[Quiet Man Cometh]

Okay! As per the 101 books thread, post a song that you think people must hear and your reasons why. Post only one song at a time please. You can post as often as you like but someone different must post first. I'll keep a list of songs here so people can see what's already been suggested.

Off we go!

Page 1 (post #1-#16)
1. Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley cover (orig. Leonard Cohen)
2. Thick as a Brick - Jethro Tull
3. Runaway Train - Soul Asylum
4. God Damn the Sun - Dresden Dolls cover (orig. Swans)
5. Rejoice in the Sun - Joan Baez
6. Clumsy - Our Lady Peace
7. Radioactive - Lindsey Stirling cover (orig. Imagine Dragons)
8. Rainbow Connection - Kermit the Frog
9. Truman Sleeps - Philip Glass
10. Free - Omnia
11. Nothing Else Matters - Apocalyptica cover (orig. Metallica)
12. Blackheart - Two Steps From Hell
13. The Show Must Go On - Queen
14. Tonight We Ride - Unleash the Archers
15. The Greatest Adventure, The Ballad of The Hobbit- Glenn Yarbrough
16. The Long Song - Doctor Who

Page 2 (post #17 - #32)
17. Through the Fire and Flames - DragonForce
18. Rise - Shapes & Colors
19. Again - Yu ??
20. Ievan's Polkka - ??
21. Hellfire - Tony Jay
22. Better - Cat and the Menagerie
23. Zombie - The Cranberries
24. The Sound of Silence Disturbed cover (orig. Simon and Garfunkel)
25. Lightning Crashes - Live
26. Wrong Side of Heaven - Five Finger Death Punch
27. Blumenkranz - Kill la Kill soundtrack (post 30 for specific link)
28. The Voice - Celtic Woman
29. Take me to Church - Hozier

Page 3 (Post #33 - #48)
30. Setting Sail, Coming Home - Bastion OST
31. S.O.B - Nathaniel Rateliff & Night Sweats
32. Fast car - tracy chapman
33. Miss Jackson - Panic!At The Disco
34. One Headlight - The Wallflowers
35. Neon Pegasus - Parry Gripp
36. Fear Not this Night - Guild Wars 2 soundtrack, Jeremy Soule, ftr. Asja Kadrić
37. Thought Contagion - Muse
38. All the King's Horses - Karmina
39. Black Is The Color - Christy Moore
40. Rock N' Roll Suicide - David Bowie
41. Hallelujah - Pentatonix cover

Page 4 (Post #49 - )
42. We Built this City - Starship
43. Another One Bites the Dust - Queen
44. I Don't Like Mondays - The Boomtown Rats

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1. "Halleluja" - Leonard Cohen

This song has been covered to death, but the original is by Leonard Cohen. Most people probably know it from Rufus Wainwright's version in Shrek, but my favourite cover is by Jeff Buckley.

The original song is almost spoken in it's delivery, and it quite long. Buckley added more emotion to it, I felt, and Wainwright's version dropped the pauses and lingers to make the song more smooth and melodic. K.D. Land also sang a rendition at the 2010 Olympics closing ceremonies with some of the words changed and I think gave yet another feel to it.

This is easily in the running for my favourite song ever. It's one of those pieces that I can put on and I don't dance or anything, but just stop whatever I'm doing and just listen.

[Suzerain of Sheol]

2. "Thick as a Brick" -- Jethro Tull

Not even sure where to begin. It's a glorious, absurd 42-minute deconstruction of concept albums in classic rock. The song's irony and refusal to be about *anything* -- all the while seeming to explore themes of the social necessity of war, the passage from youth to adulthood and the bequeathal of cultural mores from one generation to the next -- is a wonderful troll of pretty much anyone who ever listened to it. Even the fake newspaper that came with the original album was a masterpiece of subtle humor.

It is by far the most complex song I've ever encountered, the way the music adapts itself to fit the winding and wheeling peculiarities of the lyrics. There's really nothing like it. It fulfills the essential task of a deconstruction by stripping away the curtains of convention and commenting via the absence of commentary. An astonishingly intricate piece of music.

I couldn't possibly count how many times I've listened to it, it's been something I've always returned to since first hearing it some 14 or 15 years ago. Even if the meaning of it seems obscure the first (few dozen) times you listen to it, there's always that sense that there is *something* being said, and I'm honestly doubtful I've even scratched the surface in my attempts to analyze it.

[Quiet Man Cometh]

3. "Runaway Train" - Soul Asylum

One I always remembered from my early school days and had to dig up to get the name of it. It's a pleasant song to listen to. I don't think there's any particular deeper meaning to it, it's fairly straight forward, but it's a song that I feel a lot of younger or troubled people can identify with. If I were to plot it, I suppose I would say it's the thoughts of a youth running away from home. At the end of the music video were pictures of people that had gone missing, and a number to call for information.

[Suzerain of Sheol]

4. God Damn the Sun -- Swans

This is the single most depressing thing I have ever heard, and I love every second of it. Michael Gira has an incredible talent for writing soul-crushing lyrics and his droning, drawling lamentations are nothing but brutally honest. I listen to this whenever I'm feeling down, it doesn't necessarily cheer me up but it resonates in a way no other song I know does. There can be art in suffering.

[Lawtan]

Rejoice in the Sun -- Joan Baez

This is a song that never fails to get me in the heart. It is little known, and I had an extremely difficult time finding it outside of it's YouTube version. It is powerful because it is true about the cycle of life and death, and is about hope in spite of destruction. It is a song of mournful innocence.

