On Music, and What's More, My Favorite Songs of All Time

I've been thinking of music frequently lately. This is, in part, due to the fact that we're planning for "real church worship services" (please read all sarcasm into that phrase, as I do not in any way think that a real church is just about the worship on Sunday morning) that will begin in the fall. A big part of all that planning is the music-- what style, what tempo, what musicians, what key...

The other reason that I've been thinking about music is that I've been taking the time to clean out and organize my iTunes, and I'm once again amazed at the random cacophony that is my musical library. Abba is next to Ani DiFranco is next to Chris Tomlin, and there are still dozens of CD's waiting in queue to be imported. I like it that way.

Music is important to me. More than any other art form, music touches me, makes me cry, reminds me of specific moments in time. I will, I will cry during worship songs in church (and I'll try to hide it for a little while, then I'll give up and just let the tears roll down my face, so be prepared. And thanks in advance for the Kleenex). I'll listen to the same song 3 times in a row when a specific lyrical phrase or turn of the piano catches my ear. I'll make Steve and the kids listen to it, too, and then feel a twinge of disappointment when they don't get it. I'm one of those unfortunate people who are just musical enough to realize they aren't musical enough.

What's my point, you rightly ask? I've been taking a lot of walks this week, and as I walk, I've been trying to put together a list of my top 5 (maybe 10) favorite songs of all time. It's a struggle. I'm not even requiring of myself that I put them in any kind of chronological order (that would be too much commitment for a promiscuous music lover such as I). I simply want to give credit where credit is due: "Joe Musician, you touched my life." I can't seem to narrow it down, though. Too many songs have touched me, made me cry, sung me through a breakup or a breakdown or a breakthrough. But I'm working on it.