My99 Songs

1. Build Me Up Buttercup
This was my first 45. My father still has it, along with a whole stack of 45’s that he’s going to try to have put on cds somehow. After that, I’m going to frame a couple, including the next song.

2. Ben by The Jackson Five
This is the one Jackson 5 song I loved more than any other. When I was in 5th grade, I won a radio contest for tickets to see the Jackson 5. It was the only major thing I’ve ever won. My father drove my girlfriend and I and dropped us off, something I would never do now with my own children. I still remember the concert and watching Michael Jackson, who was not much bigger than I was at the time, and still black!

3. Fur Elise
When I was in 5th grade, I played this on the piano in a concert in front of the whole school. I don’t remember that my father didn’t attend, but he does. He says it’s one of his life’s regrets, that he went to a meeting at his own school instead of attending his daughter’s piano solo. I remember that now when I’m working and have evening events of my own to attend that conflict with family activities and know that I will never miss one of my own kids’ events.

4. Hey Jude by The Beatles
It’s on the list because I remember how much my mother loved this song when I was a kid.

5. Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? By Chicago
This is on the list because my father loved Chicago and we would listen to it all the time in the house when I was a kid.

6. I Think I Love You by The Partridge Family
I had to include this because I was so in love with David Cassidy. I had a poster of him in my room, I used to write Mrs. Cassidy on papers when I was bored at school, and I had to watch the show every week.

7. Come Sail Away With Me by Styx

8. Don’t Fear the Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult
I remember when I asked for their album as a Christmas present, and my grandmother was horrified by the album cover, refused to buy it for me, and complained to my mother about what kind of music I was listening to.

9. Cat Scratch Fever by Ted Nugent
10. Takin’ Care of Business by Bachman Turner Overdrive
11. You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet by Bachman Turner Overdrive

12. Brick House by The Commodores
I still love this song and have to dance to it whenever it’s played. This is the first of a series of songs that represent an era of dancing with my brother. We actually entered dance contests and would practice in the basement to a whole list of songs, including:
13. Saturday Night Fever by Generation Disco
14. Night Fever by the Bee Gees
15. September by Earth Wind and Fire
16. Last Dance by Donna Summer

17. Goodbye Yellow Brick by Elton John
18. Bennie and the Jets by Elton John
19. Someone Saved My Life Tonight by Elton John

20. Afternoon Delight by Starland Vocal Band
This song is on the list because it signifies for me just how naïve I was when I was a preteen. I picture myself (and maybe even my brother too) singing this song in the car with my parents and wonder what they must have been thinking, knowing what the song meant, and knowing that we had no idea what we were singing about. Like I also had no idea YMCA was about gay guys; I didn’t even know there was such a thing. Even in high school, I had no idea what Led Zeppelin meant when he said “I wanna be your back door man” but I sure did song along. I guess it might be a little like that nowadays; I don’t think Lima Bean really knows what Soulja Boy means when he says, “Superman that ho” but I’m sure he’s figured out it has something to do with sex, which is more than crossed my mind when I was twelve.
Speaking of things going over my head…

21. Somebody to Love by Queen
22. Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen
23. You’re My Best Friend by Queen
I still listen to Queen a lot. Lima Bean and I can sing (off-key) the entire Bohemian Rhapsody a cappella in the car while we’re driving around! When I was around 13, a new girl moved into the neighborhood that I had only lived in for about a year. She only stayed during the summers, though, because her parents were divorced. We became best friends and that Queen song was our motto. She would come back every summer until she got a job when she was in high school. I used to like listening to that song during the school year, when I couldn’t see her. It still reminds me of her even though I haven’t seen her in 30 years.

24. Karn Evil 9: 1st Impression by Emerson Lake and Palmer
25. Lucky Man by Emerson Lake and Palmer
The Karn Evil song will always remind me of my friend Gail. She and I both played the flute in the marching band in high school. She was much better than I was and went on to major in music at college. She introduced me to ELP, and one of the things she really loved was this section near the end of the song with eleven drum beats. We would listen to it over and over, counting out all eleven beats. One night when we did that, we looked at the digital clock and the time was 11:11, which really freaked us out. During her first semester at college, there was a fire in her dorm and she died. I still think of her every time I see a clock and the time is 11:11, which happens surprisingly often. I also like to listen to Karn Evil 9 every now and then to remember enjoying music the way we did then, and when I do, I always wonder what she would be doing now if she had lived.

26. Aqualung
27. Cross-Eyed Mary
28. Locomotive Breath
29. Bungle in the Jungle by Jethro Tull
As a flute player, I used to listen to a lot of Jethro Tull in high school, because he made it cool… certainly more cool than what we were playing in the marching band!

30. Stairway to Heaven
31. Paint it Black
32. Immigrant Song
33. Whole Lotta Love by Led Zeppelin
What high school prom in the late 70’s didn’t have Stairway to Heaven as the theme song?? This is the kind of music that I would sit in my room with the headphones on and listen to for hours. I remember Whole Lotta Love sounded so awesome with headphones on. It was probably as close as I was going to get to an acid trip!!

34.Soul Man by Sam and Dave
My friend and I were the Blues Brothers for the Gong Show one year at my high school. We didn’t win, but we didn’t get gonged either, and that’s all that counted. I was the one who had to jump up and down the whole time.

35. Let the Good Times Roll
36.You’re All I’ve Got Tonight
37. Moving in Stereo
The Cars was what we listened to while we drove around looking for parties in high school. That and the Rolling Stones. It reminds me of summertime, pool hopping, skinny-dipping, and field parties.

