Author: ifmyalbumscouldtalk

The other day, my older son and I were talking about an article he read about Prince’s Sign ‘o’ the Times album turned 30 this year. I told him that 1987 was one of my favorite year’s for new music, like The Joshua Tree by U2, The Cure’s Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me and Bad by Michael Jackson, among many other classics. He said that his first memories of music seemed to come from all of those albums I got that year. He remembered going to purchase some of those albums.

After our talk, I started flipping through my albums just to admire the classic artwork. Then, I noticed that I had all the vinyl of U2’s 1980s output. I remember buying their first album when I was still in high school. Then, watching their steady rise from the barely-can-play-their-instruments band of their earnest debut to a neo-Christian band on their second album to the confident post-punk stars on their War album.

Then, I watched Bono climb the scaffolding at the 1983 US Festival while singing “Sunday Bloody Sunday”. Their slow climb to superstar took its next step with their fourth album, The Unforgettable Fire. After that came the band’s transcendent Live Aid performance where Bono went out in the crowd during their song “40” to slow dance with a young lady.

So, when 1987 rolled around, U2 was primed to become one of the biggest bands in the world. And, when The Joshua Tree was dropped, U2 made everyone nearly forget that The Clash could have been in this place if they had not imploded. Now, U2 is one of the biggest acts on the planet. It seems as though I grew up with this band.

One last thing, why do the millennials hate U2? I hear nothing but cynicism about them trying to release their last album to everyone with iTunes for FREE! For FREE! I also appreciate stuff for free, even if it’s not as awesome as a U2 album. Even South Park rips on them, though those guys rip on everyone. Yet, I still love U2.

With that said, here’s my Top 20 U2 songs! On with the countdown!

20. “New Year’s Day” (1983). This song was actually released on New Year’s Day. I remember watching the video a little hung over, but the earnestness of the band came through loud and clear and I was hooked on them forever.

19. “The Fly” (1991). Just when everyone was getting tired of the earnestness, U2 took a turn and became a dadaist art band. “The Fly” represented Bono’s alter-ego at the time.

18. “Ordinary Love” (2013). The band recorded this song for a Nelson Mandela documentary. On this song, they demonstrated their grasp of Mandela’s universality.

17. “Vertigo” (2004). By the time the new century rolled around, it was time for U2 to get back to the sound they were best at, which was their original sound. But, they maintained their sense of humor as Bono counted off in Spanish, “1, 2, 3…14!” This song rocks!

16. “Staring at the Sun” (1997). This was the strongest song on the Pop album. The only thing is that it sounded a little too much like “One”.

15. “Numb” (1993). U2 was on such a big roll after the success of the Achtung Baby album, and their subsequent, multimedia extravaganza of a tour, the band went straight back to the studio to record Peven more dadaist art statement with their Zooropa album, from which this song comes. It is one of the few songs with the vocals done by guitarist The Edge.

14. “40” (1983). I don’t think this was ever released as a single off the War album. Still, it is a beautiful song whose lyrics were influenced by the words found in Psalms 40 in The Bible. This one, along with “Sunday Bloody Sunday” were their first two truly transcendent songs.

13. “With or Without You” (1987). This song was the band’s first release from The Joshua Tree, a classic album if there ever was one. “With or Without You” was the band’s first big hit song.

12. “Invisible” (2013). U2 released this song for the RED foundation for AIDS. It is an anthemic song that U2 is known for.

11. “Mysterious Ways” (1991). The first single from Achtung Baby was the first clue that U2 had successfully changed their sound in a Bowie-esque move for long-term sustainability of the band.

10. “Sunday Bloody Sunday” (1983). This represented the band’s first true anthem in the form of an anti-war statement to those battling at the time in Northern Ireland. It was also one of the few times that a major band mentioned a Biblical view of Jesus Christ in their lyrics in the last verse of this song.

9. “Get Your Boots On” (2009). Ever since this song came out, U2 has kind of become a critical punching bag after nearly 20 years of near unanimous praise. This is the band’s huge nod to the glam rock they grew up listening to in the early-70s in their native Ireland. This song turned out to be a real call-to-arms on the U2 360º tour following the released of the album, No Line on the Horizon, on which this song can be found.

8. “Pride (In the Name of Love)” (1984). U2 followed up their super-successful War album with arty The Unforgettable Fire, on which this song can be found. Now, excuse these sincere Irishmen for their lack of facts about Martin Luther King Jr. on this song, because they sure cut to the essence of his messages in this song. Once again, the band was wearing its hearts on their sleeves.

7. “Desire” (1988). After the huge success of The Joshua Tree, U2 understood that it was time for them to begin to broaden their sound. Unfortunately, they took a slight misstep as they attempted to incorporate American sounds into their uniquely European vision. But, if you just listen to this song, with its “Bo Diddley” beat and punk attitude, you’d thought the band was successful on the Rattle and Hum album. Unfortunately, that was their only musical success on the album. And, as we know with hindsight, they will discover their artist direction on their next album.

6. “Sweetest Thing” (1998). This song was recorded in the early-80s, but was too pop for any of those albums. Instead, the band put it on their first greatest hits package and released it as a single. The song is, pardon the unintended pun, a lyrically sweet song expresses Bono’s love for his long-time wife. Anyone who is married to his or her soulmate will understand the theme of this song.

5. “Beautiful Day” (2000). If you were to choose one song to perfectly represent a band’s sound, than this is the one I would use for U2. This anthemic masterpiece contains everything that makes U2 great: a soaring guitar lick, an unshakable rhythm section, and pitch-perfect lyrics sang with sincerity by an otherworldly vocalist. This is one U2 anthem I will NEVER get tired of.

4. “One” (1991). Rolling Stone magazine continues to list this song in the Top 10 Songs of All-Time, and I ask, “Why not?” On the surface, it appears to be a love song within an ever-strengthening relationship, only to hear upon fuI rther listens that this song is a call for unity in man that continues to be missing a long 26 years after its release.

3. “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” (1987). As a young man, I related to this song like no other had ever spoken to me on such a deep level. Growing up is difficult, let alone attempting to factor in a spiritual side to this growth. And, this song describes the process perfectly. Back in the old days, this song would have been a gospel song used to great affect in the Church. Unfortunately, people look at rock music in a cynical fashion.

2. “The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)” (2014). The first song on that aforementioned free U2 album on iTunes, Songs of Innocence, picked up on all the themes that someone like me could relate to. I am about the same age as the men in U2, so I fully understand the feeling of age and life passing us by. Rock is no longer our best friend. We have families with children at the ages we were when this music first saved us. And, U2 successfully used those emotions in the lyrics of this song, all the while setting them to some of the most incendiary sounds that only wily veterans could accomplish.

1. “Where the Streets Have No Name” (1987). No other song that U2 has recorded has achieved as much as this song has. First off, it could be used as the perfect anthemic opening song of a concert performance. Second, U2 has written few songs besides this one where they capture the uniqueness of the times sociologically, psychologically and politically as they did when they record this song. This song tackles some universal themes all the while set to some timeless music. In a catalog jam-packed with classic songs, this song continues to stand above much of the rest of it.

So, that is U2 to me. They are still one of the few artist whom I feel as though still maintain artistic dignity that others only wish they could. Raise a glass to U2!

I vividly remember the first time I heard R.E.M.’s “Radio Free Europe”. It was the Summer of 1983, and The Police’s Synchronicity was battling the Flashdance Soundtrack for the top position on Billboard‘s Top 200 Albums chart. That summer, I was working in Wisconsin at a resort, where shenanigans much like what is depicted in the movie Caddyshack or Meatballs happened. I was listening to the alternative radio station as I was getting ready to play basketball with some other workers when that very song came on the radio. That song immediately struck a chord with me that has yet to let lose of me.

At that moment, I thought I heard a nod to the past with the jangling guitars as well as a leap into the future with the murky production, lead singer Michael Stipe’s vocals buried in the mix and a strong rhythm section that ran counter to what the Eighties’ production values called for. For once, that rhythm section had been turned in the mix, only to create a haunting mood, unlike anything else we heard at the time. Man, did R.E.M.’s sound grab me.

This was one of the few bands that I actually got to enjoy their slow, steady rise to superstardom, then after reaching that golden ring, I watched them struggle to maintain their artistic dignity while turning away from super riches. To me, R.E.M. was, along with U2, THE groups of my generation. R.E.M. got their start by playing parties in the early 1980s, but were selling out arenas as the 80s ended.

