I’ve been falling out of touch with music for the last month or so and it’s been killing me. Part of it is the shift that I’ve been working, and part of it is that I’ve just been hypnotically listening to the same songs for the past month and a half. It’s insane and it needs to stop. What better way to do that than explore my 25 favorite tracks of all time. I hate the phrase, but that’s what these are, songs from my past, some from this year. I relate, I love them, I listen to them on repeat, repeat, repeat…repeat. I listen to them a lot; more then 20 times a year I’d say. Some go back to the 30’s and some are from 2012, the main theme though is that they are all derived from the rock genre in some way. There is no hip-hop, no rap, one country song, but there really isn’t a ton of variation. These songs mean what they mean to me, and that’s the story that I’m going to relay to you.

25. “Such Great Heights” by Iron & Wine

In 2004, I felt that I’d be hopeless in love. Granted, I was 21 at the time, a pathetic looser, and I’d been in two relationships. I didn’t do the high school dating thing, not that there was anyone interested. I’d never seen an episode of Scrubs at this point, but I had seen a film called Garden State. It had, what I thought at the time, was the greatest soundtrack ever, and it’s greatest track was a cover of the Postal Service’s “Such Great Heights” as performed by Iron & Wine. The context with which it was used in the film was brilliant, and it made me feel like I was a little less hopeless than I thought.

24. “Hell Hound on My Trail” by Robert Johnson

Back when I listened to what Rolling Stone thought (Peter Travers is the exception), I went nuts when they picked the top 500 albums of all time. I mostly stuck to the top 50 or so, but the one I remember going nuts for was Robert Johnson’s King of the Delta Blues Singers. In particular, the closing track, “Hell Hound on My Trail” painted this bleak picture, of a man at his end with supernatural ties and all he wanted was a woman with him to see it through. In terms of Johnson’s fate, there is so much mythology surrounding it; I for one am in belief that he sold his soul to the devil. At the end though, he accepts his fate even if he’s sprinkling “hot foot powder” in front of the doors. This song left me so curious that I bought into the hype and the mythology, and in a way, Johnson is the most covered and influential artist of the 20th century, which is what he set out to do.

23. “Atlantic City” by Bruce Springsteen

When I heard Nebraska for the first time, my mind was blown. Here was an album that was rough, but ready, and it was so bleak until you got to the end of it (“Reason to Believe”). The characters here were more relatable to the ones in the Eagles’ “Hotel California” and they still are in many ways today. There is slight hope: “Everything dies, baby. That’s a fact, but maybe everything that dies, someday comes back.” This may be Springsteen’s most overlooked album, but it’s so great, it’s worth a listen at least once in your life.

22. “Long Black Veil” by Johnny Cash

Johnny Cash is the only performer that I’d actually buy this story from, and it’s the story that really drew me in. Easily, the best piece of story telling in music, it’s presented with a simple melody and tells of a man who went to death row instead of giving away an alibi that would have exonerated him of murder. The kicker, he was with a married woman at the time. I’ve heard covers, and covers, and covers of this, but Cash is king, deal with it. Also, this particular version, from Unearthed, is my favorite.

21. “Lover, You Should’ve Come Over” by Jeff Buckley

I’ll go out on a limb and say that Buckley is the 90’s generation of Elvis Presley, and that his death is the most tragic music related death in the last 25 years. Here was a guy with so much promise, wrote the most beautiful songs, and who’s cover of “Hallelujah” has outdone anything Leonard Cohen ever dreamed. Buckley wrote about sides of love that weren’t cheesy or shallow, the songs on Grace are heartfelt and written to levels that go beyond relationships themselves, it goes beyond cliche Romeo and Juliet moments, this is love on a human, relatable level, and “Lover, You Should’ve Come Over” is the shining masterpiece of take me back music. Listening to this music makes me cry, not for it’s content, but because music like this will never be made again. Quite simply, I miss Jeff Buckley, he was a music love.

