This will be a personal weekly Top Ten list of what I consider to be the best songs that I listened to the previous week. Most songs will be current, but there are no boundaries. I’ve already stated on this web site that I am obsessed with music. I am constantly hunting it down whether it’s online, on CD, from my personal collection, from a library (Yes, I think the library is a great source of music–especially for music that you aren’t sure about.), TV, or radio. Since most of these sources mostly emphasize new music, the odds are pretty good that most of the songs on this list will be new. But in my search, I don’t use any boundaries for the other sources. I am just looking for good music that I haven’t heard, or happened to forget about. Everyone, including myself, has forgotten way more great music than they can ever remember-even if they are also music fanatics.
Also, there will be no rules concerning songs on this list. A song can show up or drop off a number of times. This will be the most volatile of my lists. It all depends on how much music I am exposed to during the week and what I find interesting. On really obscure stuff, I will try to include the source, if I know it.
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Well, it’s the time of the year when the normal music listener can’t escape from hearing Christmas music and my experience is the same. But the difference for me is that I have continuously searched for “different” Christmas music for a number of years. These songs have become a part of my DNA as well as other family members because of their exposure to it. They will pop up on this list for the next couple of weeks. Oh yeah, Lady Antebellum stays at the top……………………….
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Top Ten Songs for the Week of December 18, 2011
1. We Owned the Night–Lady Antebellum
2. Lonely Boy—The Black Keys
3. Jingle Bells (Remix)—Esquivel
4. Paradise–Coldplay
5. Santa You Can Drive My Sled—The Fab (Beatles Tribute Band from Las Vegas)
6. Sparks Fly–Taylor Swift
7. Cowboy Christmas Ball—Michael Martin Murphy with Suzy Bogguss
8. Navidad Y Ano Nuevo—Riders in the Sky
9. Very Merry Christmas—Dave Barnes
10. Ours—Taylor Swift
1) “We Owned the Night”—I still hear this one a lot and I like it every time!
2) “Lonely Boy”—Oh, yeah! I’ve never heard a song about being lonely sound so happy!
3) “Jingle Bells (Remix)”—This was my favorite Christmas song last year! There are a ton of soundscapes that the listener gets to explore as it sounds like you are entering a spaceship for a Christmas party. The original version was done in the late 50s by Esquivel, who was way ahead of his time, so it seems fitting that this spaceage updating still keeps it way ahead of the pack! There are wrong notes, as well as a lot of sung “zoom-zooms,” which was a gimmick that he used. Either way, it’s worth checking out because this is not your grandfather’s “Jingle Bells.” Well, I guess it is if your grandfather happened to be Esquivel!
4) “Paradise”—I still like it, but I usually only hear it with the video….
5) “Santa You Can Drive My Sled”—There have been quite a few really good Beatle cover Christmas songs. They absolutely make Christmas music more enjoyable when compared to the selections on the 24 hour corporate stations. This one is the best I’ve heard. Every thing on it rings true from Santa’s “Ho, Ho, Ho” that starts and ends the song, as well as everything in between! I am not exaggerating. I am just stating facts. It is GREAT!
6) “Cowboy Christmas Ball”—This song has been a favorite of mine since I first heard it 20 years ago. The song describes a real life annual event that takes place in Texas. The words are so colorful and descriptive that you feel as if you’re there! Suzy Bogguss sings with just the right amount of emotion, perfectly complimenting Michael Martin Murphey’s gruff cowboy vocal! The lines of the song are interwoven by many other voices describing this happy night and the music is very peppy and upbeat—Cowboy style! And just when the song wraps up with everyone singing in harmony on the final line, the song continues into another medley for an encore! There is just something about the image of prairie dogs “wheezin’ and sneezin’ from the cold!” It would NOT be Christmas if I didn’t hear this song!
7) “Sparks Fly”—The sparks are starting to smolder………………
8) “Navidad Y Ano Nuevo”—Another favorite of mine, but in Spanish! The harmonies are tight and the melody is nicely sung over a loping bass line! There is an accordion and marimbas that give the song a mariachi feel during the instrumental interludes! I don’t even know what they’re singing about half of the time, but I know the feeling is good!
9) “Very Merry Christmas”—The song kind of sounds like a lost Sanford Townsend Band Christmas song—minus the horns!
10) “Ours”—The video is better than the song and even with multitracking, one of the last “Ours” vocals sounds flat. I still like it though………………….
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