20 - 11 (my top tunes)

20 Flight Of The Wild Geese -  Joan Armatrading 20
Another song on the list with a movie connection. The fact that it also has an African connection also works in its favour. This song drips with pathos, and there is a piano run just after the line "There were promise made" that for some reason I adore. The song really has very little to do with the film and would be better suited to a more political movie than an action one. It doesn't matter to me though. I love the film and I love the song. It's not as good as Love and Affection but it means more to me and for that reason it is high on this list.


19 God Only Knows - Beach Boys 19
Having previously said that it is really hard to write a song about being in love that is as good as unrequited love, this song is the exception, and it is exceptional. Its ruminations on what life would be like without his love is surely something everyone in love can identify with. It is beautifully understated, and a genuine classic.

18 Me And The Farmer - The Housemartins 18
Hull's finest may have had bigger hits, but I will fight to the death (metaphorically) to defend my view that this is their best song. The video has a wonderful home-made zero budget feel to it, and when you look at Norman Cook you do have to wonder whether he has a painting stashed in his attic.

17 Marlene On The Wall - Suzanne Vega 17
As I write this list it is becoming increasingly apparent to me how influential my brothers have been on my musical taste. My eldest brother gave me his vinyl copy of Vega's debut album. I played that album to death, it being my first real experience of a female singer songwriter. Above all, I loved this song and played it over and over. It still sounds fresh to me all these years later.

16 What's Going On - Marvin Gaye 16
I'm a big fan of Marvin Gaye, and I could have happily picked a half dozen of his songs for this top 100 list. I feel bad not including a duet with Tammi Terrell, but you can't include everything. This  plea on behalf of the planet is a wonderful moment in time. It stays on the right side of cheesy. A classic song from a classic album.

15 This Is How It Feels -  Inspiral Carpets 25
The second appearance of the Inspirals on my list and it sees this song rise 10 places from 2010's list. Harking back to my time at the Warehouse in Preston, it is amazing that a song about despair can actually be so uplifting when sung by a couple of hundred sweaty clubbers.

14 Last Of The Famous International Playboys - Morrissey 14
I find this to be a grand and swaggering exhibition of mock hubris from a killer. I like it a lot.

13 Absolutely Everybody - Vanessa Amorosi - new
We all know that until July/August last year the 2000 Sydney Olympics were the best Olympics ever. Such a wonderful celebration of sport organised with the light and enthusiastic softness of touch that we were later to also see in London 2012. I would stay up late into the night and wake early in the morning to catch the latest action. It was the first Olympics I really bought into beyond the high profile events. As I watched the closing ceremony I was a little bereft. Then a girl came leaping onto the stage to sing this positive bouncy life affirming anthem. The music, the athletes smiling, dancing and gurning for the cameras.... even 13 years on I can't hear this song without smiling and remembering what a fabulous job Sydney did of hosting the Olympics. The second best ever in fact :p


12 Whatever - Oasis 12
There was a time when Oasis were writing so many good songs that the b-sides of their singles were littered with would-be classics. Whatever was a stand alone single, never appearing on an album until their 2009 greatest hits album. How can you have such a good song and not include it on an album? Though admittedly What's The Story Morning Glory didn't exactly suffer from its exclusion. Later in their career they would go OTT with orchestration and overly long songs, but here they got it just right. Simple yet strong lyrics, pleasing melodies and an orchestra that accompanied without overpowering or being overpowered.

11 For What It's Worth - Buffalo Springfield 11
Uneasy and sinister, but rippling with defiance. This is more than a protest song, it is a social commentary and a snapshot of a time when the young were making their voice heard politically. The slow rhythm, the pinging guitar,  the lyrics and the overall vibe combine to create a 60s masterpiece.