guardians_song (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
guardians_song) wrote2013-05-25 10:32 pm
guardians_song) wrote2013-05-25 10:32 pm
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My Top 25 Most Played list! (with commentary)
As a warning, I am on restricted internet capacity right now. Not that it matters for any other reason than that the videos linked have not been checked for flashing lights. As such, if you're sensitive, just click the links and switch to a different tab. My apologies.
1. Video Killed the Radio Star - The Buggles
They took the credit for your second symphony
Rewritten by machine and new technology
And now I understand the problems you can see
Ah, this one! I actually got introduced to it by Dance Dance Revolution. I also was a somewhat... well, I was too high off of brain chemicals to be emo, but... perhaps "mildly troubled teen" would be the right description. One of my main ~emotional issues~ regarded old things dying off and being replaced by new things of inferior quality. (Before you ask - yes, yes, I was one of those Pokemon fans regarding Yu-Gi-Oh. Yu-Gi-Oh fans, I apologize...) So I thought the lyrics were haunting and brilliant.
Let me be honest - part of why this song is still at the top of my Most Played list is its combination of a steady background beat and high-pitched music weaving through the foreground. Apparently that hits some sort of pleasure center in my brain.
I still like the song, mind, but it's not quite the masterpiece my younger self thought it was.
2. Windy - The Association
Who's peekin' out from under a stair-way
Callin' a name that's lighter than air
Who's bendin' down to give me a rainbow
Ev'ryone knows it's Windy
My original 'Listen to nothing but this for days on end' song. (...To be fair, that stopped being a regular occurrence after I turned 14.) Cheerful, mildly trippy, and repetitive. I wish I knew why I had such an obsessive love for it when I was younger, but... *shrugs* It's still pretty nice.
(I advise listening to it with your equalizer set to Bass Reducer. That's the setting on my iPad that makes it sound like I remember it sounding.)
I'd talk for longer about it, but I've listened to it for so long that my reasons for liking it are mainly internal, and... I don't know quite how to articulate my reasons in words. That's a problem with a few of these songs, mainly because I... don't think my verbal centers and my visual centers work very well at once. (Which explains why my writing tends to not mix visuals and talking.) So if the song's appeal lies in imagery, it... basically has too many portions in queue for me to fix on any one, and so none of them get described at all. And if you think "too many portions in queue" sounds awkward, you're getting an idea of what I mean by difficulty with articulation...
Here's a live performance that I'll listen to when I'm not on restricted internet.
3. Crownless - Nightwish
Crownless again shall be the Queen
Trophy on her grave remains unseen
A boat of the river confessing the sins
The riddle revealing the deep hidden things
...Let me guess, there are ten thousand A Game Of Thrones AMVs with this song.
More seriously, I listened to this song obsessively for a while because the lyrics (that I could make out) were somewhat relevant to a few characters that my brain latched onto during my two-year hiatus. That, and the music is sufficiently scattered and random that it sounds like an epileptic seizure. (I mean that in a complimentary way.) I'm not sure why I like this song so much, but I do.
Attempting to describe it... It's like... a really fast-paced assortment of destructive images. Which is all very dark and epic, and... um... well, there's not much of the lyrics, since a good deal of it is the epileptic-seizure instrumental stuff. And I like that, though I understand that 'epileptic seizure' is not something people really would think is a GOOD thing when it comes to music. So, er... this is why I only came back to describe it on the second pass through this list...
4. Shambala (Single Version) - Three Dog Night
How does your light shine, in the halls of Shambala
How does your light shine, in the halls of Shambala
...This one may be as high as it is because I accidentally left my iPad on Repeat-One all night. -_-;;
Not much to say about this, to be honest. It's a smooth-sounding, feel-good song without much content. ...And I bought it because I associated "Shambala" with something other than the Buddhist concept. *sheepish*
That's all I have to say about this song, unfortunately. It doesn't lend itself to fanfic much, and it doesn't make for a soundtrack to anything else. But it is easy listening.
5. Reach (Amaranth Demo Version) - Nightwish
Reach! For the hand held high through life
For the dancer to the right
And catch me before I fall!
