A Life of Constant Flux » Pearl Jam http://joelmarcey.com Being Self-Employed, Technology, Raising Kids, Life's Journey Wed, 26 May 2010 20:16:06 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 10 Songs That Have Made An Impact On My Life http://joelmarcey.com/2009/08/06/10-songs-that-have-made-an-impact-on-my-life/ http://joelmarcey.com/2009/08/06/10-songs-that-have-made-an-impact-on-my-life/#comments Fri, 07 Aug 2009 03:34:48 +0000 Joel Marcey http://joelmarcey.com/?p=380 I have thousands of songs in my music collection. And I have heard thousands above and beyond those in that collection.

For some reason, I got to thinking about which songs actually have made an impact on me on a personal level. They are not necessarily my favorite songs nor do I necessarily listen to them much anymore. But they are songs that actually had a noticeable impact on my life or emotions.

Here are 10 songs (well, technically 11 since one set has two songs associated with it), in no particular order of favoritism, that have made some sort of impact on me:

Just the Way You Are – Billy Joel: First song at my wedding. Nuff said, really.

Black – Pearl Jam: My favorite song off the album that made me a Pearl Jam lifer. And they still remain my favorite band ever. Just listen to the lyrics of Black sometime. Love lost.

Smells Like Teen Spirit – Nirvana: As cliche as this song has turned out to be, this song literally brought me to a whole new level of musical appreciation. That’s really the bottom line. Defined my generation.

Cheeseburger in Paradise – Jimmy Buffett: First concert I ever saw with my then college girlfriend (and now my spouse). Walnut Creek Amphitheatre in Raleigh.

Cornflake Girl – Tori Amos: First concert I ever saw in a concert hall with the piano as the primary instrument. Tori Amos rocks the piano and it made me a Tori Amos fan forever.

Caribbean Queen – Billy Ocean: My first EVER concert. I was about 10 years old at the county fair in Ft. Lauderdale. It was at that point I new I loved music.

To The Bone – Sex Police / Fun & Games – The Connells: These two bands really help define my college experience. The Sex Police specifically helped to define one of the greatest times I have ever had in my life.

Brass Monkey – Beastie Boys: Might have been the first *cassette tape* I owned. Remember the tail of the airplane on the cover? My middle school years were heavily influenced by this song and album from many different perspectives.

Joining You – Alanis Morissette: Just listen to the lyrics and you will understand why I put it here. I really find the story in the lyrics kinda chilling (the story might actually be true if I remember correctly). And I love the riffs. I have never grown tired of this song. Alanis is one of the most underrated musicians of my time.

Ice, Ice Baby – Vanilla Ice: The first *CD* I ever owned. Got it as a joint gift with my first portable CD player. Also the song that made me realized that I might just sometimes be ridiculed for the choice of music that I may like (as I am with Kelly Clarkson now).


]]> http://joelmarcey.com/2009/08/06/10-songs-that-have-made-an-impact-on-my-life/feed/ 0 Top 25 Played Songs In My iTunes Collection As of April 2009 http://joelmarcey.com/2009/04/07/top-25-played-songs-in-my-itunes-collection-as-of-april-2009/ http://joelmarcey.com/2009/04/07/top-25-played-songs-in-my-itunes-collection-as-of-april-2009/#comments Wed, 08 Apr 2009 05:17:06 +0000 Joel Marcey http://joelmarcey.com/?p=316 It has been about a year since I posted a list of my favorite music at a given point in time. I always like these sorts of lists because it gives me a chance to reflect on my personality when it comes to music. I also like when I see other lists like this because it reminds me that I am missing a bunch of great songs in my music collection, even though I have well over 3000 songs. So I go and buy some.

Anyway, I was looking at my iTunes playlists today and found one called “Top 25 Most Played”. I looked in there and was surprised what I saw. Now these are the most played since I moved my music to iTunes in May 2008. Here is the list:

  1. Last Name — Carrie Underwood (Played 33 times)
  2. Walk Away — Kelly Clarkson (31 times)
  3. Life Wasted — Pearl Jam (29 times)
  4. SIgned, Sealed, Delivered — Stevie Wonder (25 times)
  5. All Mixed Up — 311 (25 times)
  6. Killer Queen — Queen (24 times)
  7. Hello (American Idol Performance) — David Cook (21 times)
  8. Seasons of Love — Rent the Musical (20 times)
  9. Comfortably Numb [Live] — Roger Waters with Van Morrison (19 times)
  10. Gloria — Van Morrison (18 times)
  11. Because of You — Kelly Clarkson (18 times)
  12. Killing Me Softly With His Song – Fugees (16 times)
  13. Since U Been Gone — Kelly Clarkson (16 times)
  14. Drops of Jupiter — Train (16 times)
  15. No Diggity – Blackstreet & Dr. Dre (14 times)
  16. Higher Ground – Stevie Wonder (14 times)
  17. Don’t Know Why – Norah Jones (13 times)
  18. Wanted Dead or Alive – Bon Jovi (12 times)
  19. Jump Around — House of Pain (12 times)
  20. Illusion, Coma, Pimp and Circumstance – Prince (12 times)
  21. It’s So Hard To Say Goodbye — Boyz II Men (11 times)
  22. Don’t Let Love Go — En Vogue (11 times)
  23. Upside Down — Jack Johnson (11 times)
  24. Behind These Hazel Eyes — Kelly Clarkson (11 times)
  25. Verse Chorus Verse — Nirvana (11 times)

(Moving up quickly: Independence Day — Martina McBride, Kiss from a Rose — Seal, Alone — Heart, On the Other Side of the Truth — Sex Police, Animal — Pearl Jam)

So what does this list show? Well, that I have a pretty diverse musical taste. I like American Idol (yes, I admit that with no shame). Kelly Clarkson seems to be my favorite artist (although it really is Pearl Jam). And…..that I let my kids listen to the Curious George Soundtrack a little too much (WHAT THE HECK IS JACK JOHNSON DOING IN HERE :) )


]]> http://joelmarcey.com/2009/04/07/top-25-played-songs-in-my-itunes-collection-as-of-april-2009/feed/ 0