Overplayed Rock Radio Songs I Still Like

For most of my life, I found a nice balance between listening to music on the radio and on my physical media players, like record turntable, cassette tape deck, CD player, tape and CD walkman, and car tape player. After all, it was via the radio that I (and everyone else) learned about new (and old) music that I'd never heard before. Then I could decide what was essential to buy for my home music collection. Pre-internet, this was the way.

But ever since about the year 2000, I have not made any effort to listen to radio at all. Zero interest. Yet there are times when I'm subjected to a grocery store's satellite radio playlist while I'm shopping, or must endure someone else's home or car stereo. More often than not, I hear all the same classic rock and some pop of decades past. Not necessarily a bad thing, but you know how a certain bunch of classics are played and re-played ad nauseum all day, every day. It can be very hard on the brain.

Some hold up very well and some now drive me to distraction. I'd say the ones I can still get into are the those that excel at tapping into personal emotions, memories, just plain old nostalgia. There's got to be something there that makes a tune more than just bearable after hundreds or even thousands of listens. Somehow, certain songs trigger that magical chemical in the brain (serotonin) that makes you feel pretty darned good. Happy, even.

While I've grown sick and tired of a lot of those songs that appear on every freakin' playlist out there, there are some that I still enjoy - even continue to love - despite their constant presence over sound systems everywhere. You may shake your head at my musical choices here, but these songs are just so damned good that they endure and continue to lift my spirits despite their inclusion on playlists the world over. 

So, in no particular order:

Don't Fear the Reaper, by Blue Oyster Cult

Hotel California, by The Eagles

Boys of Summer, by Don Henley

Hit Me With Your Best Shot, Pat Benatar

Rock You Like a Hurricane, Scorpions

More Than a Feeling, Boston

Don't Stop Believin', Journey

Free Fallin', Tom Petty

Jump, Van Halen

Photograph, Def Leppard

Feels Like the First Time, Foreigner

Love Me Two Times, The Doors

Roundabout, Yes

Radar Love, Golden Earring

La Grange, ZZ Top

Go Your Own Way, Fleetwood Mac

Yesterday, The Beatles

Logical Song, Supertramp

Lay It Down, Ratt

Feel free to chime in with your own overplayed-but-still-love-em radio songs in the Comments below. Cheers!