Friday random ten

Yeah, this should have run last week. Sorry about that.

1. Dark As A Dungeon – The Chieftains
2. The Dark End Of The Street – The Commitments
3. Dark Eyes – Hot Club of Cowtown
4. Dark Horse – Katy Perry
5. Dark Lady – Ceili’s Muse
6. Dark Star – POLICA
7. Dark Street – Fastball
8. Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground – Asylum Street Spankers
9. Darkness Darkness – Solas
10. Darkness On The Edge Of Town – Bruce Springsteen

I still believe that Katy Perry’s Super Bowl halftime show was a crowning achievement for our time. It sure was popular with all the kids who were there at the Super Bowl party I was attending. Halftime was literally the only part of the Super Bowl they watched, and they were into it. I could say something about the other songs on this list – some of them are very good – but after Katy Perry it’s all a letdown, so we’ll just leave it at that.

We should be dancing. Just, you know, not where anyone can see us.

1. Dancin’ Shoes – Rachael Davis
2. Dancing Barefoot – U2
3. Dancing In Isolation – Terri Nunn
4. Dancing In The Dark – Bruce Springsteen/Big Daddy
5. Dancing In The Dark – Kim Wilde
6. Dancing In The Moonlight – King Harvest
7. Dancing Queen – ABBA
8. Dancing The Manta Ray – Pixies
9. Dancing With Mrs. White – Great Big Sea
10. Dancing With Myself – Billy Idol

The Kim Wilde “Dancing In The Dark” is not the same as the Bruce Springsteen “Dancing In The Dark”. Big Daddy’s “Dancing In The Dark” is both the same and not the same as the Springsteen classic, depending on how you look at it. “Dancing In The Moonlight” is from the genre that Dave Barry calls “weenie rock”, and is easy to confuse with “Dance With Me”, by Orleans. Whatever Billy Idol is saying with “Dancing With Myself”, we all danced to it back in the 80s.

Everyone on the dance floor!

1. Dance – ESG
2. Dance Away – Roxy Music
3. Dance Hall Days – Wang Chung
4. Dance In The Dark – Lady Gaga
5. Dance Like Nobody’s Watching – Laura Marano
6. Dance On – Love Motel
7. Dance This Mess Around – B-52’s/Asylum Street Spankers
8. Dance To The Music – Global Village
9. Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah) – Chic
10. Dances Fantastic – Neva Dinova

I don’t know how many times I’ve heard the song “Dance Hall Days” over the past thirty-some years, but I am still not confident I’m singing along to it with the right lyrics. I know, I could look them up. I’m just saying that with some bands, you have to. I heard the Spankers’ version of “Dance This Mess Around” before I heard the B-52’s original, and the first time I saw them perform it I thought it was one of their original funny songs. Easy mistake to make. If you’re wondering where some other dance-related songs are, tune in again next week.

Let’s go crazy!

1. Crazy – Gnarls Barkley/Seal/Patsy Cline/Peter Wolf
2. Crazy ‘Cause I Love You – The Hot Club of Cowtown
3. Crazy For You – Madonna
4. Crazy Game – Indigo Girls
5. Crazy Life – Toad the Wet Sprocket
6. Crazy Little Thing Called Love – Queen/Dwight Yoakum
7. Crazy Love, Vol. II – Paul Simon
8. Crazy Man Michael – Ceili’s Muse
9. Crazy Ones – John Mellencamp
10. Crazy Train – Ozzy Osbourne

Three of those four songs called “Crazy” were legitimate hits. I feel like that means something. “Crazy Love, Vol. II” may be the only song off of Graceland that I don’t recognize right away. “Crazy Man Michael” is a reminder that if a talking animal warns you about an impending death, you would be well served to heed it.

Finishing this topic up, with some gerund usage at the end. A nice gerund, not an obscene gerund.

