Songs that may surprise you: A playlist by Jana and Erin

It's that time again, the last Thursday of the month, the time that Jana and Erin bring you a playlist that usually has a theme with a twist.  This month, we are talking about songs that may surprise you to find out we are fans.

If you ask either of us about our favorite music, we are going to tell you that we are rock chicks, rock 'n' roll fans through and through.  Then, we come up with lists like this, and we realize that we actually have quite eclectic tastes, and we assume others should know this already.

But, let's share ten songs that we love, and they may surprise you:

Bleeding Love by Leona Lewis - (from Erin) - It's pretty obvious that she is heavily influenced by Mariah Carey, and both Jana and I despise Mariah Carey music...but I like this song so much that it is on my work playlist, and I hear it probably four or five times a day.

When you think of Jana and Erin's favorite music, young boy bands are probably not what you assume is going to be represented.  But.  Here's two songs that we love:

Me and My Broken Heart by Rixton


Perfect by One Direction


Battle Scars by Guy Sebastian & Lupe Fiasco - Guy Sebastian was Australian Idol's first winner (before Erin lived in Australia and now the show is defunct); we know nothing about Lupe Fiasco, but this is a catchy little tune.


Everyday by Buddy Holly - Actually, Jana said "(p)retty much anything by Buddy Holly. I fucking love him."  So, Everyday it is.  He is considered a pioneer of rock'n'roll, so it may not be that surprising after all.  But, 1950s rock is not exactly what you'd expect from us.


 Lose Yourself by Eminem - Rap.  Rap isn't something you'd necessarily expect from us either, but damn, this is a solid song. 


Ride Wit Me by Nelly - What?  More rap?  Some of these crossover rap songs make it into the pop charts because they are just too catchy to look past.  Nelly figured that out with a number of his songs.  Jana and Erin are guilty for falling for some of those catchy-pop ploys.


It may not surprise you for Erin to list a country song, after all, she's from Texas.  But, Long Island native/Delaware dwelling Jana naming a super-twang-infused country song?   That should surprise you...
Here's a Quarter (Call Someone Who Cares) by Travis Tritt

 

Hollywood by Michael Buble - He's cheesy, and his music is not at the top of most of our playlists.  But, hey, we like what we like, and won't feel guilty about it.


Womanizer by Britney Spears - Pop princesses are not on our regular listening rotation, for the most part.  But, dang, sometimes they grab you and won't let go...even if you want to let them go, they stay in your head, they make you dance and sing along, and well, that's just what this song does.
 

 

What songs would we be surprised that you love?  Are you surprised by any of these?? 

From the archives: Mixtape of my life

I saw Kimmi's post about a mixtape of her life.  I love a good music post.  I love to steal borrow posts.  Kimmi got the idea from someone else's post, who got the idea from someone else.  You know, that's how this blog game works.  This time, I'm  not really stealing.  I'm reaching into the archives of posts that no one ever read because no one was following me.  And, my post is different more complicated but still fun.

Originally posted 30th of May 2013:  I'm turning 40 in nineteen days.  Yikes.  I'm having a lot of thoughts, a lot of emotions, and a lot nostalgia surrounding this birthday.  So, I've created a list...I'm calling it the "Mixtape of My Life".

I had to make some rules for myself in order to create such a list.  I used Billboard's Top 100 Singles for each year.  On Billboard's actual website, they call it the "Hot 100" (I think), and they only have about ten years listed.  According to other websites, they've been keeping such a list since the '50's, so I used other websites too (mostly, wikipedia...sad, I know).  I'm not quite sure how the "Top 100" or "Hot 100" was created throughout the years (I'm sure I could have done some more research to find out, but I didn't), but it seems to be the industry standard to look to Billboard's list for the popularity of music singles.  I haven't always been one who was a fan of only the "popular" stuff (such as the songs that are going to be on Billboard's Hot 100), so there's several artists/bands that are not respresented.  The "Mixtape" is definitely an imperfect reflection of "My Life".  Anyways........ Here's how I came up with the list..........

