So, we had a bit of fun this week stating our personal top 5 songs. We put all of them* in a Spotify playlist for you to enjoy.
*Biffy Clyro’s version of ‘Buddy Holly’ is not on Spotify, so we put the orginal by Weezer in there. Also, for some reason ‘Brother, Sister’, the record that mewithoutYou’s song ‘In A Sweater Poorly Knit’ is on is not on Spotify. (I guess that serves Bas right for putting 6 songs in his top 5.)
I’ve been struggling for almost a week now to complete my top 5. There is so much music that I like and that has been inspiring me from the first moment I’ve been playing the drums. The list I came up with is from artists who made me want to make the music I make today.
Biffy Clyro – Bodies in Flight
This song meant the beginning of a new era of discovering loud(er) music than I used to listen to. I like that these guys can play so powerful and melodic at the same time. I honestly love all the Biffy albums, not only the ‘old’ Biffy, though the new ones are definitely different and ‘easier’ to listen to.
The Temper Trap – Sweet Disposition
From the first ’till the last note, I thoroughly enjoy this song. The singer’s voice, the delay of the guitar and the pacing drums, just lovely to hear.
Sigur Rós – Gong
Seeing Sigur Rós live… Man, what a blast! So much ambiance and comfort in their music that just makes me want to close my eyes and listen. This song is on ‘Takk’ which is a beautiful record.
Foo Fighters – My Hero
A band with so much energy and a great live reputation. The drummer is an animal and yet the drums are so tight. Gives me new ideas every time I listen to them. If you haven’t seen the Back and Forth documentary, I can really recommend it.
Mogwai – Rano Pano
The first time I heard this track I was so overwhelmed by the fact that this song has just one part that just keeps evolving with different instruments being added. The drums are simple and sober, which, in this case, I really like.
Putting this list together has been a bit agonizing. I had to scratch so many of my favourites off of it. But I distilled and distilled until I could distill no more. I’m left with 6 songs, as I just could not get myself to delete any one of these. Hope the other guys won’t mind me cheating a bit.
Bright Eyes - Let’s Not Shit Ourselves (To Love And To Be Loved)
The lyrics, oh man, the lyrics! They kill me every time. How they go from hyper personal to describing the whole world and everything that’s wrong with it and back again. And the music just keeps going, perfectly setting the stage for the vocals. One of the comments below the video states it perfectly:
There are catchier songs. There are more technically complex and intricate songs. There are songs out there that are, for all intensive purposes, outright better. But never have I heard a more poingant piece of music, something that touches me not as a fan of music, but as a human being.
mewithoutYou - In A Sweater Poorly Knit
Without a doubt, mewithoutYou is one of my favourite bands. Their evolution has been quite intriguing: from raw punk hardcore in the early days slowly shifting to indie rock with even some folk influences. And I love every record they made. The common denominator in all their music is that it makes me feel alive. And that is especially true in this song.
Sufjan Stevens - Impossible Soul
I love how on the record this track is on, The Age of Adz, Sufjan Stevens seems to have created his own universe. All the songs feel connected and the record itself feels very ‘self contained.’ For me, this 25 minute song is where it all comes together. He could have made it 25 minutes longer and I still would have loved every second of it.
Danny Schmidt - This Too Shall Pass
A beautiful song about keeping hope whilst dealing with hardships. I don’t want to say too much about it, rather let the song do the speaking.
The Mars Volta - Son Et Lumiere / Inertiatic ESP
Technically, these are two separate tracks. But the former is the perfect intro to the latter. I was initially going to pick an At The Drive-In song, as that band has been very important to me. They opened up my eyes to a lot of new music. But if we’re talking songs, the energy in this track is unmatched, as far as I’m concerned.
Willy Mason - Oxygen
This song always just felt like the song for my generation. How we should remake the world to become the place we want it to be.
On a complete sidenote: I just noticed all my picks are American. Wouldn’t have guessed that beforehand.
Tomorrow we end this series with Vincent!
Counting Crows - Round Here
My taste in music in my early teens years was notoriously bad (read: repetitive house music like Dune) until one day my mom came back from the United States and brought me August and Everything after by Counting Crows. I was hooked immediately. It opened up my mind for ‘real’ music and I never looked back. This song is one of my favorites of the album. I always especially liked Counting Crows live, hence the live video of this song.
Radiohead - Idioteque
I always admired this band a lot. The way they keep reinventing themselves and their sound is inspiring for me as a musician. When this song came after listening to al their previous albums numerous times it instantly became one of my favorites. I’ll never forget seeing them perform this song live headlining the Dutch Pinkpop festival, a great memory that pops up every time I hear the song.
At The Drive-In - One Armed Scissor
Words can hardly describe this song. The energy, the haunting vocals, the skilled play, just awesome! This was something completely different then I was used to listening to and changed the way I listen to music ever since.
Explosions In The Sky - Your Hand In Mine
Before I joined All Shall Be Well I hardly ever listened to instrumental music. When the guys asked me if I wanted to come and play with them months before we started recording Roodblauw, they sent me a couple of bands that inspired them to making the music they were playing. This is the song that made me decide! It breaks my heart every time I listen to it but strangely enough, it breaks it in kind of good way. After listening to this song I feel I can conquer anything. The fragile melodies carried by a great drummer who’s not afraid to let the guitars do their thing. This song convinced me not every song needs vocals.
Jimmy Eat World - Sweetness
A classic if you ask me! I always love listening to their music (and can’t help singing along either). I lifts me up, gives me energy. I really like the vocals and the drums in this song. It all just works. I could have chosen any of their songs really, I just love this band. Really good live too!
Come back tomorrow to discover the Top 5 of Bas.
I browsed through a lot of music to get to this list. Of course there is EITS, Blonde Redhead, Foo Fighters, Mozart, BACH, and -trust me- the list goes on. All good bands with decent songs. But neither of the bands I favour have that one song. For me their music is brilliant and complete, but are hard to extrude from their albums. So had to go by sentiment and this is what I came up with:
Arvo Pärt - Fratres
Not too much words needed for this one, just listen. Complete awe, my brain turns into a different mode I guess, when it’s on.
Metallica - Orion
First heard while watching the documentary Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills, when I was younger. Had no clue it was Metallica at first. First instrumental that really got my attention. Holy crap! I wanted to make music so bad… everytime I listened to this song.
The Mars Volta - Wax Simulacra
High energy Mars Volta. Could have chosen any of a dozen Mars Volta songs, with more energy to the guitar or vocals. Picked this one because of the energetic (fast) drums… makes you want to drum if you’re not a drummer.
Biffy Clyro - Buddy Holly (Weezer cover)
First rock album I bought was the blue one by Weezer. I was out to get Blur, because of Song 2. For some odd reason I took home the Weezer album. Lot to say about Weezer, but could not quite pick one song. Therefore I have to combine ‘old’ Biffy Clyro with the first rock album I owned. If you don’t like the Biffy Clyro version; don’t worry I like the Weezer one just the same.
Oceansize - Catalyst
Wasn’t quite sure which song to pick. I like the completeness and dynamics in a lot of their songs. Still a shame they stopped. Good live, unlike many bands I have seen. Their energy is the same on stage as on record. I think rhythmic they are interesting in ‘Commemorative 9/11 T-Shirt’, but I like the loudness more in this track.
Tomorrow we’ll share Wouter’s list.
