Mix Tape of the Day: April 11, 2015 - My Favorite Songs of All Time (100th Post)

Wow, we're already at my 100th mix!  Well, I knew I had to do something special, so I've decided to go with my personal top 13 favorite songs.  Now, in 99 days, I've featured a lot of my favorites, so I'm sure that a couple of those would belong on this list as well, but I purposely tried to avoid my absolute favorites so that I could feature them all together.  The following are my top 13 songs that I just know will remain my favorites all my life, in some way or another.

13. Thirteen - Big Star (1972) In high school, a friend told me that this song reminded him of me and ever since then, I've adopted it as my official theme.  I truly feel that my life as it is today is all because of the events that happened when I was 13-years-old.  This encapsulates me perfectly.

12. In the Hall of the Mountain King - Edvard Grieg (1867) I'm a big fan of classical, instrumental pieces that tell a story.  "Mountain King" rises above the rest because it also incorporates my other favorite aspect of music, the slow build to a rousing climax.  I love choreographing visual stories to music (like in Fantasia) and this one provides me with so much to work with.  Whenever it pops up in a movie or TV show, I'm happy.

11. I Miss You - Blink-182 (2003) I know this one gained some attention this year when comedian Nathan Fielder asked someone to create a 10 hour loop of Tom DeLonge's verse because, I admit, his voice is quite whiny.  But I enjoy the song for those magical chords.  And sure it's a depressing, bitter grievance of unrequited love filled with references to The Nightmare Before Christmas (a.k.a. the perfect song to play at Hot Topic), but sometimes you just have to have a song like that in your life.

10. Delicate - Damien Rice (2002) I like to listen to this on the beach while my CD player dies. (This song always reminds me of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" which gave me great difficulty, as I love that song, but couldn't settle on the best version to include.  Then I realized that this song hits me a lot harder than that one.  A great song for when you just need to get those emotions out.)

9. Float On - Modest Mouse (2004) Let's raise the mood a bit.  Thanks to a Weird Al polka medley, I discovered this song.  I remember thinking that part of the medley was the coolest so I sought out this track and it instantly became one of my favorite songs.  It reminds me of younger days when a hopeful future is ahead of you and whenever I'm in a funk, it helps get me out.

8. Tubthumping - Chumbawamba (1997) But if any song is going to make me happy, it's this one.  Pure fun all around.  I don't care if you're sick of it, this is my ideal night out song.

7. I Wanna Dance with Somebody - Whitney Houston (1987) If any song's going to get me up and dance, it's this one.  Fortunately, it plays at nearly every dance occasion.  (I really wish that Grouplove would release a cover version of this song.  They always play a short version of it live after their similar-sounding "Tongue-Tied" and they have so much fun singing it.)

6. Somewhere Only We Know - Keane (2004) I'm going back to that heart-wrenching nostalgia now.  It's a perfect song.

5. Nightswimming - R.E.M. (1992) My favorite R.E.M. song from my favorite R.E.M. album.  Like with "Somewhere Only We Know," it reminds me of summertime nostalgia, except it's a false one.  This represents the memories I wish I had.  And, apparently, that's part of the meaning of the song if you read about it's origins.  And it's just a piano, strings, and Stipes voice.  For a small song, it sounds so big.  I always find that I respect a musician more if they not only cite R.E.M. as an influence, but cite this song as their favorite.

4. Origin of Love - Mika (2012) Mika is like a rich dessert.  I always have to sample a little bit of his music at a time because every song of his impresses me more than the last.  For the longest time "Happy Ending" was my favorite Mika song, but this one dethroned the champion (and interestingly, he often plays the two back to back live due to their similar sound).  But this one is just perfect.  It really captures the "love is a drug" theme in its sound and it builds to an amazing finale.  Love in it's purest form.

3. Chicago - Sufjan Stevens (2005) This was the official song of my college road trips to Chicago.  And whenever I visit my favorite city nowadays, you know I'll listen to this song.  Sufjan Stevens just crafted a masterpiece filled with joy and sorrow and everything in between.

2. Only Time - Enya (2000) I've shared some fun songs and some sad songs, but this is just a beautiful song.  It transports me to a dreamlike fantasy whenever I hear it.  So peaceful, so relaxing.

1. Zombie - The Cranberries (1994) As much as I love all the songs on this list, nothing will ever beat "Zombie."  The first time I heard it, I knew.  Dolores O'Riordan's voice just took a hold of me.  If you know me, you probably know that this is my favorite song, so I'm sorry for the lack of surprise.  I once had a roommate who would play this song whenever she wanted to summon me to come talk to her.  That's how much this song is a part of me.