The Song That Goes Like This

What was your favorite song this year? Five years ago? Ten years ago? Twenty?

What? Seriously? I have a hard time narrowing it down to five songs I like at a time, let alone a favorite. But let's give this a shot, because it's fun to reminisce.

The Beatles - Ticket to Ride
I'll start at the beginning, because that's simpler. I was very small twenty years ago, and a big fan of the Beatles. I remember watching Help! multiple times, and my favorite song was "Ticket to Ride," because I loved the skiing scene and it's a good song. There's a lot to be said for this movie: A cult is after Ringo because he is in possession of a ring traditionally worn by a person who is to be sacrificed to the goddess Kali. They're trying to get the ring off of his finger and escape the cult and it's just completely ridiculous. The early Beatles films, Help! and A Hard Day's Night, are excellent examples of farce. I think that my love for them is why I'm such a big fan of farce and the comedy that goes with it, especially that dry British humor.

Hanson - "This Time Around"
Ten years ago was 2000. I honestly have no idea what my favorite song was at the time, but it was probably something like this. I was a major Hanson fan in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and I still like them but I'm not as hardcore into it as I was then. Obviously, I'm a bit older now. So this song, "This Time Around," was the lead single for their album of the same name. It was released three years after Middle of Nowhere and was the last anyone heard from them for something like five years. Following its release, Hanson left their record label and started an independent label because of some kind of creative dispute, I don't know the whole story. I'm always still a little excited to meet people who like Hanson, because it was such a big part of my middle school and high school years.

Jack's Mannequin - "La La Lie"
Five years ago, I was in college. That would have been 2005, right before I went abroad, so my sophomore year. Right around that time I got into Jack's Mannequin, and "La La Lie" was one of my favorite songs from the album. I think I've seen Jack's Mannequin live more than any other band, which is weird, but they played Elon and opened for Panic at the Disco, so that's cool. I've also met Andrew McMahon twice, and both times he was really drunk.

will.i.am - "What I Am"
And so we come to this year. I don't have a clue what my favorite song is this year, but I've been listening to a lot of different stuff lately. It's easier to look back and say "This WAS my favorite," or "I liked this the most," but when you're in the middle of it, it's tougher. I've decided on this one because it's representative of where I am in my life: I have a new kid, and he has his choices in music, and I can like that music, too. I've started looking at songs to see what the message is and what Calvin can get from it, and "What I Am" by will.i.am is one of the first songs for children that I really like. Calvin likes it, too.

If I take these four songs and look at where I've been and where I'm going, I think it's a pretty accurate depiction of myself. As a child, I listened to what my parents listened to; as a teenager, I found my own music made by people my own age and threw myself behind it 100%; in college I branched out of the mainstream and found music that I could relate to; and now, I've come full circle and listen to music for my own children. Funny how things work out that way.