8 Songs You Can't Live Without

MichaelWinicki

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"In Dreams" Roy Orbison
"Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" Elton John
"Different Drum" Stone Ponys
"Sloop John B" Beach Boys
"Dreams" The Cranberries
"Day Dream Believer" The Monkees
"I Fall To Pieces" Patsy Cline
"I Only Want To Be With You" Dusty Springfield
 

Runwildboys

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The only song I can think of that I might not have lived, had I never heard it is Happy Birthday to You. :grin:

But on a serious note, there are so many great songs, there aren't any I couldn't live without.
That said, there are some that evoke intense feelings:

Fire and Rain - James Taylor
Kiss and Say Goodbye - The Manhattans
Us and Them - Pink Floyd
American Pie - Don McLean
Drift Off to Dream - Travis Tritt
Crazy - Patsy Cline (Pretty sure I would've come up with this even if you hadn't)
Dreams - Allman Brothers Band
Blues at Sunrise - Albert King and Stevie Ray Vaughan
 
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Reality

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I'd say that's a matter of preference, particularly if the lyrics have deep meaning for you.
There are a lot of vocal songs with meanings I really liked in the past that I can barely stand to listen to now more than once.

Now, if we could pick 100 songs then that would be different. However, as much as I enjoy music, hearing the same 8 vocals over and over would get old rather quickly, especially if I have already listened to them enough to consider them amazing by now.
 

YosemiteSam

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All of mine would have no vocals in them as vocals get tiring over time no matter how well you like the songs.
To me, vocals are just another instrument. My buddy says a song isn't good if the lyrics aren't good. Hell, I can listen to a devil worshiping song (lyrics) and it wouldn't phase me one bit as long as it sounded good.

The fact that they are an instrument is why great songs with terrible singers are considered terrible songs. If the guitar stinks, the entire song will stink.
 

Runwildboys

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There are a lot of vocal songs with meanings I really liked in the past that I can barely stand to listen to now more than once.

Now, if we could pick 100 songs then that would be different. However, as much as I enjoy music, hearing the same 8 vocals over and over would get old rather quickly, especially if I have already listened to them enough to consider them amazing by now.
If the premise here were, "If you could only listen to 8 songs for the rest of your life", I'd be more inclined to agree, but this is more of a "Favorite songs" thread, I think.
 

Runwildboys

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To me, vocals are just another instrument. My buddy says a song isn't good if the lyrics aren't good. Hell, I can listen to a devil worshiping song (lyrics) and it wouldn't phase me one bit as long as it sounded good.

The fact that they are an instrument is why great songs with terrible singers are considered terrible songs. If the guitar stinks, the entire song will stink.
Neil Young isn't a great vocalist, but he's a great artist, with great songs, IMO.
 

Reality

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To me, vocals are just another instrument. My buddy says a song isn't good if the lyrics aren't good. Hell, I can listen to a devil worshiping song (lyrics) and it wouldn't phase me one bit as long as it sounded good.

The fact that they are an instrument is why great songs with terrible singers are considered terrible songs. If the guitar stinks, the entire song will stink.
When I was younger, I had a good friend who could play several instruments and the way he described music was something like this ..

Lyrics are like seeing a beautiful woman, but music is like finding your soul mate. In other words, beauty fades.

Don't get me wrong. I enjoy songs with great lyrics and there are some songs where the lyrics just take the song to another level.

That said, for me, it's simple. A song can have great music with poor lyrics and still be good. A song with great lyrics and poor music will not.
 

YosemiteSam

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Now for the reason of the post. This is like saying. If you could only eat three different foods for the rest of your life what would the be?

You would fight and finally pick them, but after about a month you would be cussing yourself out for picking what you picked.

Here is my list before I start killing people in 30 days over these choices.

Metallica ~ Am I Evil (yes, it's a Diamond Head song, but I prefer the Metallica version of it)
Slayer ~ Mandatory Suicide
Pantera ~ Revolution is my Name
AC / DC ~ Back in Black
Black Sabbath ~ The Warning
Stone Temple Pilots ~ Dead and Bloated
Days of the New ~ Touch, Peel, and Stand
Dio ~ Last in Line
 

Runwildboys

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Now for the reason of the post. This is like saying. If you could only eat three different foods for the rest of your life what would the be?

You would fight and finally pick them, but after about a month you would be cussing yourself out for picking what you picked.

Here is my list before I start killing people in 30 days over these choices.

Metallica ~ Am I Evil (yes, it's a Diamond Head song, but I prefer the Metallica version of it)
Slayer ~ Mandatory Suicide
Pantera ~ Revolution is my Name
AC / DC ~ Back in Black
Black Sabbath ~ The Warning
Stone Temple Pilots ~ Dead and Bloated
Days of the New ~ Touch, Peel, and Stand
Dio ~ Last in Line
I don't think the songs you choose preclude you from listening to anything else. I think it's more like "What 3 different foods do you have to have, as part of your meals?"
 

cowboyec

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8 by 8 different artists...
☆Suspicious Minds,Elvis
☆Ride Me Down Easy,Waylon
☆Georgia On My Mind,Ray Charles
☆Unforgettable,Nat King Cole
☆Try A Little Tenderness,Otis Redding
☆Simple Man,Lynyrd Skynyrd
☆Born To Run,Bruce Springsteen
☆Shout It Out Loud,Kiss
 

CalPolyTechnique

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Cannon The White Stripes
Let’s Shake Hands The White Stripes
Little Bird The White Stripes
Expecting The White Stripes
Little Acorn The White Stripes
Hypnotize The White Stripes
God Only Knows Beach Boys
Mind Mischief Tame Impala
Jive Talk The Juggaknots
Flower in Your Pocket The Arcs
 

Reality

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Your premise is correct.

A favorite song kinda thread.
Your 8 favorite songs and 8 songs you would not want to live without are not really the same thing though.

Suggesting "not live without" implies that music would disappear or otherwise no longer be available to you.

My 8 favorite songs changes regularly since there are millions of songs to choose from and I like music from many different genres.

Now, if I had to choose the only 8 songs that I could listen to the rest of my life, I would definitely choose songs I know I would be less likely to lose interest in over the long term and I doubt any of those would have vocals.
 

Them

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"In Dreams" Roy Orbison
"Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" Elton John
"Different Drum" Stone Ponys
"Sloop John B" Beach Boys
"Dreams" The Cranberries
"Day Dream Believer" The Monkees
"I Fall To Pieces" Patsy Cline
"I Only Want To Be With You" Dusty Springfield
............................
Well they are fine songs Michael....but I can live without them...:grin:
 

Roadtrip635

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I don't know if I could pick 8, seems some would change depending on my mood. These two make the list....

Tom Traubert's Blues - Tom Waits
Telegraph Road - Dire Straits

Texas Flood - Stevie Ray Vaughn would probably make the list, but not ready to commit to the other 5 yet.......
 
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