Matt's Top 300 Favorite Songs (MT3FS); numbers 290 - 281

(for number's 300-291, click here)

I don't plan on making a MT3FS post every day. Sorry children, but ole' Matthew needs his beauty sleep...and some peace of mind. But I'll make another one tonight. But before I do, I'd like to take a minute to thank Los Angeles Lakers forward Ron Artest for making my night amazing for about three minutes and then absolutely killing it.

(muttering words that George Carlin said you can't say on television)

And we're back. Okay, so let's continue.

Matt's Top 300 Favorite Songs (MT3FS): numbers 290-281

Number 290: Hot Hot Heat - "Talk To Me, Dance With Me" (off of the album "Make Up The Breakdown," 2002)
 

This song will forever remind me of my friend Kyle. Kyle was an interesting dude. He had an obsession with the color green. He had green Vans that he wore once, because Sean and I made so much fun of him for having green shoes he never wore them again (this is before it was cool to have shoes of every color of the rainbow). His background on his computer in our Information Technology Class was a picture of an avocado, and a dog shitting. He had an El Camino, but the crashed it into a tree, totaling it. He once cried in my room, begging my buddy Justin to take him to buy porn when Justin turned 18 and we were all still 17. Seriously, I'm talking ballin'. He once explained to me how to make a hydrogen bomb, and wouldn't let me out of the car until he finished explaining how to. He walked around a Wal-Mart asking people to smell his fingers and if they had a quarter from 1978 because we were a scavenger hunt team trying to make nationals. He had naked pictures of his then-girlfriend Ashley, and would make Sean and I look at them. In fact, he once set his Myspace background to her...um... ladyparts covered just by underwear, leading to this hilarious exchange between him and our buddy Nathan:

Nathan: Dude, nice background picture.
Kyle: Thank's. It's my girlfriend.
Nathan: What's wrong with you?

He also had no problem pulling out his penis, or outright taking his pants off anywhere. This included, but was not limited to, in a movie theatre, in Sean's bedroom, on a golf course, and on a ski-lift where he grabbed Sean's penis and told him "it's okay. Best friend's let other best friend's touch each other's junk." He was quite the character. We haven't talked much lately; he joined the Navy and got engaged. Anyways, back in high school Kyle was dating this girl Tia that I had known since middle school. Tia basically controlled Kyle. It was quite sad really. Anyways, one day in Kyle's car, "Talk To Me, Dance With Me" came on in his car, and Kyle turned to me and said "this song is about me and how I feel about Tia." The lyric he was referring to was the "you are my only girl but you're not my owner girl." I laughed. Every time I hear this song I still think about that.

Number 289: Michael Jackson - "Rock With You" (off of the album "Off The Wall," 1979)


Whether or not you agreed with Michael Jackson's personal life or lifestyle choices, there is no denying the King of Pop's place in music history. From the dance moves to the chart-topping hits to revolutionizing the art of music video, Jackson's contribution's to pop music is unrivaled by most, if not all, of his contemporaries. And while Jackson had higher chart-topping numbers, but to me his most pleasing effort was "Rock With You." "Off The Wall" was Jackson's "comeback" album of sorts, and his first solo album free of the Jackson 5 moniker. It was also a precursor to "Thriller" which would absolutely destroy the charts and change the face of music as we knew it. "Rock With You" was one of the last huge hits of the disco-era. On a personal level, "Rock With You" is one of those booty-shakin' jams that I can't help but groove to. Jacko's contribution to music will be missed.

Number 288: Dr. Dre "Forgot About Dre" featuring Eminem (off of the album "The Chronic 2001," 2000)


When you talk about the best rap artists of all-time, both Dr. Dre and Eminem have to be included on the short list. I remember being in eighth grade and hearing this song and being floored. And in 8th grade I was listening to Blink-182, Green Day, The Ataris, and New Found Glory, so that was a big deal. My fondest memory involving this song happened a year or two ago, at Sheri's house. She was having a party and Chris, Nicole and I were huddled around the iPod dock. Nicole put this song on and Chris and I began to rap along with the song. It's weird how I still remember that. Also here's a ridiculously good live performance of the song.

