Well – Well. I got so excited last weekend that I accidentally titled the post wrong. Oops. I said it would cover songs 80-86 but it was 81-86. Sorry for the slip up. Can’t say it won’t happen. lol
But I will try to be more careful.
So, we are getting into the top 70 songs of all time now. Great songs that could be anywhere on the list but slip down here because who can say why. I don’t really know. It’s only for the slightest variables one song goes above or below another when they are all great.
Anyway, enough of me yapping.
Let’s continue the countdown.
Today’s list for some reason won’t be as heavy as some the other lists.
Be sure to click on the videos and listen to the songs. Enjoy them like I enjoy them.
Linkin Park has been a progressive rock band if you look at their catalog. They started as a nu metal and hip hop act that transformed their sound over the years. They have produced several really good albums that established them as one of the best American bands around, winning Grammys, Billboard awards and video awards.
Lead vocalist Chester Bennington was an amazing talent as a vocalist and lyrist, and his loss is a huge loss for all the world.
I’ll admit I’m a big history buff and I love to study the Middle Ages, so a song about fixing your armor when you’re falling apart strikes a special chord with me. The song overall, invokes a common weakness we all feel sometimes. We hope people will be patient when we are going through hard times and won’t give up on use when we fall down, that they will give us time to stand up and fix ourselves. Knowing more about Chester’s personal struggles with abuse, depression and drugs now only makes the lyrics of this song (as well as others) that much more powerful.
I’ve never seen Linkin Park live. They have replaced Chester with Emily Armstrong from Dead Sara (which I have seen live).
Battle Symphony is my favorite Linkin Park song.
Five Linkin Park songs made it on my list of 1000 songs.
#80 – Battle Symphony
#427 – One More Light
#590 – One Step Closer
#714 – Halfway Right
#765 – In The End
I can never say enough about how awesome the Scorpions are but I’ll give it a try.
From 1976-1978, the Scorpions experienced a bit of change and turmoil as drummer Rudy Lenners left and Herman Rarebell stepped in. Guitarist Uli Jon Roth made it known he was not happy with the commercial direction of the band and decided to leave after they completed a tour of Japan from which the live album, Tokyo Tapes, was recorded.
The Scorpions got busy auditioning guitarists and after listening to over 140 of them, they settled on German guitarist Matthias Jabs. In 1978, while recording their next album, Lovedrive, original guitarist, and Rudolph Schenker’s brother, Michael Schenker, having left UFO, returned to the Scorpions, and for a short period of time they had three guitarists. Michael was involved in some of the song writing and the recordings on Lovedrive, but there was tension and Matthias was actually let go.
While on tour, however, Michael didn’t last long and quit. The Scorpions finally did the right thing and brought Matthias in for the long haul.
Is There Anybody There is from the Lovedrive album.
In my opinion, it is their 6th best song. It changes the classic rock formula structure while the lyrics focus on the loneliness of one yearning to find the love of their life.
Great song and still 5 more from the Scorpions to come.
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#79 – Is There Anybody There? – 6/31
#95 – You And I – 7/31
#119 – Fly People Fly – 8/31
#125 – Fly To The Rainbow – 9/31
#159 – Rock N Roll Band – 10/31
#186 – Rhythm of Love – 11/31
#224 – Someday Is Now – 12/31
#231 – The Sails of Charon – 13/31
#257 – Alien Nation – 14/31
#273 – Lust or Love – 15/31
#293 – Drifting Sun – 16/31
#335 – Hurricane 2000 – 17/31
#351 – Time Will Call Your Name – 18/31
#363 – Hour 1 – 19/31
#380 – Wind of Change – 20/31
#430 – Humanity – 21/31
#472 – When The Smoke Is Going Down – 22/31
#505 – Tease Me Please Me – 23/31
#526 – The Zoo – 24/31
#568 – In Trance – 25/31
#721 – Don’t Stop At The Top – 26/31
#762 – Big City Nights – 27/31
#822 – Evening Wind – 28/31
#870 – 10 Light Years Away – 29/31
#886 – Where The River Flows – 30/31
#949 – Love Will Keep Us Alive – 31/31
Golden Earring are a Dutch band that started way back in 1961 as The Tornados. When they learned there was another band of the same name, they became three versions of their current name – The Golden Earrings, Golden Earrings, & The Golden Earrings.