So, in honor of one of my favorite bands who worked so hard to maintain their artistic integrity throughout their career, I present to you my Top 20

20. “Shiny Happy People” (1991). I know that many of you probably hate this song. But, I always felt that R.E.M. were secretly bubblegum music aficionados. Plus, the lyrics were perfect for parody. The best? One of my former microbiologist friends used to sing “Tired Cranky People” with that song.

19. “Superman” (1986). In 1987, I saw R.E.M. at Millet Hall on the Miami University campus in Oxford, Ohio. The next day, we took my older son, who was two-years-old at the time, to get some frozen yogurt. He preceded to entertain the employees at the yogurt shop by singing this song. I know that the song is a cover song, but that moment will always hold “Superman” in a special place in my heart.

18. “Stand” (1988). This is the third song in R.E.M.’s bubblegum trilogy. It remains my favorite of those three songs. Of course, this song also is associated with a fun moment for me. When my younger son was getting close to turning one, this song was popular. Because he was close to walking, he would sit on my stomach, grab my thumbs with his death grip, press his legs so he could stand up. The first time he did that was when “Stand” was playing. So, the song became a catalyst for his new trick.

17. “Can’t Get There from Here” (1985). This song never really found the audience it deserved. This is R.E.M. at its artfully most funky.

16. “I Believe” (1986). I love the word play in this song, which is a call-to-arms anthem and should be adopted by protesters everywhere.

15. “Exhuming McCarthy” (1987). Before this song was released, you kind of got an inkling that R.E.M. was a socially-conscious band. After the Document album was released, they left no doubt. This song is an anti-conservative diatribe.

14. “The One I Loved” (1987). People! This is NOT a love song! It is a bitter, stalking-your-ex-lover song, in the same mode as The Police’s mega-hit “Every Breath You Take”.

13. “Supernatural Superserious” (2008). By the time this song was release, R.E.M. was down to a trio, as drummer Bill Berry had retired nearly 10 years prior. This is one of the band’s most hard-rocking punkish song of their trio days.

12. “What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?” (1994). When this song was released, R.E.M. was just ascending to the title of “World’s Greatest Band”. They finally made the rocking album they have been promising for nearly a decade. In typical Michael Stipe fashion, he took a phrase used by the assailants that beat former CBS newscaster Dan Rather to fashion lyrics in this rocking song.

11. “Imitation of Life” (2001). This is the best song of the trio era. And, when I began this countdown, I really thought this was a Top 10 song. Then again, in most artists’ catalogs, it would be a Top 10 song.

10. “World Leader Pretend” (1988). This song has gained meaning as the current president has taken on power. It’s scary that this song actually predicted a president like Trump, nearly 20 years in advance.

9. “Everybody Hurts” (1992). Here we have one of the band’s greatest ballad that actually gives the listener hope. Humans are more alike than they think.

8. “(Don’t Go Back To) Rockville” (1984). This little ditty is a nice country rock song done only as R.E.M. can do.

7. “Radio Free Europe” (1983). Here is the song that started a million soundalike post-punk alternative bands. Very few artists could live up to this song.

6. “So. Central Rain (I’m Sorry)” (1984). This was the song they played on their first network performance when they appeared on Late Night with David Letterman. This song probably inadvertently started the whole adult alternative format.

5. “The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight” (1992). This song brings a sense of levity to a serious work of art as Automatic for the People. The abstract lyrics are full of absurdities that makes the song so dear to me.

4. “Fall on Me” (1986). Back when this song was released, some people of my generation were just discovering their political voices. While most followed the conservative revolution promised by President Reagan, an enlightened few recognized the meaning behind this song and were influenced to voice their opinions. Just in case you missed it, this is a pro-environment song, and my wife’s favorite R.E.M. song.

3. “Nightswimming” (1992). What began as bassist Mike Mills’ piano noodling, was turned into the most beautifully yearning song in R.E.M.’s magnificent catalog.

2. “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” (1987). Here is a politically exasperated band regurgitating their bile that was directed at the political situation of the 80s as much as it was directed at the R.E.M. mystique that had built up around the band. Yet, ultimately, it is a punk song that went totally right.

1. “Losing My Religion” (1991). If you were going to choose one song to represent EVERYTHING musically, lyrically, politically and sociologically about R.E.M., look no further than this song. This song captures the essence of R.E.M., whether real or imagined.

That’s my story and I’m sticking with it! This is how I hear R.E.M. in my ears and converted to thoughts in my mind.

I think we have established that I am pretty much a pop-rock man at heart, though I do make forays into various other genres. For the past couple of months, I have been on a Queen kick. I am not quite sure what precipitated it, but I have been pulling out my vinyl music, of which I have all of the band’s studio albums, except for 1989’s The Miracle and 1994’s posthumous Made in Heaven. Redundantly, I have all of Queen’s albums on CD. So, if I want to listen to Queen’s majesty, I play the vinyl. Yest, if I am experiencing a “bad” pain day or am simply feeling lazy, I will play their CD so I won’t have to “flip” the album at the end of Side 1.

After listening to their fifteen studio albums multiple times over the past couple of months, I have compiled a list of my favorite 50 songs by Queen. I should have written the list on a white board since it was in constant flux. Songs kept moving up and down my chart. With a white board, I could have kept myself from wasting so much paper. So, now, after many revisions, far too many to count, I have come to to my conclusion.

With that said, may I present to you My Top 20 Queen songs of all-time. Let’s light this candle and get started.

20. “Flash” (Flash Gordon OST, 1980). I remember back when this song and album were released, I did not know what to make of this song. Now, 37 years after its release, the song has become one of my favorites. I am certain that Freddie would have LOVED the song’s use in the cheeky movie Ted,

19. “I Want It All” (The Miracle, 1989). In hindsight, it is understandable why this record sounds a little weary, as the band were working with Freddie while he was in the throws of full-blown AIDS. Still, this is one of the stand-out songs on the album.

18. “One Vision” (A Kind of Magic, 1986). It was around this time in my life that I began to ignore Queen for a few years. As a matter of fact, I did not get this CD until a decade later. I found out then what I missed. The band came out blazing on this song, a statement of unity as well as an anthemic statement of musical prowess. The best part about this song is the switching the lyrics at the end of the song from “One vision!” to “Fried chicken!” Queen has always maintained their sense of humor throughout their run as one of the greatest bands in the world.

17. “There Must Be More to Life Than This” [a duet with Michael Jackson] (Forever, 2014). This mid-80s collaboration had been long rumored, so when a compilation was being readied for release, the dark corners of Jackson’s and Queen’s respective music vaults were excavated and this song was finally uncovered. Though it sounds more like a Michael Jackson song in structure, you can pick out the members of Queen. What a shame that the song was not released during Freddie’s and Michael’s lifetimes. This song would have been HUGE!

16. “I Want to Break Free” (The Works, 1984). In 1982, Queen released the disco-rock album Hot Space, which I believe is an overlooked classic, as the rest of the world still calls it a turkey. So, the band was coming off their softest sales since their second album, Queen II. So, The Works was the band’s big comeback. Then they released the video for this song where the band appears in drag. Of course, middle America freaked out, and the band was history in the USA. What a shame, because this song is a classic.

15. “Now I’m Here” (Sheer Heart Attack, 1974). Early on in the band’s career, this song was used as a fun centerpiece, where Freddie appeared to “move” from side of the stage to the other as his vocals echoed. It was a cool special effect that enhance this great song into a transcendent live song in concert.

14. “Bicycle Race” (Jazz, 1978). Was this really a song? Sure it was, just turned up on its head. No other song at the time name dropped so many pop cultural references AND had a bicycle bells solo. Supposedly, the song was inspired by the Tour de France, yet, somehow, I believe their is some playful gay overtones that a straight man like me is probably missing. Personally, I love the song.

13. “You’re My Best Friend” (A Night at the Opera, 1975). The quiet and stoic bassist of the band, John Deacon, was always Queen’s secret weapon. Not only was he a supremely gifted bassist, Deacon was responsible for writing some of the band’s finest songs, such as this love song to his wife. The emotions Deacon was expressing are universal to couples throughout the world.

12. “Body Language” (Hot Space, 1982). This song was the big hit song from the album that is widely known as their disco album. For perspective, Queen had their biggest hit ever with the Chic-soundalike “Another One Bites the Dust”. Since the band was bigger than ever, they retreated to Berlin, searching for some anonymity and fun. The band decided to incorporate the dance sounds they were hearing in the discos within their grandiose sound. This fun ode to promiscuity was a hit, but the rest of the album was rejected by the rock world. This is the type of experimentation that David Bowie, U2 and Radiohead have dove into only to be hailed as visionaries. Yet, for some reason, Queen was rejected.

