favourite songs ever pt. I.

so i was sitting around bored and thought it might be fun to come up with a list of my favourite songs. these are just songs i own, there's others that i don't that i'm probably forgetting. but that's cool. they're in rough alphabetical order. it's long (60 songs or so) so i've split it into 4 parts.

here's pt. I.

aphex twin - avril 14th. off drukqs - disc 1, 2001.

i first heard aphex twin when i saw the windowlicker music video on rage. must have been 10 years ago. richard d. james has always struck me as the genius type, probably because he's a genius. this is a simple track off drukqs, probably the simplest but i also find it to be the best. it's not flashy or particularly complicated. just nice. the lonely island sampled it for "iran so far away" which unfortunately missed being on incredibad because despite richard being cool with it, warp wanted a ridiculous amount of money. shame.


the appleseed cast - steps and numbers. off low level owl - vol. 1, 2001.

the appleseed cast are one of my very favourite bands there is. they manage to portray such subtle beauty through so little. they started out as a rough-as-nails emo band in the late 90's and flourished into a particularly beautiful post-rock machine. this track shows off what's best about them: intricate rhythms, twinkling guitars and shovel-loads of ambience, especially in the closing half.


the appleseed cast - rooms & gardens. off low level owl - vol. 2, 2001.

this is one of those songs i'll put on repeat to fall to sleep to. the dynamics almost distract me some nights but i'm never annoyed about that. it puts me in a different place. i find this release (together with vol. 1) to be the best thing they've done to date. that's not to say their other releases are particularly bad, it just means this one rules super, super hard.


the appleseed cast - song 3. off peregrine, 2006.

whenever people ask me if i have a song i don't think i'll ever wear out, this is my immediate answer. though i've only been listening to it for 4 years, i've probably listened to it hundreds if not thousands of times - and i'm not exaggerating. i fell asleep to it on repeat for about 2 years. sick.



bob dylan - lay down your weary tune. outtake/b-side from the times they are a-changin, 1964. later released on biograph, 1985.

i'm sure everyone's got a song they love where they knew they loved it about 30 seconds into their first listen. i don't know if this is a strongly revered track among dylan fans but it ought to be. the lyrics betray how young dylan was at the time and still shock me with how strong and clear the imagery is.


bob dylan & the band - most likely you'll go your way (and i'll go mine) [live]. off before the flood, 1974. later released on biograph, 1985.

one of the best live albums available, hands down. not even open for discussion. kicking off with this number, bob & the band set a high standard that the rest of the songs have no difficulty matching or even besting. the only difference between these versions is the biograph version trims off the first half-minute or so of crowd noise.


bob dylan - sad eyed lady of the lowlands. off blonde on blonde, 1966.

even though this song is 11 minutes and 20 seconds long, it holds your attention the entire time. put simply, bob dylan rules. hard.



colleen - everything lay still. off the golden morning breaks, 2005.

my pal/bandmate joe introduced me to colleen after he got this around the time it was released. he told me it wasn't really music, more just an album of textures. he was right on the money, but that said the textures are very musical and beautiful. if you're every having trouble sleeping, put this on. it'll put you right out.


converge - heaven in her arms. off jane doe, 2001.

another one of my favourite bands. no one does visceral, ugly, raw, honest brutality like converge. this album is often passed around as their best and while i'm in two minds, this track and another i'm about to mention really make the album's disgustingly awesome head stick up above the crowd.



converge - thaw. off jane doe, 2001.

now that i think about it, i remember the first time i heard converge. i used to post on the P.O.D. boards a lot (yeah, i know) and someone posted a link to the downpour video. it was embedded into the artwork for unloved and weeded out on a webpage and besides the video, the artwork stayed with me. after not thinking about it for a while i saw a poster for unloved and weeded out in missing link (flinders lane...so long ago). picked up jane doe not long after this and basically lost my mind.


converge - in her blood. off you fail me, 2004.

this along with jane doe is in a dead tie for my favourite album of theirs. you fail me injects a solid chunk of groove into their sound that was missing before, the production is a bit clearer (but still with that beautiful tape sound) and the writing is more precise. i challenge you not to nod your head along to this song; not only in approval of the total kickarseness of it but also with how solid the groove is. yes, this track has a pocket, and it's deep.


creedence clearwater revival - born on the bayou. off bayou county, 1969.

i bought creedence solely because the dude (if you don't know who the dude is, get out) loved them to death. i wasn't disappointed at all. with the exception of some of their later albums, CCR didn't really release a weak album. that rules.



dirty three - some things i just don't want to know. off whatever you love, you are, 2000.

my dad used to let my sister and i listen to JJJ most of the time when we were in the car with him. he lived on the other side of melbourne so we were in the car often, not that i'm complaining. it introduced me to buttloads of music. i remember hearing "some summers they drop like flies" and making my dad buy me this album. i was 13 at the time and it was a complete musical revelation to me...i couldn't believe music this emotional existed. i was always into film soundtracks and it was like a blues band playing beautiful soundtrack/orchestral music in their own way...but totally different. they're one of those bands where you either love them to death or you don't know who they are. i don't know a lot of people on the fence. there isn't a band who does what dirty three do anywhere near as well as dirty three do it. there just isn't.


dirty three - ends of the earth. off ocean songs, 1998.

if you like putting on music to escape, especially in a scenic location, you'll find no better album to accompany you than this. my friend joel once sent me a picture message of a beach in perth saying something along the lines of "this and dirty three in my headphones." he didn't have to say anything else.


ed harcourt - until tomorrow then. off the beautiful lie, 2006.

ed harcourt's an interesting one. he often gets written off for faux-sentimentality but i find his tracks pretty damn honest. this one in particular is hard to argue with. he's got a hell of a set of pipes (sonic honey would be a good way of putting it) and instrumental talent to boot. the music has a real depression-era otherworldliness to it. i love that.


part II tomorrow. hopefully.