A Month of Facts about Dru: Day Twenty-six

Today's true story:

It's mailbag time!! Well, not really. Sort of. I guess only if you count one piece of mail in a bag. And maybe it was more like a Facebook comment with no expectation of a serious answer. Anyway, loyal reader (ha, ha) Eric asks, "If you were to make a soundtrack for your life, what songs would be included (favorite songs, songs that describe you, etc.)? Minimum 11 songs, max 25 songs. And if you want to go further with it, what would the order be?"

Well, Slic Ric, I am going to use the max of 25 songs. Why? Well, I'm sure if I really wanted to, I could distill everything down to the essential 11 tracks. However, I've always envisioned the soundtrack of my life to be an epic-length double album. So there. I'm also gonna give you the track sequence. (The album's songs generally will be sequenced in chronological order of impact on my life except where noted to improve musical flow, or just 'cause I feel like it.)

These aren’t the 25 greatest songs of all time and these aren’t even my 25 favorite songs. This is not my desert island disc.

These are just 25 songs I would use to make a soundtrack for my life.

Here’s the tracklist for an overview. Commentary follows.

[Disc One]
1. In My Life – The Beatles
2. Robotech: Main Theme – Ulpio Minucci
3. Champagne Supernova - Oasis
4. It’s OK – Delirious?
5. Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of – U2
6. Cammy’s London Drizzle – McVaffe
7. Let Down – Radiohead
8. Losing My Religion – R.E.M.
9. Tonight, Tonight – The Smashing Pumpkins
10. Landslide – Fleetwood Mac
11. Regret – New Order
12. The Universal – Blur

[Disc Two]
1. Inertia Creeps – Massive Attack
2. Umi Says – Mos Def
3. Summer Sun – Koop
4. Lost in the Supermarket – The Clash
5. Bend and Not Break – Dashboard Confessional
6. Somewhere Only We Know – Keane
7. Rebellion (Lies) – Arcade Fire
8. So Here We Are – Bloc Party
9. Moment of Truth – Gang Starr
10. Ladyflash – The Go! Team
11. Digital Love – Daft Punk
12. Wonderful King – David Crowder Band
13. Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken - Enfield

___________

1. “In My Life” – The Beatles. I grew up listening to the Beatles. My dad’s pretty into ‘60s era British Invasion. “In My Life” probably wasn’t my favorite Beatles song when I was a kid, but for now I would say it’s worthy to represent that portion of my childhood. Growing up on the Beatles probably formed the foundation of my fondness for British music. (My earliest Beatles memories as a kid are probably the songs from their boy band era. I also had this ridiculous cassette tape of Alvin and the Chipmunks singing boy band era Beatles songs. I listened to that one over and over as a kid.)

Key lyric: “All these places had their moments / With lovers and friends I still can recall / Some are dead and some are living / In my life I’ve loved them all”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZpVxLjqXPE

2. “Robotech: Main Title” – Ulpio Minucci. I only have super vague memories of watching Robotech as a little kid, but I definitely got into when I caught it in syndication years after its original airing when I was in middle school. I think the Robotech Perfect Soundtrack Album was the first CD I ever owned. (Purchased with allowance money.) I still have nothing but love for Robotech itself, one of the greatest space operas ever conceived. I used to get into heated arguments with classmates about Robotech vs. Star Wars. I usually won those arguments when rational, verbal discourse degenerated into fisticuffs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHfNniqT7bo&feature=related

3. “Champagne Supernova – Oasis. When I was in middle school, I started watching fewer Saturday morning cartoons. (Well, maybe, like, an hour less than I used to.) Instead, I would listen to this radio program that played British music. I don’t remember exactly what it was called, but it had “Britpop” in the title and was probably something like Britpop Breakfast. My classmates at school were still talking about rap music and 2Pac versus Biggie and I just didn’t like that kind of music. I can’t remember too many exact bands or songs that I used to like, but Oasis stood out to me. “Champagne Supernova” isn’t even my favorite Oasis song (check out “Cast No Shadow” or “Don’t Go Away,” either of which I feel actually describes me better) but it’s emblematic of the era in which I first began to discover pop music. An American song like Sublime’s “Santeria” might have been in contention for track 3, but in the end I think I’d rather listen to Oasis than Sublime.

