Meme! Most played songs ID

[asterroc]

Everyone's always doing those "25 random songs" memes. I have fun w/ the one where you try to ID the song, and recently decided to see what was on my "Top 25 Most Played Songs" list, so I'm combining the two here. Below is a countdown of the first lines of my 25 most played songs (or the first line w/o the title in it), so the song listed here as #1 is actually the 25th most played. Without the use of Google or other search engines, guess the song title, artist (or cover artist if indicated), and how many plays it has.

1. All our times have come / Here but now they're gone - "Don't Fear the Reaper" by Blue Oyster Cult (fireaphid)


2. Everything is open / Nothing's set in stone [cover?] - "Driftwood" by Aselin Debison [originally by Travis] (hrafn)


3. She leads a lonely life - "Don't Turn Around" "All That She Wants" by Ace of Base (best_ken_ever soapfaerie - my bad the first time 'round)


4. Yes, no, maybe / I don't know - "You're Not the Boss of Me" (Malcolm in the Middle theme) by TMBG (framefolly)


5. To clear the conscience of who I am


6. At first I was afraid, I was petrified - "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor (framefolly)


7. You're a real tough cookie with a long history - "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" by Pat Benetar (best_ken_ever)


8. I keep a close watch on this heart of mine [cover version] - "I Walk the Line" by ____ [originally by Johnny Cash] (soapfaerie)


9. A woman on the radio talked about revolution - "Right Here, Right Now" by Jesus Jones (soapfaerie)


10. I don't need to fall at your feet - "King of Wishful Thinking" by Go West (tikva)


11. First, when there's nothing but a slow glowing dream - "Flashdance (What a Feeling)" by Irene Cara (tikva)


12. Ah, the more I go, the more there is that makes me wonder


13. You can do what you want just seize the day


14. Now it's Turkish delight on a moonlit night [not the first line, cover?] - "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" by They Might Be Giants [originally by The Four Lads] (best_ken_ever)


15. I know a girl / She puts the color inside of my world - "Daughters" by John Mayer (soapfaerie)


16. I met someone at the dog show - "She's An Angel" by They Might Be Giants (l0stmyrel1g10n)


17. I'm trying to tell you something 'bout my life - "Closer to Fine" by the Indigo Girls (framefolly)


18. Looks like we're finding out what a true hero is - "Act III" from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along-Blog (best_ken_ever)


19. Any dolt with half a brain - "Act II" from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (best_ken_ever)


20. Desert loving in your eyes all the way - "Karma Chameleon" by Culture Club (tikva)


21. I, I got a new life - "I Saw the Sign" by Ace of Base (soapfaerie)


22. We're talking away / I don't know what - "Take On Me" by A-Ha (tikva)


23. Hah! So that's, you know, coming along - "Act I" from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along-Blog (best_ken_ever)


24. When you look in the mirror / Wish you were somebody else - "Fa Fa" by Guster (best_ken_ever)


25. You called me last night / On the telephone [cover] - "New York City" by They Might Be Giants [originally by Cub] (best_ken_ever)

Bonus points: What's (apparently) my favorite artist?

Edit: Hints
Still entirely unidentified are #s 5, 12, and 13, and two of these the artists are already in the list. On #s 2 and 8 the cover artist has not been identified. Among the five artists not identified, I saw two perform at my college, two were popular bands in the 90's, two have an Irish flavor to them, and all but one are bands rather than individuals. If you're stumped on the covered pieces, I think it's fair to Google them now and use my individual musical preferences to weed out who's most likely - one should be trivial to find, while the other might pose a slight challenge depending upon the strength of your Google-fu.

Comments

[best-ken-ever.livejournal.com]

3 - "Don't Turn Around" - Ace of Base - 32 plays
7 - "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" - Pat Benetar - 36 plays
14 - "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" - The Four Lads/They Might Be Giants 41 plays
19 - "On the Rise" (? I forget the title exactly) - Dr. Horrible 46 plays
23 - First lines of Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. 48 plays
24 - "Fa Fa" - Guster 55 plays
25 - "New York City" - Cub/They Might Be Giants 67 plays

4 - "Boss of Me", They Might Be Giants
I would have to say They Might Be Giants for bonus points.

[zandperl.livejournal.com]

#14 - It's not originally by TMBG? Huh.
#25 - oops, forgot to indicate that it was the cover version. :)
#19/23 - The Dr. Horrible quotes are from the video versions, so there are titles, but not what you gave.

TMBG definitely has the most hits in the top 25. Of course that's b/c for a while I was trying to learn how to play New York City so I was playing on repeat for a long time...

[best-ken-ever.livejournal.com]

ohh the videoooo. Clever you. I just have the soundtrack.

As for #14 - yeah, when I learned about that and New York City, I was pretty sad. Also for some songs Dar Williams has done. Finding out that songs I really like from certain artists I like are actually covers makes me sad. Oh well.

But, this was fun! (:

[zandperl.livejournal.com]

soapfaerie pointed out one of the Ace of Base titles you gave was incorrect, and I'd incorrectly accepted it as the right answer.

I find the slight differences between the Cubs and TMBG versions interesting. "The Empire State where King Kong/Dylan lived" is the one that sticks in my head.

[best-ken-ever.livejournal.com]

Yeah, you're right, and I didn't even notice. Oops.

Yeah! Strange things! In Gigantic, I think they mention how they misheard the lyrics and recorded it that way, found out later, and decided not to change it. Silly them. Also, Alphabet City!

[zandperl.livejournal.com]

(You posted two copies of this comment; I am replying to the first in case you wish to delete the duplicate.)

I wasn't aware of that slip-up. From some searching, it appears that the original Cub line was "Alphabet City,
Breakfast at Tiffany's" and the TMBG line is "Co-op City, Katz's and Tiffany's". Unlike the Dylan line though, these substitutions make perfect sense.

[best-ken-ever.livejournal.com]

Yeah, you're right, and I didn't even notice. Oops.

Yeah! Strange things! In Gigantic, I think they mention how they misheard the lyrics and recorded it that way, found out later, and decided not to change it. Silly them. Also, Alphabet City!

[zandperl.livejournal.com]

Nobody else has reasonable guesses on the number of plays, so I'll tell you it ranges from 17 plays to 50 plays, with multiple ties from 17-22, nothing at 23, one each at 24-26, and then a huge leap to "New York City" at 50.