30 Day Song Challenge - Day 15

Day 15 - A song that describes you

Once again I exercise my right as the writer of this blog to give a big middle finger to the rules of the 30 Day Song Challenge. As all my copious amounts of readers (all two of you) are no doubt aware, I have not posted for awhile. Between starting work at Walmart, continuing my Plan B Thesis research, and getting back into Dragon Age (three guesses as to which one has been taking up more of my time...and the first two don't count), I haven't had (or haven't made) time to write new blog entries in a number of weeks. That and this particular one gives me a bit of trouble every time I think about it. But I guess it's about time that I just get down to it and post something or other. So here are my winners for Day 15, songs that describe me.

Winner

Real World (Matchbox 20) - I often find that my life is a constant struggle to get the monkey of the "real world" off my back so I can actually enjoy it (life that is). It's a whimsical song, but that sort of "describes" me as well. I do try to keep my sense of humor, even when I feel weighed down by the responsibilities contingent with just getting out of bed in the morning. And yes, I realize my list of "responsibilities" is not particularly long. That doesn't mean they don't feel weighty to me.

Runners Up

Escapist (Nightwish) - This one is more for the name than anything since this song is a proud member of the bizarre "fantasy metal" genre (at least in my mind), but there is something dream-like about this song, as if it was detailing a journey through an eclectic series of fantastic dreams. I am quite the daydreamer myself, particularly while attending to menial tasks like manual labor, driving, etc, etc, and sometimes, as corny as this sounds, I find myself drifting through such eclectic and fantastical dreams like the ones I feel this song to be describing. But really, in the end, it's more for the name...everything I do in my free time is a method of escaping real life for a time. Therefore I am an escapist, no?

Hip to be Square (Huey Lewis and the News) - Here's another goofy one that I found myself considering for one of the winners today. I recently asked my friend from the Ledger if I could borrow his "Best Of" CD of Huey Lewis and the News, largely for this song. I was listening to it one night while feeding dogs and thought to myself "Self, this song is somewhat apropos for describing you." This was particularly relevant as I considered the winners for today, so I made a mental note of it...and here it is. What can I say about this song? I am about as white bread as someone can be. I have never taken any great chances in life, never had any real adventures, never got into any real trouble. To me, the worst thing life can be is "interesting." But you know what? It's hip to be square.

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 14

Day 14 - A song that no one would expect you to love

This one is a little hard again, but I have to assume this only counts for people that don't know me. Anyone who knows me fairly well (or has been reading my blog for the past couple weeks) knows that I have a hugely diverse taste in music. I'm just as likely to get smooth jazz as classic rock as classical as 80's rock as pop on my iPod these days (I have been collection music through various channels for 10 years now and have songs from when I started collecting all those years ago).

When I think of the so-called "mainstream" musical sensibilities, the people who listen largely to what is popular at a given time (without trying to sound too pejorative about it...after all, taste is individual, and I do not fault people for what they like. Besides, to say I didn't enjoy any pop song made in the last year would be a flat out lie), it seems to me there is a bit of a hypocritical disconnect in their minds. Music is emotion. I don't think anyone would dispute this (or, at least, that music can be emotionally charged). No one would frown on someone for listening to a song that made them cry. And I'm pretty sure everyone seeks out songs that make them happy. And we all have a couple songs that make us laugh.

What about songs that make them angry?

I am a firm believer in the connection between music and emotion. All music is emotionally charged...so why this general distaste for "angry" music? As I believe I said before in this series of blogs, I have a large collection of music for every mood. And I think the songs that would surprise some people are the songs I have for when I'm angry. And yes, there are some of these that I love.