11. “Another One Bites the Dust” (The Game, 1980). This was Queen’s biggest hit song in the US and throughout the world. This is another John Deacon-penned song. I was fortunate because, the song had just been released as a single that week, so the band debuted this song live at the Indianapolis concert that I attended in the summer of 1980. It was great live.

10. “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” (The Game, 1979). This was Queen’s first #1 hit in the US. The band had been playing Elvis Presley’s “Jailhouse Rock” in the live sets for years. So, it was not a stretch for the band when Freddie approached them with this rockabilly song that predated the Stray Cats by two years in the US.

9. “Killer Queen” (Sheer Heart Attack, 1974). For me, this is the song that jump-started my Queen obsession. This is a typical Freddie song, in that the song allowed the lead singer to play up his flamboyance on stage in addition to on vinyl.

8. “Fat Bottomed Girls” (Jazz, 1978). Freddie, being the ornery man that he was, had his tongue firmly planted in his cheek as he wrote AND performed this song. This was a perfect song for Freddie to perform live.

7. “Tie Your Mother Down” (A Day at the Races, 1976). This fantastic rocker kicked off my favorite Queen album. This song used to bring college parties to boil when I would put it in my DJ sets. My buddies and I loved the lyric, “Tie your brother with a brick, that’s alright!”

6. “We Will Rock You”/”We Are the Champions” (News of the World, 1977). I just couldn’t separate these two songs; they simply belong together since they were released as a double-A-side single. They are the band’s calling card anthems, as well as the band’s gifts to championship athletic teams throughout the world.

5. “Radio Ga-Ga” (The Works, 1984). This song signaled a comeback for Queen in 1984. The power of the song was not really totally felt until the band’s show-stopping performance at Live Aid. Go to YouTube to watch the video to witness 100,000 fans packed into Wembley Stadium clapping their hands in unison like what was done in the video for the song. That’s how a band elevates an audience who in turn lifts the band to even greater heights. This song may be one of the band’s most underrated songs in their whole catalog.

4. “Don’t Stop Me Now” (Jazz, 1978). To the band’s fans, this song is one of Queen’s greatest mission statements. Unfortunately, in the US, radio looks at it as a very deep cut. Whatever, this song exudes the hedonism that Freddie must have been involved in as he lead the party wherever he was.

3. “Under Pressure” [a duet with David Bowie] (Greatest Hits, 1981). When I heard that Queen AND Bowie were working TOGETHER in the studio, I could not wait to hear the outcome. As the only new song on their first compilation released in the States, I was not disappointed. The song captured everything that I loved about the two artists. The song added to the mystique of Bowie and to the majesty of Queen. And, it barely cracked the Top 30 in the US! What a crime! The only bigger crime done to this song was when Vanilla Ice attempted to tell the world that “Ice Ice Baby” did NOT sample this song. In the words of Wayne Campbell (Mike Myers in Wayne’s World), “RRRRIIIIIIIIGGGHHHTTT.”

2. “Bohemian Rhapsody” (A Night at the Opera, 1975). So, who knew that a song that lasts over five minutes long, beginning with as a piano ballad, switches into an opera and ends as a heavy metal blow-out, would become one of the most iconic songs of all-time? You can actually hear this song as the divider between traditional sounding rock music, and an “anything goes/devil-may-care” approach to pop music At one time, this was the biggest selling single in the UK. In the US, the song had two Top 10 runs on the Hot 100 chart, going to #4 in 1975 and #2 in 1992, after the song’s use in the classic movie Wayne’s World.

1. “Somebody to Love” (A Day at the Races, 1976). So, how does a band follow up “Bohemian Rhapsody”? This time you let Freddie channel is inner Aretha Franklin along with a gospel choir of vocals made from the voices of the three singing members of the band (Mercury, guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor), much like the vocal overlaying done for the opera section of “BoRhaps”. On this song, everyone sounds more confident in what they were doing, in addition to their mastery of the studio wizardly necessary to make this song happen. Though no one can approach Freddie Mercury’s vocal acrobatics on this song, give a listen to George Michael’s version of the song he did with the surviving members of Queen during the concert honoring Freddie in 1993. He sure came close to Mercury.

That’s my Top 20. What songs would you have added and which songs would you have thrown out? The only thing to say here is LONG LIVE QUEEN!

So, yesterday, I covered ranked the albums of one of my all-time favorite artists, Tom Petty. If you think about it, Prince, Cheap Trick and Tom Petty seem to be cut from the same cloth: some meat and potatoes rock and a penchant for a little experimentation mixed to keep things fresh, though their initial perspectives began in different environments. A a music fan, while those artists are three of the all-time greats, I o get fidgety for music that comes more from left field that anything else. That’s were artists such as Devo, The B-52’s, Frank Zappa, Parliament/Funkadelic, Talking Heads and the like. That’s why, today, I want to get my new wave clothes on, figuratively speaking since the real things would NEVER fit today.

No, today I present to you my Top 25 favorite songs by a band with 3/4 of its members were students of the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design, while the fourth member once attended that “Hilton of the Hicks”, Harvard. Initially, back in 1976, the band began as the trio from RISD. It wasn’t until a year later in which the band added the multi-instrumentalist from Harvard, who had just completed a stint in the influential punk/new wave band the Modern Lovers. So, when the trio of singer/guitarist David Byrne, bassist Tina Weymouth and her future husband, drummer Chris Frantz hooked up with Jerry Harrison, the modern line up of the Rock & Roll Hall Fame Inductees Talking Heads. This band was one of first artists to be signed from the fertile grounds of the famous New York City punk night club of the ’70s and ’80s, the CBGBs.

Surprisingly, Talking Heads only had one Top 10 single, “Burning Down the House” back in 1983. But, many more singles that over time have become classics. So, today, I bring you, My Top 25 Favorite Talking Heads Songs.

25. “Uh-Oh, Love Comes to Town” (1977). This song is the first one on Side 1 of the band’s debut album, Talking Heads:77. It delivers all the nervous energy that will become associated with the band over the years, as well as the love of solid funk and bubblegum music that can be heard in much of their early stuff.

24. “Love —> Building on Fire” (1976). This is the first single released independently by the original trio. The basic sound is present, along with the odd lyrical structure.

23. “Making Flippy Floppy” (1983). I just loved it, when in 1983 the band took the lessons learned from their foray into African rhythms on their previous album, Remain in Light, and stripped things back to the basic funk on the songs like this one on 1983’s Speaking in Tongues. Talking Heads made it cool to be a white nerd who was into funk music, like myself.

22. “Crosseyed and Painless” (1980). What Brian Eno and Talking Heads did on 1980’s Remain in Light was monumental by introducing the world to the funkiness of actual African rhythms. This song is definitely the next step of the funk/rock sound developed by Funkadelic. Listen to guitar whiz Adrian Belew’s guitar solo and compare it to Funkadelic’s Eddie Hazel’s solo on “Maggot Brain” and tell me they aren’t related.

21. “(Nothing But) Flowers” (1988). In 1988, David Byrne was done with Talking Heads, though the other three wanted to remain together. Working together one last time, after taking a two album break from the funk, the band dove head first in their most straight forward funk album yet. This song was the first single released from the 1988 Naked album. This time the band lightens the funk, almost to a Caribbean beat with breezy lyrics set to that sound. Lyrically, Byrne spoke to the rising consciousness toward the degradation of the environment that unfortunately peaked back then and, now, sounds quaint to some and overly optimistic to others. Yet, there was a time in the late-80s and throughout the 90s when a majority of Americans believed we were harming Mother Nature.

20. “Girlfriend Is Better” (1983). Going back to Speaking in Tongues, we find this next song that is furthering the dance sound once associated with The B-52’s, of course not as stripped back as the Athens band.

19. “And She Was” (1985). After two albums in which the band developed its funk side, Talking Heads turned back toward their original two-to-three-minute pop songs brimming with the sound of bubblegum with the funk lying under the surface. On their first single from Little Creatures, the band reclaimed their original sound by adding more well-developed obtuse lyrics.

18. “Artists Only” (1978). This is a perfect example of the early sound of the band in which they pitted a funky dance-ability against the pop perfection of bubblegum music. This is the sound of new wave being defined.

