heart songs

there are songs you hear and there are songs that change your life. weezer calls them heart songs. these are the songs you could listen to a million times and still love. the songs that have in some way shaped your identity, musical or otherwise. these are the songs that you recognize three notes in, the ones to which you know all the words and can't help but sing along. these are your heart songs.  here are mine. i realize this is an extensive list, but what can i say, i'm an audiophile.

p.s. tons of nineties jams here since those were my formative years, musically speaking...

1. in my life-the beattles
first, dad raised me on the fab four. second, this was always my favorite. third, dad used to sing this one, loudly and poorly, but i loved it just the same
2. cry me a river-justin timberlake
i secretly love him. i also love that i was introduced to the new, *nsync-less timberlake by the least likely of sources-my classic rock loving older brother
3. criminal-fiona apple
my go-to shower song. also the song I most love to sing at the top of my lungs in the car, and i don’t care who hears me, i love it that much
4. over the hills and far away-led zepplin
my dad gets the led out on a regular basis. growing up, this bugged. i hated zepplin. a lot. until this song changed my mind about all the others
5. grandma's featherbed-john denver
my introduction to hippie folk music. thanks mom. we used to listen to this song on family road trips, we each knew all the words and everybody sang along. every time i drive from boise to provo, i feel the urge to listen to this song
6. i gotta move-ben kweller
this is me being restless and always feeling like something needs to change. this is me listening to this song every day for about 2 months while i decide where to move after college. this is me doing it again 3 years later. it’s a good thing i have this song to carry me through the impatient indecision in my life.
7. down on the corner-credence clearwater revival
dad "taught" me to "dance" to this song. i stood on his feet, and he walked around to the beat while singing at the top of his lungs. every time i hear the song, i dance in this manner
8. be okay-ingrid michaelson
the song that taught me it's possible to be upbeat and kinda sad at the same time. one of those “i feel like crap but I’m trying to be happy” kinda songs
9. say it ain't so-weezer
dear weezer,
you’re my fave. don't tell the others, they don't know.
love,
lindsay
p.s. i’m not one of those people who only listen to the songs that get played on the radio. often, the songs i like best are the ones that never make it there.
10. mmm mmm mmm-crash test dummies
ahhh, middle school... okay, so this song actually came out when i was ten, but it was HUGE when i was in seventh grade. i actually remember hearing it at an assembly. who remembers middle school assemblies? people who were seriously impacted by the killer tunes played therein, that's who
11. come as you are-nirvana
also a middle school jam. nirvana changed the face of music pretty much forever, so it stands to reason they would have an impact on the impressionable young listeners who angsted it out to kurt cobain and his grungetastic anthem
12. chain of fools-aretha franklin
as much as i love "respect" this is the aretha song i love the most. junior year of high school (circa 1999) my french teacher played this song in class (i haven't got a clue why) and i was hooked. the queen of soul now had a solid hold on a piece of my heart
13. when i come around-green day
the scene: plano, idaho, 1994-ish on a family member’s trampoline, green day playing on a boom box. beautiful day. also, one of maybe 5 songs my family could agree to listen to in the car on road trips
14. new shoes-paolo nutini
it's no secret that i love shoes. "clothes never look right, food just makes me fatter, shoes always fit." new shoes always make me feel better and so does this song
15. ring of fire-johnny cash
part of the ultimate merritt's playlist. and the best johnny cash song ever. okay, maybe not best, but certainly the most popular and well known. i don’t usually align my listening pleasure (or anything else for that matter) with that of everybody else, “popular” is unimportant, but in this case i’m game.
16. glycerine-bush
guess when i heard this one. yup, middle school. give me a break here, middle school is the time when i stopped listening to what my parents played and started listening to what my friends listened to. in this case, that meant bush. gavin rossdale was soooo cute! and this song is my personal favorite from the band
17. wonderwall-oasis
"and after all, you're my wonderwall" what does that even mean? does anybody know? does anybody care? i don't. i love this song for everything it meant to me in 1995 and everything it means to me now. i also love that it comes from the album "(what's the story) morning glory?" happy day
18. keep breathing-ingrid michaelson
sometimes we want so badly to change the world, but all we can do is keep breathing and hope for the best. and sometimes that’s enough.
