It’s been a whirlwind around here since my last countdown post. I had a healthcare scare that laid me up for a while. I’m still trying to get to the bottom of that. I also published a new novella (short story) for anyone interested in Greek mythology. It’s called Ares In Chains and is available through Amazon KDP.
But let us not delay the continuation of our countdown any longer.
We are finishing up the 70s. Another five awesome songs that could be number one on any given day.
Be sure to click on the videos to hear the songs.
Here we go.
Man, they made some strange videos in the 80s.
Anyway, the video takes nothing away from how awesome this song off Triumph’s 9th album, Surveillance, is.
I love Triumph. One of my all-time favorite bands and I plan to see them on their upcoming reunion tour. Never got to see them in their heyday – so yeah, never say never!
Surveillance really is the last Triumph album of any significance because Rik Emmett left after this album and the band was never the same without him.
Never Say Never is just a straightforward rock song reminding people to never give up despite the odds against you. Perfect theme for any rock song.
Never Say Never is my 5th favorite Triumph song, so there are four more Triumph songs to come.
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#75 – Never Say Never – 5/21
#96 – Ordinary Man – 6/21
#111 – Fool For Your Love – 7/21
#154 – Lay It On The Line – 8/21
#184 – Allied Forces – 9/21
#211 – Hold On – 10/21
#319 – Somebody’s Out There – 11/21
#345 – If Only – 12/21
#366 – Follow Your Heart – 13/21
#417 – On And On – 14/21
#552 – Say Goodbye – 15/21
#634 – Tears In The Rain – 16/21
#700 – I Live For The Weekend – 17/21
#773 – Let The Light – 18/21
#786 – Hot Time – 19/21
#846 – When The Lights Go Down – 20/21
#899 – A World Of Fantasy – 21/21
This might seem like a strange selection for my countdown, but I wasn’t an early Stones guy. I started learning about The Rolling Stones in the early 80s. Tattoo You and Emotional Rescue are the two Rolling Stones albums I identify with most, and I listened to both of these albums a lot in my teens and early twenties.
There always seems to be a comparison made between The Rolling Stones and a question of which band was “greater”.
In my humble opinion, the Beatles released a lot more “good” songs, but The Rolling Stones produced more “great” songs. And I believe The Who, who are sometimes added into the equation, were always a step below both of them.
Hope that doesn’t piss off too many people?
‘She’s So Cold’ was the second single off Emotional Rescue and it made it to #26 in the US charts, #33 in Britain.
The song features one line where Mick say, “she’s so goddamned cold.” They had to make a cleaned-up version of the song in order to get the song played on many radio stations.
The song is basically about sexualizing a woman’s appearance but hey, don’t be saying “goddamn” on the radio you heathens! LOL
Anyway, She’s So Cold is my second favorite Rolling Stones songs. There are seven in my top 1000 songs with one more to come.
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#74 – She’s So Cold – 2/7
#197 – Gimme Shelter – 3/7
#476 – Honky Tonk Women – 4/7
#515 – Jumping Jack Flash – 5/7
#530 – Paint It Black – 6/7
#982 – Hang Fire – 7/7
What can I say? I was a teenage boy in the early 80s, and Debbie Harry was gorgeous. And I probably ended up listening and liking a lot more Blondie music than I would have had she not been in the band.
Blondie was considered a new-wave punk or dance-rock band, which wasn’t what I usually listened to. Debby Harry made it a bit more accessible for some of us. And in the end, some of their music actually stood the test of time.
Call Me does not appear on any Blondie albums. I remember, because I bought the song as a 45.
Call Me was the main theme for the film American Gigolo, and the lyrics were written from the perspective of a male prostitute, although plenty of teenage boys in the 80s interpreted differently at the time.
Call Me is my favorite Blondie songs although I can still listen to quite a few more of their catalog. There are 3 Blondie songs in my top 1000.
