Those didn't die with Myspace and AIM profiles, and seem to live on to some extent on Facebook. I've seen this thirty-day song challenge on Facebook, and while this kind of thing isn't really my scene anymore, I do like the idea of this because I have a weird and goofy taste in music, and I'd like to give some thought to the music that's had an impact on me.
I lack, however, both the time and motivation in the morning to think of, write about, and link to each song every day for thirty days, so I'm just going to do it all now and post it here. I'm going to go off the board a little bit when there are multiple songs in mind, but we'll see how I do.
thirty day song challenge
- your favorite song
This is a really difficult one to start out with. I was thinking about this for a while and don't know if I just have one "favorite song"... which seems a little silly, given that everyone has a favorite song. There are just so many considerations. My mood at a given time, the "song's" genre, how you really define favorite. For the purposes of this exercise, I'll try to stick with songs (with or without words but not classical pieces). I guess for lack of a clear, standout, slam-dunk favorite song, I'll go with my current favorite song, MGMT - Time to Pretend. It's a fun song with over the top lyrics, but I think it's appropriate for a twenty-something just trying to rock out and have some fun. - your least-favorite song
Also very difficult to pick. I have so greatly disliked so many songs and bands over the years, picking one least-favorite song is very tough. So, if I were doing this on Facebook, I'd probably pick some jokey answer like the Notre Dame Fight Song and be on with it. - a song that makes you happy
This, to me, is very close to "favorite song," although obviously less specific because it can be any song that makes me happy. My favorite songs tend to be those that make me happy. (Isn't that really your favorite anything? The one from which you derive the most pleasure?) I've already picked some hipstery electo-pop nonsense for #1 so I'll stay away from the awesome song I was tempted to pick and instead say Arcade Fire - Wake Up, which is something of a trite choice (or would have been three years ago), but given that this song marks the end of the week on the Dan Patrick Show and leads up to the DECA-YEAH on Jim Rome... it can't be beat. - a song that makes you sad
Track 3 from Sigur Rós ( ) album, unofficially titled "Samskeyti" (meaning "Attachment"), makes me very sad. I listened to this song a lot when my dad was sick, especially on the eve of my 21st birthday, when things really took a serious and sudden turn for the worse. It's a yearning and beautiful song, with a very typically Sigur Rós minimalist sound. - a song that reminds you of someone
Despite Brown-Eyed Girl being one of the most overdone karaoke songs of all time, this song actually reminds me of a good family friend who passed away far too young after a grueling battle with skin cancer. I remember him playing this song on his guitar when we went on vacation. It makes me sad but those are good memories, too. - a song that reminds you of somewhere
You would think that there would be a lot of songs that remind me specifically of one place, but it's not really so. There are a few that remind me of Spain, but I've referenced them in this space already. Most of the songs I like I've been listening to for so long that they don't remind me of anywhere in particular anymore. One of the only things I've been listening to recently that reminds me of a specific place is Tudo Bem by the Brazilian funk-rock band Garotas Suecas (i.e., "Swedish girls"). I discovered this band thanks to NPR during the Post-Apocalyptic Baltimore Era and I still associate it with the long and hot afternoons spent in the apartment there, hunched under the air-conditioning vent, looking for work or relaxing after a run. That actually happened. So weird. - a song that reminds you of a certain event
Too easy. Is there one song that sticks out from the #r20bc - also known as the Route 20 Limo Bar Crawl - more than WEIGHSON SHERBERT, the Jim Rome Show's take on Lady Gaga's Paparazzi? If you say yes, you weren't there or you're lying. #gettinslizzard - a song that you know all the words to
I am horrible at song lyrics and even my very favorite songs I trip up on. That makes this an easy pick. The only song I know all of the words to, almost without hesitation, is All Star by Smash Mouth, a favorite of Benny J's since circa fall 1999. This is my late-night karaoke standby because everyone knows it and it's easy to sing. - a song that you can dance to
Another easy one. I am a horrible dancer. I can do the Macarena, of course, as any good child of the 90s can, but the dance at the end of this hilariously over-the-topRainbow Road Song was performed to perfection in dance clubs across continental Europe by my friend Alberto and me during my time in Spain. - a song that makes you fall asleep
This is a hard one because I really don't listen to music when I'm trying to sleep. Unless the hum of the fan I keep on my bedside during the night to provide white noise and cool the room counts as a song, I don't know if I have a good answer. I had an awfully hard time staying awake during the interminable slow movement of Mahler 4 (too lazy to find a good clip) this summer, so let's just forget about my self-imposed no classics rule and go with that. - a song from your favorite band
Favorite band, like favorite song, is difficult to narrow down. I guess I have to go with Ben Folds in some incarnation, though, as I've seen him live a few times and I have consistently enjoyed his music since about 8th grade. (For the record, I didn't really like Songs for Silverman but I think I enjoyed Way to Normal more than most.) Which Ben Folds song? I guess Army for the fond memories of singing the background vocals during the concerts. - a song from a band you hate
As much as I hate Creed and most Nickelback, hating those bands is too MAINSTREAM, man. I need to hate a band that understands my preteen angst that I was feeling circa 2003. I'm sorry but I really don't think that this song or its band, Bowling for Soup, have many redeeming qualities. There are so many good choices.
