Wednesday, September 25, 2019

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

Sunday, September 22, 2019

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

#SourceConverted
1123456 - Fitz and The Tantrums
2Come Back Home - Manafest
3One Less Day (Dying Young) - Rob Thomas
4Born For This - The Score
5Reason - Unspoken
6SOS - Avicii
7Nightshade - The Lumineers
8It Doesn't Matter Why - Silversun Pickups
9Rose - Allan Rayman
10Symphony (feat. Zara Larsson) - Clean Bandit
11Sin - Kakkmaddafakka
12Right As Rain - Collective Soul
13Greater Than All My Regrets - Tenth Avenue North
14You Are The Night - Marc Scibilia
15Nunchuk - SAINT PHNX
16Doom Days - Bastille
17Only the Son (Yeshua) - Newsboys
18Stay (Don't Go Away) [feat. Raye] - David Guetta
19Tough Love - Avicii
20ME! (feat. Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco) - Taylor Swift
21Rescue Me - OneRepublic
22Fall (feat. Andrew Holt & Meredith Andrews) - The Belonging Co
23Come Alive - In Color
24Not Ok - Kygo
25Are You Lonely (feat. ISÁK) - YUAN Remix - Steve Aoki
26Hurt People (with Aloe Blacc) - Gryffin
27Call You Mine - The Chainsmokers
28City of Black & White - Mat Kearney
29The Search - NF
30Alligator - Of Monsters and Men
31The Way I Feel - Keane
32Heaven - Avicii
33My Own Hero - Andy Grammer
34Dirty Air - Two Door Cinema Club
35That Girl - CORSAK Remix - Olly Murs
36Truth Never Lies - Lost Frequencies
37UFO - Bad Books
38Forgive Me Friend - Smith & Thell
39On A Roll - Ashley O
40But Us - Florian Picasso
41Name - Scott Stapp
42Born Without a Heart - Faouzia
43Scars (Come With Livin') - TobyMac
44Without You - John Newman
45Play - K-391
46God Only Knows (with Dolly Parton) - for KING & COUNTRY
47King Of Me - Rend Co. Kids
48Arriba (feat. Clean Bandit) - Little Big
49Push - KONGOS
50I Warned Myself - Charlie Puth
51Couldn't Have Known - !!!
52Nowhere To Run - Fozzy
53Cold - James Blunt
54Artemis - Lindsey Stirling
55Kick It - Natasha Bedingfield
56I Just Wanna Shine - Fitz and The Tantrums
57Misery - Michigander
58Eat, Sleep, Wake (Nothing But You) - Bombay Bicycle Club
59Teeth - 5 Seconds of Summer
60For Now, Forever - Augustana
61Miracle Man - AWOLNATION
62Don't Go Breaking My Heart - Backstreet Boys
63Got It In You - BANNERS
64Hollow - Edit - Barns Courtney
65Fly Away - P.O.D.
66VOICES - Switchfoot
67Sail On - Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds
68Favours - Hayden James
69Different World (feat. CORSAK) - Alan Walker
70Storm - Andy Hunter
71Birds (feat. Elisa) - Imagine Dragons
72Over my head - Judah & the Lion
73Love Too Much - Keane
74Mercy - Grizfolk
75Don't Throw Out My Legos - AJR
76Now's The Time - Moon Taxi
77Blame It On My Youth - blink-182
78Black Gold (Edit) - Editors
79A New Way - morgxn
80Wanted - OneRepublic
81The Girl You Pretended to Be - Fastball
82Carry Me Away - John Mayer
83Sorry - SAINT PHNX
84Waterfall - Live
85Waiting For Your Love - Cold War Kids
86Dreamland (feat. Years & Years) - Pet Shop Boys
87I Just Don't Understand You (Lost Tapes) - Röyksopp
88Salt And The Sea - The Lumineers
89Take What You Want (feat. Ozzy Osbourne & Travis Scott) - Post Malone
90The Last Time - The Script
91Edge Of My Seat - Radio Version - TobyMac
92Memories - Maroon 5
93You Don't Even Know Me - Faouzia
94Bust This Town - Stereophonics
95Afterlife - Hailee Steinfeld
96Sober - Bad Wolves
97Faith, Hope, & Love - Josh Garrels
98I Won't Look Back - Fireflight
99
Image result for evanescence fallen
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.

Image result for evanescence fallen
Inducted on 10-02-2015