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 The Shack top 50 
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The Kramer
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Post Re: The Shack top 50
Have never been a huge Joel fan but Piano Man is fine.t

Changes and Life Goes On would be my top Pac songs too. And California Love is a classic obviously.


Wed Sep 06, 2017 10:52 pm
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Post Re: The Shack top 50
The only 2Pac song I know is "Changes".

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Wed Sep 06, 2017 11:02 pm
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Post Re: The Shack top 50
9. Tom Waits - Downtown Train



"You wave your hand and they scatter like crows
They have nothing that will ever capture your heart"


One of the most memorable vocal performances I've heard, there is so much desperation, insecurity and loneliness from a character who's sounds like he lives at rock bottom. I'd take that over a version like Rod Stewart's any day (although that one was used well in How I Met Your Mother finale). I see song as about the desire to connect and hope, even if he's been disappointed before, he still starts the night shining like a new dime at least until he gets to the downtown train and the end of the night. The lyrics are poetic but still feel like they could be come up with by this rough unsophisticated character. I enjoy much of the lines such as the "scatter like crows" part, the stalker-y "I know your window and I know it's late, I know your stairs and your doorway" or "All my dreams just fall line rain". I love the guitar in this song, from the great opening to the backing rhythm to the little riffs in the chorus and solo. An artist I haven't listened to enough outside of this song.

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Thu Sep 07, 2017 3:06 am
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Post Re: The Shack top 50
We're down to #9 already? Jesus. I thought this list was way slower than it is.

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Thu Sep 07, 2017 7:26 am
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Post Re: The Shack top 50
The Waits song is pretty good, nothing I would revere for a best ever song, but solid.


Thu Sep 07, 2017 7:44 am
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Post Re: The Shack top 50
8. Bruce Springsteen - The River



"But I remember us riding in my brother's car
Her body tan and wet down at the reservoir
At night on them banks I'd lie awake
And pull her close just to feel each breath she'd take"


The River is a sad and emotional tale about looking back on dreams and promise in youth that seemed to dry up as they had to grow up too quickly after knocking her up. Part of what makes this song for me is you can tell the narrator deeply loves his wife and that’s not the problem, but it hasn’t been enough to avoid the melancholy. It is one of Bruce’s best vocal performances and I love the instrumental from the piano throughout the song, harmonica and guitar riff. The last 2 minutes is the highlight of the song from the “I remember us riding in my brother’s car” sequence expressing their young love and then the words-less last 50 seconds of the song is somehow one of the most affecting parts of the song for me, as if his words have dried up like the river only leaving his melancholy.

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Thu Sep 07, 2017 7:45 pm
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Post Re: The Shack top 50
Don't get the fascination with this guy.

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Thu Sep 07, 2017 7:47 pm
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Post Re: The Shack top 50
7. Bob Dylan - Knockin' on Heaven's Door



"Mama, put my guns in the ground
I can't shoot them anymore.”


My favorite Dylan song is the oft covered Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door. He has many dense songs lyrically, but this one is beautifully simple. Both the “Mama, take this badge off of me, I can’t use it anymore” and “Mama, put my guns in the ground, I can’t shoot them anymore” parts are my favorite, they both represent the imagery of acknowledging and waiting for the end and make you feel the singer is a great hero literally or figuratively. While the song may be about the end, he is optimistic enough to believe it is heaven he is going to. In the studio version I find the backing harmonies and bassline help add to the ghostly feel.

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Last edited by Shack on Thu Sep 07, 2017 8:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.



Thu Sep 07, 2017 8:01 pm
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Post Re: The Shack top 50
6. The Beatles - Let It Be



Let It Be has always been my favorite Beatles song. The combination of piano and melody is beautiful. I think as the song is about someone in times of trouble, in their hour of darkness, or when the night is cloudy, being calmed down by “Let It Be” makes the listener feel so too. Even though I’m not religious (and I’m not sure the song has to be) the imagery of Mother Mary visiting him or wisdom or awareness coming to him is great. A beautifully sung and performed song.

