Music meme, from misstemperance...

[mrph]

The world is ending, the human race is departing aboard giant Arks into space, but before you leave you are given the chance to save (and take with you) the ten most important songs to you. What do you choose and why?

Standard caveat - this is today's choice. Tomorrow might be something entirely different...

1. Jim White - Alabama Chrome. Let's get the Country / Americana out of the way first, shall we? Jim White's sometimes a little hit and miss, but this is a personal favourite and probably one of his best. It's pretty much everything I like about his stuff distilled into one song.
   
2. VNV Nation - Solitary. "And if rain brings winds of change, let it rain on us forever". 'Nuff said. I might pick a different VNV song tomorrow, or skip them entirely, but the lyrics do tend to hold my attention...
   
3. Thomas Dolby - One of Our Submarines. Because it always makes me think of my grandfather. And it's slightly uncomfortable listening.
   
4.  Warsaw Village Band - In The Forest. It grabs me within the first ten seconds and just doesn't let go. Polish folk with abrupt bursts of... something different...
5. Blyth Power - Better to Bat. It tails off a little bit towards the end, but it's still one of the best things Mr Porter's written - the lyrics may not be as witty as some BP songs, but it's got a certain power to it. And it opens with bells. Works for me. I'm not sure if I ever saw BP play this one live, but it certainly brings back (vague, hazy...) happy memories of the times when I did see them.
   
6. Carter USM - Sheriff Fatman. Speaking of witty lyrics... these are some of Carter's finest. Not a line goes past without some sort of reference. At least for me, it's song that'll always be linked to Laughtons and dancefloor chaos... 
7. Chaos Engine - Custom Built for Anger. Now, this should probably be Employee of the Year - another favourite, which I'll always associate with the Chaos Engine gig I attended back in 2002 (on the day I'd just been made redundant after eight years at a certain company...) but somewhere along the way this one sneaked in and usurped its place. It's ta song that always stayed in my mind well after the live shows... and it's got that siren...
   
8. In The Nursery - Blue Religion. The first instrumental in the list. Marching music. Drums. More drums. I've always like ITN and if this isn't their very best moment, it's one of the most memorable for other reasons...
9. Rico - Big Black Sea. Because it's another one that gets into my head and doesn't go away. Music that grabs my full attention and lets me forget about the world - at least for five and a half minutes. "Internal wiring's burning out...". Heh. 
10. Shriekback - Faded Flowers. It's a great song. It summons up an awful lot of memories, too - most of them good. "We had some good machines but they don't work no more / I loved you once, don't love you anymore". 

A few more things that aren't on the list, but ought to be, in no particular order:

• D.U.S.T. - Jim Bentley
  
• The Triffids - Kelly's Blues
• The Hours - Ali in the Jungle
• Oysterband - When I'm Up I Can 't Get Down
• Killing Miranda - See You In Disneyland
• Seabound - Hooked
• Cara Dillon - Here's a Health
• Kat Flint - Anticlimax
  
• T.Rex - Ballrooms of Mars
• Bauhaus - Lagartija Nick

Comments

[malal.livejournal.com]

Just ten songs?? Can't possibly cut it down that much. ;-)

[nils.livejournal.com]

One of Our Submarines - I love this one, easily my favourite Dolby song. Currently listening to the extended version...

There are many Rico songs I would pick over Big Black Sea, but that's hardly a reflection on the song itself. ;-)