Top 100 Favorite Songs: 80-71

#80: "Death of a Bachelor" by Panic! at the Disco (Album: Death of a Bachelor, 2016)

One of the few songs on my list less than five years old, I love the range of Brendon Urie's voice as well as the mix of old school big band with contemporary pop mixes. This is the kind of music Frank Sinatra would be making if he had been born as a Millennial.

#79: "Wild Thing" by Tone-Loc (Album: Loc-ed After Dark, 1989)

This classic song, a clever but obvious double entendre for "making the beast with two backs," was actually written by "Bust A Move" rapper Young MC, who happily gave the vocals away to Tone Loc (nee Anthony Smith) when he heard Loc's gravelly vocal style.

#78: "This Woman's Work" by Kate Bush (Album: The Sensual World, 1989)

First heard by me at the climax of John Hughes's film She's Having a Baby, this song led me to purchase her CD The Sensual World, which led directly to a lifetime of obsessive devotion to Kate and her music. This song is one of the most amazing showcases for her otherworldly voice.

#77: "Let's Stay Together" by Al Green (Album: Let's Stay Together, 1972)

This soul classic was repopularized by Quentin Tarentino on the Pulp Fiction soundtrack (how influential was that movie, anyway? Wow!), and it still resonates today, especially with the silky smoothness of Green's voice. Who wouldn't want to stay after this appeal?

#76: "Tiny Dancer" by Elton John (Album: Madman Across the Water, 1971)

Much of my affinity for this song is attached to an episode of the sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati, where a Russian man asked Bailey Quarters for help defecting the U.S. (he sweetly quoted the song to her), and the significant moment in Cameron Crowe's wonderful coming-of-age film Almost Famous when the young protagonist and the band he's writing about sing along on their tour bus. Oh, and before I forget, it's one of Elton John's most magnificent songs.

#75: "The Real Slim Shady" by Eminem (Album: The Marshall Mathers LP, 2000)

VIDEO NSFW!
While I'm not a fan of rap, I do find most of what Eminem does interesting and masterful from a linguistic point of view. His rhymes and rhythms are as complex, clever, and intricate as any poet ever attempted in a literary sense. I also think his sense of irony, combined with his intentional profanity, to be endlessly hilarious. Of all his songs, this one is my favorite.

#74: "Revolution" by The Beatles (Album: The Beatles (aka The White Album), 1968)

I agree with School of Rock's Dewey Finn (Jack Black) that the real purpose of rock 'n' roll is to "Stick it to the Man!" If that movement had a theme song, this would be it. The distorted guitar, the driving but funky beat, and the vocals switching from melodic to screaming—all these elements are four master musicians at the apex of their skill and talent.

#73: "Drive" by The Cars (Album: Heartbeat City, 1984)

I think it's interesting that my favorite song by The Cars is the one hit sung by late bassist Benjamin Orr rather than lead singer Rik Ocasek. On the other hand, Ocasek ended up marrying Eighties ubermodel Paulina Porizkova after they met on the set of this beautifully cinematic video, so I think that's a net positive for him. "Drive" is gorgeous because of its melancholy mood and tone.

#72: "New Year's Day" by U2 (Album: War, 1983)

So much of what made U2 so good (and so important), especially in their early years can be found in this song. The driving bass-and-drum rhythm team of Larry Mullins, Jr. and Adam Clayton, the Edge's screaming guitar solos and machine-gun staccato riffs, the political and spiritual lyrics, all overseen by Bono's plaintive and soaring vocals—from the first time I heard this song, it's not been simply a favorite; it's part of my soul.

#71: "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana (Album: Nevermind, 1991)

Few songs can lay claim to actually changing an entire artistic movement, but this song effectively ended Eighties hair metal and ushered in the Grunge era in the early nineties. I still remember where I was and what I was doing the moment I first heard this song. I stopped everything and listened to every note. I had never heard anything like it before. Nothing since has ever been the same.