So without further ado:

Winner: Indestructible (Disturbed) - This is not just an "angry" song. This is an angry song that I really, really like. It is so primal and visceral. So charged with hate. They may be ugly emotions, but there are some times when we just don't want to listen to Katie Perry (some would argue there are a lot of times when we don't want to listen to Katie Perry, but I disgress...). I keep a nice supply of angry songs for when I write battle scenes in RPs or just in my "doodles" (short little writings I do just for fun), or for when my more upbeat and happy songs just make me want to hurl my iPod against the wall, and this is one of my favorites. Disturbed is a pretty good band for these sorts of songs, really. Down with the Sickness is a good one if you ignore the nonsensical screaming in one version of the song (some might say all their music is screaming, but there's a bit in the middle that's just over the top on the "explicit" version of this song).

I don't listen to this kind of music that often, but when I do...Disturbed is a pretty good pick. Rob Zombie and Rammstein are other good artists for this, but they seem a little more shallow. At least Rob Zombie anyways. But the emotion is there, in my opinion, and that's what's important.

Runner Up: I really can't think of one that is drastically different than the "winner." I guess I could put I Wanna Be here, but I think everyone knows I love that song by now. I suppose I could put something cutesy like Katamichi Catch Ball here just to throw everyone off after the surprise winner today...IT'S JUST SO ADORABLE!

Yeah, let's go with those as runners up.

Honorable Mentions

Superbeast (Rob Zombie)

Scum of the Earth (Rob Zombie)

Engel (Rammstein)

Face Down (Red Jump Suit Apparatus)

Etc, etc, etc...I think you get the point.

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 13

Day 13 - A song that is a guilty pleasure

Well, they're getting awfully specific and obscure now, aren't they? Sadly, I have just the song to give the winning spot today:

Winner: I Touch Myself (Divinyls/Blondie?) - I CAN'T HELP IT. This damned song has such a great melody, a great beat, a great /feel/...I just don't listen to the lyrics and everything is fine. Often I find myself listening and growing fond of a song without ever listening to the lyrics. This is one of those songs. Unfortunately when I DID hear the lyrics for the first time, I couldn't stop liking the rest of the song. I do not have this song in my collection, but I don't turn it off if I hear it elsewhere...

...in fact, I can't help but let the youtube video play out even now.

As a side note, I have seen people claiming this song is by Blondie and some people decrying those people and that it's by the Divinyls. I do not know enough about either group to know which one it is. If someone could educate me, by all means comment.

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 12

Day 12 - A song from a band that you hate

Ok, so I promised you a little storytime for today and here goes. Back in 2009 or so, I was introduced to a band called Rise Against via a song Give it All. I liked this song enough that I tracked down a bit more of their discography and their music, in general, drove me nuts. Savior, Audience of One, Prayer of the Refuge...all great stuff. So much so that I did something I rarely do: I went to the store and bought their entire CD rather than tracking down individual songs on Amazon or iTunes. I was pleased...until I started reading more about the band.

Now, I can get past the politics. Rise Against is a far-left group that played at Rock Against Bush in 2004 and avidly supported President Obama (who is pretty much continuing everything everyone hated against Bush but you'll never hear any of his strident supporters admit it). I generally don't let my politics get in the way of enjoying popular media, though. As long as I ignored the very liberal undertone to their songs, I was ok. People are free to support whomever they wanted and if I boycotted liberal entertainers, I would probably be stuck watching paint dry. No, it wasn't their politics that immediately made my stomach turn. It was the fact that they avidly supported the efforts of PETA, one of the most notoriously disturbed, backwards, hypocritical, disgusting, misguided, TERRORISTIC jerkholes in the world. I literally felt sick knowing that I had indirectly helped fund PETA. I even tried to return the CD (I couldn't of course, since it was opened). I can put up with a lot of misguided causes in my entertainment celebrities, but this one pushed it.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your viewpoint), I still very much like the music of Rise Against. If they weren't such strong PETA supporters, they probably would have clinched yesterday's winner spot. Alas, I must relegate them to the status of a "band I hate" with "songs I love" thanks to their misguided support of an organization that I consider to be one of the few pure evil groups of human beings on the face of the planet.