I'm not sure what this is doing higher than Amaranth, as I could have sworn Amaranth was #1 for a while. My 25 Most Played list did go insane for a while (listing songs I hardly listened to at all at the top, while neglecting all my favorite songs - er, were those the 25 Least Played?), so it could be that iTunes wiped out all number-of-times-played records before the crazy time. *shrug*
At any rate, I'll warn anyone listening to this for the first time that it's an acquired taste - I think I physically cringed the first time that I heard it. Through some form of auditory Stockholm Syndrome, however, it really grew on me. I also think its lyrics make significantly more sense than the final version... though Amaranth's lyrics are prettier.
6. Nil Se'n La [or something like that] - Celtic Woman
[Gaelic gibberish]
Fill the glasses one more time
And never heed the empty bottle
Turn the water into wine
And turn the party up full throttle!
It's a great party song! :D ...Okay, so I don't actually do any partying, but it's a fun, upbeat song, and it would probably count as a good running song.
(For all Celtic Woman songs, you have to understand that a fair amount of the lyrics are in Gaelic, and as I don't understand Gaelic, it comes across as pure gibberish to me. Catchy gibberish, but gibberish. ...So it's basically like listening to J-Pop without understanding any Japanese, if you need to understand the appeal. This is what I'll be referring to with my "Gaelic gibberish" comments. As such, only discussing the understandable lyrics leaves out a decent chunk of the listening experience, so I recommend listening to the songs once rather than reading my half-baked descriptions. All right?)
7. Go Where You Wanna Go - The 5th Dimension
You don't understand
That a girl like me can love just one man!
Three thousand miles, that's how far you go
And you said to me, "Please don't follow!"
Listen to it. You'll understand why this is so highly placed. [Yes, I have the Mamas & Papas version. There's a reason why the version for The 5th Dimension is the one that placed.]
(Also, I associate this with the Albus-and-Gellert-got-out-of-Godric's-Hollow divergence. ...One of these days, I want to do illustrations of said divergence matched to the lyrics. I'll just... handwave over the part where the lyrics temporarily make Elphias Doge a girl. But I really do want to do illustrations.
Part of why my description for this one is a cop-out is that the association's too strong for me to hear the song without undertones of that, so I'd end up having to do a line-by-line description of what picture corresponds to what line, which would bore the dickens out of most of you. My apologies.)
8. Siluil a Run - Celtic Woman
I'll dye my petticoats, I'll dye them red,
And 'round the world I'll beg my bread,
Until my own parents shall wish me dead.
A lovely song filled with Gaelic gibberish, a manic pace, and tragic lyrics. What more could you want? (This is a song where you need to listen to it to understand the appeal, as it turns out Gaelic gibberish is pretty catchy.) ...I like fast-paced, upbeat songs with not-so-upbeat lyrics, what can I say?
9. Hand of Sorrow - Within Temptation
The child without a name grew up to be the hand
To watch you, to shield you, or kill on demand
I have only one person to blame for this (and, by extension, all of the Within Temptation songs in my iTunes library) - *looks pointedly at Brill* You're to blame for Nightwish too, by the way. Feel guilty. ...Or something.
Anyway, YES. I like this song. I have a fic named after itwhich I DESPERATELY need to continue D: and everything. (...Though, ironically, the fic itself goes much better with The Truth Beneath The Rose and Fire of Unknown Origin. ...I actually considered renaming the fic Fire of Unknown Origin before posting it, but decided against it. I'll probably name some chapter of the fic that, however.) As the cliche goes, "In a word - epic".
One of the best symphonic rock tracks I have, if not the best. (The problem is that it's very twitchy, quality-wise, about having full audio quality. As a matter of fact, I can pretty much tell how battered my headphones are by listening to this song on old headphones versus listening to it on new ones. Recommend listening to this one on the Flat setting of your equalizer, as that seems to take some of the edge off.)
10. Devil & the Deep Dark Ocean - Nightwish
Deep dark is his Majesty's kingdom!
A portent of tomorrow's world!
There shall the liquid give him power
The red-eyed un-der-lord!
[and if the official lyrics disagree with me, they should have taught their singers to be a bit more coherent in English!]
This was my soundtrack while I was playing Etrian Odyssey 3: The Drowned City! :D Rather appropriate to a game where you spend a decent amount of it venturing through abyssal ruins and fighting eldritch monsters. (Put it this way. THIS is the optional post-game boss.)
Music-wise, this is mainly notable for being an old-Nightwish track with heavy bass vocals, a rather fast percussive track, and lyrics slightly inclining to the epic/apocalyptic side of fantasy lyrics. (...Depending upon how you hear them, of course. There's a reason that the TV Tropes for Nightwish mentions Hamster! A dentist! Hard porn, Steven Seagull!
for another of their songs from the old era...)