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Thu Sep 07, 2017 8:17 pm
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Post Re: The Shack top 50
Algren wrote:
Don't get the fascination with this guy.


He still has two more songs coming!

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Thu Sep 07, 2017 8:31 pm
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Post Re: The Shack top 50
I think Let It be is the first song to make two lists.

#1 - Born to Run


Thu Sep 07, 2017 11:47 pm
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Post Re: The Shack top 50
Flava'd vs The World wrote:
I think Let It be is the first song to make two lists.


"Otherside" is on mine and stuffp's lists.

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Fri Sep 08, 2017 12:03 am
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Post Re: The Shack top 50
Otherside was mine and not stuffp's, though there was an Algren/stuffp combo in Moby's Porcelain

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Fri Sep 08, 2017 12:26 am
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Post Re: The Shack top 50
Ah yeah, that's right.

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Fri Sep 08, 2017 12:53 am
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Post Re: The Shack top 50
20. Read My Mind, pretty awesome Killers song, they have and are still delivering the goods pretty much.
19. Tiny Dancer is pretty great, Elton has made some great songs.
15. Your Song is fine too, not as good as Tiny Dancer I think.
14. Changes is good, but I've preferred other rap music over the years.
13. Don’t Think Twice It’s All Right is just so-so, much prefer other Dylan songs.
12. For Reasons Unknown, more of a random Killers song for me, doesn't compare to "Somebody Told Me"
11. Hotel California is good, but too staple, standard for me. It's played every day on the radio in Holland pretty much, but I never found it special.
10. Piano Man is great.
9. The River is great, solid top 10 pick.
8. Knockin' on Heaven's Door, again, Dylan has made nice songs, but this one doesn't stand out for me.
7. Let It Be, it's fine. I'm not a huge Beatles fan, but sure it's good music.


Fri Sep 08, 2017 9:06 am
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Post Re: The Shack top 50
Shack wrote:
Otherside was mine and not stuffp's, though there was an Algren/stuffp combo in Moby's Porcelain


Yeah, I don't have any RHCP's on my list.

But I got one more Algren song in my list coming up too.


Fri Sep 08, 2017 9:09 am
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Post Re: The Shack top 50
stuffp wrote:
Yeah, I don't have any RHCP's on my list.

:disgust:
stuffp wrote:
But I got one more Algren song in my list coming up too.

:thumbsup:

Is it "No Easy Way Out"?

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Fri Sep 08, 2017 9:34 am
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Post Re: The Shack top 50
Hehe, it's not, NEWO is a great song though that I was never fully aware of before. The song is my list is perhaps more predictable if you'd look from the outside in, anyway you'll find out soon.


Fri Sep 08, 2017 11:49 am
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Post Re: The Shack top 50
Probably one of the Drive ones then.

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Fri Sep 08, 2017 11:54 am
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Post Re: The Shack top 50
The Drive ones just make me recall what a fantastic film it is, but not from that film although this particular song has featured in films also. It's in my next four.


Fri Sep 08, 2017 12:23 pm
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Post Re: The Shack top 50
5. Bruce Springsteen - The Promised Land



"The dogs on main street howl,
'cause they understand,
If I could take one moment into my hands
Mister, I ain't a boy, no, I'm a man,
And I believe in a promised land. ”


One of the best songs about youth, both is about and musically invokes the feeling of wanting to burst at the seams and take on the world and create something special. Working all day in the world he’s always been has him losing his lifeforce and passion, but he still has the dream of breaking out and finding a promised land of awesomeness out there, and finding all the passion he has in him but is struggling to feel more and more each day. He wants to drive into a tornado just to feel alive. I love most of the lines in this song and imagery such as "I've done my best to live the right way/I get up every morning and go to work each day/But your eyes go blind and your blood runs cold /Sometimes I feel so weak I just want to explode” or "There's a dark cloud rising from the desert floor/I packed my bags and I'm heading straight into the storm/Gonna be a twister to blow everything down/That ain't got the faith to stand its ground”, and "The dogs on main street howl, cause they understand" is a classic also . The element of romance is very subtly mentioned in the song, such as in “Pretty soon girl I’m gonna take charge” or “Find somebody itching for something to start”, because how could someone like this not also be thinking about the girls out there and sex? The harmonica in the intro and elsewhere in the song always pumps me up and the piano and The Big Man's sax is used beautifully to help give match the energy inside the character in the song.

