Tuesday's Top Ten - Springsteen Songs

"In the day we sweat it out in the streets of a runaway American dream/ At night we ride through mansions of glory in suicide machines." - "Born to Run" by Bruce Springsteen

Seriously, how amazingly cool are those lyrics? I heard "Born to Run" on the radio this morning and decided to dedicate this week's top ten list to the incredible songs of The Boss. These are my favorite Springsteen songs at the moment, but he has so many fantastic songs, there's a good chance some of these would change if you asked me next week. :)

1. The River - This is one of the most beautiful sad songs I have ever heard. It is the perfect portrait of blue collar America and how our lives don't always end up like we planned. Favorite lines: Now those memories come back to haunt me/ They haunt me like a curse/ Is a dream a lie if it don't come true/ Or is it something worse.

2. Racing in the Street - This song is just cool. Plain and simple. Bruce is a great storyteller, and this tale comes complete with classic cars, drag racing, and an ode to the Martha and the Vandellas' hit "Dancing in the Street". What's not to love? Favorite lines: I met her on the strip three years ago/ In a Camaro with this dude from L.A./ I blew that Camaro off my back and drove that little girl away.

3. Born to Run - This classic from 1975 is as powerful as the suicide machines Bruce sings about. Hearing this song makes me want to sing at the top of my lungs and drive as fast as I can, just for the fun of it. Favorite lines: Wendy let me in I wanna be your friend/ I want to guard your dreams and visions/ Just wrap your legs 'round these velvet rims/ And strap your hands across my engines.

4. Born in the U.S.A. - One of the reasons I love this song so much is because people think of it as this patriotic anthem, but it's actually a protest song about part of what's wrong with this country. "Born in the U.S.A." gets me amped up just like "Born to Run" which I love, but maybe I shouldn't listen to Bruce when I'm driving. Just a thought. Favorite lines: Got in a little hometown jam/ So they put a rifle in my hand/ Sent me off to a foreign land/ To go and kill the yellow man. Yes, America, this is how you handle things - with violence. (Insert eye roll here)

5. Dancing in the Dark - Bruce gets rebellious again. I love it! This song was his answer to being pressured by his record company to churn out a hit. Creative inspiration, heart and soul, thoughtful writing, none of that was important as long as it was popular on the radio. Leave it to Bruce to turn that kind of pressure into something amazing. And yes, this was a hit, but Bruce didn't sell out, he made a hit record in his own way, the only way that matters. Favorite lines: You can't start a fire worrying about your little world falling apart/ This gun's for hire/ Even if we're just dancing in the dark.

6. My Hometown - An honest portrait of a small, run-down American town over the years. Four and a half minutes of melancholy beauty. Once again, this song shows off Bruce's storytelling skills and makes me feel like I'm right there, driving next to him down Main Street. Favorite lines: Last night I sat him up behind the wheel and said son take a good look around/ This is your hometown.

7. Glory Days - This song is so much fun! I could listen to Bruce reminiscing about his good old days in high school all day long and never get bored. Plus, the music video for "Glory Days" is great too. Bruce and Little Steven Van Zant seem to be having the best time, and that joy is contagious. Favorite lines: I had a friend who was a big baseball player/ Back in high school/ He could throw that speedball by you/ Make you look like a fool boy.

8. The Rising - I rememeber when this song came out after September 11, it just felt so powerful and emotional, and kind of healing at the same time. Music does have the power to heal, and this song, this album, was Bruce's response to that terrible time that changed the world. Favorite lines: Sky of blackness and sorrow/ Sky of love, sky of tears/ Sky of glory and sadness/ Sky of mercy, sky of fear. Those words always give me chills.

9. Thunder Road - Bruce and Mary are busting out of town! Forget about the pain and the fear, jump in the car, and go. I love this song. Bruce just wants Mary to trust him enough to hop in the front seat and say goodbye to the losers in their town, hit the road and find something better. Haven't we all felt like that at some point in our lives? Favorite lines: Show a little faith, there's magic in the night/ You ain't a beauty, but hey you're alright/ Oh and that's alright with me.

