Songs I have annoyed people with in the past:
The Traveller (Days Are Numbers) by The Alan Parsons Project
Drop Dead Legs by Van Halen
Hotel California by the Eagles
Empty Garden by Elton John
I like the bizarre variety of your list, Winnie!
There are very few songs that I can stand to do this with, but here’s what makes the short list:
Sorrow by Bad Religion
Porch by Pearl Jam
Bridge over Troubled Water Johnny Cash version.
Some that come to mind over the years:
“She Bangs the Drums” and “I Wanna Be Adored” — Stone Roses
“Map Ref. 41N 93W” and “Kidney Bingos” — Wire
“Only Shallow” — My Bloody Valentine
“Teardrop” — Massive Attack
“Cherub Rock” — Smashing Pumpkins
“Nocture Op 9. Nos. 1 & 2” — Frederick Chopin
“I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone” — Sleater-Kinney
“Hot Topic” — Le Tigre
“Warrior of Woolworth’s” — X-Ray Spex
“Destroy, She Said” — Circ
and, for some reason, I have a very soft spot for:
“I Love You (Always Forever)” — Donna Lewis
Off the top of my head: “Black & White Thunderbird” by The Delicates.
The ones that come to mind right now:
Any number of Beatles songs on various occasions.
Somewhere Over the Rainbow - Eva Cassidy
Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World - Israel Kaamakawiwo’ole
Dream - The Cranberries
One Cool Remove - Shawn Colvin with Mary Chapin Carpenter
“Beautiful Day” and “Kite” by U2
“Porcelain”, “Inside” and “Sunday” by Moby
“Television” by Robyn Hitchcock
“Heigh Ho” sung by Tom Waits
“Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town” by Pearl Jam
“Fisherman’s Blues” by the Waterboys
“A” by Barenaked Ladies
“Have a LIttle Faith in Me” by John Hiatt
There have been others.
“Time after Time” by Eva Cassidy.
“Sweet Dreams are Made of This” by The Eurythmics.
No, I think so too!
A quick few off the top of my head:
[ul]
[li]My namesake song from Son Volt[/li][li]'39 from Queen[/li][li]Unforgettable Fire -U2[/li][li]Brazilia Crossed With Trenton -Bob Mould[/li][li]Float On -Modest Mouse[/li][li]Via Chicago -Wilco[/li][/ul]
There are lots more, but these are head-stuck right now.
This week’s top three repeatable songs are:
“Poor Places”–Wilco
“Ashes of American Flags”–Wilco
“Coast to Coast”–Elliot Smith
“Labour of Love” by Frente!
“What You Need” by INXS (God, I must love Aussies or something)
“Drive” by Incubus
“The Mayor” by Rasputina
“The Dream is Over” by Mushroomhead
“Before I Forget” by Slipknot
“The Sound of Muzak” by Porcupine Tree
“Vietnow” by Rage Against The Machine
“Locked Away” and “Travel” by The Gathering
“AEnima” by Tool
“Trouble Me” by 10,000 Maniacs
“Two Little Girls”, “Deep Dish”, and “Out of Range” by Ani Difranco
“Two Little Hitlers” by Elvis Costello
“Cat Scratch Fever” by Ted Nugent
“How Sweet it is (to be loved by you)” James Taylor version
And for some unknown reason, God help me…“Voulez vous” by ABBA
I was about 16 years old, and for some reason this song changed everything for me, the way I looked at music, my tastes, and I can credit much of what happened in my life to that one damn song, if I decide to trace it back that far. When I first heard it, I thought it was the coolest, most amazing thing I’d ever heard. It was so different than what I was used to. Where I was from, nobody had heard the band before, let alone the song. Now that I’ve built you up, I’ll let you down:
Parklife - Blur
I played it to death. I made a tape of it that I could play all night even as I slept, and put it in one of those tape decks that plays both sides continually. I got the tape for Christmas and played it constantly. I got the CD later and played Parklife again and again and again…
I later did it with a live version of “For Tomorrow” (same band). Then later, with a B-side called “Bone Bag”.
I broke the Blur pattern years later when I got Air’s CD Moon Safari, and listened to “Remember” several times over. But nowhere near as obsessively.
I still listen to Parklife on occasion today. My husband never heard it until I played it for him, and now he loves it. He’ll play it two or three times in a row, sometimes, but never like I did. It still makes me smile when I hear it though.
“Allllll the people….”
“Here I Go” - Syd Barrett
“Sonic Bloom” - Tripping Daisy
Nothing all that new, but all of these songs will still inspire me to hit repeat when I hear them:
“Letter from an Occupant” and “The Times Have Changed” by the New Pornographers
“Anthems for a Seventeen-Year-Old Girl” by Broken Social Scene
“Polyester Bride” by Liz Phair
“7” by Prince
“She’s an Angel” by They Might Be Giants
“Fresh Feeling” by the Eels
“Mysterious Ways” by U2
“Strange Currencies” by R.E.M.
The Touch and Dare from the Transformers: The Motion Picture soundtrack.
Hungry Like The Wolf
“Hallelujah” by Jeff Buckley
“Soak Up the Sun” by Sheryl Crow
“My Favorite Mistake” by Sheryl Crow
“When You Say Nothing At All” by Allison Krauss
One that I particularly liked three months ago (and will again in 9): “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” by Jewel.
March of the Pigs - Nine Inch Nails, just the parts when it switches from the darker, lower vocals to “Now doesn’t it make you feel better?/The pigs have won tonight/They can all sleep soundly” really does it for me.
I saw a few by **Wilco ** mentioned above. I’ll throw in a couple more.
**Casino Queen
Candyfloss ** (bonus track on Summerteeth)
The Late Greats
And from the *Mermaid Avenue * album
California Stars
Hesitating Beauty
The most recent one is “Tracy” by The Cuff Links. I think I’ve listened to that song close to a hundred times in the last 48 hours.
Some other songs I’ve played over and over:
“Alone Again Or” by Love
“Brief Candles” by The Zombies
“Maybe After He’s Gone” by The Zombies
“A Rose For Emily” by The Zombies
“Changes” by The Zombies
“Hung Up On A Dream” by The Zombies
“I Call Your Name” by The Beatles
“I Call Your Name” by The Mamas & The Papas
“Dedicated To The One I Love” by The Mamas & The Papas
“Pretty Song From Psych-Out” by Strawberry Alarm Clock
“One Toke Over The Line” by Brewer & Shipley
“Surf’s Up” by The Beach Boys
“Cabinessence” by The Beach Boys
“'Til I Die” by The Beach Boys
“Renaissance Fair” by The Byrds
“Tapioca Tundra” by The Monkees
“Fly Me High” by The Moody Blues
“Outside Of A Small Circle Of Friends” by Phil Ochs
“I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-To-Die Rag” by Country Joe & The Fish
“Goodbye” by Paul McCartney (demo with overdubs)