MUSIC: These are the best days of your life

This is what gets accomplished when I study in the library during finals week. (Credit: Lindsay Hansen)

This past Sunday night was dedicated to watching reruns of reality TV and letting my OCD concerning the organization of my iTunes run rampant. I shuffled all 5,047 songs (not nearly the number I proudly owned before my computer crashed this past summer) and reminisced on the periods of my life where a good handful of these compilations made complete and total sense. And here, fellow music zealots, are the five songs that have thoroughly defined me.

The Honorary Title- Cut Short
Hello, high school. You are a place which was only worth going through for my journalism skills, and certainly not my self esteem. When Jarrod Gorbel bemoans the phase of hooking up in the back seat of a two-door seater, all those stupid high school moments seem to fit into the basic equation of growing up. "I just have to say, you look so goddamn good/ I give you crazy mad props, because I know I should." I couldn't have said it better myself.

A Perfect Circle- 3 Libras
My first 'real' relationship is one that ended before I was able to legally operate a vehicle without my mother telling me to maintain the speed limit. Much like that barely happens, (sorry, Mom!) this song is impossible for me to not associate with those few years of my life where nothing really mattered but the approval of a stupid high school boy. I've mentioned my avid love (a complete understatement) for Maynard James Keenan, and this song epitomizes why this is the band from which I will never stray away. When he's shouting "You don't see me", it's like a smell that always brings back one specific moment. What I would do to see him in concert again; too bad he's busy making wine in Arizona. He may neglect to see his genius, but I'll always be thoroughly infatuated.

The Goo Goo Dolls- Slide
Who doesn't know the words to this song? Their last album, Let Love In, was up to par with their original sound, one that I've always been a fan of- but this 1998 song has the ironic connection with death in my crazy brain. The same year this song released was the same year I first witnessed a family death firsthand. My great-grandfather died shortly after all of the family said their goodbyes, and for some unremembered reason or another I associate the lyrical genius of this song to that moment. "What you feel is what you are/ And what you are is beautiful" are the words adorning my senior ad in my high school yearbook, and for good reason. I plan on it being my wedding song, despite its lack of sappy rhyme schemes.

Damien Rice- I Remember
If you've never heard Damien Rice, you need to. He's never had a song on FM radio or been "mainstream", and I've only heard his songs on prime-time television shows or in soundtracks, namely Closer starring Julia Roberts and Jude Law. The awe that's been born from hearing his music continues to make my jaw drop. This song in particular is from his 2002 album "O" is an ode to love and it's impending doom, but in a way that isn't cheesy or annoyingly Hollywood. There's a witnessed progression from "Nothing is taking me down, down, down/ Except you my love" to "I want to hear what you have to say about me/ Hear if you're going to love without me/ I want to hear what you want/ What the hell do you want?" The YouTube video of a live recording changes my life every time I watch it. There is nothing more raw than coming to terms with a failed love.


Dallas Green- Coming Home
Florida is my state of choice, and I've been indebted to my parents since my birth for choosing such a sunny residence. The education system may be less than average, but when it's a gorgeous 70 degrees on Christmas day, I'm thanking my lucky stars I can walk outside in flip flops. I may get annoyed when tourists ask me directions or cut in front of me when I'm driving down International Drive, but the ambiance through the pollution and Disney-adorned billboards is one of familiarity. I will contest that Dallas Green has one of the best voices to ever come forth from a man, and when he sings of his hometown love, I can only relate on a personal level.