They finally settled on Golden Earring.
Radar Love appeared on their 9th album, Moontan. It became an international hit, climbing into the top 10 in many European countries, and #13 in the US.
The song is about a guy feeling a psychic connection to his love, and in a race to get to her, smashes up his car and dies, but even in death, the connection remains.
I’ve always thought Golden Earring is an underappreciated band, perhaps even by me. I listen to them quite often but only 5 of them made it on my list.
Sadly, I’ve never seen them live.
#78 – Radar Love
#191 – Twilight Zone
#215 – The Last Frontier Hotel
#835 – Bombay
#922 – The Devil Made Me Do It
While Living Colour’s ‘The Cult of Personality’ gets all the headlines, and gets people on their feet, rightfully so, I think, on most days, I prefer to listen to Solace of You just a tad bit better. On most day.
Solace of You was the third single off their 2nd album, Time’s Up.
The music has a positive upbeat tempo while the lyrics focus on a person’s struggle to keep finding the faith and strength from within to endure all of life’s difficult challenges.
It’s one of those uplifting songs that everyone needs to hear in times of testing.
As I’ve stated before, I have seen Living Colour live several times. This is my favorite song by them.
#77 – Solace Of You – 1/7
#97 – The Cult of Personality – 2/7
#205 – Glamour Boys – 3/7
#296 – Middle Man – 4/7
#339 – I Want To Know – 5/7
#489 – Open Letter To A Landlord – 6/7
#719 – Information Overload – 7/7
And we finish today’s countdown with another ballad, this one by a punk band from Minnesota.
Like most punk bands, they were known for their outrageousness, but their 5th album, Pleased To Meet Me, was an unexpected commercial success as they moved towards a power pop sound. It brought them temporarily into the mainstream. It’s a very accessible album and one of my all-time favorites, top to bottom.
Three singles from the album were released but Skyway wasn’t one of them. I thought it should have been, but it wasn’t.
It’s a simple ballad with a timeless hook. This is another yearning song where the singer can’t seem to find a way to connect with a love interest.
I never saw The Replacements live and all 5 songs in my top 1000 are off The Pleased To Meet Me album.
#76 – Skyway – 1/5
#117 – Can’t Hardly Wait – 2/5
#365 – The Ledge – 3/5
#461 – Nightclub Jitters – 4/4
#550 – Never Mind – 5/5
THE TOP 100 so far…
Would any of these be in your top 100 songs?
100 – Cheap Trick – Dream Police
99 – Creed- One Last Breath
98 – Blind Melon – No Rain
97 – Living Colour – Cult of Personality
96 – Triumph – Ordinary Man
95 – Scorpions – You And I
94 – Tesla – Forever More
93 – MCR – House of Wolves
92 – Rise Against – Re-Education
91 – Yngwie Malmsteen – Fury
90 – Robert Plant – Pledge Pin
89 – Jimi Hendrix – All Along The Watchtower
88 – Queensryche – Warning
87 – Metallica – Ride The Lightning
86 – Black Sabbath – War Pigs
85 – Escape The Fate – Gorgeous Nightmare
84 – The Answer – Cigarettes & Regret
83 – Symphony X – Set The World On Fire
82 – Blind Guardian – The Bard’s Song (Into The Forest)
81 – Jefferson Starship – Freedom At Point Zero
80 – Linkin Park – Battle Symphony
79 – Scorpions – Is There Anybody There?
78 – Golden Earring – Radar Love
77 – Living Colour – Solace Of You
76 – The Replacements – Skyway
Allen M Werner is the author of the epic dark fantasy series
THE CRYSTAL CRUX
Author Allen M Werner 
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