Today, I was flipping through the pages of the university newspaper when I saw a list of "10 Songs That You Must Hear Before You Die" (or something like that). There was no author attributed to the list, so I figure it might be a list on the newswire of university newspapers around the country. I only recognzied a couple of the songs on the list, but the idea of such a list intrigued me, and for much of the day today, I've been thinking about which 10 songs I would recommend as songs folks should listen to before they die--songs of such intrinsic power and importance (or a skeptic might say "pretentiousness")--that they are songs that must be heard. After a little bit of thought, and with a grain of salt, here's what I came up with, in not particular order except, perhaps, for the first one:
1. "Soon" by
Low: When you just read the lyrics to this song, it doesn't look like much at all--just your average ditty about pain and humiliation. But with Low's trademark low-key sound, the song seems to ascend to great importance. And when the string section kicks in . . . oh my gawd!
2. "Pink Flower" by
Daisy Chainsaw: It's like punk married to opera. It's like Satan returning to heaven from hell. It's like everything terrible and everything terrific all rolled into one.
3. "Rocket's Tail" by
Kate Bush: Utterly transcendant. A spiritual experience in "size 9 lightening boots".
4. "I Know It's Over" by
The Smiths: I suppose several songs by the Smiths and Morrissey could be on this list. But this one stands out for its powerful expression of loneliness and sorrow.
5. "Paris and Rome" by
Cranes: I always found something so inspiring and tirumphant about this song, probably in the music more so than the lyrics.
6. "When Poets Dreamed of Angels" by
David Sylvian: Poetry of the human condition. When I listen to the song I always forget that the last couple of minutes are just instrumental because I'm still geeking out over the lyrics.
7. "Sanvean" by
Dead Can Dance: Who needs words? This song is likely Lisa Gerrards vocal masterpiece. Everything that she has done since seems to be trying to play catch-up with this song.
8. "You Were Right" by
Badly Drawn Boy: A lifetime of joy in 5 minutes. One of the catchiest songs I've ever heard. Ecstatic and life-affirming.
9. "Sadie" by
Joanna Newsom: Newsom is probably one of the top three female songwriters living right now. Pure poetry.
10. "Neighborhood #1: Tunnels" by
The Arcade Fire: Believe the hype surrounding this band's first album. They're a band in touch with their childhood and this song straddles that line between wishing you could grow up and wishing you had never grown up.
So . . . hyperbole much, depthfunction? I guess. Ask me for a new list next week and I might have a new set of songs. But for now, this is the list I would put together--and indeed I have. :P
