Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2014 18:20:02 GMT -5
534 TRANS-EUROPE EXPRESS Kraftwerk
Released: 1977 album: Trans-Europe Express (1977)
I've always begrudgingly acknowledged Kraftwerk's influence on popular music. Anyone remotely aware of electronic music can't deny their impact. But it wasn't until hearing this song that they really clicked with me. Now it's essential listening for walking dark downtown streets at night or driving to places unknown.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2014 18:24:30 GMT -5
533 THE GIRL FROM IPANEMA Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto, with Astrud Gilberto
Released: 1964 album: Getz/Gilberto (1964)
Allow me to get jazzy on you for a sec. No essentials list would be complete without a track from Getz/Gilberto or Astrud Gilberto's effortlessly romantic vocals.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2014 18:32:34 GMT -5
532 MAKE THE WORLD GO AWAY Eddy Arnold
Released: 1965 album: My World (1965)
Jumping ahead one year from the previous selection, this country-pop standard is deliciously romantic. Eddy Arnold, one of the most successful artists of all-time, took this Hank Cochran tune - originally recorded by Ray Price - and launched it into the Billboard Hot 100's top ten, and into the public's hearts for decades to come.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2014 18:35:39 GMT -5
531 NO SURPRISES Radiohead
Released: 1997 album: OK Computer (1997)
Twinkling, glistening - it's the heart of OK Computer and it has not lost any of its luster.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2014 18:38:24 GMT -5
530 C.R.E.A.M. Wu-Tang Clan
Released: 1993 album: Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (1993)
"Cash rules everything around me." It's real, cynical, streetwise rap at its best.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2014 18:42:21 GMT -5
529 THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL ABBA
Released: 1980 album: Super Trouper (1980)
As ABBA's reign atop the popmosphere neared its end, they released a melancholy, bittersweet ballad with all the danceability you'd expect from the legendary group. If it's not on your iPod, awaiting you to need it at the right moment, I question your emergency preparedness.
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Sean
6x Platinum Member
Joined: December 2011
Posts: 6,642
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Post by Sean on Aug 3, 2014 19:28:19 GMT -5
ABBA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've been holding off saying things for a few reasons (want to watch this all unfold and bask in all of its glory and WotUNeed just says everything better), but there is no way I'm not stopping in to give the biggest shout out to ABBA and "The Winner Takes It All"!!!! If I had to pick another artist to stan for after Reba, it would be ABBA. The amount of love I have for them is just unreal! Perfect group, perfect song, etc. <3 <3 <3 Anyways, back to hiding/watching in the shadow! ^_^
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Post by ListenToItTwice on Aug 3, 2014 20:29:55 GMT -5
"No Surprises" is a masterpiece
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2014 21:27:14 GMT -5
528 SHAPES OF THINGS The Yardbirds
Released: 1966 album: single (1966)
An environmentalist 60s guitar-rock jam from one of music's greatest supergroups.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2014 21:29:33 GMT -5
527 I CAN UNDERSTAND IT Bobby Womack
Released: 1972 album: Understanding (1972)
One of Womack's finest funk jams, and an early 1970s club fixture.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2014 21:32:55 GMT -5
526 DAMAGED GOODS Gang of Four
Released: 1978 album: Entertainment! (1979)
A punk-funk hybrid that paved the way for success for similar groups like the Red Hot Chili Peppers, off of GoF's landmark Entertainment! album.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2014 21:39:58 GMT -5
525 BIZARRE LOVE TRIANGLE New Order
Released: 1986 album: Brotherhood (1986)
One of New Order's most symphonic, hypnotic, and yet user-friendly singles. It's like a new wave dream sequence.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2014 21:45:04 GMT -5
524 UP ON THE ROOF The Drifters
Released: 1962 album: single (1962)
From the superheroic songwriting team of Carole King and the late Gerry Goffin, came this daydream, getaway theme song that remains one of the greatest rays of sunlight (or moonlight, really) in music history.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2014 21:48:43 GMT -5
523 DON'T THINK TWICE, IT'S ALL RIGHT Bob Dylan
Released: 1962 album: The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (1963)
A wanderer's love song, and one of Dylan's earliest classics.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2014 21:52:56 GMT -5
522 GOLDFINGER Shirley Bassey
Released: 1964 album: single (1964)
It's the definition of epic. It's a diva's dream song. It's the definitive Bond theme. All hail Miss Shirley Bassey and the man with the Midas touch.
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Another set up tomorrow!
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Post by ListenToItTwice on Aug 4, 2014 7:19:53 GMT -5
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS at "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right!" Have you heard either the Dolly Parton or Lauren O'Connell covers? The two take very different approaches, but they give my favorite performances of the song.
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Envoirment
Diamond Member
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Posts: 13,567
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Post by Envoirment on Aug 5, 2014 6:44:34 GMT -5
Omg such flawlessness. So many great songs. The inclusion of Shirely Bassey YAS! <3 One of the great British Divas.
