Is there one song you credit for making you a whole lot of what is *you*?

[dolo amber]

I think Gary Numan "Cars" is responsible for a whole lot of dolo-lishiousness. :patriot:

[jpgray]

1. Soft Machine's "Why Am I So Short?" I'm not, though.

[KG]

2. can't think of a song, but finding the Grateful Dead right after HS sent me down a path...

[LibraLiz1973]

3. Stevie Nicks' "Enchanted"

That's my jam!! lol

[sleepyhead]

6. One of my favorite songs.

Thanks for reminding me.

[stuntcat]

28. right on

I was trying to think of what got to me when I was young and so it would have to be a Stevie song!!
Since I turned old "Ain't Got No" by Nina Simone is my theme, lyrics-wise. But whenever I listen to Stevie I remember when I was a kid!

[stuntcat]

42. (pretty)

[Left Is Write]

4. No, but I credit "The Ballad Of Jayne" by LA Guns for setting me on the road to my radio career.

[LostInAnomie]

5. Hard on the Boulevard by Too $hort

8 minutes of pure pimp shit. All bomb ass lyrics with no chorus. I can't say enough.

[darkstar]

7. Showing my age, but "My Elusive Butterfly"

really did it to me. The song was a hit when I was a kid of about seven or eight. I loved it and found its metaphorical lyrics and dreamy strings evocative.

But even more so, I think, it was the first song that got me to pay attention to production. Really. It had a pretty thick amount of reverb on things and that was a large part of its magic, even if I didn't know what it was called. By 14--and after absorbing some Rundgren--I was moving on from guitar to building synths (from kits) and doing very primitive multi tracking. The rest is (shitty, but all mine) history and involves a misspent youth that lasted well into middle age.

on edit;
Really great thread topic, dolo !!! I'm enjoying reading these.
:toast:

[hippywife]

8. Not any single song

I can think of but most of Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan along with the Vietnam era anti-war anthems.

[likesmountains 52]

9. Cops of the World ...Phil Ochs...that's when I woke up

[SPKrazy]

10. Every song I have ever liked

has had some impact on me I suppose

hadn't really ever thought about it...

:shrug:

[NightWatcher]

11. Weird Al's "Dare to be Stupid"

I took the dare

[wildhorses]

12. can.not.narrow.it.down.to one.song

and it is giving me a headache trying to do so:P

[flvegan]

13. "Bodhisattva Vow" was like a 5 lb sledge to the head for me.

by the Beastie Boys (specifically, MCA/Yauch)

As I Develop The Awakening Mind I Praise The Buddha As They Shine
I Bow Before You As I Travel My Path To Join Your Ranks,
I Make My Full Time Task
For The Sake Of All Beings I Seek
The Enlighted Mind That I Know I'll Reap
Respect To Shantideva And All The Others
Who Brought Down The Darma For Sisters And Brothers
I Give Thanks For This World As A Place To Learn
And For This Human Body That I'm Glad To Have Earned
And My Deepest Thanks To All Sentient Beings
For Without Them There Would Be No Place To Learn What I'm Seeing
There's Nothing Here That's Not Been Said Before
But I Put It Down Now So I'll Be Sure
To Solidify My Own Views And I'll Be Glad If It Helps
Anyone Else Out Too
If Others Disrespect Me Or Give Me Flack
I'll Stop And Think Before I React =
Knowing That They're Going Through Insecure Stages
I'll Take The Opportunity To Exercise Patience
I'll See It As A Chance To Help The Other Person
Nip It In The Bud Before It Can Worsen
A Change For Me To Be Strong And Sure
As I Think On The Buddhas Who Have Come Before
As I Praise And Respect The Good They've Done
Knowing Only Love Can Conquer In Every Situation
We Need Other People In Order To Create
The Circumstances For The Learning That We're Here To Generate
Situations That Bring Up Our Deepest Fears
So We Can Work To Release Them Until They're Cleared
Therefore, It Only Makes Sense
To Thank Our Enemies Despite Their Intent
The Bodhisattva Path Is One Of Power And Strength
A Strength From Within To Go The Length
Seeing Others Are As Important As Myself
I Strive For A Happiness Of Mental Wealth
With The Interconnectedness That We Share As One
Every Action That We Take Affects Everyone
So In Deciding For What A Situation Calls
There Is A Path For The Good For All
I Try To Make My Every Action For That Highest Good
With The Altruistic Wish To Achive Buddhahood
So I Pledge Here Before Everyone Who's Listening
To Try To Make My Every Action For The Good Of All Beings
For The Rest Of My Lifetimes And Even Beyond
I Vow To Do My Best To Do No Harm
And In Times Of Doubt I Can Think On The Dharma
And The Enlightened Ones Who've Graduated Samsara

