Special Christmas Edition

I'm foregoing the usual goofy fun this week for a special Christmas edition.  Not to sound too cliche, but there's something beautiful about Christmas.  Maybe it's because of the memories of that Christmas "magic" we felt as a child. Maybe it's because as we transition from youth to adult we change our viewpoint from "me" to "you".  Maybe it's because of our vulnerability that comes from the extreme highs and lows that we seem to experience around this time of year.  Maybe it's because we think more of Christ.  There are those who would say that thoughts of Christ can't be it since they don't share that belief and yet they still love Christmas.  Maybe.  

I've put together a list of songs that have at one point or another stirred my heart and moistened my eyes.  Who knows what these carols will speak to you?  But, I'm guessing at some instance, you'll have a thought to do something good.  I would simply encourage you to follow through by acting on that thought and if you do, I am confident that then you'll feel the true Spirit of Christmas.  Thank you for listening.  It really does mean a lot to me. 

I Wonder as I Wander.  Rutter, Cambridge Singers.

The King's Singers - Greensleeves

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - John Denver & Rowlf the Dog

Pentatonix.  Mary Did You Know.

Carol of the Bells.  Mormon Tabernacle Choir. 

Bing Crosby & David Bowie - Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy 1977

O Come O Come Emanuel.  Vocal Point.

1994's Top 5 Songs

 

1994.  The Year of Ace of Base. They had the #1 song, The Sign, and 3 total in the top 10 for the year.  Therefore, I had to put them in the Top 5.  Right???  No, really I'm asking.

Beck.  Loser.  Many considered this to represent Generation X's slacker culture.  Beck said it referred to his rapping skills.

Sheryl Crow.  All I Want To Do.  For some reason this song makes me want to go hang out in California.

Melissa Etheridge.  I'm The Only One.  Etheridge makes you believe the lyrics.

Lisa Loeb and Nine Stories.  Stay (I Missed You).  Cute song.

Honorable Mention:

Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart and Sting.  All For Love.  All three of these guys have made it on the blog separately.  If you want to jump straight to the singing, start at the minute mark. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofA3URC1wyk

Melissa Etheridge. Come to My Window.  Etheridge had a good year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaY5-LGYJKc

General Public.  I'll Take You There.  Funky.  I'd exchange this for Ace of Base in the top 5, but, as mentioned they had THREE in the Billboard Top 10.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0N_Q0JqH80

Big Mountain. Baby I Love Your Way.  The feel good song of the week.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utXwIqQj7oE

Salt-N-Pepa.  Whatta Man.  Features En Vogue and one of the dumbest lines in all of Songdom.  See if you can guess which one I'm talking about.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8_wmcWecOg

1993's Top 5 Songs

Ugh! Not the most exciting year in music unless you like slow songs and/or gangsta rap.  Remember how fun some of the previous rap songs were?  Yeah, not so much this year.  But, here's a tune that would have made in the top 5 for any year:  Proclaimers. I'm Gonna Be.

I felt that I had to include Whitney Houston's I Will Always Love You.  It was the #1 song for the year and was the Top 40 #1 for what seemed like all year.

Meat Loaf.  I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That).  Makes a great M & M commercial.

M&M commercial

Arrested Development.  Mr. Wendal.  From the same album as Tennessee. 

Sting.  Fields Of Gold.  Not exactly upbeat, but a terrific song nonetheless.

Honorable Mention 

Shai.  If I Ever Fall In Love.  Best song by Shai.  Did he have any others?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caNRc1ER8p4

Snow.  Informer.  "Informer" is one of the few words I understand in the song, and that's because it's the title.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StlMdNcvCJo

Here's a spoof of the song by Jim Carrey (Imposter).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Icb_tRTnA4g

P.M. Dawn.  I'd Die Without You.  Look!  Another PM Dawn song. Is it just me or does it sound a bit like the other PM Dawn song (from 1992).  I actually like this one better.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_qWlPCEnGM

Billy Joel.  The River Of Dreams.  One of those catchy songs that acapella groups like to perform.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSq4B_zHqPM

Boyz II Men In The Still Of The Nite.  Another catchy song that acapella groups like to perform - as demonstrated here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQG37mzhv4w

1992's Top 5 Songs

Let's start 1992 with the straight up silliness of Right Said Fred's I'm Too Sexy.  The original video had too many half-naked bodies, so here's a strange substitute I found.

Tom Cochrane .  Life Is A Highway.  Well, everyone's heard this a gazillion times, but I'm including it anyway.

Arrested Development.  Tennessee.  One of the best rap songs ever.  Showed the potential of rap music that has rarely been achieved since.

Red Hot Chili Peppers.  Under The Bridge.  One of my favorite RHCP tunes.

En Vogue.  My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It).  Better than the other En Vogue song from a previous blog.  Just tough competition for 1992.