I looked at the "Top 100" list for each year of my life: 1973 to 2012 (obviously, 2013 year end charts aren't listed yet).  My initial rule was that I'd select TWO songs from EACH year, then add in 20 others from whatever years I wanted in order to create my own "Top 100" songs of my life.  That was my initial rule, but I changed it because there were actually a couple of years when music was crap, and I couldn't even choose two songs out of a hundred for this fun little experiment of mine (hello, 1997 & 1998).** Another rule I made for myself was no band/artist could have two songs in the same year.  Lastly, I told myself if the song is not in my current music library, or if I couldn't remember owning the song prior, then it didn't make the cut.  For each of these, I can remember the LP or 45 or cassette or CD or digital download (a select few weren't "mine", but my mom's, dad's, or brother's).

1. 1973 - (4) - Let's Get It On - Marvin Gaye
2. 1973 - (17) - Drift Away - Dobie Gray
3. 1974 - (40) -  The Joker - Steve Miller Band
4. 1974 - (78) - Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me - Elton John
5. 1975 - (1) - Love Will Keep Us Together - Captain and Tenille
6. 1975 - (33) - Sister Golden Hair - America
7. 1976 - (18) - Bohemain Rhapsody - Queen
8. 1976 - (51) - Dream On - Aerosmith
9. 1977 - (68) - Cold As Ice - Foreigner
10. 1977 - (78) - Give a Little Bit - Supertramp
11. 1978 - (13) - You're the One That I Want - Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta
12. 1978 - (22) - Hot Child in the City - Nick Gilder
13. 1978 - (30) - Two Out of Three Ain't Bad - Meatloaf
14. 1979 - (67) - Renegade - Styx
15. 1979 - (74) - I Was Made For Lovin' You - KISS
16. 1979 - (95) - Dance the Night Away - Van Halen
17. 1980 - (4) - Rock With You - Michael Jackson
18. 1980 - (55) - All Out of Love - Air Supply
19. 1980 - (62) - I Can't Tell You Why - The Eagles
20. 1981 - (5) - Jessie's Girl - Rick Springfield
21. 1981 - (7) - Kiss On My List - Hall and Oates
22. 1981 - (10) - Keep On Lovin' You - REO Speedwagon
23. 1981 - (88) - Smoky Mountain Rain - Ronnie Milsap
24. 1982 - (22) - Always On My Mind - Willie Nelson
25. 1982 - (48) - Young Turks - Rod Stewart
26. 1982 - (73) - Don't Stop Believin' - Journey
27. 1982 - (90) - Hot in the City - Billy Idol
28. 1982 - (96) - Workin' for the Weekend - Loverboy
29. 1983 - (7) - Maneater - Hall and Oates
30. 1983 - (17) - Hungry Like the Wolf - Duran Duran
31. 1983 - (81) - Faithfully - Journey
32. 1983 - (90) - Photograph - Def Leppard
33. 1984 - (1) - When Doves Cry - Prince
34. 1984 - (4) - Footloose - Kenny Loggins
35. 1984 - (57) - Love is a Battlefield - Pat Benetar
36. 1984 - (68) - Cum On Feel the Noize - Quiet Riot
37. 1984 - (99) - Rock Me Tonite - Billy Squier
38. 1985 - (1) - Careless Whisper - Wham
39. 1985 - (26) - Cool It Now - New Edition
40. 1985 - (44) - Never Surrender - Corey Hart
41. 1986 - (30) - You Give Love a Bad Name - Bon Jovi
42. 1986 - (62) - Your Love - The Outfield
43. 1987 - (7) - Here I Go Again - Whitesnake
44. 1987 - (10) - Livin' On a Prayer - Bon Jovi
45. 1987 - (15) - With or Without You - U2
46. 1988 - (5) - Sweet Child of Mine - Guns N' Roses
47. 1988 - (11) - One More Try - George Michael
48. 1988 - (19) - Pour Some Sugar On Me - Def Leppard
49. 1988 - (21) - Man in the Mirror - Michael Jackson
50. 1988 - (41) - Bad Medicine - Bon Jovi
51. 1988 - (95) - Never Tear Us Apart - INXS
52. 1989 - (3) - Every Rose Has Its Thorn - Poison
53. 1989 - (15) - Heaven - Warrant
54. 1989 - (68) - Lovesong - The Cure
55. 1989 - (86) - Paradise City - Guns N' Roses
56. 1990 - (55) - U Can't Touch This - MC Hammer
57. 1990 - (67) - Love Song - Tesla
58. 1990 - (72) - I Remember You - Skid Row
59. 1990 - (91) - What It Takes - Aerosmith
60. 1990 - (96) - Without You - Motley Crue
61. 1991 - (78) - Something to Believe In - Poison
62. 1991 - (82) - Silent Lucidity - Queensryche
63. 1992 - (2) - Baby Got Back - Sir Mix A Lot
64. 1992 - (17) - November Rain - Guns N' Roses
65. 1993 - (50) - What's Up - 4 Non Blondes
66. 1993 - (60) - Cryin' - Aerosmith
67. 1994 - (91) - Always - Bon Jovi
68. 1995 - (5) - On Bended Knee - Boys to Men
69. 1995 - (70) - This Ain't a Love Song - Bon Jovi
70. 1996 - (29) - You Oughta Know - Alanis Morissette
71. 1996 - (41) - The World I Know - Collective Soul
72. 1996 - (56) - Wonderwall - Oasis
73. 1996 - (68) - Just A Girl - No Doubt
74. 1997 - (25) - Hypnotize - The Notorious B.I.G.**
75. 1997 - (36) - All for You - Sister Hazel**
76. 1998 - (14) - Gettin' Jiggy wit It - Will Smith**
77. 1998 - (79) - Bitter Sweet Symphony - The Verve**
78. 1999 - (10) - Livin' La Vida Loca - Ricky Martin
79. 1999 - (13) - Slide - Goo Goo Dolls
80. 2000 - (9) - Bent - Matchbox Twenty
81. 2001 - (9) - Again - Lenny Kravitz
82. 2001 - (100) - Hemorrhage (In My Hands) - Fuel
83. 2002 - (26) - Wasting My Time - Default
84. 2003 - (4) - Crazy in Love - Beyonce with Jay Z
85. 2003 - (28) - Lose Yourself - Eminem
86. 2004 - (8) - Hey Ya! - Outkast
87. 2004 - (19) - My Immortal - Evanescence
88. 2005 - (4) - Since You Been Gone - Kelly Clarkson
89. 2005 - (16) - Mr. Brightside - The Killers
90. 2005 - (36) - Scars - Papa Roach
91. 2005 - (68) - Best of You - Foo Fighters
92. 2006 - (29) - Chasing Cars - Snow Patrol
93. 2007 - (59) - Welcome to the Black Parade - My Chemical Romance
94. 2007 - (69) - Who Knew - P!nk
95. 2008 - (33) - Stop and Stare - OneRepublic
96. 2008 - (44) - Sorry - Buckcherry
97. 2009 - (26) - Second Chance - Shinedown
98. 2009 - (45) - So What - P!nk
99. 2010 - (45) - Whataya Want From Me - Adam Lambert
100. 2010 - (87) - Use Somebody - Kings of Leon
101. 2011 - (24) - Someone Like You - Adele
102. 2012 - (1) - Somebody That I Used to Know - Gotye with Kimbra
103. 2012 - (15) - Wide Awake - Katy Perry
104. 2012 - (22) - Everybody Talks - Neon Trees
105. 2013 - (25) - Sail - AWOL Nation - added since original post
106. 2013 - (100) - Still Into You - Paramore - added since original post
107. 2014 - (19) - Let Her Go - Passenger - added since original post
108. 2014 - (23) - Demons - Imagine Dragons - added since original post

**Due to peer pressure from Megan and Jana, I looked again at 1997 and 1998. 

 

Any of these 108 songs strike a chord with you??

List # 7 - Mixtape of My Life (so far)

I'm turning 40 in nineteen days.  Yikes.  I'm having a lot of thoughts, a lot of emotions, and a lot nostalgia surrounding this birthday.  So, I've created a list...I'm calling it the "Mixtape of My Life".