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Fri Sep 08, 2017 11:43 pm
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Post Re: The Shack top 50
4. Arcade Fire - Intervention



"Working for the church while your life falls apart
Singing halleluiah with the fear in your heart
Every spark of friendship and love will die without a home
Hear the soldier groan, "We'll go at it alone"


What this song is saying about politics, war, or religion is a beast to try and interpret, but the important part anyways to me is the emotion and how powerful the song comes off. Whatever war he is a soldier for, or literal/figurative church he has allegiance too, you can feel the cost of it throughout the song in lines like "Working for the church while your family dies" "Every spark of friendship and love will die without a home" "Your little baby sister's going to lose her mind", or imagery such as breaking bones in "Walking with your head in a sling, want to hear the soldier sing". Many of the lines give me goosebumps. Ultimately love, family or your own well being should come first but the overwhelming power of the state or church or etc. is trapping him and killing him. The organ intro is epic and is a perfect fit with the some of the church imagery in the song, and Win Butler's vocals is tremendous selling everything the narrator is feeling despite the cryptic lyrics. The song's intensity builds for me towards the great final chorus. Normally one of the worst parts of songs, the "I can taste your fear" section is one of the better used bridges I've heard. This song truly wowed me when I first heard it from the intro on, and is hands down the standout Arcade Fire song for me

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Sat Sep 09, 2017 12:15 am
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Post Re: The Shack top 50
Intervention :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:


Sat Sep 09, 2017 2:18 am
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Post Re: The Shack top 50
3. The Killers - Sam's Town



"I've got this energy beneath my feet
Like something underground's gonna come up and carry me
I've got this sentimental heart that beats
But I don't really mind that it's starting to get to me"


With the #3, #12, #20 and #32 on this list, I wanted to give Sam's Town a lot of love on this list since it's the most I've listened to an album, the few years after it came out I blasted it non-stop. The opener is my favorite. I see the instrumental as the most important part of this song, the combination of guitar, drumming and synth beginning with the phenomenal intro, make the whole song rock and pulsate. The way the guitar and synth play during the verses even while the lyrics are dominating is just great. Somewhat similarly to "The Promised Land", I see Sam's Town as about the dreams and energy in the singer feeling bigger than the town he's in, although with a more antagonistic feeling about others/judges. Along with the line I quoted I love the "I took a bullet and I looked inside, and it's running through my veins, an American masquerade" part and "I still remember grandma Ditzy's wake, I've never really known anybody to die before". The latter helps show the singer is more inexperienced than he knows in some ways. The ending and "I see London, I see Sam's Town" bit has him staring out to the future, and I love the lyric-less last 15-20 seconds of the song for some reason.

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Sat Sep 09, 2017 9:39 pm
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Post Re: The Shack top 50
2. Simon and Garfunkel - The Sound of Silence



"Hello darkness, my old friend
I've come to talk with you again”


One of the most beautiful songs I have heard, the Sound of Silence is being transported to musical heaven. The vocal performance is key to the song, as when you just look at the lyrics on paper they make it seem like it should’ve been douchey and pretentious. But when added to the music and singing, you don’t feel the contempt and rather it feels like it has love for those those flawed people out there who are struggling to connect and hear each other, a subject that’s more relevant 50 years later than ever. The guitar is a perfect compliment to the singing and a huge part of the song. Along with the iconic opening, my favorite part is "And the sign said “The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls” This has always seemed like either the best song of all time or close to it to me.

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Sat Sep 09, 2017 10:52 pm
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