My Top 2000 Songs #1036: Don't Come Around Here No More

An admittedly unlikely Tom Petty pick. Of all the artists who should decide, hey, let's give psychedelia a shot!, Petty would be near the bottom. And then throw that lone psychedelic-flavored song onto what was supposed to be a concept album about the South and... yeah, it's got tragic misfire written all over it.

But turns out to be a pretty decent song. Trippy percussion and sitar and Petty at his most menacing.

Of course, it's all about the video, which was on MTV seemingly every 5 minutes back in 1985. If you're a wasted college kid vegging out in front of the dorm tv, and that twisted Alice in Wonderland video pops up, you're all in. Whether you're high or hungover or just a little tired, you're gonna sit there and watch Petty in his Mad Hatter gear for the millionth time and still be pretty down with it. Arguably the Petty song I'm least likely to feel inclined to throw on to a Petty playlist, yet still thoroughly ingrained in my being.

Live 2006: