Song #45: Europe - The Final Kitt

From the moment the synths kick in, you are already hooked. And then the actual hook plays. Duh-nuh-nuh nuh, duh nuh nuh nuh nuh. I'm pretty sure My brother and I used this song as entrance music wrestling. So dramatic. Hands down one of my favorite 80's songs, and definitely a worthy addition to the hall of fame.


Again, I can't think of any life connections other than listening to this when I was young. However, things are coming around full circle as the often do, and now this is a song that is on all of my boy's playlists, and therefore it brings new meaning to myself. 

Song #44 - Enigma - Return to Innocence

This is another song that brings me back to the mid to late 90s in my middle school/high school years. I believe my brother had the Enigma single to Sadness Part 1. I enjoyed it and payed attention to it. Somehow (probably popular radio) I then paid attention when Return to Innocence came out. The deep beats along with the ethnic chanting drew you into the song, while the beautiful voice and sentimental lyric keep you into the song. 

I don't have a lot of memories, except for it being used during a slideshow at the end of my senior year during band class (weird what we remember, right?). But whenever I listen to the song it just gives me the "90's Feels" all over. I'm pretty sure it was regularly on my playlist at college too. My mind wanders away when I listen to music, and I know I got caught up in that song so many times. 

Other elements: The opening, echoing words of the song "Love. Devotion. Feeling. Emotion.". The distorted guitar bridge. The repetition (in this case, a good thing!). 

Inducted Dec. 21, 2015

Josh's Top 100 - CURRENT

TOP 100:

I don't rank by my favorite song at any given time.. the ones on top have been my list a lot longer. I just removed a lot of GREAT songs and added some new ones a day or two before publishing this list. A couple of other notes.. One Less Day (Dying Young) is a GREAT song and could be in my Hall of Fame in 10 years, along with maybe Reason by Unspoken and Love Too Much by Keane (I LOVE KEANE!!). 