[dolo amber]

21. Pfft...these lyrics are way heavier than those

Here in my car
I feel safest of all
I can lock all my doors
It's the only way to live
In cars

Here in my car
I can only receive
I can listen to you
It keeps me stable for days
In cars


Here in my car
Where the image breaks down
Will you visit me please?
If I open my door
In cars


Here in my car
I know I've started to think
About leaving tonight
Although nothing seems right
In cars



I'm such a geek. :silly:

[likesmountains 52]

14. Since we're posting lyrics..and the name of our profits is democracy..

Come, get out of the way, boys
Quick, get out of the way
You'd better watch what you say, boys
Better watch what you say
We've rammed in your harbor and tied to your port
And our pistols are hungry and our tempers are short
So bring your daughters around to the port
'Cause we're the Cops of the World, boys
We're the Cops of the World
We pick and choose as please, boys
Pick and choose as please
You'd best get down on your knees, boys
Best get down on your knees
We're hairy and horny and ready to shack
And we don't care if you're yellow or black
Just take off your clothes and lay down on your back
'Cause we're the Cops of the World, boys
We're the Cops of the World
Our boots are needing a shine, boys
Boots are needing a shine
But our Coca-Cola is fine, boys
Coca-Cola is fine
We've got to protect all our citizens fair
So we'll send a battalion for everyone there
And maybe we'll leave in a couple of years
'Cause we're the Cops of the World, boys
We're the Cops of the World
And dump the reds in a pile, boys
Dump the reds in a pile
You'd better wipe off that smile, boys
Better wipe off that smile
We'll spit through the streets of the cities we wreck
And we'll find you a leader that you can't elect
Those treaties we signed were a pain in the neck
'Cause we're the Cops of the World, boys
We're the Cops of the World
And clean the johns with a rag, boys
Clean the johns with a rag
If you like you can use your flag, boys
If you like you can use your flag
We've got too much money we're looking for toys
And guns will be guns and boys will be boys
But we'll gladly pay for all we destroy
'Cause we're the Cops of the World, boys
We're the Cops of the World
Please stay off of the grass, boys
Please stay off of the grass
Here's a kick in the ass, boys
Here's a kick in the ass
We'll smash down your doors, we don't bother to knock
We've done it before, so why all the shock
We're the biggest and the toughest kids on the block
And we're the Cops of the World, boys
We're the Cops of the World
And when we butchered your sons, boys
When we butchered your sons
Have a stick of our gum, boys
Have a stick of our bubble gum
We own half the world, oh say can you see
And the name for our profits is democracy
So, like it or not, you will have to be free
'Cause we're the Cops of the World, boys
We're the Cops of the World

[mentalsolstice]

15. "Pride (In the Name of Love)" by U2

The song was about Martin Luther King, Jr. However, MLK and the song in his honor, goes beyond racism, as important as it is, to me it was putting yourself out there for an issue...even if it may get you killed.

[LibraLiz1973]

32. What more in the name of love?

Free at last
they took your life
they could not take your
pride

[mentalsolstice]

35. Such a sweet verse! eom

[Burma Jones]

16. My Mom said that I was conceived at Dante's on US Rte 20 in Portage, Indiana

and that she remembered hearing "Rave On" by Buddy Holly. Three months later, my folks were married......

[kedrys]

17. I love that song!

As for me, I've had a few episodes of *a* song saving my life/sanity.

