A friend of mine, KD, did this on her blog and I thought it was so much fun that I’ve decided to totally copycat her and she’s graciously given her permission. These songs are (to quote KD): "...songs you listened to when you were in high school, that you cried to during breakups, that you wished someone would sing to you, that you dubbed from your existing cassettes or taped off the radio or by holding the cassette recorder up to the tv speaker (hee!) while MTV was on, songs you liked so much you taped them twice, because 'Only Pussies Use the Rewind Button to Listen to the Song Again.'" And shut up because you know you TOTALLY did at least one or all of those!
So, here they are - my "most embarrassing mix tape" songs:
25. “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” – Paul Simon. Hey, the rhyming lyrics make it easy to remember. “Just slip out the back, jack. Make a new plan, Stan.” Oh whatever – shut up!
24. “Pleasant Valley Sunday” – The Monkees. Because, hey, they were a band made up for TV (which is what my mother thinks about The Doors, too, but that’s neither here nor there).
23. “Forever in Blue Jeans” – Neil Diamond. And thus begins what I like to refer to as “The Neil Diamond Years.” My dad actually went to the Hot August Night concert and we had the subsequent album and I played it until it wore out and had to be replaced. Ditto for the Neil Diamond “Gold” album. Shut up, Sparkle. At least it’s not Barry Freakin’ Manilow!
22. “Song Sung Blue” – Neil Diamond. I told you there were “years” involved. Besides, this song saved my butt in 7th grade honors English class during our poetry section when I had to not only write my own song lyrics but stand up and perform them in front of the class. Did you know that the word Bu – ble – gum goes perfectly to “Song Sung Blue?” And my mother wonders why I was tormented in junior high…
21. “Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show” – Neil Diamond. Shut up – it’s a great song to belt out at the top of your lungs and dance around the living room to. Seriously.
20. “Creeque Alley” – The Mamas and The Papas. I don’t know – it has the word “mugwumps” in it.
19. “Be True to Your School” – The Beach Boys. Ah yes – 7th grade cheerleading tryouts…another high point in adolescent embarrassment. And yet, I still love the song because it’s all school spirit and stuff.
18. “Hey, Deanie” – Shaun Cassidy. Shut up – he was CUTE!
17. “Da Do Ron Ron” – Shaun Cassidy. Listen, I SAID he was cute and when you’re twelve, that’s what really counts in life.
16. “It’s So Easy” – Linda Ronstadt. Because it’s Linda Freakin’ Ronstadt, that’s why.
15. “How Soon Is Now” – The Smiths. Hey, it’s not my fault. It USED to be cool before it became a TV show theme song (and a stupid TV show at that although the first season was kinda fun, but then they made it all about Alyssa Milano and no one needs THAT.)
14. “Back On My Feet Again” – The Babys. Shut up, you don’t even know who they are.
13. “Midnight Rendezvous” – The Babys. Okay, maybe you know who John Waite is, but still…shut the hell up.
12. “Come Sail Away” – Styx. Because it’s about boats, no wait, angels, no wait, aliens…wait, what were they smoking when they wrote this? And yet, it’s perfect for belting out in the car at the top of your lungs and quit looking at me that way!
11. “Separate Ways” – Journey. Hey, if you were a girl in high school in the 80’s you KNOW you played this album into the ground so SHUT UP!
10. “Don’t Let Him Go” – REO Speedwagon. Hey – it fits in this section with the whole 80’s super-group thing.
9. “Only Time Will Tell” – Asia. I don’t know – I just like it. Don’t make me hurt you.
8. “Walkin’ In L.A.” – Missing Persons. Because she does that cool hiccup/squeak thing with her voice. Hey, man, it was the 80’s.
7. “A Million Miles Away” – The Plimsouls. Because actually, I’m embarrassed that I liked ANY music from the 80’s.
6. “88 Lines About 44 Women” – Nails. Shut up – the 80’s were an unnaturally long decade.
5. “Grandma’s Feather Bed” – John Denver. And then there was my John Denver period, but I put all the blame on my parents who had an 8-track of his greatest hits and played it ad nauseam whenever we went on a road trip. It was brainwashing, I tell ya!
4. “Thank God, I’m a Country Boy” – John Denver. Shut up – it was on that same darned 8-track. Plus, he was on “The Muppets” TV show and who doesn’t love that?
3. “Mr. Blue Skies” – Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). I don’t care what you say, I like ELO. I like them, do you hear me? And they do not, either, use too much synthesizer so shut up!
2. “Thunder Island” – Jay Ferguson. Hey, this song is like, about sex and stuff, you know. Besides, I can still hear my mother telling me how “inappropriate” it is to listen to it so I HAVE to like it. It’s in the rules.
1. “Calypso” – John Denver. I’m having this song played at my funeral. Seriously. Because I loved Jacques Cousteau, too.
P.S. Of course, I wouldn't put these all on the SAME mix tape - that would just be weird. Plus, there are definitely some other songs that would make this list except A. KD already used them and B. I could’ve gone on googling old songs until I died of old age. The madness had to stop somewhere.
KJ
3 comments:
I totally taped songs off the radio...but none of those.
i remember trying to get a copy of some song off the oldies station in high school and i'd call in to request it and wait for hours and they never played it.
--rc of strangeculture.blogspot.com
Don't be baggin' on my 80's tunes, coz the 80s totally *rocked* for music! And ELO could *never* have too many synthesizers!
Hey, what's wrong with 80's music?!? It was so totally awesome and still is. LOL
I didn't start taping song off the radio until the late 80's...didn't get my first stereo until 1988 (imagine that).
I'll think of some of those songs I just 'had to have' and post them in my blog on the next couple of days.
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