You know that feeling when you press the shuffle button on your favourite music playing device and it spits out a perfect set of songs that flawlessly describe how your current mood? This happened to me a few days ago and for some reason, it’s been on my mind for a while. There must be some sort of shuffle elves or something out there, because this is obviously some sort of magic.
1. Hammer To Fall – Queen
To me, Hammer To Fall is a track that although is really great to use to get pumped up, shows part of Queen’s signature style; iconic and well-known music that people everywhere sing along to, but that isn’t necessarily as happy as it seems. That really doesn’t change my opinion of it at all though. Queen is one of the most influential bands since the Beatles (in my opinion) and this song just shows just how good even their slightly less well-known tracks are.
2. Forgive and Forget – You Me At Six
From You Me At Six’s newest album, Cavalier Youth (which I reviewed here), Forgive and Forget is yet another track that has a melody that betrays the lyrics. That being said, it’s still something I can relate to. Sometimes you just need a song that embodies how you feel in order to make the feeling go away.
3. Slice – Five For Fighting
Five For Fighting created nostalgia for something I’ve never experienced. Slice evokes a desire to go back to simpler times where music was something more than just something designed by corporate sellouts. It’s a weird feeling, wanted to go back to something that you’ve never felt for yourself. When music speaks of music, that’s when I listen most.
4. Wish You Were Here – Pink Floyd
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NavVfpp-1L4
This is one of the tracks that I maintain a firm belief that no artist can cover and do justice to. Wish You Were Here is the kind of song that makes me feel things I can’t express. If you asked me to explain why I love this song, my answer would be, “Just because I do.”
5. Stay – Mayday Parade
Among the songs that shuffle decided I should hear, Stay is, to me, the most powerful song on the list. In fact, my favourite lyric of all time comes from it: “Oh can’t you tell I haven’t slept very well since the last time that we spoke?” This is the song I turn to whenever I miss someone, and truth be told, that’s pretty much every day.
In the end, I maintain that shuffle is run by tiny little creatures that have an uncanny ability to read emotions and create perfect playlists. Take that, every online service that claims to be able to do it better.
