Faceless Soliloquy

Not too long ago during a conversation about music I got asked whether I could actually come up with a list of favorite songs/a single favorite song. In short, no, not one song, and no, not an ordered list but here are some songs that I really dig. I don’t feel an ordered list really works as it varies so much on mood so it would change every few hours.

I tend to listen to my music by artist or a few at a time, on shuffle (once I’ve gotten through an album for the first 10-20 times) and these are the sort of songs that I’ll put on and as a result listen to an artist for an hour or so.

I’ll now waffle about these songs and probably a few others that didn’t make the list!

Blood of a Young Wolf – Buck 65

From his “Secret House Against the World” Album (which I love, though this isn’t universally so amongst his fan base, I’ve this dismissed as “the europop album” and “his beat poet spazz out”) this probably is my favorite song. Laid back, with a ticking rhythm through out, layered with guitar, strings and scratches the production really fits the vocals. The rhyming in this song is brilliant, I love the lyrics, “it’s an egg and spoon race, slow and steady, desert highway, a bientot
still i’m stuck, i cant afford it, picture postcard, small momento” may be my favorite couplet ever. Dealing with loneliness, within the music industry and life, for being an individual as well as open critique “i don’t like this modern world, anti-intellect and marketing, pretty, pretty, who needs talent, crying eyes, we’re so outnumbered, fight for the right to remain silent, what do i know, who am i, my two left feet my big dumb face, i’d do the same if i had the chance, cheat the system, rig the race“. Melancholy but beautiful.

Conveinience Stores – Buddy Wakefield

This song/poem from the album “Run on Anything” is perhaps the most powerfully emotional thing that I’ve ever listened to. It tells the story of the narrator, Wakefield, visiting a convenience store and his fleeting interaction with the tragic figure of the female store worker. It’s heavy stuff, hitting on issues of discrimination “I feel she was raised to say a lot of stupid things about a color and I feel like, if, I identified myself as gay, this conversation would stop“, the search for love, “I feel like she’s been waiting here a long time for the one who’ll come 2-steppin’ through that door on 18 wheels without makin’er feel like it’s her job to sweep up the nutshells alone when she’s done been cracked again. A man who won’t tempt her to suck the wedding ring off his dick, but will show her – simply – Love.” There are some wonderful images at work, and the piano backing works so brilliantly with the vocals, the subtleties and variations in volume as well as the changes in voice (the barking delivery of “love” in the above line) make the performance so powerful, the best description I can think of to sum this up is “heatbreakingly-uplifting”, the end line being

“And I’m gonna roll outta here one day.
I just might not get to drive.”

conjuring up death as a final way out of a less than perfect existence.

The Cure – Non Prophets

Following the trumpet intro, Sage Francis delivers some of his best lyrics on the finale to the Non Prophets LP “Hope”.  Containing two of his most referenced lines, “When a boy writes off the world, it’s done with sloppy misspelled words, when a girl writes off the world, it’s done in cursive” and  “Life is just a lie if an f in it, and death is definite”, the inspiration for an art exhibtion and countless tatoos respectively I’m not the only one touched by this song.  Simply put it’s haunting and poetic, and shows what heights hip-hop lyricism can reach, and the production is sport on. It’s a shame that Sage and Joe Beats will not be working together again because this album is an absolute gem.

The Boys of Summer – The Ataris

A cover of a classic song by a punk-pop group. It’s catchier than the original version and I prefer it.

Jude Law and a Semester Abroad – Brand New

Probably a bit of a nostalgic choice, more punk-pop, I remember how much this blew me away watching p-rock tv back in the day. Scarily catchy and bouncy musically but with some cutting/agressive lyrics it’s simpler than their later work perhaps but sometimes it’s not complexity you want. The same can be said for much of “Your Favorite Weapon” really, it’s not as good as “Deja…” or as progressive as “The Devil…” but it’s still a league ahead of most emo/pop-punk.

Down, Down, Down to Mephisto’s Cafe – Streetlight Manifesto

Though I listen to it less these days I’m still a Ska fan and this the best Ska song I’ve heard in a while. From the slow sung intro, followed by the best horn section in the business, then Kalonky’s trademark rapid fire delivery with great gang vocals and a rising chorus full of harmonies it’s fantastic.  All the little musical subtleties from additional layers of instruments to the harmonies and the constant changes of pace with some brilliant break downs are what seperate Streetlight from the much of the rest of the third wave scene. The lyrics are typically complex and interesting, while the song as a whole is catchy as hell, which is funny because it’s pretty much about going to hell… (Narrowly beats out the nostalgic choice of “Mr Moran” by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones for my favorite Ska song, that got me into Ska in a big way for the first time.)

Always Coming Back Home to You – Atmosphere

Slug delivers some of his best story telling and is at his most poetic on this epic ode to his hometown. The naration over the looping guitar and the snare heavy beat moves into a hooky closing part which can be taken as moving away from the subject of place and onto a person (performed live one line is changed to “as sure as the life in the stomach that she grew, I’m always coming back home to you“). It manages to be an extremely touching song, and is one of the highlights of the band’s impressive back catalogue.

Warbrain – Alkaline Trio

I’m surprised that I’ve picked this Trio song as a favorite, mainly because I normally prefer Dan’s songwriting to Matt’s, but this an exeption. It’s also funny that it’s not even an album track (appearing first on Rock Against Bush before appearing on Remains). Short, agressive punk rock, thumping drums, a simple guitar riff through out it’s nothing ground breaking but it does it extremely well. I love this band, and I could easily write many other songs here, “Radio”, “I Lied My Face Off”, “This is Getting Over You”, “She Took Him to The Lake”, “This Could Be Love” “Maybe I’ll Catch Fire” and on and on until I’ve listed most of their songs. Oh and to clarify “Maybe I’ll Catch Fire” is better than “Goddamnit” and if you don’t agree you are wrong.

Bleed American (Salt, Sweat, Sugar) – Jimmy Eat World

The song that introduced me to this amazing band. It’s not typical, it’s a lot heavier than most of their songs since Clarity. Power chords and pounding drums, vocals reaching screaming point and catchy hooks, it has everything. Like Alkaline Trio as a band they have so many great songs, and over the course of their career they have changed sound with every album giving so many different styles to enjoy. The rawness and emotion win out for me and it’s a choice partly brought on by this being on one of the first few albums I owned.  And it’s still one of the best I’ve heard/owned 7 years later, I remember my mum telling me when I told her what a classic record this was that I wouldn’t look back on this in the same way and it would just be a “fun times” album. I said she was wrong at the time, she was. This will always be a classic album for me.

Redemption Song – Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros

Another cover that betters the original, and when it’s a Bob Marley cover that says something.  Just a brilliant whoever sings it, be it Marley, Strummer or Cash (there’s a duet by that latter two which is amazing).

Watch the incredibly moving tribute video to Joe:

RIP Bob Marley, Joe Strummer and Johnny Cash.