2. Christmas In Cape Town—by Randy Newman. This is possibly the darkest, ugliest song that Randy Newman has ever written, and he’s written some ugly ones. Consider yourself warned: Listen. The thing you have to understand about Randy Newman, though, is that he often writes songs from the viewpoint of despicable characters—polar opposites from...
List: Top Five Story Songs — No. 3
3. Sunday, Bloody Sunday, by U2. October 27, 1985: Denkinger screwed up, and the Cardinals were ticked. After the nightmare finish to Game 6 of the 1985 World Series, it was easy to see that Game 7 was going to be a powder keg. The only question was, who was going to set it...
List: Top Five Story Songs—No. 5
“You see, I knew that song so long before we met, that it means so much more than it might” —Elvis Costello, King Horse Elvis is onto something here, I think. There are certain songs that take on meanings that are far beyond whatever the songs are “about.” Surely everybody has their own songs...