In DJ Mike Walter’s Latest Book, He Asks a Very Basic Question: What Makes a Great Song? In This Fun & Freewheeling Discussion, We Discuss Songs – Their Meaning & Their Power.
When he’s not running his successful DJ company and rocking parties, Mike Walter is writing books about the music he loves.
After his 2018 effort, On This Date In Music, the New Jersey-based DJ/author recently followed up with The Greatest Song Ever? For music fans and especially DJs, Walter’s book asks a very basic question: What makes a great song? To find out, he runs thru 40 songs by offering anecdotes and compelling arguments about what makes them all great. He also offers his all-time, greatest tune.
Now in his fifth decade of DJing, Walter runs Elite Entertainment in Tinton Falls, N.J. If anyone’s ever met and talked to him for five minutes, you’ll know that his love for music is deep. The DJ/MC of thousands of events, he’s witnessed firsthand the transformative power of music. The right song at the perfect moment can lift spirits, change moods and move a room to impossible heights. In this fun and freewheeling discussion, Walter and I discuss songs – their meaning and their power.
DJ LIFE: What prompted this particular subject for a book?
Mike Walter: A few years ago I published a book called On This Date in Music, which is very factual. I tell a story about something that happened in the world of music on every day of the year. A friend of mine said to me that he loved the book, but he wished I’d offered more opinions about how good a song or album is. So, that was the first inspiration and then a few years ago I heard the song “Night Moves” just as summer was ending and the lyrics really hit me hard. I sat down and wrote an essay about the song and how Bob Seger tricks the listener into thinking it’s a simple song about young love when really he’s singing about getting old. I shared that essay with a few friends and got really good feedback, which inspired me to write about some more songs that are, in my opinion, awesome songs that deserve a deeper listen.
DJ LIFE: From the book’s list of tunes, your tastes would seem to be relatively pop-leaning – let’s just say nobody’s gonna accuse you of arcane, hipster tastes. What would you say formed your musical tastes?
Walter: I’d say the radio more than anything. There wasn’t a lot of music in my childhood home. My parents had a stereo and a few albums, but other than Christmas time when they’d pop on some holiday LPs, it was rarely used. But I listened to the radio incessantly growing up, whether it was a boom box I’d lug around my Queens, N.Y., neighborhood or the Walkman I got in high school that allowed me to listen to music on my commute into Manhattan every morning for school.
DJ LIFE: Yes, a very different time…
Walter: I was in that generation that would wait for a favorite song to come on the radio, so I could record it on cassette tape and listen to it over and over. Whether it was rock radio or pop radio or even oldies, I loved listening to radio and hearing the DJ’s patter and the songs they chose. In fact, my introduction to mobile DJing came while I was in broadcasting school with an eye towards becoming a radio jock. Based on how that industry is dying, I’m glad I went the way I did.
DJ LIFE: What makes a song stick in your head? What impresses you about a song, so that it has longevity for you?
Walter: I’m definitely a lyric guy. Rhythm and melody are essential for a great song, but the writer in me, the lover of words and phrases, needs to hear something poetic in the lyrics for it to really be great – and also have longevity. And, as with “Night Moves,” as we age and our perspectives change, great lyrics can take on whole new meanings for us.
DJ LIFE: Was there a methodology for your choices? Did you think in terms of genres?
Walter: I did want to have a wide range of genres, as well as eras represented in the book so that was definitely intentional. I’m a product of the ’80s, so I could have written a whole book like this, of just ’80s songs, but I didn’t think that would be as interesting or enlightening to the reader. So, I purposefully choose some older songs, as well as some recent ones. But I stayed true to my main objective of offering great songs that deserve a deeper and more thoughtful listen. And when it came to older songs, I also considered their legacy and influence on the future of music.
