And You Will Know Me By These Songs…

by Brigitte B. Zabak


Not much good comes from my ever-growing obsession with Facebook. The amount of time I spend on this one little social networking site could obviously be put towards more productive endeavors, but, hey, a girl has to lose herself in mindless self indulgences to stay sane, right?


Every now and then, though, someone will post a blog-like entry that sparks my attention and gets discussion going about a number of topics that I find personally relevant to my interests. The main topic being music - obviously. A few days ago, a good friend of mine posted a list of his top 100 favorite songs of all time; an idea that was inspired by a good friend of his.


While I recognize that top anything lists are not a novel concept, something about sitting down and really thinking about 100 songs that I loved and still love over the last three decades of my life (holy shit!) seemed like a undertaking that was absolutely necessary to accomplish. It also dawned on me that I’ve never really made a list of anything that was this in-depth and required so much of my memory, time and energy. Making a top 100 list of your favorite songs might seem like an easy thing to do, but it was honestly one of the most emotional and inspiring tasks I’ve ever pushed myself to complete.


Making this list opened the flood gates to my memory – to songs that reminded me of experiences I hoped to forget and experiences that would never have been the same without that song as the soundtrack. It made me realize that the quality of a song doesn’t always factor in when you make a decision to love it so much that it stays with you forever. Music can shape your recollection of the past and stand firmly in your history. That’s probably why it hurt so much to leave so many great songs behind as I finalized this list.


So, in the spirit of equal parts bravery and narcissism, I am including the first half of the list I made for your reading pleasure. To some people, sharing their writing, their artwork or their poetry is deeply personal and meaningful. For me, showing the world, or…okay…the small subculture of Houstonians who read this paper, the songs that stir my soul and shaped a large part of who I am today, is just as daunting.


And even though it is a tad bit overwhelming to have a part of me out there in black and white for people to point and laugh at, it is also an opportunity for us to learn about one another, about music both new and old and about the inevitable intermingling of sight and sound.

Now comment and tell us your favorites!


The Top 50 of My Top 100 List…


1.Jeff Buckley - "Lover, You Should've Come Over"
2. The Smiths – “Oscillate Wildly”
3. Lush – “Tiny Smiles”
4. The Lemonheads – “Rest Assured”
5. The Charlatans – “Can’t Even Be Bothered”
6. The Motorhomes – “Into the Night”
7. Morrissey – “Suedehead”
8. Radiohead – “Optimistic”
9. Mogwai – “Punk Rock”
10. Mumford & Sons – “Roll Away Your Stone”
11. Rilo Kiley – “Paint’s Peeling”
12. Doves – “Words”
13. The Smiths – “Unhappy Birthday”
14. Catherine Wheel – “Ferment”
15. The Verve – “No Come Down”
16. Sonic Youth – “Drunken Butterfly”
17. Oasis – “Slide Away”
18. The Sundays – “Can’t Be Sure”
19. Azure Ray – “Displaced”
20. Bonnie “Prince” Billy – “Ain't You Wealthy, Ain't You Wise?”
21. Iron & Wine – “House By The Sea”
22. Ghostland Observatory – “Silver City”
23. Freedy Johnston – “Bad Reputation”
24. R.E.M. – “These Days”
25. PJ Harvey – “Man Size”
26. Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians – “Air of December”
27. The Moody Blues – “Nights In White Satin”
28. Bob Seger – “Turn the Page”
29. The Beatles - "Strawberry Fields Forever"
30. The Police – “So Lonely”
31. Cracker – “Low”
32. Death Cab for Cutie – “We Laugh Indoors”
33. Red Hot Chili Peppers – “If You Have To Ask”
34. Toni Basil – “Hey, Mickey”
35. Maxwell – “Ascension”
36. The Roots/Erykah Badu – “You Got Me”
37. Elliot Smith – “Waltz #2”
38. Badly Drawn Boy – “Another Pearl”
39. Ride – “Making Judy Smile”
40. The Dandy Warhols – “ Get Off”
41. Buddy Holly – “Maybe Baby”
42. A Tribe Called Quest – “Award Tour”
43. De La Soul – “Me, Myself & I”
44. Elbow – “Red”
45. Super Furry Animals – “Fire In My Heart”
46. Muse – “Time Is Running Out”
47. The Flaming Lips – “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots”
48. Depeche Mode – “Sweetest Perfection”
49. Herman’s Hermits – "I'm Henery the Eighth, I Am"
50. The Cure – “Fascination Street”