1. Come To My Party – Black Joe Lewis
2. Come To Poppa – Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band
3. Come To Your Rescue – Thinkman
4. Come Together – Aerosmith
5. Come Together – Ike & Tina Turner
6. Come Together – John Lennon
7. Comin’ Home – Robert Ellis
8. Coming For You – von Grey
9. Coming Up – Paul McCartney

I don’t usually put the same song title in these lists more than once, but I was trying to get to ten (and still fell short). I also don’t spell “Papa” the way Bob Seger does. Where do you fall in the “Papa/Poppa” debate, or for that matter “Mama/Momma”? These are the issues are candidates don’t want to talk about.

Keep it coming.

1. Come Go With Me – Georgetown Chimes
2. Come In, Sit Down – Jiggernaut
3. Come On (Part III) – Stevie Ray Vaughan
4. Come On Eileen – Dexy’s Midnight Runners
5. Come On With Me – The Mollys
6. Come Out Ye Black And Tans – Larkin
7. Come Saturday – The Pains of Being Pure At Heart
8. Come To Jesus – Mindy Smith
9. Come To Mama – Pete Townshend
10. Come To Me – Bonnie Raitt

Have I mentioned before that my sister Eileen really hated the song “Come On Eileen” when we were kids? Because she sure did. And when did the expression “Come to Jesus”, to refer to a serious conversation, come to mean that?

Another multi-part list! And we’re still in January! Woo hoo!

1. Come & Get It – Selena Gomez
2. Come A Day – Nils Lofgren
3. Come A Little Bit Closer – Jay & The Americans
4. Come And I Will Sing You (The Twelve Apostles) – Great Big Sea
5. Come As You Are – Midnight Juggernauts
6. Come Back And Stay – Paul Young
7. Come Back Home – Matthew Mayfield
8. Come Back To Me – Cherry Poppin’ Daddies
9. Come Down In Time – Sting
10. Come Down Slowly – James William Hindle

Nils Lofgren is probably better known for his time in the E Street Band. “Come As You Are” is from a tribute to Nirvana on the 20th anniversary of Nevermind. “Come Down In Time” is probably the best Elton John song you’ve never heard; Sting’s cover is from the excellent Two Rooms tribute album. “Come And I Will Sing You” is one of those songs that builds on itself, like “The Twelve Days of Christmas”, but much better and less annoying. I’ll have two more of these lists in the next weeks.

Because “can’t” is a key part of anyone’s vocabulary.

1. Can’t Stop Dancin’ – Becky G
2. Can’t Stop Killing You – Kirsty MacColl
3. Can’t Stop My Heart From Loving You – Aaron Neville
4. Can’t Stop Rockin’ – ZZ Top
5. Can’t Stop Singing – Ross Lynch & Maia Mitchell
6. Can’t Stop The Music – Village People
7. Can’t Take Love For Granted – Mary Chapin Carpenter
8. Can’t We Try – Teddy Pendergrass
9. Can’t You See (You Doin’ Me Wrong) – Tower of Power
10. Can’t You Tell – Asylum Street Spankers

To address the comments from last week, Depeche Mode’s song is “Just Can’t Get Enough”, which I do have but which doesn’t qualify for this list, I’ve never been a big fan of Bad Company, and I plead nolo contendere on Barry White. Please take the fact that I have a Teddy Pendergrass song on this list instead as a mitigating factor when determining my sentence.

I just can’t, you know?

1. Can’t Buy Me Love – The Beatles
2. Can’t Even Get The Blues – Reba McEntire
3. Can’t Find My Keys – Mojo Nixon
4. Can’t Get There From Here – R.E.M.
5. Can’t Go Back There – The Bellyachers
6. Can’t Help Falling In Love – Elvis Presley
7. Can’t Keep It In – Cat Stevens
8. Can’t Let Go – Lucinda Williams
9. Can’t Run But – Paul Simon
10. Can’t Stand Losing You – The Police

Wise men say there will be a part 2 next week, which is also next year. See you on the flip side.

I had no idea I had this many California songs.

