Music Banter - View Single Post - Putting It Into Words: Why the heck do I love this stuff?

~~James~~ · 05-12-2014, 04:56 PM

My Ever Changing 'Top 200 Songs' List - Fifteen Hours In Heaven

In the title of this feature I am comparing my favourite songs to the popular party game 'Seven Minutes In Heaven'. Spending fifteen hours in a small cupboard making out with someone sounds like hell on earth and I think it's testament to the fact that music is the love of my life that I'd much rather spend the time passionately embracing the songs on this list. Music is marginally better than girls are. There are no commitment issues with music, I can decide midway through a Kate Bush album that I'm simply not feeling it and stick on something radically different like Miles Davis. Likewise there is no risk either, I know that no matter what I do The Clash will always be there for me and not decide that 'they're just not the relationship type'. I always know what Animal Collective are trying to convey and even if I don't it doesn't really matter, there's no second guessing and I don't have to spend hours deciphering the meaning of the word 'okay' in the second verse. Unless I want to of course. Yep, if there was a way I could marry music and devote my life to it I would weigh the options but sadly music doesn't smell that great, has no physical mass I can hold onto, and seriously lacks a vagina.

I'm about to come out, make a big announcement that's seriously frowned upon in the music community. I LIKE SONGS. I have never been and never will be one of those audiophiles that's uninterested unless something comes in album format. Albums are great. Albums are the novels of the music world and I do love sitting down with a doorstop of Dostoevsky occasionally - but I have always loved poetry, short stories, plays even more and I'm the same way with a nice four minute song. It's an art form that many have perfected. While there are less than thirty albums I would consider 10/10 every single song on this list is perfection through and through. I think it's time that the medium got a bit more recognition.

So I will present my top 200 songs followed by a list of 25 'Oh **** I forgot!' tracks. I will provide a brief discussion on the first 175 and then write more lengthy reviews for the final selection. I have stuck to genres that are reliant on songs so there's no Jazz, no Classical, and little Post-Rock and Metal. I have also put a limit on the length of songs, only songs less than twenty minutes will be included. I'll be posting other things in between. Today a friend and I decided to start work on a music and film 'zine' over Summer so I will post my articles from that on here also. As well as a stream of consciousness feature relating to songs that come up on shuffle called unsurprisingly 'Shuffle Streams'.

200. Future Islands - Vireo's Eye
This band have got fairly massive lately seemingly out of nowhere. Their new album has its upsides sure, but for me they'll never eclipse this track from their 2010 album In Evening Air. There are three amazing things that stand out about this band and specifically this song. First of all the synths - oh my god the synths on this song - they're the standout of the instrumentation. They sound so powerful and dramatic while at the same time fun and catchy, a seriously impressive feat. Future Islands deserve a prize for making a pop song like this sounds so high stakes! That brings me to the second notable aspect, the camp side. The dude from Future Islands (Samuel T. Herring) is known for his dance moves but I think they speak volumes for the music as well. They are an over the top band to the extreme in both their live performances and the emotion injected into the songs. Herring sings 'we're not kings yet' like Hamlet would. Herring sings like every word is coming straight from the heart and he only has one chance to let it out so he's not really thinking it through. I can't think of another band working today enjoying themselves this much. The last thing about the song is Herring's voice itself. He has a gorgeous voice. His voice is as deep and emotive as Matt Berninger's but as full of energy as Iggy Pop's and that's ultimately what keeps bringing me back to the band.

05-12-2014, 04:56 PM	#8 (permalink)
~~James~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Scotland Posts: 4,483	My Ever Changing 'Top 200 Songs' List - Fifteen Hours In Heaven In the title of this feature I am comparing my favourite songs to the popular party game 'Seven Minutes In Heaven'. Spending fifteen hours in a small cupboard making out with someone sounds like hell on earth and I think it's testament to the fact that music is the love of my life that I'd much rather spend the time passionately embracing the songs on this list. Music is marginally better than girls are. There are no commitment issues with music, I can decide midway through a Kate Bush album that I'm simply not feeling it and stick on something radically different like Miles Davis. Likewise there is no risk either, I know that no matter what I do The Clash will always be there for me and not decide that 'they're just not the relationship type'. I always know what Animal Collective are trying to convey and even if I don't it doesn't really matter, there's no second guessing and I don't have to spend hours deciphering the meaning of the word 'okay' in the second verse. Unless I want to of course. Yep, if there was a way I could marry music and devote my life to it I would weigh the options but sadly music doesn't smell that great, has no physical mass I can hold onto, and seriously lacks a vagina. I'm about to come out, make a big announcement that's seriously frowned upon in the music community. I LIKE SONGS. I have never been and never will be one of those audiophiles that's uninterested unless something comes in album format. Albums are great. Albums are the novels of the music world and I do love sitting down with a doorstop of Dostoevsky occasionally - but I have always loved poetry, short stories, plays even more and I'm the same way with a nice four minute song. It's an art form that many have perfected. While there are less than thirty albums I would consider 10/10 every single song on this list is perfection through and through. I think it's time that the medium got a bit more recognition. So I will present my top 200 songs followed by a list of 25 'Oh ** I forgot!' tracks. I will provide a brief discussion on the first 175 and then write more lengthy reviews for the final selection. I have stuck to genres that are reliant on songs so there's no Jazz, no Classical, and little Post-Rock and Metal. I have also put a limit on the length of songs, only songs less than twenty minutes will be included. I'll be posting other things in between. Today a friend and I decided to start work on a music and film 'zine' over Summer so I will post my articles from that on here also. As well as a stream of consciousness feature relating to songs that come up on shuffle called unsurprisingly 'Shuffle Streams'. 200. Future Islands - Vireo's Eye** This band have got fairly massive lately seemingly out of nowhere. Their new album has its upsides sure, but for me they'll never eclipse this track from their 2010 album In Evening Air. There are three amazing things that stand out about this band and specifically this song. First of all the synths - oh my god the synths on this song - they're the standout of the instrumentation. They sound so powerful and dramatic while at the same time fun and catchy, a seriously impressive feat. Future Islands deserve a prize for making a pop song like this sounds so high stakes! That brings me to the second notable aspect, the camp side. The dude from Future Islands (Samuel T. Herring) is known for his dance moves but I think they speak volumes for the music as well. They are an over the top band to the extreme in both their live performances and the emotion injected into the songs. Herring sings 'we're not kings yet' like Hamlet would. Herring sings like every word is coming straight from the heart and he only has one chance to let it out so he's not really thinking it through. I can't think of another band working today enjoying themselves this much. The last thing about the song is Herring's voice itself. He has a gorgeous voice. His voice is as deep and emotive as Matt Berninger's but as full of energy as Iggy Pop's and that's ultimately what keeps bringing me back to the band.