For most of my life almost all of the music I have listened to is instrumental. That wasn’t always the case, though, and every now and then I play songs with lyrics.
From my OCD need to make order out of chaos, but my ADD tendency to get scatter-brained comes an idiosyncratic, probably incomplete list of my all-time favorite songs with lyrics. Let the arguments begin! Oh, they’re not in any particular order. Take that, OCD!
“Everybody Is A Star” Sly & The Family Stone
“Reelin’ In The Years” Steely Dan
“Look What You’ve Done For Me” Al Green
“Stormy” Dennis Yost & The Classics IV
“I Don’t Want To Do Wrong” Gladys Knight & The Pips
“It’s So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday” Boyz II Men
“Trouble’s A Comin'” The Chi-Lites
“Berimbau” Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66
“A Horse With No Name” America
“Walk Away Renee” The Left Banke
“Raindrops” Dee Clark
“Green-Eyed Lady” (Album Version) Sugarloaf
“You’re All I Need To Make It” Johnson, Hawkins, Tatum & Durr
The songs by Al Green and America were partly responsible for bringing me back to music. The reasons are long forgotten, but for about a year I had almost completely stopped listening to music on the radio. I also did not have a stereo system on which I could play music. One day while just happening to listen to the radio in my father’s Jeep those songs were played in a space of about 15 minutes. I was transfixed and returned to the fold.
When I was 11, I think, I actually made a list of my all-time 200 favorite songs, in order. The compilation was inspired by a similar endeavor from a local radio station. “Love Or Let Me Be Lonely” by the Friends of Distinction was at the top of my list. I still like the song, but not as much as I did way back then.
You’ll note the lack of “current music” on my list. I will write this again: the phrase “current American music” is an oxymoron.
“A List For Saturday” may become a regular feature on this blog, but may be constrained by my highly eccentric view of the world.
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A picture taken by my wonderful wife:
Mountains and fire…
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During a recent episode of Shift Talkers on Motor Trend, one of the panelists/contestants asked where this car had gone:
From Cadillac’s website, this is a picture of the Escala concept car. For awhile, it looked as if this car would actually be produced. Now, it seems to have been lost in the mad dash to EVs.
I don’t remember which person asked the question (Faye Hadley?), but she said she thought it was a great car and asked why wasn’t it being produced. Later in the show, in response to a question about Cadillac dealerships being forced to “upgrade” to selling only EVs or not being Cadillac dealers, at least two of the participants made a comment about how passé the make has become. Obviously, I think all of that is related.
The perception is that Cadillac makes boring cars (perception is reality even if it isn’t) and is out of touch with younger buyers, almost regardless of how that segment is defined. Well, people over 50 have more money than people in their 20s. I think it’s OK to market to “older” drivers, too.
I know it was Hadley who said she would rather leave Cadillac than be forced to “upgrade” to only sell EVs, if she were a dealer. She criticized the “damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead” approach to EVs, although she didn’t phrase it that way.
For the nth time: yes, electric (or some other “alternatively” powered) vehicles will eventually become the dominant paradigm in personal transportation. For the next 10-20 years, though, that will not be the case.
#AListForSaturday
#MountainsAndFire
#CadillacEscala
#FayeHadley
#somanycarsjustonelife
#disaffectedmusings
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Disaffected Musings 
“Let the arguments begin.”
There can be no argument. The beautiful thing about music/songs are that they are personal. Written from a personal viewpoint, experienced from a personal viewpoint, and meant to be personal. There are millions of people to whom “Baby Shark” is one of the best songs written. But Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me” is to me, one of the greatest songs ever written because of who I was in love with when I heard it, who broke my heart when they broke up with me, how many nights I’ve played it over and over, and how I cried when I heard it in person. Make your list, revel in it. It’s yours.
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Thanks, Doc. I agree with your viewpoint that music is personal and subjective. However, just like people are dogmatic about politics and social issues, many are dogmatic about music.
“What do you mean you like the Beatles more than the Stones?! Are you deaf?” “How can you listen to music without lyrics?!” I don’t know if people who are so narrow-minded are insecure, arrogant, ignorant or a combination of all three. I just know there are A LOT of people who think it’s their music or no music.
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Reviewing your opening list, I see we have several favorite songs in common. OK, that’s probably a generational anomaly. You are correct, of course, on the current state of music. On the other hand, that may be generational as well. >grin<
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Well stated, JS.
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Late to the discussion, but glad to be able to at least show up.