11. Amaranth - Nightwish
Caress the one, the never-fading rain in your heart
The juice of snow-white sorrow
Caress the one, the hiding amaranth
In the land of the daybreak
...Ehem. As I said, blame Brill.
I have no idea what this is doing so low on the Top 25 Most Played list, but I'd guess that it's because I like to devote more attention to listening to it when it's playing - ergo, I don't much listen to it when I've got other things to do. The way it's sung is really, really nice. I apologize for not being more articulate, but I kind of have a headache right now...
...It's about the way it's sung, as I said. The singer really jumps up and down on the syllable-emphasis, so it packs a punch, and...
CAress the ONE, the never-FAding RAIN in YOUR heart
The juice of SNOW-white SOrrow
CAress the ONE, the hiding AMAranth
In the land OF THE DAYBREAAAAK
...I don't think I'm getting it across correctly, but whatever. *sigh* I'm doing a spectacular job of making good songs sound awful...
12. She Moved Thru' the Fair - Celtic Woman
Last night, she came to me; she came softly in
So softly she came that her feet made no din
And she laid her hand on me, and this she did say:
"It will not be long, love, 'til our wedding day"
This is a rather eerie song, if you put two and two together... The trademark Gaelic gibberish is sometimes chanted over the lyrics in this one, adding that mystical haze. But seriously, I like this one because it can be put to multiple uses, fic-wise, and it stands well on its own. Very melodic, very... interesting.
13. Jillian (I'd Give My Heart) - Within Temptation
Give my heart, give my soul, I'd turn it back it's my fault
Your destiny is forlorn, have to live until it's done
I'd give my heart, give my soul, I'd turn it back and then at last I'd be on my way
Really. Really. Good.
For writing purposes, it fits immortals (or reincarnated) characters. For listening purposes, Sharon del Adel really shows off her vocal range on this one. It is haunting, it is lovely, it is eerie, and it is fascinating. (It helps that, like Hand of Sorrow, this was based off of a series, so there is a sort of 'backstory' to this song providing an explanation for the enigmatic lyrics.)
...I'm not a music critic, what can I say.
14. Kid Dynamo - The Buggles
Though to-day you might be riding the en-gines of pro-gress
Working in the ma-jor fac-tor-ies
Call me if you ever feel like lettin' go
And we'll remember the days of Kid Dynamo
The hyphens are intentional. This song is heavy on the rhythmic percussion, whichis probably why I like it so much comes through in the way the lyrics are sung as well. It's not quite as pretty as Video Killed the Radio Star, and somewhat darker, but covers similar themes. I used to have it as the TMR AR theme for no discernible reason whatsoever (even at the time - for me, the song best evoking an AU is not necessarily one having lyrics that have anything to do with the AU... O_o), and probably would if I touched that AU again.
I tend not to listen to this one as much these days, due to not being that interested in the AU to which it's associated any more. *shrug*
15. Paint It Black - The Rolling Stones
I see the girls walk by dressed in their summer clothes
I have to turn my head until my darkness goes
I tend to use this for characters that have gone dark... which probably misses the point of the song, but ah well. It fits that as well as the intended theme (which is depression after the loss of a loved one).
I like this one for the lyrics, basically. ...And the rolling beat, and the humming.
16. New York Mining Disaster 1941 - The BeeGees
In the event of something happening to me
There is something I would like you all to see
It's just a photograph of someone that I knew
The others are probably pretty well-known to fans of the bands in question... But this one, I have to justify.
It's a short, haunting song about a mining disaster, with most of it from the point of view of someone who didn't make it out - the refrain being "Have you seen my wife, Mr. Jones? Do you know what it's like on the outside? Don't go talking too loud, you'll cause a landslide..." A good deal of the song's quality comes solely from the way it's sung - melancholy but resigned, kind of...
Or perhaps I'm making too much of a minor song. But I do find it downright unnerving... particularly the way it launches straight from the introduction into the POV of the disaster victim. (Why am I being so articulate about a not-particularly-notable song?! No accounting for taste...)
17. Carpet Man (Remastered 1997) - The 5th Dimension
I would think you'd get tired of hurtin' every now and then
It's lonely down there, that's for certain, and carpets do get thin
And that's when they have to be thrown away!
