January 20, 2010
Impulse Decision
I write about music a lot; and for good reason. Like so many people, I adore music, and no matter what I’m doing, music is either coloring or being colored by my circumstance. And like so many people, after a hitherto existence’s worth of hearing, loving, learning, and exploring hundreds of thousands of songs, trying to narrow it down to a single favorite song is impossible. The question hardly even makes sense. When asked, my weight shifts back onto my heels ever so slightly as I cock my head slightly and stare back blankly. It’s like being asked your favorite letter of the alphabet or the best breath you’ve ever taken.
With that in mind, I decided to narrow it down to five instead of one, which somehow seems slightly less absurd. Though being asked your five favorite letters or your twenty best breaths would seem even more foolish than narrowing it down to one, so that analogy just crumbled before my eyes. Moving on.
Five songs. I mulled over it for a while and tried to dig deep into my musical past and think of songs that have really influenced me one way or another, even if it’s not a song that I still listen to every few days. Weighing my options. Immediately disavowing anything from the past 2 or 3 years. Reavowing a few of those. Narrowing a list of 50 songs down to 65. Getting nowhere.
So, I decided to give myself five minutes to make my decision. That’s a minute a song; more than ample. And what do you know, I had no problems at all coming up with them. Naturally, after I was done I still had some doubts, but as I looked back over the list, it was completely feasible that it’s exactly what I would have come up with if I’d spent hours intently mulling over my 8,000 song library and past 3 years of Last.fm listening history.
But before you read my list – or at the very least immediately following it – I want you to do the same. Within the span of 300 seconds, come up with five (5) songs, and leave them in a comment. Make no mistake, the instant you hit submit, you’ll have a pang of remorse as you suddenly remember one that you’d forgotten to mention. Tomorrow, you’ll think back and realize that you were completely wrong, and out of those five songs, only one really belongs there. But it’s Ok; we’re all in the same boat here.
So, without further ado, I give you my five favorite songs (as of 9:45pm on Jan 20, 2010) (Click a song to listen to it on last.fm).
100 Years by Five For Fighting
Politik by Coldplay
Read My Mind by The Killers
On & Off Again by Sondre Lerche
Stop This Train by John Mayer
Alright, that’s your cue.
1) Main theme to Edward Scissorhands.
2) Hedwig’s Theme from HP (I tortured myself over whether or not to make this my ringtone for fear of coming to hate it, but I love the tinkling bells so much, I risked it.)
3) Butterflies, MJ
4) At Last, Etta James
5) Winter, Allegro Non Molto by Vivaldi
No thoughts or regrets necessary.
Oh snap… Edward Scissorhands and Winter are both favorites of mine too.
1. name – goo goo dolls
2. hold- saves the day
3. long december – counting crows
4. made her stay – sarah lou richards
5. challengers – new pornographers
Let It Be Me – Ray Lamontagne
Trouble Won’t Go – Enter the Worship Circle
Shame – Matchbox Twenty
Black Girl – Talib Quali
Anna Begins – Counting Crows
This list would be completely different if I did it tomorrow.
The Killers – “All These Things that I’ve Done”
Me’Shell Ndegeocello – “Bitter”
Vienna Teng – “Daughter”
Derek Webb – “A New Law”
Death Cab for Cutie – “Transatlanticism”
Also, your “submit” button is weirdly sexualized. I know you probably didn’t mean it that way, but damn.
Shit! I’m sorry, but please remove Derek Webb and replace it with Kate Nash’s “Mouthwash” (thereby illustrating the very point you were making). :)
Hah! I’m not sure if you meant for me to actually go in and change your comment, but I’m sorry, Brittany; the comment stays. for all practical purposes, though, consider your list altered.
Low Rising – The Swell Season
Overlap-Ani DiFranco
In Other Words- Ben Kweller
Wonderwall- Ryan Adams
Its Alright Ma I’m Only Bleeding-Bob Dylan
As of this minute, ask me in a week and they would be different. But that is the point right? Who can say where or with whom they will be 10,000 breaths from now. Doesn’t what you are feeling right this minute count for something? It should.
Hi Caleb! So…
1) ‘American Pie’ by Don McLean
2) ‘Someone to Watch Over Me’ by Ella Fitzgerald
3) ‘In Your Eyes’ by Peter Gabriel
4) ‘Wish You Were Here’ by Pink Floyd
5) ‘Against All Odds’ by Phil Collins
That WAS hard!
This is a good one, yo. Classic.
Thanks for the feedback, everyone! Maybe we should all do this again in a month or so and see how different our lists are?
I’m not sure how I missed this post. Oh wait, it’s because I’m a non-blogging bum.
That aside, and after much deliberation, here’s my list:
‘Letting the Cables Sleep‘ – Bush
‘Love of My Life‘ – Queen
‘Be Here Now‘ – Ray Lamontagne
‘Last Goodbye‘ – Jonny Lang
‘A Tout Le Monde‘ – Megadeth
A couple of notes on this list: firstly, that last one was in tough competition with ‘Cold as Ice‘ by Foreigner and ‘A Secret Place‘ by Megadeth (slipped them in!), but I had to go with a song with more memories attached. Secondly, I surprised myself by not adding anything from Jamie Cullum on the list, noting that while he’s one of my top five artists of all time, his music doesn’t dominate on a song-by-song basis. I just love his sound, style and music in general.
I will not apologize for adding a Megadeth song to my top 5.
(click the links to listen to each song on grooveshark)
Cielo Liquido (Liquid Sky) – Blue Universe
Everything Has Changed – William Fitzsimmons
Happiness By the Kilowatt – City and Colour
Save Him – Justin Nozuka
Medicine – Guster
Am I the only one who classifies music according to what season it reminds me of?
I miss your posts.
Found this looking for a link to Low Rising by the Swell Season… it made me smile, since I asked this same question last year.
http://kickinitatwork.blogspot.com/2010/07/hard-questions.html
Wish you were here-pink Floyd
Ain’t no sunshine-bill Withers
Soul to squeeze-red hot chili Peppers
We will rock you-Queen
Tears in heaven-eric Clapton