For Emily

Emily asked me to link this quiz onto my blog--she's already done hers over at Strangechord. For the past three years music has taken a back seat to academic discipline ... I think I stopped being musically hip at the end of the 90s. But like Emily, I feel the connectivity of music and song, the way it functions to guide thoughts to particular places along the continuum of our lives.

So, for Emily, who graduates from PSU in two weeks--who was one of my first college-aged friends, who has a heart the size of Canada ... here are the answers to the music meme:

Top 5 Lyrics that Move You (with the exception of #1, the remaining songs are just the first ones that came to mind):
1. Just Like Heaven – The Cure (if I’d had a theme song, this would be it), the sound and heart of this song have always, I hope, defined my vibe.
Show me how you do that trick
The one that makes me scream" she said
"The one that makes me laugh" she said
And threw her arms around my neck
"Show me how you do it
And I promise you I promise that I'll run away with you I'll run away with you

" Spinning on that dizzy edge I kissed her face and kissed her head
And dreamed of all the different ways I had To make her glow
"Why are you so far away?" she said
"Why won't you ever know that I'm in love with you
That I'm in love with you"
You, Soft and only You, Lost and lonely
You, Strange as angels
Dancing in the deepest oceans
Twisting in the water
You're just like a dream

Daylight licked me into shape I must have been asleep for days
And moving lips to breathe her name I opened up my eyes
And found myself alone alone
Alone above a raging sea
That stole the only girl I loved
And drowned her deep inside of me

You, Soft and only You, Lost and lonely You, Just like heaven

2. The Logical Song – Supertramp (ironic, intelligent group)
" ... There are times when all the world’s asleep,
The questions run too deep
For such a simple man.
Won’t you please, please tell me what we’ve learned
I know it sounds absurd
But please tell me who I am.

Now watch what you say or they’ll be calling you a radical,
Liberal, fanatical, criminal.
Won’t you sign up your name, we’d like to feel you’re
Acceptable, respectable, presentable, a vegetable! ..."

3. Simon – Lifehouse (somehow they make me feel the pain)
" ... Catch your breath hit the wall scream out loud as you start to crawl back in
Your cage the only place where they will leave you alone 'cause the weak will
Seek the weaker until they've broken them could you get it back again
Would it be the same fulfillment to their lack of strength
At your expense left you with no defense they tore it down and I have
Felt the same as you, ..."

4. Far Behind – Candlebox (can’t help it, I love this song)
" ... But then some day people look at you for what they call their own
They watch you suffer
Yeah they hear you calling home
But then some day we could take our time
To brush the leaves aside so you can reach us
But you left me far behind
Now maybe I didn’t mean to treat you oh so bad
But I did it anywayNow maybe some would say you’re left with what you had
But you couldn’t share the pain
No, no, no
Couldn’t share the pain they watch you suffer
Now maybe I could have made my own mistakes
But I live with what I’ve known ..."

5. Acrobat – U2 (had to have something by them)
"... Don't believe what you hear
Don't believe what you see
If you just close your eyes
You can feel the enemy
When I first met you girl
You had fire in your soul
What happened your face
Of melting in snow
Now it looks like this
And you can swallow
Or you can spit
You can throw it up
Or choke on it A
nd you can dream
So dream out loud
You know that your time is coming 'round
So don't let the bastards grind you down ..."

Top 5 Instrumentals:
1. Breathe on Me – Music from Project Runway (love the techno-piano, hip feel, this show honestly has great music)
2. Will Ackerman – Passage
3. Santana – Samba Pa Ti
4. John Klemmer – Touch
5. Tangerine Dream – Mars Polaris
*Like a lot of Jean-Luc Ponte as well

Top 5 Soundtracks:
1. O Brother Where Art Thou
2. Great Expectations
3. The Piano
4. The Falcon and The Snowman
5. Riverdance (go ahead, make fun of me, I love it!)

Top 5 Musical Experiences:
1. 1977: The Fabulous Forum, Queen, News of the World Tour (Freddie was unbelievable live)
2. 1998: Coliseum U2 (Pop Tour) with Rage Against the Machine (everything was right)
3. 1991, Coach House; 1999, Pechanga: Chris Isaak (perfect nights intimate setting)
4. 1989: Greek Theater, Santana
5. 1998: Fleetwood Mac, Reunion Tour (because of what they meant to me at one time)

Top 5 Artists you think people should listen to (I’m not invested in this question, people should listen to what they like, not what I like, but I’ll give it a shot)
1. Dishwalla (don’t think they get enough credit)
2. Laurie Anderson (she’s too smart and avante garde to ignore)
3. Kate Bush (an artist ahead of her time)
4. Sinead O’Connor (for the same reason as Kate)
5. Supertramp (original, ironic, sarcastic, relevant even today)

Top 5 Albums you must hear from start to finish
1. Kate Bush – Hounds of Love
2. U2 – Achtung Baby
3. Alanis Morisette – Jagged Little Pill
4. The Cure – Fascination Street
5. Bob Marley – Greatest Hits
(close #6 & 7, Pearl Jam – Ten, Supertramp – Breakfast in America)

Top 5 Musical Heroes
1. Kate Bush (because she beat Tori to it by a decade)
2. Lorena McKennit (it’s all about her voice-the one I wish I had)
3. Alanis Morisette (because of where she takes me in all her albums)
4. Laurie Anderson (because she’s a genius and no one else is like her)
5. Traci Chapman (because she’s got the voice, lyrics and instrumental prowess)