Tuesday Top Ten: Songs by Boston-Based Bands

Yesterday, some coward(s) decided to ruin what is otherwise already a painful experience by detonating two bombs near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing three and injuring over 150 others.  Terrorists are dicks.  Rather than go into some long-winded diatribe about how if everyone had IEDs, things like this would never happen, I will honor the victims of the tragedy the only way I know how:  with a playlist of songs I like.  Here are ten of my favorite songs from Boston-based bands, in alphabetical order by artist.

1.  "No More No More" by Aerosmith

With so many great Aerosmith songs to choose from, this was a difficult choice.  Ultimately, I went with "No More No More" because it's not as well known, and the title of the song seems appropriate given the circumstances.

2.  "Do Me" by Bell Biv DeVoe

Probably one of the best songs of the '90s.

3.  "Smokin'" by Boston

At some point in high school, I declared Boston to be the greatest band in rock and roll history.  It was a stretch, but then again, I had a lot going on hormonally at the time.  I still like Boston, and their debut album is probably, pound for pound, one of the best debut albums in rock history.  "Smokin'" seemed terribly appropriate.

4.  "Just What I Needed" by The Cars

This is my favorite Cars song.  I can't hear it without wanting to sing along.  It is also the only Cars song covered by short-lived Bloomington, Indiana-based punk quintet Cervical Implosion.  True story.

5.  "I'm Shipping Up to Boston" by Dropkick Murphys

There isn't a song in the last ten years that I associate more with Boston than this one.  Wicked.

6.  "Suzie (Wants Her All Day What?)" by Extreme

You didn't think I was going to have a list without a hair band song, did you?  I could have gone with "More Than Words" or "Hole Hearted," but I figured something where everyone in the bands plays would be a better representation of their actual sound.  I chose this one because I know no one named Suzie, or Suz, for that matter.

7.  "That's When I Reach for My Revolver" by Mission of Burma

This is a great post-punk song, with good use of anticipation.  But one must wonder if they had formed within the last several years, would their name be Mission of Myanmar?

8.  "Where Is My Mind?" by The Pixies

There were a couple Pixies songs I could have chosen, but I went with this one because it is eerie and because I have a morbid sense of humor and immediately thought "where is my leg?"  I'm a horrible human being.  When I listen to this song, I'm always amazed it was released in 1988 because it sounds like it should have been released in the early '90s at the height of the grunge era.  Definitely ahead of its time.

9.  "Dirty Water" by The Standells

Even though the Red Sox have essentially ruined this song for everyone else (much like Ohio State fans have done with "Hang on Sloopy"), this is still a really good '60s garage rock song.

10.  "Sinister Minister" by Township

Township is one of my favorite contemporary hard rock bands, and they just play great, straightforward rock and roll.  I went with "Sinister Minister," the first song off of their 2008 eponymous album.  Unfortunately, Grooveshark doesn't have this song, so you will have to click this link to check out the clip on Amazon.

Honorable Mention:  "Feed the Tree" by Belly; "Candy Girl" by New Edition; "The Impression That I Get" by Mighty Mighty Bosstones