17. “Blind” (1988). They finally did it. Talking Heads found their inner James Brown, making a song that the Godfather of Soul probably wishes he had made. The music is pure funk, while David Byrne does his best James Brown imitation, which was the best since Eddie Murphy on SNL.

16. “Don’t Worry About the Government” (1978). The lyrics sound as if they were held over from the Nixon years, but the sound is pure on-the-cusp-of-the-Eighties modern. It’s really a pop song that you can dance to, Tommy! It really is!

15. “Slippery People” (1983). Is this a fun song or what? This has is all: a slithery bass, rocking guitar work, and strange, almost Dada-istic lyrics.

14. “Road to Nowhere” (1985). This song caught me off guard because it was the first time that Taking Heads had what sounded like a choir singing the opening of the song. Then the music kicks in to a great song showing the softer side of the band.

13. “Memories Can’t Wait” (1979). Bassist Tina Weymouth was always the band’s secret weapon, constantly giving their songs a solid funky base. But, her base explodes as she finally leads the song from start to finish with a straight ahead funk bassline giving the song its personality as the lyrics about past memories resonated more strongly than anything they had written before. I may have underrated this song!

12. “Thank You for Sending Me an Angel” (1978). Simply a great pop song, as only Talking Heads could do one.

11. “Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)” (1980). Back in 1980, when I heard this song, the first one on Side 1, I didn’t realize what was hitting me. But, the tune played I began to feel like Poindexter in Revenge of the Nerds as if he were hearing dance music for the first time. In my case, I was feeling those African rhythms juxtaposition with the blast of guitars which cause an epiphany in me. I discovered that rock music could be funky too! Unbeknownst to me, I was ready for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Fishbone, ska music, Paul Simon’s Graceland and the rap music yet to come because of this album, Remain in Light.

10. “Wild Wild Life” (1986). If “Losing My Religion” was the perfect summation of the R.E.M. sound, then “Wild Wild Life” does the same thing for Talking Heads. Unfortunately, it was the only good song on the True Stories album, which happened to be Talking Heads’ takes on the song from the soundtrack to David Byrne’s movie of the same name.

9. “Heaven” (1979). This song describes Byrne’s version of heaven, in which everybody invited to his parties all leave simultaneously and early. And it only gets stranger from there. Still, the music is beautiful, almost spiritual.

8. “I Zimba” (1979). Now, this was the first inkling of what the Talking Heads would do on their next album, Remain in Light. But, in 1979, I was NOT ready for this song. But, as I played it more and more, I realized that it had a good beat and it was easy to dance to. Of course, the lyrics were nonsense, but they only added to the mysteriousness of this song. It was like aliens had dropped a song from another planet on a Talking Heads album. This was one of my first musical WTF moments.

7. “Swamp” (1983). Ooooohhhhhh buddy! Now, we are getting real swampy in our sound, like these NYC art students have been transformed into the Meters or the Neville Brothers. This is a crowd-pleaser at parties.

6. “Psycho Killer” (1977). You know, this song was kind of disconcerting the first couple of times I heard it. Now, it isn’t a scary song. But, nothing creepier than getting inside the mind of a serial killer who speaks French.

5. “Take Me to the River” (1978). So, the band covers an Al Green soul/gospel song and recasts it as a new wave classic, with another great Weymouth bassline.

4. “This Must Be the Place (Naïve Melody)” (1983). What!?!?!? David Byrne is singing a straight up love song!?!? Well, not really. It’s one of the finest love songs totally consisting of non-sequitur phrases. How does he do it? This was my second choice for my wife and my first dance together. It ended up being out fourth, but my wife now realizes my choices would stand the test of time (like our marriage!).

3. “Burning Down the House” (1983). This is the band’s only Top 10 hit (that’s a crime!). But, you would not believe how the dance floor would fill up with people when I would play it. Remains a great dance song to this day.

2. “Once in a Lifetime” (1980). This is THE song on the band’s Remain in Light album. This song combined the band’s pop sensibilities with a great African funk groove over which David Byrne lays his lyrics about feeling like an outsider who does not deserve the success he has achieved.

1. “Life During Wartime” (1979). This is Talking Heads’ strongest statement forever. They depict American life after war has broken out in the States, telling us how we will need to go into survival mode. Yet, all of this is set to a quirky dance beat that will eventually epitomize the new wave sound. Remember: “This ain’t no party. This ain’t no disco. This ain’t no fooling around.” Better get it straight if you gonna survive, son…or daughter.

I hope this gives you 25 reasons to either re-evaluate the Talking Heads catalog, or it makes you realize that this band is truly one of the greatest of all time! Personally, I prefer the latter.

Back in the late-70s and early-80s, there was a group of singer/songwriters that musically were connecting the dots directly to the great classic sounds of the 60s rock and garage bands, all the while taking lyric-writing lessons from Bob Dylan and Van Morrison by writing about the common man and his (or her) struggles of getting through life. It was a very heady time for rock fans to have come of age to the sounds of these artists. First, there was Bruce Springsteen with his legendary concerts lasting four euphoric hours. Then, Bob Seger finally stepped out of Detroit to bring a Midwestern flavor to his music while his lyrics covered the plight of the union worker on the automobile line. Then, they were followed by Tom Petty, John Mellencamp and Canadian Bryan Adams. Those three also spun unique tales of the average man to their own unique sounds.

On Monday, I gushed over my 20 favorite songs by fellow Hoosier John Mellencamp. Today, I would like to shift my focus to my favorite artist of the ones listed earlier: Tom Petty. To be perfectly honest, his first two albums went by me without me hearing a single song from either. However, I would read small articles about this band from Gainesville, Florida, who moved to Los Angeles in the early-70s to make a stab at the golden ring. I also knew that critics had picked the song “Breakdown” as the big hit off the band’s debut album, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. It wasn’t until the summer of 1978, while listening to the soundtrack to the movie FM (anyone remember that movie?), which was just full of songs that are today lumped together as classic rock hits. Anyway, this “new” song, at least to me, came on. It had a bluesy feel to it, yet also reminded me of the Ray Charles hit, “Hit the Road Jack”, in its cadence. I was mesmerized by this song called “Breakdown” by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers.

Still, it wasn’t until the end of 1979, when I heard “Don’t Do Me Like That” on the radio, and then saw the band perform on Saturday Night Live, that I wanted to hear more of his music. So, for Christmas, my friends down the street bought me his then new album Damn the Torpedoes. I became a huge Tom Petty fan with that album. I mean, the opening punch of Side 1 of that album remains classic to this very day. It’s not often when an artist can string together songs of the level of “Refugee”, “Here Comes My Girl”, “Even the Losers”, “Shadow of a Doubt” and “Century City” on ONE SIDE of an album. That’s unheard of! I was hooked…for good.

Now, I am going to rank all 18 albums in Tom Petty’s catalog, be they with or without the Heartbreakers. The crazy thing is that even when the album says it is a solo Tom Petty album, those Heartbreakers are all over them. They are family. That’s why they stick together. Now, there are two albums that Tom has recently recorded with his original band Mudcrutch. Those albums are included in this countdown, but I am not including the two Traveling Wilburys albums, since those do not rely mainly on Tom’s songwriting skills.

18. Songs and Music from the Motion Picture ‘She’s the One’ (1996). So, in typical Petty fashion, he follows up his super-successful solo album, Wildflowers, with his only foray into soundtrack writing. Now, Petty has NEVER released a clunker of an album, contrary to what critics say. But, since this is a true attempt at writing a soundtrack album with new music that actually complements the film, it is a successful experiment. But, as a Tom Petty album, uh, no. It does have a great lost Heartbreakers song called “Walls (Circus)”.

17. The Last DJ (2002). This is the sound of Tom Petty ripping into the music industry at a time when the whole thing was imploding over Napster. Tom attempted to write a diatribe in which a DJ who was still attempting to hang on to his Sixties altruism on radio all the while battling the bean-counters who simply look at music as product to get more listeners, not inspire them. If this album had been released in the 80s, it would be a classic. Instead, many people think this album is an example of grandpa going crazy, pining for the good old days. The album does have a classic on it called “Dreamville”.

16. Mojo (2010). I understood the reason why this album was made. The band had just killed it during the Super Bowl’s halftime show, and then proved they were still one of the world’s greatest bands on the tour that followed. So, in an attempt to display the muscularity of the band and to show off guitarist Mike Campbell’s skills, the band created this. It got away from their mantra: “Don’t bore us, get to the chorus.”

