I like music, but  I am not obsessed with music, and I frequently go for weeks without listening to any.  There have been times in my life when I have been dependant on music to get me through, but I generally listen to it for enjoyment now, rather than as a desperate need.

I am also a confirmed atheist.  I am not spiritual at all.  In saying this, I have a special love for old churches and cathedrals.  It is not so much that I think that the lord has embued the place with his essence etc., but more that the centuries of people praying and believing have left a mark on the place.  You can walk in and feel thousands of people’s love and belief in something greater than themselves, and it is a very uplifting feeling.

Despite not being religious or “in tune with the universe”, nor having a deep connection with music generally, there are some songs that are, for lack of a better word ’spiritual’ to me.  They each invoke different feelings for different reasons, but there is something lovely and special in each of them for me.

I have videos and descriptions of each piece, and you can download the whole collection in rar or zip format -- you know the drill, just for a preview of the artists, to delete within 48 hours, and if you like the music please support the original artists :)

The first is a piece by Bach, the middle piece of a concerto.  It is the song that inspires me to play the violin, so that one day I may be able to play such a wonderful piece of music.  It absolutely tears at my heart, and is melancholy and hopeful and sad and joyful and wistful all at the same time.

I am so envious of Sufjan Stevens, he is one of my favourite musicians and is talented to the nth degree.  I like this song, not only musically, but because of the lyrics -- “I can see a lot of life in you.  I can see a lot of bright in you.  And I think the dress looks nice on you.” Lyrics often seem so bland written down, but in the context of the song they are the loveliest compliments ever.

I love the movie 28 Days Later, and it may seem peculiar to have a song from a zombie movie on this list, but here you go.  It is actually a Catholic hymn, but I love the way it is sung, and it is such a sad part of the movie.  I do love traditional Christian music, and I think that is related to my love for cathedrals -- while I may not believe in a god, the creation of something to honour a deity you believe in utterly and have faith in its existence, is often so uplifting.

Björk.  She could sing the phone book and still send shivers up my spine.  She seems like she would be a fantastic friend, too -- if you don’t believe me look up the video of her about lying poets.

If you listen to only one song on this list, make it this one.  Broken Social Scene owns my life.

This is such a simple song, by Elliott Smith, but heart-breaking in its simplicity.  I think it is one song where you can hear how sad he was, and how tired of life.

I find Norah Jones’ face to be mesmerising, and I love how relaxed and quiet this song is.

Split Enz is one of New Zealand’s iconic bands.  They did a concert with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and released it as a CD, ENZSO.  This is, again, a simple song, and yet it says so much.  The original is nice too, but I have a special love for orchestral music.  It is quite slow, and then oh lordy, the great crescendo…  Perfect love song.

This song reminds me of being eighteen, skipping school and sitting on our sunny balcony all day drinking gin and being depressed.  The anthem of that time: “Maybe I’ve never really loved.  I guess that is the truth.  I’ve spent my whole life in icy clouds at altitude.  And looking down on everything, I crashed into his arms.  Oh Amelia, it was a false alarm.” Despite this, I still find this song beautiful and aching.  Every line is perfect, and this is surely a song that proves that some song-writers are truly worthy of being called poets.

Fiji Baby by Goodshirt is a peculiarly New Zealand song -- Hamilton is an in-joke here (sorry Hamiltonians, I’m from Auckland if it makes you feel better.)  It’s kind of like saying “Let’s go to Perth” for Australians except André says Hamilton is worse.  I’ve probably offended half my readership now, sorry…  It is a fantastic love song, anyway.

One of the worst things about living at the bottom of the world is that so many great indie bands never come to visit because it’s just not profitable.  On this list, I have seen Broken Social Scene, Regina Spektor and Andrew Bird, all of whom I highly recommend.  Regina Spektor is adorable and sweet and one of those perfect people who sound more wonderful live than she does on CD.  I love that she can make an amazing and powerful song mostly out of made up ‘ology’ words and repeated sentences.

I never really got into The Shins, maybe due to my dislike of bandwagoning, but this song is wet Sunday perfection.

Unfortunately I can’t find a video on Youtube for the next song.  It is Sunday by Sodastream, and has the most perfect acoustic guitar playing.  It is calming and soothes my soul.

I find it interesting how different Mike Kinsella is in Owen, compared to some of his other group work (e.g. Joan of Arc or Cap’n Jazz.)  He has such gentle guitar tunes and this song has wonderful, stab-in-the-back lyrics, coupled with one of my favourite lines ever -- “you don’t mean anything to anyone but me.”

The final song is one that never fails to bring joy to my soul, Ethiobirds by Andrew Bird, and I can’t believe I couldn’t find it on Youtube!  As I mentioned earlier, I have seen him live, and it was one of the most ecstatic moments of my life.  It filled me with the same sense of spiritual fulfillment I imagine people who have been touched by god feel.  He played this song, and it is absolutely incredible live, words cannot explain. He plays the entire thing, and loops parts of it over each other while still playing, it is hard to describe but if you play the violin you will understand how mind-blowingly clever and talented he is.

I would be happy to be stuck in a room with him for the rest of my life, listening to him play.

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Do you have any songs that speak perfection to you?

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