My iPod Counts to Ten

I’ve got multiple home improvement projects that need work while SteelyKid is out of the house and the weather is reasonably nice, so no deep thoughts about science today. Instead, here’s some silly pop culture: a selection of songs from my music collection starting with numbers from one to ten:

  • “One,” U2
  • “Two,” Ryan Adams
  • “Three Easy Pieces,” Buffalo Tom
  • “Four-eyed Girl,” Rhett Miller
  • “5 Mile (These Are the Days),” Turin Brakes
  • “Six O’Clock News,” Kathleen Edwards
  • “Seven Nation Army,” the White Stripes
  • (I don’t actually own “Eight Days a Week” by the Beatles, but it would go here)
  • “Nine in the Afternoon,” Panic at the Disco
  • “Ten Little Kids,” the Jayhawks

Some runners-up:

  • “One Headlight,” the Wallflowers
  • “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad,” Meat Loaf
  • “Three Little Birds,” Bob Marley
  • “4th of July,” X
  • “5 AM (A Love Song),” Blue Rodeo
  • “Six Months in a Leaky Boat,” Split Enz
  • “Seven Seas of Rhye,” Queen
  • (I don’t own a version of “Eight Miles High,” either, but it would go here)
  • (I’ve got nothing else for nine)
  • “Tenth Avenue Freeze Out,” Bruce Springsteen and the E St. Band

(There’s a list of songs to demolish any hint of indie cred I might ever have had…)

I’m sure I’ve forgotten some worthy songs, even beyond my odd lack of 8-9 songs. So what are they?

11 comments

  1. “One Fine Morning”, Lighthouse
    “Two Fingers”, Jethro Tull
    “Three Little Maids from School”, Gilbert and Sullivan
    “Four Dance Episodes from Rodeo“, Aaron Copland
    “5:15”, the Who
    (I have nothing for 6)
    “The 7 O’Clock News/Silent Night”, Simon and Garfunkel
    (I have nothing for 8)
    “Nine Tonight”, Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band
    (I have nothing for 10)

    Some higher numbers:
    “Fourteen Black Paintings”, Peter Gabriel
    “Sixteen Going on Seventeen”, from The Sound of Music soundtrack
    “20th Century Fox Fanfare”, from the Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope soundtrack
    “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover”, Paul Simon
    “The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy)”, Simon and Garfunkel
    “Sixty Years On”, Elton John
    “500 Miles”, Peter, Paul, and Mary
    1812 Overture, Peter Ilyich Tchaikowsky
    “30,000 Pounds of Bananas”, Harry Chapin

  2. “Eleven”, Primus
    “Twelve Thirty”, Mamas & Papas
    “Thirteen”, Big Star
    “Fourteen”, Tiny Tim & Brave Combo
    “Fifteen”, Thomas Dimuzio
    “Sixteen Tons”, Merle Travis (or Tennessee Ernie Ford)
    “Seventeen”, Sex Pistols
    “Eighteen Bricks Left On April 21”, David Bedford

  3. One Step Ahead – Split Enz
    Two Fine People – Cat Stevens
    Three To Get Ready – Dave Brubeck
    Four Sticks – Led Zeppelin
    Five O’Clock World – The Vogues
    Six Blade Knife – Dire Straits
    Seven Seas of Rhye – Queen
    Eight Miles High – The Byrds
    #9 Dream – John Lennon
    Ten Years Gone – Led Zeppelin

  4. One Long Pair of Eyes – Robin Hitchcock
    Two Planets – Bat For Lashes
    Three Peaches – Neutral Milk Hotel (Tom beat me to the Brubeck)
    Four Fingered Fisherman – Sun Kil Moon
    Just Who Is A Five O’Clock Hero – The Jam
    Six Days – DJ Shadow
    Seven – Fever Ray
    Eight Piece Box – Southern Culture on the Skids
    Madeline and Nine – Mike Doughty
    Ten Miles Back – Crystal Method

    Also:

    #1 Crush – Garbage
    2 Rights Make 1 Wrong – Mogwai
    No Name #3 – Elliott Smith
    4 out of 5 – Soul Coughing (A great number song in general: “4 and 5 therefore 9, 9 and 9 therefore 18, 18 and 18 therefore 36…”)
    Winter ’05 – Ra Ra Riot
    From a Buick 6 – Bob Dylan
    Highway 7 – k-os
    Driver 8 – R.E.M.
    I’m 9 Today – Mum (because I won’t take R.E.M. twice)
    Romans 10:9 – The Mountain Goats

  5. It’s Friday, so why not…

    One way or another – Blondie
    Two of us – The Beatles
    Three days – Jane’s Addiction
    Four horsemen – The Clash
    Five years – David Bowie
    Six to go – The Pouges
    Seven chinese brothers – REM
    8th wonder – The Sugar Hill Gang
    Nine below zero – Muddy Waters
    Ten second news – Son volt

    19th nervous breakdown – The Rolling Stones
    20th Century Boy – Siouxsie and the Banshees
    21 Boogie – John Lee Hooker
    22 Seconds – Goo Goo Dolls
    23 Beats Off – Fugazi
    Twenty four hours – Muddy Waters
    25th Floor – The Patti Smith Group
    27 Jennifers – Mike Doughty
    Twenty nine – Ryan Adams
    30 Gallon Tank – Spoon
    32-20 Blues – Robert Johnson
    #34 – Dave Matthews Band
    35 Minutes – Moby
    36-24-36 – Violent Femmes
    39 – The Cure
    40 – U2
    #41 – Dave Matthews Band
    Fourty-four – Howlin’ Wolf
    45 – Elvis Costello
    47 – Sunny Day Real Estate
    ’49 Mercury Blues – The Brain Setzer Orchestra
    50 ft queenie – PJ Harvey
    52 Girls – B-52s
    53rd & 3rd – The Ramones
    54-46 was my number – Toots and the Maytals
    97 Lovers – Pulp
    99 Red Balloons – Nina Hagen
    99 Problems – Jay-Z
    180 Rain – Bob Mould
    Six-sixty-six – Frank Black and the Catholics
    911 is a joke – Public Enemy
    1970 – The Stooges
    1974 – Ryan Adams
    1979 – Smashing Pumpkins
    1983…(A Merman I Should Turn to Be) – Jimi Hendrix
    1992- Blur
    1999 – Prince
    2000 Light Years from home – The Rolling Stones
    2112 – Rush
    Million – REM

  6. For 8 and 9, it seems I have an Alanis Morrisette song called “Eight Easy Steps”, and “Cloud Nine” by Evanescence. Has a 15 year-old girl been tampering w/ my iTunes library??

    And if modern orchestral works count, I’ve got “Eight Lines” by composer Steve Reich.

  7. 1-2-3-4 – Feist
    Three Cool Cats – The Beatles (orig by The Coasters)
    4’33” – John Cage

    (Two from my iPod, one that anyone can play.)

  8. One Way Out- Allman Bros
    Two Step- DMB
    Three Time Loser – Bonnie Raitt
    4 out of 5 – Soul Coughing
    (nothing for Five…can I use the above?)
    Six Strings Down – Jimmie Vaughan
    Seven Years – Norah Jones
    8 Easy Steps – Alanis Morissette
    9-9 – REM
    Ten Years Gone – Led Zeppelin

    Your Mother sent this post. I am supposed to be working. She is a bad influence…I am completely off task 😉

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