Either way, from what many are calling one of the worst decades the US has seen, some damn good music still came out. These are my Top 5 favorite records from the 2000s.

5. *NSYNC — No Strings Attached (2000)

*NSYNC: Glory years at the turn of the century

Love them or hate them (I’ve always loved them), this was one of those defining musical moments, a schism that cemented the Boy Band Era and effectively ended the Nirvanas, Becks, and Smashing Pumpkins’ of the world. Justin Timberlake proved you could go through something that tweens obsessed over and come out on the other side a sex symbol, morphing himself into a career that aged with him instead of trapping him at 16. No Strings Attached’s 2.4 million sold in its first week set records for both Most Records Sold in a First Week, as well being the only album to have ever sold over 2 million records in one week. [Audio clip: view full post to listen]

4. Eminem — The Marshall Mathers LP (2000)

Eminem on a TRL performance

…and right in the middle of that Boy Band Era, Eminem decided to step on the scene and change the rap game as we know it. Between this record and Jay-Z’s The Blueprint (which was released on the day the World Trade Center fell), a whole new era of hip-hop was popularized. Eminem was mobbed on TRL. Was starring in 8 Mile with even an Oscar mentioned in the same sentence. Was reaching suburban houses and was theoretically wreaking havoc, causing lawsuits left and right… and it just might be that he’s the greatest rapper of all-time. [Audio clip: view full post to listen]

3. Kanye West — The College Dropout (2004)

Kanye West, circa 2004

I started listening to this record non-stop while driving back and forth from my apartment to my bartending job just after graduating college, but still living in Columbia, SC. I even got the chance to see Kanye live at what was then called the Carolina Center when he came through on tour in 2004. It was literally just him and his DJ: No entourage, no band, nothing. Just his mic and his DJ, and it was entirely captivating. [Audio clip: view full post to listen]

2. The Killers — Hot Fuss (2004)

The Killers, circa 2004

I remember reading about The Killers in a Rolling Stone when I was in college. It was their annual “Hot” issue (where they tell you what, suprisingly, is hot). The Killers were named Hot Band in the 2004 issue. I never liked any band Rolling Stone was pimping out, but checked them out anyway. And Hot Fuss (right next to No. 3 above, The College Dropout), ended up becoming the soundtrack to my senior year in college. [Audio clip: view full post to listen]

1. August Burns Red — Messengers (2007)

August Burns Red on tour in 2007

What I believe to be the best metal record of all-time was released in 2007. Ever since hearing the 808 drop about two minutes into “Back Burner”, I was sold. To this day, this record is in my Top 5 records of all-time. Unbelievable songwriting. Quite possibly some of the best drumming I’ve ever heard. Crisp, clean production. An undeniable record. “Back Burner” “Composure”

Photos courtesy of , screen capture from Eminem performance on TRL, WPIX.com, Rolling Stone and a photo from my collection. Videos courtesy of Solid State Records.

1. I do think Alabama and Texas are 1 and 2, respectively.
2. I don’t think TCU and Boise St. have anything to prove by playing Iowa or Georgia Tech. Both TCU and Boise St. are better than Iowa or Georgia Tech.
3. It would’ve been fun to see a TCU vs. Florida game and a Boise vs. Cincinnati game, but I’ll still settle for a TCU/Boise St. match.

I also won’t cry that a playoff system is necessary (based on this year) because both Gary Patterson and Chris Petersen have said that they are in favor of the current system and believe in it.

So if I’m not getting excited about BCS chaos and underdog stories, what is there to get excited about? I think there’s plenty of good football and good story lines out there. I’ll give you the games I’m looking forward to the most (other than watching my alma mater Texas Tech stomp a suspension riddled Michigan State team) AND I’ll throw in some advice on how to beat Vegas in these games as well.

1. Colt McCoy

   1. BCS Championship Game (1) Alabama vs. (2) Texas Not hard to chose what I’m most excited about here. Number one versus number two. National Title on the line. Alabama seems to be peaking and Texas is playing some sloppy football. That being said, the teams have a month to prepare and get healthy. Let’s see if Mack Brown is worth that extra 2 million a year that UT just gave him. If Alabama wins, I have a feeling Nick Saban’s agent will be clamoring for a raise for his client too. Line Alabama by 5 Take Texas +5. Early line was Texas -3 until always tough rivalry against Texas A&M and Big 12 Championship game against a very talented NU defense.

