California Love 10 When Pac steps up to the mic after like 3 minutes. it's like a king coming home from the war, and I don't even like him like that. + one of the best beats Dre ever put down on a track.

Sympathy for the Devil 9

Let's Go Crazy 8

Age of Consent 7

I Care 4 U 6

So Fresh, So Clean 5 You all have got to start doing better.

A Case of You 4 Good lyrics

Back on the Chain Gang 3

Party at a Rich Dude's House 2 I don't care if we spend the night @ your mansion

Grandpa 1 Which one is the mom and which one is the daughter? whose grandpa does that make?

Tupac, performing California Love 9

The Rolling Stones, performing Sympathy for the Devil 7

Aaliyah, performing I Care 4 U 4

New Order, performing Age of Consent 1

The Pretenders, performing Back on the Chain Gang 5

OutKast, performing So Fresh, So Clean 2

Ke$ha, performing Party at a Rich Dude's House 8

Joni Mitchell, performing A Case of You 3

The Judds, performing Grandpa (Tell Me Bout the Good Old Days) 6

Prince, performing Let's go Crazy 10

If only I had time to do this

Ace, can you give Joni a 10 for me? Do what you want, what you want with the other scores.

10. Joni Mitchell - A Case of You
Even Prince himself would give a 10 to this song.
9. The Rolling Stones - Sympathy for the Devil
Their craziest tune, it feels kinda empty, but still is a sorely well played massive opener with such spectacular lyrics. Rock really might be devil's music.
8. Outkast - So Fresh, So Clean
The epitome of an attractive chorus.
7. New Order - Age of Consent
6. The Pretenders - Back on the Chain Gang
5. Prince - Let's Go Crazy
Does it invalidate my ranking?
4. 2Pac - California Love
3. Aaliyah - I Care 4 U
2. The Judds - Grandpa
1. Ke$ha - Party at a Rich Dude's House

This week is pretty confusing, as a few giants got handled with songs that are great, but not as great as their greatest.

Some showed up to play though. Some scattered thoughts:

Back on the Chain Gang: - Far and away the best song of the week. No competition. There's such heartache in the verse, a longing that renders itself universal. Some cheesy elements (the working men in the background), but they lend a real sense of time and place to the song - few songs have that. One can audibly feel this song; they can hold it, touch it, see it, taste it. It's sort of like the ending of Brokeback Mountain? It just feels as if years and years are unraveling in that last verse chorus, all aided by the vocals of the greatest female rock vocalist to ever do it, Chrissie Hynde. 10

Age of Consent - Adolescence - the rush, the confusion, the meandering journey of it all - is so hard to capture in any medium. By going nowhere, but with effort and speed, New Order accomplished it. Rebellion and stumbling of independence, all in five minutes. 9

Grandpa (Tell Me Bout the Good Old Days) - Lemme slip a bit of biography/tabloid into this ****. As far as I know, Wynonna Judd (the daughter in the duo) still doesn't know who her biological father is. The entire story of the Judds - mother, daughter, other daughter - adds a poignancy to this song that wouldn't be here if anyone else was singing it. I also find 80s country - the push-pull between traditional song structure, pop sheen and the trappings of the decade - fascinating, and one can hear it in the music. I concur with someone else that perhaps the actual music lags behind the lyric/vocal, but the when the lyric/vocal is this strong ...

... I've never heard Wynonna be so quiet, so still; if I didn't see the video, I would not have known it was her. The questioning in the chorus works both ways, as a plea to know about a time when stability was king - but, also, as a doubt that the time ever really existed. The Judds are the strangest duo I've ever heard, as Wynonna carries about ninety-five percent of the vocal load in every one of their hits. But Naomi's presence here is almost spectral, and it's that ghostly effect that comes in on every last line that really elevates it into something essential. 8

Party at a Rich Dude's House - Four of the five best tracks this week are from the 80s, and this is 80s inspired. Perhaps the people not getting it aren't fans, or have maybe never heard of, The GoGos. Kesha nails their blend of raucous obnoxiousness and real subversive; there's a sardonic but vibrant energy here that salutes the past but also explains why she's more interesting, potentially, than any other pop being of her generation. 7

Let's Go Crazy - Not his best. Don't want to give Sly Stone/Funkadelic/Jimi/anyone else short shrift, but Prince may have been the best to combine rock and funk - this one track probably inspired a good half of all the men in today's music industry. 6

A Case of You - 5 (Joni doesn't need my help)

California Love - Not even gonna front, this is a banger. I appreciate it now. 4

Sympathy for the Devil - Kinda glad Gimme Shelter didn't play, as my ten would have been up for grabs then. 3

So Fresh, So Clean - 2

I Care 4 U - Not even strategy here. This has always been one of my least favorite songs on Aaliyah, and has rivaled with Age Ain't Nothing But a Number as the worst single she ever released. 1

Ace, I love when you do your write-ups. They're so good this week, they make me want to rethink everything! You've got such a wonderful way of writing about music you love.

Thank you so much supaspaz! I really appreciate it.