Key lyric (not that it makes any stinking sense; it’s just memorable): “Slowly walking down the hall / Faster than a cannonball”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3C7DECI0jU

4. “It’s OK” – Delirious?. I discovered Delirious? when I was in high school. Mezzamorphis is right up there with OK Computer as my favorite album of all time, and “It’s OK” is right up there with “Let Down” as my favorite song of all time. “It’s OK” has always moved me, and the arrangement is just powerful. There’s really not a whole lot of music that I liked when I was a high schooler that now I’m proud to admit I liked, but this is definitely something I still go back to regularly. Mezzamorphis has really high quality production for a “Christian” album. I still think a lot of Christian music in general is pretty crappy, but I can’t be ashamed of Delirious?. My favorite band, and another signpost that pointed me towards more British music.

Key lyric: “She’s as pretty as hell and her eyes have no home / The beauty has run from your face”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wCpVgrO2dI

5. “Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of” – U2. All That You Can’t Leave Behind was probably the album I listened to most during senior year of high school. This was probably my favorite song. I couldn’t wait to leave high school behind. (Snicker, snicker.) I remember this song has two different music videos. One of them is kind of lame (just Bono falling out of a car in slow motion) but the other one is downbeat yet strangely moving. The video is about a football kicker who misses an easy game-winning field goal and then relives the moment for the rest of his life. John Madden even makes a cameo. Unfortunately, for some reason, I couldn’t find that video on YouTube (at least not with the Madden cameo). However, I did find this gem that sets the song as background music over a montage of the Lions’ recent 0-16 season.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igVkuE9eyXg

6. “Cammy’s London Drizzle” – McVaffe. Pretty stinkin’ random, huh? I need something to represent the Street Fighter addict in me and this track will do the job. I didn’t become a competent player until I was in college and had easy access to an arcade and quality competition, but even as a kid I would spend hours toiling away on the home versions of Street Fighter II and its many iterations. I’ve played these games so much that everyone’s stage music is practically iconic in my mind, but I’ve always been partial to Cammy’s theme. This is actually a remix that I discovered on ocremix.org, which is just an awesome site for free videogame music. Nice melody with a soothing, downbeat arrangement with a steady hip-hop beat and a slithering baseline that creeps in at the right time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUoXtKnpDYw

7. “Let Down” – Radiohead. This song moves me. To tears, even. I have to have Radiohead in here somewhere. This is probably my favorite song ever, although this spot on the album could really be any number of other Radiohead cuts (“Black Star” would be my top alternate choice). But “Let Down” is truly the perfect song, and that’s why it’s here. The melody, the arrangement, the lyrics, and the vocals all complement each other. I find it beautiful that a piece that has this overtly downtrodden and forlorn tone and embodiment of the concept of Weltschmerz is ultimately full of hope and yearning.

Key lyric: “Don’t get sentimental / It always ends up drivel”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZd16_RPgFM

8. “Losing My Religion” – R.E.M. There was about a week when I was completely absorbed with this song. I loved the tune; I couldn’t make sense of the lyrics. I kept trying to analyze the words and I eventually figured that it was the most obsessive unrequited love song ever. Later, I learned that “losing my religion” was a Southern phrase roughly equivalent to “at the end of my rope.” If I had known that earlier, I think it wouldn’t have taken me so long to understand the lyrics. Regardless, I greatly identify with this song.

