Survivor, "I Can't Hold Back"

This is an indescribably-good gem from Survivor's awesome 1984 album, "Vital Signs." I've already posted onto the blog "High On You"--another classic from the album. And expect more, since the songs are fantastic and the videos are cheesier than a block of Colby Jack. I wish I didn't love Survivor's music so much, but, predictably... I can't hold back.

Pink Floyd, "Another Brick In The Wall, Part II"

My school experiences were mostly better than this, even if these kids get pudding and get to sing some pretty cool rock music. Also, these kids seem to do more sledgehammering than I ever did.

Seals & Crofts, "Summer Breeze"

Around this time of the year, I start missing the summer breeze. Can you imagine the guy in the red pants in a summer breeze? I would imagine that with his shaggy hair, scraggly beard and wool cap, being in a summer breeze would get pretty itchy. Maybe he cools himself down in a summer rainstorm while wearing a fringed leather vest...

Dido, "Thank You"

Sure, it's the day after Thanksgiving, but I'm still giving thanks. So when you're elbowing someone in the neck to get your claws on a Black Friday "50% of all oven mitts" special before they do, just remember the kind words of Dido:

THANKSGIVING SPECIAL: "Thank You For Being A Friend"

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm thankful that you're here at Justin's List reading this blog! Have a happy holiday, and thanks again for stopping by!

George Harrison, "Got My Mind Set On You"

I loved this song growing up, but I never really knew who sang it. Then one day my wife explained that it was George Harrison of The Beatles, which I couldn't accept at first. It took a few days of denial, and eventually a few weeks to let it sink in, but now I enjoy it now more than ever before--even if the video is nothing but him dancing in front of a fireplace:

Mr. T, "Treat Your Momma Right"

Is there any better way to learn how to appropriately treat your mother and other people's mothers? If there is, I don't want to know about it.

Florence & The Machine, "Kiss With A Fist"

This takes "tough love" to a whole new--and musically awesome--level. They have some anger issues to work out, but if they're like any other good rock group, they'll just ignore all those issues and keep making great music:

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, "Down By The River"

Apparently they were having a sale on ponchos and fringed leather vests in Big Sur before this concert. And by the looks of the audience, it was clearly a "Buy two fringed leather vests, get a fistful of Woodstock brown acid" special:

Santana, "Oye Como Va"

This song always reminds of the scene in "The Big Lebowski" when they're driving and eating In & Out burgers in The Dude's windshield-less car...

Dennis Madalone, "America: We Stand As One"

What happens when a Hollywood stunt coordinator meets just enough people in the entertainment industry to put together a patriotic music video? This, America, is what happens.

Phoenix, "1901"

I'm obsessed with this group right now, and this song in particular. Never mind that they're Frenchmen--I'm willing to share Freedom Fries with these guys the next time they come to my town:

Leonard Nimoy, "Ballad Of Bilbo Baggins"

Boldly going where no man has gone before.

John Denver & The Muppets, "The Garden Song"

I spent some time this weekend tearing apart what's left of our garden in the front yard, getting it ready for the winter so that it's perfect in the spring.

I doubt our garden will have singing plants like the ones seen here. But it's probably better that way, since I would start to feel guilty about eating them if they actually sang...

The Seekers, "Georgy Girl"

I get the sense that the people in the audience came out to take a hike and watch birds, and this concert got in the way. The man and woman seen at 45 seconds into the video think they see a bald eagle through those binoculars, but really it's just The Seekers singing "Georgy Girl."

Dave Brubeck Quartet, "Take Five"

If my memory serves me correctly (which it only does a fraction of the time), this song was intended to be a drum solo; fortunately, that's pretty heavily featured in this video. But the song is probably better known for the saxophone melody, accompanied by the piano.

Having said all that, this video makes me want to (a) drink Old Fashioneds until I'm silly drunk and (b) be a professional percussionist.

James Taylor, "Fire & Rain"

James Taylor has had such a long and successful run, I forget that he was ever this young. But he created some of his best songs during this era. That is, after he kicked heroin out of his life and brought Carole King into it. And only James Taylor can get away with calling himself Sweet Baby James.

