10 Songs that Changed My Life
We all have them: songs that changed us, songs that defined us, or defined an era for us, songs that changed the way we listened to or heard music.
Whether it was the way you felt about the future the first time you heard "It's the End of the World as We Know It," or how you felt about your ex-girlfriend the first time you heard "Girlfriend in a Coma," certain songs can have the power to alter our consciousness.
These are not necessarily my favorite (though in some cases they would be on that list, too), or even what I would consider the best songs, but for me, the ten most influential songs in my life (for lack of a better way of describing them) are:
10. Wheel in the Sky - Journey
This is the first Journey song I remember hearing, and it was a game changer. Up until that time, I had listened to all sorts of music, but nothing felt as powerful as this.
9. At Last - Etta James
Before I heard this classic, I didn't pay much attention to this style of vocal soul and r&b music from the '50s and '60s. I associated the melodramatic string arrangements with my grandparents' music and tuned out. This song was on the soundtrack when I worked at Pottery Barn in the early '90s, and I heard it many many times. Unlike many of the songs I had to listen to repeatedly, this one grew more pleasant with repeated listens. My ears were open, and my love of classic soul, r&b and vocal jazz was born.
8. Night Fever - The Bee Gees
I am a child of the disco era, and this is one of the best tracks from that era. The groove is unmistakable, and thirty-some years later, it still makes me want to dance.
7. New Wind - 7 Seconds
Being a skater-kid in Sacramento in the '80s meant listening to a certain type of punk music. Having a best friend with a musically-astute older brother meant listening to the smartest, most political, and I would argue most musical strain of that type of punk music. 7 Seconds told my story and the stories of the kids I knew, and related our stories to the bigger world in a way that was profound then, and still resonates today.
6. Shoplifters of the World - The Smiths
That same friend's older brother brought the Smiths to my attention, and changed the way I thought about guitar players in the process.
5. But Not Tonight - Depeche Mode
I was very young, and I received an old 45 rpm single (does anyone remember? with the big hole, you had to have the little yellow insert to make it work on your turntable...) for a birthday (10th? 11th maybe...) Having grown up listening to Kiss, the Beatles, Journey and the Bee Gees, Depeche Mode's mix of synthesizers, drum machines and sound effects was completely fresh to my ears. The lyrics were opaque, but somehow I understood what they meant.
4. Purple Rain - Prince
I had heard plenty of Prince before I heard this. After I heard this, Prince became my musical hero.
3. Freedom - Rage Against the Machine
This one hit me at just the right time. I was studying the history of the US West, the focus was the decimation of the native population, and then I heard this and saw the video and it just resonated.
2. When Ya' Gonna Learn - Jamiroquai
Paris, 1993 - Virgin Records on the Champs Elysées. I was wandering through the biggest record store I had ever seen, with a group of girls from all over the world, and heard this. Needless to say, Jamiroquai quickly became associated with good times, and the joyful feel of their music propped me up through many dark hours.
1. Just Like Heaven - The Cure
It's been twenty three years since I walked into the record store down the street from my middle school and heard "Just Like Heaven" on the sound system. My friend Paul (who had money, whereas I did not) bought the 12" single on the spot and handed it to me, saying that he could tell that I really needed to have it. Over the following two dozen or so years the Cure has been a mainstay of my music collection, a touchstone for what matters to me in music, and a standard against which I measure my affinity for all other artists. And "Just Like Heaven" sits at the very pinnacle of my musical passions. I love the song more than any other, and I still have a sense of giddiness when I hear it come on the radio, or a public sound system in a store or restaurant.
Whether it was the way you felt about the future the first time you heard "It's the End of the World as We Know It," or how you felt about your ex-girlfriend the first time you heard "Girlfriend in a Coma," certain songs can have the power to alter our consciousness.
These are not necessarily my favorite (though in some cases they would be on that list, too), or even what I would consider the best songs, but for me, the ten most influential songs in my life (for lack of a better way of describing them) are:
10. Wheel in the Sky - Journey
This is the first Journey song I remember hearing, and it was a game changer. Up until that time, I had listened to all sorts of music, but nothing felt as powerful as this.
9. At Last - Etta James
Before I heard this classic, I didn't pay much attention to this style of vocal soul and r&b music from the '50s and '60s. I associated the melodramatic string arrangements with my grandparents' music and tuned out. This song was on the soundtrack when I worked at Pottery Barn in the early '90s, and I heard it many many times. Unlike many of the songs I had to listen to repeatedly, this one grew more pleasant with repeated listens. My ears were open, and my love of classic soul, r&b and vocal jazz was born.
8. Night Fever - The Bee Gees
I am a child of the disco era, and this is one of the best tracks from that era. The groove is unmistakable, and thirty-some years later, it still makes me want to dance.
7. New Wind - 7 Seconds
Being a skater-kid in Sacramento in the '80s meant listening to a certain type of punk music. Having a best friend with a musically-astute older brother meant listening to the smartest, most political, and I would argue most musical strain of that type of punk music. 7 Seconds told my story and the stories of the kids I knew, and related our stories to the bigger world in a way that was profound then, and still resonates today.
6. Shoplifters of the World - The Smiths
That same friend's older brother brought the Smiths to my attention, and changed the way I thought about guitar players in the process.
5. But Not Tonight - Depeche Mode
I was very young, and I received an old 45 rpm single (does anyone remember? with the big hole, you had to have the little yellow insert to make it work on your turntable...) for a birthday (10th? 11th maybe...) Having grown up listening to Kiss, the Beatles, Journey and the Bee Gees, Depeche Mode's mix of synthesizers, drum machines and sound effects was completely fresh to my ears. The lyrics were opaque, but somehow I understood what they meant.
4. Purple Rain - Prince
I had heard plenty of Prince before I heard this. After I heard this, Prince became my musical hero.
3. Freedom - Rage Against the Machine
This one hit me at just the right time. I was studying the history of the US West, the focus was the decimation of the native population, and then I heard this and saw the video and it just resonated.
2. When Ya' Gonna Learn - Jamiroquai
Paris, 1993 - Virgin Records on the Champs Elysées. I was wandering through the biggest record store I had ever seen, with a group of girls from all over the world, and heard this. Needless to say, Jamiroquai quickly became associated with good times, and the joyful feel of their music propped me up through many dark hours.
1. Just Like Heaven - The Cure
It's been twenty three years since I walked into the record store down the street from my middle school and heard "Just Like Heaven" on the sound system. My friend Paul (who had money, whereas I did not) bought the 12" single on the spot and handed it to me, saying that he could tell that I really needed to have it. Over the following two dozen or so years the Cure has been a mainstay of my music collection, a touchstone for what matters to me in music, and a standard against which I measure my affinity for all other artists. And "Just Like Heaven" sits at the very pinnacle of my musical passions. I love the song more than any other, and I still have a sense of giddiness when I hear it come on the radio, or a public sound system in a store or restaurant.
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