top five songs ever.
this is a question that involves committment.
i know you're thinking, "it's just a list" but this is not just a list. lists are snapshots of right now, this second, and how you feel and what your outlook of forever is from that point in time.
this is a question that demands committment. you need to think and write and rewrite and finally put it down in ink to make it official. this is a marriage because this represents you as of december 23rd, 2004. there's no running away.
top five (in no order) songs ever
you're saying, "alex, this long-term, i'm not ready, give me some time"- and i'm prepared to. but i want a comment. i want your top five, no order because i realize the injustice of that.
i spent a week thinking about the songs on this list, making it official right now.
top five (in no order) songs ever
1. OK Go, "Return"
this song makes me melt. damian kulash jr. is the one of the world's most talented lyricists, no questions and no arguments. it's fact. the way this song is written you get thrown into it and you're stuck but you don't want to leave. it's so honest and so heartfelt. sample lyrics: for awhile, with the vertigo cured, we were alive- we were pure. the void took the shape of all that you were. but years take their toll, and things get bent into shape- antiseptic and tired, i can't remember your face. return.
2. Ben Kweller, "Family Tree"
this song makes me think of western pennsylvania and the drive taken to cleveland for the john kerry concert. i listened to this song the whole way there and the whole way back- no changes. it's simple but it's beautiful, and the lyrics and tune formfit each other with no flaws. it's absolute perfection for ben kweller, because this is his lyrical talents at their height and the steady strumming makes everything work together. sample lyrics: Stick to love songs kid, that's all you're knowing. They push you away or tie you up. It don't really matter. But if your head is up you won't get much sadder. But who am I to preach a word or two when I can't lift my own head without you? If my mental state kept you from coming around, I hope the world would shoot me down for losing you. A broken branch I'd be if you weren't grown to me. Oh, you are my family tree. Be good to me. Be good to me. Be good to me. Take care of me! Bop bop.
3. The Beatles, "Help!"
i remember hearing this song when i was two-three-four-five-six in the car with my mom and brother. it's early beatles which are my preference, and it's my favorite. john lennon said after he wrote this he didn't realize he was actually in trouble while writing it, but subconsciously he penned his own cry for help. i love the subconscious. it's a song about being lonely and loneliness (along with apathy) is the worst possible feeling, in my opinion. not caring about, but being lonely is devestating. i love this song. sample lyrics: help! i need somebody. help! not just anybody. help! you know i need someone. help! when i was younger, so much younger than today, i never needed anybody's help in anyway. but now those days are gone and i'm not so self-assured. now i find i've changed my mind and opened up the doors. help me if you can; i'm feeling down. and i do appreciate you being 'round. help me get my feet back on the ground. won't you please, please help me?
4. Sondre Lerche, "You Know So Well"
there is no denying this man is a genius... and yes, gorgeous. that's not the point. sondre manages to capture feeling so perfectly and articulate even the most complex things. i love this song, i must admit hearing it live at his concert in may is one of my top moments for the year of 2004. it was the first song in the encore and i was terribly impressed. sample lyrics: I have told you this before and my transparent mind won't cover see-through hearts. I'll be straight with you now. Now I'm not what you want just like the rest, and you feel like you're subject to a test. But if there's one thing I know it's this: when I lose my sleep it's you I miss. You sleep all night, you know you lie awake. Tell me, yeah. And time is running out and you know so well. It may never be.
5. The Secrets, "The Loneliest Duet"
i only discovered this band about a month or two ago. you know what sucks about that? they broke up a year or two ago. that's awful. a guy in this band, paul, owns eskimo labs which is harry and the potters' label- and he is the elder half of that band. anyway, this song has a lot of name-dropping but it has a terrific beat, very danceable lo-fi sort of stuff. sample lyrics: you asked me if i listened to journey. i said hey we've got the same haircut, let's hang out in the cemetary. you always walked two steps ahead, counting the chorus in eleanor rigby. i bought every book that you read, i skimmed each one so carefully.
this will, of course, change by next week. but that's not the point. this is suppose to encompass your entire LIFE- up until right now. i'd like to see your top five of your life in a comment- please attempt to do so.