38. She’s So Cold
39. Start Me Up
40. Shattered by the Rolling Stones
We would all sing along to these songs, especially during senior year. We were all worried about facing real life. “She’s So Cold” was my one friend’s theme song. I remember hiding with her in her bedroom upstairs while she stood up a date, not answering the doorbell when he rang. She was the only girl I ever knew who just decided she was going to pick a guy to “do it with” just to get it over with.

41.The Messiah Hallelujah
We had to go to church every Sunday, so I sang in the church choir. We performed the entire Messiah, and I still can sing along when I hear it performed. And I still love it, even though I don’t believe any of it in a religious sense.

42.Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven
43.Water Music Suites by Handel
I played classical piano from first through twelfth grade. I still love to listen to it and play on the rare occasions that I have time.

44.Maple Leaf Rag by Scott Joplin
My aunt could play the piano by ear, and Scott Joplin was her specialty. Even with all my years of lessons, I couldn’t play this song as well as she did, and she never had a lesson in her life. Every time I hear Scott Joplin, I pictured the summer vacations at her house, where she spoiled us rotten and played any song we hummed for her.

45. Rock Lobster by the B52’s
This song represents my one semester at college out of state, attending frat parties. This was the frat party theme song. They played it at every party.

46. Personal Jesus by Depeche Mode
47.Fight For Your Right by the Beastie Boys
I remember dancing around the house to this song, holding Mensa Child when he was a baby and toddler. My father used to get so angry at me for teaching him such an ‘inappropriate’ song, but I didn’t care. I had been a rebel since high school anyway, which is why he used to watch Animal House as a kid and sing along to this song:

48.Louie Louie

49. In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida by Iron Butterfly
For a while, I hung out in a Fells Point pub called the Wharf Rat. This was way back when the name was appropriate because it was a small dive, but the beer was cheap and the music was good. They had a jukebox and someone always played In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida. I met a guy there that I dated for a couple of years, and we continued to hang out there and play the song.

50.Another Brick in the Wall
51.Comfortably Numb

52.Night Swimming
53.Shiny Happy People by REM

54.Ghetto of My Mind by Ricki Lee Jones
55.Ghost Train by Ricki Lee Jones
56.Ghost of a Dog by Eddie Brickell
57. Talkin’ Bout A Revolution by Tracey Chapman
I remember listening to these songs with Jagman on the way to the beach every weekend.

58.Sweet Baby James
59.Shower the People by James Taylor
If it were up to Jagman, all 99 songs would be James Taylor. He filled his old iPod with only James Taylor music. Even though my parents used to listen to him, and there were some songs I liked when I was young, now I associate James Taylor with Jagman. We saw him in concert once and would love to see him again.

60. Pictures of You
61.Fascination Street [Extended mix] by The Cure
I love the Cure. My best ever New Year’s Eve was spent at home with Jagman listening to the Cure upstairs while Mensa Child had friends over downstairs.

62.Light My Fire by The Doors
63.Don’t Stop by Fleetwood Mac
64.Bad to the Bone by George Thoroghgood
65.Sweet Home Alabama
66.Free Bird by Leonard Skynard (I saw them in concert too.)

67.Mr. Jones by Counting Crows
68.Closer by Nine Inch Nails
69.Roxanne by the Police

70.Crash Into Me by Dave Matthews Band

71.Young Americans by David Bowie
72.Luck Be A Lady by Frank Sinatra
73. Fly Me To The Moon by Frank Sinatra

74.The Rite of Spring by Igor Stravinsky
75.Also Sprach Zarathustra by Strauss
76.Symphony No. 2 by Mahler
The last class for my MLA was a music class, and even though I have a musical background, I felt unprepared for this class. The final exam was listening to portions of symphonies and having to identify them. I had never spent so much time listening to music without words… I usually was learning to play it. These three songs were part of the course.

77.I Am Stretched On Your Grave
78.The Emperor’s New Clothes by Sinead O’Connor
79.Silent All These Years by Tori Amos
We saw her in concert in a small opera house, years ago when she was first popular. She was magnificent.

80.You’re Beautiful by James Blunt
81.Jane Says by Jane’s Addiction
82.Your Body is a Wonderland by John Mayer
83.Future Sex Love Sounds by Justin Timberlake
84.Sunday Morning by Maroon Five
85.Hey Ya by Outkast
I made this song my ringtone a couple of years ago. Jagman borrowed my phone and took it to work one day, and then nearly died when it rang and played this song in the middle of a meeting!
86.I Will Remember You by Sarah McLachlan
I always loved this song, but I was glad they chose to play it at Mensa Child’s graduation. I thought it was perfect. Sometimes, depending on the mood I’m in, it can still bring tears to my eyes for no particular reason.

87.Boombastic by Shaggy
88.Welcome to Jamrock by Damien Junior Gong
89.Buffalo Sodier
90. Get Up Stand up by Bob Marley
91. Here I Am (Come and Take Me) by UB40
92. Red Red Wine by UB40
This music reminds me of Jamaica mon. I wish I could go every year.

93.E-Pro by Beck
I could list a ton of Beck songs, because I am a fanatic. Everyone else in my family is sick of Beck!! I have already preordered the next cd.

94. Pump It by Black-Eyed Peas
95. Fix You by Coldplay
96. Float On by Modest Mouse
97. Breathe Me by Sia
98. Freshmen by the Verve Pipe
99. No One by Alicia Keys