#None of them want to help GB cause they all pretty much hate her

[goglitch]

Because of how the game starts, many teams are disbanded or upgraded, some people forming new teams entirely, The strongest team on earth pretty much doesnt change.

[stuonsongs]

My Top 10 Favorite Songs of All Time - 2006 Edition

2021 Editor’s Note: I was looking through some old files and found this thing that I wrote sometime in the summer of 2006 at age 22. For all I know, it could’ve been 15 years to the day! Looking back, I’m not sure how many of these songs would still make my top 10. Don’t get me wrong, I still love all of these tunes, but I’m sure you know how it goes - You get older, you get exposed to more things, and your idea of good music expands. Anyway, I thought it might be nice to share with anyone who still uses this site. I present it in its original format without edits to my writing. I ended up writing full posts in this blog about some of these songs if you go through the archive. 

Stu’s Top 10 Favorite Songs…Ever

Let’s start with some honorable mentions. These were so close, and I thought about it for so long, but they had to be left off.

Honorable Mentions

All Summer Long – The Beach Boys

All Summer Long. 1964. Capitol

This song has been described so many times as being “the perfect summer song.” When you listen to it, you can’t help but smile from the opening marimba intro, all the way through. It just screams “summer” and it hurt me to leave The Beach Boys off my top 10.

Bleed American – Jimmy Eat World

Bleed American. 2001. Grand Royal

So full of energy, so rocking, and so what would’ve been the most recent song on my list. I wanted to keep it in the top 10 just so I could have a song from the ‘00s, but it wasn’t meant to be. When the chorus kicks in, I can’t help but headbang.

Marie – Randy Newman

Good Old Boys. 1974. Reprise

Randy has said that a lot of young composers pick “Marie” as their favorite Newman song, and I can see why. The idea of a guy having to be drunk to tell his wife that he loves her is pretty funny, and throughout the whole song it’s just the beautiful melody with tons of strings, all to a tune about a guy ripping on himself as he comes home drunk to his wife.

Does He Love You? – Rilo Kiley

More Adventurous. 2004. Brute/Beaute

I guess this is newer than Bleed American, so it would’ve worked too. This is another more recent song that it killed me to leave off the list. The outro is an arrangement of the main tune with a different chord progression performed by a string quartet. Very beautiful. Also when Jenny Lewis screams “Your husband will never leave you, he will never leave you for me,” I get chills every time.

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So here it is. After a long day’s work, I’m finally finished. It actually turned out much different than I was thinking when I first started. The number one wasn’t really even in my top five when I started, but I slowly realized I loved it so much. I also left Ben Folds (Five) off this list completely, and I don’t know, I just feel the whole catalogue of Ben is so solid, none of the songs stick out to me that much. But anyways, here it is! After the break of course…

Stu’s Top 10

10.

(Love Is Like A) Heat Wave – Martha and the Vandellas

Heat Wave. 1963. Motown.

This one beat out “Bleed American” just barely. The reason being that somehow, despite being nearly 40 years older than Bleed American, it still has so much energy that it kills. Dan Bukvich once told our Jazz Arranging class that you can boil all the oldies you hear on the radio down to three categories: 1) Great Song. 2) Great Performance. 3) Great Arrangement. This song is one of the great performances. The handclaps throughout, combined with the driving baritone sax behind everything and constant snare drum action will keep anybody with blood running through their veins dancing all night long.

9.

Bodhisattva – Steely Dan

Countdown to Ecstasy. 1973. MCA

This song is my Freebird. It’s just a basic blues progression song at its core with some minor changes at the end of the form. The real kicker that drives this song home is the three minute guitar solo in the middle that isn’t nearly as rocking as Freebird, but it is highly proficient and takes me to places that just make me want to play the song over and over again. I have no idea what this song is about, probably Buddhism, but hey, this once again proves that lyrics rarely matter and the music itself is the core.

8.

Zanzibar – Billy Joel

52nd Street. 1978. Columbia

This song reminds me of long car rides on vacations down the west coast with my parents growing up. They used to play a tape of 52nd Street, or at least their favorite selections, constantly on these trips. I didn’t hear this song again until early in my senior year in college and remembered why I loved it so much. The song has a heavy jazz influence, displayed in the breakdown where Jazz trumpeter Freddie Hubbard does a solo. The best part of this song though is at the end of the 4th line of each verse, Billy does this “Woah oh oh!” thing that just makes me want to sing every time. It was between this and “Miami 2017 (Lights Go Out On Broadway)” which is also a great song, but the “Woah oh oh!” is too much for ol’ Stu boy.

7.

Rosalita (Come Out Tonight) – Bruce Springsteen

The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle. 1973. Columbia

Early Bruce Springsteen records have something that very few other artists can ever pull off without sounding cheesy or forced. It has this undeniable sense of urgency, like the world will fall apart and life will crumble through your fingers if this one moment in time doesn’t work out the way Bruce describes it. There are so many early Springsteen songs that just set a scene of “We have to get out of this town right now girl before it kills us, no matter what any of our parents, friends, anybody has to say.” There’s a line that kinda sums it up: “Well hold on tight, stay up all night ‘cause Rosie I’m comin’ on strong. By the time we meet the morning light, I will hold you in my arms. I know a pretty little place in southern California down San Diego way. There’s a little café where they play guitars all night and all day. You can hear ‘em in the back room strummin’, so hold tight baby ‘cause don’t you know daddy’s comin’.”

6.

I’ve Got You Under My Skin – Frank Sinatra

Songs For Swingin’ Lovers! 1956. Capitol

This song falls into the category of great arrangement. This Cole Porter classic tune was arranged for Sinatra by Nelson Riddle. The story goes that he was still copying down parts for the players while riding in the cab to the recording studio on the day of recording. After the players ran through it once with Frank, they stood up and applauded. The Baritone sax takes control here, outlining a Db6/9 chord throughout the intro. Of course, Frank’s vocal delivery is spot on and goes up and down in all the right places for the biggest emotion impact. It’s amazing how a song with no real chorus can be so good.

5.

A Change Is Gonna Come – Sam Cooke

Ain’t That Good News. 1964. RCA Victor

This song was not even going to be on this list, but then I ran across it while scouring my collection of music and remembered how good it was. Then I listened to it and was blown away by the level of detail that went into this arrangement. Sam’s vocals soar above the mind blowingly beautiful arrangement. The lyrics to this one actually add to the tune itself, speaking of wrongdoings in the world around him, and how social change is on its way in the form of the civil rights movement. The song flows with such ease out of Cooke that one might forget the weightiness of the content, but the song’s content is just so heavy that it’s impossible to deny it.

4.

Whatever – Oasis

Whatever EP. 1994. Creation

This song was released as a Christmas present to the U.K. from the Gallagher brothers and company. It never appeared on any full album, only being released as a single, and amazingly, it blows away anything else they’ve ever done. Think “All You Need Is Love,” but with tons of rocking energy and a snide, nonchalant attitude. The chorus speaks, “I’m free to be whatever I, whatever I choose and I’ll sing the blues if I want. I’m free to be whatever I, whatever I like, if it’s wrong or right, it’s alright.” Not exactly poetry, and the song isn’t exactly breaking any new ground either, but the song is absolutely perfect in every way, and it was going to be my #1, but perhaps the only reason it’s not at number one is because I’ve played this song so many times that at the moment, these next three are beating it, but who knows how I’ll feel in a few months. This song also pulls the same “outro performed by a string quartet” thing as “Does He Love You?” but even better. It’s so simple, but I can’t get enough of it.

3.

Mr. Blue Sky – Electric Light Orchestra

Out of the Blue. 1977. Jet

This is obviously the best Beatles song that the Beatles never wrote. The staccato guitar during the verse combined with the strings present in just about every ELO song combine to make a force that is undeniably catchy and musically challenging at the same time. This is really what makes ELO so good. I didn’t discover this song till probably Nov. 2005, and it was one of the best days of my life. I didn’t want to include two songs by the same artist in my top 10, but if I did, I probably would’ve added “Turn To Stone” on this list too because it is almost as awesome as this one. It’s a shame that just like Billy Joel, most critics at the time hated ELO for being overly creative musically (they called it pretentiousness). These days we have acts that really are pretentious (see Radiohead), but everyone loves them, even critics. I’m not knocking all Radiohead, just most everything post OK Computer. Sorry, got a little sidetracked there.

2.

Only In Dreams – Weezer

Weezer. 1994. Geffen

This has been my favorite Weezer song since about a month into me picking up Weezer’s debut album back around early 2000. It has this ostinato (a repeated motif over and over again) in the bass throughout most of the whole song, never even really resolving to the Gb major chord (excluding chorus, which never really resolves) that it wants to until the end of a 3 minute contrapuntal guitar duet when everything dies out except the bass which just retards on its own until it finally plays the single Gb we’ve all been waiting for. The song on the whole up until the guitar duet is pretty tame, but once those contrapuntal guitar lines start intertwining, my ears perk up every time. I can sing both lines at separate times upon request and when the drums finally kick back in fully at the climax of the song, I let out a sigh of relief or bang on my car wheel in exultant joy, whichever is more of an option at the time.

1.

All Is Forgiven – Jellyfish

Spilt Milk. 1993. Charisma

I always loved this song from the first time I heard it, but I didn’t realize how much I loved it until maybe April 2006. I found out about Jellyfish first semester of college in the Fall of ’02 and heard this song, and knew it was great. The constant tom-tom driven drums, the fuzzy, almost white noise distorted guitar, and the half time bass throughout. It was great. Then in April I put it on my mp3 player for the walk to school, and then I listened to it for about two weeks straight. Seriously. It runs into the next song entitled “Russian Hill” which is almost as good, but because it’s a separate song, I couldn’t include it on the list, but in my mind, they always run together and are basically one long 9 minute song. The ending just gets more and more white noise filled until you can barely take it anymore and then it just cuts off completely into the slow acoustic intro for Russian Hill. It’s perfect in every way. I think this would fall into the category of great song. And the way the song builds up right to the middle of the song and then cuts out completely except for some very VERY faint xylophone noodling, and then busts back in with some feedback directly into guitar solo. Man I love this song.

[tired-college-student-writing]

Tim’s Secret Weapon: Chapter 2

I’ve been slightly obsessed with @ozmav​ ‘s Damien Wayne/Marinette Dupain-Cheng pairing as of late, and just saw a post that has inspired me more than anything else has in months, so I felt the need to write it

Summary- Tim has always seen the numbers floating above people’s heads, been able to perceive their threat levels with a single glance. After being a hero for so long he thought he was desensitized to seeing high numbers above people’s heads until Damien brings a new friend home.

Part 1 

Part 2 (HERE)

Part 3

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Of all the ways Tim had imagined his secret getting out, he had to say that his family finding his research into Damien’s girlfriend was pretty low on the list, practically nonexistent. Especially since it didn’t take a genius to figure out what they thought his interest in her was more than a little creepily obsessive in the worst way possible. 

Though he had to admit that the evidence against him didn’t paint a pretty picture. Any other twenty three year old with this much info on a sixteen-year-old would no doubt be placed on a list. Though he’s pretty sure from the white-knuckled grip his brothers had on their weapons, they’d rather rip him a new asshole if he didn’t give them an answer they liked soon. 

He settled for an even, “I do background checks on people that spend time here, why is it surprising that I have one on Marinette?” 

He was fairly certain that the others would be able to hear his heartbeat if it started pounding any faster. He worked with heroes of all shape and size, seen powers of all types, faced down villains of every magnitude and yet the idea of his secret getting out terrified him more than anything he’d ever experience.  Bruce gave him a steely look, “Tim, your file on Rah al Ghul is 3.4 GB, your file on Marinette Dupian-Cheng is nearly 8 GB.” 

“Not to mention,” Dick’s voice was dripping with so much venom Tim couldn’t help but wince, that didn’t sound like his carefree brother, “You went to great lengths to hide the check from us. You’re paranoid, but this is different Tim.” 

“I just wanted to talk to Marinette about something before I put it on the server…” He snapped, trying to shift the fear clawing at his very essence to anger, “Just because I did background on her doesn’t mean she’s not allowed to have her privacy. She… ” 

He knew it was a flimsy excuse, but the glares getting icier around him made everything instinct he ever had told him to run. He can see why Bruce had said no costumes tonight, he would have been on his motorcycle halfway to Star City by now if he was wearing his mask. 

“Tim,” Bruce cuts in, “Just tell us what’s going on. We can’t help if you don’t tell us.” 

He clenched his hands into his pants, trying to get them to stop shaking.  He had no choice, did he? 

“Okay,” He agreed, “I need to grab something from my room, first.”

“Todd, Go with him,” Damien ordered. Tim was sure the brat wanted to go himself, but Dick had a strong hand on his shoulder, no doubt holding him back from using “non-approved by Bruce” interrogation methods. 

Jason clapped a hand on Tim’s back making him flinch before the taller man pulled him back up the staircase. 

“This better be good, replacement,” 

“Do you really think so little of me?” Tim couldn’t help but ask as he was shoved through his door, “because it’s not hard to figure out what you guys think of me right now, but…” 

Jason's refusal to look at him hurt more then he was willing to admit. 

“We’re praying we’re wrong,” He finally said, “but we can’t think of a single other reason for you being like this.” 

Tim flinched as he entered the code into the padlock on his side table, he knew that at least two of his siblings knew the code at this point, but placing the embarrassing pictures of him from his first year as Robin seemed enough to appease them from looking further. 

“Bruce doesn’t like working with Metas,” He managed out as he pulled up the false bottom and snatched his journal. As he turned back to Jason he could see the older boy blinking at him in startled befuddlement. 

“Marinette is a Meta?”  He questioned causing Tim to hug the book tight to his chest, eyes focusing on the rusty looking 10 over his brother's head as it twisted around, he couldn’t be more relieved when it faded from the venomous green as the Laruaz sickness faded. 

He didn’t answer instead brushing past him towards the stairs to the Batcave. Jason was right on his heels. 

“What the fuck Timmy,” He questioned instantly. Tim let out a weak chuckle. 