19. mexico-jump little children
my glorious introduction to this band. yes, i said glorious. i like to think it was. love the band, love the song. i feel like i would love this song if i had heard it at the age of 7, 17, or 97. although i don't think i'm going to live that long, nor do i want to.
20. annie waits-ben folds
the song that helped me fall in heart with ben folds minus the five. also the song that showed me billy joel wasn’t the end of piano driven rock.
21. the world spins madly on-the weepies
heard it. felt it. loved it. listen to and enjoy almost daily.
22. nobody knows me at all-the weepies
once i was hooked on the weepies, i couldn't get enough of them. i heard this song and realized this is exactly how i feel most times of most days of my life. i might call this my theme song.
23. kodachrome-paul simon
any song about color photographs will find its way onto this list. as of the creation of this list, i haven't heard another. if you haven't listened to this song on the a.m. radio of a beat up old car, you haven't enjoyed the full allure of paul simon
24. tired of being alone-al green
i am. and all green rocks my socks
25. colors-amos lee
amos lee has one of those voices that are completely unexpected, and completely lovely. and this song reminds me of my senior year of college
26. can't get enough of your love baby-barry white
barry white is so great he deserves a salute, and he got one
27. loser-beck
yet another 90s jam ala lake hazel middle school. huge hit for beck and huge hit for me. i would listen for hours to tape this song off the radio. we did that back in the day, you know, before itunes
28. on ice-chris thile
i have a soft spot for the mandolin. i also have a soft spot for guys with great hair. chris thile has both. this is my favorite song from my favorite album
29. til kingdom come-coldplay
one of the most beautiful love songs i've ever heard and absolutely my favorite coldplay song of all
30. the blower's daughter-damien rice
any song that puts words to my emotions deserves a spot in this list, that’s kind of what the term “heart song” implies. enter damien rice. this is the first damien rice song i ever heard, played for me by this guy by whom i was completely spellbound. from the first chorus i was hooked. the amazing thing about this song is that no matter where i am in terms of a relationship (or lack thereof), this song seems to correspond. it fits every situation. it's a magical ninja song
31. screaming infidelities-dashboard confessional
(freshman/sophomore year(s) of college it seemed as if everybody was listening to this song. everybody but me that is. i had this roommate that literally blasted it every morning as she got ready for class. there was no way around it so i figured i might as well embrace it. i found the song, i sat down and i listened. turns out, there was a reason everybody liked this song so much. i'll admit there are dashboard songs i like better, but if it wasn’t for this one, I may never have heard the others
32. the luckiest-ben folds
i just really love the simple complexity of this song. i realize that it an oxymoron, but i have no idea how else to state it. love is a complex emotion felt and expressed in the simplest ways. ben folds somehow manages to wrap the simplicity into the complexity and cram it all into one song. genius.
33. bennie and the jets-elton john
the scene in 27 dresses where jane and kevin jump up on the bar in a ridiculous rendition of this song makes the movie for me. without that scene the movie is really just so-so. now, when i hear the song, i can't help but song along and picture james marsden, in all his beautiful splendor, singing at the top of his lungs. also, i think the lyrics are hilarious. “we’ll kill the fatted calf tonight so stick around.” really?
34. if i ever leave this world alive-flogging molly
i met (and by met I mean heard) flogging molly years ago via a mutual friend. we hit it off immediately and have been together since. this is a great song. it’s ironic and strange and somewhat ridiculous and yet, somehow, makes total sense. how is this possible? i have no idea, but it works and i love it
35. meaning-gavin degraw
not only one of my favorite songs (judge if you must), but this little jewel contains one of my favorite lines of song. "sometimes the only way is jumpin' i hope you're not afraid of heights." just think about it a second and i am confident that you will come around to my way of thinking
36. center of attention-guster
my theme song? maybe. the song that introduced me to this fantastic acoustic-pop threesome and their totally unique slash completely enjoyable sound? absolutely.