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WotUNeed
2x Platinum Member
Deacon Blues
Joined: April 2010
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Post by WotUNeed on Aug 6, 2014 23:23:40 GMT -5
542 - Blues classic that, as you said, has no lost no impact since initial release. 541 - It's De La Soul. It belongs. 540 - Excellent choice here. 539 - Not a forgotten track for sure, but still one worthy of a nod. 538 - Wouldn't have expected this here, but respect the choice. 537 - A PIL track! Very welcome. Great, great selection. 536 - Love it and her. Tragic but legendary and brilliant etc. 535 - Nice song. Underrated R&B vocal group. Quite prolific in their time, but you'd never know it from their reduction to this song. Still, want a song it is. 534 - Kraftwerk and innovation often accompanied one another; this song demonstrates that. 533 - Perhaps the definition of a classic selection. Breezy and timeless. Excellent. 532 - Nice version of this. A song that holds up across many renditions by an artist who interpreted many other people's songs skillfully. 531 - Easily one of my favorite Radiohead songs. Possibly because it's my life. 530 - Beautifully chosen. Another selection that does not burn. 529 - Hard to go wrong with ABBA. 528 - Niiice. Many a great song recorded by The Yardbirds; this is no exception. 527 - Womack was genius. This is one of many tracks to demonstrate that. 526 - Very pleasant surprise to see a Gang of Four track included. Well played you. <3 525 - God I love this song so much... 524 - A song that has rightfully endured well past its initial run. 523 - Kinda surprised you went with the original Dylan version here, but it is lyrically strong regardless of performer. 522 - Love Bassey, but there are many other songs I'd choose to represent her over this. Still, understand the choice and happy to see her get some shine.
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Zeebz
Diamond Member
trashy
Joined: January 2013
Posts: 11,999
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Post by Zeebz on Aug 7, 2014 14:33:38 GMT -5
I'm loving this countdown from what I know. I'm definitely going to take the time to go through and listen to every song on this list that I don't know. :) I'm especially loving the ABBA inclusion. Great list from what I know, Landmarx!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 7, 2014 23:55:39 GMT -5
COMING SOON Once we hit #501, we'll dig even deeper into my list of essential tracks.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2014 0:03:52 GMT -5
WotUNeed - <333 your comments complete things as always! OOC, what would you have chosen as your favorite Shirley Bassey song?
ListenToItTwice - Thank you for the compliments, comments and for following along! Much appreciated! I have heard the Parton cover of "Don't Think Twice" (lovely, like everything else she's ever done), but I haven't heard the other. I'll check it out!
Sean - Thank you as always! The ABBA track is one of my favorites (obviously). There's no shortage of great pop music with them.
Zeebz - Thank you so much! Glad you're enjoying! Please let me know if you discover anything you fall in love with. <3
Envoirment - <3 you, etc. Thank you!
God - And a thank you to you as well!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2014 0:11:42 GMT -5
521 IT'S ALL IN THE MOVIES Merle Haggard
Released: 1975 album: It's All in the Movies (1976)
To me, Haggard's strength has always been his rugged ballads and jilted love songs. He's the troubadour of the legendary country oultaws. No one else in his game could have released something like this - a ballad about the realities of love, tinged with jazz and flamenco influences, while masterfully maintaining his mystique.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2014 0:15:38 GMT -5
520 SILENT ALL THESE YEARS Tori Amos
Released: 1991 album: Little Earthquakes (1992)
This was the breakthrough ballad for one of popular music's greatest female voices - it's emotional and fragile but self-confident, a trait that she has continued to project ever since.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2014 0:19:49 GMT -5
519 ROADRUNNER The Modern Lovers
Released: 1972 album: The Modern Lovers (1976)
Let's ramble on incoherently about this alternative classic that celebrates driving aimlessly with the radio on. It's a song that's whole purpose is to be a song.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2014 0:22:33 GMT -5
518 DAY AFTER DAY Badfinger
Released: 1971 album: Straight Up (1971)
So you've got the massively underrated 70s rock group Badfinger, George Harrison helping out on guitar, Leon Russell on piano, and Todd Rundgren co-producing. How could they not produce one of the decade's best love ballads?
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2014 0:25:54 GMT -5
517 BAND OF GOLD Freda Payne
Released: 1970 album: Band of Gold (1970)
A breakup jam so immortal that one can only say that it's "golden."
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2014 0:31:27 GMT -5
516 GHOST TOWN The Specials
Released: 1981 album: single (1981)
A legendary ska group and their spooky ode to the plight of modern urban centers - poverty, violence, disrepair. Their sound is singular and this is a shining example of what they brought to the table.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2014 0:37:11 GMT -5
515 HOT FUN IN THE SUMMERTIME Sly & The Family Stone
Released: 1969 album: Greatest Hits (1970)
One of the all-time greatest summer jams from one of music's living legends.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2014 0:45:01 GMT -5
514 BABY DON'T GO Sonny & Cher
Released: 1964 album: single (1964)
One of music's most iconic duos. Sure, "I Got You Babe" is rightfully remembered as their theme song, but there's an undeniable magic in this song that flips "...Babe" on its side - it's about the fleeting nature of love, begging someone to stay, and and a possibility of rekindinling in the future. To me, this song IS Sonny & Cher, and I treasure it.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2014 0:49:15 GMT -5
513 THIS MUST BE THE PLACE (NAIVE MELODY) Talking Heads
Released: 1983 album: Speaking in Tongues (1983)
This song captured the essence of Talking Heads - fun, offbeat, polished alternative with a strong meaning. In this case, it's a quirky, heartfelt love song with an undeniable groove to accompany it.
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