My friend, Dr Patrick, introduced me to this challenge / mindfulness system he has. Every year he picks 100 songs that have had some impact on him. No two songs can be by the same artists.
The way he does it is to just drag a song into a playlist for that year when he hears it and it strikes something in him. It sounds simple enough.
I'm often driving when listening to music and I found myself repeating the name of the song I wanted to add to my list until I got to traffic lights and then scribbling it into my Moleskine to be added later.
I have the added problem of having different sets of music on my desktop at home and my laptop. So I started just placing the songs in Evernote and tagging them for the list.
I've just finished putting it all together. I didn't get to 100. I only got as far as 20. Each to their own, I suppose. The list is in no particular order, or maybe it's in chronological order. Who can remember?
| Name | Artist | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Academy Fight Song" | Mission Of Burma | Signals, Calls, And Marches |
| "Keep the Streets Empty For Me" | Fever Ray | Fever Ray |
| "Must Be Bobby" | RZA | Digital Bullet |
| "The Whistling Song" | Meat Puppets | II |
| "Lights in the Sky" | Nine Inch Nails | The Slip |
| "Kim & Jessie" | M83 | Saturdays = Youth |
| "Fall Of Night" | P.K. 14 | SXSW 2010 Showcasing Artists |
| "Bucket Song" | Psalm One | SXSW 2010 Showcasing Artists |
| "004" | The Good The Bad | SXSW 2010 Showcasing Artists |
| "Breakfast" | Le Le | SXSW 2009 Showcasing Artists |
| "Time Is Tight" | Booker T. & The MG's | Up Tight |
| "Perfect Skin" | Lloyd Cole & The Commotions | Rattlesnakes |
| "Red Dress" | The Ferocious Few | The Ferocious Few |
| "I Am Hip Hop (Move The Crowd)" | Deep Puddle Dynamics |
The Taste Of Rain... Why Kneel |
| "Our Life Is Not A Movie Or Maybe" | Okkervil River | The Stage Names |
| "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide" | David Bowie | The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars |
| Shipbuilding | Elvis Costello & The Attractions | Punch The Clock |
| Fountain And Fairfax | The Afghan Whigs | Gentlemen |
| No Way | Sonic Youth | The Eternal (Bonus Track Version) |
| You'll Miss Me | They Might Be Giants | Lincoln |
If you're wondering about the SXSW Showcasing Artists albums, every years the South by Southwest festival releases a sampler of hundreds of songs from artists appearing at that year's festival. It's a great and free way to get a whole bunch of new music. It's all released as torrents so you can usually find it around months after the festival.
I have nine of those . . . all rippers! I didn’t know you were into the Whigs. Or Mission of Burma. It is increasingly obvious why we get along so well Uncle Vern. Will try to check out the others. No doubt some of them will end up in this year’s 100.
Already Devo’s “No Place Like Home” and Fever Ray’s “Now’s The Only Time I Know” are on the list, thanks to you.
Maybe we could start the thing I do with my mate Buggy – we have a song of the week we send each other. Nothing strict, no pressure, just when you have something you wanna share . . .
Every year my 100 features probably 20 of the ones he sends.
Just a thought.