Number 287: Something Corporate - "I Woke Up In A Car" (off of the album "Leaving Through the Window," 2002)


I actually got a chance to see Something Corporate earlier this year at the absolutely terrible Bamboozle Festival at Angel Stadium. Seriously, it was horrendous. The worst concert/show I have ever been to in my life. The only bright spot was Something Corporate, who had reunited for this performance. My friend Ashley made me stay. We were both really sick and basically laying on the ground. They played "I Woke Up In A Car." I was stoked. Also, when Jessica worked with me, we used to sing this song at the top of our lungs in the freezer when we'd have to clean out the freezer. Ah, the good/terrible times, haha.

Number 286: Atom And His Package - "Punk Rock Academy" (off of the album "A Society of People Named Elihu," 1997)


A few years back Sean and I were on his computer and looking up music when I downloaded "Puck Rock Academy" via Limewire (remember Limewire haha). Sean and I were cracking up. It was the craziest song either of us had ever heard. We couldn't figure out if Atom and His Package was one big joke, or if this dude was actually serious. And we both didn't know what to make of the line "We fired the guy from Bad Religion 'cause he sold the fuck out," as Bad Religion was our favorite band at the time. As time went on and I got sucked into Lifetime/Kid Dynamite/Paint it Black I learned that Adam Goren, aka "Atom" is in a band called Armalite with Dan Yemen of the aforementioned bands. Crazy.

Number 285: Jackson 5 - "ABC" (off of the album "ABC," 1970)


Before Jacko was wacko, the king of pop was a member of Jackson 5. "ABC," albeit cheesy, is one of the better Motown songs ever. Also, it led to an amazing scene in "Clerks II" with Rosario Dawson and Dante (fair warning, there will probably be a ton of Kevin Smith references  in this series). Jackson 5 were maybe the greatest band of the Motown era. That's all I really have to say about "ABC."

Number 284: Stevie Wonder - "Part-Time Lover" (off of the album "In Square Circle," 1985)


Ah, "Part-Time Lover" will forever remind me of taking a criminology class and this girl Donna that was in the class. I won't explain why a song named "Part-Time Lover" would remind me of someone, so we'll leave it at that. Stevie Wonder is incredible. Copeland did a really good cover of "Part-Time Lover" for their cover album, "Know Nothing Stays The Same."

Number 283: Smoke or Fire - "Filter" (off of the album "Above the City," 2005)


"Filter" was the first song I ever heard from Smoke or Fire, and it blew me away. The chorus of "We'll smoke this city to the filter. We'll empty every bottle, you'll see us by the river. We'll bring back those things you can't remember, like smiling in the winter. You're smiling while they burn your lives" knocked me on my ass. There's an honest, earnest quality to Smoke or Fire most newer punk rock bands lack. "Filter" was also included on Smoke or Fire front man Joe McMahon's split with The Lawrence Arm's Brendan Kelly, entitled "Wasted Potential." Here's a live performance of McMahon at The Fest 8 (go to the seven minute mark).

Number 282: She & Him - "Black Hole" (from the album "Volume One," 2008)



Lets just get this out of the way. I love Zooey Deschanel. I think she's beautiful. I love her voice. I love "500 Days of Summer." I love her style. I Love that scene in "ELF" with her and Will Ferrell, I even love that stupid Cotton commercial she does. Hell, she's in the main picture on my blog. But none of that (besides her voice) factors into why I like She & Him. Both her and M. Ward are talented at what they do, and "Black Hole" is my favorite She & Him song. Sidenote: I was fortunate enough to see She & Him a couple months ago, covering the show for The Daily Titan. Here's a video of She & Him performing "Black Hole" that I shot after my camera basically stopped producing any usable photographs. Sorry for the shaky camerawork, but I had to pretend as if I was taking photographs. And yes, she totally waves at me.

Number 281: Brand New - "Okay I Believe You, But My Tommy Gun Don't" (off of the album "Deja Entendu," 2003)


This song gives me the chills. "I'm heaven sent, don't you dare forget. I am all you ever wanted, what all the other boy's all promised." The song plays out more like a ransom note then a song. And I love it. I love how Jesse Lacey's voice trembles. I love the confidence masked with nerves. I love the raw anger; the fear. I love it all. "Deja Entendu" is one of my favorite albums, and it's because of everything described above. As a bonus, here's an acoustic version of "Okay I Believe You, But My Tommy Gun Don't."

So there's number's 290 to 281 on my list. Up next? Hayley Williams, Ice Cube and Max Bemis will grace my blog's presence. Stay tuned.