15. Hypnotic Eye (2014). Well, Tom and the boys decided to get back on track and record the type of music they are best at. The result was this strong album. The only problem, like much of their output this century, it lacks that one big Tom Petty song that cuts through the crap and gets to the point. Of course, the problem with comparing Petty’s albums to each other is that his lesser album would be high-water marks for 99% of the other artists out there throughout rock’s history.

14. Let Me Up (I’ve Had Enough) (1987). The whole band had just spent the better part of 1985 and 1986 touring as the backing band for Bob Dylan during his World Tour. From recent releases from that tour, it sounds like it was a match made in heaven. Petty and the Heartbreakers’ swampy rock sound was a perfect foil for Dylan. So, my expectations were high for this album. Unfortunately, they all sounded rushed and tired on the album. Still, this album gave us “Runaway Trains” and “Jammin’ Me”.

13. Mudcrutch (2008). Petty sounds relaxed throughout this album as he records with his original band with what Petty said is the worst name in rock history. What we got was some smooth country rock that fell between Gram Parsons’ stay-loyal-to-the-country-soul-of-the-song sound and the Eagles’ early, polished-off-the-edges country rock sound. By the way, Petty plays bass in this band AND shares the songwriting with the other band members. That’s why it sounds so laid back.

12. Into the Great Wide Open (1991). Petty was coming off his ultra-successful first “solo” album, Full Moon Fever, so he decided that he wanted to reconvene the band AND use Fever producer Jeff Lynne of Electric Light Orchestra and Traveling Wilburys fame. Although their are a couple of great songs on the album, especially “Learning to Fly”, I felt as though Lynne’s obsessive control handcuffed the chemistry of the band, causing them to lose their identity more times than not.

11. Mudcrutch 2 (2016). Everything that made the first Mudcrutch album so delightful remained. What made this album better is that the band sounds tighter. These guys are having the time of their lives while making this country rock classic. I sure hope Mudcrutch continues to record together in the future.

10. You’re Gonna Get It (1978). This is the second album by the Heartbreakers, and it above-average for a sophomore album. The piss and vinegar of the debut is still there, as well as the Byrdsian jangle that they inspired so many other bands to play. The album has “I Need to Know” and “Listen to Her Heart”, both classics in the Petty cannon, but little else. Still, you know this band is destined for greatness.

9. Highway Companion (2006). I still love listening to this “solo” album. The mood is laid back, as though he was preparing himself for his work with Mudcrutch. It’s a shame that radio did not pick up on “Saving Grace”, arguably is greatest song of the 21st century. I keep expecting the next Heartbreakers album to sound at least this good.

8. Long After Dark (1982). After two Classic albums with a capital “C”, Petty unwittingly strikes his first chord with the MTV generation with concise songs set to excellent videos. “You Got Lucky” is Petty at his most arrogant. “One Story Town” is Petty at his most vicious. And, “Change of Heart” is Petty at his most distant. He was everywhere on this album, and I rated to it so much at the time. But, it is an album for the young, angry types. It does not age that well.

7. Echo (1999). Petty’s life was a mess at the time. He was going through a divorce. Long-time bassist Howie Epstein was losing his battle with an addiction to heroin. So, Petty, instead of pouring out his heart, soul and venom, tries to show some class on this album. If he had done the former, he might have burnt every bridge and his career would have burned with them. Instead, he pulled back lyrically, and gave us this guarded divorce album. With a little venom, he might have written his Blood on the Tracks. Instead, he spared his ex-wife, children and friends the grief and made a really good album instead. Plus, we got the classic song “Swingin'” off this album.

6. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (1976). What a classic debut album! I mean, these guys began the album hot and ran hot throughout the whole thing. Plus, when you have “Breakdown” and “American Girl” on one album, you know it’s an important mission statement.

5. Full Moon Fever (1989). This is Petty’s first “solo” album. He had written a great set of songs that are still very memorable nearly 30 years after the fact. It is a great album that I think suffered a little bit from producer Jeff Lynne’s slickness. But, how can I complain when this album gave us “Runnin’ Down a Dream” and “Free Fallin'”?

4. Southern Accents (1985). This album was originally supposed to be Petty’s statement on growing up in the South. I wish that album had been made, because it would have been a nice trilogy to go with Springsteen’s Born in the USA and Mellencamp’s Scarecrow. Instead, we got a magnificent mess where Petty and the band were stretching out to incorporate psychedelia (“Don’t Come Around Here No More”), neo-Stax soul (“Make It Better (Forget About Me)”) and just plain weirdness (“Spike”). But the rest of the album shows what the album could have been too. Still, any album that has “Southern Accents” and “Rebels” to go with the aforementioned songs and you have a near-classic.

3. Wildflowers (1994). On Tom’s second “solo” album, he became the true voice of the late-Boomers and Generation X. Sure, Cobain led Nirvana to record a couple of classic albums that captured the angst of these people were facing during the Reagan/Bush years, but it was Petty who brought it all home with “You Don’t Know How It Feels”, and the rest of this Rick Rubin-produced classic album. Petty has often said that he knew that no one was writing songs for that section of society, so he made it his mission. And, on this album he continued the winning streak.

2. Damn the Torpedoes (1979). I would venture a guess that most of you would choose this as Petty’s best album. To me, this was just the opening salvo for a pair of great albums. Like I said earlier, not many albums have a Side 1 on vinyl that runs through FIVE classic songs BEFORE ever getting to that first single (“Don’t Do Me Like That”). Plus, the whole thing ends with the classic swampy country song “Louisiana Rain”, which might be Petty’s most beautiful song of all time.

1. Hard Promises (1981). This album arrived just weeks before I graduated from high school, and it’s lyrical themes simply touched deeply at that time in my life. I can still feel the pain in “The Waiting” and “The Woman’s in Love (It’s Not Me)”. “A Thing About You” is a terrific song about falling in love at first sight. And, “Letting Go” shows how break ups can be painful. But, to me, the song has always been “Insider”. If this album had included the duet with Stevie Nicks “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around”, this album would be a consensus classic and would have been the band’s first number one album. Oh, what could have been…

This has been a privilege to write about one of my all-time favorite artists. It forced me to go back and listen to many of these albums again in order to rank them fairly. But, music is always going to be a subjective subject. Music hits us all different. At least Petty and the Heartbreakers are getting their due.

Here in Indiana, there’s a saying that if you don’t like the weather just wait 15 minutes and it will change. Now, is that an exaggeration, most Hoosier’s will say no, but, in reality, it is. But, when you look at a week’s forecast, it can be in the 70s one day and a day or two later, we will be getting snow. The weather is especially volatile like that in the spring. I remember when I was teaching and coaching track, when my wife and kids would be on spring break in Florida, while I was back home attempting to have track practice during ice storms or even having school canceled due to snow accumulations. Then, the following week, when I would be off by myself, I’d just hang out at home while experiencing beautiful weather for a couple of days and one last cold snap before April would roll around.

It was during one of those solo spring breaks I had that I researched musicians who came from Indiana. I know, I must have been in one of my weird moods for me to check this out. Growing up, I had been told by my maternal grandmother that Indianapolis had an important and vibrant jazz scene. She told me of famous jazz artists like guitarist Wes Montgomery growing up in Indianapolis. She also noted that two of the greatest songwriters of her time were from Indiana: Hoagy Carmichael and Cole Porter. Both of those men added important songs to what we now call “The Great American Song Book”.

Other Hoosiers would have made a name for themselves in many genres. First and foremost, the Jackson family, you know Michael, Janet and the rest, were originally from Gary, Indiana, which is near Chicago. Then, there was blues guitarist Lonnie Mack, who is from a tiny town in southern Indiana. Southern gospel is actually centered in Alexandria, Indiana, where you will find Bill Gaither and his family creating and producing music. ’90s soul crooner Babyface is from Indianapolis, as is Americana singer-songwriter John Hiatt. Metal and Hard Rock are represented by Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth, Guns N’ Roses members and former members Izzy Stradlin, Axl Rose and DJ Ashba, and Motley Crue guitarist Mick Mars. Country singer Crystal Gayle is from Wabash, Indiana. The dude who wrote “Jingle Bells Rock”, Bobby Helms, lived in Indiana from birth to death. A Hoosier even contributed to the grunge/alternative scene of the ’90s with the group Blind Melon, Shannon Hoon.

