All I Can Do Is Try…

Half way there, ladies.  Half way there.

50. The Who – Baba O’Riley.

I don’t really know why, except that maybe I feel as though I missed out on such a wonderful musical era by being born in the 80s.

49.  Annie Lennox – Why.

It’s just the eternal question…”Why?”

48.  Counting Crows – Colourblind.

If only everything was black and white.

47.  Dido – See The Sun.

When you’re a teenager and really seriously depressed, sometimes all you want is to see the sun again.

46.  Keane – Bedshaped.

“I know you think I’m holding you down.”

45.  The Killers – Everything Will Be Alright.

Cos everything will be alright.

44.  Rob Dougan – There’s Only Me.

43.  Snow Patrol – Set The Fire To The Third Bar.

Your laughter penetrates my silence.

42.  Florence + The Machine – Dog Days Are Over.

Happiness hit her like a bullet in the head. Yep, sometimes it comes when you least expect it.

41.  Mumford & Sons – Roll Away Your Stone.

Darkness is a harsh term, don’t you think?

So, we’re half way there.

60. Maroon 5 – This Love.

This was definitely one of those summer tracks.  I fell in love with it when it came out back in…ooo…2003?

59. Radiohead – Fake Plastic Trees.

There are people that hate this song.  So, it doesn’t make much sense, but…who cares?  First heard it after getting a CD of Radiohead Piano versions by a guy called Christopher O’Riley.  I think I might have heard at least one of them on Classic FM.

58. Stereophonics – Nothing Precious At All.

Who didn’t go through a phase as a teenager when they liked things like this?  I swear, these guys are one of the most underrated bands to come out of Britain.

57.  Suzanne Vega – Never Be Your Maggie May.

“I’d rather take myself away”.  Right now, never a truer word was spoken.

56. The Goo Goo Dolls – Name.

“I saw the dreams you never thought you’d lose, get tossed along the way.” Sometimes you get yourself into places in life where you abandon everything you ever wanted.  Sometimes it’s through pressure, disapproval or maybe even fear.  Sometimes the hardest thing in life is ripping yourself out of that situation so that you can try to find those dreams again.

55.  Tin Tin Out featuring Shelly Nelson – Here’s Where The Story Ends.

Oh so 90s.  I think there comes a point where we all have to say here’s where the story ends.  It’s that little souvenir of a terrible year…

54.  U2 – Sunday Bloody Sunday.

I think Bono is a twat, but this song is much like the previously mentioned Morrissey track about being Anglo-Irish.

53. Will Young – Leave Right Now.

I should probably be ashamed to have a Will Young song in here.  I’m here, just like you said, but it’s breaking every rule I ever made.

52.  Massive Attack – Unfinished Sympathy.

CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON! Who doesn’t remember this track?

51.  Mumford & Sons – Nothing Is Written.

A tethered mind, freed from the lies.

70. Dido – Take My Hand.

I remember listening to this on the coach on the way up to London when I was going to and from hospital.
69. Lifehouse – Hanging by a moment.

Another of those teenage ones that a friend introduced me to, that, for some reason, I just can’t let go of.
68. Moby – Why does my heart feel so bad?

I’m not sure what attracts me to this song so much, but it sure is special.  Probably stuff about being a teenager/being ill.  Yadda yadda yadda, you know a lot of the stuff I’ve put against these tracks.
67. Natalie Imbruglia – Smoke.

See above.  So much of this is from my youth.
66. Norah Jones – Shoot The Moon.

Remember when I previously said that I tried so hard not to like Norah Jones?  Yeah, I totally failed.
65. Santana – Samba Pa Ti.

You can’t fault Santana.  First place I heard this song, it was used in an episode of ER.  Back when ER was actually worth watching.
64. Coldplay – Clocks.

Back when I was young, and Coldplay were cooler than they are now.
63. Air – All I Need.

First heard this at school when my slightly hipsterish history teacher was playing it.  He liked Air.
62. Amanda Ghost – Silver Lining.

Ignore the fact it’s a Grey’s Anatomy video.  It’s the music I’m after.  Another one of those from my teenage years.
61. Mumford & Sons – Dust Bowl Dance.

If this song doesn’t epitomise anger, then I don’t know what does.  It’s not even a particular type of anger.  Just someone who is angry about their situation.  And yet another reason why I love these guys.

By the end of this article, I hope that at least one of you might have noticed a pattern.

80. Snow Patrol – You Could Be Happy.

“Without me there to hold you back, don’t think just do.”

79. Athlete – Wires.

I know what this song’s about, but I remember being sat in a car just before a thunderstorm started and it was playing. It suited the grey half-light.