Winner: Rise Against

I don't think there could be a runner-up, really. If I don't like a band, I generally don't listen to them (with the exception of Rise Against), so it's hard to say what other bands I really don't like. I'm not real fond of Green Day (though I like their music), but I really wouldn't say I "hate" them. That's why I had a problem with today's theme. Am I supposed to pick a band I hate personally? A band whose music I hate but pick out one song I like? Beats me...

If I had to pick out a band with a discography I'm not fond of but one song I love, I'd probably pick the Cars. Oddly, despite being one of the most popular 80's bands, I really am not fond of much of their music (that I've heard)...except, of course, for one of the two winners of Day 1, Drive. So maybe I should give them the runner-up spot? I don't know. In all honesty, I haven't listened to much of their music, so I don't feel comfortable really calling them a band I "hate" (or even "dislike"). So y'all'll just have to settle for having a winner and some political rambling.

As a final note: did you know Blogspot doesn't mark "y'all'll" as mispelled, but marks its own name as mispelled? Weird.

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 11

Day 11 - A song from your favorite band

Ugh. This is going to be a tough day. I rarely separate music by bands and albums, so it's hard for me to pick a "favorite" band. And there will be a weird synergy with today's picks and tomorrow's that I will go into more tomorrow (suffice to say, one of my favorite bands is also a band I loathe for non-musical reasons...but I will discuss that more tomorrow).

Now, there are only a few bands I have multiple songs from in my musical collection. Genesis, Hall and Oates, Rise Against, 3 Doors Down, Buckcherry, Cake...but I don't know that I like the /bands/ so much as individual songs of theirs. So it's really hard to pick a winning band. Often my favorite songs are from bands whom I dislike much of their discography (Tears for Fears, for instance, only has a couple songs I like and only one that I really like), and the bands that I have a lot of their music don't necessarily make my favorite songs (just songs I like from time to time...Buckcherry is an example of this). But anyways, I suppose I should just suck it up and pick one, huh? To save myself a bit of trouble, I won't pick a specific song to win, but a band.

Winners: Between these two winners, it was really hard for me to pick ONE that I liked more than the other, so I decided to exercise my rights as the writer of this blog to bend the rules a bit and give them both winner status--besides, it's a nice mix of old and new.

Matchbox 20 - I don't know what it is about these guys. It seems like everything they come out with tweaks my music senses just right and I adore it. If You're Gone, Push, How Far We've Come...all great songs. And I have pretty much claimed Real World and Unwell as my personal theme songs, so it's hard to justify not giving them the top spot.

Journey - What's better than Don't Stop Belivin'? A lot of their other songs are really top notch too. I feel like they've aged pretty well too (Don't Stop Belivin' is still one of the most easily-recognizable songs of all time). I've only really heard five of their songs that I like, but those five songs (Don't Stop Belivin', Faithfully, Open Arms, Separate Ways (Worlds Apart), and, to a lesser extent, Wheel in the Sky) are so noteworthy that I feel like Journey should get some noteriety today. I'd be willing to bet that there are other songs by them that I know and like...I just can't think of them off the top of my head.

Runner Up: Hall and Oates - They're old school and I like that. It's the quintessential 80's band, which already puts them pretty high on my list. I honestly don't know why I put them above Genesis, which would be a close fourth in my list, but I figure I have to make the call eventually. I've already wasted enough time on this day. None of their songs drive me especially crazy with adoration (except maybe Out of Touch...I do love me that song), but they're regularly good enough that they earned the runner up spot.

Honorable Mentions:

Genesis - I think the only thing keeping Genesis from being Runner Up or even the winner is that it's hard to really call them a favorite /band/ when it's more Phil Collins' discography that I enjoy. I'm not even really sure where my Genesis collection ends and my Phil Collins collection begins...they've got good stuff, though. That's All and In the Air Tonight are classics.

Nickelback - I just like Nickelback. Got a problem with that?

Chicago - I like a lot of their slower stuff, If You Leave Me Now, Inspiration, Hard to Say I'm Sorry, Hard Habit to Break, What Kind of Man Would I Be...wait. That's a long list. Maybe I need to reevaluate Chicago as a "favorite" band...