There are many others, but those are some of the more famous Hoosier musicians. But, the man most associated with rural Indiana is John Mellencamp. Of all the artists listed earlier, none carries more Hoosier traits than Mellencamp. He is famously self-described as someone who has gone through life pissed off, like most Hoosiers. That characteristic is the reason for his nickname, “The Little Bastard”. But, he is full of contradictions as well. While Indiana is a “red state” and known for its staunch conservatism, Mellencamp routinely speaks out against those views and espouses liberal opinions. It’s that heart that I relate to, especially when he was one of the first to call out the George W. Bush administration for war crimes in his infamous song “To Washington”. Additionally, Mellencamp made a statement about race relations during the “Jenna Five” incident in Louisiana a few years back when he released a song called “Jenna”.

It is his willingness to stand up against the so-called traditional values that have left many of his loved ones and friends behind over the past 30+ years during which he had been a rock star. Now, I do collect his music because I respect him a great deal, but he is not one of my favorites. But, I will be first in line to purchase his next CD when it’s released in a couple of weeks.

Here’s to the man that truly put Indiana on the rock music map over thirty years ago. First, I saw him lip-synching “This Time” and, in a Temptations-styled dance routine, “Ain’t Even Done with the Night”  Then, I remember when he played on Saturday Night Live for the first time, then hearing “Hurts So Good” and “Jack and Diane” being played all over campus in the spring of 1982. I heard stories of former guitarist Larry Crane teaching a college friend how to play guitar. And, I remember the first time I met his current drummer, Dane Clark, because his daughter and my younger son were friends while growing up together.

Today, I present to you, my loyal reader, My Top 20 Favorite John Mellencamp Songs.

20. “This Time” (1980). I know that he can’t stand this song, but it was a pretty good pop song.

19. “I Need a Lover” (1979). People from Indiana must be the only ones to know this is really Mellencamp’s song and Pat Benatar did the cover version.

18. “Lonely Ol’ Night” (1985). The man was great at taking the sounds of the Stones, Motown and a little Indiana to make this great rock song,

17. “Rumbleseat” (1985). Indiana is famous for its love of cars, and Mellencamp shows that love here.

16. “Key West Intermezzo (I Saw You First)” (1996). John lost his way a bit in the ’90s yet was still able to write a Dylan-esque hit like this.

15. “Human Wheels” (1993). John had just rediscovered his rock muse when he started to be influenced by artists like Tom Waits, as this song sounds.

14. “Get a Leg Up” (1991). John had just completed his Band-influenced era by returning to his rocking sound. This song comes from the album Whenever We Wanted, which he described as being American Fool with better lyrics.

13. “Ain’t Even Done with the Night” (1980). This song was one of my favorite songs during the winter of 1980, along with another new artist’s hit at the time, “I Wanna Be Your Lover” by Prince.

12. “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.” (1985). Back in 1985, I thought this song was a little to pandering for me. Now that I am older, and don’t hear it all the time on the radio, this song has all the great musical things that made ’60s pop music so great. How he did it, I will never know!

11. “Wild Night [with Me’shell Ndegeocello]” (1994). Mellencamp’s brilliance is recognizing the talent of up-and-coming artists and collaborating with them, like he did here with bassist extraordinaire and soulful vocalist Me’shell Ndegeocello as his musical foil in this remake of the Van Morrison classic.

10. “Jack and Diane” (1982). This may have been Mellencamp’s first attempt at bringing the Hoosier experience of growing up to the general public. Certainly, it was his first successful attempt at that very thing.

9. “Crumblin’ Down” (1983). John makes his best Rolling Stones-sounding hit with this song.

8. “Peaceful World” (2001). This song was released right around the time of 9/11. I just remember how poignant the lyrics were at the time. Of course, it lacked the apparent jingoism that made his later hit, “This Country”, so popular with those Chevy commercials a decade ago.

7. “Hurts So Good” (1982). This is the sound of Mellencamp finally putting together a band worthy of this jump in his songwriting. John found is groove here.

6. “Pink Houses” (1983). This is John’s first classic, where he makes a beautiful statement about Reagan’s American underbelly.

5. “Small Town” (1985). In Indiana, if you are not from Indianapolis or what we call “The Region” (those cities on the Indiana side near Chicago), you pretty much live in a small town. John is simply describing our lives, which is why it resonates with Hoosiers so well.

4. “Play Guitar” (1983). This was never a hit, except with people at college parties back in the day. All I can say is, “Shut up with all your macho shit and learn how to play guitar!” That sums rock up in one sentence.

3. “Paper in Fire” (1987). The first single from The Lonesome Jubilee album served notice that Mellencamp was incorporating Appalachian sounds to his brand of rock and roll, and nothing will be the same again.

2. “Authority Song” (1984). Forget that the video won MTV’s “Friday Night Video Fights for several weeks on end. This song is simply about sticking it to the system and the man, only to get it thrown back in our faces. But, at least someone was trying.

1. “Cherry Bomb” (1987). John got a little nostalgic here, but it’s so tender and comes off with its innocence in tact, that it has stuck with me forever as my first warning about the perils of growing older. “Ah, and holding hands meant so much.” Yep, they sure did.

I have to admit that John Mellencamp is one of my favorite artists. Yet, for some reason, I never list him in my Top 20 Favorite Artists. I think I need to re-evaluate my mental list again.

Over the years, I have listened to many artists who I would say their careers have been “confounding”. I mean, sometimes I like them, and other times I don’t. One huge example for me is Bob Seger. While in high school, it seemed as though a majority of the people walking through the doors of my old school would describe themselves as Bob Seger fans. But, I never really got it. I understand that his lyrics were bringing country music themes to the rock world, but if you honestly recall the Urban Cowboy sound of the late70s/early 80s, country music was very vanilla. I preferred my heartland rockers in the form of Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty and, despite that I am a born-Hoosier, John Mellencamp (most people from Indiana like Mellencamp because he is from Indiana, where I like him because his lyrics buck our Hoosier culture, whatever that means).

Back when this artist burst on the scene in 1989, I had him pegged for some retro-, faux cover artist, meaning an artist that could perfectly co-opt another artist’s sound in his song, while never really synthesizing that influence into his own sound. This artist is Lenny Kravitz. Now, his music never made me turn the knob on the radio as Bob Seger’s would/does. Still, Kravitz music never inspired me to purchase his music. I remember when my older son was in high school, that he once owned Kravitz’ Greatest Hits CD. And, at the time I thought it was okay. But, lately, my attitude has changed toward Kravitz.

Let me get it off my chest right now, his last two albums are fantastic, if not the best in his career. Finally, he has shed it tendency to make songs that sound like his heroes (Hendrix, Prince, Gaye, Lennon, etc.) and has now created his own sound. In 2011, Kravitz released Black and White America. Finally, we got to hear what he felt as a child of an interracial marriage. This album is a fine social critique of America’s race relations, that can be played along side other classic albums of this ilk such as Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On, Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back by Public Enemy and D’Angelo’s Black Messiah.

Then, in 2014, Kravitz followed up that near-classic with his most rockin’ statement ever on his album Strut. Finally, Lenny shed the trappings of his heroes and became Lenny Kravitz, his own voice of a rock star. Now, I am a fan of Lenny Kravitz. So, today, I will rank Lenny Kravitz’ 10 albums from my least favorite to my favorite.

10. Baptism (2004). As the new millennium dawned, Kravitz was experiencing something of a hot streak. He had just had three of his five biggest hits: “Fly Away”, “American Woman” remake and “Again”. Four years later, he misplaced his mojo and presented us with this crap. Foolishly, I wrote him off at the time.

9. 5 (1998). The Kravitz fans will yell at me for this, but other than “Fly Away”, Lenny was going through the motions.

8. Circus (1995). At this point in Kravitz’ career, he had a tendency to follow up a classic album or two with some drivel. This was the first of two consecutive pieces of the latter.

7. It’s Time for a Love Revolution (2008). I officially gave up on Lenny after this album. In retrospect, it is not that bad, but it is still not what he was capable of making.

6. Lenny (2001). I give this album the slight edge of the previous one because it has the song “Dig In”, which I dig.

5. Mama Said (1991). I had such high hopes for this album after hearing “It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over”. Unfortunately, when he had the chance to make his divorce album, like Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks, Lenny understandably pulled back on the rains.

4. Let Love Rule (1989). This is his debut album, and it announced to the world that we might have another Prince on our hands, in that he writes, plays a bunch of instruments and wanted to take over the world. I was with him at the time.

3. Are You Gonna Go My Way (1993). Lenny was still in his can you name my influences for each of my songs phase. That’s okay, when you have an Hendrixian song like the title song to base the album on.

