So, I realized that I asked the 10 songs before you die question and never gave my own answer. Question can be as easy or hard as you want it. For someone obsessed with many pieces of music, it was torture making cuts. Anyway, here goes:
10 You Can't Always Get What You Want - Let It Bleed. Rolling Stones. My favorite Stones song. Emotional build up makes this song a classic. Might cry. Great way to start off this hypothetical last 10 songs of your life.
9 Echoes - Live at Pompeii. Pink Floyd. Epic. Playing this song in an ancient ruin by themselves is too much. Watch this video, it's amazing. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Roger Waters said he was attempting to describe "The potential that human beings have for recognizing each others' humanity and responding to it, with empathy rather than antipathy."
8 Natural Science - 6/14/97 Different Stages. Rush. A top 10 without Rush doesn't feel right. Was very hard to pick between this and a few other great songs. Natural Science is an epic masterpiece by rock's greatest trio. This song has several different parts to it, and each more poignant than the last. A tale about evolution, the universe, and life open to interpretation gives me something to think about in my time of dying. Pretty much any live version is going to be awesome b/c Rush has given you 100% at every show for 40 years.
7 Green Grass and High Tides - Outlaws. The Outlaws. No offense to these guys but this song is an outlier among their catalog. It's a god damn epic guitar masterpiece though. It might be about heaven, maybe about finding joy in the now. I don't know, but I love it.
6 You Enjoy Myself - 12/9/95. Phish. Possibly the best song by my favorite band. This version is nuts. Such a weird and awesome jam comes out of the composed section. The greatest improvisers ever. Creating new music in a live concert setting is unique and extremely difficult. This is one of those times where it works perfectly. There is a good video of it on youtube and I highly recommend watching it to see what this band is all about.
5 Thank You - 4/1/71 BBC Sessions. Led Zeppelin. Picking 1 Zeppelin song was a daunting task. The album version of Thank You is no comparison to this treat. Vintage Jimmy Page tearing your head off with a transcendent solo. Beautiful. This is classic rock.
4 Time - Dark Side of the Moon. Pink Floyd. Quintessential Floyd song in my opinion. It has everything you could ever want. Nothing else to really say here.
3 Sitting on the Dock of the Bay - The Dock of the Bay. Otis Redding. Shortest song on here. This is one of those songs that I never get sick of. It's frickin simple and brilliant. I will probably cry.
2 Slave to the Traffic Light - 11/26/94 A Live One. Phish. Pure Bliss. This is the most beautiful song Phish has ever written. If I haven't cried yet, it's gonna happen here. One of the reasons I got into Phish.
1 Terrapin Station - 12/31/78 Closing of Winterland. Grateful Dead. Better at performing music live than any other band in history. No other way to end this. A transcendent song about life and death would take me to a peaceful ending. On the 3rd anniversary of Jerry Garcia's death, Phish encored with this song, playing it for the first and only time and they absolutely nail it. As the crowd hears the opening notes, they start to get it. It's pretty f'ing cool.
Let my inspiration flow in token rhyme, suggesting rhythm,
That will not forsake you, till my tale is told and done.
While the firelight's aglow, strange shadows from the flames will grow,
Till things we've never seen will seem familiar.
Shadows of a sailor, forming winds both foul and fair all swarm.
Down in Carlisle, he loved a lady many years ago.
Here beside him stands a man, a soldier from the looks of him,
Who came through many fights, but lost at love.
While the story teller speaks, a door within the fire creaks;
Suddenly flies open, and a girl is standing there.
Eyes alight, with glowing hair, all that fancy paints as fair,
She takes her fan and throws it, in the lion's den.
Which of you to gain me, tell, will risk uncertain pains of hell?
I will not forgive you if you will not take the chance.
The sailor gave at least a try, the soldier being much too wise,
Strategy was his strength, and not disaster.
The sailor, coming out again, the lady fairly leapt at him.
That's how it stands today. You decide if he was wise.
The story teller makes no choice. Soon you will not hear his voice.
His job is to shed light, and not to master.
Since the end is never told, we pay the teller off in gold,
In hopes he will come back, but he cannot be bought or sold.
Inspiration, move me brightly. Light the song with sense and color;
Hold away despair, more than this I will not ask.
Faced with mysteries dark and vast, statements just seem vain at last.
Some rise, some fall, some climb, to get to Terrapin.
Counting stars by candlelight, all are dim but one is bright;
The spiral light of Venus, rising first and shining best,
On, from the northwest corner, of a brand new crescent moon,
While crickets and cicadas sing a rare and different tune,
Terrapin Station.
In the shadow of the moon, Terrapin Station.
And I know we'll get there soon, Terrapin Station.
I can't figure out, Terrapin, if it's the end or beginning, Terrapin,
But the train's put its brakes on, Terrapin,
And the whistle is screaming, TERRAPIN.