That's what she'll say to herself, some sunny day
And she'll say "Come to the wedding" and of course you do
And the groom and her will have a dance on you.
Put this down as a song with really depressing lyrics sung in a really upbeat manner. I latched onto this one because it described a certain pair of characters fairly well, but I stayed with it because I really like the way it's sung and because wow, those lyrics pack a wallop. ...It actually makes the lyrics much, much harsher than if it was sung like a funereal dirge.
I'd talk more, but the two 5th Dimension songs in this list speak for themselves. I don't like all their songs, but the ones that I do are melodic, seamless, and really, really nice to listen to. And, as a bonus, the lyrics have some complexity! (I also recommend Save the Country, Ashes to Ashes, and Paper Cup... the last one making this one seem positively cheery if you pay attention to the lyrics. I'd like Aquarius a lot better if it cut off at 2:17 - also known as "I like Aquarius, but NOT that Let The Sunshine In atrocity attached to the end".)
18. Romanticide - Nightwish
For your love I'd risk my soul
We could be sundown neverending
...Aside from that, I can barely make out most of the lyrics, but it's fast paced and I like those few seconds of lyrics, so I'm happy. (...Still, I'm not sure what this is doing so high... Ah, well. I'll hope this gets knocked off by Blue Oyster Cult songs once they make their way up, really.)
19. American Pie - Don McLean
Helter-skelter in the summer swelter
The birds flew off with the fallout shelter
Eight miles high and falling fast
This should not be so low - it's unjustly driven down by its length (over eight-and-a-half minutes!), as I tend to rewind it before the end. And, additionally unfortunately, much of the appeal for me lies in the center segment (as I used to listen to a truncated version a long time ago, so I know most everything before that point), so I keep skipping it back to that segment. *shrug* This song may have the weirdest lyrics you'll ever hear (especially as they actually have some internal logic), so I recommend listening to it despite (or because of?) its eccentricities. This... country-ish... style isn't usually my thing, but I don't think there's any other song quite like American Pie.
20. You'll Be In My Heart - Celtic Woman
When destiny calls you, you must be strong
I may not be with you, but you've got to hold on
They'll see in time, I know - we'll show them together
What is THIS doing so high!? No, seriously, I have no idea. I mean, I like it, but it's fairly generic, and... *throws up hands*
21. Shot In the Dark - Within Temptation
'Cause your soul is on fire
A shot in the dark
What did they aim for when they missed your heart?
...I really like those lyrics. Yes, I admit to liking this song mostly because I liked the chorus. I would not be able to recite the rest of the lyrics for the life of me, even though they're sung perfectly clearly, but I really like the chorus. *shallow as a bleeping dog-food bowl* (I'm surprised this doesn't have American Pie syndrome, though. I tend to rewind to the chorus often, which should drive down the play-count. Yes, it does rank lower than American Pie, but I've had it for a significantly shorter time...)
22. Heartland - Celtic Thunder
When the storm is raging
And thunder rolls
Deliver us from the ocean
Save our souls
...This isn't that notable a song, it just has smooth singing and rhythmic percussion. Yes, I'm a sucker for a smooth, steady beat, what of it? ...*seriously confused at some of the songs on this list*
23. String Man - The Mamas & The Papas
I strung along with the string man;
He always called me his biggest fan.
Though he was kind, I should have known better
Than to think we'd always stay together.
...Well, it's pretty, and it has melancholy lyrics, and...
I'm really predictable, aren't I?
24. A Maid in Bedlam - Meav
Her chains she wrapped around her hands and thus replied she,
"I love my love because my love loves me."
I riffed on this one in my Return of the Sith parody with George Lucas singing "I love my CGI because my CGI loves me". :D In all seriousness, though, this is a simple, melancholy song, and I like it.
25. I Am a Rock - Simon & Garfunkel
Don't talk of love~ I've heard that word befo-ore!
It's sleeping in my memory -
I won't disturb the slumber of feelings that have died-
If I never loved, I never would have cried
Aaaaah, I Am a Rock! I can actually justify this one's existence! :D
I was a Simon & Garfunkel fanatic back in the day, and I listened to a few songs in particular. Bit strange that this one's higher than Richard Cory, Scarborough Fair, and the like, but it seems that it is. Anyway, yes, this is another of the "sad songs sung in a really upbeat manner" that I seem to... like. It's the song of a shut-in who's been too badly hurt by life, so he stays inside and readsemo poetry all the time. And the music is really peppy. Give it a listen, it's pretty.
