lyrically speaking

Ah, music. There's not many people who would say they didn't like it at all. In fact I think it would be a challenge to find anyone who didn't like music of some kind. People can say they prefer movies over books and don't like to read (lazy swine!) or vice versa; they can say they don't like the Television because, well, it sucks most of the time. But music, oh no, everybody loves something about music. It is ambient, everywhere - it can reach you when you're sleeping, or while you're trying to sleep. It can be the incessant racket down the road at 3am that you'd rather didn't play - incessant to you, maybe, but glorious and necessary to the people playing it, drunk as they probably are.

It can make you yearn for different times, provoke memories and even feelings of places you've been. You can remember doing something through a song. Moods are set - something as simple as people shopping can be given a different mood through music. Amazing!

Naturally it is not perfect in all its forms. There are many kinds and nobody will agree on everything. One person's shit music is another's favourite. Though, let's be honest, some music is just bad and we all know what I'm talking about. And sadly it's more frequent these days as production lines roll off these clones we all want to set on fire.

But enough on that... I'll talk about me and what I like. I am a bit of a music whore, like many, and don't religiously stick to one genre or band, and instead prefer to keep my mind and ears open to a good song. I like to think I have songs for every mood, except angry and bitter.

There are some songs though that I can't get enough of and always come back to playing , because I like to listen to them after the ten thousandth time. I tend to favor good lyrics - either corny or deep - mixed with excellent sounds. I am not a connoisseur or anything, but I have my own love and now I shall share with a short list of my all time favourites.

Greg's All Time Favourite Music List That May or Not Be the Same Next Year
although to be honest it's not really a list in any order

Ooo, bold and italic! Fancy stuff. Anyway, the first song that comes to mind is With or Without You, by U2. It's just one of those classics I loved a long time ago and only recently got back onto my play list. The lyrics are some of U2's best I think - they describe things you could probably see yourself relating to somehow, if not exactly. It's got a nice simple tune with nothing fancy - just a good old fashioned song from when U2 was at their best with the Joshua Tree.

Next I'm going with Remy Zero - Shattered. It's a recent song on my list, but I loved it from the start. It's one of those gems you pickup out of the blue and enjoy again and again. It also has a bit of a secret meaning to me that at least one of you out there knows. The lyrics are excellent and the music behind them doesn't interfere and my imagination can run a little wild. It's a song that invokes emotions in me and I absolutely love that.

Keane - Somewhere Only We Know. At first I thought the singer was a girl and I've actually had two different versions of it (by version I mean only in file). It was a good song when I first heard it, but it wasn't until recently that it came packaged with a different meaning. Simple tune that really suits the lyrics create a beautiful mood.

Now for a Change of Seasons. Done by Dream Theater who never cease to amaze me with their prowess in lyrics and sounds. This song goes for 23 minutes (no, really) but it really isn't long enough when I am listening to it. Really it is a few songs in one that transition seamlessly, but it tells a story of life and is presented in a way I enjoy endlessly. Definitely an all-time favourite for a long time!

Led Zeppelin. Kashmir. Probably enough said right there. I simply cannot explain why this song is as good as it is, it just hits me. The lyrics are just insanely unique to the point of stuffing your brain with all kinds of images, none of which are interrupted by insane tunes - actually, the music itself pales in comparison to the lyrics which are sung with that somehow sexually charged way. It's an absolute classic I could listen loudly to all day. I guess it just reminds me of the mind.

I'd love to write about more songs that are technically on my all-time favourites "list" but that would take too much time. I mean, there are songs like For Crying Out Loud (Meatloaf) that just don't have any modern day relatives. There are songs that I may not even know about yet that are just waiting to be heard.

And much the same for us all.

- P ζ.

Oh, pilot of the storm who leaves no trace, like thoughts inside a dream
Heed the path that led me to that place, yellow desert stream
My shangri-la beneath the summer moon, I will return again
Sure as the dust that floats high and true, when movin through Kashmir