Year: 1966

Two things I didn’t know until today. Paul McCartney plays bass guitar and sings in the background. And the song is about a vibrator.

“Electric banana, is gonna be a sudden craze…”

Year: 1993

PIPES

Year: 2003

Dido’s real name is Florian Cloud de Bounevialle O’Malley Armstrong. Makes sense.

Year: 1961

Oh, man. For some reason I never made the connection that this was the same James Darren who played Vic Fontaine on Deep Space Nine.

Year: 2009

The Bubble Yum Watermelon of pop music and I can’t ever not sing along to this.

Year: 1994

Not a huge fan of Arden; her melodies usually just feel off to me. But this song is just about perfect. The chorus’s slow crescendo without taking a breath is always a favorite of mine.

Year: 2009

If you want to hear vindictive music but are in an upbeat mood, Lily Allen is your go to. Smile, LDN, and The Fear are all great but this one is the most fun to sing along with.

Year: 2011

I was tempted to post “Chasing Pavements” but dangit “Rolling In The Deep” is such an impressive song. The rhythm she created makes you not notice that almost none of the verses rhyme (or are slant rhymes at best) and it helps push through the anger without any contrived words. And of course her voice is just mind-bogglingly powerful.

Just one of those songs that transcends pop.