DJ LIFE: I did appreciate the fact that the choices weren’t so obvious. For example, for Michael Jackson, you didn’t include “Billie Jean,” but “Wanna Be Starting Something.” It made me wanna go back to those songs and re-evaluate a few. I’m assuming you went down quite a rabbit hole yourself…
Walter: I was intentional about avoiding the most obvious selections. For example, I knew I had to include a Leonard Cohen song because he is one of the greatest lyricists in all of pop music. I mean, the man was really a poet who couldn’t make ends meet writing poetry, so he decided to try his hand in music. And “Hallelujah” would have been the most obvious song of his to include. But I sincerely don’t think it’s his best song and it has already received its fair share of flowers through the years – I read an entire book about the song a few years ago! So that sent me down the rabbit hole of other Cohen songs that I love and respect and that move me and that’s how I choose “Anthem.” And if that made you or any reader go back and re-evaluate something you’d heard once or twice, but never really thought much about, well, mission accomplished!
DJ LIFE: Being a DJ must’ve impacted some of your choices, although there are definitely some of the 40 that you’d probably never play. I’m curious… what percentage of those 40 songs have you ever played at a DJ gig?
Walter: Well over half – but not all for dancing purposes. Take a song like “Guilty.” I often play that as a dinner song. Or “Hey Jude” as a singalong track. But some of the break-up songs I’ve never played at a wedding. It’s not exactly the tone I want to set.
DJ LIFE: A lot of these tunes will resonate with everyone differently, of course, and often it’ll be about where you were in your life at the time. So, that can color the song a certain way that’ll be kinda inescapable – good or bad. Example: When that Styx song would come on the radio when I was 12 or 13, it made me agitated. Were there songs on the list that landed there mainly from an impacting moment in your life?
Walter: I tried to avoid that. For example, Beck has a song called “Nobody’s Fault But My Own” that I listened to a lot when my first marriage was ending. To this day, that song tears me apart. And I considered it for this book. But once I removed my personal association with the song, it didn’t stand the test of “is this song great?” and “does it deserve a deeper listen?” So a song might have popped on my radar because of the personal impact it had on a certain moment in my life, but if that was the sole reason, then it didn’t make the final 40.
DJ LIFE: And, again, it’s actually been fun going back and listening to each and every one. So, let’s get into some of these songs… Alanis Morissette’s “You Oughta Know” [1995]. The “I-will-not-be-ignored” song. Pretty venomous for a pop hit. A real signpost of the times.
Walter: We live in a post-“WAP” world, so it’s hard to understand how shocking it was to hear a young Morissette singing about going down on someone in a theater. But back then, it was. And yeah, venomous is a great word for that song. As I recommend, isolate the vocals – you can find them online if you don’t have the technology to do it yourself – if you don’t wince when she sings: “Are you thinking of me when you fuck her” you’ve never been in a bad breakup.
DJ LIFE: Earth Wind & Fire’s “September” [1978]. I really dug the R&B version of EW&F more than its disco-flavored years – it’s one of those songs that, where I grew up, I definitely heard plenty. But it’s also one of those songs that benefitted from re-discovery… it is a supremely happy song and I’ll guess that your nights behind the decks helped push this one onto your list.
Walter: Absolutely! As I say in the book the list of “never-fail” dance songs is very short and, for me and my typical wedding crowds, “September” is at the top of that list. That song has brought more joy to people and gotten more fannies out of their seats than any song I can think of. And while dancing isn’t the only reason music is the greatest art form man has ever created, it’s up there near the top. So, the best dance song ever had to make the book.
DJ LIFE: Leonard Cohen’s “Anthem” [1992]. Wouldn’t have thought of this L.Cohen tune first, even from that album, but it’s a good one. Still, glad he made the list. For many, Cohen’s a bit of an acquired taste.
Walter: If he’s an acquired taste, it goes back to what I say in the book’s introduction… people don’t read poetry! And that’s sad. It’s a beautiful, emotional, thought-provoking art form and it’s also perfect for our TikTok-shortened attention spans. Most poems can be consumed in less time than a pop song, and that includes a minute of introspection afterwards to give some thought to what you just read. But other than a college lit class, most people don’t read poetry – heck, most people don’t read at all, but I can only tackle one problem at a time [laughs]. Cohen is the quintessential poet and I knew from the jump that I had to include something by him in the book. His oeuvre is so expansive that it could have been any number of songs. For me, “Anthem” has the perfect mix of light and dark, sadness with a touch of optimism. I love that duality as I think it reflects my own outlook on life.
