2008’s Top Ten Most Played iPod Songs

Yes, I realize that I’m a quirky person.  I have a gift for remembering things that aren’t important.  In my mind, I can make a competition out of absolutely anything.  I have silly rules that I live by.  All of this is probably a sign of some yet undiscovered mental disorder.

So, when I got an iPod a couple years ago, I was thrilled to see that it kept track of how many times you play a song.  So what did I do?  Naturally, I turned it into a competition.  At the end of every year, I look to see which song has earned the title of Don Sanders’ #1 song of the year.  It kind of reminds me of being a kid and listening to Kasey Kasem’s year-end count down.  Then I reset the counts on January 1st for a new year of competition.

I am sure that the music that you listen to says a lot about you.  I have no idea what these songs say about me (other than an unhealthy obsession with U2).  Perhaps some bored psychologist will accidentally run across this blog and analyze me for free.  So without further adieu, here are my Top Ten Most Played Songs for 2008 (drum rolling…)

10.  Mysterious Ways by U2–The 2006 Most Played Song champion, Mysterious Ways makes the list for the third consecutive year.  Classic Edge guitar distortion.  Probably would have been higher if I hadn’t started

9.  Such a Nightby Elvis Presley–Remarkably, the only Elvis song on my iPod.  This is what I think of when I hear the name Elvis.

8.  1979 by Smashing Pumpkins–The first SP song I ever downloaded after hearing it on Pandora.  Not a typical SP song, which is probably why I like it.  Yes, I realize that it’s nihilist garbage, but it has a good beat and you can dance to it.

7.  Miss Sarajevo by U2–Not your typical U2 song, as it is a duet with Pavarotti.  I hate opera, but this song can nearly bring you to tears (in a good way, not because it is hurting your ears like opera.)  I became a big fan after watching Bono perform it in U23D (okay, I saw the movie three times.)

6.  One Tree Hill by U2–Last year’s champion, this very underrated song from The Joshua Tree remains in the Top Ten.  I was disappointed that the remastered JT cd didn’t imporove the quality though.  One of my all time favs.

5.  City of Blinding Lights by U2–This is one of the ringers I have set for when my wife calls.  I think this is the best track from Atomic Bomb.  Kind of Edge’s current interpretation of his own classic sound.

4.  Desert of Our Love by U2–I think this song made the list because my family likes it more than I do.  It comes from the extra disc in the Joshua Tree remastered set.  Interesting that the baseline eventually became the baseline for Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.

3.  Viva la Vidaby Coldplay–This was my first exposure to Coldplay (I thought the iPod commercial was cool.)  My daughter plays it more than I do because she’s a violin player.  Not totally sure what the song is about, though I like the reference to Jerusalem.

2.  One Headlight by The Wall flowers–Another Pandora discovery.  This is a very addictive song.  The guitar, drums, and base get stuck in your head all day long.  Opened me up to all the Wallflowers’ stuff.

and the number one most played song on Don Sanders’ iPod in 2008 is………

1.  In a Little Whileby U2–One of the most soulful songs ever.  Just a song about a guy missing his wife and daughter.  Great guitar opening riff.  Everytime it comes on, my son reminds me that it was the song that Johnny Ramon was lilstening to when he died.  When Bono heard this, he proclaimed it a gospel song.  I’ll go with that.