Amnesia

I decided to do a countdown entitled "Favorites A to Z."  These are my favorite songs.

Amnesia - 5 Seconds of Summer

Blue Bayou - Linda Ronstadt

Chocolate - The 1975

Desperado - Eagles

Everything About You - One Direction

Faithfully - Journey

Guns For Hands - twenty one pilots

Happily - One Direction

In The Stars - Icona Pop

Jungleland - Bruce Springsteen

Kiss Me Kiss Me - 5 Seconds of Summer

Landslide - Fleetwood Mac

My Darlin' - Miley Cyrus

Nintendo - Todd Carey

Ol' 55 - Eagles

Paradise By The Dashboard Lights - Meatloaf

The Queen - Lady Gaga

Robot - Miley Cyrus

Stole My Heart - One Direction

Towers - Little Mix

Undercover Martyn - Two Door Cinema Club

Valentine - Nils Lofgren

We Belong to the Night - Ellen Foley

You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go - Bob Dylan

Ziggy Stardust - David Bowie

Can't Get It Out of My Head

My top ten favorite album covers of the '60s, '70s, and '80s.  Well, only one is from the '80s.

10.  The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967) - The Velvet Underground & Nico

I chose this as my number ten because I love the fact that they incorporated a professional artist into their cover.  The album was released in March 1967 and has since been considered one of the greatest albums of all time.

9.  London Calling (1979) - The Clash

I absolutely LOVE this cover, but I have places it so high on my list because Elvis Presley's Elvis Presley, which was released in 1956, is the same thing.  I know I shouldn't punish them being as though so many other artists have paid homage to the rock star, but I have based this list on originality.  It's still an awesome cover, though.

8.  Ramones (1976) - Ramones

I think this cover picture is so cool.  The four guys against a brick, graffiti-covered wall... all while being in black and white.  And they look so cool with their leather jackets and jeans and long hair that was oh so popular in the '70s.

7.  1984 (1984) - Van Halen

Scandalous.  A baby with angel wings smoking a cigarette with several more cigs on deck.  I also love "1984" written in roman numerals in the top left and right corners.  I just think the whole cover is very creative, like the songs on the record.

6.  Sticky Fingers (1971) - The Rolling Stones

I have this vinyl and I must say that it is a little different from the vinyl cover I am used to.  The cover contains a working "zipper" and "belt" and reveals briefs underneath.  And apparently the crotch photographed is not that of Mr. Jagger.  So whose crotch is this?  The world may never know.  I think it's more scandalous than 1984.

5.  The Dark Side of the Moon (1973) - Pink Floyd

I love the whole concept of this album cover.  I am unsure why they chose this, as I don't really see any direct connection between that and the music, but I'm sure they had a reason.  This is definitely one of the most iconic album covers of all time.  Everyone has seen it and knows it.

4.  Rumours (1977) - Fleetwood Mac

Rumours is such a bizarre album cover, but I love it.  I love Stevie's outfit along with their poses.  It has the same feeling of their Fleetwood Mac cover two years earlier.

3.  Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. (1973) - Bruce Springsteen

I think I like this cover so much because it's a postcard from one of the best known towns in the state of New Jersey.  It's also the album cover of one of the best known musicians from the state of New Jersey.  Looking at this cover makes me feel like such a Jersey Girl.  I love it.

2.  The Beatles [The White Album] (1968) - The Beatles

So simple, yet such an impact.  The Beatles didn't need some over the top cover to get their points across.  They're The Beatles.  We have to remember that they are the biggest band that has ever walked the planet.  Do they really need some out of the ordinary cover?

1.  Eldorado (1974) - Electric Light Orchestra


Another album cover that is a shout-out to popular culture.  The album follows a character who dreams and travels through those dreams to different worlds and fantasies.  That's what happened to Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz.  She wakes up to realize that she was in a descriptive dream.  It shows how great Jeff Lynne was at his job.

Against the Wind

I recently watched Forrest Gump for the millionth time (literally), but I completely forgot how awesome the soundtrack is.

[Source:  Wikipedia]

The CD was released June 28, 1994 with two discs.  It was re-released in 2001 with some additional tracks.

Disc one:

1. "Hound Dog" performed by Elvis Presley
2. "Rebel Rouser" performed by Duane Eddy
3. "(I Don't Know Why) But I Do" performed by Clarence Henry
4. "Walk Right In" performed by the Rooftop Singers
5. "Land of 1000 Dances" performed by Wilson Pickett
6. "Blowin' in the Wind" performed by Joan Baez
7. "Fortunate Son" performed by Creedence Clearwater Revival
8. "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)" performed by The Four Tops
9. "Respect" performed by Aretha Franklin
10. "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" performed by Bob Dylan
11. "Sloop John B" performed by The Beach Boys
12. "California Dreamin'" performed by The Mamas & the Papas
13. "For What It's Worth" performed by Buffalo Springfield
14. "What the World Needs Now Is Love" performed by Jackie DeShannon
15. "Break on Through (To the Other Side)" performed by The Doors
16. "Mrs. Robinson" performed by Simon & Garfunkel

