Notes on a Thursday

So, I don't have anything in particular to review--no more concerts until next weekend, and no new albums to review. At work today, in a down moment, I started thinking about the music I grew up listening to. My parents, as I've said before, are music fiends with excellent taste. They raised me to be able to identify the Beatles, U2, Rolling Stones, etc, in the first seconds of music. But what is my favorite song from each of these bands? It seems nearly impossible, from the outset, to choose a favorite from the music that you grew up with, particular my generation, whose parents listen to the epically amazing music from the late 60s-early 70s. So I went through my iPod and chose several bands that I deemed the most influential on my childhood, and then chose my favorite song from each. I then asked my parents to contribute their favorite songs from each of the bands. Though I thought this would be a fairly simple thing, my parents both needed a good hour to go through each band's catalog for their favorite. It turned out to be really cool, and I was introduced to a lot of songs that I didn't actually know, and in that brief period of time, some of my favorites change. It's also interesting how much you learn about people when you start discussing your favorite songs. And I'll leave it at that before I wax more lyrical than I already have . . .




Beatles:
"Norwegian Wood" (Mom and me)
My Dad can't choose a favorite Beatles' song.
















Little Feat:
"Easy to Slip" (Mama Historian)
"Fat Man in the Bathtub" (Me)

Jackson Browne:
"Fountain of Sorrow" (Mama Historian)
"Late for the Sky" (Me)

Led Zeppelin:
"Kashmir" (Mama Historian)
"Whole Lotta Love" (Papa Historian)
"Over the Hills and Far Away" (Me)















Bruce Springsteen:
"Thunder Road (Acoustic)" (Mama and Me)
"Born to Run" (Papa)











Radiohead:
"High and Dry" (Mama)
"There There (The Boney King of Nowhere)" (Me)
"Creep" (Papa)



Rolling Stones:
"Sympathy for the Devil" (Mama)
"She's a Rainbow" (Me)
"Satisfaction" (Papa)

Talking Heads:
"Take Me to the River" (Mama and Papa)
"Once in a Lifetime" (Me)


U2:
Where the Streets have no Name (all three!)

Tom Waits:
"Shiver Me Timbers" (Mama)
"Hang on St. Christopher" (Me)



The Beach Boys:
"God Only Knows" (Mama)
"Good Vibrations" (Papa and Me)

Bob Dylan:
"Tangled up in Blue" (Mama)
"Mr. Tambourine Man" (Me)
"Subterranean Homesick Blues" (Papa)










David Bowie:
Mama and I actually couldn't decide at all, and instead choose the entire Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust album
"China Girl" (Papa)








The Doors:

"The Wasp (Texas Radio and the Big Beat)" (Mama)
"Riders on the Storm" (Papa)
"Waiting for the Sun" (Me)





Elton John:
"Madman Across the Water" (Mama)
"Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding" (Papa)
"Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters" (Me)

Eric Clapton:
"Layla" (Mama)
"Cocaine" (Papa)
"I Feel Free" (Me)



Fleetwood Mac:
"Rhiannon" (Mama)
"Dreams" (Me)
"Gypsy" (Papa)


Janis Joplin:
"Piece of my Heart" (Mama and Papa)
"I Need a Man to Love"* (Me)
*technically Big Brother & the Holding Company












Simon & Garfunkel:
"The Boxer" (Mama and Me)
"Mrs. Robinson" (Papa)



Tom Petty:
"Listen to her Heart" (Mama)
"Refugee" (Papa)
"You Wreck Me" (Me)

The Who:
"Amazing Journey" (Mama)
"Baba O'Riley" (Me)

what are your favorite songs?