Saturday, July 18, 2026

It's Tom Petty Season


 

First, I'd like to thank Bill for the title of today's post.

Thank you, Bill.

There was a little thing going on over at the Now Playing blog after I made a comment about Petty's "Wildflowers" being just a bit overrated. I listened to it the other day and it didn't wow me the way it once did. I once considered it a 5-star record, but this week, it felt long and lacked punch.

I didn't make the comment to start trouble and I am not making the comment now to rile anyone up. I love Tom Petty and I am pretty sure I love "Wildflowers," though "To Find A Friend" on the last spin got under my skin. But also, when I created a playlist of my ten favorite Petty songs, nothing from "Wildflowers" made the cut. I had 15 songs, and the five that were cut weren't from "Wildflowers" either.

Maybe it's a passing phase like Taylor Farms Explosive Leafy Greens Diarrhea that's sweeping the country.

Just for fun, I wanted to share my ten favorite Tom Petty songs as of this moment.

In ascending order:

10. Stop Dragging My Heart Around
  9. Jammin' Me
  8. Even The Losers
  7. I Won't Back Down
  6. Echo
  5. A Face In The Crowd
  4. American Girl
  3. Walls
  2. Here Comes My Girl
  1. Hurt 

15-11 (in random order)

Louisiana Rain
Room At the Top
Listen To Her Heart
Surrender
Nightwatchman

That said, I absolutely hate the following five Tom Petty songs. I mean, these songs would cause me to lunge at the radio dial when they got played. That they became as popular as they did is a mystery to me.

5. A Woman In Love
4. Rebels
3. Breakdown (essentially The Animals "Cheating," but people were too busy hating Jimmy Page to say anything.)
2. Don't Come Around Here No More
1. Running Down A Dream (Possibly the worst hit by a favorite artist ever. Yes, even worse than "Bang The Drum All Day" by Todd Rundgren.)

Have fun.

There are a lot of possiblities here for a Saturday, from sharing your Petty Top Ten, or your Petty Worst Five, or either agreeing with me or defending "Wildflowers."

Godspeed to all readers under a tornado warning. Astoria Queens is in the red. 

P.S. 
I don't hate "Wildflowers." Not by a long shot.


 

 


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28 comments:

  1. AnonymousJuly 18, 2026 at 5:49 AM

    Well... I'm guessing it's gonna be a busy day on BW today.

    I sure can't argue with your top 10, though Draggin' kinda makes my skin crawl.

    I definitely feel your disgust with Running Down A Dream - that makes me hit the 'next' button faster than grabbing the remote when the TV asks you for money to save the freezing dogs shivering in the ice and snow.

    I probably hate Bang The Drum more, though.

    Have fun today!!

    Randy

    ReplyDelete
  2. Eric S.July 18, 2026 at 6:22 AM

    this all seems kinda petty, no? Sorry I'm not sorry.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Cleveland JeffJuly 18, 2026 at 6:54 AM

    Ok, here's my quick top ten:
    American Girl
    Anything That’s Rock and Roll
    Hurt
    Magnolia
    Listen To Her Heart
    Here Comes My Girl
    Don’t Do Me Like That
    The Waiting
    You Got Lucky
    Change of Heart

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousJuly 18, 2026 at 7:09 AM

    morning... reading Zanes book about Petty this week. thanks for the interesting post today...

    ReplyDelete
  5. steve simelsJuly 18, 2026 at 7:36 AM

    "King's Highway." I can't listen to that without getting a) chills and b) choked up. 😎

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  6. Titanic DaysJuly 18, 2026 at 7:49 AM

    I thought I was the only person to despise 'Running Down a Dream'! My favourite Petty (and one of my favourite songs by anyone) is 'Change of Heart'. A perfect song to my ears.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Dr WuJuly 18, 2026 at 8:08 AM

    As of this moment, the best Tom Petty album is Damn The Torpedos with a net score of +3. A dark horse at number 2 with You’re Gonna Get It! and a +2. A surprise to some might be Full Moon Fever back with the pack in a tie for 3rd with +1 score. Understanding, we’ve temporarily removed the timeless masterpiece that is Wildflowers from consideration, I fully endorse this album ranking. Listen to the albums again and it makes more sense than many might think.
    Fever should be disqualified anyway for, on an already weak side 2, closing with “Zombie Zoo”. Perspective: “American Girl” and “Louisiana Rain” are closers. Lol.
    *score = songs listed in top 15 minus hated songs

    For entertainment purposes only :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sal NunziatoJuly 18, 2026 at 8:10 AM

      Ha! This is fantastic!

      Delete
    2. Dr WuJuly 18, 2026 at 8:20 AM

      Maybe interesting to only me: the song which may have triggered you, “To Find a Friend”, is Ringo Starr’s only appearance on the album. Lol. (Come home to Wildflowers) :)

      Delete
    3. Sal NunziatoJuly 18, 2026 at 8:24 AM

      For the record, I never said I disliked the record. My initial comment was a "tad overrated." And prior to that, I had given it 5 stars on Popsurfing. Could have just been a bad spin.

