What I've really liked
about making this list so far is that, the more I listen to and work
out why I love these songs so much, the more I find I love them. It's
almost as if the conscious decision of calling them my favourite
songs has cemented them into that position. But one thing I can say
for sure is that, no matter how many times I listen to them, the
novelty does not wear off and they do not become boring. I'm am happy
with the songs I've picked and this experience has made them more
dear to me. It is as if we've gone on a long journey together. That
being said, I still wish I could have put some more songs on here,
but that's just how it goes.
And I think because I
had such a rough Summer, dealing with possibly my first real
depression, taking on this project helped me through it simply
because it was a chance to focus on something positive. Negativity
fuels negativity, so it must work the other way too. Thinking of
anything in such a positive light can only fuel positive emotions and
thoughts. Also, working through the memories that these songs have
attached themselves too also lends some reassurance. Yes, life has
had great times and those memories will stay with me. And new good
memories will form and new amazing songs will be found.
So, thank you if you
actually took the time to read it all and listen to all of the music.
I hope you found songs that you enjoy and I hope that maybe you got
to know me a little better through this.
10.) The Alan Parsons
Project – I Robot (1977)
As far back as I can
remember, this song has fascinated me and been a defining marker in
my evolving musical taste. Both my parents were big fans of The Alan
Parsons Project so I had a lot of exposure to their music growing up.
In a sense, they are my Beatles. While so many people grow up knowing
Beatles songs inside and out, I did not, but I know every note in so
many Alan Parsons songs. There is a slight connection in that Alan
Parsons was the engineer on The Beatles Abby Road and runs
Abby Road studios, but that's neither here nor there. They also
marked my introduction to Progressive Rock, as I heard their stuff
long before I heard any Pink Floyd, Yes, or Genesis. I remember
sitting by my Dad's stereo, plugging in the cassette tape, and
listening to I Robot, their second album built on the concepts
from Isaac Asimov's series of books, exploring the philosophical
ideas of artificial intelligence. Man, they sure don't make music
like this any more. The album is extraordinary and I would recommend
it to anyone who even has a mild interest in progressive music.
And the song that
always enraptured me the most was the self-titled opening track. “I
Robot” is one of the finest ways to open an album, starting with a
quiet drone, with small electronic elements fading in. You must
listen to the opening with headphones on in a silent room. It is an
experience like no other. And it perfectly encapsulated the vision of
the album... a science fiction world of synthetic beings rising to
consciousness. And as the song develops, it's almost as if it is
painting a picture of Asimov's universe through music alone, an
auditory portrait of machines, like cogs in a wheel, working
succinctly and endlessly. There are very few songs that capture my
imagination like “I Robot.”
9.) King Crimson –
Neal and Jack and Me (1982)
On the subject of
progressive rock, this is the second song on my list by the guru's of
prog themselves, King Crimson. This time it's their 1980's
incarnation, from their album Beat, a theme album around the
works of the beat poets, including the famous Jack Kerouac and Neal
Cassady, hence the title “Neal and Jack and Me.” This song
captured exactly what that 80's band set out to do and did so well.
Essentially, they made pop music, but with a progressive mind. They
brought in catchy hooks, accessible melodies and reasonable run times
for their songs, but melded them with the technical intricacies of
prog rock. And few songs do this as well as “Neal and Jack and Me.”
Adrian Belew's
curiously quirky lyrics suit the music well and all throughout you
just hear all four of the musicians at the top of their game. You
will never hear all the layers of the song in a single sitting. I
often find that I need to sit and concentrate on a particular section
in order to appreciate it fully and that really is something special.
I like trying to figure out which guitar parts are the work of Robert
Fripp and which of Belew's, but that's me being a music geek. They
blend seamlessly, but you can still take the time to enjoy the song
by listening to its various segments, or, of course, listening to it
as a whole.