Key lyric: “The lengths that I will go to / The distance in your eyes”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQ2yXWi0ppw&feature=related

Also, I feel that the music video to this song is particularly artfully crafted. I think it’s inspired by that great short story “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I recommend reading that and watching the music video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=if-UzXIQ5vw&a=GSroZZTEwyQ&playnext_from=ML

9. “Tonight, Tonight” – The Smashing Pumpkins. It wasn’t until I was in college that I finally started to appreciate the Pumpkins. I used to think Billy Corgan had a weird, nasally voice. I guess I still think he has a weird voice, but that’s why I like it; when he sings his songs, he sings them with a passion and earnestness that gives you the sense he means every word. I chose “Tonight, Tonight” to represent the Pumpkins on my soundtrack because I feel like I need some entrance music. It’s a song about making the best of every moment in life, but that string section is flat-out heroic.

Key lyric: “We’ll crucify the insincere tonight”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFTIX3zl_8s
(The music video is interesting, too.)

10. “Landslide” – Fleetwood Mac. Because sometimes even a big kid like me needs a song about growing up. Stevie Nicks is definitely one of my all-time female vocalists, along with Neko Case and Karen Bergquist (from Over the Rhine). This is just a powerful, moving song. It’s a great song to ruminate to. The Pumpkins did a great cover of it, but for some reason it just wouldn’t feel right to have two songs back-to-back by the same band.

Key lyric: “Can the child within my heart rise above?”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPc5YCBz9LQ

11. “Regret” – New Order. Not gonna lie, I’m not completely sure what this song is about. I think it’s essentially song about convincing yourself to believe in a lie in order to be a stronger person. That’s what I’ve always thought, at least. Maybe someone else has a better analysis. I don’t think this song is so much about moving on as it is about the struggle of moving on. Who hasn’t ever felt that way? That’s life, man. This song is life. There are some rather nice lines about alienation. It’s angsty without the immaturity. It makes me feel rather nostalgic, but for what, I couldn’t really say.

Key lyric: “Maybe I’ve forgotten the name and the address / Of everyone I’ve ever known / It’s nothing I regret”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViwHx2KWLro

12. “The Universal” – Blur. “The Universal” would be the final track on the first disc of my double album. It’s an epic closer. A warning about the dangers of materialism, this song so clearly encapsulates the pessimism of modern life. And yet, beneath the outward veneer of pessimism, I find there lurks a beacon of optimism. (Hear Damon’s exhortation to “just let it go.”) This song is quite stirring, really. It reminds me that there are things more important beyond this earthly existence. Though we, as people, may place our hopes in consumerism (whether intentionally or not), there is more to living than materialism.

Key lyric: “And to karaoke songs / How we like to sing along / Though the words are wrong”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gpk49upQZJw

The music video, a sort of homage to the movie version of A Clockwork Orange (perhaps my favorite novel ever), is intriguing. Well-done visually.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrbxWOMpwfs

13. “Inertia Creeps” – Massive Attack. Disc two begins with this slithering beast. It starts out slowly and eventually explodes with a primal beatdrop. I don’t even know what this song is about. I assume it’s a dirty song about sex. But it’s the disc two opener because my life requires fighting theme music and the instrumental pumps me up. Just don’t go analyzing the lyrics or anything…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWTXe01-vbs

14. “Umi Says” – Mos Def. Probably the song that finally got me into hip-hop. Smooth, chill, positive-minded – “Umi Says” is the antithesis of “Inertia Creeps.” It also kinda fits in thematically with “The Universal.” I like the track placement. Hot and cold. I like to think that’s how I am. I like to pretend I’m a man of extremes, with no middle ground. In my heart, I know I’m full of shades of gray.

Key lyric: “Tomorrow may never show up / For you, for me / This life is not promised”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rArvkM4rm4E

15. “Summer Sun” – Koop. What a bouncy, joyous track. It’s mind-boggling to realize that, outside of the vocals, Koop built this song entirely out of samples. Very DJ Shadow-esque. I discovered this song when I first moved into my apartment in Davis at the tail end of summer, and my roommate and I were watching MTV at like 2AM. Back in those days, MTV used to show music videos once in a while, and that that night they had Moby as a guest veejay, and this was one of the songs he played. My roommate and I immediately were entranced by this song, and quickly tracked it down so we could listen to it over and over. It became, in a bromantic way, “our song.” People often accuse Dru of not smiling very much. Well, maybe if they made me listen to this song more often, Dru would smile plenty.

