Joe's Top 15 Influential Songs

This list is a bit strange is the sense that some of the songs on it are a bit low brow. When I was making this list I tried to think of the songs that had enough raw energy to jolt me onto a different musical path, and that usually didn't happen with very deep, introspective songs. In fact, some of the songs and artists on this list I can't stand anymore, but I owe a lot to them for directing my musical taste or my behavior.



1. Rave On, Buddy Holly. I remember when I was about 5 or 6 my mom
gave me a mix tape. This was the first song on it. I loved the tape,
but I'd listen to Rave on over and over and over again. My first step
towards my taste in music.

2. Simply Irresistible, Robert Palmer. I didn't have a record or
tape of this song, but it's on this list because of the music video.
Once I saw Palmer surrounded by all of those stoic women, I remember
being aroused for the first time.

3. The Devil Went Down to Georgia, Charlie Daniels. In 1994 I bought
an alarm clock and was setting the radio alarm before I went to bed on
night. I was scanning the stations when I came upon this song and I
was hooked. I listened to this radio station for the next several
years and it is the seed for all of the music that I listen to today.

4. You Don't Know how it Feels, Tom Petty. I got "Wildflowers" for
my birthday and heard the lyric "...let's roll another joint." It was
the first time I'd heard any kind of drug reference. I was listening
to VERY tame country music, and this song caused me to being pulling
away from country.

5. Something to Talk About, Bonnie Raitt. She's the first female
artist who I grew to respect. I heard this song at a friend's house
and was blown away that Bonnie was the one playing the slide guitar.

6. Why Should I Cry for You, Sting. I remember this song was the
first time I really paid attention to lyrics. The context of the song
is about a guy at sea who's in love with a woman on the mainland. In
the middle of the song, Sting sings "Why must I, why should I cry for
you?" The difference between MUST and SHOULD really made me think
about what the character in the song was experiencing.

7. Cream, Prince. By far, not my favorite Prince song, but I
remember the guy who taught me how to play guitar recommending that I
listen to Prince. I was very hesitant, but I finally got his 3-disc
hit collection. I put them all in the CD player on shuffle, and when
Cream came on I froze. I couldn't get enough of the album, and his
explicit songs opened even more doors that I'm sure never would have
been touched otherwise.

8. Tea in the Sahara, The Police. Another song by Sting, I know, but
this song did me a great service. I realized that Tea in the Sahara
is the title of a section of a book by Paul Bowels called "The
Sheltering Sky." This song made me want to read this book as is often
the case with songs based on literature now.

9. Come Pick Me Up, Ryan Adams. I had lost faith in country music.
I found out about studio musicians and the fact that the performers
hardly ever write their own lyrics or music. The industry had lost
all of it's sincerity and it pissed me off. I hadn't listened to
anything the slightest bit country until a friend of mine told me
about Adams. I respected his country edge and the fact that he wrote
it all, so I guess he but me back on track.

10. The New Style, The Beastie Boys. My household HATED rap and hip
hop, so I didn't even bother listening to it until I got to college.
A guy I really looked up to was a huge Beastie Boys fan, and I think
the only CD he had was Licenced to Ill, so I heard a lot of it. This
song, was just fun to rap along with and knowing the lyrics reinforced
my bond with this kid.

11. Born to Run, Bruce Springsteen. This one seems a little
unremarkable, but I remember not liking the Boss before, and I think I
saw some MTV special that qualified this song as the 5th greatest of
all time. I hoped on the band wagon and bought the song, and I'm glad
I did.

12. Woke up this Morning, Alabama 3. I was watching The Simpsons and
they were spoofing The opening credits of The Sopranos. Alabama 3's
song is used there and I wanted to learn to play that song on my
guitar. I only heard about 30 seconds of it, but it caused my to
order the CD from England because none of the stores in Columbia
carried it. Awesome fucking band. One of my top 5 favorite.

13. Attitude Dance, Tower of Power. Horns, man. I never really
listened to the horn arrangement in any song until l heard this song.
Everything from Maceo Parker, Prince songs with a horn section, and
Lyle Lovett's Large Band, it didn't sink in until TOP, for some
reason.

14. Big in Japan, Tom Waits. This was the first Tom Waits song I
heard and I liked the beat, lyrics, instrumentation, everything but
his voice. I thought though that if the rest of the song was so
appealing to me that Waits must have some good in him. I searched the
rest of "Mule Variations" and I loved the way it sounded on "Take it
with Me" and "Come on up to the House." Having nurtured my enjoyment
of Tom Waits I now consider him one of my all time favorite artists as
well.

15. Jesus Of Suburbia / City Of The Damned / I Don't Care / Dearly
Beloved / Tales Of Another Broken Home, Green Day. Finally, another
recommendation from a friend caused this song to be one of the most
influential. I never liked Green Day, they just bored me. In 2004
when American Idiot came out one friend came to me with the disc and
insisted that I burn it. I took it and later laughed about it to
another friend, Paul, who's musical talents and opinions I respect
very much. I chortled about this album when Paul said, "You know,
Joe, it's actually pretty good." I was surprised, but I trust Paul.
So I gave it a shot and I fucking loved it. Going from 2 minute
bursts of songs on Dookie to a 10 minute song that tells a story, not
to mention how it fits into the album as a whole made me take back
every bad word I said about Green Day.