2. Andy Dalton

   2. Fiesta Bowl (4) TCU vs. (6) Boise State In a rematch of last years Poinsettia Bowl, Boise State returns to the Fiesta bowl, where they last gave us perhaps the best college football game of our generation in a win against Oklahoma, to face a TCU team that some would argue should be playing in the National Championship game. Most people have not watched TCU this year and it’ll be exciting to see how they play with major media surrounding them for the first time this season. Most importantly, this game is exciting because it pits two great football teams against each other. If TCU beats Boise with style and Texas squeaks out a sloppy win against ‘Bama, then we might even see TCU share the National Championship. Line TCU by 6.5 Take TCU -6.5. TCU’s Jerry Hughes led defense will contain the Boise offense much like Oregon did. The safer play might be Under 54.5 though. TCU will shorten the game and create turnovers.

3. Jim Harbaugh

   3. Sun Bowl (21) Stanford vs. Oklahoma I think this game excites me so much is because of how much I love Stanford and hate Oklahoma. (This game is also huge for the Sun Bowl after last year’s 3-0 snooze fest of Pitt v Oregon State.) I gained so much love for the Cardinal after they went for 2 against USC while already romping them. Sticking it to USC for all the little guys out there. Toby Gerhart is also a very exciting runner (would not mind at all seeing him in a Texans uniform). Sad to hear that Andrew Luck, son of Houston Dynamo owner Oliver Luck (whom I’ve shared a delicious Lone Star beer with), probably won’t play. This sets the table for Tavitia Pritchard to return for Stanford. Pritchard first charmed my heart when he led 41 point underdog Stanford to perhaps the biggest upset in college football history, beating USC 24-23 in 2007. Oklahoma’s defense is stellar, led by Gerald McCoy. They’ll have a tough task in containing Gerhart. This game is the underdog story I’m looking forward to. Line Oklahoma by 9 Take Cardinal +9. You might even want to take Stanford on the moneyline if Andrew Luck is cleared to play. A possible let down for the Sooners. Stanford is fired up.

4. Bobby Bowden

   4. Gator Bowl (16) West Virginia vs. Florida State This game is all about Bobby Bowden. Love him, hate him, apathetic? This is a game you won’t want to miss. A true legend is retiring. And how fitting to be playing against WVU. Excellent work by the Gator Bowl committee making this game happen. Line West Virginia by 3 Take WVU -3. I know it will be emotional with Bobby Bowden coaching his last game against his former team, but WVU’s team speed will pull away from FSU.

5. Terrelle Pryor

   5. Rose Bowl (8) Ohio St. vs. (7) Oregon I’m normally an Ohio St. hater, but I think they’re playing very good football lately. Lately being the operative word, as it will be over a month since the Buckeyes last game when they take on the Ducks. Oregon was in the Terrelle Pryor running before he decided to side with OSU, so it’ll be fun to watch Oregon prove to him that they didn’t need him. A win for Oregon could change the climate even more in the Pac-10. The Ducks could be the new powerhouse. Also, I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I was excited to see what uniform Oregon decides to wear. Line Oregon by 3.5 Take Buckeyes +3.5, but not the moneyline. I think OSU has the speed to keep up with Oregon. Vegas has this one pegged. I think Oregon wins with a field goal with Jeremiah Masoli leading a late drive for the win.

6. Dexter McCluster

   Honorable Mention: Cotton Bowl Ole Miss v (19) Oklahoma State Two teams with great talent that did not live up to the preseason hype. Could a Mississippi loss propel Houston Nutt to Kansas? Would an OSU loss put the Cowboys back in the bottom half of the Big 12 South? This game is most interesting because both these teams seemed to be poised to be the next big thing in conferences with perennial juggernauts. A win for one team keeps that mojo going, a loss is a definite momentum stopper. Line Ole Miss by 3 Take Ole Miss -3. Dexter McCluster runs all over OSU. Ole Miss gets it done again in Dallas this season.

Note: This entry was written before the Army vs. Navy game. But either way, the Eagle Bank Bowl would assuredly not have made this list.

