This was surprisingly easy to do. I had expected to struggle … but I soon found myself imposing arbitrary rules just to make it interesting. The most important was that I wasn’t going to pick more than one song per artist. Note that they’re alphabetical by artist … that’s the order that I skimmed my collection on iTunes.<\/p>\n
1) Somebody do something, anything soon. Face up and Sing<\/b>, Ani Difranco. This song is something of a creed for me … and just about any line from it works pretty well. Anything from the beginning: Some chick said ‘thank you for saying all the things I never do’; I said ‘the thanks I get is to take all the shit for you. It’s nice that you listen, it’d be nicer if you joined in.<\/em> All the way to the end: Why am I so lonely? Why am I so tired? I need backup. I need company. I need to be inspired.<\/em><\/p>\n 2) I’ve crossed over the line between stupid and fun<\/em><\/p>\n The First Drink of the Day<\/b>, Seven Seconds of Love. Just a funny song, about a serious problem.<\/p>\n 3) I was there when you were young and strong and perverted, and everything that makes a young man a star.<\/em><\/p>\n Surrounded<\/b>. Chantal Kreviazuk. Amanda Satchell sang this song the last year I was in Amazin’ Blue, and we actually crossed paths with the original artist while on tour. I thought that was pretty cool. Looking back, it’s gotten more poignant with time. Don’t you passionate and powerful people go fading on me, hear?<\/p>\n 4) I have one flag and she is a flying Southern Cross<\/b>. Crosby Stills & Nash. Another Amazin’ Blue rendition that sticks with me.<\/p>\n 5) The little plastic castle is a surprise, every time.<\/em><\/p>\n Little Plastic Castle<\/b>, Ani Difranco. I broke my own rule about “one song per artist,” because I use this one in conversation so frequently. Maybe there’s some sorta local competition here to see who can be the rudest…<\/em><\/p>\n 6) I push, I pull, the days go slow.<\/em><\/p>\n Earthquake Weather<\/b>, Beck. I love the slow grind of this entire album. This song in particular is hot and sweaty … dirty and dusty. It speaks, not just to getting ground down by a day of work … but by a life of work. <\/p>\n 7) You must die, I alone am best!<\/em><\/p>\n I hope you die<\/b>. The Bloodhound Gang. They got their 15 minutes of fame for “The Bad Touch.” <\/p>\n 8) Sheep go to heaven, goats go to hell.<\/em><\/p>\n Sheep go to heaven<\/b>. Cake. It’s all in the way they pro-nounce the words.<\/p>\n 9) if I had the strength to, I would leave you all to your own devices. The Dreaming Tree<\/b>. Dave Matthew’s Band. It’s in some freaky time signature, it’s about 9 minutes long, and it’s low and depressing as hell.<\/p>\n 10) I never would have dreamed in a million years I’d see White America<\/b>. Eminem. Eminem is remarkable … at least his early stuff was. You don’t have to think too hard … just listen to exactly what the man is saying. It’s like Steven Colbert.<\/p>\n 11) Just what we all need: Everybody’s Fool<\/b>. Evanescence. It was hard to pick a line for Evanescence. I like this one, actually, because I’ve seen the video they made for it, and it’s exactly what I thought it should be.<\/p>\n 12) Sweat it all out.<\/em><\/p>\n Push It<\/b> Garbage. This is barely even part of the song, really. It’s what she’s whispering over a bridge between lyrics.<\/p>\n 13) I want a valentine, a concubine, a world without crime, peace in our time, a chance to get funky and fine. I want it all<\/b>. The House Jacks. <\/p>\n 14) Get out the map, and lay your finger anywhere down.<\/em><\/p>\n Get out the Map<\/b>. The Indigo Girls. earthshine<\/a> and I used to sing this, substituting “Get off the rock, get off the rock and lay your crack pipe down.”<\/p>\n 15) This may not be the end of the world, but you can see it from here.<\/em><\/p>\n This may not be the end of the world<\/b>. John Mellencamp. Gee, I tend to pick the title line from songs, don’t I?<\/p>\n 16) Start an escort service, for all the right reasons.<\/em><\/p>\n Cowboy<\/b>. Kid Rock. Best played loud. The story goes that an interviewer once asked KR “what are ‘all the right reasons’ for starting an escort service. The response? A withering “what the hell do you think?”<\/p>\n 17) It’s just one of those days when you don’t wanna wake up Break Stuff<\/b>. Limp Bizkit. <\/p>\n 18) You are the taxidermist’s daughter.<\/em><\/p>\n Representing the Mambo<\/b>. Little Feat. I love this as the best reason ever for breaking off a relationship. I’ve got to slip away, it just won’t work between us, your daddy runs a house of pain! Hey! You are the taxidermist’s daughter<\/em>.<\/p>\n 19) Do what you wanna do.<\/em><\/p>\n Do what you wanna do.<\/b> Lords of Acid. Best played loud.<\/p>\n 20) Kinda I want to, just for tonight. We could pretend it’s all right.<\/em><\/p>\n Kinda I want to<\/b>. Nine Inch Nails<\/p>\n 21) They use small words, but not me! I’m bigger than that!<\/em><\/p>\n Big Time<\/b>. Peter Gabriel<\/p>\n 22) I sing, you sing, we all sing the new song.<\/em><\/p>\n I sing, you sing<\/b>. The Real Group<\/p>\n 23) Who is this beautiful creature with an insatiable lust for the dead?<\/em><\/p>\n Living Dead Girl<\/b>. Rob Zombie<\/p>\n 24) You cannot save me, you can’t even save yourself.<\/em><\/p>\n Save Yourself<\/b>. Stabbing Westward. I associate this song with a period in my life when I was (a) listening to really loud music (b) replacing my previous religious faith with something else entirely.<\/p>\n 25) If it happens again, I shall worry.<\/em><\/p>\n The Soul Cages<\/b>. Sting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This was surprisingly easy to do. I had expected to struggle … but I soon found myself imposing arbitrary rules just to make it interesting. The most important was that I wasn’t going to pick more than one song per artist. Note that they’re alphabetical by artist … that’s the order that I skimmed my . . . → Read More: Answers to the top 25…<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chris.dwan.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1403"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chris.dwan.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chris.dwan.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chris.dwan.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chris.dwan.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1403"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chris.dwan.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1403\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chris.dwan.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1403"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chris.dwan.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1403"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chris.dwan.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1403"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nI know I can’t be the only, whatever I am in the room.<\/em><\/p>\n
\nShe is all that I have left, and music is her name.<\/em><\/p>\n
\nI don’t ask much, but won’t you speak, please?<\/em><\/p>\n
\nso many mother f-ing people who feel the same as me.<\/em><\/p>\n
\nMore lies about a world that never was and never will be.<\/em><\/p>\n
\nI want it all.<\/em><\/p>\n
\nEverything is fucked, everybody sucks.<\/em><\/p>\n