DJ LIFE: The Five Satins’ “In the Still of the Night” [1956]. My mom’s doo-wop tune became a cinematic signifier of a particular era. Put this in a movie and it immediately becomes the ’50s.
Walter: When you think of a “timeless” song, this one is at the top of the list for me. I wish there were some way to calculate how many people have slow danced to this song since its release 70 years ago – whether it’s a recording of it or a band playing it live. Has to be in the tens of millions, right?
DJ LIFE: Billy Joel’s “Scenes from An Italian Restaurant” [1977]. Since the HBO documentary, he’s taken on a real resurgence – I mean, I snagged The Stranger right after I watched the doc, and listened to it for the first time since I had the 8-track in the 9th grade.
Walter: There are a few fictional couples that have become immortalized through art. Romeo and Juliet are probably the most famous. In movies, Rick and Ilsa are the first that come to mind for me… more recently, Jack and Rose. When it comes to music, Jack and Diane and Gina and Tommy may be in the conversation, but for my money, no one’s more famous than Brenda and Eddie. That’s the impact “Scenes” has had and coming up on half a century old, it shows no signs of fading away or even becoming played out. As I point out in the book, a big part of that is it’s not an eight-minute song, it’s three shorter songs stitched together and those tempo changes, along with the time jumps in the song – we go from the present-day restaurant to “the summer of ’75” – make it such an interesting track. And the “Cold beer, hot lights, my sweet romantic teenage nights” so perfectly encapsulates our wild youthful years – or at least it does mine.
DJ LIFE: The Beatles’ “Hey, Jude” [1968]. Though I def consider myself a Beatles fan, I could live the rest of my life and never hear this one again. But that’s just me – I can be a killjoy. But, I probably loved it the first 20 times I heard it when I was 5. Why this Beatles tune?
Walter: This song hits me way differently than it hits you. As I say in the book, those final few minutes, between the “na-na-na” chanting and McCartney becoming a man possessed, they make me happy to be alive and live in this time. And I’m more of a Lennon guy than a McCartney guy – I prefer the acerbic poet over the sugary pop star – so, that’s saying a lot.
DJ LIFE: The Doobie Brothers’ “Listen to the Music” [1972]. A pleasant radio song when I was in the 4th grade. Actually, they had a buncha good radio tunes. People forget how big that band was.
Walter: As I say in the book, I had to include a song about music and, for me, nothing speaks of the transcendent power of music than this one.
DJ LIFE: Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart” [1980]. I love that this supposedly was written as an answer song to Captain & Tenille’s “Love Will Keep Us Together.” Another signifier of many things… time, genres, mental states. That icy synth still cuts thru and nobody sounds like Ian Curtis. Why did this one sustain for you?
Walter: I love lyrical dissonance and this song is a perfect example of it. If you don’t pay attention to the lyrics, it’s an upbeat, danceable synth-heavy riff. But as you’d expect from the title, the words are a downer. That kind of duality in a song is impressive.
DJ LIFE: Plastic Ono Band’s “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” [1971]. My all-time favorite pop-music Xmas song. As a kid growing up next to a big army base, this one caught my attention with the eternal reminder: “War is over if you want it…”
Walter: Mine, too… although “Fairytale of New York” is a very close second.
DJ LIFE: Damn straight… Michael Jackson “Wanna Be Startin’ Something” [1983]. Another interesting choice, but I definitely get it. It’s one that gets overlooked in the midst of MJ’s massive hitting streak… always liked that stuttery groove, which morphs into Afro-beat and its “you’re a vegetable!” lyrics. Another dancefloor fave for you?
Walter: Personally, yes. Not at gigs. As I state in the book, it’s not an easy song to mix because of the tricky drum pattern – although there are plenty of remixes that fix that for DJs. My go-to MJ songs are “Don’t Stop ’Til You Get Enough,” “Billie Jean” and “P.Y.T.” But this whole song is awesome and the “mamma say” chant with the horns at the end just takes it to a new level. I have vivid memories of dancing to this in some New York City nightclubs as a teenager that I’ll always cherish.
