Finding music that brings peace and hapiness to your life may take even more work than it did before itunes and digital radio. Across decades and genres inspiration and energy can be found if you're open to it and take the time to search. Listed below are tunes I've grown to love and culled from playlists of teachers, friends, associates, and family - great music is out there, go get it.
| Year | Artist | Song | Genre | Description | ||||||
| 2008 | Weezer | Troublemaker | Get it going | One of the great innovative and prolific bands of the 21st century | ||||||
| 2007 | Beck | Timebomb | Parents and kids | Really cool tune by a great artist for all ages | ||||||
| 1982 | Peter Gabriel | The Rhythm of The Heat | Cross-generations | Peter Gabriel's fourth album Security is a great one to listen to when you're looking for an altered state. Try it on a stormy night. |
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| 2004 | Coldplay | 2000 Miles | Great holiday music | Chris Martin plays and sings this Pretender's cover, can't buy it currently but you can see it on You tube |
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| 1975 | AC/DC | It's a long way to the top if you want to rock and roll |
Cross-generations | Bag-pipes and rock and roll have never been used together better. Check out the original video on You tube, what a great scene - Australia 1975 |
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| 2008 | Radiohead | Jigsaw falling into place | Modern day classic | Haunting melody from one of the great bands of today, very cinematic sound | ||||||
| 2008 | My Mourning Jacket | I'm Amazed | Modern day classic | Hard to believe this band is from the South, such a modern international sound | ||||||
| 2007 | Sonny Landreth | Blue Tarp Blues | Country for everyone | A brilliant comment on the innefective response of the US government by the slide guitar innovator from the deep South | ||||||
| 1993 | Big Blue Ball | Whole Thing | Cross-generations | Peter Gabriel's early studio sessions with other artists including Neil Finn Karl Wallinger and Sinead O'Connor created a few cool tunes | ||||||
| 1994 | John Hiatt and the Goners | How bad's the coffee | Country for everyone | John Hiatt is at his best when he can respond to a great backing band. This is the one he used on Slow Turning. | ||||||
| 2008 | Conor Oberst | I don't want to die (in the hospital) |
Country for everyone | The man behind Bright Eyes is prolific and poinant even as a solo artist. | ||||||
| 2008 | Kings of Leon | Manhattan | Modern day classic | After years of work, a successful album has brought the band full recognition | ||||||
| 2007 | Alison Krauss and Robert Plant | Gone, Gone, Gone (done moved on) |
Country for everyone | A seriously eclectic duet that really works. | ||||||
| 2006 | Emmy Lou Harris and Mark Knoughler | This is us | Country for everyone | The Dire Straits front man joins the country legend, great story telling and music. | ||||||
| 2007 | Flight of the Concords | Business Time | Get it going | This song is one of the funniest I've ever heard, especially if you're married. | ||||||
| 2008 | Killers | Human | Get it going | This band keeps putting out good music. | ||||||
| 2006 | Film School | 11:11 | Modern day classic | A new song with a new wave feel, sounds like the Cure. | ||||||
| 2003 | The Weakerthans | Plea from a cat named Virtue | Cross-generations | This Canadian band has been putting out great music for years, picking just one is hard to do. | ||||||
| 1959 | Ray Charles | What I'd say | Cross-generations | Ray's first top 10 single ever, still is a great tune with a great R&B backbone | ||||||
| 2007 | Feist | 1234 | Cross-generations | The song made famous by an ipod commercial, survived the over-exposure | ||||||
| 2009 | U2 | No Line on the Horizon | Modern day classic | The band keeps putting out quality music, Coldplay's Chris Martin calls them the best band there is. | ||||||
| 2007 | Cold War Kids | Hang me up to dry | Cross-generations | A great driving beat, high energy in the tradition of PIL. | ||||||
| 2000 | The Strokes | Someday | Modern day classic | This is one of the best new American bands, from NYC, despite hype from the UK press and the hero’s t-shirt in the Transformer’s movie. | ||||||
| 2008 | Elbow | One day like this | Modern day classic | The Seldom Seen Kid is the band's fourth album, with so many great songs you start searching the older stuff for more. | ||||||
| 2007 | The Maccabees | First Love | Cross-generations | Woody Allen would love this band for his films, great debut album. | ||||||
| 2005 | The Magic Numbers | She don't love me like you | Get it going | British band featuring two pairs of brothers and sisters, if I had a nickel for every band in my itunes library like that! | ||||||
| 1984 | U2 | The unforgettable fire | Cross-generations | Excellent tune for working out, the original album cover art featured a great ultra-violet photo.........shot on real film. | ||||||
| 2009 | Lily Allen | Everyone's at it | Cross-generations | From her newest album, check out the previous album as well for some inventive and entertaining brit pop rock. | ||||||
| 2007 | Cake | War pigs | Cross-generations | An entertaining and original band with a great cover of the Black Sabbath classic. | ||||||
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