Boston - Really only has two songs I like, More Than a Feeling and Peace of Mind but they've got a good sound in general.

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 10

Day 10 - A song that makes you fall asleep

At least today's is at least mildly interesting and requires a bit of a story before I really get into the meat of it and announce a winner. So, growing up, I was the biggest chicken on the face of the Earth. And by that I mean I was afraid of the dark. It was so bad in my youth that I had to sleep with the hall light on and the door open. Similarly, I could not sleep in complete silence (which may have frightened me more than the dark and might explain why I talk so darn much), so along with the hall light, I always had to have a radio on. This was particularly amusing when characters in my dreams would start singing and I would wake up only to realize the song they were singing was on the radio...but this is a story for another time.

Long past the point when I ceased needing the light and the radio, I continued listening to music while I fell asleep. I don't anymore because I like to let my mind wander before I sleep (it makes for some interesting dreams, to be sure, and I find I come up with my most creative ideas just before drifting off--though I sadly forget a lot of them), but even through high school I liked to have music on, not for fear of the dark/silence so much anymore, but rather as a soothing effect. For this reason, there are several songs that, to this day, I equate somewhat to sleeping and falling asleep.

So, without further ado...SOME ACTUAL WINNERS FOR A CHANGE.

Winner: Down By Sally Gardens (Traditional) - This is another one of those songs with a specific "version" that has significance to me. It's a beautiful song, of course, but one of the CDs I would often leave on repeat while going to sleep was filled Celtic instrumental arrangements. It was one of those "mood" CDs you see at Walmart, and it was, for the most part, unremarkable...except for this one song. For whatever reason, I always seemed to wake up to this song. Only it wasn't the usual "time to go to school" waking up where I would launch out of bed and race through my morning routine. It seemed like every morning I would wake up leisurely to this song and would have enough time to just lay in bed listening to it.

Now, I know this isn't the same as a song that I fall asleep to...but it still reminds me of that setting: laying in bed, drowsy, drifting off but not quite asleep, conscious but not quite awake...it could easily go the other direction and lull me back into sleep. The feeling of reminiscence is strong enough that I feel like I would be remissed to not give this song the win for the day. I really wish I could find the exact version of the song that makes me feel this way on Youtube, but alas, I cannot. If anyone is interested, I own the CD, so I can send the song out...as long as you promise to delete it after you listen to it. Don't want to be breaking the law, after all.

Runner Up: Final Fantasy VII: Overworld Theme (Orchestral Version)(Nobuou Uematsu) - Here is another song that requires a specific version to be relevant...but fortunately, I was able to find it. This is a beautiful arrangement of the overworld theme from Final Fantasy VII, one of the most overrated games in history...but still worth playing, in my opinion. But that, too, is a discussion for another time.

This is a song that frequently came up in the playlists I created to help me sleep (by this time I was probably in college and didn't listen to music frequently when trying to sleep...but often enough), but unlike Sally Gardens, I really did fall asleep to this song (rather than just waking up to it). It isn't quite as strong in my reminiscence as Sally Gardens, so I couldn't in good conscience call it the winner, but it's still a beautiful song that lulls me to sleep with its sweeping, lazy melody. As a sidenote: the piano version of this song from Advent Children is also quite pretty, but since I very rarely listen to music while sleeping anymore and this version is considerably newer than the original (and indeed the orchestral version linked above), it does not have the same sleepy connotations as its orchestral cousin.

Runners Up:

Dreams of the Shore Near Another World (Yasunori Mitsuda) - This song is gorgeous. I highly recommend everyone listen to it.

Rena Lanford of Arlia Village (Motoi Sakuraba, remixed by Dale North)

The Girl Who Stole the Star (Yasunori Mitsuda)

Baby Mine (Bette Midler) - This is another one that relies on my memory...not of the movie Dumbo where it initially appeared so much, but I remember quite clearly one dream I had in which the radio seeped into the dream and one of the characters began singing this song. For some reason that dream/song stuck with me all these years and the song makes me sleepy. It's a pretty song to be sure.

