Ever since I got an iPhone several months ago, I quit taking my iPod to college with me. My iPod's battery life had been getting short - the only time I could use it was when it was plugged into my laptop. When I returned home for Thanksgiving break, it was different. My iPod took about an hour of being plugged into the wall outlet to wake up. It wouldn't charge in my laptop anymore. It had been dying for the past several years, but now, we're at a point where it depends on being plugged into the wall.
I got my 5th generation iPod in 2004 for my birthday or Christmas. I didn't use it for a while, because I had no interest in buying music with money I didn't have. This was the case until I got iTunes gift cards and saw that Alter Bridge's second album, Blackbird, was to be released in late 2007. I wanted to give it a try, and almost three years after getting it, I used my iPod for the first time.
Since then, my iPod has not only played the music I bought, but also got me interested in different genres of music besides Christian radio music and the old - and great - stuff my mother played in the car. I can credit any music knowledge I have to two sources: my years of playing the piano and the exploration of other types of music I did as a result of checking out artists similar to my existing favorites. Some of their songs joined my iPod in later years. Others didn't - I liked them, but I wasn't willing to pay for them.
Now, with my iPhone doubling as a music player and several Spotify playlists having been made, my iPod is not only on life support but also obsolete. But, in a corny and weird tribute, I decided to give my iPod a full charge and make a playlist for it - 10 songs that will be the last 10 my iPod plays (unless I decide to do this again sometime down the road).
First, a few songs that barely missed the cut:
- "My Last Breath", "My Immortal", "Imaginary", "Tourniquet" by Evanescence.
- "Crashed", "It's Not Over", "All These Lives" by Daughtry.
- "Franklin", "My Heart" by Paramore.
I loved their first albums: Fallen, Daughtry, and All We Know Is Falling, respectively. Another thing they have in common for me is that I found their next albums disappointing (Riot! was alright). I'm not sure what it is - maybe I didn't like how the lyrics seemed toned down in their second albums. I got back on the Paramore bandwagon - I loved Brand New Eyes, and Hayley Williams is the best female vocalist in mainstream music. That's right, I said it. I've more or less moved on from the other two bands. Still, their debut albums served as a gateway to much more.
- "Ocean Avenue", Yellowcard. I also loved the album Ocean Avenue, while not liking some of their subsequent releases nearly as much. The title track gets its own shoutout because 1) I can tell you the lyrics for only this song out of the album and 2) I totally should've played this song during my last night in San Diego and didn't, and this is one of my biggest regrets from project.
- Anything by Meredith Andrews. I own Alter Bridge's entire discography. I can say something similar for Meredith Andrews, my favorite Christian music artist by far. Pensive worship lyrics. Beautiful voice. I own all the albums she's released on iTunes. The reason I left her off The Last 10 is because I didn't know which one of her songs to pick.
- "My Own Prison", Creed. Praying for you, Scott Stapp. You introduced me to the post-grunge genre with Creed. Have faith in God and get your life back together, buddy.
- "Somebody", Bridgit Mendler. I don't think Disney Channel pop is all terrible. Miley Cyrus had some okay stuff while with Hannah Montana, and Sabrina Carpenter from Girl Meets World is batting .250 with me right now. That isn't awful for the overproduced, lyrically bankrupt music that Disney pop sometimes is, and I look forward to giving Sabrina's album a run on Spotify. Anyway, this song was from a DCOM, and while it's very simple musically, the lyrics made me love it. Add that to Bridgit's strong and unique voice, and it led me to check out her debut album... which I didn't like. The diversity of styles was very impressive, but the lyrics and topics covered couldn't have been more one-dimensional. I'm babbling. I'll still give her next album a try.
On to the Last 10, in order...
1. "Undeniable", Mat Kearney. Spoken word from a man who has made it work in several of his songs. This song introduced Mat Kearney to many of his current fans, including myself. There isn't really an artist I know of who's like him, so he isn't a gateway, but songs like this made me want to continue listening to his stuff. He's one of my most played artists on Spotify.
2. "Down To My Last", Alter Bridge. This is my favorite band, by far. Their music has progressed so much since their debut album, which included this song. While these guys have gone from a post-grunge band to instrumental geniuses, this song has a simplicity that I can always go back to when I want to hear some of their happier, more optimistic stuff compared to the heavier material they've released as of late. This may be my favorite song by them that nobody has heard, as well as one of the first songs to join my iPod.