10. Girls in Their Summer Clothes - A quiet summer evening of a time gone by is the backdrop for this song. Kids playing ball outside, people eating at Frankie's Diner and Pop's Grill, and Bruce thinking about a lost love as the girls in their summer clothes pass him by. Equal parts nostalgia, heartache, and small-town summer nights. Definitely my favorite song from the "Magic" album. Favorite lines: A kid's rubber ball smacks/ Off the gutter 'neath the lamp light/ Big bank clock chimes/ Off go the sleepy front porch lights.

Tuesday's Top Ten - Rock and Roll Christmas

"Let's have a rock and roll Christmas/ Just like we used to know." - "Rock and Roll Christmas" by George Thorogood

Happy Tuesday, everyone! As you've probably figured out from my last few posts (or from reading my profile), I am just a tad bit obsessed with Christmas. I have already covered Christmas books, so this edition of Tuesday's Top Ten will be devoted to holiday music, specifically, rock and roll. All of these songs may not be rock, but they are performed by rock stars or rock/pop bands, and play on my CD player all season long. If your favorite rock and roll Christmas songs differ from mine, leave me a comment so I can check them out. Merry Christmas!

1. "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" by Bruce Springsteen - It just doesn't get better than this. My favorite part of this rockin' kids' song is the intro where Bruce talks to the band and the crowd, asking if they've been good or what. And he asks Clarence if Santa is bringing him a new saxophone for Christmas. I miss the Big Man. Bonus points for this song, the girls I nanny for absolutely love it and sing along at the top of their lungs whenever it comes on the radio. It just makes me happy.

2. "Happy Xmas (War is Over)" by John Lennon - I am choosing to ignore the Plastic Ono Band because everyone knows that John Lennon was the genius behind this song and he is the only one who deserves any credit. "Happy Xmas" has such a great message, that peace is what matters, and if everyone wants it, it can be achieved. This is a song that should be enjoyed all year, not just in December.

3. "Christmas All Over Again" by Tom Petty - Man, I love this song! It became a staple at my house every Christmas season because of the "Home Alone" soundtrack (and because Tom Petty is just so fantastic!) and I will never get tired of hearing it. It's fun, it's festive, and it's funny, like the line about not wanting to kiss your long distance relatives. The best line, though, is "Hope Mama gets her shopping done!" So great!

4. "Merry Christmas, Baby" by The Beach Boys - Not to be confused with the R&B standard that has been recorded by Otis Redding, B.B. King, and Bruce Springsteen among others, this is a Beach Boys original and one of my all time favorites (since I was a very young child!). Unlike most cheery holiday songs, this one is about a guy who wants his girlfriend back, who broke up with him at Christmas. Not really fine holiday fun, but I absolutely love it anyway. It still sounds upbeat and is really great to sing along to.

5. "Santa's Beard" by The Beach Boys - Another classic from their '60s Christmas album, this song is about taking your little brother to see Santa, and he discovers that - gasp! - the department store St. Nick is an imposter. But hey, don't worry kid, he's just one of Santa's helpers, so it's okay! I think all of us who take children to Santa at the mall have a fear that this will happen. At least we have a song that will explain it all in a gentle way that will still keep the magic alive. Whew!

6. "I Believe in Father Christmas" by Emerson, Lake, and Palmer - Probably the most different song on my list, "I Believe in Father Christmas" is beautifully haunting, touching on the true meaning of Christmas ("the virgin's birth"), the magic of the season ("and I looked at the sky with excited eyes"), and peaceful wishes for the new year. If you don't know this one, go check it out. You won't be sorry.

7. "We Three Kings of Orient Are" by Spinal Tap - As you can probably imagine if you know anything about Spinal Tap, this is a hilarious version of a classic Christmas carol. The guys don't know the words and end up singing about smoking exploding rubber cigars. So funny! And the banter between the guys is just great. I always laugh when I hear this song, especially when my sister sings it in her fake British accent. She does terrific impersonations of Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest) and David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean). Hey, Jenna, it goes to 11!

8. "Run, Rudolph, Run" by Chuck Berry - A holiday classic that makes me think about the scene in "Home Alone" where the MacAllisters are running through the airport, sans Kevin. Just one question though. Who the heck is Randolph and why is he chasing Santa and Rudolph? An evil twin, perhaps?

