My 100 FAVOURITE TUNES
I hate the Stones and I hate blues Eddie Cochran and blue suede shoes I hate the King, I hate Chuck Berry I hate Hooker, I hate Leadbelly
I hate funk and I hate soul Rhythm and blues and rock ‘n’ roll I hate riffs and guitar licks I hate coke and I hate spliffs
I hate Otis and Marvin Gaye Early Dylan, Aretha, hey Spector’s wall knock it down Jerry Lee run him out of town
There ain’t a lot I can do about it though
Force-fed your so-called heroes
Don’t be told who to like
It’s your choice, it’s your right to choose who you listen to
It’s your rock ‘n’ roll
Middle of the Road by Felt
After reading Saint Etienne’s recent 100 Favourite Songs list, I thought I’d shamelessly rip off their idea and compile my own top 100 tunes of all time. So here it is. Some are fairly obvious, others a bit more obscure, but rather than try to justify each song’s inclusion I’ll just put it out there and let you make up your own mind.
I decided only to use one song per artist. There’s probably way too much from the late 80s and early 90s, and there’s virtually nothing from 2000 onwards. But I can’t help my age.
The list has some other very obvious omissions: no Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Prince, The Clash, or the Sex Pistols. Nothing from Nirvana, James or Radiohead. Not much hip-hop and no reggae or jazz. This wasn’t a conscious decision. Maybe on another day I would have included all of them but for whatever reason they didn’t make the list this time.
So what does it all mean? Well, nothing much really. It’s purely subjective, self-indulgent nonsense. I’m not actually saying Kool and The Gang are better than the Stones, Billy Joel is better than Bowie or Kylie is better than Madonna.
Although obviously they are…
1. THE SMITHS – How Soon Is Now
2. ISLEY BROTHERS – This Old Heart of Mine
3. STEPHEN ‘TIN TIN’ DUFFY – Kiss Me
4. DEPECHE MODE – Waiting For The Night
5. STONE ROSES – Fools Gold
6. EDISON LIGHTHOUSE – Love Grows Where My Rosemary Goes
7. BIG STAR – The Ballad of El Goodo
8. JACKSON SISTERS – I Believe In Miracles
9. STEVIE WONDER – I Don’t Know Why
10. BEACH BOYS – Darlin’
11. FELIX – Don’t You Want Me
12. FRANKIE VALLI & THE FOUR SEASONS – Oh What A Night
13. HAPPY MONDAYS – Step On
14. INNER CITY – Good Life
15. THE FLIRTATIONS – Nothing But A Heartache
16. SCRITTI POLITTI – Absolute
17. NICK DRAKE – Northern Sky
18. PROPAGANDA – Duel
19. MORRISSEY – Every Day Is Like Sunday
20. FREDA PAYNE – Band of Gold
21. THE LA’S – There She Goes
22. THE CHARLATANS – The Only One I Know
23. GIL SCOTT HERON – The Bottle
24. LOVE – Alone Again Or
25. BEATLES – In My Life
26. TEENAGE FANCLUB – Did I Say
27. FRANK WILSON – Do I Love You
28. KELLEE PATERSON – I’m Gonna Love You Just a Little Bit More
29. ABBA – The Day Before You Came
30. A GUY CALLED GERALD – Voodoo Ray
31. THE GO-GOS – Our Lips Are Sealed
32. DENIM – Middle of The Road
33. TOM WAITS – Time
34. THE THE – Heartland
35. SMOKEY ROBINSON – Tracks of My Tears
36. GLEN CAMPBELL – Wichita Lineman
37. BLUE NILE – Tinseltown In The Rain
38. THE BYRDS – Ballad Of Easy Rider
39. THE KINKS – Shangri La
40. BASSOMATIC – Fascinating Rhythm
41. THE JAM – The Bitterest Pill
42. SOFT CELL – Tainted Love/Where Did Our Love Go
43. MASON WILLIAMS – Classical Gas
44. MY BLOODY VALENTINE – Soon
46. KYLIE MINOGUE – Better The Devil You Kno
47. ADAM AND THE ANTS – Dog Eat Dog
48. JOY DIVISION – Transmission
49. WORLD OF TWIST – The Storm
51. UNIT 4 +2 – Concrete and Clay
53. RHYTHIM IS RHYTHIM – Strings of Life
55. KIRSTY MACCOLL – They Don’t Know
56. SYLVESTER – Do Ya Wanna Funk
57. TELEVISION – Marquee Moon
60. SOUL II SOUL – Back To Life
61. ADAMSKI – Killer
62. DAVID SYLVIAN – Red Guitar
63. EDIE BRICKELL – Circle (White Label remix)
64. SAINT ETIENNE – Nothing Can Stop Us
65. PET SHOP BOYS – What Have I Done To Deserve This
66. BILLY BRAGG – The Man In The Iron Mask
67. DEEE-LITE – Groove Is In The Heart
68. TALK TALK – Life’s What You Make It
70. SIMON AND GARFUNKEL – The Only Living Boy In New York
71. ORBITAL – Chime
72. ANDREA TRUE CONNECTION – More More More
73. KORGIS – Everybody’s Gotta Learn Sometime
74. MALCOLM McLAREN – Double Dutch
75. BIZARRE INC – I’m Gonna Get You
77. FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD – Two Tribes
78. BILLY JOEL – Scenes From An Italian Restaurant
80. SPIRITUALISED – Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space
82. MADONNA – Borderline
83. KOOL AND THE GANG – Get Down On It
84. NIGHTCRAWLERS – Little Black Egg
85. DONNA SUMMER – I Feel Love
86. THE ORCHIDS – Something For The Longing
87. WILLIE KENDRICK – What’s That On Your Finger?
88. RYAN ADAMS – Cry On Demand
89. PUBLIC ENEMY – Don’t Believe The Hype
91. TALKING HEADS – Once In a Lifetime
92. BOBBY VEE – The Night Has a Thousand Eyes
93. DIANA ROSS AND THE SUPREMES – Love Child
95. DELGADOS – Pull The Wires From The Wall
96. FRAZIER CHORUS - Dream Kitchen
97. KRS-ONE – Step In To A World (Rapture’s Delight)
98. WIN – You’ve Got The Power
