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Music

42: Whatever and Ever Amen (Ben Folds Five)

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Album: Whatever and Ever Amen
Artist: Ben Folds Five
Year: 1997

1. One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces
2. Fair
3. Brick
4. Song for the Dumped
5. Selfless, Cold, and Composed
6. Kate
7. Smoke
8. Cigarette
9. Steven’s Last Night in Town
10. Battle of Who Could Care Less
11. Missing the War
12. Evaporated

Ben Folds doesn’t have the best voice in rock, but gosh darn it he sounds exactly the same live as he does on his albums. And he can freakin’ play the piano. There’s probably not a piano bar player that couldn’t play his songs upon request, though unfortunately, most people aren’t too familiar with his work and that’s a shame.

The band’s second album begins with my favorite “to the people who told me I’d never make it: fuck you” song, and it only heats up from there. Fair might be my favorite song where the chorus has no words and is simply Ben singing “Buh, bah, bah!” repeatedly. Then you get probably his most famous song, Brick, an autobiographical tale about his high-school girlfriend’s abortion.

Song for the Dumped is just pure vitriol and great if you’re in the mood for it, not so much if you’re not. Selfless, Cold, and Composed is a extremely low-tempo, more even-tempered break-up song, and an amazing ballad at that. It initially didn’t do anything for me, but has really grown on me over the years.

Sadly, the album mostly sputters at this point until Steven’s Last Night in Town, which sports the lyric “Won us over with stories, about Linda McCartney; lost points with the ladies, for saying he couldn’t love a woman with cellulite.” I couldn’t care less about the next song, nor much for the next one either, as Missing the War is unbearably slow and Ben’s voice doesn’t sound so hot on the track, either. The album is saved at the end by Evaporated, a painful ballad that hints at a very dark secret that’s never revealed.

Like many of Ben’s albums, Whatever and Ever Amen is uneven, but there’s just too much awesome not to count it among my favorites.

Music

43: Sports (Huey Lewis & The News)

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Album: Sports
Artist: Huey Lewis & The News
Year: 1983

1. The Heart of Rock & Roll
2. Heart and Soul
3. Bad Is Bad
4. I Want a New Drug
5. Walking on a Thin Line
6. Finally Found a Home
7. If This Is It
8. You Crack Me Up
9. Honky Tonk Blues

Is there anyone that sings really corny lyrics with as much earnestness as Huey Lewis? You can just tell how much he is feelin’ it when belting out lines like “neon lights, and the pretty, pretty girls, all dressed so scantily.” It’s a good thing, too. Because if he didn’t believe in his songs, they wouldn’t be near as good.

Nostalgia likely boosted this rating a little bit as it’s the first album that I memorized the lyrics to as a child. Every song on here begs you to sing along, especially Bad Is Bad with the “a rit-dit-dit-dit-do-wa-wa” in between verses. Heart and Soul is my favorite song of his after Power of Love. And while I’ve grown just a bit tired of them due to radio overplay, I still enjoy I Want a New Drug and If This Is It.  The album’s weakest offering is the last song (where have we heard this?), a cover of a Hank Williams song that should have been left a Hank Williams song. Huey’s version sucks the life right out of it despite it being competently produced.

I’m not a big fan of the band’s other two big selling albums, Picture This and Fore! Huey’s range is pretty limited and I think he used all of it up on this album. But I still dig it.

Music

44: Thriller (Michael Jackson)

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Album: Thriller
Artist: Michael Jackson
Year: 1982

1. Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’
2. Baby Be Mine
3. The Girl Is Mine (with Paul McCartney)
4. Thriller
5. Beat It
6. Billie Jean
7. Human Nature
8. P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)
9. The Lady in My Life

I was tempted to place this album higher simply because it might be the best pure pop album ever. But it’s still pop music, and I have to be in a rare mood for it. I must admit, though, that usually when I listen to this album I am still in awe at Michael Jackson’s talent. I don’t much care for Off the Wall, and while I like Bad quite a bit, there are a few songs I skip so it didn’t make the countdown. Thriller doesn’t miss a beat.

Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ is a perfect start to the album, showcasing Michael’s musical talents and showing off the best of 80’s synthesizer beats. Baby Be Mine is a sweet if unmemorable ballad. The Girl Is Mine is annoyingly catchy, like I Want it That Way by the Backstreet Boys, only with better singers. I roll my eyes when Michael and Paul have their “talk” but it fits with the silliness of the song.

After that the album gets epic. Thriller is what pop is all about, and the music video was mesmerizing when I was growing up. Beat It is a great sing-a-longer, though I’ve soured a bit on it over the years, mostly because the chorus is repeated one too many times. But all is forgiven with Billie Jean, the best example of Michael’s singing and writing. A very personal song, emotionally resonating, but poppy enough that it doesn’t change the attitude of the album. Human Nature is a fairly new song for me, but one I’m pretty nuts about. And P.Y.T. is catchy as well, much like the first song on the album.

