Top 10 Songs Chosen By Glenn Robinson

  As 2016 was drawing to a close I posted a song by Glenn Robinson which featured on the Teenage Bottlerocket tribute album which was released by Ramone To The Bone Records (http://justsomepunksongs.blogspot.co.uk/2016/12/glenn-robinson-dont-want-to-go.html).

  From Rhode Island, Glenn has a number of releases up on Bandcamp including his 2016 album Unimpressed and the exellent Desk Job ep : https://glennrobinson.bandcamp.com/.

  Today I'm bringing you a Top 10 of some of his favourite songs. Many thanks Glenn (even if number 1 will leave a few scratching their heads ha!)....

"Selecting your top 10 favorite songs is weird because I wouldn’t consider some of these picks to be in my top 10 favorite bands. Some just have that handful of songs that stay with you forever. Anyways, without thinking too much…In no particular order…"

 1)  GREEN DAY - Everything

Fight me.

2)  WEEZER - Across The Sea

People like to give Weezer a lot of shit. Sure, their first two albums are their best but most people hated Pinkerton when it first came out. I don’t blame them for writing they way they write these days. There’s something admirable about Rivers giving a big “fuck you” to people by writing songs like Hash Pipe and Beverly Hills. Anyways, Across The Sea has always been THE Weezer song for me.

3)  RIVERDALES - Back To You

For me Dan Vapid’s input was the highlight of the Riverdales. Vapid is always a source of inspiration when I’m writing my own songs. He’s consistently written solid pop punk songs for over 20 years. Other songs that could’ve been on this list are Heart Out of Season, Annie, Girl Group….all of them! Most of the 90’s Lookout pop punk bands play a huge role in my songwriting and remain high on my list.

 4)  TOM WAITS - Hang Down Your Head

The gateway song that got me into the massive discography of Tom Waits. Holy shit, does he know how to write a sad song.  I have so many favorites of his but this is the song that started it all for me.

 5)  THE LIKE - Release Me

It’s safe to say I enjoy 60’s influenced, female fronted power pop (is this considered power pop? who cares?). This is just another example of a well written pop song. Their album of the same name is by far one of the best albums I’ve heard in the last 10 years.

 6)  THE UNIBROWS - 99,999 Needles

This might seem narcissistic, but this is a song from an old band of mine. I only drummed and didn’t write the song so I feel like it can hold a spot on my list. This song comes from our first album Demented Arm Circus. Marc Daniels is not only one of my favorite songwriters but he’s also one of my best friends. He showed me a demo of this when we were in high school about 15 or 16 years ago and I’ve loved it ever since.  

 7)  THE CARDIGANS - Fine

God dammit. I love this band so much. Nobody believes me when I tell them that the band who wrote Lovefool is forever in my top three favorite bands. They have never released a bad album or a bad song. Completely overlooked in the US as a one hit wonder. Their musicianship is off the charts ridiculous. Fine is a perfect example of a well written pop song.

 8)  ELVIS COSTELLO AND THE ATTRACTIONS - Man Out Of Time

Picking one Elvis song is pretty tough but this is my favorite song of his from my favorite album Imperial Bedroom. I love how the intro was a snippet from one of the demo versions of this song. I don’t understand how this guy consistently writes amazing music. I know I’m a little late to the party since this (and Great Leap Forward) were both released before I was born. Can’t get enough of Elvis!

 9)  BILLY BRAGG - Waiting For The Great Leap Forward

At 15 years old, this was the first song I ever heard where I was completely blown away by the lyrics. At the time, I was strictly listening to 90’s punk rock so lyrical content wasn’t always a priority. My friends and I had a high school band called The Paranoids and we frequently listened to this song at practices. We were always blown away by the lyric “The revolution is just a T-shirt away.” Aside from the lyrical content, its structure opened my mind to new ways of writing music. The whole song is basically a bunch of verses that slowly build into this giant sing-along chorus at the end. Forever in my top 10. 

 10)  DUM DUM GIRLS - Bedroom Eyes

If there is such thing as a perfect song - this might be it. I could listen to this chorus on repeat for days and it wouldn’t wear me down one bit. It sucks knowing that I will never write a song this good.