I was at dinner with a friend tonight and our conversation found its way to the topic of our favorite songs. We started with a top three, but that was too hard, so got up to top five, then started remembering others that should be on the list, and then just talked about a whole bunch of favorites.

This is not the first time this has happened in recent weeks, so I figured that since I have a blog about music, I might as well attempt to recreate my list here for those of you that may be interested in reading it or looking for something new. Contrary to my normally genre-blind attitude, I’m excluding pieces of classical music here (meaning no, Rite of Spring is not my favorite song, even though it may be my favorite thing ever written).

It’s hard to capture in words how important the songs listed below are to me. Many of them have been favorites for more than a decade, and to this day they still hit me right in the heart/chest/head/etc. They’re deeply associated with a lot of emotion, memories, interests, and, well, are a huge part of who I am. Okay, enough stalling. These aren’t in any particular order, but if it’s here, consider it at the top of the list.

• Refused – Tannhäuser/Derivè
• Refused – The Shape of Punk to Come
• Queen/David Bowie – Under Pressure
• Radiohead – All I Need
• Radiohead – Idioteque
• Strung Out – Matchbook
• Frank Sinatra – Fly Me To The Moon
• The Weakerthans – This Is A Fire Door Never Leave Open
• David Bowie – Life on Mars
• NoFX – Linoleum
• Sigur Rós – Glósóli
• Bright Eyes – Something Vague
• Bright Eyes – At The Bottom of Everything
• Bright Eyes – Light Pollution
• Destroyer – Rubies
• Dillinger Escape Plan – 43% Burnt
• Broken Social Scene – Almost Crimes

So I wasn’t planning on leaving out the Beatles, but when it came down to it I absolutely could not pick even three or four top songs from them. There’s just too much good out there. I just may have to keep this list going in future posts. Night!