37. hold my hand-hootie and the blowfish
in all honesty, i do not listen to this song on a regular basis. i don't even listen to it on a semi-regular basis. actually i can't remember the last time i listened to it. the point is, it doesn't matter how often i listen to it, i still know the words and i still sing along. "cracked rear view" was the first album i ever owned (c’mon, it was huge) and thus holds a special corner of my heart.
38. you and i both-jason mraz
remember when jason mraz released his first album and you heard “the remedy” on the radio all the time? remember how i was listening to “you and i both” instead? don’t get me wrong, i like “the remedy,” a lot actually i just like this song better. something about the way jason strings together the lyrics. he’s quite a wordsmith friends
39. heart of life-john mayer
okay, so john mayer is for sure not my favorite person in the world and i definitely would not call him my favorite musician. in fact, there are really only a select few songs of his i even remotely like. clearly, this is one of them. it’s just nice every so often to hear a little reminder that “the heart of life is good”
40. you are loved (don't give up)-josh groban
it’s also nice to be reminded that you are loved. somewhere out there in the big bad world there is someone who cares for you, someone loves you and that really should be reason enough to keep pluggin’ along. don’t give up, you are loved
41. the fear you won't fall-joshua radin
i have a confession to make; i heard this song for the first time in an episode of so you think you can dance. i know it’s not the most glamorous story, but it’s true. at first i thought that maybe i only liked the song because i liked the dance, but then i realized that i like the song because i like the song. it’s just so true, “part of the beauty of falling in love with you is the fear you won’t fall”
42. closer to love-mat kearney
i don’t really know what to say about this song except that it somehow amplifies my emotions, whatever they may be, when I listen to it. this song has the power to make me smile or frown, laugh or cry. it’s strange how the same song can cause such different reactions at different times.
43. when you come back down-nickel creek
nickel creek fits into the “I love the mandolin,” category of music, but there is sooooo much more to it. i’m addicted to their sound. i own all of their albums, and I listen to them all regularly. this is among my favorite nickel creek songs. there is just something about it. I’m attached to both the lyrics and the melody, and no matter how often i listen to it i just can’t get enough of it.
44. these arm of mine-otis redding
otis redding is, for me, the king of soul. i do not care that james brown already possesses this title. i don't like james brown and i am far more attached to otis. plus, he has a cooler name. at any rate, i love this song.
45. love is a battlefield-pat benatar
one of the ultimate karaoke songs (look for that list in the future). pat benatar epitomizes girl rock in a way no one else can. did you know that she was a classically trained opera singer (as was her mother) was the first female artist featured on mtv and won 4 grammy awards? how cool is that?
46. hang on little tomato-pink martini
once upon a time, my dear friend ami played me this song by a band called pink martini. it started as a joke, but turns out, i kinda like them. i kinda like them a lot. and i really like this song. i even like the minute long intro. so when life gets hard just remember to hang on little tomato…
47. undiscovered-james morrison
reminds me that wandering is okay, it doesn’t mean you’re lost.
48. when doves cry-prince
so remember when baz luhrmann made an updated romeo and juliette and it was huge? i hate that movie. i hate that play. i only saw it because we watched it in my english class freshman year of high school. at the end of the movie, all the girls were swooning over leo and all the guys were talking about the fight scenes/deaths and i was infatuated with the soundtrack. There was this scene with “when doves cry” and I walked around with that song in my head for 3 days. i still wake up with that song in my head on occasion. weird. or cool, i haven’t decided yet.
