7 Favorite Songs

Recently, two of my favorite blogs The Freckled Italian and Whitney Ann shared a list of their favorite songs and invited their readers to do the same. Reading their awesome song lists got me to thinking about the songs I consider to by my "favorites."

As a pony-tailed little girl, I used to ride along with my daddy in his white Ford truck, rocking out with him to old blues and classic rock tunes. Trips to school occurred with the Monkees, Men at Work, the Beatles, or Three Dog Night as the soundtrack. At eight, I knew every word to "Last Train to Clarkesville" and could clap the beat to "Take the Money and Run." My mom on the other hand loved classic country and folksy gospel songs. While my dad taught me the finer skills of air guitar, my mom instilled in my an appreciation for banjo, steel guitar, and a Southern accent's twang. Now, enter my older sister: who taught me the macarena, gave me her Smash Mouth CD, and introduced me to pop.

Combined, these musical influences created a girl with the most varied taste in music you can possibly imagine. My iPod's shuffle setting will lead on you a merry jaunt from Mozart, to Waylon Jennings to Corinne Bailey Rae to Avenged Sevenfold to Brad Paisley to Rebelution. I don't think I have a particular taste in music. I just like good tunes. 

Thus, my attempt at a list of favorite songs proved more difficult than I expected. How could I possibly pick just seven?? So I followed my friend Whitney's advice and went with the seven songs that evoke powerful emotion every time I hear them. In truth, this list should be a lot longer, but these seven deeply resonate with me. Whenever I hear the opening strains, I find it difficult to suppress the urge to sing along.

1. Georgia on My Mind by Ray Charles
As a Georgia girl, this song is the one and only tune that inevitably and always gives me tears. After I moved to Maryland with Mark, my Pandora Radio apparently decided it hated me and played the song every ten minutes.

2. Have You Ever Seen the Rain by Creedence Clearwater Revival
Whenever I hear this song, a teenage memory pops into my mind's eye: driving on country backroads in my cousin Matt's truck, singing this song together at the top of our lungs. We both wondered how a song could make us happy and sad at the same time.

3. Hard Way Home by Brandi Carlile
All hail the singer/song-writer queen Brandi Carlile. If you haven't heard of her, stop reading this blog post and immediately go to YouTube to listen to this song. Her train-whistle croon at the beginning of this song gets me every time.

4. Evil Angel by Breaking Benjamin
My and Mark's dating years were set to a Breaking Benjamin soundtrack. In fact, our very first phone conversation circulated around rock music. Mark recommended Breaking Benjamin, and I immediately downloaded every song I could find of theirs on Napster. By the end of the day, I was hooked on this particular track. So much so that its still my Xbox Live name.

5. Like a Stone by Audioslave
This man's voice could melt butter. I mean really. I could spread Chris Cornell on a cracker. Such a haunting, easy listen. Sheesh.

6. Sirens by Pearl Jam
I remember the first time I heard this song on XM Radio. Instantly, I fell for the desperate, lonely sound it has. I have to admit though: I have a soft spot for Pearl Jam for a very specific reason. My husband doesn't sing often, despite the fact that he has a lovely deep baritone. Yet when Pearl Jam comes on the radio, if he thinks no one is listening... Sigh.

7. Hurt by Johnny Cash
Interesting factoid about this song: it was originally released by Nine Inch Nails in 1995. Nearly ten years later, the infamous Johnny Cash came along and blew it out of the water. Because come on. It's Johnny Cash. The Man in Black. Who can even compete with that?

Now it's your turn! Share your favorite list below or link to your blog post. 

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