In conclusion? I apparently like emo songs with hyperactive beats. :D;; I also am easily bought off by ***steady*** percussion, good choruses, and smooth singing. Complex lyrics preferred, but, if the band's Nightwish or Celtic Woman, they don't even have to be intelligible, much less intelligent. I also like contrasts of high and low sounds.
Sorry for the shorter descriptions further down on the list, but I'm not as passionate about the less-listened-to songs. Er... more song recs to follow to compensate, I guess.
1. Video Killed the Radio Star - The Buggles
They took the credit for your second symphony
Rewritten by machine and new technology
And now I understand the problems you can see
Ah, this one! I actually got introduced to it by Dance Dance Revolution. I also was a somewhat... well, I was too high off of brain chemicals to be emo, but... perhaps "mildly troubled teen" would be the right description. One of my main ~emotional issues~ regarded old things dying off and being replaced by new things of inferior quality. (Before you ask - yes, yes, I was one of those Pokemon fans regarding Yu-Gi-Oh. Yu-Gi-Oh fans, I apologize...) So I thought the lyrics were haunting and brilliant.
Let me be honest - part of why this song is still at the top of my Most Played list is its combination of a steady background beat and high-pitched music weaving through the foreground. Apparently that hits some sort of pleasure center in my brain.
I still like the song, mind, but it's not quite the masterpiece my younger self thought it was.
2. Windy - The Association
Who's peekin' out from under a stair-way
Callin' a name that's lighter than air
Who's bendin' down to give me a rainbow
Ev'ryone knows it's Windy
My original 'Listen to nothing but this for days on end' song. (...To be fair, that stopped being a regular occurrence after I turned 14.) Cheerful, mildly trippy, and repetitive. I wish I knew why I had such an obsessive love for it when I was younger, but... *shrugs* It's still pretty nice.
(I advise listening to it with your equalizer set to Bass Reducer. That's the setting on my iPad that makes it sound like I remember it sounding.)
I'd talk for longer about it, but I've listened to it for so long that my reasons for liking it are mainly internal, and... I don't know quite how to articulate my reasons in words. That's a problem with a few of these songs, mainly because I... don't think my verbal centers and my visual centers work very well at once. (Which explains why my writing tends to not mix visuals and talking.) So if the song's appeal lies in imagery, it... basically has too many portions in queue for me to fix on any one, and so none of them get described at all. And if you think "too many portions in queue" sounds awkward, you're getting an idea of what I mean by difficulty with articulation...
Here's a live performance that I'll listen to when I'm not on restricted internet.
3. Crownless - Nightwish
Crownless again shall be the Queen
Trophy on her grave remains unseen
A boat of the river confessing the sins
The riddle revealing the deep hidden things
...Let me guess, there are ten thousand A Game Of Thrones AMVs with this song.
More seriously, I listened to this song obsessively for a while because the lyrics (that I could make out) were somewhat relevant to a few characters that my brain latched onto during my two-year hiatus. That, and the music is sufficiently scattered and random that it sounds like an epileptic seizure. (I mean that in a complimentary way.) I'm not sure why I like this song so much, but I do.
Attempting to describe it... It's like... a really fast-paced assortment of destructive images. Which is all very dark and epic, and... um... well, there's not much of the lyrics, since a good deal of it is the epileptic-seizure instrumental stuff. And I like that, though I understand that 'epileptic seizure' is not something people really would think is a GOOD thing when it comes to music. So, er... this is why I only came back to describe it on the second pass through this list...
4. Shambala (Single Version) - Three Dog Night
How does your light shine, in the halls of Shambala
How does your light shine, in the halls of Shambala
...This one may be as high as it is because I accidentally left my iPad on Repeat-One all night. -_-;;
Not much to say about this, to be honest. It's a smooth-sounding, feel-good song without much content. ...And I bought it because I associated "Shambala" with something other than the Buddhist concept. *sheepish*
That's all I have to say about this song, unfortunately. It doesn't lend itself to fanfic much, and it doesn't make for a soundtrack to anything else. But it is easy listening.
5. Reach (Amaranth Demo Version) - Nightwish
Reach! For the hand held high through life
For the dancer to the right
And catch me before I fall!