Key lyric: “Happy or sad, you always shine”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLxqc4aoTRM

16. “Lost in the Supermarket” – The Clash. Because you can never have enough great songs about feeling alienated in an increasingly materialistic world. To me, the Clash are the quintessential punk rock band. If the entire movement of punk collapsed today, you could rebuild it using the Clash’s discography as the cornerstone. London Calling is certainly one of my ten favorite albums ever. I always liked this song, I guess, because it’s one of those songs that makes you feel like you’re an outsider, and that’s how I tend to view myself. Of course, hundreds of thousands of people also feel like they can relate to Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye, too, which sort of misses the point of the book entirely, but… whatever.

Key lyric: “I wasn’t born so much as I fell out”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsrEAWcAvRg

17. “Bend and Not Break” – Dashboard Confessional. Had to have the prerequisite emo song by Dashboard. It was either this, “For You to Notice,” or “Vindicated.” I decided that “For You to Notice” is too pitiful while “Vindicated” is too triumphant. Therefore, we have some sort of middle ground with this song. This song is so straightforward that I have no further commentary. I already feel naked enough sharing with you the fact that it’s worthy of being part of my life’s soundtrack.

Key lyric: “I am fairly agile / I can bend and not break / Or I can break and take with a smile”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxxdMNVi9FA

18. “Somewhere Only We Know” – Keane. Yes, yes, I know; I have my prerequisite emo song immediately followed by my prerequisite wuss-rock song. Have I no shame? Apparently not. I remember the first time I heard/saw the music video of this song when I was living in Davis. For some reason, during the chorus, I thought the dude was singing, “Somewhere on a window” and I had no idea what was going on. I used to always catch the music video of this in the mornings as I was eating breakfast and getting ready to go to class. Listening to it now kind of takes me back to that nostalgic space. Also, I am down with the synthesizer in this track. It kinda makes the song work. One day, I want to own a shirt with the words “Respect The Synthesizer” written proudly across it.

Key lyric: “I came across a fallen tree / I felt the branches of it looking at me”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGBLiGFaddo

19. “Rebellion (Lies)” – Arcade Fire. Surely, it must be sacrilegious in some cultures to make a mixtape that contains both Keane and Arcade Fire. Nonetheless, I remain utterly unrepentant. “Rebellion (Lies)” represents the part of me that used to care about having a self-important amount of pretentious indie rock street cred. Also, this song has a really steady bassline that just gets me pumped and inspired. I like to listen to it before I go play ball or something. I once saw a Sunday Night Football segment about how Ray Lewis, the greatest middle linebacker of his generation, listens to Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight” before every game to get himself pumped and inspired. Look, if Ray Lewis isn’t ashamed of that, I am certainly not ashamed to listen to “Rebellion.” Just try it. Listen to this song the next time you tie your shoes as you prepare to head out and buy some milk at the grocery store. I guarantee you will pound your chest at the cash register.

Key lyric: “Sleeping in is giving in / No matter what the time is”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-8nQw-oV5o

20. “So Here We Are” – Bloc Party. Incandescent. That’s what this song is. What a glorious build-up! It’s hypnotic, in a way, and calming. I find myself soothed by this song. It’s a song that makes me feel a gentle breeze on my face. I think it’s a song of redemption, a song that’s about knowing what to do and failing, but overcoming nevertheless.

