Gareth's Song Picks

I’m trying this alternative to the playlist app Jared is using currently. It seems to have a better library of music and it definitely has a better search and UI. I don’t listen to much new music so it wasn’t easy making a list of songs I really liked, that were representative of my tastes as a whole and at the same time were fresh or unknown enough to be interesting to other people.

Oxygene 2 – Jean Michel Jarre
Nothing new, but listening to Oxygene 4 on GTA IV the other day reminded me of this which I like just as much if not more.

Magellan – Mike Oldfield
I recently discovered this guy. This track is from the album The Songs of Distant Earth which he composed to be a score of sorts to Arthur C. Clarke’s novel of the same name. I love Electronica like this that gives a feeling of exploring a distant planet or coasting through a nebula in a spacesuit. Another artist like this is Mark Dwane who I could not find in this or any library. All his music is composed entirely on MIDI guitar and his first album, titled The Monuments of Mars, was inspired by the first photos of the planet taken by the Viking probe.

Endless Wire [Extended Version] – The Who
Their recent album of the same name was pretty good. This is the best song on it.

Mohammed’s Radio – Warren Zevon
This one is from the late 70s but I really like Warren Zevon and I’m not sure if many are familiar with him.

Code Monkey – Jonathan Coulton
The darling of internet music, he’s pretty darn popular but I’m curious as to how much of his music you’ve heard. He has many recognizable and funny songs, this is one of the best. Also of note: Re Your Brains, Still Alive, and Chiron Beta Prime.

Above – Blue Man Group
Not only do they put on a good show, but they make really cool music with weird objects. Plus they did a techno mix of the X-Files theme.

It’s a Dream – Neil Young
In the album Prairie Wind, the third album in a trio along with Harvest and Harvest Moon, it’s a call back to his quite country sound. And that voice… Fried knows what I’m talking about.

Beautiful World – Colin Hay
The lead singer of Men at Work. An upbeat song from Going Somewhere. The alternate version on Man at Work is even more upbeat.

Copperline – James Taylor
A great James Taylor song you don’t hear on the radio all the time. Awesome road music.

Kaneda – Geinoh Yamashirogumi
From Akira, a primal, energetic, evocative number that works to embody the power of a god. This is up there along with all the movie score greats. Also, it’s good for kicking the shit out of a rival biker gang.