the N10

could you possibly compose a list of your ten favourite songs?

now if you’ve only heard twenty songs in your life, it may be possible
but if all you do is consume music — constantly — then it can be rather difficult
i originally decided to make a list of my ten favourite songs
after a while, i decided to make it a list of one hundred
i ended up putting down a hundred and forty

but after a lot of thinking, consideration, reflection, and continuous torture to my ear drums and the nerve-endings in my cochlea, i have by virtue of no real virtue, arrived at my ten favourite songs

this is not easy folks
i have a collection of songs that grows by ten songs (that i like) almost everyday
and is standing right now at around 670 (it grew by 20 in the past 24 hours…)

these songs were judged on two things, both the lyrics (the message) and the music (the medium)
many of the songs in the N140 had the lyrics, but the music wasn’t that strong
or the lyrics were crass, but the music was amazing
the songs in this list have, i think, both

these are songs, composed by artists that have had some sort of an impact on me — songs that haven’t left my head once they’ve bored in
amazing songs

they’re sort of arranged in order of which i like best, i.e., as a count-down list
but that’s never constant, it changes
the lines are often blurred
truth be said, i can’t say i like this one song the best, or that this other song is third
they’re all amazing songs…

so here it goes… the much awaited:

N10

10. song: california dreaming
artist(s): the mamas and the papas
type: folk
description: it’s honest, it’s spiritual, it’s smooth, it’s melodic, it makes you reflect, it makes you want to sing along — the ingredients of a great song
“stopped into a church/i passed along the way/well i got down on my knees/and i pretend to pray…” — that’s a lyric that hits home, i know how it feels
this song is a true classic

9. song: ask
artist(s): the smiths
type: rock
description: “shyness is nice and/shyness can stop you/from doing all the things in life you’d like to,” it plays
the message is of great encouragement countering our common fears, that prevent us from doing things that we really want to
the music is great, excellent use of drums, the british accents are particularly likable, and morrissey’s vocals bring out the message of the song (and all “smiths” songs, no doubt)

8. song: sitting
artist(s): cat stevens
type: folk
description: “oh, i’m on my way, i know i am/somewhere not so far from here/all i know is all i feel right now/i feel a power growing in my hair.”
now i’m not particularly sure what the power in my hair has to do with much, but this song is great — as usual, the cat’s music is entirely captivating
the lyrics seem to be about a soul, detached, yet surrounded, about life itself — the journey
cat’s vocals are painful, profound, heartfelt
a spiritually moving song

7. song: a change is gonna come
artist(s): sam cooke
type:
description: this song is played during the malcolm x movie by spike lee — one of the greatest movies ever — it’s played right before he gets assassinated
it’s a deeply moving song, sad, downtrodden, lamentable even
yet it contains hope, hope for better times
“it’s been a long time coming, but i know a change is gonna come…”
sam cooke’s voice conveys anxiety, suffering, even na�vety
“there’ve been times when i thought i couldn’t last for long, but now i think i’m able to carry on…”
we’ve all felt that way, be it as an oppressed society, or as a trouble individual
we can all relate
the song moves

6. song: what it’s like
artist(s): everlast
type: rock hop
description: it is so easy for us to take life for granted, to be where we are and say “bah, those poor people are poor because they’re too lazy to work”
“but God forbid you ever have to walk a mile in his shoes/’cause then you really might know what it’s like to sing the blues…”
yes, whitey ford sings the blues, and the message comes across strong and clear: you have no clue how cruel life can get, stop complaining and make something of yourself, and maybe you can help others along the ways
everlast’s interesting voice communicates the cynicism and criticism (of us) effectively
“i’ve seen a loser win/and a sad man grin/i’ve heard an honest man lie…”
and the music is simply wonderful

