Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Songs I never skip

....Well, almost never. There are certain songs that make me stop everything and listen, every time. Some are catchy, some are bluesy, some are sad, some are funny, some are just plain weird. Here are the top 10:

1) "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" (Led Zeppelin) - this one is easy. It's my favorite song from my favorite band. That doesn't mean it's the best song ever, or the most profound...just my favorite. It's hypnotic, and it's devastating, and I love every second of it.

2) "Let Me Take You Home Tonight" (Boston) - I love singing the hell out of this song in my car. That's pretty much it. It's fun. That goes for pretty much every song on Boston's first album (especially "Peace of Mind").

3) "The Hat" (Ingrid Michaelson) - pure catchy joy, and bittersweet lyrics to underscore the lightness. I adore Ingrid. Her song "Die Alone" just slays me.

4) "Chariots Rise" (Lizzie West) - purely for its inclusion in one of my favorite movies, Secretary. This song plays during the film's brilliant, heart-achingly romantic denouement. I swoon every time. [Interesting fact: the original lyrics are "What a fool am I to fall so in love," but they were changed for the movie to "What grace have I to fall so in love." The song is gorgeous either way.]

5) "Let It Rain" (OK Go) - it's the "hallelujah"s. And the simple, yet somehow intricate-sounding guitar melody. I love irregular rhythms. And I love, love, love this band.

6) "Nothing Better" (The Postal Service) - I'm a sucker for a good male-female duet, and this one's a doozy. It's sad and wistful and sweet and like eavesdropping on an intimate conversation.

7) "Fireflies" (Rhett Miller & Rachael Yamagata) - another male-female duet, this one featuring two of my favorite singers singing to each other about youth, love, and letting go. Absolutely lovely.

8) "Somebody to Love" (Queen) - another one that I have to sing at the top of my lungs in my car. I love the theatricality of Queen's music. Freddie Mercury was a true star. And hey, can anybody find me somebody to love? Pretty please?

9) "Traffic and Weather" (Fountains of Wayne) - sexy and funny. FoW know how to paint a picture of the most absurd, random situation and make it hilarious and instantly identifiable. I mean, come on, "We belong together like traffic and weather"? That's ingenious!

10) "Jackie, Dressed in Cobras" (The New Pornographers) - I'm 85% sure that this is all gibberish, but the song is crazy and fun, and I sing along to every nonsensical word of it (that I can understand). Plus: more irregular rhythms!

Of course, these unskippable songs change every now and then, and I left off a bunch of songs that I enjoy pretty much every time they come up on Shuffle (such as "Marie Provost" (Nick Lowe), "Breathe Me" (Sia), "Can't Change Me" (Chris Cornell), "Creep" (Radiohead), "Suicidal Dream" (Silverchair), and "Miss Murder" (AFI)).

What songs make you stop and listen?

2 comments:

Gail Dixon said...

Creep, definitely. You have good taste.

Smells Like Teen Spirit, Come as You Are and Lithium. I loved those songs the instant I heard them and I still have mad love for them. Would never skip over them. Ever.

Possom Kingdom. Remember The Toadies? I really don't know what the hell it's about, but I am inexplicably drawn to this song.

In The End by Linkin Park. I don't know why, but I am always happy when it comes up on shuffle and if I'm interrupted for any reason, I have to start it over.

New faves are: I Will Possess Your Heart by Death Cab, Psycho by Puddle of Mudd and Aly, Walk With Me by The Raveonettes (thank YOU!).

I have many, many more, but those immediately come to mind.

Gail Dixon said...

Ooops, PossUM Kingdom.