My top 25 favorite songs. Part 1: 25-11

Warning: This post contains one instance of PG-13 language (for those outside of the US, that means vulgar language that is fine for most teens, but may be inappropriate for younger children). Hide your infants and tweens.

An internet comic whose material I quite enjoy recently put up a video where he talked about his twenty favorite movies, and I thought I'd do the same for my favorite songs. Why make such a list? Because it gives you an insight into who I am, but it is more fun than writing a biography, which serves the same purpose. Why not movies? Because my taste in movies is pretty limited, but my taste in music is diverse enough that I can make such a list. Why twenty five? Because I narrowed it down to 25 and couldn't pick five to kick off of this list.

I should tell you now that I do not necessarily think that all of these are good songs, and this is not meant to be a "greatest songs" list. This is just meant to list the songs I like the most. Some of them have special meaning to me because of when I heard them, while others speak to me on a really deep level. Also, these are not my 25 current favorites, but 25 songs that I have continued to like long after I heard them, so there aren't many recent songs on here. In fact, only one has been released in the past few years. So, without further ado, let's begin.

25. ...And Justice for All - Metallica
Although this song doesn't draw out the same level of emotional reaction from me that the other songs on the list do, it does have something I am always a sucker for: during the breaks and the verses, the vocals, drums, and guitar all have similar or near identical rhythms. That earns big points in my book, and it is the main reason ...And Justice for All is on this list. Actually, there's an even longer story behind it, but I'll give you the short version. I bought Guitar Hero 3 and liked One. I bought Rock Band and was disappointed by Enter Sandman. After months of trying to figure out how to do it, I finally hooked my XBox 360 up to the internet to download songs for Rock Band and downloaded the Metallica pack, and I loved it, especially ...And Justice for All. Since then, this song has continued to please me just as much as when I first heard it.

24. Killing In the Name - Rage Against the Machine
I suppose I may be a bit biased about this one. I first heard this song in Guitar Hero II, and the cover of it was so abysmal that when I heard the actual song, I was blown away by the raw power of it. I also have to say that Zach's "Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me," sounds a lot better than the lyrics Guitar Hero used to replace them, "(Now you're under control) I won't do what you tell me." The fact that the lyrics overlapped took away a lot of this song's power, so the song wowed me to no end when I first heard it. That said, the repetitive nature of the lyrics has made me like it less than I used to, but I still love this song.

23. Bulls On Parade - Rage Against the Machine
Like Killing in the Name, I first heard this song in Guitar Hero 3, and I really liked it. Though not very fun to play, this song's raw power had the same appeal to me that Killing in the Name had. After I heard this song, I tried getting into Rage's other songs, but they were more rappy than the songs I had heard, so this song stands out in my mind as the last Rage song I ever loved.

22. Angel of Death – Slayer
I can't put my finger on what I love about this song. The lyrics aren't terribly good, the guitar is fast but not complex, and ditto for the drum beats. I don't know, its one of those mysteries that I'll probably never figure out. I like it just as much as I did when I first heard it, and that's quite rare among songs I listen to, especially metal songs, so I put it on the list

21. Painkiller - Judas Priest
I first heard this song in Rock Band 2 (are you noticing a pattern yet?), and like Run to the Hills before it, it was the hardest song in the game, and that probably contributed to me liking it so much. I also have a soft spot for songs with a male singer that sings in a high octave, and this song definitely fits that category. Seriously, listen to it some time. No man should be able to get his voice that high. It's also just an all around great metal song, with every member of Judas Priest in full form. It has two guitar solos and two drum solos in the span of six minutes. Can you think of any song that tops that?

20. The Camera Eye - Rush
As great as this song is, it is very long, which can make it a bit tiring on one's patience. That said, the length could be what makes this song so good. It allows for the song to go through many different parts with different melodies, and each one is very enjoyable. The amazing thing is that the song is structured like a normal, regular length song. Despite being eleven minutes in length, The Camera Eye never feels like it could be split up into more than one song, like many other songs of great length. This never ceases to amaze me, and it's one of the many reasons I love The Camera Eye. Also, the chorus, as short as it is, is one of my favorite moments in music. Everything about it is just perfect and incredibly enjoyable.

19. Sabotage - Beastie Boys
This song has a special place in my heart because I heard it while I was going through my rap phase. I liked rock and roll before my rap phase (though it was more popular rock than genuine rock, but not pop-rock by any means), but once I entered my rap phase, I stopped listening to rock and roll. This song's hybrid nature between the two genres made me consider listening to rock again, and it was the first step on my road to recovery. (If you are curious, the second step was Guitar Hero II. That pretty much did it for me.)