5. Black Eyed Peas — “I Gotta Feeling”

BEP’s The E.N.D. might be the best overall record released in 2009, right next to (if you count it in 2009) Lady Gaga’s The Fame. It’s good from the top down. It’s just unfortunate they’re not that great to watch live. [Audio clip: view full post to listen]

4. Shakira — “She-Wolf”

Shakira’s like fine wine and scotch in that it seems the older she gets, the better looking she becomes. Her latest She-Wolf phase is adorable and the music is so disco. [Audio clip: view full post to listen]

3. Soulja Boy — “Turn My Swag On”

I wanted to hate this song soooo bad. Like, really, really badly. Instead, I embraced the off-key singing and became a fan. As it would turn out, Soulja Boy released a freaking awesome record in “iSouljaBoyTellEm” (yes, that’s the real name of it). I’m going to go ahead and consider this one the 2009 version of “Ay Bay Bay”, where you’re like WTF? and next thing you know you’re singing it in the shower wondering how it infiltrated your life. [Audio clip: view full post to listen]

2. Jay-Z (feat. Alicia Keys) — “Empire State of Mind”

It hasn’t been out for that long, but it’s such a beautiful song—it’s hard to go wrong with one of the greatest rappers of all-time and one of the most talented singer/songwriters of all-time. It’s epic with a near-perfect melody for a hook. [Audio clip: view full post to listen]

1. Jay Sean — “Down”

In what might be the most predictable song of all-time, I still can’t stop singing it. (Staccato strings? Check. Verse Chorus Verse Chorus Bridge? Check. Lil’ Wayne cameo? Check.) If I even hear something that sounds remotely like it, I’ll have “Down” stuck in my head for the rest of the damn day. [Audio clip: view full post to listen]

Photos courtesy of Shakira.com, resonantdreams, the “I Gotta Feeling” music video, gossiponthis.com, and some random Web site that just repurposes content and most likely stole Jay Sean’s picture so if you know who actually owns that picture let me know so I can credit them accordingly.

But I don’t want to talk about those moves because, quite frankly, I’m not happy with the state of baseball affairs right now. The Yankees and Cardinals are great, while the Nationals have a better second half winning percentage than the Astros: .444 v. .442! I want to be a little negative and comfort myself by talking about the Five Worst Trades and/or Acquisitions this year.

5. Nick Johnson (to the Marlins)/Freddy Sanchez (to the Giants)

Nick Johnson

Freddy Sanchez

Here’s the only number that matters with these two guys: 13. As in the number of games played with their new ball clubs. The moves looked good at the time with both teams needing offensive help. What the Marlins and Giants ultimately did was give up prospects for guys to chill on the DL. If these guys can get healthy in September and produce, they can be taken off this list. But with both players not scheduled to be ready to go when they are eligible to come off the DL, this seems unlikely.

4. John Grabow and Tom Gorzelanny (to the Cubs)

John Grabow

Tom Gorzelanny

This move isn’t here because the players involved in this deal aren’t doing well individually. Grabow hasn’t allowed a run in 13 innings for the Cubs and Gorzelanny has provided solid innings as well. The players the Cubs traded—Kevin Hart and Jose Ascanio—are not faring well at all in Pittsburgh. Hart’s ERA is over 6 and Ascanio is on the DL. In theory, a great trade for the Cubs.

What does give me great pleasure is that, since this move, the Cubs have gone a paltry 11-18 and watched their half game division lead go crashing down to a 10.5-game deficit behind the front-running Cardinals. I guess Hart just made the other players around him want to win, whether he was doing well or not.

3. Russ Ortiz (to the Yankees/Rockies/Chula Vista?)

Russ Ortiz

This is really just time for me to complain about Russ Ortiz. When he was released by the Astros on July 30, he hadn’t won a game as a starter since April 26. In his last 5 starts with the Astros, he pitched 21.1 innings allowing 28 ER. That’s good for an 11.81 ERA! Why any team would even waste a spot on him is beyond me. Instead, the Yankees gave him a minor league spot—but was promptly released. The Rockies were said to be interested, but thought way better of it. He is an ultimate waste of time. (David’s Note: Fall from grace: In 2006, Ortiz made $7,875,000. In 2007? Just $380,000.)

2. Scott Rolen (to the Reds)

Scott Rolen

This was almost my number 1. This move truly, truly baffled me. Look at the Reds: They’re a young team building for the future who aren’t even close to being in the playoff hunt. Why would they trade two young, highly touted pitching prospects in Josh Roenicke and Zach Stewart for a 34-year-old 3B with a history of injuries and is due 11 million dollars in 2010???? I don’t know how Dusty Baker OKed this move. And to add injury to insult, Rolen has already been on the DL since joining the Reds.

