Most of these songs are popular; ideally, they would be obscure and new to you, but you probably know most of them; but here they are, a type of song, defined by…”sink into.” The criterion is somewhat unique: the songs are too good to be “background music,” and yet, because the songs have a certain nonchalance, a certain laziness—which can be a virtue in music—they will drift and wash over you, and not demand too much of you; and yet, because these songs are so wonderful, you should find yourself wishing the rest of the world would be quiet so you can listen to them. Maybe you would like to fall asleep to them at night—and if you do fall asleep before the song is ended, is it still then not a good song? Where has a song gone when it still plays, and you are sleeping? Many of these songs seem like they were written for that purpose—for the sleeping, not the waking, brain or ear. The excitement here may be that so many genres are represented—why shouldn’t one be a fan of many different types of music? Music would want it so. Looking at the list after picking these songs, we noticed that very few of them (“How Fortunate The Man With None” the notable exception) pontificate—and this makes them so much more interesting, various and powerful. There really is nothing to say. Music knows this. Science knows this. Math knows this. Humor knows this. Love knows this. What you actually say, is not that important in these areas. The way you don’t say it, though, is extremely important. You just need to look and hear. Genius looks and hears. Meanwhile, the rest of us fret or talk. The songs are in no particular order. They are all good. If you do see a song you don’t know, go on you tube and listen to it immediately, because we guarantee all 100 of these songs are the greatest of their kind. —the Scarriet editors
Fade Into You —Mazzy Star (deliciously insouciant)
Year Of The Cat —Al Stewart (almost like a movie)
A Whiter Shade Of Pale —Procol Harum (Rock and Bach)
Horse With No Name —America (just a couple of flattened sevenths)
America —Simon & Garfunkle (life flowing into melody)
A Day In The Life —The Beatles (the first really transcendent rock song)
Tomorrow Never Knows —The Beatles (one chord will do)
Venus In Furs —Velvet Underground (fashionable amateurism)
Video Games —Lana Del Ray (best pop song of the 21st century)
Cosmic Dancer —T. Rex (glam sweetness)
Nights In White Satin —Moody Blues (most popular song of its type, perhaps)
The Rain Song —Led Zeppelin (this band did not just rock)
Two Thousand Light Years From Home —Rolling Stones (Ruby Tuesday & Lady Jane lost in space)
Alone Again Or —Love (strangely haunting 60s California band)
Riders On The Storm —The Doors (only the Doors)
Claire de Lune —Debussy (needs no comment)
Prelude To The Afternoon of A Faun —Debussy (and modern music begins)
Piano Concero No. 17 (slow movement) —Mozart (Mozart was maybe better slow than fast)
Moonlight Sonata (first movement) —Beethoven (the template of ‘sink into’)
Piano Concerto No. 4 (movements 1 & 2) —Beethoven (maybe his greatest pure orchestral work)
Symphony No. 3 (3rd movement) —Brahms (the majestic, autumnal Brahms!)
Mazurka A minor —Chopin (such a darling sweet piece; Horowitz is on you tube)
Gymnopédies No. 1 —Satie (I could listen to this forever)
Nocturne No. 1 —Chopin (maybe the greatest pure composer of the kind of music on this list)
I Want You (She’s So Heavy) —The Beatles (the lads get heavy and roll)
Daphnis et Chloé, Suite no. 2 —Ravel (classical swoon)
Radar Love —Golden Earring (riding is sinking)
In A Gadda Da Vida —Iron Butterfly (1968. Doors influenced)
When The Music’s Over —The Doors (Persian nights, babe)
The End —The Doors (crawling along)
Season of The Witch —Donovan (must be the season of the hurdy gurdy too)
How Fortunate the Man With None –Dead Can Dance (a meditative masterpiece)
He’s Simple, He’s Dumb, He’s The Pilot —Grandaddy (this song is like flying)
Autobahn —Kraftwerk (doesn’t try to be menacing, heavy, or cool. A pleasant ride)
I Fall In Love Too Easily —Chet Baker (we all do, don’t we?)
Midnight At the Oasis —Maria Muldaur (the 70s schmaltz industry)
Blue in Green —Miles Davis (a trumpet singing from the mist)
Love To Love You Baby —Donna Summer (Song as sex. In poor taste, unless done right.)
