Song

Ouch.  This one is tough.  There are probably 20-30 "favorites" for each category for me, so I guess I'll just pick some at random.

70's: Led Zeppelin - "The Ocean"

80's: Beastie Boys - The entire "Licensed to Ill" album

90's: Extreme - "Get the Funk Out"

2K's: Seether - "Gasoline"

Man, this is tough.  I can name about 200 songs off the top of my head for each of these decades, but I'll try to keep to just one.

70s : Right Back Where We Started From - Maxine Nightingale = Fun and poppy song that everyone knows but forgets until they hear it on the radio.  I was really young during the 70s so fun songs stick out for me.  Reminds me Summers camping at Hammonassette State Park.  My mother used to turn on the radio and it would be on all day and she would dance with my brother and I to songs like this.  My mom can always make a party of any situation and this song is just full of happy stuff for me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68uWGunx3yQ

80s : Winning - Carlos Santana = Just love the spiritual overtones of this song.  If you've ever kicked any kind of habit in this life, this song will speak to you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNeXJg0Sh1Q

90s : Losing My Religion - R.E.M. = This is kind of a strange choice for me for a few reasons.  First off I'm not much of a "college rock" guy and I can't say there is another song in R.E.M.'s catalog that I like.  The phrase "Losing My Religion" comes from a southern adage that means "utterly losing your mind".  The turn of the phrases in this song, it's lack of a chorus and the way the oddball instrument of the mandolin is featured in the song somehow fits with that phase of my life.  At times I felt like I was running 200 miles an hour and panting for breath.  Things were happening so fast at that time in my life.  I graduated from law school, got a job, got married, bought a house, started a business and started a family.  In the space of ten years I went from irresponsible college student to alleged pillar of the community and it felt like it was all going too fast.  I kept feeling like I'd missed something and I wanted to call a time out to go back and look for it.  That's why this song is my favorite of the 90s.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=if-UzXIQ5vw

2K : It's a Great Day to Be Alive - Travis Tritt = Just love it.  A song about a guy who's finally cleared the hump a little and got a bit of a handle on life with a small confidence that things are going to turn out just fine.  The old worries of youth have been put aside and the acceptance of just who I am has settled in and become comfortable.  Speaks to me as a middle aged "tweener" with parents and children looking to me to care for them and someone who is quietly assuming the mantle of head of the family.  Reminds me of those days I wake up and remember just what a lucky guy I really am.

http://www.cmt.com/videos/travis-tritt/ … live.jhtml

Indiana Jones theme song > both of those combined.