18. My Immortal - Evanescence
A very sad song, no doubt, but those were the kinds of songs that spoke to me in my youth, as evidenced by all of the Evanescence on my list. Although I am usually not a fan of vocals+piano numbers, I think what made me like the song was its lyrics. Though the lyrics could easily be interpreted as being about trying to get over an ended relationship, my interpretation was that it was about trying to let go of a part of you that you have held on to for too long. Perhaps it was a part of you that hid the real you because you were afraid to be who you really are. Perhaps it was a part of you that you hid behind because the world was too scary to face head on. Either way, even though you want to move past that part of you, even though you want to let it go, it has not left you. That message speaks to me even more now, which is why this is truly one of my favorite songs of all time. That said, the style is one I am usually not a fan of, which is why I put it so low on the list.

17. Rhinoceros - Smashing Pumpkins
The meaning of this song still eludes me, but I find the first half very relaxing, with one of the best simple bass riffs I have ever heard. I also quite enjoy the second part of the song, though not as much. That said, I love the solo, which perfectly complements the transition from a more chilled out alternative melody to a more hard rock melody. It just sounds good; there's not much else I can say to explain it.

16. All the Things She Said - t.A.T.u.
Despite the fact that their lesbian relationship ended up being fake, t.A.T.u's story about forbidden love speaks to anyone who has ever felt guilty about something they knew couldn't be wrong because it felt right. It doesn't even need to be a relationship; it could be something that breaks gender stereotypes. It's also a good pop-rock song; not much else to be said.

15. Pretty Noose - Soundgarden
I really don't know why I like this song so much. It could be that I am a sucker for songs where every instrument is distinct and clear, and this song definitely fits that category. The lyrics, about a bad idea that looks good from the outside (according to Wikipedia), are also applicable to many of life's situations. The guitar solo is also great. Eh, what can I say? I like this song now even more than I did when I first heard it, and that rarely happens with any of the songs I listen to.

14. Nobody's Home - Avril Lavigne
Alright, now before everyone crucifies me for listing an Avril Lavigne song in my top 25 songs list, know that I used to be a big fan of her music, but this is the only song of hers that I have continued to like, and if you listen to the song, you can see why. The theme is a timeless one, for Nobody's Home tells the story of a girl who feels abandoned and, because of it, can't seem to find a place she calls home. Try as she might, she is so jaded by the world that she sees no redeemable qualities in it. I know I have felt that abandoned before, and this song helped me see that the world was not worth rejecting. It's also a very beautiful pop-rock song. The melody is sad at its core, with not hint of any happy emotions, but it is not quite sad enough to be considered depressing. As such, the melody itself implies that life may be bad, but it could always be worse. And you know what? This song may have my favorite line of all time from a song: "She's lost inside." She is lost in the world around her because she herself is lost. That is true poetry.

13. Viva la Vida – Coldplay
This is the only song my list that has been released within the last few years, but I think it is one of the few truly great songs to have come out of this era of music. The lyrics are about the darker side of being a king, although they could be applied to any position of power. The melody, which is grand and sad at the same time, fit this theme quite well. It's just an all-around good song.

12. Today - Smashing Pumpkins
In case the lyrics don't make it obvious, this song is about suicide. Yep, it is a happy song about suicide. This songs speaks to me in two ways. It reminds me that many times in my own life, I felt like I had a lot to be sad about, but life itself was still good, just like how the song's lyrics are very sad, but the mood is very happy. It also reminds me that a life may look pretty from the outside, but everyone is fighting their own battles. The song also just has a great melody that really carries the listener through the whole song. And it's just a little touch, but I love the signature drum fill of this song, the one where Chamberlin starts by hitting the snare and the floor tom along with the beat of the song, then does a roll on the snare.

11. The Only One - Evanescence
As much as I love the dark yet hopeful nature of this song, the lyrics are what really made me like this song. They spoke to me when I was growing up and felt abandoned by the world. The lyrics talk about how people who feel abandoned by the world often feel alone, but there are many other people in the same situation as them, and what they need to do is band together and fight back against the force that made them feel alone in the first place. The song also seemed to me to end with the singer confronting the force that made her feel abandoned. It really is a very hopeful song, and the hard-rock influences of its nu-metal style means that there is almost a hint of vengeance in the singer's intentions. Like many of Evanescence's songs, this one spoke to me at a very personal level, and Amy Lee's ambiguous writing style means that this song and many others of theirs will continue to mean a lot to me, since that meaning can evolve to apply to whatever I am facing in my life.

Unfortunately, I had a very busy weekend and couldn't finish the list. Expect part 2 next week.

Edit: Here's the link to part two for your convenience.