Soundtrack to a Life

I've often wished I could have a continuous soundtrack to my life. Nothing to loud or elaborate, just some background music to put the finishing touches on moments of passion, freedom, loneliness, stupidity, and the general enjoying of life. And with my handy-dandy Ipod, i've almost got it i suppose... at any rate, i think you can learn a lot about a person from the books they read, the movies they enjoy, and for me, i think most can be communicated through the music i love, as it's such a strong part of my life. So here's a list of my favorite 11 songs with some commentary. Let me know if you want me to send you any of these, i'd be more than happy.

11. "Clair De Lune" by Claude Debussy. You might recognize it from the end of Ocean's Eleven. I'm a sucker for romantic music (not having to do with love, but the period of "classical" music that coincides with impressionism in painting, chronologically speaking) and this definitely is a thing of beauty.

10. "The Lighthouse's Tale" by Nickel Creek. I'm also a sucker for bluegrass. Not country. I loathe country music, but take away the twang of country and replace it with a mandolin, violin, and a solid acoustic guitar and you get Nickel Creek. This song is probably one of the saddest i've ever heard. Told from the perspective of the lighthouse, it recounts the tale of on old romance that ends in a death and a suicide.

9. "Push" by Matchbox 20. Told from the point of view of a neglected and abused woman, Rob Thomas pulls at the heartstrings with lyrics like "I don't know if i've ever been really loved/ by a hand that's touched me" and "I don't know why you couldn't just stay with me/ Couldn't stand to be near me/ When my face don't seem to want to shine". Powerful stuff.

8. "Come Away With Me" by Norah Jones. "The Nearness of You" could also be substituted for this song. There is nothing in the world that can set the right late evening, post-buzz, enjoyable company, wrapped-in-each-other's-arms mood than Norah. Simply beautiful.

7. "Kill" by Jimmy Eat World. After being put asleep by the past 4, this one will wake you up. A general rant on having to wait for a significant other, and a bitter complaint against an unrequieted love, the end of this song is full of strength. "I loved you, and I should've said it. But tell me just what has it ever meant? I can't help it, Baby, this is who I am. Sorry sorry but i can't just go turn off how i feel." Not so poetic, but with Jim Adkins vocals, very powerful.

6. "A Long December" by the Counting Crows. I borrowed lyrics of this song for the title of my blog, as it's home to some of my favorites. In general, the Counting Crows are great for poetic lyrics, aside from some of their newer pop that hit the United Statesian short waves. "The smell of hospitals in winter, and the feeling that it's all a lot of oyesters, but no pearls. And all at once you look across a crowded room to see the way that light attaches to a girl."

5. "Porcelain" by Moby. You know? I don't really know why i love this song. It's a beautiful work of art. It comes with pangs of guilt, however. "I never meant to hurt you. I never meant to lie. So this is goodbye".

4. "Hide and Seek" by Imogen Heap. If you've never heard this song before, you've never heard anything like it, so you just plain need to hear this song. Imogen layers her voice over itself a number of times using a synthesizer, no other instruments, and produces a haunting and beautiful song full of lush harmonies. Incredibly unique. If you listen to just one of these songs, though it's not in the #1 slot, listen to this one.

3. "Do What You Have To Do" by Sarah McLachlan. I can say with all confidence that Sarah McLachlan is the most poetic songwriter that I am aware of. It also helps that her musical originality and swooning voice are also added to the mix, which produces art, time and time again.

"What ravages of spirit
Conjured this temptuous rage
Created you a monster
Broken by the rules of love
And fate has led you through it
You do what you have to do
And fate has led you through it
You do what you have to do ...
And I have the sense to recognize that
I don’t know how to let you go
Every moment marked
With apparitions of your soul
I’m ever swiftly moving
Trying to escape this desire
The yearning to be near you
I do what I have to do
The yearning to be near you
I do what I have to do
But I have the sense to recognize
That I don’t know how
To let you go
I don’t know how
To let you go
A glowing ember
Burning hot
Burning slow
Deep within I’m shaken by the violence
Of existing for only you
I know I can’t be with you
I do what I have to do
I know I can’t be with you
I do what I have to do
And I have sense to recognize but
I don’t know how to let you go
I don’t know how to let you go
I don’t know how to let you go "

2. "Sparks" by Coldplay. If i could have written any one song, i would've written this one. Very characteristic of my favorite music, Sparks is a lyrically simple, slow 6/8 ballad that seems to tell of romantic failings. "My Heart is yours, it's you that i hold on to. That's what i do. I know i was wrong, I won't let you down. Oh yeah i will yeah i will, yes i really will."

1. "Clocks" by Coldplay. This is it. This has been my favorite song since the first time i heard it in 2003. I can't exactly tell you why. Lyrically, it's absolutely nothing special at all. But it's moving and beautiful. It is this song i turn to to complete the most beautiful moments of my life. It begins every road trip, completes the thin air atmosphere of every mountain i've climbed in the Grand Tetons, and ends many of my days with my head on the pillow. "Home. Home. Where I wanted to go".