I'm not sure what this is doing higher than Amaranth, as I could have sworn Amaranth was #1 for a while. My 25 Most Played list did go insane for a while (listing songs I hardly listened to at all at the top, while neglecting all my favorite songs - er, were those the 25 Least Played?), so it could be that iTunes wiped out all number-of-times-played records before the crazy time. *shrug*
At any rate, I'll warn anyone listening to this for the first time that it's an acquired taste - I think I physically cringed the first time that I heard it. Through some form of auditory Stockholm Syndrome, however, it really grew on me. I also think its lyrics make significantly more sense than the final version... though Amaranth's lyrics are prettier.
6. Nil Se'n La [or something like that] - Celtic Woman
[Gaelic gibberish]
Fill the glasses one more time
And never heed the empty bottle
Turn the water into wine
And turn the party up full throttle!
It's a great party song! :D ...Okay, so I don't actually do any partying, but it's a fun, upbeat song, and it would probably count as a good running song.
(For all Celtic Woman songs, you have to understand that a fair amount of the lyrics are in Gaelic, and as I don't understand Gaelic, it comes across as pure gibberish to me. Catchy gibberish, but gibberish. ...So it's basically like listening to J-Pop without understanding any Japanese, if you need to understand the appeal. This is what I'll be referring to with my "Gaelic gibberish" comments. As such, only discussing the understandable lyrics leaves out a decent chunk of the listening experience, so I recommend listening to the songs once rather than reading my half-baked descriptions. All right?)
7. Go Where You Wanna Go - The 5th Dimension
You don't understand
That a girl like me can love just one man!
Three thousand miles, that's how far you go
And you said to me, "Please don't follow!"
Listen to it. You'll understand why this is so highly placed. [Yes, I have the Mamas & Papas version. There's a reason why the version for The 5th Dimension is the one that placed.]
(Also, I associate this with the Albus-and-Gellert-got-out-of-Godric's-Hollow divergence. ...One of these days, I want to do illustrations of said divergence matched to the lyrics. I'll just... handwave over the part where the lyrics temporarily make Elphias Doge a girl. But I really do want to do illustrations.
Part of why my description for this one is a cop-out is that the association's too strong for me to hear the song without undertones of that, so I'd end up having to do a line-by-line description of what picture corresponds to what line, which would bore the dickens out of most of you. My apologies.)
8. Siluil a Run - Celtic Woman
I'll dye my petticoats, I'll dye them red,
And 'round the world I'll beg my bread,
Until my own parents shall wish me dead.
A lovely song filled with Gaelic gibberish, a manic pace, and tragic lyrics. What more could you want? (This is a song where you need to listen to it to understand the appeal, as it turns out Gaelic gibberish is pretty catchy.) ...I like fast-paced, upbeat songs with not-so-upbeat lyrics, what can I say?
9. Hand of Sorrow - Within Temptation
The child without a name grew up to be the hand
To watch you, to shield you, or kill on demand
I have only one person to blame for this (and, by extension, all of the Within Temptation songs in my iTunes library) - *looks pointedly at Brill* You're to blame for Nightwish too, by the way. Feel guilty. ...Or something.
Anyway, YES. I like this song. I have a fic named after it
One of the best symphonic rock tracks I have, if not the best. (The problem is that it's very twitchy, quality-wise, about having full audio quality. As a matter of fact, I can pretty much tell how battered my headphones are by listening to this song on old headphones versus listening to it on new ones. Recommend listening to this one on the Flat setting of your equalizer, as that seems to take some of the edge off.)
10. Devil & the Deep Dark Ocean - Nightwish
Deep dark is his Majesty's kingdom!
A portent of tomorrow's world!
There shall the liquid give him power
The red-eyed un-der-lord!
[and if the official lyrics disagree with me, they should have taught their singers to be a bit more coherent in English!]
This was my soundtrack while I was playing Etrian Odyssey 3: The Drowned City! :D Rather appropriate to a game where you spend a decent amount of it venturing through abyssal ruins and fighting eldritch monsters. (Put it this way. THIS is the optional post-game boss.)
Music-wise, this is mainly notable for being an old-Nightwish track with heavy bass vocals, a rather fast percussive track, and lyrics slightly inclining to the epic/apocalyptic side of fantasy lyrics. (...Depending upon how you hear them, of course. There's a reason that the TV Tropes for Nightwish mentions Hamster! A dentist! Hard porn, Steven Seagull!
for another of their songs from the old era...)11. Amaranth - Nightwish
Caress the one, the never-fading rain in your heart
The juice of snow-white sorrow
Caress the one, the hiding amaranth
In the land of the daybreak
...Ehem. As I said, blame Brill.
