Nothin’ to do but frown/ Rainy days and Mondays always get me down. Mental health is no joke. Watch this performance of The Carpenters playing Rainy Days and Mondays and see what a beautiful, strong, fun, talented woman Karen Carpenter is. In less than ten years she would be dead. She didn’t see herself the … The post Rainy Days & Mondays-The Carpenters appeared first on Top 500 Greatest Rock Songs of All-time ..read more

I’ll be there as soon as I can; But I’m busy mending broken Pieces of the life I had before. The narrator of “Unintended” by Muse is not in the best headspace. He tells us he is “busy mending a broken heart” and has identified a new candidate to be something more than a rebound. … The post Unintended- Muse appeared first on Top 500 Greatest Rock Songs of All-time ..read more

I can survive and I can endure, And I don’t even think about her… The best way to read the lyrics to this song is to imagine you are catching up with a friend. You ask, “how are you?” You expect to hear “fine”. Instead, your friend pauses and says,” Well…most of the time I’m … The post Most of the Time- Bob Dylan appeared first on Top 500 Greatest Rock Songs of All-time ..read more

I would give everything I own/ Just to have you back again… The lyrics of Bread’s “Everything I Own” are somewhat ambiguous. They are clearly about a relationship that has ended—but what kind of relationship? Part of the enduring nature of the song is the fact that the chorus speaks to any lost relationship. Don’t we all have someone in our past who is gone—someone we wish we could have done things differently with? Whether they are gone due to death, a breakup, or circumstance–we can all relate to this sentiment. That is one of the reasons this song is a classic. The 70s had the best fashion ..read more

You cannot eat money, oh no “The Seed” by Norwegian singer AURORA is characterized by her signature ethereal and haunting sound. The lyrics delve into themes of personal growth, self-acceptance, and the power of the human spirit. “The Seed” addresses issues such as conservation and anti-materialism in a way reminiscent of the 1970s activism. In terms of sound, “The Seed” features a blend of electronic and acoustic instrumentation, with Aurora’s voice soaring over a bed of pulsing beats and atmospheric synths. The song’s chorus is particularly striking, with Aurora’s vocals building to a cresc ..read more

Just for a moment, I was back at school/ And felt that old familiar pain… Dan Fogelburg’s “Same Old Lang Syne”, is a play on the new year’s eve song Auld Lang Syne which translates roughly to “a long time ago”. The narrator stumbles into a girlfriend from a long time ago at the grocery store—we can tell he once loved her. They don’t recognize each other at first but soon they are sharing drinks in her car and reminiscing. But there is a sadness behind their stories. They have changed. Maybe not for the better. They were everything to each other at one point in each other’s lives and now…this ..read more

Know that we’ll still have each other/ You can stand under my umbrella… Rihanna’s “Umbrella” is one of the most successful and enduring pop songs of the last two decades. The song became a massive commercial hit, reaching the top of the charts in multiple countries and earning accolades from fans and critics alike. The track’s unique blend of pop, R&B, hip-hop, and dance elements, along with its memorable chorus and Jay-Z’s guest verse, have made it one of Rihanna’s signature songs and perhaps one of her best. The melody of “Umbrella” is fantastic. The chorus is an upbeat, catchy tune tha ..read more

Stay just a little bit longer Did you ever want to hear a story about the difficulties of being a Rockstar? No? Me either. Yet in The Load Out, Jackson Browne tells us about his experience and manages to make it palatable.  I would argue that it is extremely hard to cross this divide. For some reason we think that we can feel the same feelings of love like Stevie Nicks does (when we hear her songs)—even though we don’t look like her or have her talent—but a multi-millionaire bitching about his job is a step too far. Most rock stars age out by the time they are 30. They never write anothe ..read more

Eddie was a sweet romancer, and a darn good dancer/ And they’d waltz the aisles of the five and dime… Mood plays such a strong role in Nanci Griffith’s “Love at the Five & Dime”. It is essentially a love story—and overall, a happy love story—but the mood the music creates is dreary and fatalistic. Griffith delivers the lines the same way, whether Rita and Eddie are young and dancing in the corner store, or suffering through the death of their child, and their eventual breakup and reconciliation. It is peculiar. Emotions don’t run too high or too low in Rita’s world. Their life is relative ..read more

A man can tell a thousand lies/ I learned my lesson well… Madonna’s “Live to Tell” is strong lyrically and musically and her vocals are impeccable. The song is about the narrator losing her innocence. Perhaps she was a child, perhaps this is a relationship she experienced when she was fairly young.  She doesn’t get into details. We do know that a man deceived her and that she carries that secret within her. She anticipates that a time will come when she will be able to release herself of this burden. Until then, she must survive, in part, so as to see the truth come out. She mu ..read more