BONUS SONG: I wrote a while back about at-bat music and M and I were discussing this again recently, and we were trying to come up with truly horrible at-bat music, but not bad in that it shits on the concept of at-bat music (like my girl Sinéad), but more like a song that only a really lame person would think is cool. It's almost impossible to describe this genre, but you know when you hear one. M came up with Smooth, by Rob Thomas with Santana, which is perfect. My vote would be for any Creed song not chosen ironically, or maybe something like Kryptonite by 3 Doors Down. Suggestions? - a song that is a guilty pleasure
So I guess this is a song that I'm not "supposed" to like based on my taste or social mores or whatever but actually love. This is a difficult list to put together, because I try not to really apologize for anything that I like... but I think Everytime [ugh] We Touch by CASCADA has to count. I guess it's not a guilty pleasure that I like this song. I typically like dance and light techno and even some J-Pop, especially with a 90s-ish twinge like this song. The guilty pleasure is HOW MUCH I like this song. I go nuts when this comes on. When mixed with alcohol, the results may be lethal or result in the greatest dancing you've ever seen. - a song that no one would expect you to love
This is kind of the same as the last one. I understand the distinction, but again, to me, they carry basically the same kind of meaning. I really love Hey Ya by OutKast and I think anyone could and should love this song, but like with the last song, I really love it and that's the surprising part. - a song that describes you
My hands are tied here; there's only one song I can pick. Years ago, a good friend decided he was going to ascribe songs to all of us based on our personalities. Given my somewhat neurotic and self-depreciating tendencies at the time. I was the first one assigned a song and I ended up with Puddle of Mudd's classic, She Hates Me, which I think I had coming. (Note: Linking to the Richard Cheese version of the song because the actual rendition is so awful. A song that uses the lyrics "trust" (as a sentence) and "shit went sour" is really not my type.) - a song that you hear often on the radio
Born This Way by the fair dame Gaga. Every goddamn time I leave the house. I think this is the worst and least-inventive single she's come out with - I like Lady Gaga generally - and it's a double bummer because I always think it's going to be another song. #genericchordprogressions - a song that you wish you heard on the radio
I am not sure what this means. I wish that I still heard this song on the radio, though, on a daily basis. This, of course, being Lust for Life by Iggy Pop, the Jim Rome Show's theme song. (Honorable mention to the Boomtown Rats.) - a song from your favorite album
"Favorite album" implies my favorite album to be taken at one time, as a complete work of art. I am having a hard time choosing between two albums, so I'll just cop out and choose both. Exit Music (For A Film) by Radiohead (off of OK Computer) and Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels) by Arcade Fire (off of the still-unmatched Funeral). Both songs have parenthetical titles, both are a little mellow or sad, and both are awesome tracks on awesome albums. Big whoop, wanna fight about it? - a song you listen to when you're angry
When you are either falling in or out of love, you feel like every song about love or about breakups was written ESPECIALLY FOR YOU. I still remember listening to Mr Brightside by The Killers causing a moment of shared jealous anger/disbelief with a friend of mine while we were at work when the song first came out. We'd both come off shaky breakups and we rocked out to this song. It gets my vote of "Best Pop Song of the Decade" even though it wasn't specifically a pop song, whatever. (See the last sentence of the last song's post.) - a song you listen to when you're happy
There are all kinds of different songs I'll listen to when I'm happy. (Maybe now would be a good time for the caveat that I probably should have listed a while ago: I probably don't sit around and just listen to music as much as most people.) If I'm excited it will be one thing, if I'm content, another. Who knows. I always like listening to Guster when I'm in a good mood because it's mostly upbeat music with bright vocals and instrumentals. Ramona always makes me happy. (I also usually start out every road trip with Rock by Lexicon, from Harold and Kumar, so this was the other song I almost picked. The instrumental is awesome and would be good radio bumper music.) - a song you listen to when you're sad
A great, great teacher of mine once told me that he likes music that stings a little bit, so he tends to like minor keys and things like that. When I am sad, I feel that way too, and sometimes like to just completely indulge in it. Hide and Seek by Imogen Heap is a really beautiful song rife with tasteful dissonance and melodramatic themes. Good one for a rainy day. And worth a listen if you've never heard it (or if you've only heard the crappy hip-hop sample of the bridge). - a song that you want to play at your wedding
