I gave my life to music because of the way these songs made me feel. It had nothing to do with how simple or complex the guitar parts were; it was all about the emotion for me then, and it still is. If a song doesn’t make me cry, it’s meaningless to me. It has to hit that deep emotional place in me where joy, sorrow, anger, and pain all mix together. These songs all did that for me, each in its own way. To be fair, countless great songs have tripped my trigger in the same way. These are just some of the early ones. That’s how I know that music is for me. It has always been a never-ending parade of things to discover and get excited about. Sports or school never hit me in the same way. These songs are merely representatives of their kind to me and not some sort of ’10 Best’ list. Music has never been like that for me. I always saw all the styles as connected more than different and didn’t get why some of my friends liked part of my record collection and not the other. These songs all changed how I looked at the world, in one way or another. What songs did that for you?
‘Folsom Prison Blues’ - Johnny Cash
‘Move It On Over’ - Hank Williams
These first two were the kind of thing I grew up hearing, thanks to my Dad. He loved country music and had a stack of records he would play over and over in the house. Country was the thing that lit me up first; rock and roll came later.
‘Atlantic City’ - Bruce Springsteen
I got into the Nebraska album in college when I was first learning to write decent lyrical songs. ‘Atlantic City’ was always my touchstone song on it and later was the first song I ever played for my wife.
‘Pride And Joy’ - Stevie Ray Vaughn and Double Trouble
This is perfect blues/rock, to me. I was lucky enough to see SRV live in 1986 and 1987, but he became a favorite as soon as I found out about him, which was via this song.
‘Tom Traubert’s Blues (Four Sheet to the Wind in Copenhagen) - Tom Waits
This was my first real exposure to the genius of Tom Waits. A drunk girl at a party who was a huge fan got me interested in checking Waits out, so I bought a cassette of the Small Change album, popped it into the dashboard, and this was the first song I heard. I had to pull over and listen. I have been listening ever since.
‘Allison’ - Elvis Costello
Costello brought me to the idea of writing hook-filled music that was still intelligent and literate. I loved this one straight off and still carry his influence.
‘Johnny B. Goode’ - Chuck Berry
I don’t remember a time when Chuck Berry didn’t make me happy. This was the first of his songs I heard, once again due to deal old Dad, and it made me want to see my name in lights. That hasn’t quite happened yet, but Chuck’s lyrics and guitar playing will always be central to me.
‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’ - The Rolling Stones
I discovered The Rolling Stones in the Fall of my freshman year. ‘Tattoo You’ had just come out and we all loved it. I soon got a copy of the ‘Hot Rocks’ compilation album and this one hit me like a shot of strong liquor, which I also discovered during that year. Still one of my all-timers.
‘It’s Tricky’ - Run-DMC
I loved rap music as soon as I heard it and, to me, Run-DMC was it. Why did I like this track so much? That beat. These guys will always be the Kings of Rock.
‘Head Like A Hole’ - Nine Inch Nails
My old friend and keyboard player Miles Trtanj layed this track on me back in 1989 and instantly created my interest in electronic music. Trent Reznor showed me the power of raw emotion that wasn’t rounded off into flowery verses but put on display like an open wound. This track and ‘Down In It’, from the same album, are rage rock at its best and most true. We loved this instantly.
I could list 100 more songs and artists that gave me the hit of strong emotion that I crave. Each of them gave me a better grasp on how to speak my mind, craft my stuff, and get people to feel the things that I feel. That’s what all art is to me: the transfer of feelings. We disrespect ‘elevator music’ because it has zero emotional content, which makes it the audio version of wallpaper. We can tell, as listeners, when someone is truly being expressive in that good and human way we connect with so easily and when they are just singing and dancing to get money. If this makes any sense to you, lay a few of your your touchstone songs on me in the comments.