Unfortunately, the album ends with a whimper, as The Lady in My Life is too slow and too boring, especially at this spot. It’s not a terrible song, but it does nothing to distinguish itself and it’s one I sometimes skip. Still, like the best of pop music, it’s hard not to be in a good mood after spinning Thriller.

Music

45: New Miserable Experience (Gin Blossoms)

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Album: New Miserable Experience
Artist: Gin Blossoms
Year: 1992

1. Lost Horizons
2. Hey Jealousy
3. Mrs. Rita
4. Until I Fall Away
5. Hold Me Down
6. Cajun Song
7. Hands are Tied
8. Found Out About You
9. Allison Road
10. 29
11. Pieces of the Night
12. Cheatin’

Did you know Gin Blossoms started their career in 1989 and are still touring? Did you also know that in 24 years they’ve only released five albums?  That’s amazing to me, and I have to imagine that it was this album, their second (along with, perhaps, some rabid Empire Records fans), that has allowed them to coast on their laurels for all this time. Sporting six singles over three years, New Miserable Experience was certainly anything but for the band.

The music has pretty standard pop melodies, but the lyrics have more originality than most. My favorite song is Allison Road, but I dig pretty much everything on the album to some degree. Lost Horizons and Until I Fall Away are among my favorites. I didn’t care for Hey Jealousy when I thought the song title was “Hey Jessie.”  I liked it immediately when I learned the real lyrics. Funny, that.

I haven’t listened to any of there other albums, though I like the singles just fine on Congratulations, I’m Sorry.

Music

46: Who Needs Pictures (Brad Paisley)

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Album: Who Needs Pictures
Artist: Brad Paisley
Year: 1999

1. Long Sermon
2. Me Neither
3. Who Needs Pictures
4. Don’t Breathe
5. He Didn’t Have to Be
6. It Never Woulda Worked Out Anyway
7. Holdin’ On to You
8. I’ve Been Better
9. We Danced
10. Sleepin’ on the Foldout
11. Cloud of Dust
12. The Nervous Breakdown
13. In the Garden

Around the time Brad Paisley hit the country scene I was bemoaning the loss of the country music I loved in the early 90’s. I was grateful someone who could play guitar and write honest music (that didn’t rely on being a good ol’ boy) was getting radio play. Sadly, Brad is the last new country artist I have an album from, on this countdown or otherwise. I like a song or two from some of the new people, though almost exclusively from the ladies (e.g. Miranda Lambert, The Band Perry), and never an entire album. It all just sounds so samey, poppy, and uninteresting.

That said, I think Brad has been failing a bit as of late. I haven’t particularly enjoyed his last two albums either, partly because he’s now secure enough in his career that the good ol’ boy stuff is coming out. Not Toby Keith territory by any means, but I just have no interest in hearing another singer talk about how awesome being a redneck is.

His first album had none of that, and it’s an amazing debut. Long Sermon is about how annoying it is when a pastor keeps going and going when the weather is gorgeous outside, and he continues with the tongue-in-cheek humor with Me Neither and a couple other songs. What launched his career, however, were his ballads. Who Needs Pictures is a pretty awesome breakup song, and He Didn’t Have to Be is a touching tribute to stepparents. The Nervous Breakdown shows Brad’s mad skills with the guitar, and his version of the classic hymnal In the Garden is way better than any I ever heard in church.

Music

47: Nevermind (Nirvana)

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Album: Nevermind
Artist: Nirvana
Year: 1991

1. Smells Like Teen Spirit
2. In Bloom
3. Come as You Are
4. Breed
5. Lithium
6. Polly
7. Territorial Pissings
8. Drain You
9. Lounge Act
10. Stay Away
11. On a Plain
12. Something in the Way
13. Endless, Nameless (hidden track)

I was too young to appreciate this album when it came out, and I always annoyed that I couldn’t understand half the lyrics in Smells Like Teen Spirit. Plus, I was pretty much anti any music that my grandma would describe as noise. Over the years I began to appreciate Teen Spirit, then grew to really enjoy In Bloom and Lithium. So when I decided to do this countdown, I decided to give this album a once over considering nearly every publication ranks this as one of the top ten albums of all time.

So yeah, I like it. I was pleasantly surprised by the rawness of Breed and the earnestness of Polly. Territorial Pissings does just sound like screaming to me, but the rest of the album remains really good music, even if I can’t understand most of what Cobain is saying. Drain You, On a Plain, and Something in the Way are pretty solid.

I also gave In Utero a shot, but only liked a few of the songs. Apparently, Cobain preferred more screaming and noise than listenable melodies. More power to him, I guess.

 

Music

48: Old Enough to Know Better (Wade Hayes)

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Album: Old Enough to Know Better
Artist: Wade Hayes
Year: 1994

1. Don’t Make Me Come to Tulsa
2. I’m Still Dancin’ With You
3. Old Enough to Know Better
4. Kentucky Bluebird
5. Don’t Stop
6. What I Meant to Say
7. Steady as She Goes
8. Family Reunion
9. Someone Had to Teach You
10. It’s Gonna Take a Miracle

My favorite two tracks on the album were not singles. Where have we heard that before?

