Top 50: 40-31
By Jake Vigliotti
11/4/10
To see the previous 10 selections, click here.
No one specifically mentioned the original Lillywhite Sessions version, which probably bodes well for the current version of Raven. The song made a resurgence in 2009 on the Fall tour, but regardless of that, it probably still would’ve cracked the top 50. It’s always been a favorite among fans, and cracked a few folks top 10 lists.
This song is pretty popular with the more casual fans. Most scored Proudest Monkey in the top 20, whereas it languished a bit further back among the message board crowd for the most part. It’s rarely played without Satellite attached to it, yet Satellite could not sniff the top 50.
The premiere entry from Some Devil, but as with a few songs from Dave’s “solo” album, Stay Or Leave has gotten its fair share of plays full-band. The song got its fair share of support across the board; meaning that no one has become ‘sick’ of it yet; a fate that often strikes songs that slide into heavy rotation.
When someone gives you that dog-head-turned-sideways look when you say, “Dave Matthews Band”, there’s probably two songs you say to get their attention, Crash Into Me is one of them. For a lot of fans today, it’s a song that introduced them to the band. For older fans, it’s that song the introduced screaming girls to shows. But there’s no denying that it is popular with fans. Not bad for a song that’s about a stalker. Remember that next time someone tells you they used it for their wedding song.
This is probably the most controversial entry in the top 50. The song barely has set lyrics, but there’s no denying that the hard-core fans love Shotgun. A few fans listed it in their top 10’s, and a few also specifically mentioned “2006 Shotgun” as their entry. This song is probably like drafting a high school player in the NBA draft (back when you could). People look at it, and just see all the potential and superstar written all over it, and they see flashes of brilliance, but it might not be at that level yet. Well, just like in the NBA, sometimes potential is enough to get you to the top. It worked for Shotgun.
There is no denying that lyrically, Rhyme and Reason is one of the best written by Dave. The song reads like poem, and is harsh, frank, and blunt. The music flows perfectly to build the tension throughout it. So why is Rhyme And Reason only sitting at 35? A few factors; it has been played a lot in the past 10 years. And it’s also recently received a hiatus. Unfortunately, no one has missed it. It may not be very fair to the song, but it happens. No one is bringing Rhyme And Reason signs to shows. It’s the smart kid in school; overlooked for its brilliance because it’s obvious.
98% of the entries put the two songs together, with only a scant few spinning the two into separate songs (and usually listing them in order). Pantala Naga Pampa has only been played once without Rapunzel in a full-band show (in 2010), and DMB is a live band, so it only makes sense that the two be joined in a listing. The song is still immensely popular with fans, and has opened, closed, and been the encore for shows throughout its time. A listing at 34 may seem low for such a fan favorite, but the simple truth is that it didn’t crack too many top 20 lists.
How beloved is the Yoshi’s version of #40? It almost cracked the top 50 by itself. And had other fans been told specifically to list their favorite version, it undoubtedly would have. When fans think #40, they think Yoshi’s. It doesn’t make it more magical to hear the familiar chords struck, but clearly fans favor the beginning to be “Share the time again…” rather than “Tables turned again…” Regardless, #40 is beloved by a full spectrum of fans; message board folks and more ‘common’ fans.
There are not a lot of bands that have a defunct song sung at half the shows they play. That’s the power of #36. As soon as Boyd begins his part in Everyday, fans start chanting “Hani Hani…” (or “honey honey… for some). Then the fans wait approximately 4 minutes for some lyrics and jams they don’t really care about to conclude, so they can start chanting “Hani Hani…” again. And then Dave will join in, and the crowd will erupt. The general thought was that #36 was probably still more popular than Everyday with all fans, but the numbers don’t lie. In addition to a #1 overall vote, the song received a handful of top 10 votes, and the vast majority placed it in the top 20. People like #36.
Elegantly written, Cry Freedom still is quite popular despite being a protest song about a system that ceased in the 1990’s. It is sort of a connoisseur’s choice of DMB fans; it received more top 10 votes than bottom 10. The song is much more popular with the message board crowd than the casual fan; the majority of the back of the pack votes came from those not around the boards often. But it’s fairly consistently placed in the top 50 on the majority of lists.
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