My Favorite Songs of All Time

It's good we use a base ten counting system - ten is the perfect number for a list. It includes just enough entries to give a good impression of the subject being "listed," but isn't so large as to cause boredom.

I haven't been much of a presence here lately so I thought I'd throw something neat together that I've been brewing up for awhile. Click the middle mouse wheel to open these links up in a new tab rather than leaving the list:

My Favorite Songs of All Time, Keeping in Mind That This Isn't Necessarily Comprehensive and Merely Constitutes Whatever Songs I Managed to Think Of While Writing This List

10) The Clash - London Calling. A song beyond reproach from an album beyond reproach by a band beyond reproach. One of the reasons we tolerate Green Day today is their occasional parallels with this still-relevant band.

9) The Shins - New Slang. A perfect song for a sunny day, driving at night, birth, death and everything in between.

8) Yano - Banal na Aso, Santong Kabayo. Take my word for it that Yano is the best folk/punk Filipino rock band of all time, whatever you may have heard to the contrary.

7) Mr. Bungle - Retrovertigo. This live version is practically as good as the copy on California. Mr. Bungle released my favorite album of all time in 1999, and experimental pop music has never been the same.

6) The Beatles - Strawberry Fields Forever. Thank Heavens the greatest pop group of all time stopped caring what people thought of them.

5) Ween - Mutilated Lips. Too bad Ween doesn't write like this anymore.

4) Elvis Costello - Living in Paradise. This song typifies Costello's talents - breezy, astounding pop songwriting, songs that twist and turn without seeming unnatural, and great melodic progression. Paired with The Attractions he was pretty much unstoppable.

3) The Pixies - Monkey Gone to Heaven. I don't really have to defend one of the most influential rock groups of all time, but I still praise The Pixies to high heavens every chance I get. They gave us four unforgettable albums and then retired before they started sucking. How many bands can say that? This song is epic and suitably harsh.

2) Metallica - Battery and One. I'm not really sure that a complete understanding of Metallica, metal or modern music could ever be constructed without these two tracks. "One" is Metallica's apex - a slowly building, melodic wistful tale that builds into a highly enjoyable nightmare. "Battery" represents a significant side of Metallica that we saw more often - riff-based metal constructed with a conscious punk intensity, never straying into the atonal, chaotic regions of much of the thrash of that period.

1) Pink Floyd - Comfortably Numb. In the end the edge goes out to this trippy, introspective masterpiece. It's darkly optimistic, lyrically subjective but inarguably significant. Dark Side of the Moon might be a better album than The Wall, but this track from the latter is their finest moment.