My 25th Favorite Song of All-Time

OK folks, we’re in the top 25.  From here on out, these songs are essentially vital to my existence as a human being.  I privately refer to them as my “anthems”, although I suppose it is now publicly, as well.

And my 25th favorite song of all-time is:

“Is There a Ghost?” by Band of Horses

Shortly after moving to Erie, I was perusing upcoming concerts in the Cleveland area, as I wanted to take more advantage of my proximity to that city.  I came across a listing for Band of Horses, a band I had never listened to but that had been swirling around my periphery for quite some time.  I decided it was worth looking into, and I downloaded a few Band of Horses albums.

The first song of theirs I heard was “Is There a Ghost?”, and I knew immediately that I was in love.  The song swells from a quiet, mystical twinkling to an epic rush of meaning; lyricist Ben Bridwell uses a few simple repetitions that seem to circle back on themselves, meaning-wise, in a clever, profound way.  And, having just moved to Erie and left all my loved ones behind, the lyrics and the tone of the song seemed to be written exactly for me.  If I was a musician, I would have written this song even before Band of Horses did.  Make sure to watch the phenomenal live version below the studio version: