Top 5 Songs

i may get this totally wrong. but ive been thinking about my top five songs. songs that never get old, will never get boring, and always leave me feeling more than i did from when i started listening. i have listened to a lot of songs, but there are always a select few that i know are better than anything else ive ever heard. you may disagree.

1. Suite Judy Blue Eyes by Crosby Stills Nash and Young -- first of all, its four songs for the price of one. and its a song that i always have to push the needle back for (yes, i said needle - that in of itself is a different argument all together, because NOTHING sounds better than vinyl). also, probably one of the most beautiful songs about an imminent break-up that ive ever heard. ("Don't let the past remind us of what we are not now, I am not dreaming, I am yours, you are mine, you are what you are, you make it hard"...."Tearing yourself away from me now, you are free, and I am crying, this does not mean I don't love you I do that's forever, yes and for always.")

2. Bring It On Home To Me by Sam Cooke -- I think I'm a sucker for sad songs. I think it's the voice that makes it such a powerful song for me. The idea of being so desperately, blindly in love with someone that you don't care how badly the other person has treated you, or that things haven't worked in the past.

3. Karma Police by Radiohead -- I don't know a damn thing about music structure, and I can barely read notes, which is a huge weakness for me, but if there ever was a more perfect sounding song to me, its Karma Police. Probably one of the best contemporary songs, which isnt a surprise considering its from the most innovative band of the 90s. And of course, you can't acknowledge Radiohead's greatness on this song without crediting the band they took the piano parts from....

4. A Day In the Life by the Beatles -- call me a cop out for including The Beatles, whatever. I'm actually tired of having the "Beatles are overrated vs. Beatles are the most important contribution to modern rock music" argument. I think that due to every band and their mom sounding like the Beatles, the Beatles themselves lose their importance in people's minds (wtf Oasis?). Ok, anyway. This song is ridiculous and groundbreaking. The lyrics from the newspaper, the orchestral...crescendo....the sampled audio, "paul is dead", etc etc etc.

5. Tears of Rage by the Band -- HA HA! No one can be mad at me for not including Dylan in the list, since it was co-written by him and Richard Manuel. As #1 Sucker for Emotionally Draining Songs, this is like heartwrenching perfection. Tell me you aren't affected by the anguish in his voice. I dare you. No band out there comprised entirely of white men has more soul than The Band. And I SWEAR to god if anyone tells me that Johnny Cash does a better version of "Long Black Veil" than The Band, I will slap them. I'm sure once The Band gets a romantic-comedy-fiction movie, everyone will think they're trendy, too. (disclaimer: nothing against johnny cash, i love him. just those people out there who think that everything he touches is fucking gold and no one can else could ever do any better).