This article was inspired by my good friend Jonas Olivo, who
posted his own list of 10 songs he wishes he wrote the other day (here's a
link: http://www.facebook.com/notes/jonas-olivo/ten-songs-i-wish-i-wrote/10151333939306733).
Reading through his list and listening to his choices was so much fun, and I
immediately thought, why haven't I done a list like this before?
And then I realized, it's kind of hard to narrow it down. I
mean, there are songs that I love, but loving a song doesn't necessarily mean
that I wish I wrote it. Eventually, I narrowed down my list to the 10 below. In
each one of these songs, there is some combination of structure, melody and/or
lyrical content that just strikes a perfect chord in me. These are songs I
strive to write every time I pick up a guitar, songs that perfectly express an
idea or an emotion.
"3 Libras" - A Perfect Circle
When I first heard this song as a snotty, punk-ass freshman
in high school, I very nearly broke down crying. Maynard James Keenan's
yearning vocals, Billy Howerdel's lush fingerpicked chords, the moaning string
section - it all fits in so perfectly. The sudden shift into the dark bridge at
the song's end marks the emotional climax, building until the final explosive
chords but never releasing the built-up tension
"Get Rhythm" - Johnny Cash
Everything about this song is fun, from Luther Perkins'
popping lead guitar lines to the simple lyrics about a shoeshine boy rocking
out on the job. I wish I wrote more fun songs. Side note - the video I'm
including is not a great quality recording, but Johnny is just great in this -
I love his "Just like on the record!" as Perkins picks out the song's
solo.
"Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)" - Deftones
A gem found halfway through the band's second album, 1997's
"Around the Fur." The chord progression, the melody and the lyrics
are incredibly simple, yet all seem perfectly calculated to tug at the
heartstrings. This song is all about the need to escape, something I've felt
constantly in my life.
"Powerhouse" - Raymond Scott
I've never been a huge jazz guy, mainly because I have a
hard time with instrumental music and long songs, and, well, that's the most basic
description of jazz. This, then, is the perfect jazz song for me. It first came
to my attention, like most people, through cartoons - though not Looney Toons,
but Ren and Stimpy, specifically the episode where the two title characters
become professional wrestlers. It's such a tight composition, yet it twists and
turns in so many different directions that it's hard to keep up.
"Polly" - Nirvana
Not my favorite Nirvana song, not by a long shot, but the
one I wish I wrote, for two conflicting reasons. One, this may be Kurt Cobain's
finest lyric, inspired by the true story of a girl who was kidnapped after a
concert, raped and tortured, but
ultimately escaped by earning the abductor's trust. Two, it's so much fun to
play, not for the harrowing words but the bouncy rhythm and hypnotic chord
progression. Nirvana
did this song acoustically, as a grungy rock song, and as a hyper fast punk song,
and I'm sure it would work in about 300 other styles as well.
"All the Kids are Right (alternate lyrics)" -
Local H
I found this song one night, randomly surfing Youtube. This
is so much better than the version the band released on 1998's "Pack Up
the Cats," and subsequently a single, which features clever but ultimately
lesser lyrics about a horrible show the band played. Here, lead vocalist/guitarist/bassist Scott Lucas confronts
alcoholism head on, with brutal honesty. This was definitely a song I tried to
write when I was going through my own battle with the bottle a few years back,
but in the end I would just go back and listen to this one. I couldn't add any
more.
"Imagine" - John Lennon
OK, an obvious choice, but I still think this is the most
beautiful pop song ever written. 'Nuff said.
"Jealous Again" - Black Flag
This song changed my life - for about six months in high
school, this was all I listened to. The guitar work is incredible - after over
a decade of trying, I still don't know what the hell he's doing to make his
guitar leads sound the way they do. This song is hardcore punk through and
through, but I can hear a vocal jazz combo covering this.
"Think (Let Tomorrow Bee)" - Sebadoh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lv8WEPPB21c (sorry, it's a
crap upload)
Perhaps the most hauntingly beautiful song that Lou Barlow
has ever written. Like the Local H tune, this song beautifully captures a
situation and mood - in this case, the pain and confusion of a relationship
spiraling out of control. There's no perfecting on this.
"Strawberry Fields Forever" - The Beatles
One of the most insane sounding recordings I have ever
heard. It starts as a tripped out psychedelic rock song in typical
guitars-bass-drums-keyboards mode, and subtly mutates into one of the band's
meticulously orchestrated pieces, exploding in technicolor strings and horns
before deteriorating into a cacophonous loop of dissonant sounds and mumbled
nonsense. And lyrically it's beautiful as well - something I could never write.
