Tunes I Just Couldn't Live Without

For what it's worth:

Mad World (Gary Jules), this song was love at first sound. I saw the video at the Telluride Film Festival a few years ago during a Michel Gondry program and fell in love. The simple construction and sound of the song stuck with me and I have never been able to let it go.

The Stairs (INXS) is still one of my favorite concert moments of my life. INXS was the first concert I bought my own ticket for and went to without my parents. A neighbor boy and I went and it was amazing. I want to use this song in a film, in fact the scene is written in my head and I don't know that I could ever see the scene I have without these words. My favorite part is the pause two thirds of the way through the song, a perfect place for a cut.

All Souls Night (Loreena McKennit) still brings back vivid memories of a night so many years ago, fifteen to be exact, the smell of candle wax and the warmth of life on a cold dark Alaskan night. I can't hear this song without thinking about that night and smiling, even though it would begin the avalanche of emotion that would lead to one of the darkest periods of my life.

Natural Woman (Aretha Franklin) there is something abut Aretha's voice in this song. I have no idea what my specific connection to this song is other than to say that it moves me each time I hear it. This is one of my favorite songs to listen to first thing in the morning. I think it is a great way to start my day.

The Wall (Pink Floyd), I once sold this album when I really needed the money. When it came back into my life, I vowed that I would always have a hard copy of it and so far, I've kept that promise. Personally I think this is the greatest whole concept album that I have ever heard. Every time I hear a song it makes me want to listen to the whole album from the beginning to the end. This album is also tied to one of my most vivid childhood memories. It was the first time I have ever heard the album and I can still remember almost every small detail of the night. My favorite song Mother still makes me stop whatever I am doing and listen to it every time it comes on my iTunes.

Mind Bomb (The The) is among my favorite whole albums. This is one of the very few cds that I have always had with me. I can't tell you the first time I listened to it but I can bet it was dark, late and loud. The album is political, sexual and intense. I love it.

Mississippi Goddam (Nina Simone) and she means every word of it. If you haven't heard this song, run out and get it now. Listen to it, feel it and live it. No matter how old the recording, the song still has resonance today. Whenever I feel like stepping off the trail and allowing the harbingers of hate get to me, Nina helps. Seriously a great song to get the juices flowing.

Boulevard of Broken Dreams (Green Day) is my favorite song to plug into and walk across campus. This is the best soundtrack to have on campus lost in a sea of faces and not connecting with any of them.

Gold Watch and Chain (Garrison Keillor & Meryl Streep) is a recent addition to the list but I don't know what I ever did without this great piece of Americana. Their voices meld together to form the memory of a Nation that I never knew and probably never will. The banjo and fiddle are lost in the world of electronics we currently find ourselves in and I think we are worse off for the loss.

Why? (Tracy Chapman) give me Mississippi Goddam and Why? and I'll start the revolution. One of my favorite lyrics ever is in this song: "The time is coming soon when the blind remove their blinders and the speechless speak the truth."

And last but not least....

La Vie Bohem (Rent) brings out all the things in me I wish I could be and has my second most favorite lyric "The opposite of war isn't peace, it's creation."