DJ LIFE: Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” [1967]. As soon as Aretha opens her mouth… whoa. As a DJ, this one cuts through generations – I’ll assume it’s survived through the years for you, right?
Walter: Absolutely! It’s the ultimate female anthem. And, in my opinion, the greatest cover ever.
DJ LIFE: Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab” (2006). Another signifier… and this one can hit you in different ways. It’s a defiant drinking song, or a plea for help – your choice. Did you get requests for this?
Walter: Not many. Her big gig song is “Valerie.” But yeah, based on how things worked out for her, this song in retrospect takes on a whole new meaning. The poor woman was crying out for help and we all just sent her further up the pop charts. Sad.
DJ LIFE: Gin Blossoms’ “Hey Jealousy” [1992]. Another one of those “hey-not-bad” radio tunes from the early ’90s, when rock was still on the airwaves. And, of course, it’s a rare “hey-I-got-problems” pop song, which is endearing.
Walter: This comes on the radio… I’m cranking it to 10 and singing every word. And it’s another one of those awesome songs that get even better when you learn the backstory and how tragic things turned out for its creator.
DJ LIFE: Notorious B.I.G.’s “Hypnotize” [1997]. I used to spin at an Irish pub and when things would begin to dwindle and enough ladies were finally in the room, just drop Biggie and the fun begins. From the first note, this one never fails. It’s one of those course-correction tunes…
Walter: Dropped it this weekend at my wedding and it raised the energy instantly.
DJ LIFE: Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain” [1977]. Neat choice… hard to pick a “deep cut” from one of the biggest-selling albums of all time, but this one’s it. The other one for me – and I’m more of a Christine McVie guy – was “Songbird.” Why do you think this song and this album still reach people?
Walter: The whole album is an open wound and the struggles they are singing about are things everyone can relate to. But there are triumphs throughout the album and the ending of “The Chain” is the biggest one. Or maybe the “don’t stop thinking about tomorrow” lyric, which Bill Clinton used so brilliantly in his campaign.
DJ LIFE: Talking Heads’ “Once in a Lifetime” [1980]. Listening again to this, it’s really a miracle how good this band was… and how weird? It’s a song that’s so well-known that people forget that it was never a U.S. hit. Fela/Afro-beats and contemplative art-school lyrics… what’s not to love?
Walter: The whole band was awesome and Byrne’s solo career has been amazing as well. His last few albums have been incredible, and his live shows the last few tours are so unique.
DJ LIFE: Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train” [1981]. Two thoughts here: My freshman year in college, this was the lunkhead anthem blaring down the dorm hall every soggy weekend; and this, as I’m sure Mets fans like you know, was Chipper Jones’ walk-up song. It’s amazing what staying power this one has.
Walter: Great hard-rock tune. And if it were just about how crazy Ozzie was, it wouldn’t have made the book. But he was warning us about things we clearly ignored. I mean, think about how prescient the line: “One person conditioned to rule and control/The media sells it and you live the role” is today.
DJ LIFE: Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me” [1991]. One of those sad-ass, adult-contemporary songs that eluded me at the time. But it’s truly a fragile thing with an aching, heartfelt performance – I totally get why it connects with people. Thanks for making me re-listen…
Walter: As I point out in the book, though, does she ever leave him? Or does she keep settling for his apathetic affections?
DJ LIFE: Prince’s “Gett Off” [1991]. Not one I thought you’d pick, but a fun one – saucy & cocky, for sure. For dancefloor groove, I also dig “Controversy” and “Lady Cab Driver.” As the well-known Prince completist that you are, why this one?
Walter: It’s Prince at his raunchiest, funkiest, funniest best… especially the extended mix with the extra lyrics where he goes into some of those “23 positions.”
DJ LIFE: Sting’s “Fragile” [1988]. This one should really hit home these days… but it probably won’t. As another great songwriter sang, these are different days.
Walter: I often post a line from this song on Facebook whenever there’s a school shooting. I do it so often a buddy of mine told me recently he saw me post “lest we forget” and thought, “Oh shit, something bad has happened.” I’ll never understand why this isn’t considered by music critics to be up there with “Yesterday” and “Hallelujah” as all-time great songs.
