Like many entrepreneurial types, I slide easily into despondency when things don’t pan out as hoped, and self-pity can creep in fast. I don’t smoke or drink much, so music has become my chosen distraction from the harder parts of the day.
When I play these tracks, I feel energised and focused – typing faster, confidence up, sometimes slipping into full Jerry Lee Lewis mode. Good music keeps me sane.
These songs have shaped how I think about life, relate to others, and get work done.
Recent discussions with friends have me convinced that music enables knowledge to flow easily within the brain and that it distracts our minds from ruminating too much – thereby allowing visual knowledge to be absorbed quicker.
With links to YouTube videos, here are my Top 10 favourite songs:
- Where the Streets Have no Name – U2
- Shine – Vanessa Amorossi
- Acid 8000 – Fat Boy Slim
- Fire Starter – Prodigy
- Sometimes You Cant Make it in Your Own – u2
- Private Universe – Crowded House . For moments when it all seems overwhelming.
- November Rain– Guns’n’Roses
- Pilgrim – Enya
- Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of – U2
- And So It Goes – Elton John
This list has been in progress for about 12 months, finally culminating recently after reading the lyrics of #3 for the first time. Yes, it’s no surprise to find 3 U2 songs in that line up.
I’d like to see your favourite songs now. Could you list 10? Maybe 5? 2?
ADDENDUM (6 February 2025)
I have been a radio presenter at 5KIxFM90.7 Community radio on Kangaroo Island since mid 2017.
Which is why the featured image now promotes the merchandise for my new program:
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Interesting reflection about music, music does not have the same effect for me. I did create a list of ten top favorite songs several years ago. The list has changed a little. I would include the haunting Hallelujah in my new list and maybe Joan Osborne’s “What If God Were One of Us?” But, some of my old favorites would remain. “November Rain” is not a top ten for me, but it is one of my favorites.
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Hello Molly Oh, you are so right: Though I’m not sure whose version of “Hallelujah” you prefer, U2 have a version entitled “Hallelujah, Here She Comes” that I do like. Which version are you referring to? There are so many on the internet!
Yes, “What if God Were One Of Us?” has great lyrics that invoke emotion in all of us. Great choices!
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