Disc two:

1. "Volunteers" performed by Jefferson Airplane
2. "Let's Get Together" performed by The Youngbloods
3. "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)" performed by Scott McKenzie
4. "Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)" performed by The Byrds
5. "Medley:  Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" performed by The 5th Dimension
6. "Everybody's Talkin'" performed by Harry Nilsson
7. "Joy to the World" performed by Three Dog Night
8. "Stoned Love" performed by The Supremes
9. "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" performed by B.J. Thomas
10. "Mr. President (Have Pity on the Working Man)" performed by Randy Newman
11. "Sweet Home Alabama" performed by Lynyrd Skynyrd
12. "It Keeps You Runnin'" performed by The Doobie Brothers
13. "I've Got to Use My Imagination" performed by Gladys Knight & the Pips
14. "On the Road Again" performed by Willie Nelson
15. "Against the Wind" performed by Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band
16. "Forrest Gump Suite" composed and conducted by Alan Silvestri

In the 2001 re-release, they added tracks "Running on Empty" performed by Jackson Browne and "Go Your Own Way" performed by Fleetwood Mac.  In the movie, the two songs were featured int he scene where Forrest ran for three years straight.

Covers

Singers commonly make covers of songs they love.  Here are a couple of examples:

1. One Direction - One Way Or Another (Teenage Kicks) - One Direction covers Blondie's "One Way Or Another" and The Undertones' "Teenage Kicks" for a charity single.
2. Rufus Wainwright - Hallelujah - Rufus Wainwright covers Leonard Cohen.
3. Dixie Chicks - Landslide - The Dixie Chicks cover Fleetwood Mac.
4. Seth Avett - Operator (That's Not The Way It Feels) - Seth Avett covers Jim Croce.
5. Miley Cyrus - Girls Just Wanna Have Fun - Miley Cyrus covers Cyndi Lauper.
6. Glee - Shake It Out - Glee covers Florence and the Machine.
7. Linda Ronstadt - Desperado - Linda Ronstadt covers The Eagles.

Landslide - which one?

Everyone knows the Fleetwood Mac song "Landslide". It's a very good song sung by Stevie Nicks and was covered later by the Dixie Chicks. The two are similar but very different at the same time. Fleetwood Mac's version is purely just Stevie Nicks singing while the Dixie Chicks added background vocals, which in my opinion, make the song. You can never go wrong with a Fleetwood Mac song, but I have to say that the Dixie Chicks did very well with this song.

Rumours

After months of searching for this record, I have finally found it!! "Rumours" is an extremely iconic album by Fleetwood Mac with songs like "Go Your Own Way", "The Chain", and "Songbird". This record has been sold out on Amazon for months and is frightfully expense everywhere else. I was record shopping at a store Vintage Vinyl in Fords, New Jersey and was looking through all of the used and new records and when I saw the Fleetwood Mac section, I hesitated to go look at what records they had for them because I always strike out. But I went over and the second I saw it I immediately added it to my pile.
If you love vinyls like I do, I highly recommend going to Vintage Vinyl if you're in the area. They have so many great records including "mint/near mint no longer made" records.

My "Oldies"

I have a total of 500 songs on my iPhone.  And sometimes when I'm in the mood to listen to a classic song, it's a hassle going through my million songs to find a good classic.  So, having the amount of extra time that I do, I created a new playlist on my phone entitled, "Oldies".  Now, when I say "oldies", I mean anything before 1990.  I know to some of you that may seem not that old, but may I remind you that I was not born before 1990, so anything before that is, well, a little old.  Sorry.  I thought I would share with you SOME of the songs I placed in the playlist (I'd name them all but the list would be a little lengthy):

• American Pie - Don McLean
• Appreciation - Ann-Margret
• Bad, Bad Leroy Brown - Jim Croce
• Born To Run - Bruce Springsteen
• The Boys of Summer - Don Henley
• Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon and Garfunkel
• Cat's in the Cradle - Harry Chapin
• The Chain - Fleetwood Mac
• Dancing in the Dark - Bruce Springsteen
• Desperado - Eagles
• Jungleland - Bruce Springsteen
• Landslide - Fleetwood Mac
• The Living Years - Mike and the Mechanics
• Missing You - John Waite
• Mrs. Robinson - Simon and Garfunkel
• The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down - The Band
• Operator (That's Not the Way It Feels) - Jim Croce
• Peggy Sue - Buddy Holly and the Crickets
• Rapid Boy (The Stock Car Boy) - Jim Croce
• Running on Empty - Jackson Browne
• Sounds of Silence - Simon and Garfunkel
• This Magic Moment - Jay and the Americans
• True Love Ways - Buddy Holly
• Vacation - The Go Go's
• Valentine - Nils Lofgren
• We Belong to the Night - Ellen Foley
• When I See You Smile - Bad English
• You Can Call Me Al - Paul Simon
• You Don't Mess Around With Jim - Jim Croce