My Favorite Songs from Spring 2024

I can’t believe we’re over halfway done with April! This year is flying by fast. For those of you that haven’t read My Favorite Songs from Fall 2023, how this works is I’ll talk about my favorite songs from a particular season and in this case, I’ll be sharing my picks from Spring 2024. Most of these are rock songs, but there are a couple surprises, as well. With all that said, let’s get on with the music!

10. “Prime Time” by Rossington Collins Band, from Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere (1980)

Last month marked the one year death anniversary of guitarist Gary Rossington, so I bought the only two studio albums by the Rossington Collins Band, in his honor. It’s a crying shame that Dale Krantz Rossington never sang lead vocals for the current Lynyrd Skynyrd band because man, that woman can sing! Listen to her wail on “Prime Time” and those growls, holy cow. That woman was meant to front a rock ‘n’ roll band. I know the debut album from the Rossington Collins Band gets all the hype, but I thought the sophomore album was pretty good too. It’s a shame that group wasn’t meant to last, though.

9. “Kokomo” by The Beach Boys, from Still Cruisin’ (1988)

I don’t listen to The Beach Boys often, but whenever I do, I feel at peace. Their songs make me feel safe and happy, and it’s not just because I first discovered them on my favorite show of all time, Full House. As soon as I found out that Disney+ was releasing a documentary about The Beach Boys in May, I just had to play “Kokomo” because it’s a freaking banger. The chorus is catchy, the melody is beautiful, and I love the line, “Bermuda, Bahama, come on pretty mama.” Plus, John Stamos (aka Uncle Jesse) is in the song’s music video!

8. “For to Give” by Rich Robinson, from Flux (2016)

Despite not knowing half of what he’s singing about, I really dig Rich Robinson’s solo albums. Why he never bothered to include lyric books in any of them, except for The Ceaseless Sight (2014), I have no idea. Since I can’t figure out most of the lyrics, I have to rely on the melody and vocals. Sure, Rich’s voice is not as appealing as his brother’s voice, but there’s a quirky charm to it that I find intriguing. “For to Give” is a bluesy ballad with a beautiful melody and from my perspective, this and “Leave It Alone” are tied for being his best song ever.

7. “34+35” by Ariana Grande, from Positions (2020)

To prepare for Ariana Grande’s new album, Eternal Sunshine (2024), which came out this past March, I bought Positions, her previous album. I think most current pop music is garbage, but I have a soft spot for Grande’s music because I have fond memories of playing Yours Truly (2013) and My Everything (2014) while doing homework in high school. It’s hard to explain, but whenever I listen to songs like “Problem,” “Bad Decisions,” “34+35,” and anything with a good beat, I feel like a woman boss! The lyrics and meaning behind “34+35” aren’t what I normally go for, but it’s a fun song.

6. “Freewheel Burning” by Judas Priest, from Defenders of the Faith (1984)

My bedroom is right by the road behind my house, so everyday I hear cars passing by, with and without music. We all like what we like, but every time I hear rap or Hawaiian music through the speakers, I keep thinking, “‘Freewheel Burning’ would be a way better song to play while driving in a car!” Judas Priest also released a new album last March, but Defenders of the Faith has been on my mind recently because I just finished reading Martin Popoff’s Judas Priest: Turbo til’ Now (2021) book. That album itself is full of great songs, but “Freewheel Burning” is pure speed metal at its finest and Rob Halford’s vocals are killer! If I did pick a track from Invincible Shield (2024), however, I would’ve picked “Giants in the Sky,” my favorite track from that album.

5. “Comin’ Under Fire” by Def Leppard, from Pyromania (1983)

“Comin’ Under Fire” is a criminally underrated Def Leppard song. Anything from Pyromania is amazing, but “Comin’ Under Fire” hits hard simply because the band never played it live before, at least to my knowledge. It’s a great song with an excellent riff and it’s filled with hooks galore. Actually, Def Leppard are releasing a 40th anniversary box set for Pyromania towards the end of April, so that’s cool. It’s a year late, but better late than never.

4. “Ride on a Pony” by Free, from Highway (1970)

While doing research on the band, Free, one of the first videos I found was a live clip of them doing “Ride on a Pony” on a British TV show called Doing Their Thing. Immediately, Andy Fraser’s juicy bass line had me hooked and I’ve listened to the song a million times since then. In fact, “Ride on a Pony” is the main reason why I bought Highway. I wanted to get all of Free’s studio albums anyways, but that song pushed me towards getting Highway first. Paul Kossoff’s guitar solo is already chilling on the studio version, but it sounds even better live, especially on the Doing Their Thing performance. 

3. “I Want It That Way” by Backstreet Boys, from Millennium (1999)

I’m very lazy when it comes to exercising and the only way to get me moving is through music. One of my favorite YouTubers, emkfit, does dance workout videos and they’ve been a lifesaver! She has a Backstreet Boys vs. NSYNC dance workout video that is so freaking fun to do! I have mad respect for the Backstreet Boys because they’ve sorted out their differences and let go of the negative bullsh*t that was holding them back, hence why they’re still together. Every later era boy band has ripped off their “I Want It That Way” music video and the song is iconic for many reasons, more so now because of Brooklyn Nine-Nine. 

2. “Cross Your Fingers” by The Black Crowes, from Happiness Bastards (2024)

“Wanting and Waiting,” the first single from Happiness Bastards, took a few listens for me to love it. However, I immediately fell in love with “Cross Your Fingers;” I played it four times in a row the day they released that single. The southern acoustic guitar melody tricked me into thinking it was going to be a ballad, but 40 seconds later, BOOM!!! It’s a banger with a killer groove and the chorus is catchy as heck. I’m glad that The Black Crowes are playing it on their Happiness Bastards tour, but I’m also bummed that I won’t be able to hear it live, unless they include it in their setlist the next time I see them in concert.

1. “Preacher Man” by Lynyrd Skynyrd, from Edge of Forever (1999)

Often, I’ll have a song randomly stuck in my head because that’s how my brain works and “Preacher Man” has been on my mind a lot lately. That’s probably because I follow Lynyrd Skynyrd on Instagram and always get annoyed when I see current live pics of them, knowing they keep playing the ‘70s stuff over and over again. Johnny Van Zant doesn’t get enough credit as a songwriter because certain fans only want to hear the Ronnie Van Zant stuff repeatedly, which is pathetic. “Preacher Man” is a fantastic song and it’s heavy, thanks to guitarists Rickey Medlocke and Hughie Thomasson. Man, if I were to make a concert setlist using only the Johnny Van Zant era material, “Preacher Man” would be on there, for sure!

There you have it, people! Those are my favorite songs from Spring 2024. I was going to include “Bedside Manners,” another song from Happiness Bastards, but it didn’t feel right having two Black Crowes songs on the same My Favorite Songs post. Then again, it just shows how amazing the album is. Maybe I’ll add it next time, we’ll see!

---

If you enjoyed this post, feel free to like it and share it with your friends. I write about music, Disney, TV shows, movies, and whatever suits my interests. If that sounds like your cup of tea, please subscribe to my blog for more content like this! To help me keep this blog going, click here to make a donation or click here to join my Patreon. You can also follow me on social media through Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!

Don’t forget to leave a comment down below to start a conversation!

Take care and see ya real soon!

Lana