I got this idea (indirectly) from my good friend Michael "Scribus" Griffin. He belongs to a Severed Heads-related listserv where each member does a list like this. I've been wanting to do one for awhile, but don't really want to join the listserv.... so here it is.
I have a lot of musical touchstones in my past that defy this list: For example, the music of The Beatles has been an overall constant in my musical development, but no one song stands out especially. Only a few other bands can really share that distinction in my life.
This was my first "favorite song" from when I was a wee laddie, 7 or 8 years old. Can't stand to listen to it now, but hey, 8 year olds are SUPPOSED to like silly, mindless stuff.
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THE MOODY BLUES -- "Nights In White Satin"/"Ride My See-Saw"
This is sort of a tie. The former from "Days of Future Past", the latter from "Search For the Lost Chord". Both songs were equally influential on me in their own way. The Moody Blues (along with The Beatles and other 60's bands) are what got me through the disco era relatively sane. The Moodies appealed to me, especially as a hormonal teenager, back when I believed that romance and sappy musical poetry were the key to happiness ;)
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THE POLICE -- "Invisible Sun"
My discovery of this song coincided with an era where I was just becoming interested in pop music again after the long, dark days of disco. I will never forget the first time I heard this song, crackling over my short-wave radio on BBC World Service just before "Ghost In The Machine" was released in the States. New Wave was a breath of fresh air to me, and this song in particular is a touchstone in that era...
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U2 -- "Love Comes Tumbling"
Like the above, this marked a profound change in what sort of music I was interested in. This was on the flip-side to the "Wide Awake In America" EP. My tastes during this time were becoming a bit darker, although dominated at this point by classic bands.
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MARILLION -- "Kayleigh"
The drawback of listing this song is that it takes me back to a troubled time in my past. Marillion was introduced to me by my friend, Russell, whose roomie, Troy, I was having a sordid affair with. This was an unhappy time in my life and marriage, but this song (and the album, "Misplaced Childhood") was undeniably influential on me, hearkening back to the "prog rock" era, but having an undeniable dark edge.
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DEAD CAN DANCE -- "Echolalia/Mother Tongue"
I was blown away when I first heard DCD on Peter V's "fat pigeons" compilation. This song really captured my imagination and I scrounged all of the import record stores in Fort Myers looking for any DCD I could find. Of course, 3 or 4 years later it was all released in the States for cheaper :/ Musically speaking, DCD was dragging me into the Goth territory where I hang out today, although the band eventually abandoned their darker elements in favor of a granola and Birkenstock world music approach. Still love them, though.
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SHRIEKBACK -- "This Big Hush"
Another track from the "fat pigeons" compilation (and the original release on their album "Oil And Gold")... not sure why. Truly a profound resonance, though.
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PETER MURPHY -- "A Strange Kind Of Love"
Peter Van Den Eng intro'ed me to Murph, and of course, to his earlier band, Bauhaus. I immediately latched onto this song. I thought it reflected perfectly my private torments. Other songs that touch this same spot in my psyche include "You're So Cruel" by U2, and "Apart" by The Cure, although those songs came much later. From his "Deep" album.
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SPK -- "Invocation (canto to the departed)"/"In Flagrante Delicto"
Two names for what is essentially the same song. SPK really shook up my musical world, and really opened me up to new and wide directions, to harsh noise/industrial and classical-themed Goth. Michael Griffin can take credit for intro'ing me to SPK.
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SKINNY PUPPY -- "Tormentor"
Skinny Puppy (through Michael Griffin) is the band that really grabbed me by the scruff of the neck and thrust my musical interests into the industrial dance music arena. I had heard and liked this type of music before (they played SP at Salad Days in Fort Myers), but this was the key to getting me into the scene more fully.
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DEAD VOICES ON AIR -- "Godesandah"
My first exposure to ambient industrial. Changed my life. The "Shap" album opened up a whole new world to me where I happily cavort to this day. Because of DVOA, I discovered the subtleties of bands like Schloss Tegal, Soldergeist, and Zoviet France.
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DEUTSCH NEPAL -- "Popoule"
One of several tracks chosen by me for the soundtrack of Ohio University's production of Ezra Pound's "Elektra" - Power electronic industrial, but still retaining a lot of beauty. I couldn't believe it when this track was picked for the final production, as I was unsure of how it could possibly be used. (very well, as it turned out)
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(obviously, this is a companion list, but may contain some surprises)
(not the first Beatles album I latched onto, but perhaps my favorite overall)
THE WHO -- "Quadrophenia"
PINK FLOYD -- "Animals"
(...You've got to sleep on your toes, when you're on the street...)
ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN -- Heaven Up Here"
(..My life is the disease that can always change with comparative ease..)
MARILLION -- "Misplaced Childhood"
("..huddled in the safety of a pseudo-silk kimono..")
KEVIN BURKE & MICHAEL O'DOMNAILL -- "Promenade"
(launched me into Celtic music fandom!)
V/A -- "Fat Pigeons" (comp tape given me by Peter V.)
(perhaps the most influential on this entire list. I spent years tracking down every single song on this tape until I had them all on CD)
SKINNY PUPPY -- "Too Dark Park"/"Rabies" (tie)
("scared? You really are?" -- I got these two at the same time. "Too Dark Park" I got for free as a demo tape when I bought a used copy of "Rabies"on CD)
SPK -- "Zamia Lehmanni"
V/A -- "Zauber of Music II"
(I mourn its loss. Was the only one of the stolen CDs that I can't replace. It was a give-away with an issue of the magazine "Music From The Empty Quarter")
V/A -- "Drug Test, Vol. 1"
V/A -- "Death Odors II"
(these latter albums really introduced me to a bunch of new bands and genres)
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