"Music was my first love it'll always be my last..."
Music, as many of you well know, is a very very important part of my life. As such, when rather recently, a good friend and fellow blogger posted a blog about his top 20 favourite songs EVER(!), of course I immediately began thinking, and in thinking, it became a challenge...
So it took me a few days of agonising thought, but I made it, I nailed down 20 songs I'd class as my all time favourites. But then came the real challenge.... I had to order them.... (dun dun DUUUNNNN!!)
So that took me another day, and it's still jumping about a little now, but if I don't get this done now, I never will!
So here it is, my top 20 - most of these songs are my favourites because they mean something special to me, so much like my blogging friend (I have no original idea's), I have added a little bit of blurb for each song, as best I can, we all know I blabber a bit:
A couple of the artists on this lists are also subjects of my girl-crushes; Joan Jett is one of these. She, in my world, is the purest representation of cool - androgynous, rock 'n' roll, bad-ass and beautiful, she is just... wow. She also happens to have inspired a bit of my recent fashion choices. But what I love most about her is her tenacity. She got rejected by 23 record companies, before starting her own record label to release her single "I love rock 'n' roll", which is pretty awesome in my world. She is one of the rock goddesses of our time, and there are pitifully few - and I feel this song, whilst a cover, sums her up perfectly, and I can't help but head bang to it.
19) Back to Black - Amy Winehouse
Awh Amy - one of the 27 club, a wonderful, soul full, bad ass vocalist in a world of ever developing pop-tastic crap - I remember my father first buying the album when it came out, and he played it all the time, loudly praising her, and her individual, bad ass, rebellious style, it was probably the first "modern" album I'd been allowed to listen too, and it was beautifully refreshing and in keeping with my music tastes back then, and still is today. I miss Amy, she could have gone on to do so much more, but who knows... maybe she'd have been taken over by managers and producers and been twisted into a pop-tool, which was just not her style at all.
18) Pretty Green Eyes - Ultrabeat
Many of you will know that my music interests span many genre's, and one of the most popular is, sadly, trance and club tunes. I know, I know, I'm a horrible person... But trance and club music just has such a wonderful beat, and those sick bass drops man, how can you resist?! :P This is one of my favourite dance anthems, because I remember it (again as a little kid) often being played in my uncles car on our adventures across the Cornish coast and countryside, with my uncle's scary, fast driving swaying me all over the place, and the bass system just delved deep into your bones, shaking them in their sockets - to this day that's my favourite sensation, that beautiful deep reaching bass. I re-discovered this song about a year ago, and the second I heard that first line, it hit me in the gut, just like a flashback; I get it every time I listen to it.
17) Feels Like the First Time - Foreigner
Not only is it one of THE most classic rock songs, it's also just an awesome, great song! Something about Foreigner always makes me want to listen over and over on a 72 hour loop until I'm sick of it and can't listen to it for a couple of months. This song is wonderful, and has a very funny personal connection that I don't feel is appropriate to share with y'all.
16) Give Me Novocaine - Green Day
I love me some Green Day, and all their wonderfully spun lyrics - This song is one of my favourites, for when I'm having a bad time, I like to lie back in the bath and listen to this at full volume, the beat, the lyric pattern, it helps soothe my ravaged soul.
15) Home - Foo Fighters
I love Foo's, of course, and my all time favourite album (of theirs) has to be echoes, silence, patience & grace - It's so wonderfully beautiful, each piece wonderfully rock out or hauntingly beautiful, and of that album, this has to be the most beautiful song - wonderfully simple for a Foo's song, beautiful lyrics, and just... blows me away every time.