For my mom, I'd want to play Willie Nelson's rendition of Always on My Mind, since it was my parents' wedding song. She would cry and I would cry but it would have to be played, I think! - a song that you want to play at your funeral
That's a bit morose. I don't know if that's something I want to spend a lot of time thinking about. I guess the slow movement of Beethoven's Seventh would be an appropriate choice just because it's dark and powerful and it's from maybe my favorite symphony, but if I had to choose something that wasn't featured in Mr Holland's Opus, uh... how about a New Orleans funeral? I'm not even kidding. Don't sit around and mope about me, I hope that I lead a good life worth celebrating and reminiscing about over cocktails and food. Just a Closer Walk with Thee. (Not necessarily that version but I love Patsy Cline.) - a song that makes you laugh
The Limp Bizkit Medley of Nookie and Breakstuff is the funniest thing Richard Cheese has ever done, as far as I'm concerned. This song just completely lampoons the concept of Limp Bizkit and does it so well. I love the vamp section where he addresses the audience. Richard Cheese's rendition of Radiohead's "Creep" is also hilarious - I wrote a term paper about it my last semester in school. Weird Al's "Pretty Fly for a Rabbi" only gets better with age (and of course "Albuquerque" and "Amish Paradise" and "White and Nerdy"). I don't know if I can count Santana Shreds but yeah, that too. And THIS from San Francisco Rush. I love to laugh so lots of songs make me laugh. - a song that you can play on an instrument
That's a tough one because... I mean how much of the song do I have to be able to play? A little brass background lick or solo? Then there are lots of songs I can play. Carrying a melody and singing, using a guitar or piano? Ehhhhh... I kind of taught myself to play a much-reduced version of Sola by Enanitos Verdes on piano because I love the chord progression (and lyrics, for that matter), so let's go with that. My favorite thing to perform on my actual instrument is probably the first Strauss Horn Concerto, though. - a song that you wish you could play
You could knock any woman off her feet if you could play and sing this well. - a song that makes you feel guilty
Guilty. I don't know. I actively try to avoid feeling guilty; I can't stand lying, or really even being more than mildly dishonest, because I absolutely hate feeling guilty. It absolutely eats me up. Not trying to say I should be beatified for that, but it's the truth. If we're being honest here, I guess Pomplamoose's rendition of Lady Gaga's Telephone makes me feel a little guilty because I tend to try very hard to get in touch with people when they're upset with me, even if they do not want to talk. (Actively trying to defuse conflict.) Every time that happens, I feel guilty and stupid for trying so hard and coming off desperate. I love this Pomplamoose tune, though! - a song from your childhood
I don't know how far back to go with my childhood but I guess I'll go all the way back... the first song I definitely remember hearing on the radio was U Can't Touch This (and if I need to list the artist, we have a problem). I was probably... four? Maybe five? On my way to pre-school in a friend's mom's car, this came out. It was a sunny day and it was as we were leaving the neighborhood. Some things stay with you so vividly. And some days, you can't remember what you had for breakfast. - your favorite song at this time last year
Well, the one I listened to the most was the aforementioned Richard Cheese cover of "Creep" (and Radiohead's version and Frank Bennett's top-100-in-Australia swing cover, of course) since I wrote a term paper comparing and contrasting the three. I also really loved driving around to Supermassive Black Hole with the windows down. Honorable mention: the weird I Love You, Ono song that was apparently in an HP ad while I was in Spain (where a cute girl from the Midwest played it for me while we waited for a delayed flight in the Madrid airport), and A Better Son/Daughter by Rilo Kiley (fueled heavily by the deliciously ironic Michigan football preview video of the season before set to this song).
WOW, THAT TOOK LONGER THAN THIRTY MINUTES. Another song nobody would expect me to like is the Paul Oakenfield remix of Starry-Eyed Surprise, it was the first song we'd play at our parties freshman year, almost forgot it. I could keep going, and I guess this was kind of fun, but I don't feel like I have a better understanding of my taste in music, except a further reinforcement that it's completely scatterbrained. If you somehow made it this far, congartulation! A winner is you!