And the part of the
song that really sells the song is the final minute and half, which
has so much body and depth. It really takes the song up several
notches. Plus, Belew singing “absent lovers” is infectiously
memorable.
Admittedly, “Neal and
Jack and Me” is a little bit dated, very obviously created in the
1980's, but perhaps the sound of that decade is what helps define the
song. The way the guitars are processed sounds strangely heavenly to
me and I can't imagine that working in any other decade.
8.) The Dears – Lost
In the Plot (2003)
And apparently this is
the highest ranking Canadian song on my list. I didn't even realize
this until now, but it looks like The Dears' “Lost in the Plot”
is my favourite piece of Canadian music. And that seems about right
to me. Their album No Cities Left is a masterpiece of rock
music and this has long been my favourite track from the bunch.
Murray Lightburn is one
of the most soulful singers of our generation. He could have been in
the classic Motown crew if he were born years earlier and didn't have
an obvious talent for writing rock music. His songs can range from
catchy, to edgy, to melancholy, to downright innovative. And
interestingly enough, “Lost In The Plot” to some degree, captures
all of those aspects. As such, the tone is rather hard to peg.
Perhaps that's what makes it so compelling; it is an emotionally
complex love song. While the lyrics aren't too complex, the notes
behind the words speak volumes and the way he sings them speaks even
more.
That's what separates
the great artists from the mediocre ones. If you handed this music
and words to Hedley or Marianas Trench, the result would likely be
completely underwhelming. But in the hands of the The Dears, it is a
rich and spiritual experience. The lyrics are a bit odd at times and
shouldn't work, but again, in this context everything seems right.
And all in all, it's not a fabulously produced song. It's very raw.
But that just emphasizes the strength of the song writing.
I want to say more
about this song... like this isn't enough to express my feelings for
it. The moment it begins with that synthesizer, I get that feeling.
How do I describe it? Like my body is preparing for something great.
I suppose it's kind of like a drug. My brain gets an indication of a
reward and begins to crave it. This is a drug I can get behind.
7.) Minus The Bear –
Get Me Naked 2: Electric Boogaloo (2002)
This was another case
where I wasn't expecting this song to be this high in the list, but I just kept
thinking that it deserved to be higher and now here we are near the
end of the list. I guess I underestimated this song. This somehow
feels right.
Minus The Bear's Highly
Refined Pirates is a brilliant debut album from a band that have
remained high on my interest radar for many years. But nothing beats
that first album. And one of the best selling points is this track,
“Get Me Naked 2: Electric Boogaloo.” The other songs are just as
equally ridiculous in how they're titled, so this track isn't special
in that regard. But it does have many other elements that make it
work.
Structurally, the track
does some interesting things, including having a long introduction as
well as an extended finale. This is one of the only songs of theirs
that has a female background singer, and it works strangely well.
There is something about those little touches that add a lot to the
overall song. But by far, one of the best aspects of this song are
the lyrics. They are quotable and catchy and even offer some insight
into life and the bizarreness of it sometimes. I actually once wrote
a short story based on some lyrical bits of this song, so it actually
really inspired me. The line is “Don't say no to pills, atavan
won't kill.” And from that I build a short story about a patient in
a mental ward.
The unique guitar sound
featured in this song, as well as most of the others in the album, is
a result of their double tapping technique which actually services
the song fairly well, giving the band another memorable feature,
setting them apart from many of their peers.
6.) Interpol – PDA
(2002)
Interpol are one of the
best rock bands to come out of the 2000's. And even if they only had
one album, I feel that statement wouldn't lose its validity. They
crafted a rock masterpiece with their debut album Turn on the
Bright Lights and it has remained a prize in my music collection.
