Back again to my Soundtrack to Phill. Again, the rules: 40 songs, no repeat artists (though side projects and solo work from bands is acceptable). Songs must fit onto the list because of one or more of these criteria: lyrically (meaning the lyrics themselves have memoir-style meaning), tonally (meaning the feeling the song creates, the mood, though maybe not the actual lyrics) or symbolically (because of where the song is from or a moment it represents)
I left you at 30. Let’s finish this:
31. “What a Fool Believes” by the Doobie Brothers. Mostly for the Yacht Rock memories, but also because I used to jam to this as a toddler.
32. “Set Adrift on Memory Bliss” by PM Dawn. Just because of the feeling.
33. “Jennifer Lost the War” by the Offspring. I discovered the Offspring because I met Dexter Holland while touring USC. Their later work is much more poppy/catchy, but the songs on their first album are visceral. This is the best among them.
34. “Lithium” by Nirvana. I almost picked SLTS, but this track has more personal meaning.
35. “Violet” by Hole. Perhaps my single favorite grunge song.
36. “Gulf War Song” by Moxy Fruvous. A usually silly band with a deathly serious track.
37. “Video” by Ben Folds Five. This is my anthem to my high school friends.
38. “Hustlin'” by Rick Ross. If you’ve watched me in action doing much of anything, and you’ve seen the Katt Williams joke about this song, it all makes sense.
39. “Cult of Personality” by Living Colour. This was in fact the theme song for my favorite wrestler, but the song meant more than that to me, as it was the first time I heard non-whites perform metal music.
40. “I Can Hear the Laughs” by Freedy Johnston. I love singer-songwriter types for somber moods, and this is THE somber mood song.
And here’s a link to the full playlist, with a few exceptions (see the previous posts for substitution notes).