[graywarrior]

18. Not one song, but Janis Joplin sure had a major influence on me.

[RandomKoolzip]

19. Rickie Lee Jones, "Chuck E's in Love."

[lost-in-nj]

20. This song empowered me

ALANIS MORISSETTE LYRICS

"That I Would Be Good"

that I would be good even if I did nothing
that I would be good even if I got the thumbs down
that I would be good if I got and stayed sick
that I would be good even if I gained ten pounds

that I would be fine even if I went bankrupt
that I would be good if I lost my hair and my youth
that I would be great if I was no longer queen
that I would be grand if I was not all knowing

that I would be loved even when I numb myself
that I would be good even when I am overwhelmed
that I would be loved even when I was fuming
that I would be good even if I was clingy

that I would be good even if I lost sanity
that I would be good
whether with or without you

Its kind of like the I am woman hear me roar for the 21st century!!!!

lost

[greatauntoftriplets]

22. She's Come Undone???

:shrug:

[asthmaticeog]

23. "Never Been to Me."

Damn. Just damn. That song *still* makes me throw my head back, close my eyes and just BE...

Really makes you think, y'know?

[RandomKoolzip]

29. I'm the same way about "Hammer Smashed Face" by Cannibal Corpse.

[dolo amber]

36. If you're be feelin' the CC it's gotta be

"Entrails Ripped from a Virgin's C*nt"

:patriot:

[RandomKoolzip]

40. My folks played that at their wedding, maaaaan.

It was their big slow dance numbah.

[dolo amber]

48. Oh. Sarcasm. How quaint.

I didn't know the kids were still doing that. :hi:

[asthmaticeog]

50. I will not be mocked.

The gauntlet is thrown! We duel at dawn! For the honour of Charlene!

[mainegreen]

24. Skinny Puppy: Warlock. n/t

[Dinger]

25. Johnny Cash, "Man In Black"

[swag]

26. DEVO "Jocko Homo"

specifically this clip of it, which I saw on Don Kirschner's Rock Concert in 1976:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDPDaphgR3k

[NewWaveChick1981]

55. Damn, swag... this is the exact song and the exact clip I was going to say!

:bounce: :woohoo: This is what got me interested in Devo and then alternative music in general in the late 70s. :) It's what led to me getting into New Wave, punk, postpunk, and 80s alternative. But Jocko Homo started it all. :D :thumbsup: GMTA and all that...

[NMDemDist2]

27. If you smile at me, I will understand

'Cause that is something everybody everywhere does
in the same language.
I can see by your coat, my friend,
you're from the other side,
There's just one thing I got to know,
Can you tell me please, who won?
Say, can I have some of your purple berries?
Yes, I've been eating them for six or seven weeks now,
haven't got sick once.
Probably keep us both alive.

Wooden ships on the water, very free and easy,
Easy, you know the way it's supposed to be,
Silver people on the shoreline, let us be,
Talkin' 'bout very free and easy...
Horror grips us as we watch you die,
All we can do is echo your anguished cries,
Stare as all human feelings die,
We are leaving - you don't need us.

Go, take your sister then, by the hand,
lead her away from this foreign land,
Far away, where we might laugh again,
We are leaving - you don't need us.

And it's a fair wind, blowin' warm,
Out of the south over my shoulder,
Guess I'll set a course and go...

Wooden Ships Crosby, Stills and Nash

[darkstar]

39. This touched me too

Very cinematic...like a sci-fi novella or something...