Wade Hayes burst onto the country scene with a number one hit in Old Enough to Know Better. It would be his last number one song. In fact, he had six top ten hits, his first album producing four. And then his career spiraled steadily downward. In 1997, he released a cover of Glen Campbell’s Wichita Lineman, which is one of my favorite songs. But it tanked so badly that the album was delayed. After his fourth album failed to produce any Top 40 songs, he went twelve years without recording. Yowzers.

His debut album still holds up today, though. The title track is pretty damn solid. Don’t Stop sounds like a classic rocker. What I Meant to Say is a decent ballad with a pretty cool music video shot backwards. Kentucky Bluebird is a gorgeous Keith Whitley cover. Steady as She Goes is a cover of a rare Brooks & Dunn song. In fact, looking at all of the covers Wade Hayes did, I like nearly all of his versions better.

My favorite song is Family Reunion, about a guy who was raised by his mother, and after his father dies he brings his body back so he and his mother can have a funeral and be with him one last time. Yeah, I tend to like really depressing songs, but at least this one ends on a high note.

Music

49: This Way (Jewel)

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Album: This Way
Artist: Jewel
Year: 2001

1. Standing Still
2. Jesus Loves You
3. Everybody Needs Someone Sometime
4. Break Me
5. Do You Want to Play?
6. Till We Run Out of Road
7. Serve the Ego
8. This Way
9. Cleveland
10. I Won’t Walk Away
11. Love Me, Just Leave Me Alone
12. The New Wild West

I either dislike or am not impressed with every single on this album. I can’t even remember why I bought it. Did I like the harsh sounding Standing Still and the awkward singing in This Way when they first came out? Or did someone play me the good songs from the rest of the album? Either way, I’m glad I got it. This Way is a little more poppy than her first two albums, but nowhere near the trashy dance music she put out on 0304.

Jesus Loves You is a pretty strong critique of societal platitudes, and Cleveland might be her best love song. Do You Want to Play? is fun to listen to, if only so often. She also does a pretty good Janis Joplin imitation on Love Me, Just Leave Me Alone.  My version of the album included some decent bonus tracks, but I didn’t include them above, mainly because they’re nothing to write home about.

Music

50: Thinkin’ About You (Trisha Yearwood)

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Album: Thinkin’ About You
Artist: Trisha Yearwood
Year: 1995

1. Thinkin’ About You
2. XXX’s and OOO’s (An American Girl)
3. You Can Sleep While I Drive
4. The Restless Kind
5. On a Bus to St. Cloud
6. Fairytale
7. Those Words We Said
8. O Mexico
9. I Wanna Go Too Far
10. Til I Get It Right

Thinkin’ About You is a pretty uneven album, but deserves its spot in the top fifty thanks to featuring two of my favorite songs.

Before she married Garth, Trisha had a pretty successful solo career, though not because of me. Of the five songs that were released on this album, my two favorites are the two that charted the worst. I Wanna Go Too Far was a top ten hit and I still don’t understand it.

The title track is pretty unmemorable but Trish sings it really well. You Can Sleep While I Drive is a gorgeous cover of a Melissa Etheridge song, and one I often rock my baby to sleep singing. On a Bus to St. Cloud got more play in my area than most of the country because of the local connection. It’s about a lover committing suicide and is one of the saddest songs I’ve ever heard. As for the rest of the album, the standouts are the melodically relaxing Fairytale and O Mexico.

 

Music

51: Glass Houses (Billy Joel)

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Album: Glass Houses
Artist: Billy Joel
Year: 1980

1. You May Be Right
2. Sometimes a Fantasy
3. Don’t Ask Me Why
4. It’s Still Rock & Roll to Me
5. All for Leyna
6. I Don’t Want to Be Alone
7. Sleeping With the Television On
8. C’etait Toi (You Were the One)
9. Close to the Borderline
10. Through the Long Night

The album cover has Billy Joel ready to throw a rock through a glass house, and appropriately, the first song starts with the sound of glass breaking. Makes sense after all these years!

Don’t Ask Me Why is my favorite BJ song. The rhyme scheme is delicious and I love singing along to it. I’m also fan of the stylings of You May Be Right (I mayyy be craaaaazy!) and Sleeping With the Television On. All for Leyna is a good rocker. C’etait Toi is pretty. There are no out and out duds on the album, though they’re not all strong.

I don’t mind it per se, but I’m pretty over It’s Still Rock & Roll to Me. Not only are the lyrics dated, but I just don’t care for the melody. I Don’t Want to Be Alone and Close to the Borderline don’t do much for me either, but they’re fine filler.

The final song, Through the Long Night sounds just like something Paul McCartney would have released around the white album years. It’s a departure from most of Joel’s ballads and it’s a great way to end my favorite BJ album.