20. “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)” by The Beatles

The Beatles put out some abstract music and this is one of their most original pieces of it. Being of Norwegian decent, I think it was the title that drew me in first, but I fell in love with the melody and the story. It may also have been the first time I’d ever heard a sitar in a piece of music as well. Whatever it was, I still come back to this piece over and over again, in obscurity and beauty, love and loss, this is a fun, trippy little song about the weirdest one night stand ever.

19. “Concrete Jungle” by Bob Marley & the Wailers

Bob Marley wasn’t just an important musical figure, he was an important person in history. I first had my brush with him in 2003/2004 and since, I’ve realized just how important he was. Here was a man who was tolerant of everybody, preached equality, peace, and fairness for everyone, all while doing it as this huge music superstar. Like Elvis, he overshadowed his music career, if anybody honestly hated him, they had no real reason to. “Concrete Jungle” is one of his most depressing songs, but relates from real life experiences. Here, Marley is talking about Trenchtown and Kingston, and the oppression found there. The track is made more compelling by the fact that Marley transcended all of that and became this symbol for Jamaica and every other country that wanted freedom.

18. “Semi-Automatic” by The Boxer Rebellion

I’ve always seen this song as an interesting take on someone looking down on another from heaven. This is a rainy day track for sure, but it’s dark nature and eerie melody made this song a monumental repeat listen two years ago. Also, the album artwork related to this song most of all in my opinion, but that’s always open to interpretation. Whatever the hell it is, this song has me entranced.

17. “Uncle Frank” by Drive-By Truckers

“Uncle Frank” has a great deal to do with how corrupt the United States can be, but it also speaks to a time when putting your faith in something turns out to be the worst thing that could have happened to you. It’s about the TVA and how corrupt it became, and the lives it affected, particularly the uneducated, poor people of the region. First off, how can you go wrong with a Cooley song; this happens to be my favorite and one of his earliest on record. It’s the Truckers, need I explain anymore? Hell I wrote a post about how they were the band of last decade.

16. “Constant Craving” by k.d. lang

When I was a kid, I used to listen to the radio as I was falling asleep. Whenever songs from those early days that come on the radio or come up in a playlist, remind of those days, and this is my favorite. It’s very much a night time song, which could be why I related to it so much, but k.d.’s vocals, that lone squeeze box, and the crisp drums that suckered me into it, but it’s a beautiful song in its own right. Have a listen, and you’ll know.

15. “Trouble” by Ray LaMontagne

Ray Lamontagne has my favorite voice of the last 15 years in music, and this track is the definitive song to fall in love with. I’ve never heard him be able to imitate this performance again, particularly the high notes, but it’s a beautiful, and a testament to the saving power of the opposite sex. In truth it’s just a beautiful piece of music, one of my karaoke favorites.

14. “The Boy with the Thorn in His Side” by The Smiths

It’s beautiful, it needs no further explanation and it’s the fucking Smiths.

13. “Northwest Passage” by Stan Rogers

“Northwest Passage” is the most beautiful piece of instrumental music ever written. It commemorates Frankin’s journey to find the Northwest Passage all the while giving tribute to those who came before him. Thank Due South for this, but I’m the only one I know that has albums from Stan Rogers in their music collection, which is a crying shame. Fuck “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” this one takes it to the bank.

12. “Head Full of Doubt, Road Full of Promise” by The Avett Brothers

I remember hearing this song in ads for the series finale of Saving Grace. It was about five months later, when I was listening to I and Love and You and connected the dots. That connection was huge, but upon seeing the music video I fell in love. It still gives me goose bumps watching it, and reminds me of a text book I had in fifth grade, where a series of drawings revealed a town evolving over decades. The same is the case in the video; the birth, death, rebirth of it all is just awesome to look upon.

11. “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea” by Neutral Milk Hotel

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10. “Cough Syrup” by Young the Giant

Young the Giant put me on my ass last year, and this track was a master piece that helped land me there. There are no real cures for life, and YTG makes that perfectly clear here. Every time I throw on this track, it puts a smile on my face. It evokes drowning, and has a night time sound to it, but that night time is a comfort. Throw this track on while you’re walking at night, and you’ll know what I mean. I’ve listened to this track 83 times since last year, it never gets old.

