Top 50 Songs (35-31)

35. "Something" by the Beatles

This is my favorite song written my second favorite Beatle. I did think about putting "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" somewhere in the countdown, but I think part of what makes "Guitar" so good is the contributions by Eric Clapton on guitar. George stands alone in this song, and pulls off his only Beatles number one.  I do love the lyrics in this song. For Abbey Road this song becomes the "I Want to Hold Your Hand" or "She Loves You, " but the love song has evolved since the early days of the Beatles. I love that George Harrison evolved as a songwriter as the Beatles evolved, as he could have very easily been left behind (like for instance, say, Ringo was). The choruses of the song also comprise of George's best Beatles vocal work.

34. "Spit on a Stranger" by Pavement

Pavement (who I consider the godfathers of indie music) should probably be in this countdown way more, but alas, there is only room for 50. First of all, I love Terror Twilight, and this song starts the album off right. It is everything a Pavement song should be: great lyrics laced with sarcasm and a certain cynical seriousness. I don't understand how Pavement songs can be so catchy, they really shouldn't be, but there it is, and you find yourself singing along anyway. Of course the guitar work is always great when Malkmus and Spiral Stairs get together, and "Spit on a Stranger" definitely doesn't disappoint.

33. "Rock Revolution" by Piebald

If I had to pick my top 3 songs to cover acoustically, this would be there. In fact, it might be number one. I just love the simple story this song tells of a girl who inherits her fathers guitar and becomes a modern day hippie activist, complete with an FBI file and all. Sure, the rest of the band comes in after the first verse, but the song might as well have just stayed acoustic. It escalates and repeats to an end with gang vocals, which I usually enjoy, and certainly do in this song. It definitely builds into a sing-a-long. Every time at the end of the song, I just have to play one...or two... or three more times.

32. "Slow Down" by Nada Surf

Nada Surf is simply one of my favorite bands. Period. Every time I hear this song, it's like I am hearing it for the first time again. I think it is because I forget how great it actually is. It is a straight on rocker with a punk backbeat. I love that I can differentiate it from their newer stuff and can tell that Matthew Caws was definitely younger when he wrote it, but it is still intrinsically Nada Surf. It may in fact be one of the best song to practice my air drumming. It is sing-alongable and has a message that is very important to someone like me:  "Slow down. Why you wanna move so fast? Why you wanna walk so far?"

31. "Strawberry Field Forever" by the Beatles

Caution: from this point in the countdown forward, you may get a little tired of seeing the name The Beatles and John Lennon. For me, this song cannot be denied its marked ingenuity and innovation. From the opening mellotron through the weird end bit that always seems to be cut off by the radio, the song changed what you could do when writing a rock song. The songs speaks back to John's childhood, while at the same time reflecting his psychedelic experimentation with LSD. If I were to define the word ethereal, I might just refer you to "Strawberry Fields." The song always takes me into a different universe where the gravity is less and the air is light.