Glenn's Top 101 Songs of All Time: 80-71

101-91
90-81

80.
Artist: Lisa Loeb and Nine Stories
Song: Stay (I Miss You)
Album: OST Reality Bites (1994)
Watch The Video
There have been a whole tonne of Lisa Loeb-esque singers since I first heard "Stay (I Miss You)", but the original is still the best. I have no idea if this is the best Lisa Loeb, in fact, it's one of only a handful Loeb songs I've heard in my lifetime. I just really love this song. The lyrics, the music, Loeb's voice is so pure. And, well, it's from Reality Bites y'all. The video is sorta plain though.

79.
Artist: Bruce Springsteen
Song: Dancing In The Dark
Album: Born in the U.S.A. (1984)
Watch The Video
*sigh* - never get me talking about Bruce Springsteen if you don't wanna here a lot. I will save you the grief for now, as you'll have to put up with him a few more times in this countdown, but my god - this man is a genius, right? I love Brucey boy, I'd rank him as my favourite artist ever after the Queen herself, obviously. This song... well, we all know this song (and the video clip as well!). It is just so fun, and energetic and lively and omgiloveit. I love that Courtney Cox is the random chick who gets pulled up on stage in the video.

78.
Artist: Janet Jackson
Song: Again
Album: Janet and OST Poetic Justice (1993)
Watch The Video
Watch Janet Perform "Again" at the 1994 Academy Awards
I love Janet. Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 is one of my three favourite albums of all time. 1993 Janet is my second fave album of hers, and part of that is due to "Again". One of the best out-and-out ballads I've ever heard. Just simply beautiful written and sung. Janet received an Academy Award nomination for this song (I can't fault the winner though, which is coming up later)

77.
Artist: New Order
Song: Ceremony
Album: Substance 1987 (1987)
Watch The Video*
That guitar at the start was enough to get me hooked. I new this song long before it was used in the Marie-Antoinette trailer, but I do admit that since then I have grown to like it much more. New Order covered their own track, essentially, as "Ceremony" was originally made by Joy Division - my understanding of which is Joy Division became New Order when their singer died. Whatever the case, the New Order version is better. It's punchier and louder. It comes from her brilliant album Substance 1987, Substance was the title of the Joy Division album that the original appeared on, I believe.

*Please note, this is a live performance of "Ceremony" from back in 1981. Crazy. It's a weird, but there was no video clip.

76.
Artist: Aretha Franklin
Song: Respect
Album: I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You (1967)
Watch The Video
We all know the song, and it's sort of impossible to deny it. Aretha's voice tears through the great lyrics, and doesn't get drowned by the strong musical accompaniment. Most would probably identify this as Aretha's best song, and it's hard not to agree, but I have another favourite (and that's coming up later, obviously), but for the moment "Respect" is one of the funkiest songs on the chart. However, it's not the oldest - it misses out on that honour by three whole years. We'll see what song is indeed the oldest much much later into the countdown. That video clip is a hoot though ain't it?!

75.
Artist: Liz Phair
Song: Explain it to Me
Album: Exile in Guyville (1993)
Liz's really quite extraordinary album Exile in Guyville is rightfully trumped as one of the greatest albums of the 1990s. Why? Well, before Alanis picked up a guitar and sang about her vagina, Liz was doing the same thing. And she can't be accused of being any less blunt that Morissette was on her Jagged Little Pill album (two years after Guyville). In fact, Liz's album proved to be one of the most emotionally open albums, especially by a woman, in a long time. Opening up wounds for the world to see, using the power of her lyrics and her guitar to guide her through. That she still found room for experimentation of sorts was shocking (tracks such as "Canary", "Flower" and "Shatter" are exactly conventional). "Explain it to Me" is my favourite, that simple strum of the guitar hooks me in every time it comes on. Phenomenal.

74.
Artist: ABBA
Song: Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight)
Album: Voulez Vous (1979)
Watch The Video
Another track made recently much more famous, but which I was a fan of before. Recently used so memorably in Madonna's "Hung Up", this song is an electric bass-thumping charmer. Starting with an almost menacing intro before going into the pan-pipe (or whatever it is) that we all know. The song is similar to another ABBA track that will appear later, in that it seems to have a dark sinister edge to it. This is a bonafide disco classic, and comes complete with it's own strut-moment three minutes in that is just perfect. The clip I chose is of ABBA performing the song in Spanish! It's plainly mimed, but it's super fun! It's actually still incredible awesome! Dame Dame Dame!

73.
Artist: George Michael
Song: Killer/Papa was a Rolling Stone
Album: Five Live EP (1994)
Watch The Video
I know this is an odd selection for my favourite George Michael song, but everything I love about the man('s music) is here. His ability to take other people's songs and mould them into spectacular new beasts (his most recent example of this being the brilliant, and nearly ranked "Flawless (Go To The City)"). This time he has taken Seal's ace Killer and then seemlessly merged it with The Temptations' "Papa was a Rolling Stone" (or, I think it was The Temptations anyway). Michael has always had a sense for dance music, and this track picked up where his Faith album left off in 1987. It's a real shame that we never got a studio-recorded version or, even better, remixes. This just leant itself to even more major bass. Instead we have to make do with a live version that includes crowd cheering in the background - in both the album and the video. Great clip btw.

72.
Artist: Kylie Minogue
Song: Your Disco Needs You!
Album: Light Years (2000)
Watch The Video
Okay, well, incase you haven't figured it out yet - I am gay. And this is indeed one of the campest songs ever. Kylie has even gone on record to say that (the campest is coming up). But, man, is this fun a hoot or two, or what? From the chorus of, presumedly, gay muscle queens, to the hyperactive disco beat, to the fact that the freakin' song is about disco. If ever there was a genre that needs people's memories to keep it alive, it's disco. Throw in a bizarre french interlude and you basically have the Showgirls of this countdown. I am no ashamed!!! The video is indeed one of the gayest things you will ever see, it's really quite horrendously awful in that, again, Showgirls sorta way. THERE'S AN ARMY OF KYLIE'S FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!!

71.
Artist: Madonna
Song: Crazy For You
Album: Like a Virgin (1984)
Watch The Video
Yeah, you know the drill. Madonna's the greatest. What else is new? We all know how this song is a classic and how it's so beautifully sung and all that jazz. I love that sort've smokey club vibe the song has, and that is evident in the video clip. The song appeared on the soundtrack to the long forgotten Vision Quest. "Swaying room as the music starts/Strangers making the most of the dark" - what an opening line? You can also go go here to watch a clip of Madonna performing the song during her Reinvention Tour. For those who couldn't go to the concert (whether you just couldn't go or whether she didn't even fucking bother to tour in your continent) this clip is ace. She dedicates to her fans who have "...stuck me [her] through thick and fucking thin." Does that include her Australian fans who hasn't toured for in 15 years? Probably not. grrr.

In the next section the queer factor reaches boiling point with an ungodly combo of The Pet Shop Boys, Liza and Thelma. But there's also more Bruce Springsteen! He's manly.