Jason wasn’t stupid, no matter what he tried to convince people, and Tim knew his brother would put it together quickly if he said anything else, but he didn’t want to talk about it, but… he kinda wished he had longer in the shadows he was used to. He remained quiet. 

“You can’t just say that and go rushing off,” He pushed as they entered the stairwell, causing Tim to scrunch his shoulders more. 

Tim was halfway down the steps when he felt Jason stop behind him, a heavy hand landing on his shoulder. He held back a wince as he glanced at his brother's face. 

The serious set of Jason’s jaw and the understanding in his eyes put Tim on edge. 

“Mari’s not the one that’s Meta, is she?” 

“...”

“Come on Tim, answer the question.” 

I don’t know if she is or not…” 

“But she’s not what you meant when you said Bruce doesn’t like working with Metas, is she?” 

Tim couldn’t force his mouth to work. 

“Shit…” Jason groaned, rubbing a hand down his face as he sank down to sit on the stairs, “We really are assholes.” 

“Jay?” 

He waved a hand dismissing Tim’s questioning tone, “You kept notes about what you can do in that book?” 

“I…” Tim’s brain was having trouble keeping up with what was happening, “Yeah?” 

“Great, hand it over and go back upstairs,” 

Tim flinched back, grip tightening, “What?” 

Jason just looked away, crossing his arms, “Look, we jumped to the wrong conclusion, and I don’t know what your power is but it made you wary of Marinette. You look like a frightened rabbit right now, so I doubt you’ll want to go through Bruce’s shitty menagerie of questions on your powers, so give me the fucking notes you have on yourself and I’ll keep them down here until we’ve gone through your book and figure it out. Then maybe by patrol, we’ll all calm down enough to… ya know fucking talk about it.” 

Tears weld up in Tim’s eyes as he sits on the stairs next to Jason, knees trembling too much to hold him up, “You… You don’t hate me?” 

The ideas startled the older boy into looking back to Tim’s face, face softening as he saw the look in his eyes. 

“Ah Timmy,” He sighed, pulling the other boy into his side “None of us are going to hate you for being meta.” 

Tim gave a shaky nod into his shoulder, reluctantly holding out the book, “It’s mostly just data… I…” 

Jason took the book carefully, bouncing it in his hand lightly, “Did you write down what your power is?” 

“Yeah but…” 

“Great skedaddle,” 

“Wait,” Tim cut Jason off as he goes to stand, “I… I want to tell someone before you find out through… through my journal.” 

Jason settles back down, “Alright replacement, What can you do?” 

Slowly he explains the numbers, the levels he had been able to see since he a baby, how he used it to know where to focus in a battle, used it to figure out every secret identity without trying. 

“Well damn,” Jason whistled, once Tim’s explanation started trailing off, “No wonder you were always good at the detective shtick, no one could hide from you.” 

Tim let out a startled laugh, “Ye... yeah, even if the color and number themselves change the font stays the same so it’s pretty easy to keep track of people...” 

“So two questions before I let you go hide in the woods, and go relay all this info to the others.” 

Tim nodded, relaxing more. He never imagined his power being revealed going so well.

“First, who’s the most dangerous of the Batfam?” 

Tim smirked, “Alfred, he’s a 12, same as Wonderwoman. Bruce and the demon spawn are tie for second at 11 and then you and Dick both have 10s, same as Superman. I... I don’t have a number.” 

“Fucking knew it,” 

“We all knew Alfred was dangerous, even without my power.” 

“Truth. Alright question dos, Why does Marinette freak you out?” 

His jaw clenched, he knew this one was coming, but he also knew how it would sound.

“She’s... She’s a 15.” 

Jason’s eyes bugged out, “15?! We’re talking about the same girl, right? Pigtails, freckles, makes sweets for us every time she visits, looks like a strong wind will fly her back to Paris?” 

“Yes!” Tim groaned, “I can’t find a single fucking thing that explains why she’s so high! Before this, the highest I’ve seen is 12!” 

“No wonder you’ve been going insane... or well more insane.” 

“Thank you for being an understanding asshole.”

“Hey what else are brothers for?” He asked, smile a little tight as he climbed to his feet, still holding Tim’s journal, “Now let's go, before the brat knocks out Dick and comes looking for you.” 

Tim gave a weary smile before disappearing up the stairs. 

When Jason reached cave the others were starting to look impatient. 

“Where’s Drake,” Damien asked instantly, body coiling dangerously. 

“I don’t him to scram,” The tall man said with a shrug, “He explained what’s happening to me, and trust me he has a good fucking reason, and probably thinks that Bruce is going to kick him out so I told him to take it easy until I calm all of you down.” 

“He what?” Bruce choked out, as the other boys stopped, all eyes focusing on Jason. 

“Yup!” Jason popped the ‘p’ before holding up the book Tim had given him, “Who’s ready for story time?” 

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