“Counting down our top tunes of all time! Music moves us. It inspires us! Now, tell the world YOUR ten favorite songs of all time. The Song, the band – why does it move you?”
Welcome to the Top Ten Countdown Music Blogfest! I have a feeling that my list is going to be wildly different from most on this blogfest, if only because I listen to different music than most of the people I know in real life. And since all of my favorite songs remind me of a character or a scene, you aren’t likely to find Casey Kasem’s Top 40 in here.
#10: Baby Blue – Dave Matthews Band. Much like Wilco’s One Wing (which didn’t make the cut) this song makes me cry every time I hear it. It’s this line: “I confess I’m not quite ready to be left”. I can’t help but think of Lane watching Rebecca die (over and over and over in all those worlds, but mostly in Lane’s Girl). And if I try to stop thinking of Lane and Rebecca then Gar and Kindra crowd in and that makes me cry doubly hard. So while most of the other songs on this list make me happy, Baby Blue makes #10 because it tears my heart out and leaves it sobbing on the floor.
#9: See The World – Gomez. On to something a little happier. For years I had no idea who sang this song but whenever it came on the radio it made me think of Gar. It’s still his song, as far as I’m concerned, although I can imagine him singing it to Kindra (or, you know, thinking it at her, since she would make merciless fun of him if he sang to her).
#8: What I Wouldn’t Do – A Fine Frenzy. This song sounds like spring to me. It sounds like going on a trip with your best friends and walking in patchy sunlight under spring-green trees. It makes me think of the beginning of Book of Souls, when Neona, Sean and Alicia begin their journey and their spirits are high.
#7: Sprawl II – Arcade Fire. This is the only song on the list that doesn’t remind me of a specific scene or character. But I like it. I Love it. It’s the beat, and the slightly-wavery voice of the lead singer, and the lyrics, and the fact that it makes me want to dance circles around the living room in a frilly skirt with my dogs.
#6: Come Alive – Foo Fighters. This song started out as Holly’s for the scene when she finally snaps and attacks the manticore. Then it became Karigan’s for the scene when Bar attacks her. Then everyone started sharing it and now this song can be used for any character and any novel (although it still makes me think of Kari and Holly first). I love songs that can do double-duty like that. Plus, it’s one of those pump-you-up-and-get-you-out-of-bed-in-the-morning songs.
#5: Whoa Mule – Black Crowes. I like the weird songs on albums. The ones that most people don’t really care for or against. They tend to be my favorites, and Whoa Mule is one of these songs that most people probably don’t think about. But it’s one of my favorite songs ever. It sounds happy, day-dreamy, like everything is going to be good if you just give it a little bit more time. It’s also Holly’s happy-song.
#4. One Sweet Love – Sara Bareilles. Before any story or character this song makes me think of my husband. He travels a lot for work, and it makes me think of sitting outside on the beach, watching the sun go down and the waves come in, and waiting for him to come back. “No ordinary wings I need, the sky itself will carry me back to you” is my favorite line and it always reminds me of him when he is gone (or when he’s here and I’m at work).
#3: The Mystic’s Dream – Loreena McKennitt. Whenever I need to calm down I put this song on. It’s relaxing, it makes me think of mountains and Fie Eoin and the twins. When it’s time to start working on FE this is the song I play, and it is often the first song I play when I get to work in the morning. It’s an easy way to get into the business of the day and get my mind in-tune.
#2: In My Head – Anna Nalick. This song makes me think of Lane in a way that almost makes him real. When we first moved to Charleston and my husband was working all summer in a different city and was only home on the weekends this was the song that brought me through that horrible, lonely time. And I can honestly say that this song started me on the path to writing as more than just a hobby. It’s because of this song, and Lane, and my loneliness that I decided I wanted to do this writing thing as well as I could. That was six years ago, and I’m still struggling to fulfill that dream, but whenever I’m lonely, and feeling down about writing, or missing my husband this song can still pull me through.
#1: All Souls Night – Loreena McKennitt. I could fill this list with just Loreena McKennitt songs and call them my top ten of all time and it would be the truth, but the two in this list stick out in my mind. All Souls Night is the sound of a festival in Fie Eoin. Any festival. It makes me want to dance around a bonfire in the middle of the night and drink wine out of a clay mug and look up at a sky full of more stars than I have ever seen.
And those are my top ten songs of all time. What are yours?
For more top ten songs, visit the Music Blogfest on Alex’s blog!
I love my antagonists – from Pike in Fie Eoin to the Manticore in Phooka Tales to Eros in Apollo and Daphne, a good antagonist can make or break a book. If your antagonist can’t get your protagonist off their butt and doing things then you don’t have a book. Please don’t neglect your antagonist while you are waxing poetic about your awesome protagonist this November!
