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Memorable Countdown Moments
1895. Invisible Touch. I looked up from my dinner and earnestly asked, “Who feels this is one of the 10 songs to save in a pandemic?” Little did I know how much Genesis awaited. #XPN2020
1895. Invisible Touch. I looked up from my dinner and earnestly asked, “Who feels this is one of the 10 songs to save in a pandemic?” Little did I know how much Genesis awaited. #XPN2020
1594. Mountain Jam. Again I wondered, Who voted for this? A few days later as we were listening, I told my teenage son that Mountain Jam, Part II was starting. Not knowing I was joking, he fled from the room. I didn’t see him again for 33 minutes and 44 seconds. #XPN2020
1384. Jokerman. I have heard a lot of Bob Dylan. I somehow had never heard this one and instantly loved it. Killer lyrics and an uncharacteristically strong vocal. Bravo, Bobby D. Maybe you could get someone interested in buying this song from you. 
#XPN2020
#XPN2020
1342. Smalltown Boy. When I heard boo-boo-boo-boo-boo and Jimmy Somerville’s voice, I literally stood up and cheered. I absolutely LOVE this disco heartwrencher. To know there are enough like-minded voters in the world made me feel like there is still hope for us. #XPN2020
(As an aside, I would have had the same reaction had I been listening when the thematically different but equally heartwrenching 1251, Second Avenue, played, but I was asleep.) #XPN2020
1322. Beautiful Boy. I didn’t hear most of it as it was drowned out by my own sobs. The first, but not the last, time in the countdown I was reduced to a blubbering mess. See also 996, 913, 872, 814, 642, 470, 119, 82, and the entire concerning sequence from 25 to 22. #XPN2020
Segue 1094-1093. This is strictly the shift from Biggie’s “Juicy” to Piaf’s “Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien.” International media wrote about it. Listeners are still recovering from it. While less jarring, Segue 662-661 and Fade Out/Fade In 135-134 were also spectacular. #XPN2020
911. MacArthur Park. Listeners suspected Trolls at 933 (Xanadu). From there the mix was outré. Jam band marathons were intersprinkled with Roxy Music, Roxanne, and a spate of coma-inducers for insomniacs (Bowie briefly brought us back to the apocalypse). #XPN2020
Then Dumbledore the First showed up, fittingly at 911. Listeners collectively shouted from our beds ... WTF? #XPN2020
I won’t list songs that should have made it instead. The consolation I have from overcoming the torture of the Area 951-900 countdown segment was that I wasn’t alone. Tee shirts were promised to Survivors. I’m waiting. #XPN2020
800. Song for Zula. This was the other song I somehow never heard before and fell head over heels for. Not very many songs recorded after the 50th anniversary of The Beatles made the countdown. Kudos to the supporters of Phosphorescent for this spot-on inclusion. #XPN2020
427. Heroin. Listened to this spirits-lifter (not) while cooking dinner. Mindlessly opined to no one in particular that Lou Reed must have been a troubled soul. My husband heard me and continues to evaluate whether we should stay married. #XPN2020
400. Sing, Sing, Sing. Twitter took off like Usain Bolt at the Rio Olympics. (Remember the Olympics?) 8 minutes of joy. Listeners generally responded well to lengthy swing, jazz, and classical entries. Jethro Tull, not so much. (See also the entry on Mountain Jam.) #XPN2020
319. Don’t Dream It’s Over. This is my all-time favorite song. I worried it would not be on the list. It played while I slept. So I can repunctuate it in honor of the countdown as Don’t Dream! ... It’s Over. I’m not bitter. It made the list. And decently high up, too. #XPN2020
143. September. When this began, the energy from the XPN Twitterverse was electric. We pretended our prison-homes were clubs and DANCED. We dreamed of the vaccinated future where we could all “party on” as commanded again. Life became a Pan(den)ic! At the Disco. #XPN2020
The song’s lyrics captured what the countdown meant to ardent followers, after a catastrophic year: “Now December found the love that we shared in September.” #XPN2020
Amen and kudos, Earth Wind and Fire. Even with 142 other songs following, all of which I heard and felt feelings for, the lived experience of the Countdown peaked here for me. #XPN2020
The WXPN 2020 Countdown was eight great distracted days and sleep-deprived nights. It honestly was a highlight in a year most of us would like to forget. But when it comes to spending time listening and Tweeting?
Non, je ne regrette rien. #XPN2020
Non, je ne regrette rien. #XPN2020
