The Spotify playlist for songs #59-40
59. Tum Tum, "Caprice Music" For years, the Dallas hip-hop community's had a love affair with the Chevy Caprice Classic. Tum Tum's "Caprice Music" was an ode to that car culture, illustrating the unique trends specific to our city in the wake of Drank Epidemic Vol 7. - Austin Staubus
58. Tripping Daisy, "Waited a Light Year" Lost in the doldrums of a major label system turnaround, Tripping Daisy's Jesus Hits Like the Atom Bomb remains a gem from start to finish. "Waited a Light Year" could very well be mistaken for a Polyphonic Spree song. - Eric Grubbs
57. Pantera, "Walk" Pantera knew how to grab people right away: Put the money riff at the center and everything else will fall in place. Recognizable from the first note, this track off the Arlington four-piece's 1992 LP Vulgar Display of Power holds up to this day. Where else could a ZZ Top-style boogie mesh with Black Sabbath heaviness? - Eric Grubbs
56. Centro-matic, "Only in My Double Mind" As prolific as Will Johnson is, one could pick several dozen Centro-matic songs to add to this list. The towering, heavily reverbed vocals and pounding piano make "Only in My Double Mind," from 2011's Candidate Waltz, especially memorable, and the song's power shows that he and the band are still a force 15-plus years into their career. - Jesse Hughey
55. Joe Ely, "All Just to Get To You" This 1995 train-hopping rocker reminded people Ely wasn't merely a Flatlander from the past, but a star in his own right. By the end of the song, his vocals make sure he beats his "fists against the moon" in order to get what he wants. - Kelly Dearmore
54. Selena, "Bidi Bidi Bom Bom" The shoulda, coulda, wouldas surrounding Selena's brief and heartbreaking career have not gone away over time. The Corpus Christi singer represented so much of what Texas really is: fiercely independent, larger than life. When you reach for that one Selena hit, "Bidi Bidi Bom Bom" always gets the job done. Don't miss "Baila Esta Cumbia" either. - Deb Doing Dallas
53. Bun B, "Draped Up" When Pimp C was arrested in 2005, faithful UGK fans were concerned their historic run had come to an end. Bun B, however, released a debut solo album, with "Draped Up" serving as the first single. The single became so popular, Bun's label released an "H-Town" remix that featured Chamillionaire, Paul Wall and Slim Thug. - Austin Staubus
52. George Jones, "Cup of Loneliness" My dad used to say "Amazing Grace" sung in a bar full of sinning drunks on a Saturday night would always be superior to the Sunday morning version. That applies here, too, as Jones really sells the miserable keening for some kind of redemption, which he knows all too well, even if his cocaine addiction, lawnmower rides and another couple of marriages were still ahead of him back in 1960. - Jesse Hughey
51. Townes Van Zandt, "No Place to Fall" This song is not his best, but with Townes fallen to where no mortal can catch him, it's easily one of his more prophetic. - Doug Davis
50. Lil' Wil, "My Dougie" Focused on style rather than substance, Lil' Wil's "My Dougie" embodied everything Dallas, catching the attention of even the most hardened music executives. "My Dougie" became a national sensation, inspiring CNN's own Wolf Blitzer to "dougie" on air. - Austin Staubus
49. Big Boys, "Fun, Fun, Fun" While the rest of the punks were taking themselves seriously in 1982, Austin's Big Boys were putting out songs like this, and daring to like both the Cockney Rejects and Joy Division in the same breath. It still resonates so much, there's now even a festival named after it. Not a bad legacy. - Audra Schroeder
48. Cherubs, "Stag Party" The omnipresent dial tone throughout this song gives it some added menace, though Austin's noise-punk Cherubs had enough of that already. 1994's Heroinman was their finest hour, and we'll take that reunion show anytime, fellas. - Audra Schroeder
47. Dorrough, "Ice Cream Paint Job" Garnering over 15,000,00 views on YouTube, Dallas rapper Dorrough's "Ice Cream Paint Job" seemingly came out of nowhere. The song resonated so strongly, Cash Money's Lil Wayne remixed "Ice Cream Paint Job" on his critically acclaimed "No Ceilings" mixtape. - Austin Staubus
46. Jerry Jeff Walker, "L.A. Freeway" The beauty of a simple story told honestly is not one many can master. Thankfully, Walker is one of many plain-spoken Texan poets that can pack a novel's worth of gravitas into a three-minute ditty. - Kelly Dearmore
45. Waylon Jennings, "Rainy Day Woman" Waylon Jennings knew how to write a so-called outlaw song, and a TV theme for lake-jumping rednecks, but he also knew how to write a love song. While his buddy Willie Nelson loved to sonically strip a song to its skeleton, Jennings thrived when the tempo was high and the band was in full roadhouse mode. - Kelly Dearmore
44. Erykah Badu, "On & On" "On & On" takes me back to the first time I heard Baduizm, and was transformed. Nearly 15 years later, "On & On" hasn't aged a bit. It's frequently the vamp when Badu is about to drop some real talk on her audience. "What good will your words do, when they can't understand you?" - Deb Doing Dallas
43. Red Krayola, "Hurricane Fighter Plane" From 1967's Parable of Arable Land comes a song that's entirely driven by that glorious bassline. The Houston group, led by Mayo Thompson, has been playing one-off shows recently. Texas deserves one, don't you think? - Audra Schoeder
42. George Strait, "All My Ex's Live in Texas" This song could have been written in any decade across the last century, but Strait did it in 1987, subsequently making us wonder if he was a smug asshole or in on the joke, which is a testament to his grasp of irony, story and true country. - Audra Schroeder
41. ZZ Top, "La Grange" In recent years, the Top have recycled their shtick a bit too often, but this track, from 1973, was the band at their peak. They turned a local news story about a whorehouse into two kick-ass guitar solos and smacked the world upside the head. - Doug Davis
40. Freddie King, "You've Got To Love Her With a Feeling" This won't be the last appearance by King on our list. The Dallas blues guitarist gives some real talk: Love your woman with a feeling, or you won't have her at all. And, as usual, King rips into a wig-lifting solo halfway through. - Audra Schroeder