I have no idea what this is doing so low on the Top 25 Most Played list, but I'd guess that it's because I like to devote more attention to listening to it when it's playing - ergo, I don't much listen to it when I've got other things to do. The way it's sung is really, really nice. I apologize for not being more articulate, but I kind of have a headache right now...
...It's about the way it's sung, as I said. The singer really jumps up and down on the syllable-emphasis, so it packs a punch, and...
CAress the ONE, the never-FAding RAIN in YOUR heart
The juice of SNOW-white SOrrow
CAress the ONE, the hiding AMAranth
In the land OF THE DAYBREAAAAK
...I don't think I'm getting it across correctly, but whatever. *sigh* I'm doing a spectacular job of making good songs sound awful...
12. She Moved Thru' the Fair - Celtic Woman
Last night, she came to me; she came softly in
So softly she came that her feet made no din
And she laid her hand on me, and this she did say:
"It will not be long, love, 'til our wedding day"
This is a rather eerie song, if you put two and two together... The trademark Gaelic gibberish is sometimes chanted over the lyrics in this one, adding that mystical haze. But seriously, I like this one because it can be put to multiple uses, fic-wise, and it stands well on its own. Very melodic, very... interesting.
13. Jillian (I'd Give My Heart) - Within Temptation
Give my heart, give my soul, I'd turn it back it's my fault
Your destiny is forlorn, have to live until it's done
I'd give my heart, give my soul, I'd turn it back and then at last I'd be on my way
Really. Really. Good.
For writing purposes, it fits immortals (or reincarnated) characters. For listening purposes, Sharon del Adel really shows off her vocal range on this one. It is haunting, it is lovely, it is eerie, and it is fascinating. (It helps that, like Hand of Sorrow, this was based off of a series, so there is a sort of 'backstory' to this song providing an explanation for the enigmatic lyrics.)
...I'm not a music critic, what can I say.
14. Kid Dynamo - The Buggles
Though to-day you might be riding the en-gines of pro-gress
Working in the ma-jor fac-tor-ies
Call me if you ever feel like lettin' go
And we'll remember the days of Kid Dynamo
The hyphens are intentional. This song is heavy on the rhythmic percussion, which
I tend not to listen to this one as much these days, due to not being that interested in the AU to which it's associated any more. *shrug*
15. Paint It Black - The Rolling Stones
I see the girls walk by dressed in their summer clothes
I have to turn my head until my darkness goes
I tend to use this for characters that have gone dark... which probably misses the point of the song, but ah well. It fits that as well as the intended theme (which is depression after the loss of a loved one).
I like this one for the lyrics, basically. ...And the rolling beat, and the humming.
16. New York Mining Disaster 1941 - The BeeGees
In the event of something happening to me
There is something I would like you all to see
It's just a photograph of someone that I knew
The others are probably pretty well-known to fans of the bands in question... But this one, I have to justify.
It's a short, haunting song about a mining disaster, with most of it from the point of view of someone who didn't make it out - the refrain being "Have you seen my wife, Mr. Jones? Do you know what it's like on the outside? Don't go talking too loud, you'll cause a landslide..." A good deal of the song's quality comes solely from the way it's sung - melancholy but resigned, kind of...
Or perhaps I'm making too much of a minor song. But I do find it downright unnerving... particularly the way it launches straight from the introduction into the POV of the disaster victim. (Why am I being so articulate about a not-particularly-notable song?! No accounting for taste...)
17. Carpet Man (Remastered 1997) - The 5th Dimension
I would think you'd get tired of hurtin' every now and then
It's lonely down there, that's for certain, and carpets do get thin
And that's when they have to be thrown away!
That's what she'll say to herself, some sunny day
And she'll say "Come to the wedding" and of course you do
And the groom and her will have a dance on you.
Put this down as a song with really depressing lyrics sung in a really upbeat manner. I latched onto this one because it described a certain pair of characters fairly well, but I stayed with it because I really like the way it's sung and because wow, those lyrics pack a wallop. ...It actually makes the lyrics much, much harsher than if it was sung like a funereal dirge.