2. Strut (2014). FINALLY! Kravitz has become a rock star with his OWN voice. Several songs are classics that many other artists probably wish they could write at this point in their careers. This is a keeper!

1. Black or White America (2011). This album BLEW my mind when I first heard it. I thought that Lenny Kravitz has finally put on his observation glasses and told us what it’s like to be a child of a mixed race relationship. This man spelled it all out right on this album. Unfortunately, the general public missed out on a great Lenny Kravitz album.

So, over the years, I have evolved from someone interested in Lenny Kravitz’ music, to one who could not stand to listen to him, to my present status as a Kravitz fan. By the way, rumor has it that a new album is on the way for 2017. That remains to be seen.

Remember those great 80s T-shirts that read, “Frankie Say RELAX”? Honestly, I never owned one, though I must admit I spent the summer of 1984 scouring the stores of Muncie and Indianapolis searching for such a T-shirt. That T-shirt and the ones that read “Frankie Say War Hide Yourself” were brilliant pieces of the hype machine behind an up-and-coming band from Liverpool called Frankie Goes To Hollywood. Those Frankie T-shirts were parodied in Wham!’s video for their U.S. breakthrough hit “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” when the people in the background were wearing those “Choose Life” T-shirts. Then the flood gates burst open with all kinds of T-shirts based on those initial Frankie tees.

Frankie Goes To Hollywood came to my attention in the winter of 1983 through their brilliant debut single “Relax”. At the time, I was doing my record store excavations for the newest dance songs for my party mixes, when a guy at the used record store in the “Village” near the Ball State campus introduced me to Frankie. He put this single on his turntable and turned the knob to “11” (Spinal Tap was still a few months from being big on campus). To be honest, the energy of the use of 80s musical trappings of synthesizers, computers and drum machines blew me away. As the employee and I discussed the single, he informed me that the band was the studio concoction of former Buggles/Yes lead singer-turned Art of Noise/Yes’s 90210 producer Trevor Horn. I was told this band was HUGE in the UK, based solely on the hype machine behind this single and the aforementioned T-shirts. In my mind, “Relax” was the sound of something new and exciting, so I bought the single.

I then debuted the song while DJ-ing a party that very weekend to an extremely enthusiastic crowd. It may have been the song of the night according to the crowd’s reaction, even beating out reactions to Michael Jackson, Prince, Madonna, Gap Band, “Atomic Dog” & the rap trilogy of “Planet Rock”, “Rapper’s Delight” and “The Message”. I actually had a hot, new single that was relatively unknown on campus.

A few months later, my record store connection hooked me up with the 12-inch single of Frankie’s second single “Two Tribes”. That song took the energy of “Relax” and replaced it’s sexually based lyrics with those about the cold war tensions being felt at the time between the US and the old USSR. Of course, that song ripped up the dance floor as well. Now, I owned two singles from this mysterious new band from England that had yet to release an album.

As 1984 was ending, finally, Frankie Goes To Hollywood released their debut album, Welcome to the Pleasuredome. Now, this album had expanded to a double album, which is very rare for a debut album. By the time the album was released, people were tired of all of those damned T-shirts and critics and music journalists began a backlash to the band. It seemed as though this album was doomed from the start. But, I am here to tell you that this is a perfect album to place in a time capsule to represent all of the “hot” musical ideas being hatched and thrust upon our listening ears as 1984 turned into 1985. Now, nearly 33 years later, I am ready to say that this might be a forgotten classic of the 80s.

First off, the album’s sides are not labeled 1, 2, 3 and 4 but F, G, T, and H, to further jump into the hype. Next, the sound of that dance/rock fusion you heard on the first two singles were emphasized throughout the album. Plus, the band took major chances. First, they successfully updated the great Motown hit “War” in their own unique manner, utilizing sampled speeches from Ronald Reagan to drive home that we could very well be on the brink of war. The other remake they attempted was Bruce Springsteen’s classic “Born to Run”. Sorry, fellas, but that song belongs to the Boss and no one else. But, even the attempt of hijacking that song makes the album that much more daring. To Frankie, there were NO rock & roll sacred cows that were not ready to be smashed and co-opted into a new sound.

This album is like prog rock had been taken to a disco and given Ecstasy, which released the inner dance versions of rock. The whole concept would have never been conceivable if punk had not happened. The whole thing reeks of a punk attitude being applied to this whole dance thing.

Perhaps the biggest statement made by this album was that gay men could rock as hard through a disco vision as any heterosexual hair metal man out there dressing like a girl. The other thing is that this type of album could have only been produced in the UK, since the Brits have always kept pop music in its proper place while maintaining a healthy reverence for the music.

Now, is Welcome to the Pleasuredome a perfect album? No. But, with hindsight being 20/20, it is a wonderful album of many chances taken with most of them hitting the target dead center.

As the 80s progressed, Frankie Goes To Hollywood continued to release albums that appealed only to people who enjoyed alternative music. But, for a magic moment in the time from 1983 through 1985, Frankie Goes To Hollywood gave us some of the most exciting music this side of Prince. Although the band is not RRHOF-worthy, this album is worthy of being mentioned as one of the greatest albums of the 80s that contained two of the greatest singles of the decade in “Relax” and “Two Tribes”. Maybe, we need a T-shirt that reads, “Remember Frankie”.

Laugh if you will, but I am here to tell you that Daryl Hall & John Oates have produced some very powerful music. Now, when I say powerful, I am not talking about Aretha Franklin-blowing-you-over-with-the-force-of-her-voice type of power. No, I am talking about the kind of power. Nor, am I talking about the power of an Eddie Van Halen guitar solo, Metallica’s “One” or the Temptations’ “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg”. No, the former Philly-based duo, now known as the most successful duo of all time, have a power that goes directly with their music, though it is a subtle power.

Let’s just say their music holds a certain romantic power. Be careful while listening to the duo, because you might end up with children, much like we did. Funny as it seems, it is true. Buy and listen to Big Bam Boom, conceive a child. Go see them in concert, conceive a child. Be careful with their music because it is powerful stuff. You should either listen to their music when you are by yourself, or if you are definitely ready for children. That’s the power of the music of Daryl Hall & John Oates.

Now that my wife and I have moved past the baby-making years, we can be careless with our listening habits. So, since I personally safe from this power, barring any divine intervention, can finally feel safe enough to rank all of Daryl Hall & John Oates’ studio albums. I know that most of you think of the duo as a singles artists, meaning they are more known for their hit songs than their albums, but I am here to try to change that view. But, if you insist on knowing their bliss of their singles, then treat yourself to either The Essential Daryl Hall & John Oates or the older, exact version of that CD called The Ultimate Daryl Hall & John Oates.

But, if you are more adventurous, then this list should help you determine where to start your Hall & Oates collection. So, in the words of P!nk, let’s get this party started…

18. Whole Oates (1972). This is a tentative debut where we find the duo attempting to decide in which direction to musically travel. Were they a folk duo, a rock duo, a soul duo, or something else? Stay tuned.

17. Our Kind of Soul (2004). Rarely is a covers album a good idea. And that’s what this is, a bad idea.

16. War Babies (1974). Daryl Hall & John Oates turned to Todd Rundgren to help them create a rock, soul & folk concoction, but the album fell short as they tried too hard and Rundgren over-produced the duo.

15. Home for Christmas (2006). This holiday special remains the band’s last studio album. For a Christmas, this is great. But for a Daryl Hall & John Oates, it is weak. I prefer to think of it as a Christmas album.

14. Bigger Than Both of Us (1976). Yes, this album has the classic “Rich Girl” on it. Unfortunately, the rest of the material is weak and sounds rushed, as though they were trying to tap into the success of “Sarah Smile” from the previous summer.

13. Marigold Sky (1997). This independently released album got lost during the days of rap and alternative music. The album is what War Babies SHOULD have sounded like.

12. Ooh Yeah! (1988). It seems that when an artist gets HUGE and takes a break, they usually lose their mojo. And, that’s what happened here. It’s not a bad album; Daryl & John decided to work with new people, so the chemistry was all different.

11. Beauty on a Back Street (1977). This is Hall & Oates’ darkest album, from the cover to the lyrics. There initial burst of success was over now, so what do you do for an encore?

10. Do It for Love (2003). At the time, their record label actually was mounting an old-time, all-out promotional assault on behalf of this great album. Unfortunately, times had changed, and no one but 20-, 30- & 40-somethings wanted this album. And what a shame, because it is an over-looked gem.

