Of the three lists of favorite songs posted last week, one pick appeared on all of them. That was Elton John’s ‘Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters,’ which Amy, Dana and Madison all singled out. The track is one of my very favorite Elton John songs — up there with ‘Tiny Dancer,’ ‘Rocket Man’ and ‘Your Song.’
I’ve posted ‘Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters’ before, 12 years ago, so I’m setting it aside today in favor of a track that showed up on two of the three lists.
Another favorite song entry from Madison, ‘Saturdays’ is a 2018 release by Twin Shadow, the stage name of singer-songwriter George Lewis Jr.
This song appeared on the soundtrack of the Netflix film Someone Great as well as on Twin Shadow’s most recent album, Caer. I’m not sure if Madison first heard this in the movie, but if so, it’s yet another favorite song with a tie to a movie. There’s definitely something to that connection.
Frequent commenter Dana named Don Dixon’s ‘Renaissance Eyes’ as one of his favorite songs. This one is new to me, as is the idea of Don Dixon as a recording artist.
I know Dixon best as the producer of R.E.M.’s first two albums, Murmur and Reckoning, as well as The Smithereens’ debut album, Especially For You. In the mid-80s, Dixon was the go-to producer for alternative acts pioneering the jangle pop sound.
Commenter Amy named ‘O-o-h Child’ by the Five Stairsteps to her list of favorite songs, and listening to this magnificent track now makes me regret not placing it on mine.
I remember the soul classic best from the poignant scene in 1991’s Boyz N the Hood when Furious and Tre come home from a fishing trip to see Doughboy and Chris getting arrested. Twenty-three years later, it was used to much different effect in Guardians of the Galaxy.
I had a great time ticking off my 25 favorite songs over the past couple of weeks. And it was even better to see some regular readers chime in with lists of their own.
List-making is a perilous exercise that risks turning art into science, appreciation into competition. But done right, it’s an excuse to dive deeper into the things we love, to dissect the reasons, to learn more about the work and about ourselves. That’s what draws me to it.
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