Looking for a Song
Sia’s Breathe Me
is one of those songs that hits you in a specific, dark place. I don’t put it on casually. Regina Spektor’s Samson
does something different—it just breaks me open, there’s something about how her voice lands on certain notes that I can’t defend against. The Killers’ Read My Mind
is the opposite extreme, pure joy. Ai Otsuka’s Smily
can snap me out of basically any funk. Arctic Monkeys’ The View from the Afternoon
won’t let you stay still—your body just moves.
Some songs feel incomplete, like they should be longer. Cartman’s Kyle’s Mom’s a Bitch
from South Park is the obvious one; I used to loop it for hours, which says something about my taste at that age. Then there are songs that actually matter: Juli’s Wir Beide,
that moment in Radiohead where they bring in Björk for I’ve Seen It All.
Songs that don’t wear out no matter how much you listen: t.A.T.u.’s All the Things She Said
lived on my portable player for way too long.
I genuinely love SPITZ’s Hotaru,
Vanessa Carlton’s A Thousand Miles,
Avril Lavigne’s I’m With You.
That last one embarrasses some people but not me. There’s the reverse: my cousin downloaded something I can’t even remember the name of, and I never bothered to delete it. Silbermond’s Durch die Nacht
means something specific that I’m not going to fully explain. Craig Armstrong’s This Love
with Elizabeth Fraser is a soundtrack thing—something I only put on when I’m already pretty far down. Saw Mike Park live doing North Hangook Falling,
guy can actually sing even if the merch quality was insulting.
Younha has a song in Korean, Lindsay Lohan’s Edge of Seventeen,
Damien Rice’s 9 Crimes
which is genuinely dangerous to listen to while driving anywhere near a tree. My favorite band is the brilliant green and Rainy Days Never Stays
is probably the closest I have to a band anthem. The Pokémon theme is burned into my neurons forever. Berger’s Heiligenschein
I identify with in a way I won’t get into.
There’s Ton Steine Scherben’s Halt Dich An Deiner Liebe Fest
—if I were going to serenade someone it’d be that. Bloc Party’s So Here We Are
is pure kissing-in-the-dark energy, the kind of song that makes you lock eyes and wait for credits. Bell X1’s Eve, the Apple of My Eye
is cuddling energy. The Fray’s Vienna
brings back every heartbreak at once. Stereo Total’s Liebe zu Dritt
is exactly what the title says.
A class trip to Prague I remember partly because of Peha’s Za Tebou.
Tokio Hotel’s Spring nicht
is one I like even though I probably shouldn’t admit it. I want something instantly energizing in the morning and the Veronicas’ 4ever
does that. Azure Ray’s Sleep
is literally perfect for falling asleep. Christina Milian’s Say I
is the drive song. Phantom Planet’s California
meant The O.C. was about to start, and that show could salvage almost any situation just by existing.
P!nk’s Dear Mr. President
was the last music video that actually impressed me. Bloc Party’s Blue Light
doesn’t get old. Then Scissor Sisters’ I Don’t Feel Like Dancing
which my friend loves and I can’t fucking stand. Something by DJ Ötzi that drives me genuinely insane. Muse’s Supermassive Black Hole
I learned to love because someone else did first. Yeah, Tokio Hotel again—I like a specific song even though the band doesn’t do much for me anymore. Right now it’s Amerie’s One Thing.
Last thing I downloaded was Justin Timberlake’s What Goes Around Comes Around
but it’s already getting old. Beatles’ Here Comes the Sun
—they’re done but that song doesn’t age.
The whole exercise is pointless and somehow necessary at the same time. It doesn’t tell you anything you don’t already know about yourself, but it makes you sit with your own taste for a while, remember when songs mattered and why. That’s worth something.