I'm not a huge Pixies fan, but this is my favorite song of all time. Good to scream along with when you're drunk. I think I was 7 or 8 when this video came out and it just blew my little idiot mind. Took a few years before I was able to appreciate the song as much, but now I fucking adore it. Sexy as hell. This song appeals to my redneck roots and reminds me a lot of my family. Good drinking song.
My favorite songs tend to come and go, as most people's do, but this one has been #1 for a solid decade. The other two might just be songs-I'm-choosing-right-now, but this one stays with me. It combines so many things that I love about hip-hop, funk, and rock n roll, all in to one party-friendly package: This song is...operatic, in all the right ways, while still seeming intimate: You think this one is cheesy? WELL FUCK YOU. Honorable mention: Mistaken For Strangers by The National,The '59 Sound by The Gaslight Anthem, Killing Me Softly by The Fugees.
JWags and caseykasem just made me cry with nostalgic teenage angst, so I'm going to leave those songs out I chose this, but basically anything by Jason Mraz is amazing to me. I once had to drive 5 hours from Erie to home. I listened to Jason the entire ride and did not skip a single song or turn him off the entire time. I'm in love. This song is specifically special to me because I had my first kiss to this song. Growing up, my mom worked nights, so my dad was the one who would put us to bed. After we were all in bed, he would listen to James Taylor and do the dishes. For the first 10 years of my life, James Taylor was my lullaby. If I'm having trouble sleeping, I will listen to him. He's just this massive part of my childhood. I discovered this song in college while doing research for a short story. Up until that point, Warren Zevon was just the guy who sings "Werewolves of London". The album this song comes off of is all-around great, but that song is specifically great for me.
Oh let's see, I'll go with... Tightrope, SRV Bell Bottom Blues, Clapton Guitar Boogie, Tommy Emmanuel isn't really one of my very favorite songs, but this particular performance of it is so fucking awesome that I have to put it on the list. Just the best guitar playing ever.
My favorite songs of all time? Limiting it to five, let's see... Brave, "Spirit"--No Youtube piracy is available, but you can listen to it at the link (the band's Myspace). It's a little (lot) mellower than the above selection. Yes, more musical whiplash. Yes, more musical whiplash.
All classics from the 80s, all I can listen to at any time: I love this one because I have gotten lots of ass while playing it, and because I'm Norwegian: Help settle a debate. I still say that at the 3:09 mark he is saying "WHORE":
I'll go with songs that even though I've had for years and years, I just can't seem to get sick of. The song that launched the East Coast resurgence in hip hop. Every MC (even U-God manages a couple of good lines) is on point and ready to attack. It has to be the most rugged and confrontational debut ever. I can't imagine a stronger opening statement. This song does build-up and release better than any song I've heard. Starts off with an assuming 30 second intro. Immediately hits you with and establishes a heavy but smooth beat. After it's been established he starts tinkering with it here and there so you can't become complacent. Has a little more fun with it, then quickly cuts the pieces away and leaves you with a mild ambiance. Gets to work quickly on something completely different. Something that...doesn't really make sense. Adds another piece so you try to figure out where this is going but it still doesn't make sense. Keeps adding pieces that seem to be just a frenzy of competing sounds with no point. You try to figure out if he's just fucking with you. And then it happens, the final piece drops into place and suddenly it all makes sense. The new sound is nothing like the original and nothing hinted at what it was going to be until every single piece is in place. It's the audio equivalent of the rug that tied the room together. You're loving the exhilaration of this amazing new cohesive whole but at the same time you have to try to fight the urge to rewind while you think "how the fuck did that just happen?" Psychedelic rock done perfectly. I think I had to listen to this song 30 times before I knew all of the pieces going into it. There are so many pieces and they all meld together so well it's hard to tease them apart. For a song with only 4 lines of lyrics, it is incredibly re-listenable. Even the few lyrics conjure up this feeling of child-like joy. Possibly the best way to explain an acid trip to someone.
I'm just going to do my three favorites right now, rather than of all time because I have no idea where to begin. And I'm trying to cover the main genres that I listen to. This probably isn't even right, but here's my contribution anyway:
This is a bitch because it'd be real easy to throw up all Metallica songs (or ZZ Top, Jerry Cantrell, DOTN, or COC, etc). They were the first band I got into and they still resonate with me more than anyone else. Mainly what draws me to a song is good riffing, groove, catchy, or introspective lyrics. I like people that have a true respect for their instrument and put effort into writing and rewriting stuff, making an interesting "canvas" of parts. How many bands are out there now that they base a song around something that is completely pedestrian? Most of what I like is depressing as fuck, too. Rarely is anything an amalgamation of all those things listed. Which is what these people do: Days of the New - Hang Onto This (Travis Meeks is a meth head that blew it all away. He sees music in ways that most won't. Blows my mind the shit he comes up with) Zakk Wylde - Sold My Soul ( 12 string acoustic and the best guitar solo ever) Anthrax - Safe Home (Really don't like them, but We've Come For You All is the best rock album of the 00s. NOTHING like 80s/90s Anthrax. Also, why is Keanu Reeves in the video?) Pantera - The Great Southern Trendkill (just because you sometimes have to throw your couch through the window. Also, that end breakdown with the slide guitar. It saddens me how many imitators this band have that have no idea just how well these guys can play)
I'll second whoever said that this is like picking your favourite child. I find it hard to say what really makes a good song for me. I suppose if it sounds awesome no matter what mood I'm in. I like CharlesJohnson's notion of using something completely pedestrian as a base for a song - it's what I appreciate about a lot of slam poetry too, the most pedestrian stories being told in an awesome way. Probably why I love Sage Francis' music a lot. Honorable mentions go to the Streets in this respect.
Sticking with one general genre, and relatively new bands. First up, The Black Keys - Just Got to Be From their 2006 album Magic Potion. The starting riff blows me away every time. Raw blues but with a more modern accessibility. The thing I like the most about this song is that it is so heavy and packs such a punch, yet is two guys with a mic, a guitar and a drum set. Deer Tick - Mange From the 2010 album The Black Dirt Sessions. Great riff, great lyrics and a great feel to the song, ending with an upbeat, intense climax / solo. The singer reminds of of Bob Dylan in the sense that he has a terrible, whiskey addled voice, but it works. The Two Gallants - You Losin' Out From their debut album The Throes (2004). A nice mix of different genres, a more intense drum beat than would you would expect lifts the song and gives it a real drive.
I've spent several days thinking about this and in no way is this list indicative of the span of music that I like, so I decided that this list will be songs that I could hear at any point, and I would never turn the radio off or change the channel.
I couldn't even begin to try to figure out my top 3, top 5, or even probably my top 20 favorite songs. However, I do know with clarity the three songs that I can't ever, ever, listen to when driving if I want to keep a clean record:
Well, I had to consult itunes for this very important decision and here is the verdict based on what has been most played (although this is skewed because I lost most of my music when my computer crapped out not terribly long ago :
I picked 3 of my favorites I heard a TON growing up. Whenever I hear these I can't help but turn the volume all the way up and rock out. The Stones > the Beatles. It's science. My dad has awesome Stones concert stories. Over Christmas we were drinking scotch and watching a concert on TV. My dad looked at the info and was like, "Oh, yeah. Philly 1969. I was at that concert," and dove into some fun times. Pretty awesome music to grow up with. This gives me warm fuzzies and reminds me of an awesome weekend in Athens, GA. Because SRV is The Man and I gotta rep my hometown hero.