14) Endlessly - Muse
Muse are, shamefully, rather a new addition to my music library, simply because I liked them, but never got around to listening to an actual album. However, when I finally listened to 'Apocalypse Please', I was having a real high of a day, and it was freakin' great - The whole album flows so so well, and each song is a great masterpiece, separately or as a part of the entire composition. However, my absolute favourite, the one I could listen to over and over and never get bored, is this one. The lyrical structure is just superb, and it's kinda trancey in a way, a real feel-good song... kinda perfect for the man I love (he totally won't read and see that, such a loser :P)
15) Harp for My Sweetheart - Archie Bronson Outfit
This is also a wonderfully beautiful song - an acoustic version of the original, which is also strangely beautiful although a tad thrashy for my liking, it's lovely, and I think conveys the tone of the lyrics better than the original. I love listening to it late at night, when I'm having a rough time, or a crap day. My mother played this one day in the car, and I missed the title, and I searched for years trying to remember, until recently it got played again, since then I've been catching up on the bands other bits and pieces, and I love it all... mostly.
13) Nicest Thing - Kate Nash
The thing I love about Kate Nash, is she's like an odd-ball version of Lily Allen, who oddly didn't make it onto this list, although I feel I prefer Lilly more... Kate has a great, fun tone and her songs are all quite poppy and dancing and funny and good for feel good listening. This is my favourite because it stands apart from all that, it's quite different from the Kate Nash I know, and because I relate quite strongly; I think deep down, everyone wants to be loved, needed and wanted as much as Kate does in this song - I know I certainly do, always wishing, hoping that someone you love is thinking about you, getting frustrated when you don't get a chance. Maybe not so often anymore, but I certainly used to relate to this song very strongly.
12) I Don't Care - Transvision Vamp
Wendy James.... I mean PWHOAR! Another one of my big girl crushes, she's wonderful. I have loved this song for many years, it's another song my mother played when I was very set on what I liked in terms of my own music tastes, but I can recall listening to the tape and warming towards it, and then years later I re-discovered it, and loved it so damn much I listened to it for about a week solid. I love a lot of stuff Tansvision Vamp did, and they were so wonderfully 80's, and Wendy's voice is just a little of, which is unconventionally great-sounding. I love it when she does her little screamy bits (technical terminology coming out here :P ) I just love this song, for the primary reason you can just get up and jump about, tossing your hair like - you guessed it - you don't care! :)
11) Roll the Woodpile Down - Bellowhead
I was sent this song in a conversation about how much I was sure I didn't like folk music. I had tried, and I was just sure that it wasn't my thing. So my very folk friend sent me this, and I clicked on the link and carried on doing whatever I was doing, and then it stopped buffering and started playing, and I stopped in my tracks. Some songs have a very deep reaching feeling, it's kinda like falling in love I suppose. I listened to that song 17 times in one night, and still frequently listen to it on a loop. It is one of my all time feel good songs - I know if I need a pick me up, this song will do it for me, and I'll be dancing withing seconds of that opening instrumental. It makes me grin just thinking about it.
10) Memphis Soul Stew - King Curtis
This song is higher on the list mostly because of it's sentimental value. I don't like listening to it perhaps as much as I do some other songs on this list. It's important to me because it marks a very memorable occasion with my father; One day, when we came home from school, my dad put on a different record to this one, and played it reasonably loudly, but not earth-shakingly loud. We lived in a split house, so the upstairs was a different flat, with a couple living there, at this point in time, they were childless. They'd already come down and complained to me alone about my father's love of playing music, which had annoyed him. On this occasion, the man came down, and rather aggressively told my father to turn it off completely. My father, a fairly unreasonable man at times, instead chose to place this record on, and play it at full, bone shaking volume. He also played 'soul man', so loud that I got the worlds most intense headache. We danced around the living room laughing, me clutching my ears at time (and I like my music LOUD). They never complained again. This song always reminds me of that moment with my Daddy.
9) Take Good Care of My Baby - Bobby Vee
Again, It's so high on the list because it reminds of my dads and my afternoon's in the pub with him, scrounging money to pop in the jukebox, when all I ever played was this song and Lily Allen "Smile". Used to drive the regulars nuts, but I definitely stuck to my favourites when I was a kid. I still wasn't brave enough to dance back then.