Light My Fire —The Doors (when FM radio was supreme)
Your Woman —White Town (the trumpet sample of this 90s tune knocks me out)
Sunshine Superman —Donovan (intricate groove)
I’m Not In Love —10cc (masterpiece of layering)
Guinnivere —Crosby, Stills, and Nash (a girl’s name can be everything in a song)
Across the Universe —The Beatles (John Lennon’s ode to stretching out)
The Spy —The Doors (come go with Morrison into the house)
The Look of Love —Dusty Springield (Bacharach is very romantic)
Us and Them —Pink Floyd (adolescent self-pity given a melody)
Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde —Wagner (swimming in swimming music)
Air That I Breathe —Hollies (this is what love is like)
Adagio for Strings —Samuel Barber (sad never sounded so good)
Air —Bach (The illustrious Bach—inventor of music?)
The Lark Ascending —Vaughan Williams (music that hides on the ceiling)
Surabaya Johnny —Lotte Lenya (German musical theater. Wilde. Brecht. Ja.)
A Day In The Life A Fool —Jack Jones (walking around, lost in a song)
Claire —Gilbert O’ Sullivan (lavish and sensitive)
Poetry Man —Phoebe Snow (there’s a 1967 song called Painter Man. Almost as good)
The Way We Were —Barbara Streisand (Almost anyone can sink into Streisand)
Stranger In Paradise —Tony Bennett (I’m there, Tony)
It Was A Very Good Year —Frank Sinatra (nostalgia lets you sink)
Humming Chorus from Madame Butterfly —Puccini (hushed charm itself)
Sea of Love —Phil Phillips (low budget production can sound luxurious, too)
The Crystal Ship —The Doors (half-slumbering poetry)
Indian Summer —The Doors (the poetry of cheap lounge music; must be Morrison and his band)
Lonely Days —Bee Gees (Melodies, voices, and a subtle heaviness)
First Time Ever I Saw Your Face —Roberta Flack (the first time ever the 70s)
Canon in D —Pachelbel (top 40 baroque classical)
Reasons To Be Cheerful Part 3 —Ian Dury (languish in lunacy)
All Or Nothing At All —Frank Sinatra with Harry James (Great lyrics in a minor key)
Layla –Derek & The Dominos (the formula is simple: great song and then add a great part 2)
Low Spark of High Heeled Boys —Traffic (this song has length, reach)
Lush Life —Nat King Cole (great songs like this usually comment on a whole genre)
Third Stone From The Sun —Jimi Hendrix (a session guitarist to an icon overnight)
Is That All There Is? —Peggy Lee (a little talking can do wonders for a song)
How Soon Is Now? —The Smiths (Laughing gas melancholy)
This Guy’s In Love With You —Herb Alpert (relaxed yet passionate)
What’s Goin On —Marvin Gaye (Studio genius was everywhere during this era)
Me and Mrs. Jones —Billy Paul (wall of sound melancholy soul music)
Space Oddity —David Bowie (One of those songs with everything: production, lyrics, hooks)
Rocket Man —Elton John (lonely outer space song his best ever, except maybe Benny & Jets)
Chasing Cars —Snow Patrol (will you lie with me?)
Transdermal Stimulation —Ween (A slightly “depressed and bored in the suburbs” vibe)
Pavane For A Dead Princess —Ravel (grief shared)
It’s A Sin —Pet Shop Boys (Yup)
Kiss Kiss Kiss —Yoko Ono (Yoko matches the Beatles excitement at times)
Another Star —Stevie Wonder (This artist projects love, pure and simple, like no other)
Hey Jude —Beatles (Paul talking to John, who was losing his mind. Hey John. It’s going to be okay.)
House of the Rising Sun —Animals (Several genre toppers happen at once in this song)
I’ll Be Around —The Spinners (Simple hook genius)
Waterloo Sunset —Kinks (the guitar in this)
California Dreaming —Mamas and Papas (multiplicity of voices is first rate)
Bittersweet Symphony —The Verve (feel like walking down crowded streets while listening)
The Girl From Ipanema —Astrud Gilberto, Joao Gilberto and Stan Getz (do you sway or melt listening to this?)
Time of the Season —Zombies (panting rhythmically to pretty melody)
Crimson and Clover —Tommy James (fin de siecle aesthetics meets trashy pop)
American Cowboy —Jada (Hint of hooker, but more important: hooks!)
The Winner Takes It All —ABBA (Romantic self-pity has never been better expressed)
Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again —Bob Dylan (Dylan kept the long ballad alive, if not entirely seriously)
Melancholia —The Who (Don’t know this one? Best Who song ever.)
White Rabbit —Jefferson Airplane (guitar and vocal sound are so good)
My Sweet Lord —George Harrison (Sink into Beatle/Hallelujah-mania)