My favourite track is
the finely tuned and intricate “PDA.” It is amazing. It has a
tight, raw energy to it, an intensity like you're strapped into the
passengers side of a speeding car on a highway. There is a compelling
dark undertone to during the verses that contrasts the slightly
lighter chorus. The lyrics imply that you should sleep tight, but the
energy of the song provides unrest. There is also something great
about the voice of singer Paul Banks. His voice is very raw which is
quite different from most of his work in future Interpol songs. I
think that he underestimates how good that unprocessed sound is. It
does make for an amount of ambiguity as to what the lyrics actually
are in the chorus (“sleep tight, grim right?”), but the sound
matches the music perfectly.
Not unlike “Neal and
Jack and Me,” the highlight of this song is the final two minutes.
It's a great song from the start, but the song takes a musical turn
and becomes an instrumental that just builds and builds. The guitar
chords and riffs that they link together fit so well and just sound
magnificent. And the best part is the background synthesizer that
adds that extra amount of depth as well as the background vocal part
that's difficult to make out, but brings an extra emotional element
to the music. It all works so well, I could just listen to that last
two minutes (One minute, fifty to be exact) over and over again. And
I often do.
Watch out for the music
video of this song because, for whatever reason, it cuts out that
last finale to the song. It might seem like a logical end point to
people who don't know the song, but anyone familiar might find
themselves unfulfilled and wanting more. I don't believe in breaking
up a masterpiece. They go it right the first time, dammit.
5.) Tears For Fears –
Head Over Heels (1985)
It's hard to go wrong
with Tears For Fears, a duo of hit makers in the mid-80's, best known
for “Shout” and “Everybody Wants to Rule the World.” I do
enjoy those hits, particular the latter, but it wasn't until much
later that I heard another single from the same album, Songs From
The Big Chair. And I really enjoyed “Head Over Heels” and the
more time I take with the song, the more I enjoy it. In fact, I loved
it more when I heard it in context with the album. I wonder why this
one never got the same long lasting attention as the other two when
it's clearly just as great a track.
This was actually one
of the first vinyl records I owned. I was just starting to get into
collecting records and I just stumbled upon it in Value Village. I
looked it over and it was in good condition and I picked it up for
$2.00. I was pleased as punch and taking it home and dropping the
needle on the record was a strangely satisfying experience. And it
was the first time I heard “Head Over Heels” in this context. It
follows a track called “Broken” which shares a lot of melodic
elements as this song so hearing them side by side made for a new and
exciting experience. And then, to cap it off, “Head Over Heels”
had a Coda of “Broken” at the end to sort of round out the songs
and unify them. It was a really interesting way to structure the
album and it made me appreciate the song that much more.
The selling point to
this song is the bass which carries the song from beginning to end.
It is just a delight in its groove and light-hearted charm. I just
want to bop my head to it every time... and by want to, I mean that I
do. I can't help it. It is well balanced with a piano ditty, glossy
synth, and that great Tears For Fears vocal performance from Curt
Smith. It's a well written, sharply produced, and full realized song
that builds perfectly on great musical ideas.
4.) Daft Punk –
Digital Love (2001)
Surely you must have
known Daft Punk was going to be on this list at some point. Truth is,
their album Discovery, is one of my favourite albums ever and
picking a single song off of it was actually surprisingly difficult.
It raised the bar of electronic music and everyone has been trying to
meet that marker ever since. Hell, even Daft Punk haven't really been
able to best themselves, which is probably why they never really
tried and took their music in a decidedly different direction. There
really is something magical about that album.
So, why “Digital
Love” out of all the tracks? Well, one reason is that it was one of
the first tracks I heard from the album and really pushed me to buy
it. But ultimately, I went with the song that I had the most
emotional attachment to. So many other songs are just as amazing
musically, but not many of them have that emotional punch to them,
and maybe they're not supposed to. But “Digital Love” tells the
tale of a man waking up from a dream where he found love on the dance
floor, only to feel lost without that love when it turns out never to
have been real. And while the story is surprisingly simple and may
even sound cheesy, I connect with it all too much. In fact, around
the time that I found this song I actually had the very dream he
described. I was a a school dance and found myself dancing with a
girl I really cared for. It felt real and wonderful. And I remember
waking up and the great disappointment and sadness that fell on me.
