So I got sent one of those facebook memes (25 things, 10 favorite albums, etc.) today, but this time I’m actually Patient One because (at least in this iteration) the particular subject originated with my friend. This one is 25 songs from your iPod on shuffle, with comments either about (or inspired by) each one.
Being the person that I am, I was intrigued and couldn’t help but undertake the task myself. Since this is (on occasion) a blog about music, I figured I might as well post the results here, too.
BTW, there are two reasons why I pretty much love all these songs and there are no major embarrassments. First, I got lucky. Second, the set of music on the iPod is pretty limited. It’s only 8 gigs and I actually use it mostly to listen to podcasts so I don’t really put any music on there that I’m not going to actively want to listen to.
1. American Girl – Tom Petty
One of my favorite Petty songs. And it still sounds great after 30+ years. I love his comment that this song sold more 12-string guitars than anything, except it was actually just two regular six-string ones.
2. Song For Kelly Huckaby – Death Cab for Cutie
I appreciate a lot of the stuff Ben Gibbard has done in the last five years, and I’m happy these guys are making some money. But I have to say I’ll never love the band even close to as much since they abandoned the lo-fi sound of those first records.
3. Sleeping Aides And Razorblades – Exploding Hearts
I really can’t get enough of this song. It’s everything that punk music is supposed to be – catchy, raucous, snide. And it’s a perfect mixture of the joy of music and the pain of a broken heart.
4. The Piano Song – Carissa’s Wierd
I still get sad that there’s no more Carissa’s Wierd. If there’s any band in the world that I feel like is mine and mine alone, it’s them.
5. Piazza, New York Catcher – Belle and Sebastian
This one was on Peter’s list, too. So I’ll just quote him: “Mike Piazza doesn’t get enough credit as a guy who destroyed pitching in the 90’s and early 2000’s and probably wasn’t juiced. The best offensive catcher ever. Also, probably gay.”
6. Saint Simon – The Shins
I actually think Chutes Too Narrow is quite a bit better than Oh, Inverted World. This song is part of the reason why. The orchestral bridge really does it for me.
7. Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space – Spiritualized
I saw Spiritualized in San Francisco last fall. They were horrible. I’m sure there was music in there somewhere but all I heard was ear-splitting noise. Which makes it all the more incredible that they’re responsible for this song: which is incredibly beautiful.
8. Coming In From the Cold – The Delgados
One of my all-time favorite songs. If there’s an indie-rock Hall of Fame, this song deserves a prominent plaque.
9. My City of Ruins – Bruce Springsteen
There’s a version of him playing this song about a week after 9/11. It’s just Bruce and his guitar and you can just see in his eyes and the little quavers of his voice how much it hurts. He wrote it about a neighborhood falling apart but I’m not sure it would be possible to write a better song about 9/11.
“Now’s there’s tears on the pillow, darling where we slept
And you took my heart when you left
Without your sweet kiss my soul is lost, my friend
Tell me how do I begin again?
My city’s in ruins”
10. Everything I Try to Do, Nothing Turns Out Right – Decemberists
From the Billy Liar EP, this is actually one of my favorite songs by them. Partly because it represents the type of songs they used to write before they got so caught up in this thematic-rock stuff. It’s personal, heartfelt, and honest in a way that we just aren’t trained to expect in music.
11. Zolpidem – The Sinister Turns
It’s fitting this made the list because I’ve been listening to this song a LOT recently. It’s irresistible in the way only the very best songs can manage – where you can hear two seconds and instantly need to listen to the whole thing.
12. Elevator Love Letter – Stars
I’m not sure it’s possible to write a better pop song. This is easily in my all-time top 10, probably in the top 5. It shimmers and dances and just absolutely breaks your heart. Every time.
13. Emma Blowgun’s Last Stand – Beulah
That first Beulah album was absolute genius. I love the intro to this song. Well over two minutes before the horns kick in. It feels like the first day that feels like spring after a long winter.
14. Blankets Stare – Carissa’s Weird
The live version from the I Before E album, where they actually kind of rock out for the last minute. The only thing I wish had been different about them was that they very seldom let their hair down like that.
15. Kurt – Dan Bern
Dan Bern is at his best on songs like this, when he’s not trying too hard to be goofy or to play some character. I think it pretty well captures how a whole lot of people felt when they heard that Cobain died.
Blank – another Carissa’s Wierd song. As much as I love them, three seems like a bit much for a list like this.
16. Violets of Dawn – Eric Andersen
Sort of the American version of Donovan. I used to check out CDs from the library – pretty much anything that looked remotely interesting. I heard this song in the middle of song random “folk songs of the 60s” record. I didn’t much care for any of the rest of them, but this one really entranced me. It’s subject to every cliché about early 60s folk, but I don’t care.
17. Closing Time – Semisonic
I’ve been going through a period of 90s reminiscence lately. I spent like three hours just watching old videos of 90s songs I hadn’t heard in years on youtube just the other day. In retrospect I’ve outgrown a lot of the music I loved at the time. But not this song, which is legitimately great and fully deserving of its popularity. I remember being at DDI in the summer of 1998 and EVERYONE was listening to this one.
18. Buildings and Bridges – Ani DiFranco
Ani has gone through many incarnations, but I don’t think any will ever be better than the original one when it was just her and her guitar.
19. The Iditarod – Birdmonster
Good old fashioned rock and roll still leaves and breathes in the 21st century.
20. Living Room – Tegan and Sara
The first Tegan and Sara song I really fell in love with. They don’t get nearly enough credit from the music-snob crowd because the story sounds too cute, but the Quin sisters have a lot of really great songs.
21. Dead – They Might Be Giants
Flood is easily my favorite TMBG album. I remember when I was first introduced to it. It was really like one of those cartoon eureka moments when I suddenly discovered that it was possible to make music like this. It was also in the midst of a summer at the GDI when the rest of the lab was incessantly playing MMMbop…
22. American Tune – Paul Simon
I’ve never been all that big on Paul Simon’s solo career (Graceland being the one HUGE exception), but I really love this song. It’s so perfectly 70s. After all the commotion and hope and dreams of the 60s had faded, and the various crises of the new decade were setting in, people were left wondering “well, what now?”
23. Hey Bulldog – The Beatles
I was worried The Beatles wouldn’t make it on here. What is there to say really? I ranked this as my 64th favorite Beatles song, which of course means that I love it. Those escalating pounded riffs that kick things off are my favorite part of the song.
24. Providence Is – Mighty Mighty Bosstones
Rumor has it the Bosstones have a new record coming out this year. That would be great. Their run of albums in the 90s matches up pretty well against anyone else that decade.
25. Disconnected – Face to Face
One of my all time favorite punk songs.
What’s your 25 songs?