Not a Dry Eye in the House (RIP Meat Loaf)

It seems to me that one of the things Mr. Loaf aspired to be was different, to be an outlier among the top 40 with operatic bombast and radio edits running 5 minutes or more in the latter days, and I admire that. About seven months ago, upon the death of his longtime collaborator and songwriter Jim Steinman, I wrote about what is probably my favorite Meat Loaf song, "Objects in the Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer Than They Are." Another favorite, "Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through," a reverent ode to the music that gets us through this world, is in my current playlist and in the top 3 on my rolling Last.fm chart.

I want to give a nod to a deeper cut, a latter day single that flopped in the U.S., peaking at #82, but did manage #7 in the U.K. For 1995 album Welcome to the Neighborhood, which followed up the incredible comeback of Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell, there were only two Steinman songs in the mix, and Mr. Loaf turned to venerable songwriter Diane Warren for a couple of tracks which would be the first two singles.

The lead single, "I'd Lie for You (And That's the Truth)," seems a rather thinly veiled rewrite and lesser imitation of the massive Bat II hit "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)." I'll argue that had it not been the lead single with big expectations hanging over it, the song might not have tainted the top 40 (it made #13 in the U.S. and #2 in the U.K.).

But second single "Not a Dry Eye in the House" is, for my ears, one of the best tunes Mr. Loaf ever turned out; it's all high drama and hooks and beautifully produced. I love the bridge (Act 1 … The story's just begun! Act 2 … I fell in love with you!) and the gentle fade-out.

It would be his last charted Hot 100 single in the U.S. (prior to his death, of course), and a fitting curtain call.

Music that moved me in 2021

This year was more fun musically than last, I’d say, with interesting things going on like Elton John and ABBA going to the top of the charts again.

One of the pleasant surprises of the year was Duran Duran’s Future Past, a stunningly good album that begs the question of where their muse has been in the last 20-plus years. Released in October, Future Past ends up as my #2 album for the year but may ultimately have more impact in 2022 as the songs work through my playlist. The Durans are often at their best with downbeat numbers, and the song “Future Past” is probably my favorite since the extraordinary singles “Ordinary World” and “Come Undone” resuscitated them way back in the first half of the ‘90s.

Here’s a look at how some of the songs released in or near 2021 placed in my top 100, which includes songs old and new and is based on play counts as monitored by Last.fm:

#1 Be the One • Dua Lipa // It was a very Dua Lipa kind of year, and this single from her previous album emerged as my favorite apart from her Elton John collaboration. She has kind of taken on the Queen of Pop role that Gaga squandered over the last few albums. Lipa is also in the top 100 at #21 with “Hallucinate” and #74 with “We’re Good,” and she finishes as the #7 artist of the year.

#2 Anyone • Justin Bieber // Bieber has really carved a niche with melancholy and evocative grooves like this and “Sorry.” Dance with me under the diamonds / See me like breath in the cold is one of my favorite lyrics of the year.

#15 Got Me • Laura Mvula // The British R&B singer delivered one of the most interesting singles of the year. Its groove continually makes me think of Billy Ocean’s “When the Going Gets Tough,” in a good way.

#32 Unwanted • Rick Astley // Suggests Astley should still be making albums of danceable pop.

#38 Cold Heart (Pnau Remix) • Elton John & Dua Lipa // It’s hard to describe what this is — sort of a dance remix of 1989 ballad hit “Sacrifice,” (which by happenstance topped my rolling chart last year), wrapped in a very clever mashup with “Rocket Man,” “Kiss the Bride” and “Where’s the Shoorah?” It’s brilliant, but I wonder if it could have been even more so with a bridge somewhere in the second half. It had the longest run at #1 on my rolling chart and would have finished higher if it had come along earlier in the year.

#39 Free Woman • Lady Gaga // Sometimes a song works better outside the context of its album, and I have found that to be true for some of the tunes from the rather monochramatic Chromatica.

#48 Magic • Kylie Minogue // Kylie’s Disco album is surprisingly not particularly disco, sounding instead like just another pop album, really. There’s nothing anywhere near the disco-ness of Kylie oldie “Your Disco Needs You.” Nevertheless, the single “Magic” lived up to its name.

#53 Don’t Shut Me Down • ABBA // The new album Voyage is solid if not the mind-blower we were hoping for after all this time, right? The lovely ballad “I Still Have Faith In You” also makes it in at #89.

#57 Golden • Harry Styles // Not a name I would expect in my top 100, and he gets here by evoking a style of music that was never my cup of tea, but it works beautifully.

#68 Your Fandango • Sparks & Todd Rundgren // The incomparable combination of wit and musicianship that is Sparks ushered in the first time ever that I’ve played Rundgren. Love the castanets and the unmitigated glee of the insanity going on here.

#80 Golden G String • Miley Cyrus // My interest in Cyrus’ outstanding Plastic Hearts album carried over into ’21 enough to make it the #1 album of the year and Cyrus the #9 artist of the year, which opened with synth masterpiece “Midnight Sky” sitting at #1 on my first rolling chart of ’21. The raucous “Night Crawling (feat. Billy Idol)” also makes the year-ender at #98.

#81 Once I Saw the River Clean • Morrissey // The Mozzer never quite fades away, and the electronic sheen on recent album I Am not a Dog on a Chain was a welcome complement to his eccentric songs.

What’s so hot about the Hot 100? // We have three points of crossover this time, up from one last year. These minor miracles are:

— Save Your Tears • The Weeknd // #2 Billboard; #26 Me

— Anyone • Justin Bieber // #74 Billboard; #2 Me

— We’re Good • Dua Lipa // #90 Billboard; #74 Me

A close call was Ritt Momney’s “Put Your Records On,” a quirky cover of the Corrine Bailey Rae song that got inside my head but finished a bit outside my 100 while landing at #93 in Billboard, despite getting no higher than #30 on the Hot 100 weeklies.

Go here to view prior years' recaps.