Stacy Hedger, Star Wars Theme

Is there anything more embarrassing than being up on a stage in '80s tights, dancing around and ducking invisible lasers?

Oh, yeah: The trumpet.

Jon Secada, "Just Another Day"

Judge me as you will: I unashamedly like this song. It's on my iPod, and I run to it. If it comes on the radio, I won't change the station. I know nothing else he's ever done, but this... I like.

Whitney Houston, "The Star Spangled Banner"

Thank you to all of America's veterans for serving our country.

Here's a great rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner," as sung by a pre-Bobby Brown/pre-coked out Whitney Houston at Super Bowl XXV in 1991 during the Gulf War.

Peter, Bjorn & John, "Young Folks"

I'm not shy about my love of all things Swedish: Ikea, meatballs, the Hep Stars, and the word "smorgasbord." Peter, Bjorn & John are definitely in the mix, and this is one of the biggest songs from their awesome 2006 album Writer's Block.

Full disclosure: I don't trust the man playing the bongos. Maybe he's Norwegian.

Loretta Lynn, "Fist City"

Fist City sounds like a pretty painful place to be. And that's exactly where those cartoon pigs wearing bikinis are headed, as long as they keep doing a chorus line in front of Loretta and her bacon backdrop.

Neil Young, "Heart Of Gold"

I've always felt like Neil Young performs like a caveman: Long scraggly hair hanging down, with his whole body hunched over the guitar and his knuckles dragging across it. But I think it's some of the best acoustic music ever written, and should I ever play a guitar, I'd do it the exact same way.

Nirvana, "Plateau"

I've always associated this song with Nirvana, even though it's by the Meat Puppets--who played with Nirvana in this performance. This song was on Nirvana's "MTV Unplugged In New York" album, released after Kurt Cobain's death, which made it all the more popular and intriguing. It's a great version of the tune, and what makes it better is that one of the guys is playing a red, white and blue Buck Owens-type accoustic guitar. The intro is a little long, but you get to see everyone setting up and Cobain introducing the Meat Puppets:

Doctor And The Medics, "Spirit In The Sky"

Why is this guy constantly climbing things--a ladder, a wall? I would imagine that someone who spends so much time on his eyebrows would want to save some energy and just take the elevator. Oh, and now the ladies are climbing invisible ladders. The next time I see this guy at a cocktail party, I'm gonna ask him if he's climbed any good ladders lately, just to see what he says. That'll get him good.

Gnarls Barkley, "Crazy"

There aren't many musical acts that can pull off a Star Wars-themed performance. I'm impressed with the Stormtroopers on lead guitar & bass, and especially Chewbacca... even though he's not actually playing the drums, he looks good behind a drum kit. May the force be with you as you enjoy this video!

LFO, "Summer Girls"

I was a DJ on the college radio station for a semester in college, and since I was one of the last people to sign up for a shift, I got the not-so-coveted 7 a.m. Monday morning slot. When I wasn't oversleeping it, my job was to show up and play the hottest songs at the time. I don't remember a lot of songs from the late 1990s because there's really no reason to.

Unfortunately, this was one of them. I think any song that mentions Macaulay Culkin's name without doing it ironically should raise suspicion right away. I'm not sure "Billy Shakespeare" would have approved of these lyrics, but had he known "Rich" wrote them, I think he'd understand.

William Shatner, "Rocket Man"

The word 'genius' gets tossed around a lot these days. But whoever created this video definitely earns the title. Three Shatners in one place at one time? Absolutely brilliant.

Thompson Twins, "Hold Me Now"

Is that Boy George on percussion? I swear, at one point it looks like he's playing a hair dryer. And I appreciate that at the end they give up pretending to play instruments and just clap for about a minute; it's like they ran out of their budget halfway through the filming and were like "Just get shots of us clapping... We don't have enough film left to continue shooting Boy George playing a giant marimba with comically-oversized mallets!"

Plain White T's, "Hate (I Really Don't Like You)"

I'm not a huge Plain White T's fan--but I feel like this song can work for a variety of purposes. So here's hoping that you can relate to these lyrics--no matter what the motivation is: