The top 10 songs that (kinda) changed my life

1. Life on Mars, David Bowie
I am the product of formerly bohemian parents. As a result I have a wide array of classics stored away in my mind from as early as I can remember. I would go as far as to say most people know this song; it's dramatic, symphonic and theatrical like a lot of Bowie stuff, but it's cloaked in ennui and dissatisfaction, which is I suppose why it touches me so much. I often mention this song when asked about my all time favourites, because it evokes a feeling of childhood familiarity, and tells a tragic tale of escaping to a fantasy world. From the fantastic album Hunky Dory.

2. Metal Heart, Cat Power
Cat Power's Chan Marshall is one of the greatest female musicians of this generation. Her lyrics are stark and minimalistic, and her guitar is slow and clumsy. A lot of Cat Power songs are like sad slow dances, and this one is no different. Very bluesy and melancholy. Listen to the sarcasm in her voice when she re-tools the classic: “I once was lost but now am found/was blind but now I see” This song came to me just before I started college, and was actually packing to move. It was a really transitional period and I feel like this song offered a lot of perspective. The entire album Moon Pix is great as well.

3. In Dreams, Roy Orbison
“PABST BLUE RIBBON” screams Dennis Hopper prior to this song playing in one of my favourite movies: Blue Velvet. Beyond David Lynch's cinematic skills though, I enjoy this song because it's beautiful, sad and makes me feel nostalgic for an era I never experienced. I have a strong sense of anachronism a lot of the time, and this song is a nice escape for those days when I wouldn't mind living in a different decade.

4. Soma, Smashing Pumpkins
I moved to a new town in eighth grade and started hanging out with people I actually related to for the first time in my life. Around this time, my older brother sent me a huge box of his old CD's and tapes while he was away at college, like a modern version of Almost Famous. I saw the intriguing cover of Siamese twins on Smashing Pumpkins Siamese Dream album and gave it a day in court. To this day I'm glad I did. I feel like it opened up doors into a world of musical and psychological exploration. This song kept me company many nights after being out partying or even just laying on my roof staring out into the vast expanse of suburbia. This album is ripped jeans and running around with your friends. The whole album is great, and I would recommend it to anyone.

5. Pink Moon, Nick Drake
I guess it was an “art phase.” For the longest time, I wanted to be an artist. I loved to draw and paint, (and even ended up at Fanshawe originally in the fine art program for a semester.) Prior to that I had a “lost semester” in high school, where all I did was go to parties, smoke, hang with musicians and talk about leaving town. I discovered Pink Moon, the song and album one early morning when I hadn't yet slept, painting. A close friend made a CD of this for me and I'm thankful that he did. This song was like a calm after the storm, and is still a really lovely album to listen to altogether.

6. When You Sleep, My Bloody Valentine
This song is reminiscent of driving really fast on a highway at night. It got me through my first semester in college and reminds me of the summertime. It's from an amazing album called Loveless, that was and is incredibly groundbreaking. MBV make sculptures out of noise and turn it into something beautiful.

7. Sweet Jane, The Velvet Underground/Cowboy Junkies
Both versions of this song are fantastic in their own right. The Velvet Underground do an up-tempo and very jangly version, and Cowboy Junkies do a sad slow lullaby version. This song was not only the first song I listened to in 2010 (New Year's Eve and dancing in my best friends kitchen) but also a song that opened me up to The Velvet Underground, one of my all time favourite bands. Introduced to me by a particularly cool 10th grade photography teacher with a penchant for new wave and art rock, I remain forever grateful. From the album The Velvet Underground and Nico. His words of wisdom? “Don't be a punk, be a mod.”

8. Helpless, Neil Young
Neil Young is one of my dad's all time favourite musicians, and even when I was younger I remember biking around outside my house and being able to hear him blasting After The Goldrush out the windows in the summertime, much to my mom's dismay. It's a great song that's comforting and reminds me of my family and reminds me to remember where I came from and who I am.

9. Sunday, Sonic Youth
Three of my best friends and I discovered a movie called SubUrbia one night while we were all hanging out in my basement, already familiar with Sonic Youth (Thanks to my brother's CD collection) I recognized the slow grungy and slightly uneasy sound. This song played on my CD player many times that summer, and became the anthem for my 16th year.

10. Carnival, Bikini Kill
I lived in a small town that actually did have a summer carnival with creepy carnies and lots of drunk teenagers, but that's not really what this song is about; it's a teenage anthem of skewed ideals and crazy behaviour, a perfect song for me to find at a young age thanks to a friend who was really into feminist punk. A bunch of people and myself went to her place one weekend when her mom was out of town and had the best time; had our parents known we all probably would have been grounded. I recommend Bikini Kill to any girl of any age.