30 Days Song Challenge: Week 4

Final post of the 30 Days Song Challenge...

day 22 - a song that you listen to when you’re sad
“The Freshmen” – The Verve Pipe. When I’m feeling sad, I turn to songs that I share similar emotions with.  It’s comforting to find something that you can relate to when you’re upset. A lot of music makes you realize that everyone has ups and downs and the important thing is to find a way to rise above all of that. If I’m looking for something to cheer me up instead, I usually turn to Widespread Panic or The Doors.

day 23 - a song that you want to play at your wedding

“Nothing Else Matters” – Metallica. Our first dance. We also played Widespread Panic, The Turtles, Guns ‘n Roses, and Frank Sinatra.

day 24 - a song that you want to play at your funeral

“Big Truck” – Coal Chamber -- Coal Chamber was one of the very first metal bands that drew me into the genre. So, it’s fitting that my birth into metal should also be played at my funeral. A staple song in any Coal Chamber set, Big Truck churns over the audience. It’s a big-rig of fist-pounding metal crammed down your throat. And as Dez says, “Ain’t no grave gonna hold my body!”

day 25 - a song that makes you laugh

“Goddamn Trigger” – Serj Tankian. This quirky track from Imperfect Harmonies offers Serj’s biting commentary on society’s inconceivable gluttony. “I have 38 rifles and a bunch of handguns and ammunition / 8 grenades, in case of scuffles…/ it’s my constitutional right/ to arm bears… We are disgusting overweight obese fucks/ A shot rang, animals scatter, bovine hormone growth chewy candy.” The music is over-the-top, swaggering along like a drunken carnival. There is a greater message in all of it, which is not so funny. As usual, Serj draws us in with his musical games only to slap us with reality.


day 26 - a song that you can play on an instrument

“24 Préludes, Op. 28, No. 4 in E Minor: Largo” - Frédéric Chopin. I can play this and I own a version played by Alexandre Tharaud. This gentle Chopin prelude swells to an emotional climax before fading away. It’s written in E minor, one of my favorite of the minor keys. In Classical music, I find that minor keys evoke more emotion through dissonance and dark tension; a distinct parallel with metal music.

day 27 - a song that you wish you could play

“Light My Fire” – The Doors. I used to be able to play the main organ melody from “Light My Fire,” but it’s been many years. I started playin classical piano, but soon discovered The Doors and Ray Manzarek’s infectious keyboard/organ playing. I’ve been hooked ever since. I love metal, but The Doors will probably always be my absolute favorite band. To be honest, I can’t just leave it at one song… Procol Harum’s “Whiter Shade Of Pale,”  the organ solo in Opeth’s “Lotus Eater,” Widespread Panic’s “Travelin’ Man”… the list goes on.

day 28 - a song that makes you feel guilty

I don’t feel guilty about anything I listen to. Sure, there are songs or bands that I’ve grown out of, but it doesn’t mean I’m ashamed or embarrassed. Just have a look through my iTunes or phone. I’ve got nothing to hide. Did I have some questionable choices back in the day? We all make mistakes… not me, other people…

day 29 - a song from your childhood

“Pretty Woman” – Roy Orbison. We’re all influenced by the music our parents listen to. You spend the first 16 years of your life riding around in a car with them, listening to whatever radio station or cassette tape they wanted to. By the time I was 10, I’d memorized the hits from Roy Orbison, Charlie Daniels, Blood Sweat & Tears, Johnny Rivers, and many more.

day 30 - your favorite song at this time last year

“North” – Widespread Panic. They released this album in the summer of last year. Around this time is when we went to see them in Boston. It was a perfect summer night on the waters of Boston Harbor. The stellar set list included “North,” “Bear’s Gone Fishing,” and “Lawyers Guns and Money.”  The album, Dirty Side Down, was a return to their laid-back, bluesy style, capping off 25 years of music.

Hope you enjoyed! Up next week: In Flames' Sounds Of A Playground Fading.