[NMDemDist2]

43. your nick was a great song too

:hi:

Forgive me if my fantasies might seem a little shopworn
I'm sure you've heard it all before I wonder what's the right form
Love songs written for you it's been going down for years
But to sing what's in my heart seems more honest than the tears

I am curious
Don't want to hurry us
I'm intrigued with us
Ain't this song a bust
I don't care dark star

I met you several years ago
The times they were so strange but I had a feeling
You looked into my eyes just once
An instant flashing by that we were stealing

Another time you felt so bad
And I wasn't any help at all as I recall
We didn't know quite what to do so we left the wanting be
Still there for me and you

Dark star I see you in the morning
Dark star a' sleeping next to me
Dark star let the memory of the evening
Be the first thing that you think of
When you open up your smile and see me dark star

It's easy to be with you
Even with the storms that rage beneath your search for peace
We must make some time together
Take the kids and find a world that's ours to keep

Now you've got me dreaming girl
It's been so long that I thought that I'd forgotten how
My heart is once again my soul
We touched we did you know we did no more teasing now

Dark star I see you in the morning
Dark star a' sleeping next to me
Dark star let the memory of the evening
Be the first thing that you think of
When you open up your smile and see me dark star



Dark star I see you in the morning
Dark star a' sleeping next to me
Dark star let the memory of the evening
Be the first thing that you think of
When you open up your smile and see me dark star

Let the memory of the evening
Be the first thing that you think of
When you open up your smile and see me dark star

[bbernardini]

30. Not a song, but an album: Frank Zappa's "Broadway The Hard Way"

My first Zappa album, and it completely changed my musical life forever. Todd Rundgren's "2nd Wind" soon followed. I also recall a summer in or just after high school where Devo's "Greatest Hits" album seemed to be permanently installed in my car stereo.

[Little Wing]

31. Wow, what an excellent question

I'll get back you on that

[dolo amber]

37. I'll hold my breath, lady

:eyes:

[HEyHEY]

33. Sad to say - Anarchy in the U.K.

I was 14 when I first heard it. It got me into all the punk rock scenes and I began reading much more about social issues and what not. And, as an impressionable young whelp it let me know it was okay to be full of piss and vinegar.

[Magrittes Pipe]

34. Tracy Morrow

Midnight chillin' at A.M P.M.
Coolin' drinkin' apple juice
In Evil's BM
The sound's up loud
To attract attention
Armor-Alled tires
On a lowered suspension
Nardi to steer with
Alpine deck was glowin'
Bumpin' Big Daddy
And the nigga was definitely flowin'
I was ridin' shotgun
Donald and Hen in back
Look thru the tint recognized a jack
Two brothers strolled up
Talkin' bout get out
Donald D blazed
Shot one fool thru his fuckin' mouth
Why would they step
When they know we're strapped?
I never cruise L.A.
Without a Gat in my lap
The other fool shot
Caught E in the shoulder blade
I busted thru the car door
That's where the nigga laid
Hen jumped out
Dropped two nines in his forehead
Evil was bleedin' bad
The car seats were turnin' red
Looked to my left
There were two more carloads
Niggas in hats and hoods
And in attack mode
And they hadn't yet begun to fight
E hit the gas
It was one past midnight!

We boned down Vermont
Turned a right on Normandie
Left on Florence
Gettin' thru the E.T.G.'s
Spun out on Vermont
Made a left on Coughton
Right on Hoover
E where we goin'?
He didn't even answer that
Checked the rear view
They were still out back
Where were these brothers from?
What made these brothers come
Bang! our back window
Was removed by a shotgun
Now Hen G was shot
Don caught a ricochet
These motherfuckers was ill
They didn't come to play
Bust a right turn, parked
and then we got left
Hid in the the bushes
Shot the gas tank to fake death
But would this really
Keep them psyched?
Three of us bleedin'
It was ten past midnight!

I really didn't like
How this shit was goin' down
Wrong night, wrong time
Wrong fuckin' part of town
Ya see we was deep
In the Hoover's hood
Three niggas bleedin'
That shit don't look good!
See over there red don't go
Some places red's all they know
But not our luck
Tonight we was real fucked
Broke down an alley
And we instantly had to duck
Fuckin' police on a gang sweep
No time to deal with one time
So we had to creep
Broke thru a back yard
Ran thru a vacant lot
E, Hen and Don kept up
To be some niggas shot
Shit was gettin' craazy
So I had to get busy
Hen was bleedin' worse
And Evil was gettin' dizzy
Looked in a parking lot
I needed a snatch bar
Had to hot wire
So I moved on an old car
It was a bucket, but fuck it, it had to do
Started it up
And scooped my whole crew
Two blocks later
We saw fuckin' blue lights
The pigs were behind us
It was half past midnight!

