190. Leonard Cohen: "So Long, Marianne"(Leonard Cohen)
1968
Chart info: U.S. (N/A), UK (N/A)
Available on The Songs of Leonard Cohen
"So Long, Marianne”'s acoustic strum and weepy concertina crank up once Cohen weighs his conflicting desires for shelter and freedom, establishing a recursive loop of lamentation and joy. Love is a filament of web binding him to a ledge-- stronger than its fragile appearance would imply; it's easier stretched than severed. --Brian Howe
189. The Sonics: "Strychnine"
(Gerry Roslie)
1965
Chart info: U.S. (N/A), UK (N/A)
Available on Here Are the Sonics
A song about drinking rat poison and liking it more than either water or wine. Garage-rock proto-punks the Sonics-- without their raw fuzzed-buzz and Gerry Roslie's roll'n'roll howl-- played rock that couldn't help but shock and awe. --Zach Baron
188. Tyrannosaurus Rex: "Debora"
(Marc Bolan)
1968
Chart info: U.S. (N/A), UK (#34)
Available on The Definitive Tyrannosaurus Rex
Pre-glam, pre-T. Rex Marc Bolan recorded this hand-drummed Lord of the Rings Brit folk spasmodica. Among other things, it's another great example of Bolan's unmistakable influence on Devendra Banhart and the Hairy Fairy crew. The jumpy verbal string of "Dug a re dug n dug a re dug re dug" and lines like "O Debora, always dress like a conjurer/ It's fine to see your young face hiding/ ‘Neath the stallion that I'm riding" confirm why Bolan named his book of poetry a very Danzig sounding, The Warlock of Love. But really, he's Donovan with chops. --Brandon Stosuy
187. The Walker Brothers: "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore"
(Bob Crewe/Bob Gaudio)
1966
Chart info: U.S. (#13), UK (#1)
Available on After the Lights Go Out
Before Scott Walker was a shivery avant-gardist, he was a shivery crooner pinup, and this spaghetti Western anthem was his band's biggest hit. Like the Righteous Brothers by way of the Free Design and Ennio Morricone, this was light years away from his current coordinates, but no less cinematic. --Mark Pytlik
186. The Hollies: "Bus Stop"
(Graham Gouldman)
1966
Chart info: U.S. (#5), UK (#5)
Available on 30th Anniversary Collection 1963-1993
Never mind that "Bus Stop" evokes a gentler counterculture in which the youth of the nation enacted mating rituals-- attraction, pairing, commitment-- underneath a pedestrian umbrella. From the first sprinkles of acoustic guitar to the stormcloud minor-chords, from the desperate harmonies of the chorus to the sweet idea of falling in love out of the rain, this Hollies hit is all hook. --Stephen M. Deusner
185. The Temptations: "Get Ready"
(Smokey Robinson)
1966
Chart info: U.S. (#29), UK (#10)
Available on The Ultimate Collection
On the verses, "Get Ready" is a tense and unforgiving stomper, but the chorus turns the song into a sweeping drama, a transcendent whoop of joy-- and throughout it all, Eddie Kendricks' angelic falsetto floats overhead like a balloon caught in a gust of wind. --Tom Breihan
184. James Brown: "Mother Popcorn (You Got to Have a Mother for Me)"
(James Brown/Pee Wee Ellis)
1969
Chart info: U.S. (#11), UK (N/A)
Available on Star Time
No words can describe this song's throbbing physicality better than the singer's own "Jump back baby, James Brown's gonna do his thing." That "thing" involves a hysterical performance that switches from a sexualized grunt to a bizarre, high-pitched whine without warning. And with a horn chart snaking around a squirmy guitar line, Brown's band does its thing, too. --Stephen M. Deusner
183. Bobby Darin: "Beyond the Sea"
(Jack Lawrence/Charles Trenet)
1960
Chart info: U.S. (#6), UK (#8)
Available on The Ultimate Bobby Darin
The aural definition of "wistful," the lyrics to "Beyond the Sea" scan as if there should be doubt that the song's distant lovers will meet again. In his reading of the song, Darin doesn't sound so sure; even when his band gets raucous, he sits it out and comes back as melancholy as ever. --Joe Tangari
182. Patsy Cline: "She's Got You"
(Hank Cochran)
1962
Chart info: U.S. (#14), UK (N/A)
Available on 12 Greatest Hits
Money can't buy love, but roving hands can steal it, and on this countrypolitan waltz, Cline sounds irrevocably bereaved, running through possessions she has, and the precious one that no longer belongs to her. I think there's a piano in my beer. --Marc Hogan
181. France Gall: "Laisse Tomber les Filles"
(Serge Gainsbourg)
1964
Chart info: U.S. (N/A), UK (N/A)
Available on Poupée de Son
In 1964, Gall was a 17-year-old ingénue, but her mentor-- a promising 36-year-old lecher named Serge Gainsbourg-- turned garish jailbait euphemisms into an art form. Accompanied by swooning trumpets and speakeasy bass, Gall makes her way through a tawdry jukebox-slapping cabaret populated by alcoholics and nymphettes. If pop music is supposed to combine virginity and carnality, "Laisse Tomber les Filles" might well be the pinnacle of yé-yé ecstasy. --Alex Linhardt
180. The Barbarians: "Moulty"(Eliot Greenberg/Doug Morris/Barbara Baer/Robert Schwartz)
1965
Chart info: U.S. (N/A), UK (N/A)
Available on Nuggets
