Top 11 Songs
Sunday nights on one of the local cable channels, they have this great show called My Top 11. A popular musician picks their favorite videos by other artists and in between they have a chat, often amazingly revealing, with the host. I think because they’re talking about the music they like rather than the music they’re promoting, a lot of barriers tumble.
I’ve become addicted to this show over the last few months. I’m always fascinated by what influences people to create the work they do. It’s one of the reasons that I’m obsessively curious about what other people read. Never ask me to your house. I’ll spend the entire visit scoping out your bookcases! Anyway, a few Sundays ago, I started to think about my top 11.
I’m sticking to popular music. I like many varieties of music but to fit the format of the TV show, I’ll select from rock/pop exclusively. The list is in no particular order:
- Heroes by David Bowie
- Tainted Love by Soft Cell
- You’re Beautiful by James Blunt
- In Between Days by The Cure
- Mad World by Tears for Fears
- Blue Monday by New Order
- Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen
- Wuthering Heights by Kate Bush
- Yellow by Coldplay
- The Real Thing by Russell Morris
- Come Up and See Me by Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel
Looking my list, I’m surprised at how Brit-centric I am. And clearly, I like a man to sing to me! There’s a melancholy cast to a lot of this music – it falls squarely into the category of ‘misery pop’ as a friend of mine puts it. Another surprise for me. I’m quite a jolly soul. Really!