louie stardust, nice. did you know there are two takes of the original recording? one that was pressed and an “unreleased” take. it’s subsequently been released on some archive stuff. it has a different (also incredible) solo
i’ll dig it up later if you want!
edit:
oh wow, I did not know about this version. thanks!!
They say you can’t choose who you fall in love with. I feel like I have no control of my taste or even know what it is any more after doing this. I was expecting a few things to be cropping up here but they didn’t. I tried arranging everything by direct comparison where I just compare everything next to its adjacent partner and move them up and down accordingly. I think four or five of these will never move out of top 10. I had about 45 that didn’t make it.
Here they are in mixtape order:
As far as classical pieces go this is probably the one I listen to the most. And has a driving quality that I can’t get from anything else.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AXdEJfPEX4
This one surprised me. The overall style I would hope to emulate if I were a musician. Frantic flaneur energy. Cibo Matto are just excellent.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aqhmKfM86o
Quite unlike a lot of other Fatboy Slim tracks. Much more ambient and hard to notice the ‘verse chorus verse chorus bridge chorus’ structure that rigidly underpins most dance tracks. There are voices in this that to me remain timeless.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbWplQeu-Mg
There are dozens of Dylan tracks that I would rate very highly but this one always stands out as one I can always listen to. A good balance of storytelling, lyricism, and instrumentation. A recurring dream.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INilAY6aJTc
This isn’t even the best Zappa song/composition but it is the one that my brain returns to. It’s not particularly exceptional but encapsulates a lot of the anxiety that everyone toils away for the powerful without ever really doing anything about it. ‘Ain’t it bleak when you’ve got so much nothing.’ Singing the song is always comforting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2c9EfRZXglg
Just chose this version since to fit more concise and the production has a nicer edge to it. Slightly higher BPM which fits better for the angry tiredness. It also cuts the last verse but I think it works better as short and sweet. I love a track that is motivated by frustration but manages to be articulate despite that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E77IFpwG9l0
I felt that musicals would probably show up somewhere here, though I’m no expert. What I really like about them is how they bridge music, language, and action. Of all the tracks in Sweeney Todd this is the most masterful job of that. I also like that musically it oscillates between the polite veneer of English society/commerce and their emotionally worn out underside. If I hear it, it’s hard to tear myself away.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1aK3kKFjPA
There were like 12 pop tracks that were trying to get in this list. This is the one that made it. I love any song that’s about the self and how it changes. This one is about how it sometimes doesn’t change. Polachek’s voice is irenic. Love the way she sings ‘stay right here’ at around 1:53
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZtUJ4b2jsw
Another Zappa track! And both of them aren’t even really his best work? My main criteria here is ‘what stays with me?’. When I feel depressed or think about the worst of the world, this sometimes comes to mind. In the broader context of the album it sits within’s fictional world, it essentially represents how authoritarian political/religious/commercial forces maintain a heading to death. In the even broader context of Zappa compositions it is quite unique. It has very little of the playful improvisation or virtuosic arrangements he’s known for because it was done towards the end of his life when he was suffering from terminal cancer. He had only really started to use programmable synthesisers to make a lot of the music he’d wanted to for a long time and finally got to do more formal experiments once he had taken a break from touring. I think there’s a lot of resentment of/coming to terms with death preserved here (and elsewhere on the same album).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTVZbEG5bk8
The single most powerful piece of singing I’ve ever heard. It’s like a bright light you can’t look at too long. Strong sadness gets me every time. Only 2 verses drawn out across the runtime so that the feeling is all you can have.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXQ-eZqnVe0
I think overall I’ve settled on the ones that I have the strongest lingering emotion for. I think I also tend to be quite academic with my reasons for why I like things which ends up leading to some odd rationalisations but as far as I can square it this is the top 10.
10 albums would be very different to 10 best songs/pieces and I think it would be an interesting challenge as well though a lot more time-consuming to test out.
Hell yes gonna listen to this tonight. I love it when someone posts in this thread!!!