The five hundred fifty-sixth song: In the Air Tonight - Phil Collins
There's a sadness and longing in the lyrics of this song that plays well with the unsettling musical choices in it - rather than a plain ballad, it applies a lot of effects on the vocals, creating an echo and what feel like shifts in location that become quite powerful as the track plays on. It means the appearance of the heavy drum track is underscored as much, really strengthening the sound of the lyrics in the mix.
The five hundred fifty-seventh song: Edge of Seventeen - Stevie Nicks
For a song about death and loss, there's a remarkable amount of energy in the lyrics, a feeling of being at peace with it even as the sadness is present in the lyrics as well. It's esoteric, allegorical and a nice amount of slightly off that works really well.
The five hundred fifty-eighth song: Via con me - Paolo Conte
Via Con Me is a track that I feel I should recognise, but I feel it's mostly from the use in a commercial somewhere than anything deeper. I've always like the sound of it though, the dark, gravelly Italian lyrics contrasted with some English lyrics that feel slightly off, a fake impression that doesn't really matter. The bridge adds to that, as well as the almost mumbled Italian lyrics contrasting with the English ones - a track that stays intriguing somehow.
The five hundred fifty-ninth song: Under Pressure - Queen & David Bowie
And then a song that I know well enough. It makes complete sense that Queen and David Bowie would work so well together, both from a similar glam rock perspective, and vocally Freddie Mercury and David Bowie support each other so well that it supports the message, an ethereal sound with something darker and more grounding. It still remains an incredibly powerful song.
The five hundred sixtieth song: Our Lips Are Sealed - Go-Go’s
Here we've got a strong, pretty good new wave song, While I don't want to reduce it just to gender, there's a different sound from the all-female band, a lightness a lot of bands going for an androgynous sound fail to entirely reach. It's very poppy, in one of those ways that feels nicely accessible.
The five hundred sixty-first song: Genius of Love - Tom Tom Club
Genius of Love feels defined for me by its oddness, an electronic, beeping track with some strange, distorted lyrics and some odd choice in their vocals. It's a song that doesn't give you much to hold on to, as every time I thought I'd settled in, the track changed it up again and gave me something odd. It's an experience for sure, one that's good but doesn't quite give you all you need to hold on to.
The five hundred sixty-second song: Ghosts - Japan
Ghosts is an apt title for the ethereal, distant nature of the track. While I found their listed album faded into the background, ambient more often than not, the unsettling nature of Ghosts keeps you on your toes far more as the track remains less accessible and more distant, the bells and other sounds feeling like they belong to a ghost story. The tension is present through the track, which is a miraculous sound in its own right.
The five hundred sixty-third song: Tainted Love - Soft Cell
Sometimes it really requires a specific artist's flair to elevate a song, and Tainted Love feels like it wouldn't work without Soft Cell's synth music and specific vocals - a little bit staccato to make it that much more unsettled and, I suppose, tainted. It's just incredibly strong and good to listen to.