Key lyric: “I caught a glimpse, but it’s been forgotten / So here we are again”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SB77tGqiL1s

21. “Moment of Truth” – Gang Starr. I like art that, on the surface, seems pessimistic but is, in actuality, optimistic. Take the comics of Warren Ellis, for example. He often writes about worlds drenched in cynicism, his characters are sarcastic, and the general tone of his stories often carries a bleak interpretation of life. Yet he always manages to introduce a crucial idea, at some junction, that shows that despite the pessimism there is an undercurrent of idealism active in his work. I greatly admire that. “Moment of Truth” is kind of like that. It’s a song about being hard, only being hard means being true to yourself in the face of adversity. Premo’s beat is boss and Guru spits some of my all-time favorite verses. While there’s some profanity in the lyrics, I find this song incredibly inspiring because of its realness. It wouldn’t be as powerful without the swears. Oh, what a sinner I am…

Key lyric: “But I’m sweatin’, though, my eyes are turnin’ red and yo / I’m ready to lose my mind but instead I use my mind / I put down my knife and take the bullets out my nine / My only crime was that I’m too damn kind”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNVU1oFH3y4

22. “Ladyflash” – The Go! Team. As the album draws to an end, I suppose it’s only appropriate to have a happy, celebratory song. This could probably be almost any song from The Go! Team. They have a unique sound, I think. They kind of remind me of an amalgamation of RJD2, My Bloody Valentine, old-school Motown groups, and a modern indie rock sensibility. Their songs are richly textured and intricately layered, especially their studio recordings. The drums are kind of buried beneath the samples, which sort of play tug-of-war with the live instruments, and the inscrutable vocals are so fuzzed out that they’re basically another chunk of the sonic landscape. This song would be my victory fanfare in my life. I tremble with glee at the knowledge that all my enemies who hear this song can only raise their fists in anger after being completely annoyed by the bouncy vivaciousness of “Ladyflash.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qC128euLMwM

23. “Digital Love” – Daft Punk. Daft Punk are two of my favorite Frenchmen of all time. I don’t dance, but if I did, I would probably dance to this song. “Digital Love” has one of the sickest samples ever, a chopped, looped sample so good that it’s actually better than the entire song it sampled (“I Love You More” by George Duke). And the guitar solo that kicks in at about 3:20 is definitely one of my favorites. It’s already an awesome song but that solo puts it over the top. Good use of the talk box, too. Even though the lyrics seem rather secondary when the actual instrumentation takes center stage, they do an exemplary job of adding to the sum of the whole. It’s one of those songs that sounds really happy, but I think is actually a bit melancholy at heart. It’s about waking up from a pleasant dream and realizing that reality is nothing like your dream. There ought to be a word to describe that feeling, that moment of realization when the dream is better than your real life. There should be a word.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrsOcsanHfg

24. “Wonderful King” – David Crowder Band. I don’t really know why, but I really like this song. It’s not the most moving or most powerful worship song lyrically. I also tend to prefer more uptempo worship songs, and this is kind of a ballad-type song. Yet I constantly go back to “Wonderful King” whenever I feel like crap and want to listen to something that will remind me of God. I really like the tune and that guitar riff. And though the lyrics are rather simple, I think they are sincere and fill me with a worshipful attitude. Maybe it’s also because I associate this song with some good memories of being at UC Davis and our great Campus Crusade worship band. It kind of takes me back to that time when I felt like I knew my role. Now I think it’s kind of reassuring to be reminded of that stuff. To paraphrase that one Nine Inch Nails song, this song brings me closer to God. (Haha.)

Key lyric: “You are here because of You”

I couldn’t find a legit studio version of this song by David Crowder Band on YouTube, so here’s an all right version by some random worship team:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcJ5xPoFAvA&feature=related

25. “Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken” – Enfield. Only recently have I discovered this powerful old hymn. I enjoy the melody but the lyrics move me. I can never sing this song half-heartedly. Just can’t do it. There are some bold proclamations in the words (“Go then, earthly fame and treasure / Come disaster, scorn and pain”). Each and every verse is just straight cash. These are words that I want to live. And just like an old cliché, it’s always easier said than done. Is there a better song that exemplifies the Christian life? I can only pray that the words of this hymn are true in my own. As the final song on my double album, the final song on the soundtrack of my life, “Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken” isn’t really an ending. It’s the song that continues, I pray, to describe the state of my heart as long as I draw breath.

Key lyric: “Let the world despise and leave me / They have left my Savior, too”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axtK8tQpgNk
Lyrics: http://www.lutheran-hymnal.com/lyrics/tlh423.htm