5. song: peace train
artist(s): cat stevens
type: folk-pop
description: a protest song, a song of hope, a song of dreams, visions, a song of the quest for peace
“now come and join the living/it’s not so far from you/and it’s getting nearer/soon it will all be true…”
the music and the chorus will get you rolling, join the peace train, board the train, get on the peace train
“why must we go on hating/why can’t we live in bliss..”
cat stevens gets the message across very well…
there is an alternative to killing each other like barbarians, to butchery, slaughter, and our idiocy
it’s called peace

4. song: everybody look what’s going down
artist(s): buffalo springfield
type: rock
description: this song is the protest song of protest songs
it strongly protests war, government propaganda, blind support
“it’s time we stop, children, what’s that sound/everybody look what’s going down…”
instead we just blindly follow, we do not bother to look, we just leap
“there’s battle lines being drawn/nobody’s right, if everybody’s wrong…”
how many of us realize that? instead we only accept our party line, our religious group, our national groups
it’s not about being right or wrong now, it’s about “us” vs. “them”
but the song, with it’s amazing music that even public enemy had to integrate into on of their songs
and its lyrics with an ever-fresh, ever-relevant message, instantly declares itself a classic

3. song: hajji
artist(s): divine styler
type: hip hop
description: “yo, it’s in you to be/in the servitude of one true G-O-D/comin’ like the what ya feelin’ if ya hearin it clear/you’re gettin’ closer to the source of a man with no fear…”
with his innovative and funky, blow-your-house-down music
and his intellectual, stimulating rhymes of reason make the message clear:
i was a moron, i got saved … isn’t it about time you found some real spiritual fulfillment?
it sure is, and that’s what this song constantly reminds me of — the ideals described give you some concrete abstract goals to work toward
“what would you die for?/Allah? or the stars and cars/and artifical stayin’ high..?”

2. song: cat’s in the cradle
artist(s): harry chapin
type: folk
description: harry chapin is one of the greatest songwriters, and this is one of the greatest songs
it’s about our constant drive for material gain, that makes us forget the things that really matter
case in point, a father forgetting his son even though the son wants to spend time with him — but the song takes it further, what goes around comes around
the father is now old, he now wants to spend time with his son, but it is now his son who’s forgetting his father
“i called him up just the other day/i said i’d like to see you if you don’t mind/he said i’d love to dad if i could find the time/you see my new job’s a hassle and the kid’s got the flu/but it’s sure nice talking to you, dad, it’s been sure nice talking to you
and as i hung up the phone it occurred to me/he’d grown up just like me/my boy was just like me…”
i simply cannot communicate to you the importance of this song, the profound message, the amazing music
unless i quote the song in its absolute entirety, each chorus, each note
chapin’s style is uniquely motivating and his voice portrays a solemn motion
you must listen to this song, one of the best ever

1. song: ocean spray
artist(s): manic street preachers
type: rock
description: the vocals are painful, they speak of pain gathered from experience, from reality
the lyrics are abstract, yet they relate a message of society’s chasng materialism, yet it also relates personal suffering
“it’s easy to laugh, it’s easy to cry/to cry so, so hard, that it can’t be denied…”
the opening and the finish seem to be in a non-english tongue
the profound level of this song cannot adequately be related through words
the music, the lyrics, the song itself
it is depressing, it is shaking, it is spiritual, it is temporal, it is deeply effecting, it is superficially affecting, it is lucid, it is incomprehensible, it is amazing, it is indescribable
it must be heard — now with full concentration, yet not with a passing “glance”…

the selection of these ten songs was nearly impossible
it is not surprising that there are two cat stevens songs (10% of the N140 is composed of cat stevens songs)
what is surprising is that i didn’t place a cat stevens song at first place, or that i actually got around to being able to select
i just wanted to put “cat stevens” rather than selecting a particular song or two — almost all of his songs have had equal impact
ocean spray is a rather odd song — sometimes i find it the greatest, and other times i find it average
i think that’s part of its spiritually mystic aura…

the songs are almost all particularly enjoyable, though i think the music and stylings of a change is gonna come may be too old for some

i want opinions, let me know what y’all think…

many of the people mentioned in the credits section of the N140 list have contributed greatly to this one, as well