1. Jarrod Washburn (to the Tigers)

Jarrod Washburn

And congratulations to the Detroit Tigers for the worst move of the year! You could argue that putting Dontrelle Willis on the mound was the worst move, but trading for Mr. Washburn is inexplicably worse. (This one particularly stings me as I have Washburn on my fantasy team.)

You can’t blame the Tigers for thinking this move would be good as Washburn looked to be making a case for comeback player of the year. He had an 8-6 record and the third lowest ERA (at 2.64) in the hitter-heavy American League at the time of the trade. But since becoming a Tiger, Washburn has posted a 1-2 record with a 6.81 ERA. Ouch! It’s hard to say what the problem is: not as strong of outfield defense, too much pressure, Jim Leyland not as cool a manager as Don Wakamatsu. Regardless, Washburn is not nearly the pitcher the Tigers hoped they would get.

Mug shots courtesy of ESPN.com.

It’s always so much better when you don’t.

5. “Practice? We talkin’ about practice?”—Allen Iverson

And don’t forget to check out the remix when you’re done.

“Press Hop”—the Steve Porter Remix

4. “I’m a Man! I’m 40!”—Mike Gundy

This one is like a snowball. He starts off slow and you wonder how on earth he got to where he did.

3. “Playoffs? Playoffs?!?”—Jim Mora

The Coors Light ads have brought this one back. But there’s no way I can have this list without Mora. He’s got other good ones, too.

2. “Don’t call me Chris, OK!”—Jim Everett

How awesome is this. Jim Rome has been calling Jim Everett “Chris” for years on his radio show in reference to him being a girl (Chris Everett was the world’s number one female tennis player) and Jim finally gets sick of it and leaps the table at him. Classic.

1. Phillip Wellman goes beserk

This one is just amazing. I can only hope that one day I’ll be at a game where this happens. Phillip Wellman is the Mississippi Braves (AA affiliate) baseball team’s manager, and apparently he didn’t like a call. He comes out in a normal tirade, but somewhere flips his lid and starts covering home plate, ejecting the umpires, throwing a base into the outfield, even military crawling across the infield. Incredible.

These are my Top 5 favorite intros to televisions shows. A note, though: For these top television series intro titles I didn’t choose campy intros (think about “Step By Step”, “Family Matters”, “Cheers”, “Dinosaurs”, “Full House”) because, although iconic, not the best. It’d be like naming Vanilla Ice’s “Ice, Ice Baby” in your Top 5 favorite songs. News flash: Just because you know every word and sing it at karaoke does NOT make it your favorite song.

5. “Nip/Tuck”—F/X

While the show got a little bananas at the end of its run, I always liked the modern look of the intro. (In case you can’t tell by the look of this blog, I love modern.) Extremely clean, simple color palette, ambient tone. It’s such a perfect play on the theme of the show. I love how stark the red lines look on the already perfect bodies… because perfect wasn’t good enough.

My favorite part is when the hand twitches in sync with the beat at 0:08.

Paul Matthaeus (Title Designer), Vince Haycock (Title Designer), Eric Anderson (Title Designer), Matt Lavoy (Title Designer)

4. “The X-Files”—FOX

Little bit of trivia: Castle/Bryant/Johnsen, the peeps that did “The X-Files” opening titles, also did the title sequences for “Cheers,” “Family Ties,” and “Frasier.” Bonus trivia: Namesakes Carol Johnsen signed “Dana Scully’s” badge, while Jim Castle signed as “Fox Mulder.”

Castle/Bryant/Johnsen

3. “True Blood”—HBO

From an interview with Watch the Titles:

Editorially we collided the seething behind-the-curtains sexuality of the south into the fist pounding spirituality of Pentacostal healings to viscerally expose the conflicts we saw in the narrative of the show. … To house these juxtapositions we created an arc to the sequence. The piece extends from morning deep into the night, and as it does so it’s rhythms and content crescendo into increasingly darker and more aggressive territory. —Rama Allen, lead designer/concept co-creator

Read more over at Watch the Titles, or check it out from the source at Digital Kitchen Also, this is one of the top television series I’ve ever seen.