1. California – The Aislers Set
2. California – Delta Spirit
3. California – Joni Mitchell
4. California (There Is No End To Love) – U2
5. California Christmas – Brooke White
6. California Girls – The Beach Boys
7. California Gurls – Katy Perry Feat. Snoop Dogg
8. California Here I Come – Shorty Long
9. California Sun – The Rivieras
10. California Wasted – Toad the Wet Sprocket

Don’t worry, I have plenty of “Texas” songs, too. And please note that I generate these lists by the first word in the song title, so “Hotel California” isn’t in consideration here. I’ll need to go back and re-listen to the first three songs on this list to remind myself if they’re all different or if there’s a cover or two in there. Maybe over the holiday. Hope you have all your Christmas shopping done, if that’s a thing you need to worry about.

It has been brought.

1. Bring Back That Leroy Brown – Queen
2. Bring ‘Em Home – Bruce Springsteen
3. Bring It Back Again – Stray Cats
4. Bring It On Down To My House – Willie Nelson & Asleep At The Wheel
5. Bring It On Home To Me – The Commitments
6. Bring Me Some Water – Melissa Etheridge
7. Bring On The Dancing Horses – Echo & The Bunnymen
8. Bring On The Night/When The World Is Running Down – Sting
9. Bringin’ On The Heartbreak – Def Leppard
10. Bringing Home The Bacon – Procol Harem

“Bring ‘Em Home” is from the Seeger Sessions. “Bring On The Night/When The World Is Running Down” is from the Bring On The Night concert CD, which came out after Sting’s first solo CD. There was a movie in there somewhere, too – I remember seeing it in the theater, because that’s what wannabe hip music fans did back in the 80s.

You can shake it, but please don’t break it.

1. Break It To Me Gently – Brenda Lee
2. Break My Heart – La Sera
3. Break Your Heart – Natalie Merchant
4. Breakin’ Me – Jonny Lang
5. Breaking – Anberlin
6. Breaking Bells (Take Me To The Mardi Gras) – Crash Crew
7. Breaking The Law – Judas Priest
8. Breaking Up Is Hard To Do – Neil Sedaka
9. Breaking Us In Two – Joe Jackson
10. The Breaks – Kurtis Blow

This is where I say that Joe Jackson is a greatly underrated artist, and you would do well to listen to more of his music. This is also where I confess that sometimes when I am out walking the dog at night, I will sing “Walking the dog, walking the dog” to myself to the tune of and in the style of Judas Priest’s “Breaking The Law”. I don’t know what you may want to do with that information, but now you have it.

Where it all begins for everyone.

1. Born At The Right Time – Paul Simon
2. Born Blonde – Wild Moccasins
3. Born In The U.S.A. – Bruce Springsteen
4. Born In Time – Bob Dylan
5. Born This Way – Lady GaGa
6. Born To Be Bad – George Thorogood & The Destroyers
7. Born To Lose – Ray Charles
8. Born To Run – Frankie Goes To Hollywood
9. Born To Win (Part 1) – Hurray For the Riff Raff
10. Born With A Broken Heart – David Wax Museum

I’ve said this before, “Born At The Right Time” is the song that was going through my head when Olivia was born. There are Paul Simon songs I like more, but that one will always be my favorite.

One more for the holidays.

1. Blue Sky – The Allman Brothers Band
2. Blue State Girl – Michael Clem
3. Blue Uniforms – Yung
4. Bluebird – Tufts Bellzebubs
5. Bluebonnets – Clandestine
6. Blues For A Graying Walrus – Trinity University Jazz Band
7. Blues Music – G. Love & Special Sauce
8. Blues Power – BB King & Eric Clapton
9. Blues, Part II – Blood, Sweat & Tears
10. Bluesy Little Tune – Stanley Smith

I stretched the definition of the category a bit to get me to the finish line. I trust that’s all right with you. Happy rest of the Thanksgiving weekend!

Oh God, is it Friday already? Thankfully I’m in the middle of a multi-list theme.

