Songs of the Moment 5/22/10 - My Favorites From Your Favorites

Here I am coming at you with another round of fine tunes, but this week's a bit different. I'm usually putting songs up from groups you've probably never heard of. I love my unique selection of bands and love sharing the lesser-known, yet undeniably deserving artists with you, but I'm trying something different this time. With this post, I'm taking some of the bands you guys generally seem to love the most and I'm gonna let you know which of their songs are my favorite. Out of these songs, four of them are in my top ten most played songs on iTunes so you better be excited. Do me a favor and leave me a comment where you let me know which songs you enjoy most from these artists because I'm interested in finding out, truly. :)

1. Brothers On A Hotel Bed - Death Cab For Cutie
"Now he lives inside someone he does not recognize when he catches his reflection on accident."
In my mind, this is one of the most emotionally powerful songs in existence. It has made me cry on multiple occasions, no lie. The lengthy piano intro, the background ambience, the drum beat that comes in, the lyrics. It's all perfect. Many other Death Cab songs are absolutely amazing, but this one definitely has them beat.
Other favorites: Transatlanticism, Title and Registration, Passenger Seat, The Ice Is Getting Thinner, Steadier Footing


2. Campus - Vampire Weekend
"How am I supposed to pretend I never want to see you again?"
This is one of the grooviest bass lines I know, too bad it's extremely hard to play. The beat is so infectious and it's got a great summer feel to it that I know I will be enjoying over the next few months. Vampire Weekend really have a lot going for them with their unmatched diversity and skill.
Other favorites: A-Punk, M79, California English, Taxi Cab


3. It's All Understood - Jack Johnson
"I read somewhere that you've got to beware. You can't believe anything you read."
I honestly don't like Jack Johnson's style all that much. His acoustic melodies...his lyrics (Who sings about Banana Pancakes!?) In fact, when my ipod was finally filled up to its max, Jack Johnson's stuff was the first I took off. Others really enjoy him and his relaxed style, but I'm not overly impressed. There are a few songs, however, that I'm in love with. It's All Understood is by far the best in my opinion. Notice it's one of the few that doesn't depend entirely on acoustic guitar and simple words.
Other favorites: Cookie Jar, Do You Remember, Better Together, Lullaby


4. Love Is The End - Keane
"I still do depend on you."
This song is extremely special to me. It's my second most-listened-to song at 180 complete playthroughs. I'm pretty dissapointed with Keane's new album. I just think bringing a rapper in completely ruined their unique style, and the songs without the rapper aren't all that great either. That aside, Keane is one of my favorite bands EVER. They are probably my second most played artist as well. This song is so heartwarming for me. It's sad, yet hopeful. I love that. Enjoy!
Other favorites: Your Eyes Open, You Don't See Me, Hamburg Song, Spiralling, Somewhere Only We Know


5. Misguided Ghosts - Paramore
"Now I'm told that this is life and pain is just a simple compromise so we can get what we want out of it."
I've seen these guys live...twice! Unfortunately, they didn't play this song either time. I'm glad it's not super popular like The Only Exception (my close second pick here) because that kind of makes it special for me to like it so much. There are so many Paramore songs that are fighting for this position because Paramore really won me over with their flawless last album. I'll include my recording of The Only Exception here from the concert a few weeks ago, which was one of the best nights I've ever had. Thanks Kim and Casey!
Other favorites: The Only Exception, That's What You Get, Misery Business, Born For This, Brick By Boring Brick


6. Natural Anthem - The Postal Service
"I'll write you a song and it won't be hard to sing..."
Same singer as Death Cab here, but a different, equally popular band so I figured I'd include them. They only have one album plus a few songs, but all of the tunes are pretty popular. I have never seen someone point this one out as a good one though. As for me, it's the very best. Natural Anthem is a musical masterpiece. The violins, the drums, the bass, the other strange sounds. This combination is so epic. And then when Ben Gibbard comes in for a short and sweet bit of words, I get the chills. Awesome!
Other favorites: Nothing Better, Be Still My Heart, Brand New Colony, Sleeping In


7. On The Wing - Owl City
"We can go anywhere."
I've been kind of sick of all the Owl City hype going on lately. Fireflies really isn't THAT good...sorry to those who disagree. Sure I think they've got a nice style and there are some tunes I really enjoy, but are they overrated? A bit. Still, here's my pick from them, a super sweet song that has an awesome atmosphere behind it. I'm sure you know this one if you know Owl City at all, so I guess there aren't any surprises with this one as there might be with these other favorites.
Other favorites: Hello Seattle (Remix), Cave In, Meteor Shower


