No. 499 - "Drifting, Falling" by The Ocean Blue

No. 499 - "Drifting, Falling" by The Ocean Blue -- third single off Hershey, PA band's debut self-titled album is a modern rock classic from 1990


Chart Status - peaked at No. 10 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks.

PCI - little to none. The band toured relentlessly through 1994 and continue to play shows and intermittenly release EPs through their website, http://www.theoceanblue.com/. Many are surprised to learn the band is not English, despite the clear influences of the Smiths, New Order, and Echo & the Bunnymen.  The thing about this song is that its simple melody and lilting vocal line gets me everytime.  Perfect slice of alterna-pop.

No. 500 - "Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley

No. 500 - "Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley -- a slice of late 80s pop soul music that later became an internet sensation due to the advent of You Tube and the now infamous gag of "Rickrolling".

Chart Status - Astley hit No. 1 in 25 countries including the U.S. in March 1988. 

Pop Culture Impact (PCI) - A throwaway pop track with an infectious groove that somehow managed to find a way to the top of the US charts in 1988 inbetween George Michael and Michael Jackson.  With the advent of YouTube, Astley's greatest song and its famously bad video were used in a 2008 April Fool's prank by the company, now known as "Rickrolling".  YouTube users seeking out content were re-directed to Astley's video all day long and the prank has continued to this day.  The pentultimate moment though may have been the 2008 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade which was 'rickrolled' by Astley and Cartoon Network, who had Astley appear and perform the track on its float.  Video below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wL-hNMJvcyI

Presenting the Top 500 Songs I Think You Should Know

After reading through the Rolling Stone Top 500 Songs of All-Time, I convinced myself that I too could craft a list of 500 songs, and thus the Top 500 Songs I Think You Should Know was born.  To be considered for the list, I limited myself to only songs released after my date of birth, which was late in August 1978. 

After settling on a start date, the real decision had to be made -- what would my criteria be?  After much deliberation, I decided on a subjectively objective test that takes into account many things such as whether a song charted, how long it charted, its longevity and durability, and of course, pop culture signifcance.  It took me approxiamtely three months to compile my list and the work done generated such intense discussions with my wife, that she joined me in this challenge, albeit her list was capped at 200 songs.

What I learned from this is I do not listen to a lot of country, but I do like and appreciate rap more than I would have throught.  My Top 200 would be competitive with anything Rolling Stone, NME or another music mag put together, and my final 300 gets more subjective than objective, but again, I think I have compelling arguments for everything.

So, enough with the discourse, let the list begin, in reverse order, and ten at a time.  Enjoy!