I had to make some rules for myself in order to create such a list.  I used Billboard's Top 100 Singles for each year.  On Billboard's actual website, they call it the "Hot 100" (I think), and they only have about ten years listed.  According to other websites, they've been keeping such a list since the '50's, so I used other websites too (mostly, wikipedia...sad, I know).  I'm not quite sure how the "Top 100" or "Hot 100" was created throughout the years (I'm sure I could have done some more research to find out, but I didn't), but it seems to be the industry standard to look to Billboard's list for the popularity of music singles.  I haven't always been one who was a fan of only the "popular" stuff (such as the songs that are going to be on Billboard's Hot 100), so there's several artists/bands that are not respresented.  The "Mixtape" is definitely an imperfect reflection of "My Life".  Anyways........ Here's how I came up with the list..........

I looked at the "Top 100" list for each year of my life: 1973 to 2012 (obviously, 2013 year end charts aren't listed yet).  My initial rule was that I'd select TWO songs from EACH year, then add in 20 others from whatever years I wanted in order to create my own "Top 100" songs of my life.  That was my initial rule, but I changed it because there were actually a couple of years when music was crap, and I couldn't even choose two songs out of a hundred for this fun little experiment of mine (hello, 1997 & 1998).  Another rule I made for myself was no band/artist could have two songs in the same year.  Lastly, I told myself if the song is not in my current music library, or if I couldn't remember owning the song prior, then it didn't make the cut.  For each of these, I can remember the LP or 45 or cassette or CD or digital download (a select few weren't "mine", but my mom's, dad's, or brother's).

So...without further ado...here's the "Mixtape of My Life":  I make no apologies for some of my choices.  I realize music critics and fans alike might consider some of my selections as "crap" too.  So be it.  This is my list.  Yes, there's a lot of Bon Jovi and power ballads.  Again, this is my list.  Songs are listed by year, rank from Billboard's Top 100 for that year, song title, and artist.  Enjoy :)

