10 Songs I Should Have Listened to More Often in the 1990's

Apparently the latest get-rich-quick scheme in publishing is to put out a book of song lists suitable for iPod owners who don't know what they like to listen to or, worse, want other people to tell them what they should be listening to. I'm all for music recommendations (check out any of my last few entries), but how many of these kind of books do we really need?

But, hey, if someone wants to pay me to put together a list of songs in different genres, or songs appropriate for certain moods and times (I could make you a killer mix of songs to play in urban traffic--now testify!), or RIYL lists, or even a daily record of the top 5 songs in my head when I wake up in the morning, gimme a call! (As any reader of this blog should know, I aim for the least amount of work with the greatest amount of reward possible. And in this I am not unlike Nobel Prize-winning authors like William Faulkner or Ernest Hemingway, no?)

In the meantime, I present the first in what may be a series of such lists--completely random and probably pointless--for those of you who selfishly enjoy your iPods without stopping to think that you should really buy one for ME, who knows more good music than you will ever be able to fit into your 40GB (or however much memory those things have).

First, a little backstory. After a long spell of dormancy in a lonely storage unit in Layton, Utah, my disturbingly large collection of music magazines (going back to the mid-1980's) is now slowly being unpacked, sorted, and documented. The best part of going through these old rags is reading the record reviews and re-entering the cultural zeitgeist of, say, October 1997. As I read through these things, I am sometimes reminded of records I was persuaded to buy, records I should never have offered money for, and songs from those records that I really should have paid more attention to at the time. You know, in order to seem hip and sound like I knew something about what people should be listening to (note: I am being sarcastic here).

So let me now present my (first) list of ten songs that I should have listened to more often in the 1990's (other lists may follow as I get further into the boxes that hold the magazines from the 1980's--can you stand the suspense?). In the spirit of those craptacular iPod songlist guides, I will offer absolutely no contextual information (other than the year of release, because I'm obsessive that way) or commentary on my choices (other than what I just wrote). Because you need my guidance and, really, how much can you know about music, anyway? (note: no sarcasm here)

These, then, are songs that I came to love well after their initial release, or songs that I had prematurely dismissed upon first listen, only to be reminded of their charms after re-reading album reviews from the aforementioned collection of music magazines. Because sometimes I--yes, I, Gandalf the Grey--need someone to tell me what I should be listening to.

Oh, and these are also in no particular order whatsoever. But see if you can guess which year of magazines I started going through first!

• Bjork: "5 Years" (1997)
• Belle & Sebastian: "Get Me Away from Here" (1997)
• Buena Vista Social Club: "Chan Chan" (1997)
• Oasis: "Stay Young" (1997)
• The Breeders: "Do You Love Me Now?" (1993)
• Freedy Johnston: "The Lucky One" (1992)
• Supergrass: "Richard III" (1997)
• Johnny Cash: "The Kneeling Drunkard's Plea" (1996)
• Everclear: "Local God" (1996)
• Radiohead: "Talk Show Host" (1996)

There is one fairly decent iPod book I've been reading, but in addition to a bunch of completely subjective song lists, the author provides a short history of the iPod's development and, best of all, offers his amusingly OCD-like personal history of his obsession with songs. Well worth checking out, even if you already know what kind of music you like.

Coming soon: my favorite songs of 2005.