500 Greatest Songs

 The name Missy Elliot seems familiar, but I don't know. Let's see. --- Ok, I remember this from the "I can't stand the rain" sample. It's fine. I'm not sure what makes it special.  Seems like an above average hip hop song. Fine, but top 500 of all time?

 This one doesn't ring a bell at all.  Open mind. ------ Ok, cool song, but what is up with that echo?  The first few lines I thought it was neat was to grab the listener's attention, but it quickly became distracting.  I do like the sparse instrumentation.

 This was made before I was born, but I've heard it and I know it's bad ass. Looking forward to this.. -- Yep, still cool.  Difficult to believe that this is the same singer as "We Built this City", but I guess one needs to pay the bills.  There's a version with isolated vocals on youtube.  Check it out. Only two and half minutes and totally belongs on this list. 

 2012. I had three young kids and long commute.  And then I started a new job and we moved.  I can be forgiven for overlooking this. I honestly have no idea what to expect. Not familiar with the song or the artist. --- I don't recall hearing this at all.  I like the spaghetti western guitars. And the weird voices in the background at the beginning sound cool in the headphones. Not so sure about that military cadence drums. I rate it solidly above average.

 Yeah, I graduated high school in 1986, so how could I not know this one. I'll be frank - I was going to stop for the night but I kind of peeked and noticed White Rabbit is coming up, so I'm going to push through a couple more. -- Yeah, I didn't get it then, and don't get it now. Those 80s synths were corny sounding to me then, too.  And that vocal guitar thing - I think it's called a vocoder. Not digging it. Catchy chorus.

 Yeah, this song was all over the place in 1993-1994.  I don't recall ever sitting down and listening to it, time to give it a go. -- Ok, it's got a certain charm.  Catchy with a fun beat.   But so do lots of songs.  I could see turning it up when it came on the radio.  But top 500? Not so sure about that.  It's like hanging out with a stoned person.  Kind of funny, but gets annoying pretty quick.

 Can't say I know much about this one.  Heard of the artist and just based on my age and what I was doing in 1992 I probably have heard the song. Let's see.. --- Yes, I've definitely heard this.  But not sitting quiet with headphones.  Her voice is amazing and it's beautifully recorded. Chorusy guitar that is pretty typical of the era.  Really cool part.  The whole arrangement is really well done. Those distorted guitars are really cool. Hats off to whoever came up with that. Not what I would ordinarily think of in a song like that, but it works really great here.  Doesn't crowd the song at all.  This is really well arranged and engineered.  Cool song. I liked that way more than I expected to!

 No clue.  No expectations.  Well, the title strongly suggests it's political.  Other than that, I'm open to whatever... -- Nice to hear some Reggae that's not Bob Marley (nothing against Marley).  Cool. Well recorded.  I'm not familiar with enough Reggae to say why this one stands out.  Except that cool guitar solo, maybe.  Something I've always liked about Reggae is that on the surface, it seems like you should be sitting on the beach with a mojito.  And some are like that - "Three Little Birds" or something.  But often the lyrics are pretty heavy.

 I'm familiar with Roy Orbison, but having trouble placing this one.  Of course we all know "Oh, Pretty Woman", reintroduced to my generation by Van Halen.  And I remember a really great one called "Only the Lonely".  I can sort of hear the chorus, but it's probably been 30 years at least since I've heard this.  Expectations are high... ---- Yeah, I know this one.  Cool intro to start with drums.  Excellent arrangement.  Love the reverb on the vocals.   The form of his songs are more interesting than a lot of early rock and roll.  That ending is practically symphonic.  Great stuff. Another one with five stars. 

 Definitely know this one.  I like Van Morrison and I like this song, but I don't think I ever owned this recording and can't recall the last time I heard it.  I think I may have borrowed it from the library in the late 1980s.  Let's see if it's held up. ---- Yes, it's held up. I don't really know what to say; it's a beautiful song that certainly has a place on this list. It doesn't sound dated at all to me.  Unlike some of the 80s or 20th century stuff, I think if you played this for a young person today, they might have a difficult time guessing when this came out. It's, to use a cliche, timeless.  Five stars if I were rating.

 Yeah, my Dad had this album.  I later bought a John Lee Hooker compilation and he redid it in the 90s (I think) with Jimmie Vaughan.  You may know it from "The Blues Brothers" - John Lee Hooker played it on the street outside the diner.  The Yardbirds did a cover in the 60s with Eric Clapton on guitar.  I know I'll like this. -- I fact it took some searching to make sure I had the original. As cool as I remember.  Love his voice.  Backing him was probably a bit of challenge, but these guys are up to it. Deserves it's spot on this list.

 I know of Joni Mitchell, but not sure I know this song. I'm not sure what to expect; nothing too rockin'. --- Ok, this is pretty great.  The backing band is the LA Express; all playing great, Larry Carlton in particular stands out.     A great song, played by humans.  I listened to it twice.  I need to listen to more from this album and more from Joni Mitchell.  One of my primary motivations for this project was to find music that slipped under my radar.   This is some.  Five stars if I were rating.

  Ok, I know this one. It was all over the place.  Let's check out with the headphones. --- Ok, first thing, RS lists this as Daft Punk feat. Pharrell Williams. I'm listening on Amazon Music which lists it as Daft Punk feat. Pharrell Williams and Nile Rogers.  I don't know which is correct legally, but Nile Rogers is a HUGE part of this song.  If you're not familiar with Nile Rogers, that's him playing guitar.  He was the guy behind Chic back in the 70s, produced the Vaughan Brothers "Family Style" and worked David Bowie and a million other folks.  He's giving it the groove. I like this much better than most dance music.  The arrangement is sparse and effective. Rogers' guitar is driving it hard.  The textures aren't too out there - the guitar, organ and piano sound more organic than a lot of music is this style.  I'm digging it.

 I'm not sure I remember this one.  I played in cover band back in the late 20th century and we did a Luther Vandross song, but I don't think it was this one. Could have been... ----- Yeah, I've heard this. I'm glad it wasn't this one we covered, that guitar part would have given me fits.  Really nice playing and of course great singing.  Yes, it sounds of it's time, some 80 synths and chorusy guitar, but it's not overdone.  Nice.  The rhythm sounds great.  Great song and performance. I don't find it as sterile as a lot of other stuff of this period and genre.  Well done! I had to look it up - Marcus Miller, who played with Miles Davis during this time, on bass and Nate Adderly JR was his arranger and musical director.  Nate Adderly the elder was a well know jazzman. In fact, his composition "Work Song" could be on this list (I doubt, though).

 I remember this one.  I was a few years out of high school by the time this came out. I was aware of it, but didn't really get into them. They obviously had a big impact of folks, especially those a bit younger than me.  I'm looking forward to checking it out. ---- I thought I might like it, but I liked it more than I expected.  Thinking about the time period, especially, coming right after the 80s. Here's a guitar band without a shredder in leather pants.  Cool song, good stuff.