I'd talk more, but the two 5th Dimension songs in this list speak for themselves. I don't like all their songs, but the ones that I do are melodic, seamless, and really, really nice to listen to. And, as a bonus, the lyrics have some complexity! (I also recommend Save the Country, Ashes to Ashes, and Paper Cup... the last one making this one seem positively cheery if you pay attention to the lyrics. I'd like Aquarius a lot better if it cut off at 2:17 - also known as "I like Aquarius, but NOT that Let The Sunshine In atrocity attached to the end".)
18. Romanticide - Nightwish
For your love I'd risk my soul
We could be sundown neverending
...Aside from that, I can barely make out most of the lyrics, but it's fast paced and I like those few seconds of lyrics, so I'm happy. (...Still, I'm not sure what this is doing so high... Ah, well. I'll hope this gets knocked off by Blue Oyster Cult songs once they make their way up, really.)
19. American Pie - Don McLean
Helter-skelter in the summer swelter
The birds flew off with the fallout shelter
Eight miles high and falling fast
This should not be so low - it's unjustly driven down by its length (over eight-and-a-half minutes!), as I tend to rewind it before the end. And, additionally unfortunately, much of the appeal for me lies in the center segment (as I used to listen to a truncated version a long time ago, so I know most everything before that point), so I keep skipping it back to that segment. *shrug* This song may have the weirdest lyrics you'll ever hear (especially as they actually have some internal logic), so I recommend listening to it despite (or because of?) its eccentricities. This... country-ish... style isn't usually my thing, but I don't think there's any other song quite like American Pie.
20. You'll Be In My Heart - Celtic Woman
When destiny calls you, you must be strong
I may not be with you, but you've got to hold on
They'll see in time, I know - we'll show them together
What is THIS doing so high!? No, seriously, I have no idea. I mean, I like it, but it's fairly generic, and... *throws up hands*
21. Shot In the Dark - Within Temptation
'Cause your soul is on fire
A shot in the dark
What did they aim for when they missed your heart?
...I really like those lyrics. Yes, I admit to liking this song mostly because I liked the chorus. I would not be able to recite the rest of the lyrics for the life of me, even though they're sung perfectly clearly, but I really like the chorus. *shallow as a bleeping dog-food bowl* (I'm surprised this doesn't have American Pie syndrome, though. I tend to rewind to the chorus often, which should drive down the play-count. Yes, it does rank lower than American Pie, but I've had it for a significantly shorter time...)
22. Heartland - Celtic Thunder
When the storm is raging
And thunder rolls
Deliver us from the ocean
Save our souls
...This isn't that notable a song, it just has smooth singing and rhythmic percussion. Yes, I'm a sucker for a smooth, steady beat, what of it? ...*seriously confused at some of the songs on this list*
23. String Man - The Mamas & The Papas
I strung along with the string man;
He always called me his biggest fan.
Though he was kind, I should have known better
Than to think we'd always stay together.
...Well, it's pretty, and it has melancholy lyrics, and...
I'm really predictable, aren't I?
24. A Maid in Bedlam - Meav
Her chains she wrapped around her hands and thus replied she,
"I love my love because my love loves me."
I riffed on this one in my Return of the Sith parody with George Lucas singing "I love my CGI because my CGI loves me". :D In all seriousness, though, this is a simple, melancholy song, and I like it.
25. I Am a Rock - Simon & Garfunkel
Don't talk of love~ I've heard that word befo-ore!
It's sleeping in my memory -
I won't disturb the slumber of feelings that have died-
If I never loved, I never would have cried
Aaaaah, I Am a Rock! I can actually justify this one's existence! :D
I was a Simon & Garfunkel fanatic back in the day, and I listened to a few songs in particular. Bit strange that this one's higher than Richard Cory, Scarborough Fair, and the like, but it seems that it is. Anyway, yes, this is another of the "sad songs sung in a really upbeat manner" that I seem to... like. It's the song of a shut-in who's been too badly hurt by life, so he stays inside and reads
In conclusion? I apparently like emo songs with hyperactive beats. :D;; I also am easily bought off by ***steady*** percussion, good choruses, and smooth singing. Complex lyrics preferred, but, if the band's Nightwish or Celtic Woman, they don't even have to be intelligible, much less intelligent. I also like contrasts of high and low sounds.
Sorry for the shorter descriptions further down on the list, but I'm not as passionate about the less-listened-to songs. Er... more song recs to follow to compensate, I guess.