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 9

Day 9 - A song that you can dance to

Another boring day in my humble opinion, largely because...well, me dancing is amongst the greatest crimes against nature one can commit. I kid you not, it is illegal for me to dance in 32 states (with Ohio's legislature due to pass a law next week) and against the Geneva Convention. Besides that, I just don't really care to dance. I'll bop around a bit to the music, but I don't really consider that dancing so much as...rhythmically swaying.

I really can't be bothered to pick a winner for today. I could use "Someone to Watch Over Me" since it's one of the first songs I ever really danced to, but that song alone is really the only song I have any memory dancing to. So I guess if you really must have a winner for today, let's call it that.

Winner: Who cares?

Curse you, 30-day song challenge. Give me some good ones!

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 8

Day 8: A song that you know all the words to

...seriously? Am I the only person in the world that knows all the words to 90% of the songs I listen to? Anyways, picking a "winner" for today is next to impossible. Most songs that I've heard more than a couple times (and have on my MP3 player) I know all the words to and sing along with regularly, so I'll have to get clever this time. It's not just a matter of knowing all the words to the song...but how about a song that I'm "proud" to know all the words to? A song that's so fast and ridiculous and crazy that it's actually difficult to know all the words to? Yeah. We'll go with that.

Winner: Megaman II (Duane and Brand0) - Caution. Rather "volatile" lyrics. This song is hilarious. Anyone who's ever played Megaman 2 (or any Megaman game) will probably laugh their asses off at it. Anyone who hasn't will probably think it's vile and horrible. Even I'm on the fence sometimes...but I usually just go with the laughing. Anyways, it's a rap (with extremely explicit lyrics) about Megaman 2. It's very clever, in my opinion, and filled with vulgar humor from start to finish. Did I mention it was explicit, vile, vulgar, and...yeah, there's a lot of cursing (please don't blame me if you are offended...I did warn you). And yeah. I've listened to it enough to know all the lyrics. I fumble a bit during the Metal Man part when I'm singing along (since the voice is so distorted), but I think it's safe to call this one my winner, at least until I listen to I Wanna Be enough to actually get all those lyrics down (and I'm not that far off).

Runner Up: Sunscreen (Baz Luhrmann) - ...heh, this song is all over the place isn't it? This is another one that I guess it's mildly difficult to know all the lyrics to (and I do), so I guess I'll make it my runner up. I've listened to it quite a bit and it's been drilled into my long-term memory.

Honorable Mentions:

Yakety Sax

Anyways, yeah. This day is kind of a joke. I could list 90% of my song collection here. I sing along with my music a lot, so I know most of the lyrics. But hey, at least I could pick some winners today.

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 7

Day 7: A song that reminds you of some event

As I elaborated on yesterday, these last few days have been somewhat difficult for me. Songs do not generally inspire concrete memories (with few exceptions), so I kind of had to wing it with most of these. Today is no exception, though there are a few that will remind me of events /sometimes/ (just not reliably or frequently), so I guess they'll just have to do.

Events in particular are tough because I remember so few events concretely. Fleeting images are often all I get, the occasional glimpse of something a little more detailed sometimes, but for the most part I have a poor memory for things like this.

As with the past few days, there are no winners (no song reminds me more of one thing than another of another thing, blah blah blah), just a list of applicable songs.

Take My Breath Away (Berlin) - Yay! More painful memories! This one reminds me (actually surprisingly strongly) of my senior prom since it was /the/ song of the prom. For obvious reasons, it's hard for me to listen to this song anymore.

Sunscreen (Bahz Luhrmann) - Ok, this one was not actually /played/ at my high school graduation, but it kind of makes me think of it all the same sometimes, again, for obvious reasons.

You might find it odd I have no songs that remind me of my wedding. I call it proof of a merciful and benevolant God.

Hopefully tomorrow will be a bit easier to pick some winners *checks* ...nope.