9. “We Used to Sing” by Sci-Fi Romance

My most listened to song this year; I’ve never quite heard anything as unique as this song. For those that don’t know Sci-Fi Romance, shame on you. Go check out their album, it’s fantastic, you’ll thank me. Aside from every song on the album, this one makes John Henry more of a tragic figure than any. You may have love, but if you don’t have the music you used to relate to in your life, at the time of your death, talk about tragedy. I can’t get enough of this song and since listening to The Ghost of John Henry, I haven’t gone a day without listening to this song.

8. “End of the Line” by The Traveling Wilburys

The only successful super group, in my mind, was the Wilburys. They were fun to listen to, they made fantastic music together, and they made you forget about your problems for a little while. This track reminds me a lot of my childhood, as well as what it was like to throw vinyl down on a record player and be amazed. What a fantastic record, I was thrilled when it was reissued a couple of years ago. Definitely a crowning achievement for my collection.

7. “XYZ” by Jack & White

On this 2012 song, Jack & White have you believing that life isn’t all that bad. That everybody get’s a bad hand from time to time, or that everybody reaps the benefits. Instrumentally, lyrically, this is one of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever had the pleasure to know and hear.

6. “Second Place Victory” by This Day & Age

This is a band that most people don’t know and makes me sad just thinking about it. This is one of the first songs that taught me life lessons, more so, it just became a great song to give repeat plays. The whole album too, it’s become more personal over time. I got to see the band’s last gig with my dad, which goes down as one of the best memories I’ve ever had to experience.

5. “Say Hello 2 Heaven” by Temple of the Dog

Temple of the Dog is the greatest tribute band ever (Sorry Arc Angels), and left behind a hell of a legacy with just one album. This was the first true introduction to Eddie Vedder, and contains the modern lineup of Pearl Jam, well without Chris Cornell of course. “SH2H” feels more personal than tracks like “I’ll be Missing You”; it was from the heart, it wasn’t cheesy, it was genuine, from the guys who knew him best. That’s why I love it, and love this band. I have it on vinyl, that’s undying love right there.

4. “Concerning a UFO sighting near Highland, Illinois” by Sufjan Stevens

Illinois was the album that put Stevens on the map, granted Greetings from Michigan is as much a stellar outing as this album. Steven’s ambition was to do an album for each of the fifty states and this album represents his last in the series before abandoning it. The album opens with this beautiful piece of piano music called “Concerning a UFO sighting near Highland, Illinois.” Some call it a metaphor for Christian beliefs but it’s just this innocent document of a UFO sighting, told beautifully with a heartbreaking melody. It may be his most underrated piece of music, but I go gaga for this track whenever it comes on.

3. “Lenny” by Stevie Ray Vaughan

If Stan Rogers evoked music with just harmonies, Stevie Ray Vaughan adds a ton of emotional depth to this song with just his guitar playing. SRV helped revive blues in the 80’s and it’s tracks like this that show off his pure talent for the genre and the instrument for which he is so well known. The second greatest tragedy in the recent years of music was the loss of Vaughan in a plane crash. There is no telling what he would have achieved, but this song is lasting legacy that music is important.

2. “Oceans” by Pearl Jam

One of the lesser known Jam tunes, I first fell in love with this track when I was going out with my second girlfriend. She lived near Buffalo, I lived in northern NY, but with this song it all felt a little closer. They were the first and only band we ever saw in concert together, but it was memorable, so much so in fact that I bought the bootleg. It’s nice to go down memory lane every once and a while.

1. “E-Bow the Letter” by R.E.M.

In 1996 I received my first album for Christmas, it was R.E.M.’s New Adventures in Hi-Fi from my sister, and since then I’ve been on that exploration for music. This is the first song I fell in love with, it was so moody, vibe-y, and dark. I didn’t understand it, and I barely do now, but this piece of music had such an impact on me that I own way too many CD’s, have too many gigs of music on my computer, all in the search to be satisfied. It’s R.E.M. that gave me my love for music; they’re not around anymore.