When they pulled us over
Shit got worse
I waited till they got out
And then I hit reverse
Fucked 'em up, I seen one cop fall
Threw it in gear, yo I'm outty yall
Don't know how
But somehow we got away
Lost the jackers, the cops
Dumped the G.T.A.
Made it back to the hood
Fixed the crew up
And even though Evil's car blew up
We made it home and then I crashed out
Thinkin' bout my all-night death bout
Then somethin' woke me up
From my dark sleep
The sound of fuckin' police
When they're tryin' to creep
Broke thru my door
With no goddamn warning
Looked at my watch
It was six in the mornin'!

[slj0101]

38. "You're burned by my lighter,

you've been burned by my lighter,
and my lighter is held down by my thumb."


Man, this whole fucking album made me.

[Nevernose]

41. Tomorrow Never Knows, from Revolver

Obviously.

[yewberry]

44. Okay, Numan is one of mine. For real.

A Child with A Ghost

Nothing I can say
Can make your picture talk
I feel so tired and
Nothing I can do
Will make your picture move
I feel so helpless but
I can feel
A child with the ghost here
You let your heart slip away

If I had one wish
I'd wish to talk with you
I have some questions
Things only you could know
If I had one wish
I'd wish to talk with you
Nothing you can feel
Can feel as cold as this
I'll sing this song and
I'll say goodbye forever

I wonder
If God is all they say
I can't believe in such things.
I suppose
Some games are hard to lose
But you don't have to play 'cos
I can feel
A child with the ghost here
You let your heart slip away


If anyone presses me, I will be forced to post meaningful XTC or Grateful Dead lyrics--and no one wants that.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

45. Are you shitting me?

If you leave your crappy man I'll leave my awesome wife and we can bask in the glory that is Cars.

When I was 6 years old the song changed my life - I shit you not. I credit Numan with making me who I am.

I knew I loved you for a reason!

[idgiehkt]

46. this one made me the proud devil-worshipper I am today

Rhiannon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArN4jWnbN_I&mode=related&search=

[hellbound-liberal]

47. I'll lhave to say Blowin' in the Wind by Bob Dylan. That is the first song that I remember from

childhood and I think that it set me on my lifelong path of questioning man's inhumanity to man. How many times...?

[crim son]

49. First movement of Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata." n/t

[regularguy]

51. "My favorite things" Coltrane live

at the village vanguard. It took openness and barrier-smashing to a level I hadn't before imagined. More so than the Dead and/or various drugs had for me previously. I've never listened to music -or even thought about life - the same since.

[El Fuego]

52. "What's the Frequency Kenneth" -- It's very weird

so don't ask me to explain!

[tigereye]

53. Sweet Jane ( the REAL version) and Rock and Roll

[SteppingRazor]

56. The V. U. is definitely a formative band for me too. Especially "Rock 'n' Roll"

:thumbsup:

[Dunedain]

62. Standing on the corner....

suitcase in my hand.

Second piece of vinyl I ever owned...

[SteppingRazor]

54. Hard to say just one song, but if I gotta go with one...

I'd say "Absolutely Sweet Marie" by Bob Dylan, especially the line "to live outside the law, you must be honest." Gave me a whole different outlook on journalism, politics, etc.

But if I had to pick one band, I'd go with the Grateful Dead. I don't listen to them so much anymore, but when I first got turned onto them, it sent me down the weird road that brought me here.

[TrogL]

57. Pink Floyd - Comfortably Numb

[LaraMN]

58. Flaming Lips- She Don't Use Jelly.

:P

Ok, at present, probably "the Wheels on the Bus," sadly.

[deutsey]

59. 2LiveCrew's "Me so horny"?

:evilgrin:

Actually, it would be an amalgam of Beatles' songs, I suppose.

[XNASA]

60. 'Just One Victory' from 'A Wizard a True Star' ........

....meets that requirement.

[darkstar]

61. Hold that line baby

Hold that line

:hi: