Get ready to get pensive

A few weeks ago at our "college/young adult church group"--what an awkward name to say every time I'm trying to explain it to people--Matt asked us what were our favorite songs for rainy days--those songs that just put us in thoughtful, pensive, wistful moods. Ideas were pouring out, and I exposed myself as a shameless nerd when I told him (and the group) that I had so many songs I'd just have to make a blog post it.

Well, I couldn't go out and look that nerdy with at least following through with it, so here's my treat of a pensive playlist. If, by the end of this playlist, you find yourself staring into space and pondering the meaning of life, don't blame me. OK, yes, blame me.

--Joni Mitchell, "Both Sides Now." Of course, we have to start with Joni Mitchell, the mother of the moody masterpiece. There's a few other versions of this song, but nothing's as perfect as the good ol' acoustic guitar. (You'll notice it shows up a lot on this list.)

--Paul Simon, "Graceland." Paul has kind of overdone the whole pensive thing throughout his career, but here I think he nails it. There's something about the line "They say losing love is like a window in your heart/Everybody sees you're blown apart/Everybody sees the wind blow." That gets me every time, even though I've never lost love. Unless eighth-grade girlfriends count.

--Sufjan Stevens, "Chicago." Ditto for Sufjan on the whole overdoing it thing--his ponderousness can get pretty cloying at times. But wow--I've been stopped in my tracks quite a few times by this song's chorus and its steady build to the end. It's also great to run to, so it's got that going for it, which is nice.

--U2, "40." These fellas, on the other hand, do that whole thoughtful thing really well. They kind of created that wide-open, epic-sounding feel that pretty much all modern worship music is trying to capture. And why are they doing that? Because to a whole generation, that sound defines profundity. It's the only way they know how to communicate, "Hey, this is really important music." (I'm sure James has written papers on this.) This song was chosen over others like "Where the Streets Have No Name," "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," "Bad," and "Grace" mostly because, well, it's short, and we have some longer songs coming later.

--Coldplay, "Careful Where You Stand." Since Coldplay's post-"Parachutes" stuff is trying reeaally hard to sound moving now that they've decided to become The Greatest Band in the World™, I really prefer their earlier stuff in that department. Like this song from 2000--beautiful melody, sung well, and aside from a stupid chorus, the coziest lyrics you could imagine.

--Stevie Wonder, "Isn't She Lovely." I'm not sure if it's the paternal instinct or what, but this song always makes me feel so warm and happy inside. Maybe that's because it's one of the most unabashedly joyful songs I've ever heard. I especially love the full version, with audio of his baby daughter at bathtime.

--Rufus Wainwright, "The Art Teacher." We're quite a bit less happy now. This song's story is so-so (interesting, at least), but the melody, the mesmerizingly simple piano accompaniment and the French horn solo are all just gorgeous.

--Van Morrison, "Into the Mystic." This was on our wedding CD and played a prominent role in the DVD of our wedding, so it always makes me think of my wonderful wife. (Awwwwwww.) Also, I don't think anyone else but Van Morrison could write a song called "Into the Mystic" and pull it off without sounding a little ridiculous.

--The Beach Boys, "God Only Knows." Speaking of love songs, this one has to be included on any personal poignancy list, if only just for the section from 2:00 through the fadeout. You just wish it would never stop. Or at least go on for a couple more minutes.

--Delirious, "You Split the Earth." I'm pretty ambivalent about them now, but Delirious pretty much had the monopoly on pensive songs for me from ages 14 to 19. Maybe I'm a little too jaded to see the same thing in them now, but they still hold a special place deep down in my heart (*sniff*). The one I really wanted to include was "When All Around Has Fallen," but this was the one I could find online, so this is what you're getting.

--Led Zeppelin, "That's the Way." Didn't think Led Zeppelin had it in 'em to make this list, did you? Well, I'm not going to kid myself--the lyrics to this song are pretty stupid. But hey, it's probably a lot prettier than you thought Led Zep was capable of being.

--Jars of Clay, "Liquid." One of the few songs that's actually on this list mainly for its lyrical content. I'm not generally a lyrics guy, but this is good stuff to ponder on.

--Bob Dylan, "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right." This is actually a brutal breakup song ("You just kind of wasted my precious time, but don't think twice, it's all right.") But I think it's one of the best melodies of Dylan's acoustic work. I don't know anything about guitar playing, but he sounds pretty impressive on that, too.

--Indelible Grace, "Jesus Cast a Look on Me." I've spent more time meditating on the lyrics to this song than any other in the past year. This version is different from the one I have (a quick Google search tells me it's from Red Mountain Church in Birmingham, Ala.) and is incomplete, but it's better than nothing.

--David Gray, "Say Hello, Wave Goodbye." Another meh breakup song lyrically, but one of my favorite singalong songs ever. For some reason, this song's ridiculously long runtime (9:03) makes it so much more meaningful-sounding than if it were three minutes long. I've never really figured out why.

--Lots of choirs, "O Magnum Mysterium." A classic Nativity text set to a stunning melody. I sang this song for three days at All-State Choir camp (yes, I know--we've already established my nerdiness) in 2000, and I was hooked. I've never sung it since then, but then again, I don't think I've sung anything quite like it since then, either.