Matt Mulder (Creative Director), Rama Allen (Lead Designer), Camm Rowland (Type Designer)

2. “House, M.D.”—FOX

I’ve loved the House title sequence more than I’ve loved the show. I’ve always been in love with the old-timey drawings of the inner-workings of the human body and they looks stunning in this House intro. (Makes me wonder how they made the drawings.) House, combined with the Massive Attack track “Teardrop,” make this intro unforgettable, artistic, and effective. A little pensive, a little arrogant, very well done.

Dan Brown (Title Designer), Dave Molloy (Title Designer), Matt Mulder (Title Designer), Jake Sargeant (Title Designer)

Bonus Music

“Teardrop”—Massive Attack

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

“Teardrop”—Jose Gonzalez

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

1. “Dexter”—Showtime

I feel like I might as well just go work for Digital Kitchen since I love all their stuff. Dexter, another one by Digital Kitchen, is just so perfect at setting the stage for the show. The attention to detail, the uncomfortably close shots of shaving and cutting of meat—they manage to take the everyday breakfast routine and make you go through it as though YOU were the serial killer.

As the guys at DK put it:

The TV title sequence is a branding endeavor and a legitimate art form. It is the sole, consistent, and iconic moment that carries through a show’s lifespan and beyond. It’s what you remember most.

And that’s exactly what the title sequence to Dexter does.

Eric S. Anderson (Creative Director), Josh Bodnar (Editor), Lindsay Daniels (Designer), Colin Davis (Main Title Producer), original theme music by Rolfe Kent

Bonus Round

Did you know the short-lived animation series “Dilbert” won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Main Title Design in 1999?

A note about the rules: These are chosen based solely on usage of gibberish alone. Therefore, songs where the gibberish is mixed with actual English words are thrown out, e.g. The Police’s De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da.

1. Crash Test Dummies—Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm

   By naming this song they effectively made every Top 40 DJ’s life a nightmare. I remember hearing it for the first time, enjoying the melody like every good mid-’90s kid would, and wondering what the name of it was so I could go (*shudder*) buy a CD. I wouldn’t have believed it except for the fact that the song was about a girl who wouldn’t change in the girls’ dressing room because she had birthmarks “all over her body.”

   Crash Test Dummies—Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm

   [Audio clip: view full post to listen]

2. Hanson—MmmBop

   I suppose the “mmm” sound is made enough to warrant two incredibly addicting melodies. Don’t knock Hanson. To me they’re kinda like the band you had to hate but secretly listened to when the song came on in the car and ten years later it’s cool similar to Paula Abdul’s “Straight Up”.

   Hanson—MmmBop

   [Audio clip: view full post to listen]

3. Third Eye Blind—Semi-Charmed Life

   This may be the biggest stretch on the list, but I’ll be damned if I’m not walking around singing “doot doot doot” every time I hear this song.

   Third Eye Blind—Semi-Charmed Life

   [Audio clip: view full post to listen]

4. The Marcels—Blue Moon

   This one was almost too easy. I can’t even remember the first time I heard this song (although I’m going to venture to say it was when I was in the car with my mom when I was young and the only thing she let us listen to was either Christian music or oldies. Which in my opinion is kind of funny because some of those oldies songs had some inappropriate material in it) but, just like every one of you, I tried to sing it back and screwed it up majorly.

   The Marcels—Blue Moon

   [Audio clip: view full post to listen]

5. Tokens—The Lion Sleeps Tonight

   I don’t know who wrote it, and I don’t particularly care. All I know is that this song, while atop this list, also tops the “Easiest to Get in Your Head” list.

   Tokens—The Lion Sleeps Tonight

   [Audio clip: view full post to listen]

What are YOUR favorites?

Yes, these are the Top 5 Games I’ve spent an ungodly amount of time playing—and would probably never admit how long, nor really want to know.

PS – I also cheated and put six games in a Top 5 list. I know. It’s wrong.

6. MLB: The Show 2008

The most recent addition, I must admit that I probably played this one more than most people because it was my first foray into the PlayStation3. Either way, when you can create your own player, make it look like you, start out as a minor leaguer, and then work your way to back-to-back Cy Young awards and a World Series title? Yeah, count me in. (As if my bias towards my love of baseball didn’t influence the direct amount of time I played this game.)

