Gimme Five: Songs You Can’t Live Without

Narrowing down my soul and picking my top five songs wasn’t easy. If for some reason you want to know what kind of music I listen to, here are the five songs I couldn’t live without.

“The Girl” by City and Colour

I could listen to this song until I die, and never get annoyed with it. I bought this song right before going on vacation two summers ago, and listened to it on every flight and every bus ride. Canadian singer songwriter Dallas Green has the sweetest voice I’ve ever heard, and when he repeats the entire song with stronger guitar strumming, I get chils. Every time.

“Beautiful” by Carole King

Everybody has to have an anthem, and this is mine. All you have to do is hit play and BAM! Carole starts singing and telling you how beautiful you are. Some may prefer Christina Agulera’s “I Am Beautiful” or One Direction’s “That’s What Makes You Beautiful”, but Carole King was here first. When I was little, my mom used to wake my brother and I up in the morning by playing Carole’s album Tapestry. Now, with my iPod plugged into my alarm clock, I still wake up to her strong voice and jumpy piano chords.

“Ghosts” by Laura Marling

I’m kind of a sucker for folk music, and my favorite folk musician is Laura Marling. Though her songs tend to be slow and full of sorrow, “Ghosts” is one of my favorite songs. “Ghosts” has a melody that will be stuck in your head for days on end.

“(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” cover by Sara Barielles

When it comes to covers, I have mixed feelings. Some do the original version justice, some are just insulting. However, I absoleutly love Sara Bareilles’s cover of Otis Redding’s 1967 masterpiece. Bareilles applies her well known piano skills to the song, slowed it down, and made it her own.

“Hiroshima” by Ben Folds

This song literally recounts the story of Ben falling while on stage in Hiroshima, Japan. It’s hilarious how detailed he gets, with “blood on the keyboard” and “the rush adrenaline” in his head. Ben is a musician who can write songs of sorrow, as well as humerous and light hearted tunes. “Hiroshima” has a catchy chorus and a constant pounding piano chord that will hypnotize you in instantly.