My musical tastes have been all over the map over the years, from 60’s hard rock to 70’s country rock and southern rock, to my current appreciation of bluegrass, and its modern variants. I have appreciation for talented musicians, whether I like the genre or not, as I learned many years ago just how hard is to be an even mediocre musician (I barely qualified as mediocre).
As for a list of favorites I’ll pick one from different genres;
60’s hard rock; Black Sabbath, Paranoid
70’s country rock, Eagles, Outlaw Man
Instrumental, Mason Williams, Classical Gas
Southern rock, Blackfoot, Highway Song
80’s Popular music, Dire Straits, Telegraph Road
Modern country, Turnpike Troubadours, Before The Devil Knows We’re Dead
As for contemporary music, it’s most all fairly unknown country-ish artists. This would include Hank III (rude and crude, but honest), The Dead South, Tyler Childers, The .357 String Band, Angry Johnny and the Killbillys among them.
As always, YMMV. Not everyone is as “all over the map” as I am.
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Thanks for sharing your list, DDM. My list of real favorites would be all instrumentals, that’s why I was sure to state that these were my favorite songs with lyrics.
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Not long ago I saw a post on the large social media site, asking for ‘the most overrated band/musician’. I was surprised how many answered ‘The Beatles’. I wanted to respond that was crazy. Just on how many successful musicians cite The Beatles as a major influence, or how they continue to be part of popular culture, etc.
But, I didn’t. I started thinking that the Beatles’ music was at least 25 years older than the people posting. And even if these people 30 and under listened to Beatles music, they probably were mostly exposed to the very ‘pop’ stuff – She Loves You, I Wanna Hold Your Hand, etc. So, I could see how it’d be hard for these people to believe the hype.
Of course music is often so tied to identity, especially a generation’s identity, I can see how people get defensive, even confrontational about it.
I think there’s music from all eras that can speak to anyone from any generation. I won’t say I listen to top 40 these days, but even now I usually find a couple songs each year that I would add to my collection.
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Insightful observations, Mark. I have written about how I strongly believe that temporal arrogance is part of human nature, but that I think it’s getting worse with the “social media generation.” (Of course, that could just be temporal arrogance on my part.)
Even though I am not a huge Beatles fan I fully appreciate their impact on music. Like you wrote, many successful musicians cite the Beatles as a major influence.
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I forgot to add my thought on Cadillac. Yesterday at the pool supply store a new Cadillac CT5 pulled in beside my car. I have to say, I do not find it an attractive car. I actually think their SUVs are much better looking.
As for EVs… I know a lot of people feel there’s a rush to kill off ICE for EVs. Maybe so. But, at the same time, the industry is doing what it thinks is best for the bottom line. It wouldn’t make economic sense to indefinitely keep plants open producing both EV and ICE, to have dealerships employ techs for both systems (or retrain techs to know both), to stock parts for both. (I say economic sense meaning for the companies. It’s arguable it would be great for the economy to keep plants open and employ more people. That’s a different debate.)
ICE certainly won’t disappear. The manufacturers will support them for a decade after the last ones get made. And much like how I can’t go get parts at the local GM dealer for my 45 year GM car, others will step in and provide for those who choose to keep the old cars going.
I liken it to carburetors vs fuel injection. There were problems with some of the early EFI systems, and people complained about demanding choice and how can they force it on us. But within about a decade, carbs were gone from new cars. I think it’s the same for ICE and EV. The aftermarket will keep ICE alive, same way you can still buy a new Holley double pumper for your hot rod.
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Once again, very astute observations. I do think the move to EVs is a change of much greater magnitude than the switch to EFI, but I see the comparison.
My concern is a movement to actually ban the use of ICE vehicles or, worse, to have governments think they can confiscate them. I don’t think that’s a far-fetched scenario. In my opinion, climate change is real–although I think its magnitude and progression are exaggerated by the same zealots who exaggerate the gender pay gap, which is actually 5%-7% and not 20%-30%, and human behavior is less than half the cause of whatever is happening–but the zealots are using it to force their anti-business, anti-consumer culture, government uber alles agenda down everyone’s throats. A balance between individual liberty and government policy has to exist or we’re all slaves.
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Completely agree. I guess I’m hopeful the reality is that there’s a vocal segment pushing the ideology who will always come up against a much more broadly-thinking public.
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The “public” can only push back if it is well-informed. The ignorance of the populace makes it very easy for them to be swayed by propaganda, half-truths and outright lies. The anti-vaxxer movement is a prime example of this.
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