4: good morning captain-- slint

it feels wrong even writing about this song. to me, this song is so good and means so much to me, that trying to put any of it into words would be a great disservice. but i guess i must provide something so you will understand why this song is ranked as high as it is.

to put it plainly, after hearing this song, music simply didnt sound the same. as new and different as this song sounded, it also touched on some expectation i had for what the greatest music in the world would sound like. like i had been waiting for something to sound like this. it was deep. bottom of the ocean deep. the song has an expansive drama that sucks you in. its not even like listening to a song. it is like having an experience.

again, i can't really explain what this song does to me. it is poetic and smart (any song that is even loosely based on a samuel taylor coleridge poem is by definition smarter than most anything you can listen to). but it is not just cerebral, the song also plays to the senses. you can see the mist coming off the water. you can feel the ship rocking on the waves. and then it builds, the tension, like ominous clouds gathering on the horizon. and then there is an explosion, where softly spoken words give way to screams and you can feel the brute force, the release. something that seems so delicate and calculating just cracks open to bare bones and grit and the basic essence of human emotion.

i can only say it was an act of god that made me download this song as a sophomore in high school. i otherwise have no idea what would have compelled me to seek out this relatively obscure band. it was another act of god that i finally found the album 'spiderland' in a sketchy record store in georgetown. but i am thankful i did. and when i finally got to hear this song played live this summer i literaly couldnt stop shaking. it was like hearing god. and once again, nothing sounds the same.

5: shit soup-- sebadoh

i know i have gone on about how many times i have listened to certain songs on this list. but, to put an end to all speculation, this is, officially, the song i have listened to the most times in my life. and im serious. i went through phases where, even though i am more of an 'album person' than a 'song person', i would put this song on repeat and listen to it over and over and over again. in high school. in college. two weeks ago. and it's not like this is mozart or brainbending music or whatever. but it fits me well. and it has fascinated me.

i first heard of sebadoh through their lo-fi brethren, pavement. pavement had already solidified its place as one of my favorite bands, so i decided anyone that fit into their 'genre' would be worth checking out. problem was, i couldnt find any of their albums anywhere. after some time of searching, i found the album 'bakesale' and its naked baby playing in a toilet on the cover at a border's in pentagon city. and i don't think my life has been the same since. i remember running to a friend's room and making him listen to the album immediately because i had been so blown away. i knew then that this was another band i could obsess over (and i am fond of obsessing). the whole album was pretty much a revelation. it rocks just enough. it is just angular enough. it is just poppy/intelligent/bouncy enough. and it has the kind of smart confessional lyrics that i love. but the song that really sold me was 'shit soup,' a beauty written by jason lowenstein. this song reminds me of spinning. and the truth. (good things). and i dig any song about crazy people and smoking cigarettes. it is a lot like hazy-eyed longing and frustration and i thought it was incredible.

i have not stopped listening to sebadoh since i first heard 'bakesale.' and i have been fortunate enough to see them play live a couple times and they were awesome. what i really appreciate about them is how diverse their music can be, from a tape player recording of a guy with a guitar to full-band loud rock (that i can jump around to). and everything seems to work well. this song made an immediate impact on what i wanted to listen to. it made me get realize how much i liked music that was personal and also rocked a bit. i remember laying on my bed in high school listening to 'shit soup' and just thinking how much i liked this song, how this song just works for me so well. even today, not much has changed. and it is indeed true-- crazy people are so off they're on.