For the past two years or so, I listen to all over my music in iTunes, and that’s about 40G or some 9000 songs. Ironically, the majority of music I listen to these days is Jazz, yet amongst the top 25 songs that I have played since installing iTunes, none of them are Jazz. They are mainly pop, rock, R&B, and a little reggae. This seems a bit contradictory, but there’s a logical explanation.
Ever since I was probably 10 years old, I have always listened to music to fall asleep. There have only been a few brief interludes in this behavior since. As a matter of fact, I think my biggest concern about going to college and living in the dorms was how I would fall asleep at night if I couldn’t listen to music.
In any event, I explained in earlier posts my theories on Music and Somnolence and on what makes us attracted to music. The fact of the matter is that I really can’t sleep if I am listening to Jazz, with the exception of Jazz songs (meaning Jazz with lyrics). Jazz makes me think, gets my mind moving. I can’t even listen to Jazz when I am writing or reading. It distracts me. It gets my mind going, and takes me far away. I listen to Jazz before going to bed, when I wake up, but never when I am working or when I want to turn off my brain.
On the other hand, when I listen to lighter music with lyrics, I let someone else do the thinking for me, and I quietly fade away into the world of dreams and slumber.
So, basically what happens is that I prepare play lists for going to sleep at night, and these songs are what end up becoming the top 25 played. When I look at the list, I find it kind of funny because I really don’t remember listening to these songs that much. Because I generally only hear a few before I actually fall asleep, I don’t actually listen to more Jazz than I do these other genres of music.
My list of Top 25 includes a bunch of songs from the Garden State soundtrack, I suppose because those are some of my favorites for ascending towards sleep. Here is the list:
- I Just Don’t Think I’ll Ever Get Over You: Colin Hay
- Time after time: Cyndi Lauper
- Both Sides Now: Joni Mitchell
- The Blower’s Daughter: Damien Rice
- Rocky World: Daniel Lanois
- Walk on by: Dionne Warwick
- Against all odds: Phil Collins
- One of These Things First: Nick Drake
- Alfie: Dionne Warwick
- Love me still: Chaka Khan
- More Than This: Roxy Music
- Blue Eyes: Cary Brothers
- Such Great Heights: Iron & Wine
- People in search of a life: Marc Dorsey
- La canzone del sole: Lucio Battisti
- Norwegian Wood (This bird has flown): The Beatles
- The Man I Love: Herbie Hancock (sung by Joni Mitchell)
- Small world: Joe Higgs
- Save me, Susheela Raman
- You’ve got to hide your love away: The Beatles
- Anyone who had a heart: Dionne Warwick
- Sadness is a part of my heart: Joe Higgs
- Sometimes: Daniel Lanois
- What’s So Funny ‘Bout Peace, Love and Understanding?: Nick Lowe
- Baby can I hold you: Tracy Chapman
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