Soundtrack to this Game

As games got newer, they’ve stopped writing theme music to video games; they just license songs out and make straight cash. So for this one, and a couple later ones, these are songs from the soundtrack to the game.

ZZ Top—I’m Bad, I’m Nationwide

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

5. MegaMan 3

This is kind of a tricky one. MegaMan 3 wasn’t actually a tough game; the tough games usually waste the most time because you can’t beat them right off the bar. But this one is up here because I’ve replayed an insane amount of times. Not to mention, it has some of the best theme music in the history of video games. Segue…

Soundtrack to this Game

Theme to MegaMan 3

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

4. Tony Hawk 3

The thing that made this game so great and time-wasting was the playability. You could get a seemingly infinite amount of points as long as you keep your nollie rolling. And then when you got bored, go ahead and throw in some codes and end up on the moon and spin forever.

Soundtrack to this Game

CKY made a huge splash here before Bam Margera was pimpin’ them out. Bodyjar’s “Not the Same” is also awesome, go check it out.

CKY—96 Quite Bitter Beings

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

3. Halo 1/Halo 3

Originally not on this list, Halo 3 revived what Halo 2 had killed. Xbox Live tighetened its game up, the energy sword and needler weren’t as powerful, the Halo train had boarded and taken off. It’s one of the best games to play while having a beer. Start out with ranked matches. As soon as you realize you’re dropping, you just move to the social areas. Eventually, it’s just going to turn into you throwing a grav lift and trying to get a ghost stuck on a ledge in High Ground.

Soundtrack to this Game

The theme to Halo:

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

2. Guitar Hero 3

The thing about Guitar Hero is that you have four different levels to play on. So right when you get done beating the game and blistering your fingers on medium, you’re start in on hard and expert feels unattainable. But when it’s that unattainable, just like the hot cheerleader in high school, you just keep on going, keep on trying until you get there. I’ve still never beaten “Raining Blood” by Slayer on Expert.

Sountrack to this Game

Slayer—Raining Blood

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

1. Dr. Mario

Rather than tell you about this game and how many hours I’ve spent playing it (which, honestly, probably amounts to almost 30 days straight), I’m going to tell you an anecdote about what happened in my life during the playing of this game. I first learned about it from my buddy Kyle. I didn’t have a car in high school when I was a freshman or sophomore, so he would take me home when we got out. Sometimes, instead of going right home, we would go to his house instead to hang out. Eventually, we started to listen to music, kind of mindlessly, while we played. This turned into us only listening to one CD: Ace of Base’s The Sign.

Soundtrack to this Game

Theme to Dr. Mario

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

Honorable Mentions

I wouldn’t be doing this list justice if I didn’t mention the following:

• The Legend of Zelda—This is the original we’re talking about here. I’m sure this is much higher for most everyone else who plays video games though; it was revolutionary in that while Super Mario Bros. had you bouncing around smashing goombas and stuff, Zelda had you moving and thinking like you were actually saving a real-life princess.

  [Audio clip: view full post to listen]

• The Oregon Trail—I don’t know if this one counts, but it was the number one game I’ve ever played while in a school setting.

• NCAA Football 2003—Joey Harrington was on the cover. That shows you how long ago that was… and how mis-covered it was.

Happy gaming!

5. Aha — “Take on Me”

Now while most ’80s music videos are skrate bad, this one is actually not too bad. It’s just so iconic. So is the song. It’s a must know. That’s the end of that. I especially like the Family Guy parody of it.

4. Dead or Alive — “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)”

“Alright, I’ve got this great idea for your music video.”
“OK, lay it on us.”
“So in the hook, we’re going to have all of the band stand back to back on a device that will turn them.”
“Whoa. Like, TURN them?”
“Yes. Turn them, probably all the way ’round.”
“What do you mean, like, like a record?”
“I’d say that’s a great analogy.”
“So the band will be turning, like a record, during the hook of the song.”
“Yes. What do you think?”
“Do it. Perfect.”

3. Huey Lewis and the News — “Do You Believe in Love?”

Alright, there are so many things that are perfect to this video. Let’s run through them in chronological order:

• 0:09—From the jump, creepy dude watching sleeping naked chick.
• 0:47—Huey Lewis looking directly into your eyes and telling you that he wants to “love you all over.”
• 0:51—Whole band watching sleeping naked chick does not equal less creepy.
• 1:15—Huey Lewis + Purple Shirt + Silk + Sweet Dance Moves = Awesome
• 1:44—Best part of the whole video. Bed magically expands and entire clothed band ends up in it with sleeping chick. All tapping foot. HA!
• 2:02—Classic “It’s my solo!” scene.

