My own private soundtrack (Top 10 Singles)

Member Name: eilidhcatriona

Product:	Top 10 Singles
Date:	31/10/09 (65 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: 10 phenomenal songs

Disadvantages: Only 10????

I never thought I'd be writing one of these Top 10 or survey-style reviews, yet here I am. I like reading them, I just didn't think writing one was my thing. But while recently writing a Muse review I found myself writing that one of the tracks would probably make it onto my list of all-time favourite songs, and that got me wondering - what else would be on that list?

I've always thought of myself having a fairly eclectic and open minded taste in music, although I hate manufactured pop and most chart music. I was recently pigeonholed by my colleagues as an "American rock chick" due to my overexcitement at booking Bon Jovi tickets. To add to this, someone commented to me "I bet you like Journey" and I responded with "Ooh yeah Journey are great!", therefore confirming in their minds that I like "cheesy and preferably big haired" American rock. I do, I think it's great, but I like more than just that. Over the years I've had many musical loves, some which have stayed and some which have been left by the road - Nirvana, Oasis, Pink Floyd, Meat Loaf, Runrig, Nickelback, Eminem and D12, Bloodhound Gang, Space, the Strokes, the list goes on...

Narrowing down my choices to ten has been tough. I quickly wrote out a list and found I had about 20 songs on it. So first of all I decided to cut it down to one song per artist, which was hard enough, and then I just had to get tough on the rest. Some which didn't make the cut included Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd, Sugarhigh by Coyote Shivers, Alba and The Cutter by Runrig, In These Arms by Bon Jovi and Lover You Should Have Come Over by Jeff Buckley. Below, in no particular order, are the ones which did make the cut to my Top 10 Songs.

1. Comfortably Numb - Pink Floyd

"There is no pain, you are receding, A distant ship's smoke on the horizon"
You are only coming through in waves, your lips move but I can't hear what you're saying."

I was going to start my little spiel on this particular song by saying it's a contender for my favourite song ever, but then I realised there's a good chance I'd say that for every song on this list. I've loved Pink Floyd for years, since the days when I was raiding my dads record collection for new music to listen to. They have so many absolutely incredible tracks that picking one could have been impossible, but it always comes back to Comfortably Numb. I can listen to this over and over; some days I do. The lyrics, the rhythms...and that guitar solo blows me away every time.

2. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction - Rolling Stones

"When I'm watching my TV, and that man comes on to tell me how white my shirts can be,
But he can't be a man 'cause he doesn't smoke the same cigarettes as me."

My love of the Rolling Stones is another thing which can be attributed to my dad. In fact, a lot of my musical tastes can be. He was always a Stones rather than Beatles fan, and has a huge vinyl collection of their records. I have no idea when I first heard Satisfaction, but it's another song I can happily listen to on repeat. I particularly love the sax riff throughout. That, coupled with Jagger's vocals, the guitar and the drums, is just heaven in under 4 minutes.

3. Born To Be My Baby - Bon Jovi

"So hold me close better hang on tight, buckle up baby it's a bumpy ride,
We're two kids hitching down the road of life, our world, our fight."

It was a really hard choice between this and In These Arms for my Bon Jovi song. I love Bon Jovi, they tie for my favourite band with Runrig, and they have so many great rock songs. Born To Be My Baby was always my undisputed favourite until my best friend, who is my Bon Jovi concert buddy, told me shortly after we met that her favourite was In These Arms. I had always liked it, but I revisited it, and started to really love it. But after a great deal of soul searching (or something), I have to stick with my original favourite. The lively opening followed by Jon Bon Jovi's low vocals in the verse just gets me jumping every time - this is the kind of song I can't listen to on the tube for fear of singing out loud!

4. With Or Without You - U2

"See the stone set in your eyes,
See the thorn twist in your side,
I wait for you."

Again, I struggled with my U2 choice - it was almost The Unforgettable Fire, but I had to choose the song which I listened to over and over through my teenage years. With Or Without You is so beautiful, almost haunting at the start, and Bono's subdued vocals are so moving. I've got it on now, and I find I can barely write about it because it is distracting me so much, it's just an incredible song and one which always moves me and really makes me listen to the lyrics.

5. Stand By Me - Ben E. King

"No I won't be afraid, oh I won't be afraid,
Just as long as you stand, stand by me."