#73 – Call Me – 1/3
#149 – One Way Or Another – 2/3
#778 – Long Time – 3/3
Strange to think that this song, this album, are going to be twenty years old in 2026. That seems like a fast twenty years.
People might also nay-say the album, but I believe it was a revolutionary album that resurrected old school rock memories.
My Chemical Romance (MCR) was already a popular punk and emo band that bordered on alternative rock and hard rock.
The release of The Black Parade in 2006 changed all that. Their 3rd album was a full-fledged old school rock/metal anthem album. It had it all. Amazing lyrics. Great compositions. Stadium quality guitars and drums. And an amazing vocalist at the top of his game.
Welcome to the Black Parade, according to the band, is a dying man’s childhood memory and speaks to “the triumph of the human spirit.”
I think it’s pure genius all the way through, carrying the listener through a wonderful journey of churning emotions. Few songs can strike a positive powerful chord in the heart like this song.
Welcome To The Black Parade was the first single off the album and charted all over the world but only reached #59 in the US.
My daughters turned me onto MCR, and I got to see them live several times with my daughters. Great memories.
There are eleven MCR songs in my top 1000 and this is number two. There is one more to come.
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#72 – Welcome To The Black Parade – 2/11
#93 – House of Wolves – 3/11
#265 – How I Disappear – 4/11
#318 – The Sharpest Lives – 5/11
#358 – Na Na Na – 6/11
#702 – Give’em Hell Kid – 7/11
#857 – To The End – 8/11
#879 – I’m Not Okay – 9/11
#902 – Dead – 10/11
#940 – Cemetery Drive – 11/11
I’m a man influenced by his daughters.
Panic! At The Disco is another band my daughters introduced me to and at first, I wasn’t a fan. Like MCR, they were an emo-punk-alternative band and their first album, A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out, released in 2005, was just okay to my ears. But apparently others liked it a lot and the album went platinum. It was recently certified quadruple platinum.
Their sound changed pretty drastically with the release of their second album, Pretty. Odd. in 2008.
This album I really liked. Everything about ‘Pretty. Odd.’ said “BEATLES”.
For me, they were evolving and becoming a good rock band. Vocalist Brendon Urie was also beginning to steal the stage which apparently didn’t sit well with the other band members.
The album was successful but not as successful as the first album. There was tension in the band and changes were made.
Panic! At The Disco soon after became more of a Brandon Urie project than a band.
Nine in the Afternoon is off the Pretty. Odd. album and has everything you’d expect from a Beatles song. It’s witty, happy, and full of energy. Everything from the lyrics to the video touch upon the Sgt. Peppers/Yellow Submarine phase of The Beatles.
I think the song is super catchy and sticks in your head.
I saw Panic! At The Disco live once with my daughters and my wife, and the best memory from that show was them playing a great cover of Kansas’ Carry On Wayward Son at the end of their set. Totally unexpected.
I learned to like this band so much there are two more Panic! songs to come. Twelve total in my top 1000.
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#71 – Nine In The Afternoon – 3/12
#299 – Emperor’s New Clothes – 4/12
#368 – Crazy = Genius – 5/12
#448 – Do You Know What I’m Seeing? – 6/12
#457 – That Green Gentleman – 7/12
#480 – Behind The Sea – 8/12
#548 – Pas de Cheval – 9/12
#746 – I Write Sins Not Tragedies – 10/12
#759 – Memories – 11/12
#998 – This Is Gospel – 12/12
And there you go. Five more songs to bring in the new year with.
Happy 2026! May we all find love, health, faith and success in the coming year. Peace!
The top 100 so far…
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
75 – Triumph – Never Say Never
74 – The Rolling Stones – She’s So Cold
73 – Blondie – Call Me
72 – MCR – Welcome To The Black Parade
71 – Panic! At The Disco – Nine In The Afternoon
Allen M Werner is the author of the epic dark fantasy series
THE CRYSTAL CRUX
And the new novella – Ares In Chains
Author Allen M Werner 
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