9. "Merry Christmas, Baby", versions by Bruce Springsteen and by Melissa Etheridge - Now this is the classic song I was refering to in #4 on this list. It's impossible to beat Bruce, but Melissa's version is so good, I am calling it a tie. Bruce's "Merry Christmas, Baby" is perfection, plain and simple, a classic R&B/rock song with a holiday theme, but Melissa's version has a great line that I haven't heard anywhere else. "I haven't had a smoke this morning/ But I'm all lit up like a Christmas tree." This is a great song to just belt out, especially when you are alone in the car and no one can laugh at you for singing off-key at the top of your lungs.

10. "Must Be Santa" by Bob Dylan - Just the fact that Bob recorded a Christmas album at all is laugh-out-loud hilarious, but every song on his "Christmas in the Heart" album is wonderful! "Must Be Santa" is my favorite because of his additional lyrics. Along with some of Santa's reindeer that we all know and love, Bob has included a few special guests on St. Nick's Christmas Eve flight. :)

"Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen/
Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon/
Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen/
Carter, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton!"

Learned More From a Three Minute Record

"We busted out of class had to get away from those fools/ We learned more from a three minute record than we ever learned in school." - "No Surrender" by The Boss

Bruce's music always speaks the truth. These lyrics pretty much describe me when I was in high school, and some of those memories came flooding back yesterday when I drove by my old school on my way home from work. A word was misspelled on the sign out front, a couple of kids were "discreetly" (yeah right) smoking a joint next to the teachers' parking lot (or maybe they were young-looking teachers, which wouldn't surprise me one bit), and a backpack was left on the sidewalk with its contents spilling out for all to see (not a textbook in sight), most likely by a kid who doesn't care about anything they are supposed to be learning in that big brick building. I can say this with some certainty because I spent four years there, and not that much has changed around here in the last 11 years. I learned nothing at that school and couldn't wait to get away from it and the fools that filled the classrooms and halls as soon as I could.

That being said, I have always been a big fan of education (I did become a teacher after all) and firmly believe that most of what a person needs to know in life is not learned by sitting quietly in a desk and taking notes. Here are a few lessons I learned from rock and roll, one of the greatest teachers around.

1. You have to change with the world or you'll get left behind. This is just one of the lessons passed down by Bob Dylan in "The Times They Are A-Changin'", one of my all-time favorites. The world around us is constantly evolving, and we have to grow right along with it. Don't stop trying, don't stop moving, and keep an open mind.

2. Stay hungry if you want to succeed. I thank Bruce for this one. "Dancing in the Dark" teaches a great lesson on how you have to want something really badly, you have to stay hungry for it and never forget what it is that you want, even if you're in a bad place for whatever reason and nowhere near where you want to be. Best line: "You can't start a fire worrying about your little world falling apart." Pity parties help no one.

3. All You Need is Love. This is probably the most simple song in The Beatles catalogue, but that one line says it all. Love beats hate. Make love not war. Good triumphs over evil. As long as you have love in your life, in any way, you can get through anything. It might be a little idealistic, but John and Paul knew what they were talking about when they wrote this song.

4. There's a time for everything. The Byrds' song "Turn, Turn, Turn", adapted from the Book of Ecclesiastes, illustrates this point perfectly. There's a time to laugh, a time to cry, a time to be born, a time to die, a time for peace, I swear it's not too late, and so on. I try to remind myself of this every time I get impatient (frequently), overly emotional, or a little off kilter. Don't rush through things, don't jump ahead, don't move or speak out of turn. There's a time for every purpose under Heaven.

5. Don't let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy. This is from The Eagles' "Take it Easy". I have always found it hard to relax, very difficult to live in the moment, and nearly impossible to escape my own thoughts, but this song reminds me of the importance of all of these things.

I really do have all of these lyrics going through my head at various points in my life, and for whatever reason, the wisdom of rock does help. The wisdom of rock. I like that! I haven't mastered these lessons yet, and maybe I never will, but I'm working on it. So to sum it up, in high school I learned nothing worth remembering, but from music, I have learned so many things that are valuable and necessary to live a good life. You need to have the abilities to adapt, to strive, to love, to take things as they come and recognize the times for what they are, and to lighten up every once in a while. How come they don't offer classes like this in high school?

Tuesday's Top Ten - Albums

"Did you grow up lonesome and one of a kind?/ Were your records all you had to pass the time?" - "The Queen of Lower Chelsea" by The Gaslight Anthem

It's time for another Top Ten list! Building off of what I started last week, here are, in my opinion, the ten greatest albums of all time, and my favorite song on each album. Random fact - every album but one on the list was written before I was born.

