Stolen from Keith, a music meme.
List 10 musical artists you like, in no specific order (do this before reading the questions below).
1. The Beatles
2. Carbon Leaf
3. Coldplay
4. Nick Drake
5. Green Day
6. Vince Guaraldi
7. Led Zeppelin
8. Snow Patrol
9. Tom Petty
10. The Who
Okay, ten musical artists I like, without reading the questions. I dunno why, but I put them in alphabetical order.
And now, on to the questions!
What was the first song you ever heard by 6? Probably “Skating,” which opens A Charlie Brown Christmas. Or it could be “Linus and Lucy,” his signature tune.
What is your favorite song of 2? Oh, fuck. This one’s tough, as there are Carbon Leaf songs I associate with specific events or people from the past ten years. But if I had to encapsulate everything Carbon Leaf into a single song, I’m going to say “Blue Ridge Laughing” from Ether-Electrified Porch Music. But it’s a close run thing.
What is your favorite lyric of 5? It’s from “Wake Me Up When September Ends.”
Here comes the rain again
Falling from the stars
Drenched in my pain again
Becoming who we are
As my memory rests
But never forgets
What I lost.
Now, a confession. I think there are better Green Day songs. I think there are better Green Day songs on that album. But that song stayed with me when I wrote “Make-Believe” (along with “Boulevard of Broken Dreams”), so that’s why it gets the nod.
How many times have you seen 4 live? Never. I don’t believe Drake played any gigs between my birth in 1973 and his death in 1974.
What is your favorite song by 7? “Kashmir.”
Is there any song by 3 that makes you sad? Several, actually. “Fix You,” “The Scientist,” and the song they wrote for Embrace, “Gravity,” all make me sad.
What is your favorite lyric of 2? “Let Your Troubles Roll By,” from Indian Summer.
Love endures
It clings away
When asked to leave
It begs to stay
Like the perfect song
At imperfect times
It’s the way the chord struck
With the rhymes
So let your troubles roll by.
What is your favorite song by 9? It’s a toss-up between “Rebels” from Southern Accents and “Walls” from She’s the One. (“Walls” is a really underrated song, by the way. I don’t think it’s known to even the most dedicated Tom Petty fan, being on the soundtrack album for Edward Burns’ film She’s the One. But it’s got a great lyric, a solid performance, and it’s just underrated.)
When did you first get into 1? High school. Late ’80s.
How did you get into 3? I like Mojo. That and Q are, in my opinion, vastly superior to the American music industry magazines. So, sometime in 2000, I think it was, I was reading an issue of Mojo and read about this band Coldplay. They weren’t known on this side of the pond, but what I read… intrigued me, and thanks to the wonders of the Internet I bought The Blue Room from the UK. A few months later “Yellow” became fucking massive, and frankly I felt jealous that this band I thought only I knew suddenly everyone knew.
What is your favorite song by 4? “Place to Be” from Pink Moon.
How many times have you seen 9 live? Never.
What is a good memory concerning 4? Probably the Volkswagen commercial that brought “Pink Moon” to the world’s attention. 🙂
Is there a song by 10 that makes you sad? Off-hand, I can’t think of any… :/
What is your favorite song of 1? Oh, double fuck. “Let It Be.”
How did you become a fan of 10? Oddly, I can tell you exactly. Paul McCartney said that the Beatles were trying to make a louder racket with “Helter Skelter” than The Who did with “I Can See For Miles.” I had to listen for myself and make a determination. Sorry, Paul. I do think The Who made more of a racket with “Miles” than the Beatles did with “Helter Skelter.” 🙂
Well, that’s the questions. Curiously, there are none about number 8. So, let me add on for number 8!
When did you first hear 8? EA’s MVP Baseball 2004. They had a song, “Spitting Games,” on the game’s soundtrack. I liked the song, so when the album Final Straw released in the US three months later I picked it up.
Ah, hell. We’ll do another for number 8!
Is there a song by 8 that makes you sad? Yes. “Chasing Cars.” To tell you the truth, the song doesn’t just make me sad. “Chasing Cars” makes me weepy.
And there! Now we’re done! 🙂