow by Queens of the Stone Age
Rock
No song exemplifies where I think rock SHOULD go than this song. It's my favorite type of rock song; it's a bulldozer. It takes no prisoners. No child left behind. It's just SOLID.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1W2UddURXI&ob=av2e
No Such Thing by John Mayer
Rock (ish?)
Now I know what you're thinking, "Christian, how DARE you write a blog about good music and just bring us back to mainstream music?!" Well, easy. Good music and mainstream music are not mutually exclusive things (take THAT hipsters.) Even though John Mayer may be a bit of a dick, this song is just funky and soothing for me. And those two things make for an EXCELLENT combination.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7JQ8ZsjUds
Reptiles by Them Crooked Vultures
Rock
Fair enough, most people won't like the verses and Josh's choppy melodies, but would you just listen to that chorus?! It's beast! Many hours of my life were spent slaving over my computer trying to dig up every bit and piece I could about Them Crooked Vultures when they were brand new. And for a while, I wasn't a HUGE fan of most of what I heard. I thought I was going to be incredibly let down. Until I heard this. And then I knew that everything would be alright.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVZ9_xKaIrw
Night Flight by Sammy Nestico
Jazz

*NOTE* this is not my favorite recording of this song, but it's the best I can do. And no, that's not Colonel Sanders.

When it comes to jazz, my favorite songs are generally songs that I have played, or that bands from our school before my time have played. This song is both. Even though no song has ever hurt my fingers more than this (just listen to that bass line!) it is one of my favorites, and the original recording contains my favorite guitar solo of all time. Sorry you guys missed it :/ Plus, it's written by Nestico. And he's the bomb.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qO4RUeyt8mY
Death Letter by The White Stripes
Rock
Like I said in my introduction, Jack White knows his way around a guitar. Just try and play this. I'll wait here. How'd it go? Not great I'm assuming, as Jack is the master of making things sound a lot more simple than they are. Throughout this blog, I will be throwing around the term "natural progression" a lot. So what does it mean? This. This song is what it means. Jack is a dude who knows his roots, but he expands on them. This is also my junior high theme song. One of my best friends and I stayed up until ungodly hours in the morning playing Call of Duty 2 to this song every Friday night of 7th grade. And it was fantastic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iBUr57tN3A
Everlong by the Foo Fighters
Rock
I've heard it said a million times before; this is the song that every girl wants someone to write for her. It's a magical song. It's more fun than a barrel of sea monkeys to play on guitar. It's Dave Grohl.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LFVQpDKHk4
All Apologies by Nirvana
Rock
Another thing you'll hear me say a lot is style>technicality. Kurt Cobain is the not-so-living example of that. In all honesty, the dude kinda sucks at guitar. Flat out. Sorry for anyone that doesn't agree, but *comparatively*, Cobain was never all that talented at guitar. But that doesn't matter.  I'm a sucker for Nirvana's soft side, and this is the softest they get.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUKvfKzHYTg
Colossal by Wolfmother
Rock
While Go With the Flow manages to create a metaphorical rock bulldozer, Colossal just bludgeons you over the head with a giant rusty baseball bat. Colossal is a great name for it, as it's a colossal song. There just isn't a better way to describe it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPLvBO_2Gn0
Jesus of Suburbia by Green Day
Rock
Say what you will about Green Day, I don't care. I always have this song to prove me right. They manage to pack what easily could have been 5 hits into one song, and make it work seamlessly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBfjU3_XOaA
Fortunate Son by Creedence Clearwater Revival
Rock
I'd like to paint a scene for you; it's 4th of July night. I'm with 3 of my best friends, driving around in an all American Jeep on a country road underneath the various fireworks celebrations screaming this song at the top of our lungs. I'm not an overly patriotic kind of guy, but it was one of the most fun things I've done in years. You're hard pressed to find a Vietnam game, movie, documentary, or TV show that DOESN'T include this song. That's a lot to say for how powerful the song is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rHYL-srg5Q
Scar on the Sky by Chris Cornell
Acoustic Rock
Most people only think of Black Hole Sun when they think of Chris Cornell. Which is a shame. Of course, it doesn't help that he did a solo album with Timbaland. But we aren't going to talk about that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfF4t9-wpCM
Shadow on the Sun by Audioslave
Rock
Yet another fantastic Chris Cornell song. Every time I listen to this, I get goosebumps. Not because I like it a ton, and not because it's groovy or something, but it's chilling and haunting. My first experience with this song was this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9ZPd04lBNw&feature=related one of the most chilling trailers I've ever seen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThtGuKy27qk
Vagabond by Wolfmother
Rock
Wolfmother was instantly loved by fans for being the next generation of Led Zeppelin (which is for some reason why the critics hated them so much.) It's like the evolution of Led Zeppelin's Bron Y Aur Stomp. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxeUBcJzwQM&feature=fvst
Bron Y Aur Stomp by Led Zeppelin
Rock
Speaking of Bron Y Aur Stomp..... and the answer is; no. I DON'T know how to pronounce it. My best bet is Brownie Hour Stomp.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQfwgzoiq4c&ob=av2e
Sexx Laws by Beck
Rock
Leave it to Beck to show that horn instruments are still viable in today's world. Bravo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pMM4iwC-ag&ob=av2e
Somebody to Love by Queen
Rock
It frustrates me beyond belief that "Somebody to Love by Justin Bieber" (sorry) is a more popular search on YouTube than this song. Keep your "We Will Rock You" and "We are the Champions". This is Queen's best.

Bonus:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5M04_qkRdY
Tribute by Tenacious D
Rock
Because it's the "greatest and best song in the world"