I would love to hear what everyone thinks about my list and what your favorite albums are, so leave me a comment and share some cool music while your at it. Happy Tuesday!

1. Highway 61 Revisited by Bob Dylan - Listen to "Like a Rolling Stone",
my favorite song of all time. It has the mystery, poetry, emotion,
and the meaning that make this song a true classic.

2. Abbey Road by The Beatles - I love The Fab Four, especially their
later music, and "Oh! Darling" is amazing. It's raw, powerful,
emotional, and Paul McCartney sounds fantastic on this one.

3. Hotel California by The Eagles - Every song on this album is great,
but the title track is the best one. It's haunting and mellow,
beautiful and sad, and Don Henley's way of describing life in the CA
music scene in the 70s. Too bad I came along after it was over!

4. Damn the Torpedoes by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - This album is
so fantastic! I love everything Tom Petty has done, but my favorite
Torpedoes song has to be "Even the Losers". A simple story of a young
man's lost love, and how everybody gets lucky sometimes. Also check
out "Century City". It's hilarious, considering that the lyrics talk
about living in the modern world and it was written in 1979.

5. Born in the U.S.A. by Bruce Springsteen - This album was awesome in
1985 and it still is today. I love every track, but the fist pumping
protest song masquerading as a patriotic anthem that is "Born in the
U.S.A." can't be beat. This is the type of song that comes on the car
radio and makes you want to roll the windows down, blast the stereo,
and sing along, loud and proud. That's why he's the Boss.

6. Blonde on Blonde by Bob Dylan - Another Dylan classic! It astounds me
that this album is 45 years old because like all of Dylan's songs,
they are timeless and remain relevant almost half a century later.
The can't miss song on this album is "Just Like a Woman". It's real,
simple, poetic, and beautiful with a touch of pain. Completely
breathtaking.

7. Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys - Now what kind of California girl would
I be if I didn't love The Beach Boys? Famous for their fun surfing
music and cool racing songs, Brian Wilson ventured off the beaten path
with this one and created a masterpiece. "God Only Knows" is the
can't miss song from Pet Sounds. It's so stunning with it's simple
words and melody, but the meaning behind it is so strong and so
powerful that it takes my breath away.

8. Tapestry by Carole King - The ultimate 70s singer-songerwriter album.
Every song is a classic that tells a story, and my favorite is "So
Far Away", Carole's lamentations about life on the road away from
those she loves. Very soulful.

9. Led Zeppelin IV - Zeppelin's best album, this one is full of rock
anthems as well as a couple of slower songs that make you think
instead of just wanting to bang your head and sing along at the top
of your lungs. "Stairway to Heaven" is the giveaway pick here, but
I'm going in a different direction by choosing "Going to California".
I love this song and I used it in my first novel because it means
something to me. It's longing and pain with a dash of hope that maybe
things can turn around for the better.

10. American Beauty by The Grateful Dead - Jerry and the boys have a
following so big it became its own counterculture for a reason. They
may not have had a million top 10 hits, but this album is the epitome
of hippie music and I love it. "Box of Rain" is my favorite,
especially the line "believe it if you need it/ if you don't just pass
it on". This song has a great message, it's fun, and it gets stuck
in my head in the best possible way every time I hear it. Thanks,
Jerry.

Rock On

"Still lookin' for that blue jean, baby queen/ Prettiest girl I ever seen/ See her shake on the movie screen, Jimmy Dean/ James Dean."

That is Alana's song. She is the three-year-old I teach. Today, the girls and I went bowling, and we heard David Essex's "Rock On" on the radio on the way there. At one point, Alana bowled a spare, and she pumped her little fists in the air, did a little dance, and yelled, "Hey kids, rock and roll! Rock on!" I burst out laughing, as did all of the adults in our area. It was too funny! She is so spirited and hilarious, and that song fits her to a tee. I wonder how many other preschoolers recognize that song (and many other classic rock songs) by the first few notes? More of Alana's favorites: "Summer of '69" by Bryan Adams, "Bennie and the Jets" by Elton John, and "Paint it Black" by the Rolling Stones. As she would say, what a "totally awesome" kid!