1. Blue Lou – Benny Carter
2. Blue Moon – The Marcels
3. Blue Moon Of Kentucky – Bill Monroe & His Bluegrass Boys
4. Blue Moon Revisited – Cowboy Junkies
5. Blue Morning, Blue Day – Foreigner
6. Blue Night – Mutual Admiration Society
7. Blue On Black – Kenny Wayne Shepherd
8. Blue Prelude – Asylum Street Spankers
9. Blue Rondo A La Turk – Dave Brubeck Quartet
10. Blue Shadows On The Trail – Syd Straw

“Blue Moon Revisited” is basically just “Blue Moon” at a slower tempo done in torch song style, but with a long intro. In that latter sense, it’s a bit like Patty Smith’s “Gloria”. “Blue Rondo A La Turk” is the first cut on Dave Brubeck’s iconic masterpiece Time Out (the one that features “Take Five”), and if you don’t know now what a compound time signature is, you will after you listen to it. “Blue Shadows On The Trail” is from Stay Awake, still the best and most eclectic collection of Disney music covers I know.

Do we have the blues? We have them enough for multiple lists.

1. Blue Always Finds Me – Hotel Lights
2. Blue Baiao – Susanna Sharpe and Samba Police
3. Blue Christmas – Collective Soul
4. Blue Comet Blues – Bill Haley & The Comets
5. Blue Dream Lover – Elke
6. Blue In Green – Miles Davis
7. Blue In The Sky – Joe Purdy
8. Blue Jean Blues – Little Feat
9. Blue Jeans – Eddie From Ohio
10. Blue Light – David Gilmour

Susanna Sharpe is an Austin-based musician whom I got to see a few times at the Mucky Duck back in the day. She and her band put on an amazingly lively show, especially given that nearly all of their songs were sung in Portuguese. David Gilmour is the guitarist for Pink Floyd, and his About Face solo album – with an assist from Pete Townshend on a couple of tracks; he returned the favor on Townshend’s Deep End Live – is one of my favorite discs from the 80s. I don’t think I ever heard “Blue Christmas” until well into my adulthood, but it’s one of my favorite seasonal songs now. More blue things next week.

My odds are stacked/I’ll go back to black

1. Black Horse And The Cherry Tree – KT Tunstall
2. Black Is The Color – SixMileBridge
3. Black Lipstick – Chicano Batman
4. Black Magic – Little Mix
5. Black Night – Deep Purple
6. Black Rain – Fastball
7. Black Water – The Doobie Brothers
8. Black Widow – Michelle Shocked
9. Black Widow – Iggy Azalea
10. Black Woman – Fred Anderson Quartet

Has anyone done a good cover version of “Black Water”? I feel like someone should have, but if they have I don’t know about it. Iggy Azalea’s “Black Widow” is not a cover of Michelle Shocked’s, though I bet that would have been interesting. We need more good cover songs, that’s what I’m saying.

Once again, a topic too big to cover in one go.

1. Black And White – The DB’s
2. Black Annis – Solas
3. Black Blade – Blue Oyster Cult
4. Black Boys On Mopeds – Sinead O’Connor
5. Black Coffee In Bed – Squeeze
6. Black Crows – honeyhoney
7. Black Eye Blues – Asylum Street Spankers
8. Black Eyed Suzi – The Honeycutters
9. Black Friday – Steely Dan
10. Black Ghost/Black Girl – Starling Electric

Sinead O’Connor sure was an early voice on an issue that remains stubbornly and depressingly relevant. “Black Friday” is basically peak Steely Dan – great music, and vivid lyrics that set a mood but don’t really make any sense. If there’s a song that better expresses day-after regrets than “Black Coffee In Bed”, please let me know what it is.

Time for a big finish.

