One of my favorite music bloggers over at Perfect Midnight World recently shared the top ten songs he'd bring along in the unlikely event of being stranded on a desert island. I decided to play along.
In no particular order...
- "Forty-six and Two" by Tool - I tend to prefer entire Tool albums over single songs, but this is perhaps my favorite in terms of music and lyrics.
- "La Cienega Just Smiled" by Ryan Adams - I could easily make entire top ten's picked from the musical eras of DRA's career. La Cienega represents the period of my life at the turn of the millennium when I discovered his work and began a sweeping internal transformation that redefined my taste in music.
- "Growing Old is Getting Old" by The Silversun Pickups - I fear getting old and dying,
which makes me a gerascophobe of sorts. This is the prettiest, most realistic take on the subject I've ever heard. It gives me hope. - "Rearviewmirror" by Pearl Jam - This band will always have a special place in my heart. I alternate between hot and cold on a lot of their catalog, but the first three albums represent the music that defined my stake of generational territory. Currently I'm feeling this track the most.
- "Dreamer" by Tiny Vipers - Jesy Fortino's style isn't always accessible. However, this song kills me every time I hear it. The subtle chord change and jarring conclusion always wear me down like I've just spent the day watching PTA's Magnolia over and over, but in the best way possible.
- "Puncture in the Radak Permutation" by Stereolab - Another song that opened new musical doors for me. When I got my first decent NAD amp and floor speakers—which I still use today—I would blast this as loud as my neighbors would tolerate and get lost in the magic that happens two minutes and twenty seconds in.
- "Pompeii" by Sleater-Kinney - I'm a sucker for powerful female vocal performances and Corin Tucker destroys it here. I listened to this album a lot while onboard the USS Alabama, but I still get fired up every time I hear this.
- "To the Lighthouse" by Patrick Wolf - A hauntingly beautiful song. Absolutely perfect in every way.
- "Maybe Sparrow" by Neko Case - This always reminds me of autumn and the reasons why it's my favorite season. There's a lyric in Young Galaxy's "Youth is Wasted on the Young" that goes, "I wouldn't mind dying at all if it weren't for the songs I'd miss". The is one of those songs.
- "Drunkship of Lanterns" by The Mars Volta - I don't even know what to say about this other than it encapsulates everything I love about...well, just about everything. Quite possibly my favorite song of all time.
