Song: Good Times
Artist: Chic
Year: 1979
Album: Risqué
Genre: Disco
Style: Funk
Pictured: 12″ Single
Click Here to Play the Song
Just how does one go about ranking one’s favorite songs? When I was tasked with this endeavor, my first thought was “fun!” That feeling was followed closely by one of despair. While it was easy to pull together a list of songs that I like, it was very hard to sort them, especially as I moved further down the list. I settled on a method of comparing two adjacent songs, doing my best to decide which I liked better, swapping their positions if needed, then moving up to compare the winner of that duel to the song above. Some songs were champions, cruising up the list with ease, while others gradually plummeted towards the bottom. Periodically I’d transfer the list to my phone and listen to sections while driving, making mental notes about which songs were incorrectly ranked. A trip to Los Angeles in June provided two long, 6+ hour car rides in which to do some heavy restructuring of the list.
The real impetus for finalizing the list was my decision in early December to begin sharing the list today. I knew that once I’d committed the list to the internet I was stuck with it for life, and as I did not want to be known as the guy who improperly ranked Barry Manilow ahead of Fela Kuti, I worked diligently to ensure that my list accurately reflects my taste. Oh, and speaking of taste, now is as good a time as any for an important caveat: just because I’m a DJ, and I have eclectic musical taste doesn’t mean I’m going to hip you to the latest and greatest or most obscure hidden gems of the musical world.
If you follow this project through to its conclusion you will encounter a lot of allegedly bad music. John Waters once said, “In order to acquire bad taste, one must first have very, very good taste.” Truer words were never spoken, at least when it comes to my taste in art, but your mileage my vary, so heed my warning and bail out now if you can’t handle my truth. I don’t want to hear from you come December 28th, when I reveal what I consider to be the 4th best song ever recorded, that I’ve wasted your time. Of course, I hope that by then I will have won you over to my side through the gradual sharing of other questionable selections along the way, selections that some snooty folks will consider objectionable, but that will serve to gently wear away at your preconceived notions of good taste. But if not, well, don’t say I didn’t warn you.
I haven’t said anything about today’s song yet, so let’s get that out of the way. It’s “Good Times” by Chic. I was worried about this song, because it kept losing out to other songs, but I knew it belonged on the list. How can a song that describes good times as “clams on the half shell and roller-skates” NOT be on the list? Eventually it settled into the bottom slot, and I’m fine with that. What better way to kick off a dance, or a year of songs, than with a disco classic? Plus, the lyrics are appropriate for New Year’s Day:
A rumor has it that it’s getting late
Time marches on, just can’t wait
The clock keeps turnin’, why hesitate
You silly fool, you can’t change your fate
Let 2020 be a year of good times for everyone!