1. Big Rio Grande River – Austin Lounge Lizards
2. Big Rock Candy Mountain – Harry McClintock
3. Big Round World – Trout Fishing In America
4. Big Girls Cry – Sia
5. Big Noise – Eddie From Ohio
6. Big Shot – Billy Joel
7. Big Sky Country – Chris Whitley
8. Big Time – Peter Gabriel
9. Big School – team9 vs Stereogum
10. Big Yellow Taxi – Joni Mitchell

The Lounge Lizards, Trout Fishing in America, and Billy Joel have an affinity for songs whose titles begin with “Big”. Lots of things follow easily from that, I suppose. I’m late in finishing this post up, so I’ll just leave you with that thought.

Big list, no kidding.

1. Big Hat, No Cattle – Randy Newman
2. Big Legs, Tight Skirt – John Lee Hooker
3. Big Love – Matthew E. White
4. Big Love – Fleetwood Mac
5. Big Man On Mulberry Street – Billy Joel
6. Big Mess – Devo
7. The Big Muddy – Bruce Springsteen
8. Big Trouble – Trout Fishing In America
9. Big Noise from Winnetka – Asylum Street Spankers
10. Big Ol’ Bone – Austin Lounge Lizards

“Big Hat, No Cattle” could be the theme song for a majority of Congress. I assigned it to Rick Perry back in 2012 when he first disastrously ran for President, but it’s quite adaptable. One more of these to go, next week.

This list is so big it will take three weeks to get through it.

1. Big Balls – AC/DC
2. Big Bang Theory Theme – Barenaked Ladies
3. Big Bangs, Black Holes, Meteorites – Love Is All
4. Big Blue Sky – Sandra McCracken
5. Big Bottom – Hayseed Dixie
6. The Big Country – Magic Love Bug
7. Big Daddy Of The All – John Mellencamp
8. Big Fellah – Black 47
9. Big Generator – Yes
10. Big Tex’s Girl – Austin Lounge Lizards

Yes, the theme song to The Big Bang Theory was written and performed by the Barenaked Ladies. And honestly, Spinal Tap’s “Big Bottom” deserves to be interpreted as a country song. It’s all about the mud flaps.

Because “better” comes after “best” in the dictionary.

1. Better – Kim Carnes
2. Better Be Good To Me – Tina Tuner
3. Better Days – Bruce Springsteen
4. Better In Stereo – Dove Cameron
5. Better Love – Robert Johnson
6. A Better Man I’ll Be – Larkin
7. Better Off Dub – Rupert Hine
8. Better Than A Dream – Trish & Darin
9. Better Than Me – Rachael Davis
10. Better Way – James Ingram

“Better Be Good To Me” is my favorite song off of Private Dancer. Some good songs here, but overall I think last week’s “Best” list was better.

This could be my best list ever.

1. Best Damn Fool – Buddy Guy
2. Best Friend – Dent May
3. The Best Is Yet To Come – Frank Sinatra with Count Basie & His Orchetsra
4. Best Lil’ Whorehouse Medley – The MOB
5. Best o’ The Barley – Jiggernaut
6. The Best Of Me – Eddie From Ohio
7. Best Of My Love – Brooks & Dunn
8. Best Of Times – Sheryl Crow
9. Best Song Ever – Katie Armiger
10. Best Summer Ever – from “Teen Beach 2”

I’ve been with the MOB for a long time, but that particular medley predates me. “Best Of My Love” is from that CD of countrified Eagles covers that I’ve referenced a few times. And I’ll say again, the two “Teen Beach” movies were way more fun than they had any right to be. It’s an underrated boon of parenthood that you can experience stuff like that without anyone wondering how and why you did so.

Going to eleven this week because I felt like it.

1. Be Good Johnny – Men At Work
2. Be Like The Man – Mieka Pauley
3. Be Like You – Asylum Street Spankers
4. Be My Baby – The Ronettes
5. Be My Daddy – Trish & Darin
6. Be Nice To Me – Trinity University Jazz Band
7. Be Prepared – Tom Lehrer
8. Be Still – Los Lobos
9. Be There – Pointer Sisters
10. Be True – Bruce Springsteen
11. Be True To Your School – The Beach Boys

Actually, I went to eleven to include the Beach Boys song, in celebration of school (finally!) opening for most of us on Monday. “Be Like You” is from the Spankers’ children’s album, which is a thing I still can’t quite believe exists. Seriously, they used to talk about doing a kids’ album at their shows, and we always thought they were joking. I can’t remember if “Be Prepared” was the first Tom Lehrer song I ever heard – it’s either that or “Lobachevsky” – but it’s a pretty representative introduction to his oevre. Happy Friday, and if you have friends or family in Florida I hope they’re all safe from Hurricane Irma.