78. Bon Jovi – It’s My Life.

This was a bit of a turning point in my teenage years. Being ill means you lose your identity. You seem to become a piece of meat that everyone sticks needles into, asks curt questions to, and has no interest in knowing as a person. I still live by those words, “It’s my life, it’s now or never”.

77. Coldplay – The Scientist.

I remember walking for ages through London and Canterbury listening to this song. The bleaker the day the better. Nobody said it was easy…

76. Bruce Springsteen – Streets of Philadelphia.

I can’t remember the first time I heard this, but it was a very, very long time ago. I heard the song before I saw the film. It’s bleak, but the film director in my head can just see the perfect video to be made. It’s one of these songs I have come back to regularly over the years when I feel low. And it still makes me want to go to Philadelphia.

75. Matchbox 20 – How Far We’ve Come.

I honestly can’t believe this came out in 2007. It feels like I’ve known it for so much longer. Let’s see how far we’ve come. It’ll have a different meaning for everyone.

74. Morrissey – Irish Blood, English Heart.

So, Morrissey has always been quite political. He comes from a fairly similar situation to me, of Irish heritage, but born and brough up in England. It might not seem like a culture clash to those on the outside, but people who think like that tend to be those who have no idea of the historical political situation. Many people wouldn’t believe that politics and history can have such profound effects on an individual’s life. But trust me, it does. And sometimes it can leave you feeling absolutely torn.

73. Paolo Nutini – Last Request.

I think at some point or another we’ve all found that we’re bound to walk down that one way road.

72. Penguin Cafe Orchestra – Perpetuum Mobile.

First heard on an HP advert. And I am so glad that I did. Sometimes life feels like it has this perpetual motion that you really do struggle to keep up with.

71. Mumford & Sons – Awake My Soul.

Another of my walking songs. Especially during the spring and autumn. Nothing like seeing the changing light streaming through the trees.
Now my heart stumbles on things I don’t know, My weakness I feel I must finally show.

See, look, you’re actually getting weekly posts from me at the moment. So here’s part two of the Soundtrack to my life series.

90. Blue Man Group – Rods & Cones

Many years ago, Blue Man Group came to the attention of much of the world after Intel used them to sell their Pentium III and 4 processors. Eventually I got to see these guys live, and yes they are absolutely brilliant. Rods & Cones is one of these instrumental tracks that I can just see myself running down a deserted road to.

89. Avril Lavigne – My Happy Ending

I remember watching this video over and over again on music channels. I must have been about 17 when it came out. Full of teenage angst.

88. Baz Luhrmann – Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen).

The funny thing about this song is that it came out the same year I started secondary school. I was just entering that hormonal stage. I had quite literally just started my periods and it was all a bit odd. Be kind to your knees…you’ll miss them when they’re gone.

87. Enigma – Sadeness Part I

Another amazing one from my very young formative years. I was in fact 4 years old when it came out. I was brought up as a Roman Catholic so the whole Gregorian Chanting thing absolutely sucks me in, even to this day despite not being a practicing Catholic anymore.

86. Green Day – Wake Me Up When September Ends

This is one of those tracks you come back to when you just want to hibernate for months on end because everything feels a bit crap. I was probably 18 the first time I heard this.

85. KT Tunstall – Other Side Of The World

This song came out around the time that someone very close to my family died very suddenly. I was absolutely heart broken. I’d planned to drive to see him when I passed my driving test. He died approximately 2 or 3 weeks before I took my test. I hadn’t seen him in six months, and felt so guilty that I hadn’t made the effort. And then it was too late.

84. Arvo Part – Spiegel im Spiegel

I struggled as a violinist for so many years to play this piece of music. The physical pain it caused was, at times, unbearable. If you play the violin (which frankly, is one of the hardest instruments you could possibly try to play), then you can most likely appreciate that a 10 minute piece of music with no breaks is not going to be fun to attempt. But for the beauty of it, it most certainly is worthwhile.

83. Andreas Johnson – Glorious

Made famous, in Britain at least, by a Vauxhall advert. I so fell in love with the song when I first heard it in 1999. 12 years later I still listen to it. Frankly, I can’t believe he’s now 41.

82. Billie Myers – Kiss The Rain

Right, who remembers this song, from way back in 1997? It was probably one of the first singles I ever bought, it has to feature on this list somewhere.

81. Mumford & Sons – Winter Winds

This song became rather a sticking point for me in the winter of 2009/2010. I was doing an English course which wasn’t exactly hard, but really felt like it was dragging. I had no job, friends or anything else to do, so some of the words really caught in my throat. Everyone needs to see them perform this song live. Whenever I hear it, I think of sitting at my desk, struggling with an essay, and reminding myself that Remember spring swaps snow for leaves, You’ll be happy and wholesome again, When the city clears and sun ascends.