3. "Rush", Aly & AJ. The only Disney artists to crack the playlist! The Michalka sisters' debut album, Into The Rush, was my guilty pleasure for a while. The lyrics in some songs are striking, not completely about boys like Bridgit Mendler's album, and they don't overdo the instruments and production while finishing with two decent covers of well-known songs. I'm not ashamed to admit that it's one of my favorite albums. It helped me give Disney pop a chance. Unfortunately, I didn't like their next album, Insomniatic. Their music - and the girls themselves - changed so much. They went from songs like "No One" to "Like Whoa". It makes me sad thinking about it. It also makes me appreciate this song and album that much more.
4. "I'm Alive", Celine Dion. The Last 10 is a celebration - there had to be at least one song that's overtly happy! This definitely isn't one of Celine's best songs, but it's one that I discovered on my own after my mother introduced me to so much of her stuff. It's a bouncy song with decent enough lyrics of thanks and, if you interpret it this way, praise and worship. The impact of music on me will always be alive.
5. "Healing Rain", Michael W. Smith. The playlist on Spotify I've put the most time into is called "Gone From Christian Radio", a playlist of songs I loved on the radio but don't get played often, if at all, anymore. Many of them were from before I took my walk with Jesus seriously - God reached me through music even then! This one has stuck with me in a special way. Through times of doubt, tough relationships (none of them romantic, just to clarify) and friendships, and a lack of involvement in a Christian community, this song was and remains one of my favorites when I have no other choice but to let my burdens out. Guys, please. Tell somebody. Others will point you to the message of this song in their own special way.
6. "Summergirl", The Mayfield Four. Before Myles Kennedy became the lead singer for Alter Bridge, he was the lead singer in a lesser-known band, The Mayfield Four. His voice, friends. His voice. Click on this sentence to listen to the song - I can't do it justice at all.
7. "If Today Was Your Last Day", Nickelback. Remember how Sabrina Carpenter is batting .250 with me? Nickelback bats about .100. I don't like the vast majority of their songs, but I'll freely admit that some of their stuff, while perishable, is okay. I don't love this song, but it makes The Last 10 because I used it for a class project once - interpretation of a music video. The assignment was the start of me thinking more about the meaning of the music I listened to and the accompanying videos (many of which go over my head). This song indirectly changed the way I listened to music, and for the better.
8. "So Small", Carrie Underwood. I love Carrie Underwood's voice so, so much. She's one of the best aspects about Sunday Night Football and I actually liked her first two albums, mainly because she puts her heart into what and how she sings, no matter what it is. But, some of her recent stuff is so... overdone. Not even her voice can save them for me. Things are looking up, if "Something In The Water" is any indication. I'm hoping it is, because I long for songs like this from her again.
9. "Starlight", Slash feat. Myles Kennedy. Slash, of Guns N' Roses fame, released a solo album where he was the lead guitarist, with a bit of singing from him as well. However, most of the singing came from other artists. The list was diverse - there was Lemmy Kilmister from Motorhead along with Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas. Out of everyone, only one man got two songs with Slash: Myles Kennedy of Alter Bridge and The Mayfield Four. This guy's everywhere in my library. He's by far my favorite vocalist. I love both of the songs that feature Kennedy, but I like "Starlight" slightly more than "Back From Cali" because of the bridge. The bridge, to me, can turn a good song into a great one, and that's what happens with "Starlight".
10. "The End Is Here", Alter Bridge. This is the closer to Alter Bridge's debut album, One Day Remains, and it wouldn't have worked anywhere else. Despite the fact that this song only works as a closer as well as the fact it's one of their weaker songs - even Mark Tremonti's guitar parts seem forced - I added it in because it shows that life, as well as my journey in exploring music, continues until the end arrives. Even as my iPod becomes a relic, life continues. So will my appreciation for music.
After the last song ended, I set my iPod down for a well-deserved rest. I'm not sure what the future holds for it - if I somehow get married and have kids, it'll probably be something I show to them, if they haven't seen it already in museums. It's just weird to think that something that helped me appreciate the beauty of music so much is as good as gone now. That being said, I believe that God brings meaningful people and things into our lives. With time, we eventually leave all our possessions and most of the people in our lives behind while keeping the impact and meaning with us. I guess that's exactly what's happening here.
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