Almost all of these songs were my first exposure to the artists, so they really made an impact and summed up everything I love about them to this day.
The Strokes - “Last Nite” (so refreshingly good that I had to pull over and just soak it all up.)
White Stripes - “Fell in Love With a Girl”
Amy Winehouse - “You Know I’m No Good”
Portishead - “Sour Times (Nobody Loves Me)”
Poe - “Haunted”
New Pornographers - “The Laws Have Changed”
Rilo Kiley - “I Never”
The Smiths - “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out”
Raveonettes - “Attack of the Ghost Riders”
Dick Dale - “Miserlou” (from the Pulp Fiction soundtrack, like so many others)
I was in a good friend’s car one day when he played a song for me. I couldn’t believe how much I loved it. I rushed out and bought the CD and loved every single song. It touched me. I’ve listened to it hundreds of times.
Two years later I slipped that CD into his coffin after he was killed by a drunk driver. I miss him greatly and cry every time I hear this song.
Oooh, I have one from just the other day! Nothing Better To Do by Leann Rimes. The video’s great too. I was surprised by how much I loved the song when I first heard it because most of her songs take time to grow on me, but I wanted to get up and dance as soon as I heard this one.
Also, Cupid’s Chokehold by Gym Class Heroes. I heard it first after it had been out for awhile and most of its heavy radio play was over, so I watched it on youtube over and over for a couple of weeks.
And another, Gunpowder and Lead by Miranda Lambert (link to a godawful Sims music video thing on youtube, but just minimize it and listen to the song). It’s not a single, but as soon as I heard her play it live I could not wait for her new cd to come out so I could hear it again on repeat. It’s just a badass song.
These are songs I heard on TV, radio, in a store, and was immediately compelled to go out and buy the album, without knowing anything else about the band, or any other songs. (Most of this was before .mp3)
“Friend, You’ve Got To Fall” - Husker Du
“All I Want” - Toad The Wet Sprocket
“Stay As You Are” - Span
“Getting Away With It” - Electronic
“Don’t Talk To Me About Love” - Altered Images
“Crossover” - EPMD
“Alcohol” - Brad Paisley
“A New England” - Kirsty MacColl
I don’t care if the lyrics are dumb – the first time I heard Centerfold by the J. Geils Band in college I loved it! Even now, 28 years later (goodness I’m old) I still bop a little (OK a lot) when I hear it!
Also, Hold My Hand by Hootie and the Blowfish. When Cracked Rear View came out, I thought I’d discovered the best rock ‘n’ roll band since … I don’t know, the Who maybe.
This was mine too. Such a wonderful song! I had the distinct pleasure of spending some time with Wayne Coyne from the Flaming Lips, and he talked about this song, and the meaning, and how everyone seems to have a “Do you realize?” story. If you want to check out what he had to say about it, the audio from the interview can be found here . (My boyfriend and I did the interview when The Lips played at Brown U a couple months ago, his bit about the song is toward the end of the interview.)
Another wow moment was hearing Saturday by the UK band The Clientele. Blew me away. The vocals and guitar sound like they belong in the '70s but it’s such a modern sound. I just saw them live last weekend and they were even better in person.
Some good songs mentioned here. Dramarama! And Mike Doughty is my favorite artist, closely followed by Soul Coughing, but I couldn’t pick just one of his songs.
I put the average age here at about 23 based on the answers here one Elvis, one Bob Seger, one George Harrison, some random 70’s but basically 90% are people I have never even heard of. If Ellen Cherry is old as a J.Geils fan I am prehistoric. My vote:
There have been a few over the years, in no particular order:
City of New Orleans by Arlo Guthrie Unchain My Heart by Joe Cocker None of Us Are Free by Solomon Burke Hurricane by Bob Dylan Night Moves by Bob Seger Dream Lover by Bobby Darin Time in A Bottle by Jim Croce The Future by Leonard Cohen Bat Out of Hell by Meatloaf Somebody To Love by Queen Send Me On My Way by Rusted Root Put Your Lights On by Santana (the whole Supernatural album is great!)
That’s another one of mine! Except that I’ve still never heard the original by Queen. The version that hooked me was the recent cover by Brittany Murphy from the Happy Feet soundtrack.
The Mummer’s Dance by Loreena McKennitt is the one that sprang to mind. She had me before she even opened her mouth to sing, and the breathy vocals sealed the deal.
