Brian's Top Songs of 2008: #1
And our short countdown leads me here: Brian's top song of 2008. You might feel a little bit gyped that my favorite song of the year didn't release during the calendar year - in fact, it's several years old - but this was one of those "right place, right time" cases. Plus, it's a ton of fun and has some meaningful lyrics to me.
(BTW, this song isn't widely available on YouTube, so I'm going a bit off-script since I want to embed a video. I'll first link the true video - and you should watch that - but I'll also embed a lie performance of the song.)
My top song of 2008 is "Army," by Ben Folds Five:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjMOD8sjeXA
Why?
I was just the perfect song for me and my year.
I first heard this song on a mixtape that my girlfriend made for me a few months, which is surprising since Ben is an NC guy like me. I'd always been familiar with the guy but never really listened to his music - and how I made it through college without doing that, I'll never know. But Lizzie "gave" the song to me; it was the second track on an exceptional mixtape. It's also a favorite of her and her friends, and looking at the lyrics, it's easy to see why.
In the song, we have:
1) Thinking about the Army
2) Taking Dad's advice and going to college
3) Mustaches and mullets
4) Chick-Fil-A and Grandma's Apple Pie
5) "I've been thinking alot today..."
6) Writing a screenplay and running off to LA
7) Wanting that screenplay done yesterday
8) A piano section that pus a little bounce in your step
9) A guitar solo that always forces me to play the air guitar
10) A horn section that makes he hold my head up high and strut
And then, we get one of the best verses I've ever heard, and one of my favorite single lines of all time:
"In this time of introspection
On the eve of my election
I say to my reflection
God, please spare me more rejection!
'Cause my peers, they criticize me
And my ex-wives all despise me
Try to put it all behind me
But my redneck past is nipping at my heels..."
Seriously, you don't know just how many times I've been listening to this as I'm walking down the street, and the music builds and builds, and then, at that one line, I clench my fists, look up to the sky, and let the world have it.
But it's helped to make this a great half-year - only half, because the first part of it was pretty much a waste. Well, not really a waste, because it taught me one thing: exactly what I don't want in life. And then the second half came along, and I spent the time building myself up. I had to find who I was again, and in the process, I found someone who is becoming more and more important to me by the day.
There's so much more I could say about this year - so many disappointments, so many bright spots and hope for the future. But instead of rehashing the past too much more, I'm just going to get a shave, suit up, hang out with my friends, hit the town for the night with my girl, look into her eyes at midnight, and tell her that I love her and give her a big kiss. I'm excited for the next year, and I'm excited for my future.
(BTW, this song isn't widely available on YouTube, so I'm going a bit off-script since I want to embed a video. I'll first link the true video - and you should watch that - but I'll also embed a lie performance of the song.)
My top song of 2008 is "Army," by Ben Folds Five:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjMOD8sjeXA
Click to viewWhy?
I was just the perfect song for me and my year.
I first heard this song on a mixtape that my girlfriend made for me a few months, which is surprising since Ben is an NC guy like me. I'd always been familiar with the guy but never really listened to his music - and how I made it through college without doing that, I'll never know. But Lizzie "gave" the song to me; it was the second track on an exceptional mixtape. It's also a favorite of her and her friends, and looking at the lyrics, it's easy to see why.
In the song, we have:
1) Thinking about the Army
2) Taking Dad's advice and going to college
3) Mustaches and mullets
4) Chick-Fil-A and Grandma's Apple Pie
5) "I've been thinking alot today..."
6) Writing a screenplay and running off to LA
7) Wanting that screenplay done yesterday
8) A piano section that pus a little bounce in your step
9) A guitar solo that always forces me to play the air guitar
10) A horn section that makes he hold my head up high and strut
And then, we get one of the best verses I've ever heard, and one of my favorite single lines of all time:
"In this time of introspection
On the eve of my election
I say to my reflection
God, please spare me more rejection!
'Cause my peers, they criticize me
And my ex-wives all despise me
Try to put it all behind me
But my redneck past is nipping at my heels..."
Seriously, you don't know just how many times I've been listening to this as I'm walking down the street, and the music builds and builds, and then, at that one line, I clench my fists, look up to the sky, and let the world have it.
But it's helped to make this a great half-year - only half, because the first part of it was pretty much a waste. Well, not really a waste, because it taught me one thing: exactly what I don't want in life. And then the second half came along, and I spent the time building myself up. I had to find who I was again, and in the process, I found someone who is becoming more and more important to me by the day.
There's so much more I could say about this year - so many disappointments, so many bright spots and hope for the future. But instead of rehashing the past too much more, I'm just going to get a shave, suit up, hang out with my friends, hit the town for the night with my girl, look into her eyes at midnight, and tell her that I love her and give her a big kiss. I'm excited for the next year, and I'm excited for my future.