Greetings and salutations, everyone. I know this is turning into a misguided music blog but music is my love and passion, so I'm consuming it at thrice the average rate I used to consume it. Because of this, I'm going to do a list on the top ten songs I have heard this week. These are songs I really haven't heard or paid attention to prior to just recently. I have fallen in love with these songs and have been trying to study them. This includes the ever so tranquil strains of Motorhead to the brash and dissonant caterwauling of Richard Strauss. I think I got that right. Anyway, here is a comprehensive list of the top ten most epic and splendiferous songs in the world that have ever existed. That is, at least to me and my vain solipsism this week. I'm the centre of the universe, so it doesn't matter anyway. Please feel free to check some of the songs out if you feel compelled to do so. If you don't want to, then there is a great band called Creed that I recommend you can listen to. They will fit you and your bitter heartless personality perfectly.

1. Friend Hospital (Nada Surf)

This is my new favorite song, seriously. The lyrics are a bit complex and seemingly nonsensical, but the chorus makes the meaning of the song perfectly clear. It's kind of a bittersweet relief and acceptance over a relationship that the singer wanted, but never could have. Despite this, he realizes it's probably for the best that this friendship stays where it is, so that he doesn't lose her from his life. The open strings played on the main riff behind the bass notes on the tenth fret give the song an odd sort of relaxing tension. The harmonies are smooth and flowing and the whole song demands repeated listening.

2. Mexican Chef (Xenia Rubinos)

There is an odd catchiness to this song that makes it stuck in the listener's head for days after listening. I'm a fan of the clever and intelligent lyrics imposed over the catchy melody. The retro sounding crunchy guitar over the bass gives the funky bass line a freer feel. Rubinos is a free spirit and it is evident in her music.

3. I'm Not An Angel (Halestorm)

Undoubtedly my favorite modern metal group, Halestorm have a myriad of songs that I like. They may have better ones like "Mayhem" and "I Miss the Misery", but theres something about this powerful acoustic number that vibrates with me. Lzzy Hale is easily one of rocks best vocalists and she puts her voice to use here. This song is something of a demented waltz of dark and confused feelings. It gives me chills every time I hear it and that's really what I look for in a song as well as a refrigerator.

4. Frankie Sinatra (The Avalanches)

Upon first listen, this song's kind of just a calypso sounding ear worm. But it won't get out of your head and that's what makes it so great. It uses a similar beat that "Clint Eastwood" by Gorillaz puts forth, and largely samples the chorus from "Bobby Sox Idol" by Wilmoth Houdini. Once you listen to this, you won't get it out of your head for days. Even if you want it to stop tormenting you. It won't listen. It's a pleasant torment for me though, since I actually like the song. The song has two prominent nonsensical rap verses by MF Doom and Danny Brown, and insults Frank Sinatra's inability to sing calypso music. This must have taken Sinatra years to recover from. I'm not such a huge fan of the music video though. It's like someone decided to make American Horror Story: Duck Dynasty.

5. How Can You Really (Foxygen)

This one sounds like some sort of early 1960's throwback, but it's really pretty recent. I discovered this one on the Sirius XM station, The Loft. The vocals are weaker than I would care for them to be, but other than that I don't have many complaints. The song sounds like something done by Martha and the Vandellas, but done with a light male voice instead of a powerful female one. I wish the mixing on the song was done to a more complete extent and the vocals were sung with more presence, but maybe that was done to get the song to sound more like something from the 60s, like most of Foxygen's material. They have other songs that are smooth and amazing and worth listening to as well. It's not the manliest sounding band name though. I feel like I have to type something more manly because I'm losing testosterone just by saying that name.

6. Love Me Like a Reptile (Motorhead)

Yes! Mancard regained. Motorhead are one of the more entertaining groups to listen to. They're like the Ramones, but more metal sounding. With Lemmy Kilmster's unfortunate passing earlier this year, I've been on a Motorhead kick recently and this is one of my favorite songs by them. Its not as overstated and well revered as "Ace of Spades" or "The Game", but it's a real rattler in terms of rock energy. The guitar work is excellent, with a guitar solo that sears over the jumping distorted rhythm section. The song doesn't seem to be three minutes and is interesting enough lyrically to make someone pay attention, but ultimately has no memorable qualities. The way music should be. RIP Lemmy.

7. (Stop) Just Love (Us The Duo)

In terms of husband and wife musical duos, few harmonize quite as well as this recent group. Most of their songs consist of covers, but they do have a fair share of masterful originals, like this one. "Just Love" starts out slowly with hanging chords and a lulling vocal melody, then kicks into a jumpy and poppy melody that is sure to be stuck in someone's head for days to come. I know what you're thinking, after Motorhead, nothing musically compares and the list should basically be over, but Us The Duo are great in their own right, with voices that are, dare I say it?... better than Lemmy Kilmster. But in all seriousness, Us The Duo are one of the more delightful sounding groups around today.

8. Slip Inside This House (13th Floor Elevators)

Here's another group to which I've been addicted to listening. They're a late sixties psychedelic band. Their album, Easter Everywhere, has become one of my top albums. Perhaps the strongest track off the album to me is "Slip Inside This House", which is the albums' opening song. It's an eight minute rocker with a unique sounding guitar intro and an all around imaginative sounding aura. The band sound like Jefferson Airplane were planning to play a festival, but then the lead vocalist Grace Slick got sick so the band, stoned and out of options, decided to take the TARDIS to fifteen years in the future and get the lead singer of REM Michael Stipe to join them. That's the best description I can give of their sound. It's a one of a kind catchy sound. Plus, and I may stir some controversy saying this, but they without a doubt have the greatest jug player in the history of rock music. Hands down.

9. Lifeguard Sleeping, Girl Drowning (Morrissey)

Since I am addicted to the Smiths and Morrissey, it's impossible for me to make any kind of list without something pertaining to them. If I made a list about the whitest kinds of golf balls, then somehow I would talk about Morrissey's aspiring golf ball making company that never will exist. The point is I could listen to Morrissey and the Smiths all day. Anyway, I have recently purchased the album Vauxhall And I and was overall impressed with it. One of the songs that caught my attention was "Lifeguard Sleeping, Girl Drowning", which is a genuinely grimly hilarious song. Though it's obvious Morrissey has lost his voice on the track, he still manages to get the message across. The song seems to focus on a girl that is drowning and dying, but proclaiming she is "always looking for attention" and asking "who does she think she is?" The lifeguard obviously has no need or requirement to save her because he had such a busy day and this girl obviously deserves to drown, because forget her. Actually, the song does have a clever social message, in that the girl drowns because she is expanding herself and fighting against the tides, and the lifeguard not saving her symbolizes society frowning upon that. Morrissey's insensitivity and pompousness really drive the humor of the song home though.

10. Also sprach Zarathustra (Richard Strauss)

Yes, on top of contemporary music, I do have a passion for classical music as well. Although classical is a bad generalization, because Richard Strauss really was prevalent in the Romantic and Pre Modern eras. This piece by him has become one of my favorites due to its mystery and grandiose theme. It is a musical interpretation of Freidrich Nietzsche's book that Strauss imaginatively stole the name from. Though the song has about three stops, it is one continuing piece for half an hour. Each movement is a different chapter of Nietzsche's book. Ignoring the philosophers views, the piece itself is wondrous and reflects the mystery of the universe. The intro is incredibly famous as the theme song to 2001: A Space Odyssey, but the song has much more to it than that. Perhaps my favorite part is the ending, which ends on the fourth of the key signature. This feeling of not being resolved gives further mystery to the piece and the vast endlessness of the universe.