And the Most Popular Musical Artist on My Playlist is…

I recently decided to do a series of Twitter polls pitting the various musical artists on my personal playlist to see what other people think of my music. I will admit that I have very eclectic tastes, with music ranging from Ozzy Osbourne to Keith Green.

It was interesting to watch how people voted and there were some surprises. I was sad to see my favourite band, Rush, not make it into even into the top six. In fact, the final three musical artists, I would not necessarily place even in my top ten most favourite artists.

Part my plan in doing the polls was to do a blog post on why I liked the band or artist that won. Interestingly the band that won has some of the least amount of songs represented on my play list!

In third place was Chicago. This really was a surprise and it has never been my favourite band. I have long enjoyed their song 25 or 6 to 4, but that was the only song for quite a while. I recently added two full albums to my playlist. I like their style of music, which blends some progressive rock with some funk and a horn section. They have a unique sound that I’m glad is represented on my play list.

In second place was Johnny Cash. Cash has a much different sound than Chicago. If Chicago has complex pieces, Cash has stripped down pieces, with just an acoustic guitar or only a few other elements. I would not say that Johnny Cash is the best singer in the world. But he brings a style that few people can compare to. When you hear him play and sing, there is a legendary atmosphere that emerges. He can do anything from amusing country songs to old time hymns.

The artist that came in first from my play list is perhaps no surprise. Ladies and gentleman, the Beatles! This is a bit embarrassing because the Beatles have never been one of my favourites. I respect the impact that they have had on both rock and pop music. They are legends. Until recently, I only had one of their songs on my playlist and even now, I only have two.

The one song I have always liked is the one song that doesn’t sound like the Beatles: Helter Skelter. It’s not surprising I like it as it was inspired by the music of the Who, a band I’ve seen twice in concert and one which I like better than the Beatles. On the exact day that I was born, Paul McCartney said this in an interview:

I’d read a review of a record which said, “and this group really got us wild, there’s echo on everything, they’re screaming their heads off.” And I just remember thinking, “Oh, it’d be great to do one. Pity they’ve done it. Must be great – really screaming record.” And then I heard their record and it was quite straight, and it was very sort of sophisticated. It wasn’t rough and screaming and tape echo at all. So I thought, “Oh well, we’ll do one like that, then.” And I had this song called “Helter Skelter,” which is just a ridiculous song. So we did it like that, ‘cos I like noise.

The other Beatles song that is on my playlist is about as far from Helter Skelter as you can get and that is Eleanor Rigby. This is such a beautiful and peaceful, although sad song. It could be from a completely different band. But those two are my favourite Beatles songs and so far they are the only ones on my playlist.

In case your are wondering are my actual favourites, rather than just the most popular based on a Twitter poll, they are the following bands:

1. Rush
2. Yes
3. Genesis

Thanks to all who participated in the Twitter polls.

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