my favourite songs of all time, explained
i β‘ music
I didnβt realise how invested I was with music until recently. Itβs one of my main hobbies, a collectors item, a prized possession, a concert I canβt wait for. Itβs an untraceable feeling, a lyric that slaps me in the face, the specific way things are sung. I love how primal music is. Music cannot be excused and explained away, it is built into our DNA.
All that to say, here are a couple of my favourite songs of all time. Some of my favourites that keep their spots consistently.
Sour Switchblade - Elita
βThatβs a lot to live up toβ
Sour Switchblade is Elitaβs biggest hit, understandably so. It has a very dense, layered sound with beautiful backing guitars and angelic vocals. The lyrics are abstract, yet oddly sensual in nature (classic Elita). Sour Switchblade is easily one of my most listened to songs. The music video is also incredible, and brings the song so perfectly into fruition. Itβs eerily exactly how I imagined it.
Juna - Clairo
βYou know me, you KNOW meβ
Juna charmed me. I was an early (2017) adopter of Clairo, but lost touch around Immunity. Iβve spent the last couple of years rekindling my relationship with her music. I was watching videos of Clairo talk about the machinations of an album about getting to know someone, being charmed by someone. Juna is the consensus of that concept, and one of the most beautiful songs Iβve ever heard.
Playground Love - Air, Gordon Tracks
βYouβre the piece of gold that flashes on my soulβ
Playground Love, to me, is the most perfect cinematic soundtrack song ever made. Air is one of my favourite bands ever, and Playground Love captures everything they do well into one song. Without fail this song makes me feel like Iβm in a movie. THE movie. Iβm a Lisbon girl at heart. I also saw Air perform Highschool Lover live at the Sydney Opera House and cried. That song is a very close follow up, the twin sister of Playground Love. I cannot think of a more achingly bittersweet duo.
Supermassive Black Hole - Muse
βYou set my soul alightβ
I went through a huge Muse phase in 2019 when an ice hockey boy from my high school introduced me to them. I recklessly argued with him about gun control and then fled the country not long after (taking Muse with me). Supermassive Black Hole is the single most sexy song ever and that is fact not opinion. I also think itβs their best song, though Muse is not short on good songs. Also, that Twilight scene lives rent free in my head.
Sun Bleached Flies - Ethel Cain
βI forgive it all as it comes back to meβ
Sun Bleached Flies is hymnal. A mantra. In the Ethel Cain cinematic universe Sun Bleached Flies is the closing credits. Itβs the ending of Ethel Cainβs life. Itβs a Christ-like forgiveness. A resting place. Finding peace. This song hits scarily deep. Itβs also incredibly sad if you know the Ethel Cain cinematic universe lore. I want to get the lyrics to this song tattooed on my body so I can remember them forever.
CHIHIRO - Billie Eilish
βSaid you wonβt forget my name, not today, not tomorrowβ
HIT ME HARD AND SOFT did exactly what it said it would. This is Billieβs best work to date, and an album that I believe is historically momentous. Chihiro is inspired by the Studio Ghibli anime Spirited Away. To me, the first half of the song is a night drive and the second half is dancing with, and around, someone.
Little Dark Age - MGMT
βPolicemen swear to God, love seeping from their gunsβ
The only good thing to come out of Trumpβs presidency is Little Dark Age by MGMT. It expresses such a perfect despair, melancholy and disbelief into the political climate of 2016, and remains horrifically relevant. Little Dark Age feels like it belongs in a horror movie, but maybe thatβs just because I saw an edit of The Shining to it. Sometimes when the news looks grim my brother and I joke that at least we might get a Little Dark Age 2. I would like to die to this song.
Redbone - Childish Gambino
βMy peanut butter chocolate cake with Kool-Aidβ
Redbone is Childish Gambinoβs biggest hit and one of my top songs of all time. I think this one speaks for itself, it is a perfect song. Glover shows an absolute mastery of music here.
Mommy - R.I.P.
A melancholic instrumental set to Vewnβs animation Twins in Paradise. R.I.P. was criminally underrated for a very long time, though I think theyβre gaining some traction now. Mommy feels a bit surf-rock and leaves you hanging on the very edge with high highs and low lows.
Using You - Mars Argo
βWeβre such a mess together, you make me lose my temperβ
The Mars Argo fanbase has to be one of the strongest fan bases ever I swear. This song, and Mars Argo as an artist, has a turbulent personal and legal backstory. That made it all the more satisfying to get an official release of Using You. Mars Argo has a unique, sickly sweet voice and I am very excited to see what she does next.
Super Stars - Yves Tumor
βI love you, I hate you, but I need you, but I adore youβ
Yves Tumorβs Super Stars is a summer night drive home from the beach. I love a good guitar in a song and this has it. Tumorβs vocals are unbeatable, always. Super Stars feels like such an outpouring of energy, emotion, passion. Itβs so conflicted. This song has such a grip on me.
I Saw an Angel - Puzzle
βI cannot describe what I feelβ
I am a huge supporter of the Shears twins, the geniuses that they are. I Saw An Angel was something I stumbled upon randomly and organically one day a few years ago. Its minimal lyrics are made up for with a banger of a beat. My boyfriend also found this song around the same time as me, and I love that we are connected through that.
And if youβre curious: hereβs all of my all time favourites (perfect, I know).
