The Top 20 Stephen Greenwell Music List: This One Does Not Go To Eleven

10) “(If You Are Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To” by Weezer – 24 plays.

Stupid song name, horrible verses, but my goodness, Weezer sure knows how to make a catchy beat and nifty chorus. My friend Pat and I discussed this, and even with all this song's obvious shortcomings, it's still really great in some parts.

9) “Gives You Hell” by The All-American Rejects – 25 plays.

I'm surprised this one isn't a little bit higher, but I've only had it in my iTunes for about a year, so some other songs no doubt have it beat. It's probably got the highest playrate, considering its age. I make no apologies for having it on this list; it's a fun little song. If you don't like it, well, go spit.

8) “Sink Into Me” by Taking Back Sunday – 27 plays.
7) “Savior” by Rise Against – 30 plays.

If I'm not mistaken, Rise Against is a fairly popular band. However, this is the only song I have by them, so I couldn't really comment on this. I think this one because it is loud and angry. Sometimes, you need a loud and angry song to listen to. The same thing applies to Taking Back Sunday – I realize that they have a following of some sort, but this is the only song I've really been exposed to, and that's primarily because it got some mainstream radio play.

6) “Adelaide” by Ben Folds Five – 31 plays.

I'm generally a slut for anything Ben Folds does, and this song combines the best of his traits. Hypnotic piano riff right off the bat? Check. A chorus and other lyrics you can sing along to loudly in the car? Check. A song actually about something? Check! It's good times all-around.

5) “Let's Dance to Joy Division” by The Wombats – 33 plays.

I'm not normally a huge fan of WBRU nowadays, since they've shifted from the angrier, punkish rock of my generation (the 1990s and early 2000s) to, frankly, weird shit. One exception would be the #1 song on this list, and another one would be this song. It has enough of an edge and a catchy chorus, enough to keep me quite interested.

4) “Naive” by The Kooks – 36 plays.

Okay, confession: I've only ever heard this song on my iTunes and on one of those Guitar Hero or Rock Band games. However, once I start hearing it, I can't stop it midway through and move on to something else. It's a good song to sing along to in the car, the bass / guitar line is very, very catchy.

3) “The Underdog” by Spoon – 38 plays.

Just a straight-up awesome song. Great lyrics, and it has everything – Drums, guitar, some horns, a tambourine... When Adam Carolla complains about bands that don't really have chops anymore, he should listen to some Spoon instead. Because they're awesome.

2) “Safe European Home” by The Clash – 40 plays.

I really got into The Clash a little while ago, once I learned that “Train In Vain” was by them. (Actually, I'm a bit surprised that that song doesn't beat this one out.) Like many of my favorite songs though, this one is loud with heavy guitar and features yelling. These are two important qualities for almost any song.

1) “Cousins” by Vampire Weekend – 44 plays.

This tops the list for several reasons. One, because it's only 2:25, it makes it a relatively easy listen. Two, I really like this song. Heck, I wrote a blog about it in the past. And three, it is somewhat-acceptable cool music, whereas most of the crap I listen to doesn't really have any artistic cache.

Belatedly Liking Stuff: All-American Rejects

This probably earns me no cool points, like last week's post about Vampire Weekend did, but I really like The All-American Rejects. The video (above) for "Gives You Hell" isn't anything special, but every time the song comes on, I subconsciously tap my foot and hum along. Their other songs - "Swing Swing" and "Dirty Little Secret" - are also very listenable to me.

Since Blink 182 is no longer really around as much, The All-American Rejects sort of fill that "cheesy pop punk" void that has been in my heart for a while. Another "bad" band that I really like for similar reasons - Yellowcard. "Ocean Avenue" is one of my 10 most listened to songs, according to iTunes. Sigh - there goes my cool card.

iTunes Running Diary – July 5, 2009

This week's artists.

- "The Trees" by Rush. I originally downloaded this song after hearing it in either Rock Band 2 or one of the Guitar Hero games, but honestly, I could probably listen to just about any Rush song at just about any time. They have this weird, odd sound that is so distinctive that I never really tire of it.

This is often a key factor in my enjoyment of a band. Unique can be very, very good to me, as other favorites are The Presidents of the United States of America, Pink Floyd, Interpol and The Dismemberment Plan (poor sound quality, sorry, but the song is about Boston at least). All of these bands have their own distinctive "feel" even though there is now music similar to each one of them out there.

It is also a factor in why I've turned on some bands, like Everclear and Pearl Jam. If you're responsible for some great songs, then don't change. If you're a generic rock band – not surprisingly, Nickelback springs to mind – then you should experiment and refine your sound. If you're Pearl Jam, and you want to change, then by god make sure your new experimental album is something I would actually like to listen to. (Sorry, I inadvertently channeled Hunter S. Thompson for the previous sentence. I'm reading a book about the founding of Rolling Stone, I blame that.)

- "American Girl" by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Since yesterday was the Fourth of July, it seems appropriate to mention that I have seven songs with all or part of "America" in its title, along with songs by American Hi-Fi and the All-American Rejects. So, it seems to be a pretty popular topic among singers and songwriters.

When I think of great musicians, Tom Petty somehow strays from my thoughts, much like Rush in the previous song. My mind jumps more to bands like The Rolling Stones, yet except for two of their songs ("Get Off Of My Cloud" and "You Can't Always Get What You"), I'm not a huge fan of their work. I just feel obligated to use them as an example.

He doesn't need my help, but I really should be pimping Tom Petty more. The guitar portions of "American Girl" set the tone of the song perfectly, and Petty's rhythmic verses just push the song over the top for me. "Don't Do Me Like That" is also a favorite of mine, as it incorporates the piano / keyboard / organ / whatever is it well. Petty's voice definitely suggests that he smokes a ton of weed, yet he doesn't have any issue hitting the high notes, which is better than pretty much every grunge rocker ever.

- "Gives You Hell" by The All-American Rejects. Speak of the devils. I really enjoy this song, and this band in general. I don't think they're critically or artistically respected at all, but they do make good, catchy music.

I first remember this sort of music coming into vogue with Blink 182, after Green Day, but Blink is kind of tolerated and respected now, just because everyone listened to them in high school and college. After them, there was a slew of bands who, while they didn't release anything super deep to me, I liked listening to: Bowling for Soup, Diffuser, The All-American Rejects, Paramore, Yellowcard, Simple Plan, The Ataris.

- "Everybody Get Dangerous" by Weezer (unofficial video, shockingly good). This is yet another song from the Red album by Weezer, which has had pretty good staying power on my iTunes with "Pork and Beans", "Troublemaker" and "The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived." Good times, good times!