Honorable Mention:

Boyz II Men.  End Of The Road.  #1 song for the year. If it wasn't a slow song would have made the above Top 5.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDKO6XYXioc

Eric Clapton. Tears In Heaven. Same goes with this beautiful song created after the death of Clapton's son.  Have a tissue handy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxPj3GAYYZ0

P.M. Dawn.  Set Adrift On Memory Bliss.  I can't quite put my finger on why I like this tune, but I do.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5lByFc7HiM

Billy Ray Cyrus.  Achy Breaky Heart.  This song was everywhere.  My favorite billboard I saw in the South around this time was "Jesus will heal your achy breaky heart".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byQIPdHMpjc

Queen. Bohemian Rhapsody.  You see this 1975 tune in 1992 thanks to the movie Wayne's World.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ9rUzIMcZQ

1991's Top 5 Songs

The class of '91 has more fun! So, nothing but funky in the Top 5 this week.  We'll start with C+C Music Factory's Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now).  You could hear this played in every sports arena in the country.

Next, is the throwback sound of Deee-Lite's Groove Is In The Heart.

Boyz II Men burst onto the scene with the hit Motownphilly.

Marky Mark and The Funky Bunch feat. Loleatta Holloway.  This was before Marky Mark turned into Mark Wahlberg, movie star.  Here's Good Vibrations.

We'll end with EMF's Unbelievable.

Honorable Mention (which may be as good as the Top 5 this week):

Bryan Adams. (Everything I Do) I Do It For You.  #1 song of 1991.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGoWtY_h4xo

INXS.  Disappear.  Cool.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xvo-bfaVsg0

Rod Stewart Rhythm Of My Heart.  Catchy.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVeZsG-9wVE

UB40.  The Way You Do The Things You Do. Reggae-ish.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvIxxn36pUU

C+C Music Factory. Here We Go Let's Rock and Roll.
Rock and Roll

My Top 5 Songs for 1990

We made it to 1990, woohoo!  Let's start the decade off with Billy Joel's We Didn't Start The Fire.
Billy Joel Made the list for 1980 and now 1990 with a very different sound.

Next, M.C. Hammer's U Can't Touch This.  There was loads of rap hits this year - when rap was still fun and before it turned gangsta.  This is a great example.

B-52s's Love Shack is another tune where I don't really know why I'm including it, other than it's just goofy fun.  It's a great party song.

Tom Petty's Free Fallin'. I like the song as is, but there was also a memorable duet that Tom Petty did with Axel Rose with this tune.

Lastly, I felt I had to include Madonna's Vogue.  The song wasn't my personal favorite, but it created a huge craze and has shown great staying power.

Honorable mention:

Wilson Phillips.  Hold On. #1 for 1990 and deservedly so.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIbXvaE39wM

Vanilla Ice.  Ice Ice Baby.  One of the more polarizing figures from this period.  Most either liked him or hated him and he was hard to like.  Good song though, even if the beat may have been stolen from "Under Pressure" which is a great song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rog8ou-ZepE

Janet Jackson.  Rhythm Nation.  It's Janet Jackson!  I had to include her somewhere.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAwaNWGLM0c

Snap.  The Power.  One of the funner dance songs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nm6DO_7px1I

Jon Bon Jovi.  Blaze Of Glory.  I believe this went with the movie Young Guns 2.  I liked the song better than the movie.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfmYCM4CS8o

1989's Top 5 Songs

Time to say goodbye to the 80s.  We started the 80s with some rebellious, independent songs.  So, a good way to end it is with another:  Bobby Brown's My Prerogative.  Bobby's biggest and best tune.

Next is R.E.M.'s Stand. Great group dance song - except this video doesn't show the dance :(.

Young M.C.'s Bust A Move.  Nice groove.

Roxette.  The Look.  This wasn't Roxette's biggest hit, but I believe it was their coolest.

Milli Vanilli.  Blame It On The Rain.  Turns out these guys were lip syncing.  It was quite the scandal.  It's admittedly the only reason their in the top 5.  I thought the music was okay - but the guys bugged me.  So, I almost liked the music better knowing that it wasn't these guys.

Honorable Mention:

Chicago.  Look Away.  #1 song for the year.  My friend who was a Chicago freak would be so proud.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uKLTtVqQpE

Boy Meets Girl.  Waiting For A Star To Fall.  Cute.  Romantic. Catchy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhxF9Qg5mOU

Fine Young Cannibals. She drives me crazy.  Unique voice in a song that gets stuck in your head.  Your welcome or I'm sorry depending on if you like it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sw54Pdh_m8

When In Rome.  This Promise.  How did I not put this in the top 5?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HI_xFQWiYU

Paula Abdul.  Straight Up.  My peer pressure pick of the week since she had 2 in top 6.  But, honestly, good song, nice video - deserves to be here.  Maybe top 5.  Probably better than Milli Vanilli anyways.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=El1kgCqD7Xk