It is used in the film Silent Running, where humanity has reached the point where nature is no longer needed and the people have ceased creative progress and exploration...and they are about to destroy the last of the forests as a sort of final emphasis on the point. This scene, after the command is given to destroy the last space biodome, illustrates it well.

In comparison to other "Flower-child/60's/70's" songs (Like Blowing in the Wind and The Times They Are A-Changin) I believe it to be both encompassing and slightly better, despite it being shorter.

[Quiet Man Cometh]

6. "Clumsy" - Our Lady Peace

There are a number of songs I could think of from this band, such as "Life" or "Innocent," which lean more towards the supportive end of the spectrum for the band but going with this one. I think it's a well put together song, from the perspective of someone who has no idea about such things.

I'm not entirely certain how to interpret this song. The songs I've heard from Our Lady Peace can vary from harsh or mocking to understanding and supportive. I think "Clumsy" falls somewhere in the middle, though I suppose it depends on the state of mind of the listener at the time.

[Tiva]

7. Radioactive cover by Lindsey Stirling

A split of the Orginal and LS Cover
LS & Pentatonix official video

The song itself is pretty new and extremely popular but Lindsey Stirling put her own spin on it and god the ear porn. I love the song and have listened to both the split and her solo version multiple times it is like great classical music but it is new music.

She is a newer artist and I love that a a classic violinist is getting such great coverage.

[Fauxreal]

8. The Rainbow Connection

I love Kermit.

This is just a classic song. It's a hippie song I know, but when I'm feeling depressed I love to listen to this song to really get the cheering up mood. This song is good for kids and adults.
The Muppets are an icon, Kermit is their leader. They stand for laughter, friendship and joy. These are all idea everyone should get behind.

[Poggio]

Truman Sleeps By Philip Glass
Truman Sleeps By Philip Glass

Phillp Glass is one of my favorite composers. In terms of instrumentals, like Danny Elfman majority of his work is found in movies as part of the sound track.

To me he has a distinctive sound through his instrumentals. However I feel as though Philip has an uncanny ability to bring about empathic moments without being quirky and macabre. His music while using similar rifts, does not sound like a blatant copy of its self represented. It just sounds wonderful and it is very soothing if you want something to relax too.

[Lawtan]

10.Free - Omnia

Warning - they do curse.

"Free" explains the concept of creative individuality.
To be truly free of limitations on oneself, would lead to a more lackadaisical style, as this song is. There would be nothing to push, and nothing to restrain. In such a situation, you really just have do be you - do what you want - play with your toys - and not care what others think...and I believe the song should be shared.

As a note, this song and another, Toys in the Attic, incorporate worn-out phrases in the lyrics, but not in a manner that tires the song or the music.

[Quiet Man Cometh]

11. Nothing Else Matters - Apocalyptica cover (orig. Metallica)

I have this song here because I think that it's a beautiful song when done with the cellos, but also because I think that it shows what's to be found in rock and/or metal music. I like metal and rock, but it can sound like mush if one doesn't have an ear for it.

[Espy]

12. Blackheart -- Two Steps From Hell

I've yet to come across any other song that gives off the same vibe as Blackheart does. The first time I listened to it, I was really looking for something darker, so the beginning didn't impress me. But it builds up, and the whole flow is just really, really great. (Also that violin solo. Holy shit.)

[Quiet Man Cometh]

13. "The Show Must Go On" - Queen

Anything by Queen, really, but I'll pick this one for the moment. It appears in Moulin Rouge for those who have seen the film. Not sure how to describe it except that it's Queen. If you don't know who that is then go find something. "Bohemian Rhapsody" is probably the most famous.

If one wants to look for more in this song besides the lyrics and sound, (which are good enough for me, really) one might consider how this song fits within the context of Freddy Mercury's life. He had (I think) been diagnosed with AIDS at the time the song was performed.

[Espy]

I made a list of my favorite motivational/anti-depressant songs on FB, so I'll post them here one by one.

I suppose I'll start off with "Tonight We Ride", by Unleash the Archers:

"Hold on to this moment for all time
This is the night we ride
I hear them calling our name
Raising the flag and fueling the flame
I'll find my destination
Don't tell me where to go
I won't give in this time, feel the power
Not this time, scream it louder
We'll find our destination
Can't tell us where to go
We won't give in this time, feed the hunger
Not this time, growing stronger!"

I didn't really like this song the first time I heard it -- it's pretty "modern" metal, sure, but it does a good job in mixing in pretty strong allusions to older metal, which I'm not a big fan of. What really hooked me in, though, were the lyrics (and also because Brittney Slayes probably has the best female scream/growl I have ever heard in any metal band).

...I'd like to think the reason behind my love for the lyrics is hopefully self-explanatory.

[Quiet Man Cometh]

15. The Greatest Adventure, The Ballad of The Hobbit
Performed by Glenn Yarbrough.

Not sure if that's the formal title, but that's the one I found.

"Awesome" is not really the word for this song. Perhaps "cute," or "charming," "magical" maybe. I'm pretty sure I was annoyed with the vocalist as a kid but it's one of those songs that has stuck with me for years, as I still watch the movie even today.

This song is the main theme for the Rankin/Bass 1977 cartoon of "The Hobbit," and will always be The Hobbit in my not-book. The lyrics are simple but effective, and the tune is pleasant.

[Den]

16. The Long Song Doctor Who
The Long Song

This is one of the first songs one gets to hear with the current Companion, Clara "Oswin" Oswald. It's one of my favorites from the series, and I can kind of play it on the piano, so there's that. :)