Track list

#	Source	Converted
1	123456 - Fitz and The Tantrums
2	Come Back Home - Manafest
3	One Less Day (Dying Young) - Rob Thomas
4	Born For This - The Score
5	Reason - Unspoken
6	SOS - Avicii
7	Nightshade - The Lumineers
8	It Doesn't Matter Why - Silversun Pickups
9	Rose - Allan Rayman
10	Symphony (feat. Zara Larsson) - Clean Bandit
11	Sin - Kakkmaddafakka
12	Right As Rain - Collective Soul
13	Greater Than All My Regrets - Tenth Avenue North
14	You Are The Night - Marc Scibilia
15	Nunchuk - SAINT PHNX
16	Doom Days - Bastille
17	Only the Son (Yeshua) - Newsboys
18	Stay (Don't Go Away) [feat. Raye] - David Guetta
19	Tough Love - Avicii
20	ME! (feat. Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco) - Taylor Swift
21	Rescue Me - OneRepublic
22	Fall (feat. Andrew Holt & Meredith Andrews) - The Belonging Co
23	Come Alive - In Color
24	Not Ok - Kygo
25	Are You Lonely (feat. ISÁK) - YUAN Remix - Steve Aoki
26	Hurt People (with Aloe Blacc) - Gryffin
27	Call You Mine - The Chainsmokers
28	City of Black & White - Mat Kearney
29	The Search - NF
30	Alligator - Of Monsters and Men
31	The Way I Feel - Keane
32	Heaven - Avicii
33	My Own Hero - Andy Grammer
34	Dirty Air - Two Door Cinema Club
35	That Girl - CORSAK Remix - Olly Murs
36	Truth Never Lies - Lost Frequencies
37	UFO - Bad Books
38	Forgive Me Friend - Smith & Thell
39	On A Roll - Ashley O
40	But Us - Florian Picasso
41	Name - Scott Stapp
42	Born Without a Heart - Faouzia
43	Scars (Come With Livin') - TobyMac
44	Without You - John Newman
45	Play - K-391
46	God Only Knows (with Dolly Parton) - for KING & COUNTRY
47	King Of Me - Rend Co. Kids
48	Arriba (feat. Clean Bandit) - Little Big
49	Push - KONGOS
50	I Warned Myself - Charlie Puth
51	Couldn't Have Known - !!!
52	Nowhere To Run - Fozzy
53	Cold - James Blunt
54	Artemis - Lindsey Stirling
55	Kick It - Natasha Bedingfield
56	I Just Wanna Shine - Fitz and The Tantrums
57	Misery - Michigander
58	Eat, Sleep, Wake (Nothing But You) - Bombay Bicycle Club
59	Teeth - 5 Seconds of Summer
60	For Now, Forever - Augustana
61	Miracle Man - AWOLNATION
62	Don't Go Breaking My Heart - Backstreet Boys
63	Got It In You - BANNERS
64	Hollow - Edit - Barns Courtney
65	Fly Away - P.O.D.
66	VOICES - Switchfoot
67	Sail On - Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds
68	Favours - Hayden James
69	Different World (feat. CORSAK) - Alan Walker
70	Storm - Andy Hunter
71	Birds (feat. Elisa) - Imagine Dragons
72	Over my head - Judah & the Lion
73	Love Too Much - Keane
74	Mercy - Grizfolk
75	Don't Throw Out My Legos - AJR
76	Now's The Time - Moon Taxi
77	Blame It On My Youth - blink-182
78	Black Gold (Edit) - Editors
79	A New Way - morgxn
80	Wanted - OneRepublic
81	The Girl You Pretended to Be - Fastball
82	Carry Me Away - John Mayer
83	Sorry - SAINT PHNX
84	Waterfall - Live
85	Waiting For Your Love - Cold War Kids
86	Dreamland (feat. Years & Years) - Pet Shop Boys
87	I Just Don't Understand You (Lost Tapes) - Röyksopp
88	Salt And The Sea - The Lumineers
89	Take What You Want (feat. Ozzy Osbourne & Travis Scott) - Post Malone
90	The Last Time - The Script
91	Edge Of My Seat - Radio Version - TobyMac
92	Memories - Maroon 5
93	You Don't Even Know Me - Faouzia
94	Bust This Town - Stereophonics
95	Afterlife - Hailee Steinfeld
96	Sober - Bad Wolves
97	Faith, Hope, & Love - Josh Garrels
98	I Won't Look Back - Fireflight
99

Inducted on 10-02-2015

Natural Villain - The Man Who

SONG #43 - Evanescence - Bring Me To Life

What a beautifully haunting song. If you haven't noticed, I tend to like male singer/songwriters and bands w/ male singers. I'm not trying to be sexist, it's just my preference. Of the 43 songs I've written about so far, only 3 (Kelly Clarkson, Ace of Base, The Cranberries) are women-driven songs, and a couple of others have a prominent female voice in the song. THIS.. however.. THIS SONG is incredible and Amy Lee's vocals have a lot to do with it. The song came out in 2003, when I was just starting my first ministry at  St. John's. I had a couple of students who were really drawn into Evanescence's music, and I felt that this song (and the rest of the album) captured the mood of what a lot of my student's were experiencing at that moment.

What I love/d about this song is that for as angsty as it is, there is a lot of hope involved. The singer is singing about someone who looks at her differently, and she is willing to have this person know her fully, and in fact she wants this person to "Bring her to Life" (hence the title). When considering God in that role, it makes all kinds of sense.

Anyway.. the song just takes me back to those early days of ministry, which also was a weird, awkward, wonderful, but lonely time for me. I was dating Sarah, and while it was a good relationship, she was focused on college and I was just pretty much trying to survive life on my own. I know this was part of my playlist in my apartment on N. Scott Street as I grew more on my own.

Some Specific elements I liked about the song: The piano intro (YES!), The back & forth vocal performances from Lee AND Paul McCoy (of the band12 Stones) on the chorus, specifically McCoy's "screaming" at the end, and the orchestral fade-out at the end. MAN do I love good music, and this certainly qualifies.

Inducted on 10-02-2015