DJ LIFE: CCR’s “Fortunate Son” [1969]. One of my all-time favorite songs, bar none. The anger, the voice, the driving rhythm, the insta-hit guitar lick – a radio song tapped into the zeitgeist. As someone impacted by that war, I stop and listen every time – along with “Born in the U.S.A.” To me, those songs are genuine treasures.
Walter: I give Randy Bartlett credit for this one. He was one of my beta readers and he suggested it. The more I listened and analyzed, the more I realized I’d missed this awesome track for too many years. Its anti-war message and anti-class system message are spot-on. Unfortunately, we, as a society, haven’t gotten either of those messages.
DJ LIFE: Van Morrison’s “Into the Mystic” [1970]. Tough to pick just one with Van, but this might just be the one.
Walter: Yes, he’s had so many great ones. But there’s something about the simplicity of this track, along with the enigmatic lyrics, that works magic for me. I often drop this in during salad or dinner at a wedding and I can feel the mood in the room change.
DJ LIFE: Usher’s “Yeah!” [2004]. Irresistible. I remember when this was a hit and stopping into this kinda unhappening DJ-bar in Montreal. The DJ played this and the place went from deadsville to up-for-grabs in an instant. Weird how a song can do that… I’m sure you’ve had that experience plenty of times.
Walter: Most solid dance songs from that era dropped out of favor and are just now returning because they’re “retro cool.” At weddings, the whole pop-punk movement from the early oughts is bigger now than ever. But “Yeah!” has never left my party playlist. It’s as “can’t-miss” as “September,” and I don’t see it losing that traction anytime soon.
DJ LIFE: Jay-Z’s “99 Problems” [2004]. Pretty bad-ass all the way through. Of course, I’ve never talked to a cop like that… and Ice-T would like a word. The Grey Album version from Danger Mouse is pretty good, too.
Walter: You’ve never lived till you’ve told a cop to “kiss your whole asshole.” Kidding, of course, I’m a groveler when I get pulled over. I’ve begged my way out of many a ticket. Of course, I’m the right skin color for that – which isn’t a racist statement on my part. It’s a sad testament to profiling by some of our law enforcement.
DJ LIFE: Diana Ross & The Supremes’ “Someday We’ll Be Together” [1969]. Their last hit… quite a send-off. When I was a real little kid, I thought The Beatles and The Supremes were impeccable, just perfect radio acts. To me, every song was great. And Motown still works, right?
Walter: When I think about how long I’ve been DJing, Motown comes to mind. When I started in the ’80s, that’s the music I played to win the parents over. Nowadays anyone who was listening to the Temptations or Supremes release their newest hits on the radio is up there in years and not on the dancefloor much. So why does that music still work? Because it was timeless and infectious and everyone knows the words to those songs. Berry Gordy knew what he was doing, even if he was a ruthless businessman. “Someday” isn’t a big gig song; The Supremes most danceable tracks are “Stop! In the Name of Love” and “You Can’t Hurry Love.” But “Someday” is so joyous and optimistic.
DJ LIFE: Lyle Lovett’s “If I Had a Boat” [1988]. An artifact from country music’s “Great Credibility Scare” of the late ’80s. I remember that this one attracted the alt-rockers of the day, while leaving the country fans of the day thoroughly confused. Ever-clever tune.
Walter: Clever indeed! That describes most of Lovett’s songs. Here he’s at his cleverest.
DJ LIFE: Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain” [1972]. Another all-time fave. Had the 45 in the 4th grade. Angry pop songs are so great in so many ways.
Walter: The greatest mystery in all of music. Who, if anyone, was she singing about? I hope she takes the answer to her grave.
DJ LIFE: Richard Hell & the Voidoids’ “Blank Generation” [1977]. That era’s punk was really my jam, so I can go on forever about that stuff – this one certainly rates. Still love Hell’s frantic vocals and Robert Quine’s strangled guitar lines. What’s your attraction to this one?
Walter: That goes to the poetry thing. Hell was a poet at heart. Still is. Not sure if you’ve read any of his recent stuff. So lyrically, while most of his contemporaries were screaming inane lyrics – “Beat on the Brat” isn’t exactly high-brow stuff – while trashing away, he was actually putting out some thought-provoking stuff. And “Blank,” for me, encapsulates the whole era, all the anger and apathy, all the hopelessness of a lost, or blank, generation perfectly.
DJ LIFE: Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire” [1963]. Another fairly impeccable artist, in my book. I much prefer many of his other tunes, but to be sure, but this is a good one, and it seems to be one that everyone knows.
Walter: I love that he was singing a song about a passionate romance while still married and so was June who’d written it about him – or did she? – while still married to someone else. Kinda like Lennon masking an affair in “Norwegian Wood.”
DJ LIFE: Radiohead’s “Creep” [1992]. Alt-Rock 101 via The Pixies – soft/loud/soft/loud – with lyrics for the dispossessed. It might’ve been formula by then, but another fun re-listen.
Walter: Another song that perfectly captures the zeitgeist of that time and that generation.
DJ LIFE: Styx’s “Come Sail Away” [1977]. Along with Journey, Styx is one of my least-favorite bands ever, so… I’ll leave this one alone. Like I said, I can be a killjoy.
Walter: It’s not about being a killjoy. Art connects with different people in different ways. I have a specific memory of hearing this song as a 12-year old and having it transport me to a different place – I know that sounds like a drug thing, but it was something even more powerful… young love! So maybe that’s why I love this song so much. But my personal experience with it aside, I do think it’s the best prog-rock song of the ’70s – or at least the most accessible.
DJ LIFE: Your No. 1 tune in the book is Bob Seger’s “Night Moves” [1976]. Interesting choice. I wore this album out in the 8th grade. Always felt like it was Seger’s answer to “Born to Run,” with all the youthful angst and dreams going on. Kinda perfect for 8th grade, come to think of it…
Walter: Yes, and as I point out, it amazes me that Seger, in his young thirties at the time, could tie the aging process into a song about backseat banging so subtly. “With autumn closing in” meant nothing to be when I first the song as a kid. Now that I’m staring down 60, it kicks me in the gut. It’s fantastic songwriting!
DJ LIFE: Your “extra tune,” so to speak, is Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Boxer” [1969]. Seems like their famous 1981 Central Park concert really left a mark on you, right?
Walter: It was my Woodstock. I’ll always be shocked my parents let me sleep out the night before with some older friends. I was about 20 feet from the stage for the show and, yeah, it left a mark.
DJ LIFE: In the magazine and at DJX, we talk about a lot of things – gear, marketing, motivation, etc. – and not always about music and the power of songs. I actually think that sometimes DJs, who are so caught up in all the other facets of DJing, can take music a little bit for granted. Do you think this book might give DJs a bit of a reminder about appreciating the great songs that they play? What should they take from it?
Walter: I don’t agree that DJs take music for granted. But I do think a lot of DJs have a very myopic view of music – either it’ll pack the dancefloor or it’s useless. I saw it again somewhat recently when Bruno Mars released his latest LP. Most DJs I saw who commented on it on Facebook put it through that prism, dismissing the majority of the album as worthless. While I love finding a new banger that will help me get folks dancing, I also love music that I can’t play at gigs. I love music that pumps me up when I’m working out or reminds me of previous heartbreaks or the worthlessness of violence, etc. So, hopefully, this book will remind DJs that music has more than just that one purpose and we can enjoy the non-danceable songs in our own time.
DJ LIFE: To finish up, what are Mike Walter’s five favorite dancefloor Tunes to play?
Walter: To play at events: “September,” “Yeah!” “Uptown Funk,” “I Wanna Dance with Somebody,” and “Mr. Brightside.”
DJ LIFE: And to dance to?
Walter: Prince’s “Erotic City,” Lime’s “Unexpected Lovers,” Madonna’s “Everybody,” Erasure’s “Oh, L’Amour,” and MJ’s “Wanna Be Startin Something.” Also, I made a mix of these and others recently if you wanna hear. Thanks, this was fun.