25. Umbrella (Rihanna)
24. Pennies in my Pocket (Emilio Estefan)
23. The Moneymaker (Rilo Kiley)
22. Glory Box (Portishead)
21. Jackson (Johnny Cash & June Carter Cash)
20. The Lady is a Vamp (Spice Girls)
19. Homecoming (Kanye West)
18. Hey Jude (The Beatles)
17. Seasons of Love (Rent OST)
16. Underneath Your Clothes (Shakira)
15. Don’t Stop Me Now (Queen)
14. All These Things that I’ve Done (The Killers)
13. Brandy Alexander (Feist)
12. Lullaby (Dixie Chicks)
11. November Has Come (Gorillaz)
10. Alison (Elvis Costello)
09. Sinner Man (Nina Simone)
08. Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy (Queen)
07. Romeo and Juliet (Dire Straits)
06. Adia (Sarah McLachlan)
05. Hallelujah (Rufus Wainwright)
04. Samson (Regina Spektor)
03. Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie (Joanna Newsom)
One of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard. Again, the real meaning of it’s a little obscure, but I love it because it’s so pretty, heart-rending, nostalgic, whimsical and weird. Favourite lines are “Your skin is something that I stir into my tea” and “and you are starry, starry, starry”, which gives me shivers every time I hear it.
02. Son of a Preacher Man (Dusty Springfield)
Sexual awakening is the dominant theme in this song, which was played in Pulp Fiction, as Springfield sings the age-old story of a girl becoming a woman (ironically, Girl you’ll Be a Woman Soon by Urge Overkill was also on the PF OST). Lots of my favourite female artists have covered it, including Aretha Franklin, Dolly Parton and Nancy Sinatra, but the original is the definitive. Sexy, soulful and terrific for dancing to whilst getting dressed. And the thought of being seduced by someone you shouldn’t sounds very enticing. “Being good isn’t always easy?” So true.
01. Rocky Raccoon (The Beatles)
I first heard this back in 2007 when I had my iPod on shuffle, sitting on the train to somewhere. I had uploaded all of The Beatles’ songs, but I hadn’t actually heard some of them before. Rocky Raccoon hit me like a bullet. It tells the story of a young lad who tries to avenge the man who stole his girlfriend. It’s a sad love story with an old western saloon melody and probably has some of the most random lyrics ever, probably containing thousands of layers I’d never thought about, but my my, what a pretty song! I really love it, it’s breathlessly sad, beautifully song but extremely catchy. When I’m extremely emotional, just listening to this song makes me cry.
Cool list, lots of varied genres. It's always nice to see another person who actually rates Rufus Wainwright's version of Hallelujah, it makes me so emotional.
ReplyDeleteIt's my favourite. I mean, I love Leonhard Coen and Jeff Buckley's version, but Rufus Wainwright's voice just oozes so much pain when he sings it... amazing.
ReplyDeleteYou should definitely read it. It's well worth the read. Really like your blog btw, been reading it for a while. And thought the Keira Knightley photoshoot was pretty cool though some were amazingly random e.g. lampshade head!
ReplyDeleteDo you have a Last.fm account? It's interesting to keep a track of what music you're listening to. My account is http://www.last.fm/user/Anachrony.
ReplyDeleteI recently got a new one, I used to be at http://www.last.fm/user/GlamTrash but my music has changed a lot since I got it in 2004 so I felt it was time for a new account.
Oh, that sounds interesting!! I'll get an account later today...
ReplyDeleteAnd @ Hannah: Next time I go to the library, I'll definitely look for Rebecca! :)
ReplyDeletean ecclectic, interesting list. love "homecoming" and "seasons of love". i like shakira too but why "underneath your clothes"? i find that one of her weakest songs.
ReplyDeleteAww, Underneath Your Clothes holds many, many fond memories for me… particularly of March and April of this year, when I was writing football slash about two cute players, and that song described their relationship so well!
ReplyDeleteoh. can't argue with that, lol.
ReplyDeleteOMG! "Glory Box" is an awesome song, and if you want to hear an awesome cover of it check out Chanel Cole's version from Australian Idol.
ReplyDeleteI love me some Regina Spektor and Joanna Newsom as well!
"Alison" is beautiful. Glad to see it on there.
ReplyDelete