Anyone else up for a little distraction from the news?

1. Bad – U2
2. Bad Art & Weirdo Ideas – Beach Slang
3. Bad Blood – Taylor Swift
4. Bad Businessman – Squirrel Nut Zippers
5. Bad Moon Rising – Creedence Clearwater Revival
6. Bad Reputation – Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
7. Bad Romance – Lady Gaga
8. Bad Sneakers – Steely Dan
9. Bad Thing – Marcia Ball, Angela Strehli & Lou Ann Barton
10. Bad To The Bone – George Thorogood & The Destroyers

I don’t have any commentary this week. Pick your favorites and hum along with them. Have a good weekend.

Back for more…

1. Back In Your Arms – Bruce Springsteen
2. Back In Your Own Backyard – Hot Club of Cowtown
3. Back It Up – Caro Emerald
4. Back On The Chain Gang – The Pretenders
5. Back To Black – Amy Winehouse
6. Back To Chico – Clandestine
7. Back To Tyrone – SixMileBridge
8. Back When I Could Fly – Trout Fishing In America
9. Back Where You Started – Tina Turner
10. Back To Me – The Dutchess & The Duke

It’s been six years since Amy Winehouse died. I can’t begin to imagine the music she might have made. Yes, “The Dutchess” is spelled that way, and no, I don’t know why.

I’m baaaaaaaaaack…

1. Back Door Santa – Bon Jovi
2. Back Home Again In Indiana – Don Byas, Coleman Hawkins & Stan Getz
3. Back In Baby’s Arms – Patsy Cline
4. Back In Love Again – LTD
5. Back In My Arms Again – The Supremes
6. Back In The Day – Blues Traveler
7. Back In The High Life – Steve Winwood
8. Back In The Saddle – Aerosmith
9. Back In The USSR – Billy Joel
10. Back In Time – Huey Lewis & The News

Billy Joel’s “Back In The USSR” is of course from his live concert album in Russia. “Back In Time” is the other Huey Lewis single from Back To The Future. I think the only other artist besides Bon Jovi likely to produce a song called “Back Door Santa” is Sammy Hagar. Surely he has a cover version of this somewhere. Back next week with part 2.

So many songs that start with the word “Baby”.

1. Baby Can I Hold You – Tracy Chapman
2. Baby Come Back To Me – The Manhattan Transfer
3. Baby Don’t Cry – INXS
4. Baby Don’t You Do It – Marvin Gaye
5. Baby Got Back – Sir Mix-a-Lot
6. Baby Love – The Supremes
7. Baby Mine – Bonnie Raitt
8. Baby Please Don’t Go – Them
9. Baby Won’t You Please Come Home – Asylum Street Spankers
10. Baby, Now That I’ve Found You – Alison Krauss

Once again we have a punctuational dliemma as we ponder why some of these songs have a comma after “Baby” and others do not. (Not to mention the missing question mark in song title #1.) Some obviously need no commas – “Baby Got Back”, “Baby Love”, and “Baby Mine”, clearly – but for others it’s debatable. I’m just a humble math major, I’m not going to make rulings, just raise questions. Tune in for more next week.

I don’t know, are you?