49. love song-sara bareilles
i realize that this song was hugely popular in all parts of the country, and that is not usually my style, but i can’t help it, i think this is a great song. i especially like to sing it in the car, i don’t even care who else is in the car with me. my friend karee and i get a kick out of singing it together while driving with the windows down, even in the freezing cold. awesome.
50. breakeven-the script
let’s just say that this song speaks to me. actually, let’s not. i hate when people say that. it sounds so pretentious and fake. so instead let’s just say that i really like it and i can’t explain why. still not helpful, but less annoying.
51. would you go with me?-josh turner
it is probably clear by now that country music is at the top of my listening list, but every so often i hear a song (usually courtesy of my baby brother, or by incidental contact) that i actually want to listen to repeatedly. this is one of them. i will admit that i mostly agreed to listen to josh turner because he’s hot, but that’s only part of the appeal now. why is it that country is pretty much the only genre wherein a man with a a beautifully deep baritone/bass can make it big?
52. safety dance-men at work
“your friends don’t dance and if they don’t dance, well, they ain’t no friends of mine.” need i say more?
53. bohemian rhapsody-queen
everybody and their dog knows this song. at least they think they do. it has been my experience that while most people are totally willing to sing along, very few of them actually know all the words. that’s part of the appeal. also, who doesn’t love the “duet” in wayne’s world? maybe one of the best movie scenes of all time…
54. fascinating rhythm-ella fitzgerald
so, when i was in high school, i sang in a jazz choir. of course, jazz was totally foreign to me when i joined, but by the time i graduated i couldn’t get enough. this gershwin written song tops my list of great jazz songs and ella (i like to pretend we’re on a first name basis) tops my list of great jazz performers, so the combinations is explosive. also, the song sort of chronicles my obsession with the style.
55. the distance-cake
cake had been around for a while but was still relatively unknown until this song was released and subsequently dominated the airwaves. seriously, it was being played at least 15 times a day in boise, idaho. i’m totally attached to my hometown and love all sorts of things about it, but, let’s face it, it’s not exactly on the cusp of the musical revolution. so if we were hearing this song, you know everybody else was too. as a result, i was hooked on cake (the band, i don’t really love cake as a food). something about the way john mcrea doesn’t actually sing, but speaks on pitch is so stinkin’ catchy!
56. doo wop (that thing)-lauryn hill
lauryn dropped the fugees and made it big on her own. i loved this song at the time. she then fell of the face of the planet and we really haven’t heard anything from her in what seems like forever. recently some friends and i were listening to this song and discovered that we still know the words and enjoy spouting them off. that is what this list is all about.
57. fallin'-alicia keys
alicia’s debut single, and the song that sort of introduced me to mainstream r&b.
58. shambala-three dog night
i have so many memories to which this song is attached i cannot possibly narrow it to one which i might share here, but the fact that is is difficult is reason enough to include the song on this list
59. sabotage-beastie boys
if my life were ever made into a movie, this song would absolutely find its way onto the soundtrack. the trick would be deciding which scene it would back-up.
60. dark blue-jack's mannequin
i just can’t get enough of this band, this song in particular. i don’t what else to say about it really, but i think that’s okay. sometimes it’s best to just let it be what it is and enjoy it without trying to explain your enjoyment
61. my moon my man-feist
someone ( i can’t for the life of me remember who) played me this song in the car or something and i completely lost track of the conversation we were having because i was distracted by the song. that is not a common occurrence for me. i am capable of holding conversations regardless of my surroundings, usually, but this song stole my attention. totally worth it.
62. nothin' to lose-josh gracin
again, country music is not at the top of my list, but this song just makes me giggle. every time i hear it i can’t help but picture my tone-deaf older brother singing along (or at least attempting to) and getting most of the words right. good times
63. free fallin'-tom petty and the heartbreakers
growing up my dad listen to this kind of music all the time. i wasn’t so keen on it then, but as i’ve aged, i’ve come to appreciate the total awesomeness that is tom petty. this is also the one and only song i can (sort of) play on guitar