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 6

Day 6: A song that reminds you of somewhere

I had to wrack my brain quite a bit for this one. Again, I don't know that I can pick a "winner" for the same reasons I listed yesterday (how can something remind you of something MORE than something else reminds you of something else?), but even considering that handicap, I really don't have that good a memory for places. Songs remind me of feelings, sometimes of people (I actually had to think for a couple days on yesterday's "winners), but rarely of places or events (tomorrow will be a pain as well).

In any case, since I am committed to this farce, I will just wing it. Here are the "winners":

Nobody (But You) (Wonder Girls) - Pardon the ads on this one. And the lack of lyrics. It's hard finding just the right version of this song as it is. So I settled for the English version, which somehow feels like cheating, but the opening skit is funnier if you understand it, I guess. In any case, this song reminds me of Taiwan, specifically the karaoke joint the teachers all visited together. I heard it there first and, like a horrible cancer, it infected me through the entire trip to the point that I would find myself humming it while working on my daily journals. In any case, it's a good song. Catchy. Like a disease. Did I already mention that?

Wake Me Up When September Ends (Green Day) - You know, this is a good song. I should like it. But they played it SO MUCH on the damned radio that it's hard to listen to it anymore without dryheaving. It's actually because of this that it kind of reminds me of the Ledger Newspapers offices where I used to work. It was there, sitting at my desk, that I heard it about fifty bajillion times a day and got sick of it. So, in a way, it kind of reminds me of there (or at least that situation).

Someone to Watch Over Me (George Gershwin) - I didn't bother finding a link for this one because it's actually a specific version of this song, but it reminds me of dancing in my ex-wife's house (to the point that I can't really listen to it anymore). It was the first song I "danced" to (with another person), so it kind of stuck in my memory for that reason. It's not really a "place" that it reminds me of, but I guess it will do. If you really don't know the song, just Youtube it. The version I have is a rather nice bluesy instrumental version. It's a shame it brings back so many painful memories. It's a good arrangement.

You may wonder why my "memory" songs are so weak. Well, as I mentioned before, songs rarely remind me of things specifically. Even in regards to people, I had to stretch it a bit. I don't literally hear a song and think of specific people, places, or events. Sometimes my mind may drift to them, but it's not really reliable. In truth, it's just that I heard these songs at these places so, when thinking of "winners," I kind of shoehorned them in there because it was mildly appropriate. I'm not even sure if I hear "Nobody" I actually think of Taiwan, and I really don't think of my ex's house when I hear "Someone to Watch Over Me," I think of the feelings the song inspires in me.

So, in short, take the above with a grain of salt. I was winging it. And with tomorrow's, most likely.

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 5

Day 5 - A song that reminds you of someone

It's been a couple days I know, but I guess there's nothing in the rules that say the 30 days have to be consecutive. So I maintain that I am not out of line here and will not be doing multiple days to catch up.

So nyah.

Anyways, on to Day 5. Any good song is going to have a lot of memories behind it, so there are a lot of these. Particularly when it comes to people we've lost. "Blue" reminds me of a lot of people that have died in my life, but I don't know if I would say that counts. It's not really the memories of the person so much as their death, so I'd say that disqualifies it.

I can't really pick a "winner" of this category in my humble opinion. I don't know that any song "reminds me" of a person more than another song. So here are just a few that remind me of various people:

You Can Call Me Al (Paul Simon) - Reminds me of my brother, Mark. Way back when I was a wee sprout, he declared that this was "our song" for some reason or another. I still to this day do not know why, but it's stuck with me all these years, so I think of him when I hear it.

After we watched the music video to this song, we went to Pizza Hut. Don't ask me how I remember that day. I just do.

Uprising (Muse) - This one reminds me of my friend Jake for reasons that are obvious to anyone should they know Jake. REVOLUTION.

In the Living Years (Mike and the Mechanics) - Again, for obvious reasons, this reminds me of my father. It's kind of indicative of how our relationship was, I think. I think dad and I were a lot more alike than we'd care to admit, and even though we "never saw eye to eye," I probably should have tried to be closer to him when he was still alive.

