The Invictus

For a change, my blog moves away from its recently acquired quasi-serious, opinionated state of being, to talk about more lighter things. About the music that I grew up listening to, songs that I used to be mad about, music that I don't get to listen to these days, but that I could listen to anytime anyday.

Here's a list of my 12 fave songs - not exhaustive obviously, but of top-of-mind recall value.

1. Wish you were here (Pink Floyd)

This one never fails to give me the bumps each time i hear it, even after all these years. Simple verse, powerful emotions, absolutely brilliant.

2. Comfortably Numb (Pink Floyd)

Dark in composition, music nevertheless. A good lesson for the wannabe punksters and thrash-ers who think loudness is a proxy for dark angst, maybe?

3. More than words (Extreme)

A very non-Extreme kind of a song. Brilliant verse, simple accompaniment on a single acoustic guitar. Perfect! (you have heard this song, haven't you?)

4. November Rain (Guns N Roses)

Slash on a roll! If you are looking for instances of great orchestration in a Rock number, you need to hear this! Quintessential Pub favorite - best heard with a pitcher of chill beer:-)

5. Love will keep us alive (The Eagles)

A mushy number, no less! But so much better and mature than today's nonsense churned out by such luminaries as Ms. Spears and all those whose name I don't even know or bother to know.

6. Unchained Melody (The Righteous Brothers, Air Supply)

I love the Righteous Brothers version, as seen in the movie "The Ghost" (yes, the Demi Moore starrer)...It has a distinct old worldly feel to it which clearly stands out in today's bubble-gummy times.

7. Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen)

Wierd, unconventional and brilliant orchestration! No wonder this is - last heard - the most popular single in the UK.

8. Nothing compares to you (Sinead O'Connor)

WOW! A good composition made great by its rendition!! One of the most difficult compositions to perform to, this number showcased Sinead's vocals to the extent that she could never - alas - ever repeat.

9. Heaven (Bryan Adams)

College favorite! Along with "Summer of '69", Bryan Adams sure made many of us rock!

10. Imagine (John Lennon)

John Lennon at his best! One of my firm favorites too!

11. Piano Man (Billy Joel)

Billy Joel simply rocks in this number! Have forgotten the no. of times we have requested for this number in a Pub..Best enjoyed with friends, beer and while singing aloud in a loud pub!!

12. It might be you (Stephen Bishop)

One of the first English songs I heard to, and remains a firm favorite! A good number to end this nostalgic trip with.

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PS: The inspiration for this post is a little conversation I had with DC the other day. I was complaining to her how all music channels on TV seem to have gone bereft of good English music; Almost all the channels (MTV, V) seem to have Bollywood-focused content to an extent that it's rather difficult, neigh impossible, to differentiate between the individual channels. The only non-bollywood music that they manage happens to be some kind of grossed-out remix or Bhangra, or Ms. Spears and her ilk who share names of vegetables, peas, and petty currency. The only good that comes out of these is the 2 dozen scantily clad women in pink dancing to these numbers:-)
That's when I chanced upon VH1 on its late night classic show. And what a throw-back to the good times it proved to be!

PPS: I am resisting the strong temptation to add more songs to this favorites list...the list can get really long, and it's not a easy choice here!