8. Running - No Doubt
"Me, I'm the one you chose. Out of all the people, you wanted me the most."
I've found that No Doubt holds a strange place in the world of music. A surprising amount of people that I've talked to don't know who they are, but know their songs very well. That was the case with me...then the No Doubt concert three days short of exactly one year ago became my first concert ever and I've been to three more since then. Gwen Stefani is one of the most funnest performers out there and I really admire her after seeing their awesome gig on that special night. This song was a big highlight that night, and I've loved it ever since. It's one that isn't a huge hit, but should be. Tell me what you think.
Other favorites: It's My Life, Simple Kind Of Life, Sixteen, Ex-Girlfriend, Just A Girl


9. Sleeping Lessons - The Shins
"You're not obliged to swallow anything that you despise."
This is really the only song I've loved from The Shins. Their style just isn't so much their type. Still, I'm sad they've split up and was enjoying the change I saw them starting to make with their last album. I love the progression in this song and all of the unique sounds it involves. I can't say I've ever heard a basketball bouncing in a song (or whatever that is at the very beginning)...oh and high school musical doesn't count.
Other favorites: A Comet Appears, Turn On Me, Phantom Limb

10. Spaceman - The Killers
"I'm looking forward to this life I live."
I have Rock Band to thank for this one, I love myself some fake drumming with this song! The new style The Killers took upon themselves is definitely quirky, but I am in love with the new electronic feel it offers. Spaceman is uber catchy and is possibly the best-ever song to karaoke to.
Other favorites: All These Things That I've Done, Human, Somebody Told Me, When You Were Young


11. The Scientist - Coldplay
"You don't know how lovely you are."
While I enjoy the later changes that The Shins and The Killers made to their style, I'm less appreciative of the new identity Coldplay has taken on. I loved the song Viva La Vida, don't get me wrong (funny story: first time I ever heard it was actually in a German hotel lobby, awesome!), but the rest of that album just hasn't been able to grow on me like the earlier ones did so easily. My favorite is from the early Coldplay, the better Coldplay in my opinion. This song has one of the best piano/vocal combinations ever composed. Chris Martin's talent is so clearly portrayed...I can't get enough.
Other favorites: Don't Panic, Amsterdam, What If, Yellow, Shiver, Spies
(embedding has been disabled on this one, but you absolutely must check out the music video) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmjPrdTNxQ0

12. Time Is Running Out - Muse
"I wanted freedom, bound and restricted. I tried to give you up, but I'm addicted."
Here's another group I saw live. That was the best concert of all time right there. This song holds more significance in my life than most others. It was the song that first got me interested in Muse (now one of my favorite bands), it was the song that inspired me to start playing bass guitar, it was the first song I ever learned on my bass guitar (on Christmas day), and it is played by my favorite bassist and overall musician in the world: Chris Wolstenholme. Seeing it live only increased my love for it. I've got a bit of the song recorded that I will include here. The moment was so perfect: for the entire concert, the Muse guitarist/singer Matt Bellamy was on my side of the arena and Chris was on the far side. For this one song he decided to switch Matt to come to our song when he played this one song! He had a shiny orange (my favorite) bass guitar to boot! I had the chills so bad right then...
Others favorites: Hysteria (best bass line in the world and an EXTREMELY close second), Knights of Cydonia, The Resistance, Showbiz, Assassin, Space Dementia


13. You Could Be Happy - Snow Patrol
"Is it too late to remind you how we were?"
Chasing Cars, Chocolate, Set The Fire To The Third Bar are amazing songs, don't get me wrong, but Snow Patrol has much better songs. Trust me. My personal favorite is You Could Be Happy, another one of my most-played songs of all time. It's not like anything else from the band. All it has is some sort of music box sound, a bass guitar, violins, a cello, and a tiny bit of acoustic guitar. Not at all like the rest of their tunes, but strangely superior in my mind. This one's a regretful song, but the words and sounds are so enticing. I just keep coming back.
Other favorites: Run, The Golden Floor, Set The Fire To The Third Bar, Make This Go On Forever, Chasing Cars, It's Beginning To Get To Me