Anyway, you get the drift. Thank you, Huey. Thank you, The News.

2. Rick Astley — “Never Gonna Give You Up”

Before Rick Rolling people became an Internet phenomenon, this video was STILL awesome. There’s a reason it became a 2008 cultural landmark. The best part about this video are Rick Astley’s outfits. That, and that to me he looks somewhat obscurely like Doogie Howser.

Just like you’ll find out with Journey, the big suits have decided that embedding this video in your player is not allowed. Check out the video—and yes, I gave you the pop-up video version.

1. Journey — “Separate Ways”

Hands down the winner. I remember the first time I saw this it was like the perfect cocktail of sweet ’80s music and comedy. The part where they’re all in a line and singing. The keyboardists flair at the end of one of his phrases. The hot chick walking around. Playing invisible instruments and when they pop up a total jump cut. I mean, it can NOT get any better. If you haven’t seen this video before, you can thank me later.

5. Guns ‘n’ Roses — “Sweet Child of Mine”

Just hearing the intro to this song makes me happy. I know what’s coming, and the first few lines of the song are just awesome: “She’s got a smile that seems to me / Reminds me of childhood memories / Where everything was as fresh as the bright blue sky”.

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

4. Led Zeppelin — “When the Levee Breaks”

Sure, you’re thinking “Stairway to Heaven” or “Rock ‘n’ Roll” or “Black Dog”—all of which are outstanding song intros—should represent Led Zeppelin if you’re putting them in this Top 5. However, “When the Levee Breaks” has spawned an innumerable number of rip-offs, samples, and songs. The list notwithstanding:

• Beastie Boys’ “Rhymin’ and Stealin’” and to a lesser extent “So Whatcha Want?”
• Enigma’s “Return to Innocence”
• Dr. Dre’s “Lyrical Gangbang”

Little known fact: The song is actually a cover of a blues song written by Kansas Joe McCoy and Memphis Minnie from 1929.

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

3. Pantera — “The Great Southern Trendkill”

This song is nothing but pure emotion. The intro to this song, which is also the intro to the entire Great Southern Trendkill record, is the exclamation point to their statement in response to what critics were saying about them at the time and the nu-metal movement that had recently been spawned (think rap rock/rap metal and grunge). Also at the time, vocalist Phil Anselmo was in the midst of a heroin addiction that began as painkiller relief for surgery for a bad back. When you listen to the song, you can hear all of it rolled up into one scream.

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

2. The Who — “Baba O’Reily”

I remember the first time I thought that THIS was one of the best song intros of all time and it was watching an extremely short lived sitcom that featured the dude from Seventh Heaven who also did the movie “Sorority Chicks”. I wanted to type that sentence because that’s how I remember it; however, I’m going to go figure all this out now (via the Internet) and let you know what I come up with.

His name is Barry Watson and he played Matt Camden on Seventh Heaven. The sitcom I’m talking about is called “What About Brian” and apparently it wasn’t all that short lived because it had 24 episodes. One of the characters (I’m pretty sure they worked at like a computer game programming company) played the song at work and was air drumming along to it and began to skip out on work just for a second to enjoy the song. I feel like that was a pretty good representation of life; a perfect acting out of ’stop and smell the roses.’

Pretty sure the TV show isn’t coming back. Teenage Wasteland will probably be here forever.

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

1. Heart — “Crazy on You”

Oh MAN do I wish I had written this thing! Its flamenco-y intro, the crushing hit of the first distorted ‘A’ note—like every time it gives me goosebumps. It’s a good thing the rest of the song kicks, too; it just adds to the glory of that intro. Incredible.

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

Honorable Mention

Honorable Mention goes to Fat Pat for “Tops Drop” simply for the first lyrics out the gate: “Welcome to the land where it just don’t stop / Trunks pop, tops drop, see the front end hop.”

P.S. Can anyone confirm (Mary, I’m looking in your direction) whether or not “all-time” has a hyphen in it or not? I’m obviously going with, Yes, it does.