Recipe for a Favorite

Anytime I get asked for my favorite song, I always have a hard time deciding which one is my favorite-- I usually cannot come up with one... ultimate favorite. A question of my top 10 songs was posed to me a while back, perhaps as long as a year ago, but I could not stick to a list of 10. Needless to say, it was more like 30 or 40. Now if I could narrow the field into several musical categories, maybe I have a shot of giving one my favorite heavy metal song, my favorite piece of classical music, or even give one my opinion of the best Beatles hit. Maybe.


But what makes a song great in our mental soundtrack? What makes it special for us? Does it move us, emotionally or even physically? Does its transport you back to a specific place and time? Does it remind you of a certain someone? Or does one like the way the music is put together? Well, all these questions are valid ones and any answer will suffice, because anyone's favorite is their own.

For me, it boils down to this-- when listening to a song, if I get the chills, it's a good song. I don't know why it happens, but if a song gives me a nice case of the goosebumps, it's a keeper. This morning however, Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin, moved me beyond mere goosebumps and head-bobbing. This piece had me up and around my bedroom, waving my arms like a crazed conductor, singing to the beautiful notes of the french horn and forceful rhythms of Gershwin's magnum opus.

I don't know why it happened, but I can now say Rhapsody in Blue is my favorite piece of classical music. I think it has everything that a classical song should have: sweet melodies, gorgeous accompaniments, and powerful staccato textures, all overlaid upon a piano solo- it is a piano concerto for orchestra if you want to get picky. It tells a specific story, that of New York City and you can essentially hear the hustle and bustle of The Big Apple Gershwin put to music. It's not split into movements as it's a stand alone composition. One will hear the subtle intonation of the woodwinds, most notably the clarinet at one point, and then it's balanced with a vigorous and robust finale.

From a personal standpoint, when listening to it, it brings back particularly pleasant memories. I once listened to it on a trip to Mexico back during my undergraduate days. I can see Monterrey's Cerro de la Silla in my mind. And then I remember the time when I watched Fantasia 2000 with my daughter when she was a toddler. Each is a treasured memory.

Prior to this reckoning, I've said that Stravinsky's Rite of Spring was my favorite classical song, if you will, with the first movement of Beethoven's 5th Symphony right there as well. But haven't spent the day thinking about it, I am quite satisfied with Rhapsody in Blue being my favorite classical song.