This song is best known for being the inspirational tale of the band's hook-handed drummer, but I'll put up the chorus of "Moulty" against any other from the decade-- "Louie Louie", "Mony Mony", anything-- as being the biggest, loudest, and most unintelligible, made all the more dynamically triumphant by the aw-shucks verses. --Rob Mitchum
179. Bembeya Jazz National: "Armée Guinéenne"
(Bembeya Jazz National)
1969
Chart info: U.S. (N/A), UK (N/A)
Available on The Syliphone Years
Updating an old folk song honoring warriors and dedicating it to Guinea's then-fledgling armed forces, Bembeya Jazz created a hypnotic masterpiece. Balafon and percussion underpin Cuban-influenced horns and vocals, but Sekou Diabate's lead guitar steals the show as the fluid lifeblood of the song. --Joe Tangari
178. Otis Redding: "I've Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now)"
(Jerry Butler/Otis Redding)
1965
Chart info: U.S. (#29), UK (N/A)
Available on Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul
Few performer/musician combos have enjoyed better, tighter dynamics than the ones forged between Redding and the Stax house band. The players follow his lead at every note, offsetting his soul-wrenching performance with austere horn ascensions and demonstrative punches. Redding makes the climax massive, but the band downplays it sweetly, internalizing his proclamation and making it an intimate exchange as much between the singer and band as between a man and a woman. --Stephen M. Deusner
177. The Tammys: "Egyptian Shumba"
(Lou Christie/Twyla Herbert)
1963
Chart info: U.S. (N/A), UK (N/A)
Available on Egyptian Shumba: The Singles and Rare Recordings 1962-1964
It's not just that this girl group's gone wilder than any garage band on the list-- it's that they're possessed. The Tammys bop hard and bratty, but by the chorus they're literally growling, barking, and squealing like sexed-up hyenas; in the bridge you can hear them shudder and jerk their way into a frenzy. It's their party and they'll scream if they want to. --Nitsuh Abebe
176. MC5: "Kick Out the Jams"
(Michael Davis/Wayne Kramer/Fred "Sonic" Smith/Dennis Thompson/Rob Tyner)
1969
Chart info: U.S. (N/A), UK (N/A)
Available on Kick Out the Jams
This one's a classic before it even starts, thanks to Rob Tyner's still-startling introduction (take the title, add "muthafuckahhhs!"). Though punk more in intent ("Let me be who I am!") than action (essentially, post-Who/Jimi Hendrix blooze-rock, but sloppier), this remains an eternal rallying cry for anarchy in the USA. --Stuart Berman
175. Loretta Lynn: "Don't Come Home a Drinkin' (With Lovin' on Your Mind)"
(Loretta Lynn/Peggy Sue Wells)
1967
Chart info: U.S. (N/A), UK (N/A)
Available on The Definitive Collection
Loretta Lynn hates drunk sex (or something). Loves the Iraq War, though. She said as much at a pre-Jack White Taste of Chicago. But "Liquor and love, they just don't mix," teases Lynn on 1967's "Don't Come Home a Drinkin'", with honky-tonk pedal steel and juke-joint piano. See, lady is crazy! --Marc Hogan
174. Darlene Love: "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)"
(Jeff Barry/Ellie Greenwich/Phil Spector)
1963
Chart info: U.S. (N/A), UK (N/A)
Available on A Christmas Gift for You From Phil Spector
Love's woe-steeped holiday ballad is the best Xmas present Phil Spector ever gave. The track features all of the producer's trademarks and his dense arrangement provides the perfect backdrop for Love's rich voice, making it easy to understand why this has become an integral part of the Christmas music canon. --Cory D. Byrom
173. Phil Ochs: "I Ain't Marching Anymore"
(Phil Ochs)
1969
Chart info: U.S. (N/A), UK (N/A)
Available on I Ain't Marching Anymore
Of all the protest songs Ochs penned, "I Ain't Marching Anymore" is the strongest. Ochs' narrow tenor and staccato guitar propel this anthem about a soldier who up and stops killing. It's an urgent rebuke against the war in Vietnam, but Ochs also takes the high road: He doesn't rip into the old men who start the wars that get young men killed-- he just puts down his gun and walks away. --Chris Dahlen
172. Archie Bell & the Drells: "Here I Go Again"
(Kenny Gamble/Leon Huff)
1969
Chart info: U.S. (N/A), UK (#11)
Available on There's Gonna Be a Showdown
Whether it be "Tighten Up", "I Can't Stop Dancing", "Dancing to Your Music", "Dance Your Troubles Away", or "Dancin' Man", these dudes sure liked to dance. But with this Gamble & Huff swift-string strut, Bell and co. took on a different kind of hustle. "I should have learned my lesson, you hurt me before/ But every time I see ya, I keep running back for more," blows Bell, breaking down romance's inexplicable two-step with a purposeful stride. --Ryan Dombal
171. Neil Diamond: "Sweet Caroline"
(Neil Diamond)
1969
Chart info: U.S. (#4), UK (#8)
Available on His 12 Greatest Hits
When I was little, my best friend's mom-- who'd seen Neil Diamond in concert a dozen times-- told me he had "a nice tush." It was a strange moment-- almost traumatic. I was just a kid for chrissakes, and this was an authority figure. But Neil had that kind of power over women and this single is one reason why. It also explains why 12 Songs was a bad idea. --Mark Richardson
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