But I imagine these are typical regrets for most people. Hindsight and all that. I still think of him whenever I hear this song and though it reminds me of his death in some ways, I think more about our relationship during his life when I hear this song. So I'd say it counts.

Sky Chord (Tsuji Shion) - This one reminds me of another friend of mine who really likes this song. Since I heard it first thanks to her, I can't help but think of her whenever I hear it. Another similar song is Sayonara Solitia (Saeko Chiba).

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 4

Day 4: A song that makes you sad

Oh are there a lot of these. I do love a good sad song. Now, to be clear, there are many songs that make me cry--but for different reasons. Heck, "I Wanna Be," makes me cry sometimes, but just because of those aforementioned squishy feelings it makes me feel. Some songs, like Creek Mary's Blood (Nightwish)--the orchestral version, anyways--or the ending theme from Skies of Arcadia, which I maintain has the best ending of any song ever, make me cry because of the instrumentation. I get a little weepy at beautiful music.

But that's different from a song making me sad, of course. And there are still quite a few of these. As with my previous categories, I'm kind of limiting myself to songs that come to mind more or less immediately, and only one song hops right into my head:

Winner: Blue (Yoko Kanno and the Seatbelts)

This is another animé song, but this one's in English, so nothing should be lost in translation. Sadly, the above link does not have the lyrics (I simply could not find one that did), but it's pretty easy to get them. I won't spoil the ending to this absolutely excellent series (Cowboy Bebop...anyone who enjoys animé needs to watch this. It is sublimely awesome in so many ways), but this is the final song from the series. Obviously the symbolism is thick throughout the whole song, and you don't need to know how it ends to understand the metaphors for death, redemption, and even life. It is my opinion that you don't need to see or even know the animé to appreciate this song. But it may still be one of those internal, personal things about music that makes this song connect to me.

But even still. I play this song every time someone I know dies. It is sad and hopeful all at once. So maybe it doesn't deserve to win the "sad" song award...but it's kind of bittersweet, so I think it belongs here.

"Everything is clearer now. Life is just a dream, you know, that's never-ending. I'm ascending."

And remember: "no black and white in the blue."

Runner Up: Into the West (Annie Lennox)

Ok, now...if I had thought of this one first, I may have made it my winner. But I'm relegating it to runner up because Blue popped into my head first. Even still, this song is one of the most sorrowful songs I've ever heard--possibly because it followed one of the saddest endings to any movie/book ever (Lord of the Rings, of course).

It bears noting, however, that this song and Blue share some (many) similarities. Both are about death quite clearly, but they oppose songs like "In This River" (Black Label Society) and "Asleep" (The Smiths). Each of those songs seem to almost linger on the actual death, which makes them sad, but in "Blue" and "Into the West," Kanno and Lennox go beyond death into metaphors of freedom and ascension. Those of you who know me best know I am not a religious person and do not necessarily believe or disbelieve that there is something after death--but the bittersweet nature of these songs, the metaphor and poeticism of them--make them clear top choices. They just have so much more power, so much more weight, than a song that just lingers on the stagnation of death (though "Asleep" quite clearly uses sleep as a metaphor for death--and in fact suicide--it's just never had as much weight to me). That being said, I would have to give "In This River" and "Asleep" honorable mentions. It also bears noting that "Into the West" reminds me a lot of the ending of Dragons of Summer Flame (Dragonlance) when all the Companions were finally reunited. Yeah, if you're not a Dragonlance fan, you have no idea what I'm talking about. But it made the song doubly relevant to me.

Honorable Mentions: Tong hua (Guang Liang) - I think this is the name of the song. I've heard it called Fairy Tale. It's in Chinese, but I think it's pretty clear from watching the video what it's about. I heard/saw it the first time in Taiwan at karaoke and I cried. In front of my students without even knowing what the lyrics meant. It was kind of embarrassing.

"In This River" (Black Label Society)

"Asleep" (The Smiths)

Hero of War (Rise Against)