Stand By Me is one of those songs that everyone knows and loves (or it seems that way). It is beautifully simple, and that's why it is so effective. The bass and King's fantastic vocals dominate. I've always loved this song, but I think what elevated it to "top 10" status for me was something which happened the summer I was 18. I had gone to a barbecue with my best friend at her brothers. It had been a beautiful Aberdeen summers day (yes, it happens occasionally), we had a relaxed afternoon, and as night fell my friend, her brother and I were standing round the embers of the barbecue. For some reason we started singing Stand By Me - I was doing the bass, she was the drums and her brother was singing. It was lovely peaceful moment of friendship, and we were soon joined by others. Whenever I hear Stand By Me I remember that moment.

6. Hearts of Olden Glory - Runrig

"I caught a fleeting glimpse of life, And though the water's black as night
The colours of Scotland leave you young inside"

A little story for you to introduce this song choice: I've been a Runrig fan all my life, and in fact I always say since before I was born. When my mum was heavily pregnant with me, she and my dad went to a Runrig concert in Tain. I was exposed before I was born; I never stood a chance. I don't remember the first time I heard Runrig, because they have just always been there. And yet again I've struggled to pick just one song. I narrowed it down to this and Going Home, but it has to be Hearts of Olden Glory. It is from my favourite Runrig album, The Cutter and The Clan, but given how many upbeat and rocky Runrig songs there are that I love, I'm almost surprised I've chosen this to have a place of honour on my list. Hearts of Olden Glory is a beautiful slow track, with sparse instrumentation and the main focus being Donnie Munro's voice and the choir backing him. I always hear this as being a celebration of Scotland's beauty, and every time I hear it, it takes me to a remote sunny glen in the Highlands.

7. Supermassive Black Hole - Muse

"Glaciers melting in the dead of night,
And superstars sucked into the supermassive."

This is the song which caused this review to come about, and in all honesty it almost didn't make the list. But I really do love it, right from the opening guitar riff. I've loved it since I first heard it, but now I love it even more because it has been in Twilight! Almost every morning at the moment I find myself digging my mp3 player out, stopping whatever is playing and finding this song as I'm approaching my office, because I find that it wakes me up and gets me ready to face the day.

8. Come As You Are - Nirvana

"Come, dowsed in mud, soaked in bleach, as I want you to be,
As a trend, as a friend, as an old memoria."

Ah Nirvana...rest in peace Kurt Cobain. He is one of my idols, and while many Nirvana fans cite Teen Spirit as their favourite, mine has always been Come As You Are. I love the simple bass riff (so simple even I can play it), Cobain's vocals and the lyrics themselves. Nirvana were the kings of grunge, and even now, 15 years after Cobain's death, I listen to them regularly and am still amazed at the music they produced during their short career. I listened to Nirvana over and over when I was a teenager, and I still do. This is one band which I got to before my dad, however he has recently bought himself a copy of Nevermind, which just seems a bit wrong - surely parents aren't meant to listen to Nirvana???

9. Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life) - Green Day

"It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right,
I hope you had the time of your life."

Until 2001, Green Day were one of those bands that I knew of and liked, but had never owned anything by. Then I saw them at Gig On The Green in summer 2001, and that all changed. I had known and liked Good Riddance before this, but when they ended their set with their now infamous trick of setting the kit on fire and Billie Joe performing Good Riddance solo, I was entranced. It was perhaps wasteful, but hey that's rock and roll - and it was so beautiful, just the fire, the guitar, Billie Joe and thousands of fans singing together.

10. Paradise By The Dashboard Light - Meat Loaf

"Though it's cold and lonely in the deep dark night,
I can se paradise by the dashboard light."

I've just surprised the hell out of myself by suddenly changing my final choice from Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley to this...but it feels right. Bat Out Of Hell is one of those albums which still sounds fresh so many years after its initial release, and Paradise has always been my favourite song from it. It's fun, a bit silly, all about sex and just good rock and roll. It tells a story in three parts - Meat Loaf and his girl are getting a bit hot and heavy, then suddenly the passion stops as she demands that he commit to her for ever, and then it ends with him giving in so he can get some and they end up miserable together for the rest of their lives. The rhythms and riffs are classic rock and roll, and the vocals of Meat Loaf and Ellen Foley go perfectly together. There's a hilarious section which is like a baseball commentary (which was actually done by the voice of the Yankees), which keeps talking about getting to different bases, then just as he's about to make it, she stops him and demands he agree to marry her. Everything about the song is brilliant, and it strikes the perfect balance between sex, frustration and humour.

So there you have it, my top 10 favourite songs of all time. Despite all the difficulties of choosing only 10, I'm pleased with the result - I think it's spot on and reflects my musical taste perfectly. And now I'm going to go listen to them all again...

Summary: If there are songs on this list you don't know...go listen to them!