SJ.com Memorial Day 300 rock songs TOP SONG ON PAGE 10

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OK. It's midnight, we've got our



and our

so it's time to ROCK.

ON WITH THE COUNTDOWN.

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No. 50: BEGIN THE BEGIN -- R.E.M.

No. 49: MAN ON THE MOON -- R.E.M.

Two great songs from two very different (but stellar) albums. R.E.M. had four votes in our countdown, and they were from songs spread throughout their career.

Another band that's still going strong -- albeit without Bill Berry.

 

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No. 48: DIRTY MIND -- Prince

"In your daddy's car ... it's you I really want to drive!"

He would take this analogy further, of course, with "Little Red Corvette."

No. 47: WHEN DOVES CRY -- Prince & the Revolution

Prince might be the most multi-talented musician in our countdown. He's a great songwriter, a helluva entertaining performer in concert to this day, and when he wants to can absolutely shred on the guitar.

Well, he did make some really cheesy movies -- particularly the ones that followed "Purple Rain." I guess the guy's human after all.

 

Re: SportsJournalists.com Memorial Day 300 rock songs COUNTIN' DOWN TO No. 1

Speaking of great songwriters ...

No. 46: SAIL ON SAILOR -- The Beach Boys
No. 45: I GET AROUND -- The Beach Boys
No. 44: GOOD VIBRATIONS -- The Beach Boys

"Good Vibrations" -- before it became a jingle for Sunkist soda -- set a standard for pop songs that has rarely been equaled.

 

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No. 43: BLACK OR WHITE -- Michael Jackson
No. 42: BEAT IT -- Michael Jackson

Not only is "Beat It" one of Michael Jackson's best songs, it might be Eddie Van Halen's best-ever guitar solo. And it was a groundbreaking video -- worth staying up late to see on NBC's "Friday Night Videos" for those of us who didn't have cable.

Although I have to admit ... watching this video also reminded me of Weird-Al Yankovich's spot-on parody, complete with dueling gang members brandishing a fork and spoon.

 

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No. 41: HEARTBREAK HOTEL -- Elvis Presley

No. 40: JAILHOUSE ROCK -- Elvis Presley

Two of the songs that made Elvis THE KING in his prime.

Without his early hits, most of the rock 'n roll that followed doesn't happen.

 

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No. 39: LONGVIEW -- Green Day

No. 38: AMERICAN IDIOT -- Green Day

Green Day went from anthems of teenage boredom (the "Dookie" album) to anthems about an inept (in their view) president and the mindless idiots who elected him.

Not too shabby for a bunch of skateboard punks from SoCal.

 

Re: SportsJournalists.com Memorial Day 300 rock songs COUNTIN' DOWN TO No. 1

OK, that wraps up the songs which received a single vote in our countdown (more or less, as we'll see).

So out of the 300-plus songs picked by SportsJournalists.comers, only 23 received two votes and only six received three votes.

The first of the two-vote songs, from a couple of bands who received plenty of votes:

No. 37: CORDUROY -- Pearl Jam

Props to these guys for putting this album ("Vitalogy") out on vinyl only two weeks before releasing the CD. It was cool to have it before many of my friends.

No. 36: MR. BROWNSTONE -- Guns 'n Roses

Another song about drugs ... imagine that from Axl, Slash and company!

 

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More two-vote songs ... in fact, these three show the wide variety of music SportsJournalists.com users enjoy.

No. 35: CENTERFOLD -- J. Geils Band

Peter Wolf and the boys in a fun video:

If all those girls wore negligees like that to school, us lads might have had trouble paying attention ...

Good thing we're all more mature individuals now :

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No. 34: INTERSTATE LOVE SONG -- Stone Temple Pilots

For a song that seemed kind of generic when it came out in 1994, it's amazing how good it sounds now:

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No. 33: POSSESSION -- Sarah McLachlan

A great singer-songwriter who burst on the scene in the 1990s with this song. Kind of a twisted love song, as the creepy video makes clear.

 

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Some music videos were really cartoonish in the 1980s ...

No. 32: MONEY FOR NOTHING -- Dire Straits

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Not sure if Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy will ever mend their quarrel, but in our countdown, Jay gets the last laugh:

No. 31: WINDFALL -- Son Volt

Great song from the "Trace" album.

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No. 30: FAST CAR -- Tracy Chapman

Talk about a song that stood out amid the hair metal and cheesy pop of the late 1980s ... Great stuff.

 

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No. 29: HEART-SHAPED BOX -- Nirvana
No. 28: LONDON CALLING -- The Clash
No. 27: JEREMY -- Pearl Jam

Punk, grunge, arena rock ... whatever you want to call these, they're all great anthems from their eras.

"Phony Beatlemania has bitten the dust"

I need to stop biting potato chips and chocolate Teddy Grahams. Snacking this late's horrible for your health!

 

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No. 26: UNTIL YOU COME BACK TO ME -- Aretha Franklin

Aretha scored a huge hit with this in 1973; it's actually a Stevie Wonder song.

Glad to see she's lost some weight and is performing again. Hopefully she's shaken off some of her health problems, because the great voice is still there.

 

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No. 25: JAILBREAK -- Thin Lizzy

Hell yeah this made the countdown. The title track of one of the best rock albums put out in the 1970s.