My 5 Most Influential Songs

Krista challenged me to come up with the 5 songs that have had the most influence in my life. How can you limit that to just 5. The 5 song limitation does make you really think about songs and music that have made an impact on your life. The funny thing is, I realized that couple of the influential songs don't necessarily translate to favorites. In fact there are a couple that made my influential list that I don't even listen to any more. It seems they served their purpose, made the impact they needed to and then drifted off. Of course some remain favorite songs to this day. So, here's my top 5 influential songs:

1984/Jump – Van Halen
Kind of snuck one in here…1984 is actually the keyboard introduction to “Jump”. Much like “Eruption” is the intro for “You Really Got Me” on an earlier album. Or like We Will Rock You/We are the Champions from Queen. One just doesn’t sound right without the other. However, if we are being super-picky I’ll go with Jump. The significance of this song is it’s the first time I Iiked a song that didn’t come from my parents record collection. This song inspired me to get the album (well, tape actually). This was the first time I got my very own music with no parental influence.

Across the Universe – The Beatles
This was just a mind expander. I heard this song and it made me think. It still does. It reached me on a different level than most songs would…and I think that is one of the great things about a lot of other Beatles songs. I guess this song is the quintessential Beatles song to me. It’s catchy and heartfelt, but at the same time it makes you think. It’s unique but accessible, exactly like most of the Beatles catalog after Rubber Soul.

Centrifigal Forze – Frank Zappa
This track off the Apostrophe album (one of my favorite Zappa albums) has one of the wildest guitar solos. Although hard, heavy and rock, it was like nothing I’d ever heard. It started me delving deeper into Zappa’s catalog. The fact that he always seemed to come at the guitar from a different, unique angle just floored me. This selection barely won out over other unique musicians I listen to. Tom Waits and Sufjan Stevens are two examples of very unique musicians. Zappa was just the first to open up my listening past the limits of “everyday” rock music. It just opened up whole new perceptions on music for me.

Smells Like Teen Spirit – Nirvana
The song that restored my faith in Rock N’ Roll. This I went to the nearest record store and found the album right after I heard it. I even picked up a copy for my sister I liked it so much. I just had to share the find. The intensity in the song was unmatched back when it came out. The blend of rock and punk would soon become the standard in mainstream rock music for the next 10 years at least. It was the opening round in a complete reinvention of hard, heavy music. Lots of bands during this period ratcheted up the volume and intensity. Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Faith No More are a few more of the bands that stood up as a rebuke to the excess and mediocre talent that heavy metal had become in the eighties. It also turned me on to punk music as I explored the bands influence. This lead to the discovery of some of my favorite punk bands. This song wrought a huge change in the music I listened to.

Sounds of Silence – Simon & Garfunkel
As dark as it is, this is one of my first “favorite songs”. It told a story and presented a vision, but it also conveyed the emotions behind the song. I’ve never ever heard a better expression of emptiness and loneliness. It also perfectly captured my emotions at the time (about 6th grade) of being an outcast and outsider. This song shook my world to the core. This one narrowly edged out “The Boxer”. Also tells a story and generates huge emotion, but I could relate more to SOS. I felt a personal connection to that song. It was the first time I realized I could relate music to my own life.