Well,
I've said I may want to talk about music occaisionally on this blog,
and since I can't get up the energy to talk about Star Trek (spoiler,
it is enjoyable but I can't separate actual film quality from
fanservice) or After Earth (still too disappointed), I figure
offering a little back information that gives a little insight to my
music taste might be handy.
The
best way I can think of to give some idea where my taste in music
lies is to give a list of my favorite songs with short reasoning for
each of them.
I
love this song because not only does it make me laugh, it makes me
happy to be myself. It is this testament to something I like about
myself: Thriftiness. I love a lot of Macklemore's music, I find it
filled with a uniquely positive attitude that actually stands for
something. It is uplifting in an honest and realistic way. It doesn't
feel trite. I would have never found his music if not for this song
and I still haven't tired of it. I listen to it and I swear it is
just as funny as the first time I heard it. It isn't his best song,
but it is near and dear to my heart. Also, that awesome sax riff is
my hero.
I
love this song. It is listed as my favorite song in my senior book
(small towns do awesome stuff like give seniors a whole page in a
book every senior gets to take home for free). I think it is one of
the most beautiful and truthful love songs ever written. We all fight
with our significant others from time to time, but there is something
that is almost religious about finding a perfect moment of clarity
about your special someone. This song captures those moments of
spiritual clarity perfectly and is beautiful to boot.
Yes,
I am a self confessed lover of 80's hair metal, and as much as they
tried to escape it, that is definitely what GNR is. I love a good
political tune, and this one is especially poignant, I think the
woman in the intro is really why I love the song so much. That little
bit sets the mood of anger and resistance and futility so well. Gives
me goosebumps. Also of note, it is the only GNR tune I still listen
too frequently.
Well.
. .I don't know if I can explain this one decently enough to make any
of you forgive me. . . as my father has often told me it is just
rude to admit you like George Micheal. People really do go nuts about
him being untalented. . .but the truth is I think he is fantastic, or
was fantastic before all the legal troubles. That said this song yet
again makes me insanely happy. It is the best car singing song in the
world. I think most of us are hopeless dreamers at heart, and this
song totally caters to the idea that by believing in something we
make it more real, make it more likely. . .I am choosing to believe
that after reading this one you didn't instantly loose respect for my
taste in music.
I
know that if Faith didn't sour your disposition this one probably
will, but gosh-darn-it before everyone started complaining about
whiny emo/scene music this band was really cool. In my opinion this
album still is really cool. I love how snarky and verbose they are.
They get vindictive really well, and honestly I have a bit of a
vengeful streak. I purge it by listening to their biting commentary
on love gone wrong and then watching The Boondock Saints.
Okay,
I need to regain my legitimacy now. I love Carole King. Tapestry is
in my top five best albums of all time. This song is my favorite off
of that album and it is the single best song about loving yourself
ever written. Where other songs are about how other people hurt you
and you have to work past it, this song is just saying life is hard,
but if you believe in yourself you can make yourself one of the
better parts of it. It is perfect and everyone should listen to it
while getting ready in the morning. I do.
Yes
it is a Disney song. It is fantastic. It is SIR Elton John people. If
he and Phil Collins can both agree that Disney is an appropriate
venue to express talent then you should rethink your stance against
these classics. This song is epic. This is how I want to believe in
love. Breaking down boundaries, making us all the same. The most
powerful force in the world. Hell yeah!
So
RENT changed my life. Really. It is a big part of what moved me to be
an LGBT activist. La Vie Bohemme is the anthem for every misfit and
deviant that ever lived. It rouses to action and celebrates
diversity. It is a kind of controversial I can totally get behind and
every lyric rolls off the tongue in this really pleasing staccato
rhythm. It is irresistibly singable and uplifting. This is the first
showtune I learned by heart, the first musical I grew to love as an
adult. Showtunes and learning to love musical theatre has been a
major part of my life and my love of this song is equal parts
meaningful and nostalgia.
This is
the most recently discovered song on my list. I cried the first time
I heard it. I had a deep felt sense of connection to the lyrics and
the sound. It reminds me a great deal of my stepfather who played the
guitar. Maybe it is just that I discovered it as I was entering my
senior year of college but the yearning for meaning, for connection
to something bigger than oneself really hit me hard. I love it, the
lyrics are a work of art that I put up with the best poetry I have
ever read. Go listen if you haven't heard it.
This has
been my favorite song since I was. . .12? Which is weird because I
don't think I had the experience or emotional range to really
appreciate this song at that age. . . but it made me cry for reasons
I didn't understand. Whenever I picture a particularly difficult
scene in a book this song is in the background. It is all about not
knowing how to fix a relationship that is essentially good but has
problems like any other relationship. I like music that is real, that
says something that is hard to express. This song is just chalk full
of ennui. It is my favorite, though another song by Jeff Buckley (his
cover of Hallelujah) does provide challenge. Jeff Buckley died too
young. Go enjoy his awesomeness.
And that is
all my friends, my ten favorite songs. They have fluctuated over the
years, but the top has stayed at the top and most of them have been
somewhere on the list for quite some time. So next time I blog about
music and you don't understand my view maybe this list will help.
I've actually heard all of them :) I'm surprised about that, really--you're really good at coming up with artists and songs I've never even heard of. Generally fantastic, though. Actually . . . I can't think of a song you've shown me that I *haven't* liked . . . So yeah . . . :)
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