1. 1973 - (4) - Let's Get It On - Marvin Gaye
2. 1973 - (17) - Drift Away - Dobie Gray
3. 1974 - (40) -  The Joker - Steve Miller Band
4. 1974 - (78) - Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me - Elton John
5. 1975 - (1) - Love Will Keep Us Together - Captain and Tenille
6. 1975 - (33) - Sister Golden Hair - America
7. 1976 - (18) - Bohemain Rhapsody - Queen
8. 1976 - (51) - Dream On - Aerosmith
9. 1977 - (68) - Cold As Ice - Foreigner
10. 1977 - (78) - Give a Little Bit - Supertramp
11. 1978 - (13) - You're the One That I Want - Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta
12. 1978 - (22) - Hot Child in the City - Nick Gilder
13. 1978 - (30) - Two Out of Three Ain't Bad - Meatloaf
14. 1979 - (67) - Renegade - Styx
15. 1979 - (74) - I Was Made For Lovin' You - KISS
16. 1979 - (95) - Dance the Night Away - Van Halen
17. 1980 - (4) - Rock With You - Michael Jackson
18. 1980 - (55) - All Out of Love - Air Supply
19. 1980 - (62) - I Can't Tell You Why - The Eagles
20. 1981 - (5) - Jessie's Girl - Rick Springfield
21. 1981 - (7) - Kiss On My List - Hall and Oates
22. 1981 - (10) - Keep On Lovin' You - REO Speedwagon
23. 1981 - (88) - Smoky Mountain Rain - Ronnie Milsap
24. 1982 - (22) - Always On My Mind - Willie Nelson
25. 1982 - (48) - Young Turks - Rod Stewart
26. 1982 - (73) - Don't Stop Believin' - Journey
27. 1982 - (90) - Hot in the City - Billy Idol
28. 1982 - (96) - Workin' for the Weekend - Loverboy
29. 1983 - (7) - Maneater - Hall and Oates
30. 1983 - (17) - Hungry Like the Wolf - Duran Duran
31. 1983 - (81) - Faithfully - Journey
32. 1983 - (90) - Photograph - Def Leppard
33. 1984 - (1) - When Doves Cry - Prince
34. 1984 - (4) - Footloose - Kenny Loggins
35. 1984 - (57) - Love is a Battlefield - Pat Benetar
36. 1984 - (68) - Cum On Feel the Noize - Quiet Riot
37. 1984 - (99) - Rock Me Tonite - Billy Squier
38. 1985 - (1) - Careless Whisper - Wham
39. 1985 - (26) - Cool It Now - New Edition
40. 1985 - (44) - Never Surrender - Corey Hart
41. 1986 - (30) - You Give Love a Bad Name - Bon Jovi
42. 1986 - (62) - Your Love - The Outfield
43. 1987 - (7) - Here I Go Again - Whitesnake
44. 1987 - (10) - Livin' On a Prayer - Bon Jovi
45. 1987 - (15) - With or Without You - U2
46. 1988 - (5) - Sweet Child of Mine - Guns N' Roses
47. 1988 - (11) - One More Try - George Michael
48. 1988 - (19) - Pour Some Sugar On Me - Def Leppard
49. 1988 - (21) - Man in the Mirror - Michael Jackson
50. 1988 - (41) - Bad Medicine - Bon Jovi
51. 1988 - (95) - Never Tear Us Apart - INXS
52. 1989 - (3) - Every Rose Has Its Thorn - Poison
53. 1989 - (15) - Heaven - Warrant
54. 1989 - (68) - Lovesong - The Cure
55. 1989 - (86) - Paradise City - Guns N' Roses
56. 1990 - (55) - U Can't Touch This - MC Hammer
57. 1990 - (67) - Love Song - Tesla
58. 1990 - (72) - I Remember You - Skid Row
59. 1990 - (91) - What It Takes - Aerosmith
60. 1990 - (96) - Without You - Motley Crue
61. 1991 - (78) - Something to Believe In - Poison
62. 1991 - (82) - Silent Lucidity - Queensryche
63. 1992 - (2) - Baby Got Back - Sir Mix A Lot
64. 1992 - (17) - November Rain - Guns N' Roses
65. 1993 - (50) - What's Up - 4 Non Blondes
66. 1993 - (60) - Cryin' - Aerosmith
67. 1994 - (91) - Always - Bon Jovi
68. 1995 - (5) - On Bended Knee - Boys to Men
69. 1995 - (70) - This Ain't a Love Song - Bon Jovi
70. 1996 - (29) - You Oughta Know - Alanis Morissette
71. 1996 - (41) - The World I Know - Collective Soul
72. 1996 - (56) - Wonderwall - Oasis
73. 1996 - (68) - Just A Girl - No Doubt
74. 1999 - (10) - Livin' La Vida Loca - Ricky Martin
75. 1999 - (13) - Slide - Goo Goo Dolls
76. 2000 - (9) - Bent - Matchbox Twenty
77. 2001 - (9) - Again - Lenny Kravitz
78. 2001 - (100) - Hemorrhage (In My Hands) - Fuel
79. 2002 - (26) - Wasting My Time - Default
80. 2003 - (4) - Crazy in Love - Beyonce with Jay Z
81. 2003 - (28) - Lose Yourself - Eminem
82. 2004 - (8) - Hey Ya! - Outkast
83. 2004 - (19) - My Immortal - Evanescence
84. 2005 - (4) - Since You Been Gone - Kelly Clarkson
85. 2005 - (16) - Mr. Brightside - The Killers
86. 2005 - (36) - Scars - Papa Roach
87. 2005 - (68) - Best of You - Foo Fighters
88. 2006 - (29) - Chasing Cars - Snow Patrol
89. 2007 - (59) - Welcome to the Black Parade - My Chemical Romance
90. 2007 - (69) - Who Knew - P!nk
91. 2008 - (33) - Stop and Stare - OneRepublic
92. 2008 - (44) - Sorry - Buckcherry
93. 2009 - (26) - Second Chance - Shinedown
94. 2009 - (45) - So What - P!nk
95. 2010 - (45) - Whataya Want From Me - Adam Lambert
96. 2010 - (87) - Use Somebody - Kings of Leon
97. 2011 - (24) - Someone Like You - Adele
98. 2012 - (1) - Somebody That I Used to Know - Gotye with Kimbra
99. 2012 - (15) - Wide Awake - Katy Perry
100. 2012 - (22) - Everybody Talks - Neon Trees