      Delete
    4. Dr WuJuly 18, 2026 at 8:33 AM

      Oh, I know. Just playin’. Might be an opportunity to positively reconsider some other ratings though ;) Lol
      It is fun to listen to these classics. Had been while. Thank you for the motivation.

      Delete
    5. Sal NunziatoJuly 18, 2026 at 8:36 AM

      I am always revising the ratings on Popsurfing. Records rarely sound the same every time. Might be ready for a TP revision.

      Delete
    6. Dr WuJuly 19, 2026 at 6:44 AM

      This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
  8. neal tJuly 18, 2026 at 8:15 AM

    his best, maybe a departure from his wheel house like Beck's Sea Change was for him

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  9. Bombshelter SlimJuly 18, 2026 at 8:29 AM

    I concur with your choice of "Hurt", Sal. And I've always thought that the post-Long After Dark songwriting was a cut below, shall we say. I guess I could revisit the "latter day" catalogue for a refresher.

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  10. BrianJuly 18, 2026 at 8:41 AM

    His death was such a loss. I believe he would have given us great music for many more years.

    My top ten as of right now, it might change tomorrow:

    Breakdown (my gateway to Tom Petty back when I was in the 7th grade, I don’t care if the Animals did it first. This song got me to the record store to buy the album.)
    The Wild One, Forever
    American Girl
    Here Comes My Girl (“Watch her walk” gets me every time.)
    My Life / Your World
    Only A Broken Heart
    Crawling Back To You
    Angel Dream (No. 2)
    Room At the Top
    Swinging’

    ReplyDelete
  11. paulincaJuly 18, 2026 at 9:36 AM

    Petty's an interesting artist. When people say his music is trite or bland, I always challenge them, "then write a Tom Petty song." It's unbelievably difficult. He's so efficient with every chord, guitar line, harmony. As a child in the early '80s, he honestly scared me (he's Steve Buscemi's older brother!) but his music continues to age well. He's an album guy for sure - put the record on and don't skip anything - those deep cuts that surround the hits are just as good, every time. Now playing Hard Promises...

    ReplyDelete
  12. wardoJuly 18, 2026 at 12:03 PM

    I still think it's solid, though I don't listen to it as much as I did when it was new. Plus, some of the songs have become ubiquitous; I tend to skip "Can't Buy Me Love" and "Stairway To Heaven" for the same reasons.
    I find myself throwing on the She's The One album more than Wildflowers.
    I'm with Brian, and Jeff, and you, for most of the top 15. Especially "Echo".

    ReplyDelete
  13. ShrinerJuly 18, 2026 at 2:50 PM

    Running Down A Dream is always my go-to example song for a song that has fantastic versus and a terribly shitty chorus.

    ReplyDelete
  14. BillJuly 18, 2026 at 7:56 PM

    Thanks for the hat tip, Sal!

    Here’s my top ten, in no particular order:
    Here Comes My Girl
    The Waiting
    Mary Jane’s Last Dance
    Louisiana Rain
    Free Fallin’
    The Best of Everything
    American Girl
    It’ll All Work Out
    Wildflowers
    A Woman In Love (It’s Not Me)

    Petty’s one of those artists for me where I think the hits are the best songs. With the exception of Runnin’ Down A Dream. That’s a hard No for me too.

    ReplyDelete
  15. TonJuly 19, 2026 at 3:39 AM

    This is lovely. My taste in favorite Petty tunes has changed through the years.

    These are my latest faves:
    Damaged By Love
House In The Woods
    Mystery Man
    No Reason To Cry
    Into The Great Wide Open
    Louisiana Rain
    Leave Virginia Alone
    Surrender
    Here Comes My Girl
    Goldfinger

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  16. Michael GiltzJuly 19, 2026 at 6:59 AM

    I've never felt the love for Petty that I feel I should. Always respected, sometimes really enjoyed but never a go-to artist for me. He's someone I have to choose to listen to as opposed to one I'm always reaching for. I think I missed the boat by never getting to see him in concert. That might have given me the emotional connection I lack with him. But he's really good and has lots of good albums. Though I'm even less thrilled by Wildflowers. If there's a Tom Petty album I should love, surely it's this sort of acoustic delight. And yet, it hasn't wowed me yet. But boy his early run of strong albums, his consistency and everyone ignoring "Free Falling," which I assume is too omnipresent for most here to enjoy. My favorite TP song: the title track from "Wildflowers."

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  17. Bob AuroraJuly 19, 2026 at 8:34 AM

    I don't know exactly what it is, but there's something about Walls that always gets me.

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  18. Dr WuJuly 19, 2026 at 10:08 AM

    Amazing how consistently strong his album finales are. Might be a killer album within.
    Tom Petty :: The Closers
    https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/tom-petty-the-closers/pl.u-zPyLGvRCl2M3V

    Thanks :)

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  19. Sal NunziatoJuly 19, 2026 at 10:20 AM

    And consider "You Come Through" as a Top Ten contender.

    ReplyDelete