I'm sure most lonely men feel it at some point; I doubt I'm unique.
But I feel that adds legitimacy to the song's simple tale. It
something we can connect to.
Of course, it also
doesn't hurt that this is also a pretty cool dance song. It samples
an old lame disco track and makes the best of the best part of that
song. And it builds into something really cool. And near the end it
breaks into an excellent electric guitar solo which is still
something you don't hear too often in electronic music. It also
leaves the song on a more positive note, giving the feeling of
excitement and optimism.
“Digital Love” is
just a magnificent song that takes you on a dream like journey,
through sad memories into musical bliss.
3.) Depeche Mode –
Enjoy The Silence (1990)
Back in the late 90's,
I went through a phase where I would listen to the radio on my newly
acquired CD player and use the cassette deck to record songs to
listen to over and over. I still have most of these tapes somewhere
in a box and I still use the CD player because miraculously, 15 years
later, it still works great. How many iPods can you say that about?
One day I stumbled upon
this song on the radio and I promptly recorded it, but never caught
the name of the artist. I think I caught the title though. But it was
a favourite to listen to for quite a while. It was unlike anything
else on the radio at the time, likely because it wasn't really
current for the year. I don't even remember how I figured out this
was Depeche Mode, but at some point my brother picked up the album
Violator and this was on it. And that album shows them to be a
band capable of so much greatness, but at times settling for less.
And that's how I feel about their career as a whole. Some wonderful
highlights, but some fluff to sift through. It goes without saying
that “Enjoy The Silence” is one of the high points and was one
that just continued to stick with me. It's as good now as it was when
I was 12 years old.
“Enjoy the Silence” is carried by a throbbing electronic beat,
with layers of eerie synthesizer on top. The guitar is thick with
reverb, and moves through an ingenious riff. Dave
Gahan's vocals are deep and wavy, and service the song in its
solemn objective. He is joined by female back up singers during the
song's chorus, which shows that well placed back up vocals can go a
long way, just as they did in the Minus The Bear song earlier. The
music builds as the song moves into its finale and horn parts are
incorporated, which is another extra touch that sets this song a few
notches higher. I really enjoy the long conclusion.
But what I love the
most about this track is the sentiment it carries. Sometimes it is
just nice to enjoy the silence. There are times where I find myself
in a situation where it's eerily quiet, which is something I'm not
very used to as I live in a big city. And when that happens, the line
“enjoy the silence” plays in my head and that encourages me to
absorb the quiet atmosphere and revel it in a bit more. The song is
more about getting entangled in words that can do harm in a
relationship, and I appreciate that too. Sometimes I need to know
when to shut my mouth or at least choose my words very carefully.
Surely we've all found ourselves lost in our own words.
2.) Joy Division –
Love Will Tear Us Apart (1980)
I first heard this song
in the movie Donnie Darko and, like many of the songs on the
soundtrack, I fell in love with it. (“Head Over Heels” was also
in that film.) But I don't think I fully understood how much I would
connect with the song for a while. I liked it, but every time I heard
it, I would like it more and more. And to this day, it remains ever
potent and ever relevant. I even have found new things to love about
it. Only while writing this review for it I realized that Ian Curtis
had a very odd voice. He's not particularly 'good' singer, but man,
he sounds so real and honest. There is something so compelling about
his strange vocal choices. He never really tries to be a 'good'
singer. He just sings.
And that must be part
of the appeal behind this song. It seems relatively unambitious, but
feels so raw genuine. That being said, there is still much to admire
in the music. It starts off with a grand, exciting introduction and
just keeps the energy high from there. The way the haunting
synthesizers pair with the fast strumming guitar is mesmerizing.
