If there are two things I hate more than anything else, it's hippies and audience participation. Oddly enough though, I am completely in love with this tune from the Broadway musical Hair, which I've heard includes large sections of uncomfortable interactions between performers dressed as hippies and audience members. For this reason, I have little to no interest in sitting through a performance of Hair ever ever ever. Ever.
I heard this song for the first time on a Showtime mini-series called Out of Order. I don't remember what the show was about, but I think it had something to do with Eric Stoltz engaging in dirty sex with Justine Bateman. Actress Kim Dickens sang "Frank Mills" in one episode of the program, but I don't remember why. I guess the only good thing that came out of Out of Order was that I discovered a new song. This song:
Favorite lyrics: "I love him, but it embarrasses me to walk down the street with him/He lives in Brooklyn somewhere and wears this white crash helmet."
10. "Goodnight and Go" (Imogen Heap)
I think it's adorable when couples have "a song." "That's our song," they'll tell friends when it plays at a bar or over the PA system at Wal-mart. Then they'll exchange a quick kiss and everyone surrounding them while sigh "Awwww." When I see something like that I can't help myself: cheeks are gonna get pinched.
So for the longest time I was bothered by the fact that me and my then-girlfriend/now-wife did not have a song to call our own. We had a movie (The Squid and the Whale--the first film I took her to see) and we had a "joke our song" ("You're Beautiful" by James Blunt), but we didn't have a for realz, honest-to-goodness "our song." I was bummed. So, without consulting Jen, I chose Imogen Heap's "Goodnight and Go" as "our official song" and alerted her via mix CD, hoping she would hear the lyrics--which, at the time, described our situation quite accurately--and come to the conclusion that this was a perfect song for us on her own.
Of course, at our wedding we christened a new song "our song" when we shared our first dance to Belle and Sebastian's "We Rule the School"--I had also suggested They Might be Giants "Another First Kiss" and Nelly McKay's "I Want to Get Married," the latter because of it's sarcastically cynical view of the institution of marriage, which Jen said wouldn't make sense since we would be dancing to it "after" sealing the deal and the song was about someone wanting to get married someday in the future--but "Goodnight and Go" remains the song that takes me back to those first few months of our courtship.
Favorite lyrics: "Why'd you have to be so cute? It's impossible to ignore you. Why must you make me laugh so much? It's bad enough we get along so well."
Other favorite lyrics: "One of these days, you'll miss your train and come stay with me. We'll have drinks and talk about things and--any excuse to stay awake with you."
11. "Gumby Theme Song"
With one simple line--"If you've gotta heart then Gumby's a part of you"--Art Clokey united the world. That's kind of beautiful if you think about it.
Damn that show was weird though. Right?
Other great kids show theme songs: Gummi Bears Theme (Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears); Finnish DuckTales Theme (DuckTales in Finland); The Snorks Theme (The Snorks); Fraggle Rock Theme (Fraggle Rock); Jem Theme (Jem)
12. "Let's Stay Together" (Al Green)
Who can resist the dulcet tones of Al Green? I sure can't. For my money there is no song sexier than "Let's Stay Together," which makes it my go to tune when the mood in the bedroom shifts from "farting contest" to "lovemakin' time." Awwww, yeah! You can have "Sexual Healing," awkward teenagers making love for the first time. Keep your James Brown Baby Making Music Mixtape to yourself, weirdos who compiled your own James Brown baby making mixtape. Drop the needle on "Let's Stay Together" and it's on!
Also a great song for road trips, a night in, gym workouts, mountain hikes, driving to friends house for an evening of Super Mario Bros. Wii, etc.
