Please note that this does not include any recent song obsessions that will probably grow old and tired in the near future. I make this list based on the tried and true favourites that have stood the test of time, ones that I can listen to on a loop and never get tired of them. Starting at number 10...
10. Diamonds On The Soles of Her Shoes - Paul Simon.
Paul Simon revolutionised popular music with his album Graceland which introduced the beauty of African music to Western popular music. Diamonds On The Soles of Her Shoes was always my favourite ever since I was a little little girl and although my reasons for loving it have changed, it still remains my favourite track off the album. I love the introduction which I could never actually sing (Ladysmith Black Mambazo!) and always feel that little tingle when the guitar suddenly pops in with that familiar riff. Love it!
9. Soy - Gipsy Kings
Gipsy Kings - Soy by sayit
I grew up with the Gipsy Kings which was the bonus of having a father with access to plenty of world music. This song came a little later for me as I grew up mainly with Volare, Bamboleo, Amor Amor etc from their first album. I loved this song from the first moment I heard it. I think it's the familiar chord structure that settles well with me but the playing on this song is exquisite - what musicians! I can't help but smile when I hear this song, no matter how down I am. And the added bonus with this is that I have never learned what the song actually says as I have not translated the Spanish so I am not influenced by the lyrics (which, as far as I am concerned, is the least attractive and least important part of a song for me).
8. I'll Find My Way Home - Jon and Vangelis
I have always been a massive fan of Vangelis. Like Jean-Michel Jarre, his music was the soundtrack of the eighties and like many of the songs in this top ten, I grew up listening to his music (particularly Antarctica, China and Bladerunner). Jon and Vangelis is an extension of this fascination with Vangelis, also introduced to us as kids (the collaboration of Vangelis and Jon Anderson of Yes). This song has that unmistakable Vangelis touch - the massive sound, layered and layered until it sometimes even out does the vocals. Jon has an amazing countertenor voice that almost sounds electronic anyway which complemented Vangelis' arrangements, creating this awesome wall of sound. I hadn't heard this song for several years and came across it again about 12 months ago and instantly remembered why I loved it so much as a kid. Their song State of Independence was also memorable.
7. Fake Plastic Trees - Radiohead
Radiohead are one of my favourite bands as they are one of the few bands in the entire world that never disappoint me. I am always interested in anything new that they do and they never seem to write a dud (or if they do, it's inconsequential). However, The Bends, one of the earlier albums, produced my favourite of their songs to date. Fake Plastic Trees demonstrates all the things that I love about Radiohead - Thom Yorke's unique and emotive voice, simple yet effective chordal structure, lyrics of substance and intelligence and some great playing. I have heard a beautiful acoustic version of this song as well that loses nothing of the original recording as the song is so brilliantly simple, it works in this context. Lovely...
6. One of Us - ABBA
ABBA will always be held in the fondest regard for me as it was one of the groups I really remember loving as a child. I remember Jodie and I singing ABBA songs in our bedroom when we were little and I never got sick of the infectious pop sound. One of Us has a strange effect on me. It was used on a chaser for the ABC in the early 80s that consisted of a clown up to its neck in water; a melancholy image that has never left me and always pops back in my head whenever the first few bars are played. This song is the quintessential great ABBA, not the overplayed, overrated Greatest Hits that flood the airwaves (the likes of Dancing Queen, SOS and Mamma Mia). The girls are in fine vocal form, Bjorn and Benny's penchant for counterpoint vocal lines and competing harmonies are in full force and it's such a sad song! The song really gets me!
5. Hysteria - Muse
This is probably one of the more recent additions to my favourite songs of all time list but no less important. This is the only (and I mean, the ONLY) song that I will disregard being able to hear emergency vehicles and crank it up in the car. Everyone who knows me knows I have a soft spot for good bass lines and this song one of the best bass lines, in unison with the guitars; very busy and driving. I love the angst of Matt Bellamy's voice as the actual simplicity of the melody over the top of this rumbling riff contrasts beautifully (as many Muse songs do). I wish I could play the bass so I could learn this riff!
4. Sir Duke - Stevie Wonder
There are so many Stevie Wonder songs that I could include here. I love most of them equally (Higher Ground, As, Another Star and I Wish being notable favourites) and Stevie is one of my favourite artists of all time but this one edges out the others. This one was love at first listen. Sir Duke is one of the most sweet and boppy tunes around and has cracking horn lines (that, by the way, are not as easy as they look). It is quite unlike the other hundreds of funky tracks that Stevie has put out over his illustrious career. It loses the cheesiness of something like Isn't She Lovely but has the same light, cheerful and happy-spirited feel! It's my feelgood song.
3. Let Go - Frou Frou
I fell in love with this song when I saw Garden State many years ago. I really liked Imogen Heap anyway because of her songs Hide and Seek, Can't Take It In and Speeding Cars so I was destined to become a Frou Frou fan. This song has bizarre lyrics but as I said earlier, it's usually the last thing I look for in a song. I really like Imogen Heap's voice on this song with its mixture of that familiar huskiness and fragility. She's not the greatest vocalist but she is unique and this is a piece of very good songwriting that indicates that there is still some good electronic based music around (instead of just 'doof doof') and most of it is coming out of the UK.
2. The Ground Beneath Her Feet - U2
Usually my guidelines on a good mixed CD is the addition of songs that give me tingles down my spine. There was going to have to be a U2 song there! This is my favourite of all U2 songs and there is a rather long list of U2 songs on my list. It featured in a rather ordinary film called The Million Dollar Hotel, but is the best thing about it (often the case!). Salman Rushdie wrote the lyrics and his presence gives this song a real ethereal quality. Bono's voice is in top form; I love how it has a minor crack as he builds the tension just before the guitar break! And two words: The Edge! Awesome!
1. Africa - Toto
I could listen to Africa on a loop and never get sick of it! This song has stood the test of time as my favourite song in the world. I remember listening to it in the car in a supermarket carparkwhen I was a kid, not knowing who the artist was and thinking "Wow!" (Its funny how some things stay with you!) It has it all - multi percussion, great vocals, cheesy lyrics (trying to squeeze the extra syllable in for 'Serengeti' is a classic blunder but it endears me even further!), memorable riffs and great harmonies. Toto are a great band, underrated in a lot of cases, and this is one of their gems (although I do love Rosanna a lot!). I can't believe that they almost left it off their album because they were so sick of it, they didn't think it was any good. We could have been deprived of this wonderous piece of exuberant joy!
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