8) Rape Me - Nirvana
Probably one of my grittiest favourite songs. Nirvana fans sometimes get a bit of stick for misinterpretation, but I feel that Kurt wrote a song so boldly obvious to tackle such a stupidly ignored issue. Rape was a little smoothed over back then, and to an extent still is. This song is so angry, and just so obvious - it's just screaming "Go on, do it! Because you can fuck me over, hurt me, beat me and ruin me all you want, but you are the monster; you are the mess; you are the ass hole; you are what is wrong with the world; and you will get what is coming to you, and when that happens, it'll be me that's raping you! You will be gotten back!" And it's a real powerful song, written by such a wonderful, complex man - a real statement for an issue that a lot of people just glazed over or made excuses for. It's also so brilliantly angry, and when you're in that mood, that's what you need.
7) My love Is - Holly Golightly
I've never actually seen the woman, so I don't know how she looks- but she sounds damn beautiful! This is definitely my favourite Holly song, the first one I ever heard on a album given to me by my wonderful Godmother Nikki, who seemed to just know what to give me that year for my birthday, because I fell in love with her. I lost touch with most of Holly's music for years, and then, once again, recently re-discovered them, and I'm just as in love now as when I was 10 :) This song also makes me think of my wonderful man, and my endless wealth of feeling for him.... *mushy moment over*
6) Nice Guys - Kev Jumbley-whats-his-face and others
I'm adding this as a wild card. This song is utterly hilarious, but also has a very personal connection. I was first played this song by a "boyfriend" who loved anime, showing me anime music videos, and I loved it so much, now that whenever I hear it, I can't help but laugh and think about him. It's also just quite a good song :P I also like to send it for my man when he's failing to be enough of an ass hole.
5) Ball and Biscuit - The White Stripes
I have no real big reason I like this song, I just really really do, it's got a great vibe, and I often use it for my own odd form of meditation. The whole album works well for it.
4) Closer - Nine Inch Nails/Asking Alexandria
I first heard this song as the pop goes 90's version of it, which I absolutely loved, listened to A LOT for about a month. I was then sent the original version by a friend, and loved that too. To this day, I can't decide which I love most, and they/it has since formed a very personal connection for me, which again is a bit silly to talk about here. I get the oddest looks when I sing it near old ladies in my little girl voice.
3) The Road to Hell - Chris Rhea
I have loved this song since my daddy used to play me the extra long version when I was very little. I still listen to it when I go to bed now. It's such a timeless, great song, real bluesy and soulful and wonderful. The higher up/lower down my list I get, the less words I have for these songs.
2) I Put A Spell On You - Screamin' Jay Hawkins
I was strangely in love with this man when I was a little girl. I have since realised he is a bit of a man slut... and a bit dead... But his music still remains as amazing, and slightly crazy. One of the best voodoo blues musicians of our time, and this song, over all the versions that have ever come to light, remains my absolute favourite - I sing it everywhere, and when I'm alone, I enjoy doing the weird screamy bits... I'm a freak, I know.
1) *drum roll please!* *drum roll noise of some sort*
....
You Shook Me All Night Long - AC/DC
Classic rock was always bound to win, and AC/DC is about as classic as it comes - these vintage geezers have blasted out head-banging tunes for years and years, and none do I love more than this song. It took a lot of deliberation, but I remembered when I first discovered this song, and that same feeling of falling in love, multiplied by a thousand - I'd stay up all night every night, gripping my headphones against my head, trying my hardest to make it loud enough, but that's where I went wrong - it is one of those magical songs that'll never ever be loud enough. There is never a time I don't want this song; never a time where I don't want it as loud as it will go. I think this song will probably be the death of me, and I'd die freakin' happy.
Well that was one of the most stressful challenges of my entire life....
I think I'll go take a lie down....
Wait, I forgot to add-!!...
Thanks for reading, as ever :)
No comments:
Post a Comment