1. Are We The Waiting – Green Day
2. Are We There Yet? – Trout Fishing In America
3. Are You Gonna Be My Girl – JET
4. Are You Gonna Move It For Me? – The Donnas
5. Are You Kidding Around? – Samantha Shelton
6. Are You Lonely For Me Baby – Andrew Strong
7. Are You Lonesome Tonight? – Elvis Presley
8. Are You Ready For The Country? – Neil Young
9. Are You Ready For The Fallout? – Fastball
10. Are You Ready? – Pacific Gas & Electric

I don’t know why only seven of these ten songs have question marks in their titles. They’re clearly all interrogatives, so you’d think the question mark would be de rigeur, but apparently not. Maybe that affects how they’re pronounced, too, with no uptalk at the end. I may be overthinking this a little.

Hey, it’s another list!

1. Another Brick In The Wall Part 2 – Pink Floyd
2. Another Christmas Song – Stephen Colbert
3. Another Day – Sting
4. Another Day In Paradise – Phil Collins
5. Another Man’s Cause – SixMileBridge
6. Another Nail For My Heart – Squeeze
7. Another One Bites The Dust – Queen
8. Another Place To Fall – KT Tunstall
9. Another Saturday Night – Cat Stevens
10. Another World – Joe Jackson

I can never tell when it comes on the radio which is Another Brick In The Wall Part 1 and which is Part 2. The Colbert Christmas song, which was a free download when it came out (I don’t know if it still is), is a reminder of how brilliant the guy is. Go find it and give it a listen if you haven’t done so before, it’s worth it even in the summertime.

I know it’s past the Fourth of July, but how about some American music?

1. The American And Florence/Nobody’s Side – from “Chess”
2. American Girl – Roger McGuinn
3. American Idiot – Green Day
4. American Land – Bruce Springsteen
5. American Names – Sebastien Grainger
6. American Patrol – Glenn Miller
7. American Pie – Don McLean
8. American Teen – Khalid
9. American Tune – Simon & Garfunkel
10. American Woman – Lenny Kravitz

Yes, I know I cheated a little, using “American” as a noun as well as an adjective. Feel free to do the American thing and sue me. Roger McGuinn was the frontman for The Byrds, and his was the original version of “American Girl”. Quite a few classics on this list, which I suppose is fitting. Don’t sleep on “American Patrol”, which is a highly underrated Glenn Miller tune.

All good things must come to an end.

1. All The Voices – INXS
2. All The Way To Memphis – Mott the Hoople
3. All The Young Dudes – Billy Bragg
4. All These Years – Solas
5. All Things Dull And Ugly – Lager Rhythms
6. All Through The Night – Peter, Paul & Mary
7. All Together – Dougie MacLean
8. All Too Well – Taylor Swift
9. All Work And No Play – Van Morrison
10. All You Wanna Do Is Dance – Billy Joel

We end where we started, with Billy Joel. I didn’t even include “All For Leyna”. Mott the Hoople, whose name apparently comes from a weird novel about circus freaks, did the original version of “All The Young Dudes”; it was written for them by David Bowie, who had also offered them “Suffragette City” but they turned him down. Someone could probably make a living writing alternative music history novels. I’ll have a new topic word next week.

All we are is all we are.

1. All Of My Life – Phil Collins
2. All Or Nothin’ At All – Bruce Springsteen
3. All Revved Up – Jermaine Jackson
4. All Revved Up With No Place To Go – Meat Loaf
5. All She Wants To Do Is Dance – Don Henley
6. All Summer Long – The Beach Boys
7. All That You Ask Me – Ceili’s Muse
8. All The Same Mistakes – Mieka Pauley
9. All The Things You Are – Dizzy Gillespie
10. All The Time – Elizabeth Cook

I’m pretty sure that if you picked a Phil Collins song and a Bruce Springsteen song at random from my collection, I’d immediately be able to hum or sing at least one of them most of the time. The two songs here fall into the exceptions to that. Did you know that there are not two but three “Bat Out Of Hell” albums? I bought “Bat Out Of Hell 2” when it came out in 1993 because it seemed like a good idea at the time. It was more of an object lesson in not being able to catch lightning in a bottle twice. That among other reasons is why I don’t have Bat Out Of Hell 3. Feel free to tell me if I have misjudged.