I cannot tell you the number of times someone has asked me what music I listen to without them actually getting a good answer.
To me, music is everything. It is that motivating kick to work on homework. It is that eloquent touch missing from a homemade dinner. It is the immersion of memory from a sound you heard years ago. It is the beat that makes you dance like you actually know how to dance. It is that connection you can share with someone while singing a song at the top of your lungs!
My music history started off with my mom. My mom would play Christian pop for me and my siblings while we cleaned the house. During airplane flights, I would listen to the jazz radio for hours on end. From there, I transitioned to the country music my dad would play through the speakers of his work truck. My sister turned me onto soft rock through the RCHP, Jack Johnson, and the Goo Goo Dolls.
Then I got my first iPod. Suddenly, I no longer had to rely on others to play music for me. I could listen to anything and everything I fancied at the moment. I would write down songs I heard at dances to download later from YouTube videos. I would wait in agony for the end of a movie to see the song list. I would carefully select my next fifteen songs to buy with my iTunes gift card, to the point of creating brackets to see which ones were the best.
Throughout high school, my brother introduced to me to rap music and dubstep. My friends would tell me their favorites, and I would listen to every song of their favorite artist in a week. Soon I would know more about that artist than they did. I jumped from Lil Wayne to Boyce Avenue to Taylor Swift, even touching One Direction because that’s what girls liked.
Every day was a chance for a new song. Every moment was a chance for a new beat and lyric to turn my entire viewpoint of music upside down.
When someone asks me what type of music do I listen to, then I have to say everything. I listen to everything! I can’t have a favorite picking between Beethoven and Drake. I can’t have a favorite between Flatland Calvary and Post Malone.
So here is my list of the most defining songs in my life. There are from every genre and each one holds different memories with them. Give them a listen. Everyone can be a banger or an anthem. Never stop listening to music. Never stop clicking shuffle. Enjoy.
Side Note: These are in no particular order. All of them are NOT SAFE FOR WORK. These are not my top 50 songs. These are just 50 good songs that I enjoy a lot.
1. “Doses & Mimosas” - Cherub
2. “Suga Suga” - Baby Bash, Frankie J
3. “Enchanted” - Taylor Swift
4. “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked” - Cage the Elephant
5. “Dani California” - Red Hot Chili Peppers
6. “Elastic Heart” - Sia
7. “Gangsta’s Paradise” - Coolio, L.V.
8. “Mr. Jones” - Counting Crows
9. “The Devil Went Down To Georgia” - The Charlie Daniels Band
10. “All of Me” - John Legend
11. “Love Me” - Lil Wayne, Drake, Future
12. “Gangsta” - Kehlani
13. “Your Body Is a Wonderland” - John Mayer
14. “Banana Pancakes” - Jack Johnson
15. “Howlin’ For You” - The Black Keys
16. “Pray For Me” - The Weeknd, Kendrik Lamar
17. “Stay” - Rihanna, Mikky Ekko
18. “iSpy” - KYLE Lil Yachty
19. “Creep” – Radiohead
20. “God Bless The U.S.A.” – Lee Greenwood
21. “Freeze Frame Time” - Brandon Rhyder
22. “Simple Song #3” - David Lang, Sumi Jo
23. “Light of the Seven” - Ramin Djawadi
24. “Suite No. 1 G Major Prelude” - Johann Sebastian Bach
25. “Hallelujah” - Pentatonix
26. “Higher Ground” - TNGHT, Hudson Mohawke, Lunice
27. “Sabotage” - Beastie Boys
28. “T.N.T” - AC/DC
29. “Blockbuster Night Part 1” - Run the Jewels
30. “White Iverson” - Post Malone
31. “The Hills” - The Weeknd
32. “Shoot Me Down” - Lil Wayne, D. Smith
33. “Black Belts” - Pyramid Vritra, Pyramid Quince
34. “Thinkin Bout You” - Frank Ocean
35. “Sky Walker” - Miguel, Travis Scott
36. “Pray” - Sam Smith, Logic
37. “Yonkers” - Tyler, The Creator
38. “Flexicution” - Logic
39. “Hypnotize” - The Notorious B.I.G.
40. “Boondocks” - Little Big Town
41. “Hotel California" - Eagles
42. “Danger Zone” - Kenny Loggins
43. “Toes” - Zac Brown Band
44. “I think I’ll Just Stay Here and Drink” - Merle Haggard
45. “Song of the South” - Alabama
46. “A Country Boy Can Survive” - Hank Williams Jr.
47. “Chicks Dig It” – Christ Cagle
48. “She Likes the Beatles” - William Clark Green
49. “Long Hot Summer Day” - Turnpike Troubadours
50. “Summer III” – Vivaldi
“You know what music is? God's little reminder that there's something else besides us in this universe, a harmonic connection between all living beings, everywhere, even the stars.” August Rush
