1-10 of 30 Songs I Can’t Live Without (for lack of creativity for a better title)

Still recovering from the 100-song meme Baddie made us do (one I decided to limit to my Facebook buddies for fear of judgment from the music critics’ eyes) and already another one comes up asking for another 30.

Why do I even bother? I mean, how many more songs can I come up with? And how many times do I have to express my love for these songs? I don’t know. But with less songs, I figure, I can try my hardest not to repeat artists. And, with emphasis on the phrase “can’t live without,” I’m definitely putting more heart into it.

There’s something about music-related memes that make them irresistible. No?

Now, some of these songs I’ve loved since childhood. Some are, you’ll notice, quite new (or newly discovered), but in one way or another, have moved me.

These, my friends, are the 30 songs I would die without. (Well, the first 10. I’ll be doing this in 3 parts so kids with ADHD won’t shriek in horror at the text overload. Consider yourself welcome.)

Here it goes, in no particular order except for what came to mind first and whatnot:

1. Jason Mraz feat. James Morrison – Details in the Fabric
When I have a kid, I’ll be singing this to him/her. Unborn Child, you should know that you should “hold your own, know your name, and go your own way.”
It can double as a lullaby, even. Ahh.

2. The Beatles – Strawberry Fields Forever
Because everybody needs their own “Strawberry Field” to run to, where “nothing is real” and “there’s nothing to get hung about.”

3. John Lennon – Imagine
I’ll try not to get into it TOO much, but this song — omigod THIS SONG (and Strawberry Fields Forever) is just… perfect for me. Imagine embraces everything I believe in, everything I want to believe in, and everything I hope for.

4. The Who – Baba O’Riley
(a.k.a. “Teenage Wasteland”)
We’re all in need of some motivation or some release after a long hard day at work, or any other source of stress. And this is it. Upbeat and screamworthy: “OUT HERE IN THE FIELD!!! I WORK FOR MY MEALS!!!!” Hell yeah!

5. John Mayer – Dreaming With A Broken Heart
I could have gone with his lesser known songs on Continuum, but I couldn’t. This song just hits the spot right where it’s emo. Plus, it’s got piano.
“When you’re dreaming with a broken heart, waking up is the hardest part.” Ouch.

6. Eric Benet – The Last Time
Yes. More mush!
Someday, I’ll have someone to sing this to. Or play this song for, being that I can’t sing for shit. Either way, this, my friends, shall be my wedding song when the time comes. Never mind that Eric Benet was Halle Berry’s sex addict ex-husband.
“This is the last time I’ll fall in love.” Yihee.

8. Elton John – Tiny Dancer
It was the scene from Almost Famous. Tension was high in the tour bus, and the kid, William, was wanting to go home. A familiar song came on the radio. Piano intro, then we hear Elton John. “Blue jean baby, LA lady, seamstress for the band…” A band member can’t help but sing along. Looks are exchanged. A smile creeps up on each member’s face. Then everybody breaks into a full-on sing-along. Needless to say, the tension was broken, and somewhere along the way Penny Lane puts her hand on William’s face and says, “You are home.”
Beautiful.

9. Oasis – Champagne Supernova
When I die, I want to go and be in that champagne supernova in the sky.
Sometimes, words don’t have to make sense to be something meaningful.

10. Yann Tiersen – Comptine d’un autre été: L’après-midi
(from the soundtrack to Amelie)
There was a time that I was alone at home and feeling down. It was the type of melancholy that couldn’t be helped by noisy rock music or even the upbeat songs from the Beatles’ moptop days. It was one that needed to be, how shall I say… embraced. I didn’t need a distraction. I needed background music to my pain. No words, only the thoughts in my head and the sweet slow painful melody played on piano by Yann Tiersen. I put this on loop. It turned out to be just what I needed.

Continued here.