9. Big Bam Boom (1984). This was the last album of their most successful and artistically fertile period. On this album, the duo was stretching their rock & soul sound into early-80s hip hop with some success. After this, the guys would do “We Are the World”, a Hall & Oates Live Aid set, another Live Aid set with former Temptations Eddie Kendrick and David Ruffian, and release a live album from their concert at Harlem’s famous Apollo Theater. Then, they went silent until 1988’s Ooh Yeah!

8. Change of Season (1990). Remember 1990? It was a time when people were wanting to bury all things 80s and wanted new kings and queens of music, such alternative and rap artists. So, Daryl Hall & John Oates released a terrific album of rock & soul music that sounded as organic as Abandoned Luncheonette. Unfortunately, few people cared. This is another one of their lost classics.

7. Along the Red Ledge (1978). It was around 1978 that music began to get exciting again, with disco, punk and new wave beginning to make inroads. And, the duo had just moved to New York City to begin soaking up these sounds. On this album, the hired session players reads like a who’s who in the new rock scene, with guitarists Robert Fripp, formerly of King Crimson, and Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielsen leading the way. This is where the foundation of their 80s success is located.

6. X-Static (1979). Slowly, our heroes are putting together the band that will carry the duo into the stratosphere of success between the years of 1980 and 1984. You can actually hear obvious touches of new wave and punk being melded to their sound.

5. H2O (1982). This album was the maturing of the rock & soul sound perfected by the Daryl Hall & John Oates band. There is an air of confidence on this album that had never been heard before. The track listing nearly reads like a ‘Greatest Hits’ album.

4. Daryl Hall & John Oates (1975). This one is known as “The Silver Album”, since the album cover is a metallic silver. This album represents the duo’s commercial breakthrough. Contains their first Top 10 hit “Sarah Smile”. This is the album that got the whole ball rolling for the duo.

3. Voices (1980). Voices was a slow burning album that sneaked up on the public, and before we knew what had hit us, we were knee-deep in great radio hits like their remake of the Righteous Brothers’ classic “You’ve Lost Your Lovin’ Feelin'”, and their now classics “Kiss on My List” and “You Make My Dreams”. This album had touches of Beatlesque songs, new wave, power pop, full on pop, punk, rock and a barn-burner of a soul classic worthy of Otis Redding called “Everytime You Go Away”, which became a #1 hit for Paul Young in 1985. But, the definitive version is this one.

2. Abandoned Luncheonette (1973). Initially, this album was not a hit. But, in the wake of “Sarah Smile”, the duo’s original label re-released the classic soul cut “She’s Gone” and the rest is history. This album is worthy of mention as a Philly soul classic as anything released by Huff & Gamble, Thom Bell, or any of the other production greats from the city.

1. Private Eyes (1981). Private Eyes was Daryl Hall & John Oates, as well as their conspirators in songwriting, Sara Allen and Jana Allen, telling the world they were ready to take over the radio world with their hit songs. We have two number one songs in the title song and “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)”, as well as “Did It in a Minute”. If this album had been released after Thriller, we probably would have had four more songs become big hits.

Daryl Hall & John Oates have been huge in my collection ever since my mom said she would buy ‘The Silver Album’ for me during the Summer of 1975. And, although some of the photos in the packaging of that album made the duo look like romantic partners, I could care less. The music is what captured me, not the image, which would change from album to album. In my humble opinion, Hall & Oates are the greatest duo in rock history, and remain my fifth favorite rock artist.

Back in June of 1979, while driving with a couple of my high school cross country team members to Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Indiana, in order to run in a road race that we ran in every year of high school, we picked up on my buddy’s car radio a song coming from the I.S.U. radio station. As I turned the knob (remember those analog days?), I pulled in a song that blew me away. Remember: I grew up in Indiana, so we were ALWAYS about a year behind the rest of the country with regards to music, fashion, building roads, etc. But, that day I heard a band for the first time that would come to dominate my listening preference over the next five years. That very day I heard “Roxanne” by The Police. Now, my English brethren might wink at the faux punk band, but I loved them.

Unfortunately, they could not stand each other. That musical tension drove their music to magical heights, but, after they became successful, egos started to run wild. Basically, Sting, the group’s main songwriter, decided it was time for him to go solo. That was 1985, making their grand Synchronicity album from 1983 the band’s last statement.

Back in the fall of 1981, I purchased what remains my favorite album by the band, Ghost in the Machine. I would literally run back to my dorm room only to play that album once through before my next class or work. As I sit here listening to the album for the first time in years, memories come running back. The biggest memory was the fact that I purchased a single ticket to go down to Indianapolis to see the band play in concert shortly after our spring break. By the way, the opening band was Joan Jett & the Blackhearts! How many times did you see a concert in which both artists became members of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame? On that night in March, I was blessed, as my ticket cost me a whopping $15.

Anyway, while a group of us went to Houston, Texas, for spring break (we weren’t that smart of guys, though our lodging was totally free and it had a full keg, but more on that some other time), we met some girls from Ball State who were down there too and hung out with them most of the time. Anyway, one of the girls felt sorry for me that I was going to this concert alone, so she said she would buy a ticket and drive us down to Market Square Arena. I don’t remember her name, but the company was nice. The trip was totally platonic, as I held no feelings toward her. Needless to say, we saw an awesome concert in a half-filled arena as The Police had yet to capture the imagination of the youth of Indiana.

As we all know, Sting went on to become a pretty successful solo artist, though never really reaching the level of his former band. Guitarist Andy Summers has released several “experimental” guitar-based albums over the years, none of which have been financially successful. And, drummer Stewart Copeland, released a couple of new wave, Police-sounding EPs, did some soundtrack work, played in an experimental band called Oysterhead with Phish guitarist Trey Anastacio and Primus bassist Les Claypool, and some session work.

You can relive the magic the trio made back during their reunion tour of the mid-2000s on the live DVD set Certified, which is an excellent document of their live prowess and volatile strength as a unit. Unfortunately, that tour may be the last time the band will work together.

So, today, I give you my Top 15 Favorite Police Songs.

15. “Too Much Information” (1981, Ghost in the Machine). Sting predicted the future with this song.

14. “Spirits in the Material World” (1981, Ghost in the Machine). You have to give Sting credit for writing songs about society that still hold up today.

13. “Wrapped Around Your Finger” (1983, Synchronicity). Here is an example of the lyrics reading like poetry without the music. That was Sting’s brilliance as a songwriter.

12. “Message in the Bottle” (1979, Regatta de Blanc). This song is so ingrained in class rock radio that people forget that it was never a Top 40 hit in the US. Radio thought we wanted to hear Kenny Rogers at the time, I guess.

11. “De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da” (1980, Zenyatta Mondatta). What the hell is this song about? I still don’t know. But, I STILL don’t care! It’s got a good beat, and it’s easy to dance to.”

10. “Roxanne” (1978, Outlandos d’Amour). This song kicked off the band’s career here in the States. But, it did not reach iconic level until we heard Eddie Murphy singing it in 48 Hrs.

9. “Synchronicity II” (1983, Synchronicity). This song’s success walked in opposition of the intelligence of the lyrics. Maybe, I have under-ranked this song after all.

8. “Omegaman” (1981, Ghost in the Machine). This was the band’s last nod to their punk influence. Still, that synth-guitar thing that Andy played at the beginning was my hook.

7. “King of Pain” (1983, Synchronicity). The lyrics read like poetry. The music is magical. And, the title described the look on my oldest son’s face when I would look back at him in the review mirror of our mini-van.

6.”When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What’s Still Around” (1980, Zenyatta Mondatta). I love love songs with long titles.

5. “The Bed’s Too Big Without You” (1979, Regatta de Blanc).

4. “Walking on the Moon” (1979, Regatta de Blanc). This song was number one seemingly in every country BUT the USA. Go figure. In the words of Elvis Costello, “I used to be disgusted, now I try to be amused.” Words to live by.

3. “Don’t Stand So Close to Me” (1980, Zenyatta Mondatta). This is the book Lolita set to music. Still, it’s an awesome song.

2. “Every Breath You Take” (1983, Synchronicity). This is their biggest hit from their biggest album. FYI: It’s NOT a love song, but a stalker’s song. Listen to the lyrics! It’s down right creepy!

1. “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” (1981, Ghost in the Machine). What can I say? Sting can sure write a love song!

Well, this was a fun trip in the “Wayback Machine”. This is just another set of songs that make up the soundtrack of my life. Sting was correct when he sang, “Life is easy when it was boring.”