The song feels like a
punk dance number, but the lyrics are actually quite sad, chronicling
a cold and distant relationship. In some ways it's like a bad
relationship in that it keeps up a façade; the beat is fun and
catchy, but there is a darkness to the music and a sadness at its
heart. This is perhaps amplified by the knowledge that Ian Curtis
took his own life before the song was even released. I think that
adds some credibility to his sorrowful lyrics as tragic as that is.
You know, not that you have to end your own life to be taken
seriously as an artist, but in retrospect it does shed light as to
why there was something so genuine about the melancholy of Joy
Division.
1.) Peter Gabriel –
In Your Eyes (1986)
“Love... I get so
lost sometimes.”
Sometimes dismissed as
a pop songwriter and compared to his genesis peer Phil Collins, I
feel that often the genius of Peter Gabriel's music is overshadowed
by his bigger pop hits, even if they're good pop songs. But he is a
song writer of unparalleled power and capturing a genuine depth in
many of his songs that most song writers wish they could convey.
Peter Gabriel is the real deal. Keep in mind that he started in
Genesis, a progressive rock band, and allowed himself to stretch when
he left his band and explore almost every avenue of music going from
world music to folk to orchestral. And somehow through his incredible
career, many people only talk about his album So. And perhaps
that's because that's where his big hits came from. “Sledgehammer”
and “Big Time” were big pop hits, and revolutionized music videos
on a visual level, and many people connected the emotional “Don't
Give Up” a duet he sang with Kate Bush. But I think the song with
the most impact is “In Your Eyes,” his most timeless love song.
I used to describe it
as the best mushy love song ever written, but the more I hear it, the
less accurate that feels. Rather, now I find it to be the most
genuine love song ever written. It's not mushy at all. This is the
real gut-wrenching stuff. This expresses the kind of hard love that
many of us choose to ignore. This is a love that is heartbreaking.
It's even sadder in retrospect actually, now that we know that the
marriage he was in when he wrote this song ended a year later. That's
what his next album, Us, focused on. Peter Gabriel describes a
love that hurts so much, yet he can still find solace in the comfort
she provides.
From the first word,
this song already speaks more than most other love songs. The way he
says “love” in the very beginning is more raw, beautiful and
broken sounding than any other lyric I've heard uttered. You hear
that and you know, this is a man who knows love deeply and
understands the sacrifice that must come for it. I listened to so
many cover versions of this song to see if anyone can capture that
same genuine expression and no one gets it! No one can sing this song
like Peter Gabriel. Just as I said with The Dears; that is what
separates the greats from average.
Musically this song is
brilliant as well. There is a certain extra richness to the song,
like most of So's better songs, that gives it more weight.
Much of that is from great production by Gabriel himself and Daniel
Lanois. Gabriel plays the synthesizer, which thankfully has aged very
well unlike many songs of the era akin to this one. The bass section
is performed by prolific studio musician Tony Levin, and I have to
admit that the bass is an unsung hero of the song. Particularly
during the chorus, the bass just adds so much depth to the music. And
the guitar, by David Rhodes adds a wonderful subtle touch to the
arrangement. The song in general is just a really well rounded,
smartly written, wonderful piece of adult pop music. A masterpiece. A
truly memorable gem of a song.
I know you've probably
heard this song dozens, if not hundreds, of times on the radio, but
take this opportunity to listen to it with fresh ears. Listen to it
as if it is your first time. And listen to the music. Listen to his
voice. You can hear his soul on his sleeve, exposed, stripped down,
and it's beautiful. You can hear it. It's there.
“In Your Eyes” was
not originally going to be my #1 song, though I didn't know what
would be, but as my marriage began to really come undone, I came to
understand the true sentiment of the song and realized I
underestimated it before. Then after my wife left me, I understood it
so much more and found myself listening to it constantly. He and I
fought the futile fight of a love that couldn't take the weight of
the hurt it produced. For five and a half minutes, Peter Gabriel and
I are brothers.
Thanks everyone for
reading! Let me know what you think of my list in the comments or in
person or whatever. And please, feel free to share some of your
favourite songs with me.
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