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Thursday, July 22, 2010 at 10:39AM 
the iTunes playlist: Zach Galifianakis
Here are Zach Galifianakis's favorite songs from iTunes.
"Zero and Blind Terry" - Bruce Springsteen (mp3)
This is one of the great stories from the Boss that has always made me cry. I grew up on Springsteen, and he shaped my taste early on.
"Where I'm From" - Digable Planets (mp3)
This Planets song isn't where I'm from personally. But their grooves make tires inflate.
"7/4 (Shoreline)" - Broken Social Scene (mp3)
I can't stop listening to this record. I only wish it was a double album. I saw Eddie Vedder in New York, and he played a part in Walk Hard. My greatest rock 'n' roll moment.
"Paul's Song" - M.Ward (mp3)
This is my favorite Eminem song. He does a cameo in Funny People that is hilarious. This song is about his guilt over working too much.
"Cursed Sleep" - Bonnie Prince Billy (mp3)
This gentleman is a friend of mine, and to me he's the modern Bob Dylan. The two of us made a video for Kanye West a couple of years ago.
"At Dawn" - My Morning Jacket (mp3)
I first heard this song in a small record store in Wilmington, N.C. years ago. I went to a show of theirs years ago where there were about 17 people in the audience. They were so inspiring to me. Later on, I got to sing with them at the end of a four-hour set they did outside of Nashville in front of 20,000 people in a downpour of Southern rain.
"You're Gonna Make me Lonesome When You Go" - Madeleine Peyroux
Best Dylan cover I have ever heard.
"Broke" - Modest Mouse (mp3)
I am convinced these guys can sing about Styrofoam coolers and make it poetic and beautiful. My dream is to write an album for them one day.
"Emily - Joanna Newsom (mp3)
I don't have many favorite harpists, but Miss Newsom is that. She is more than that, of course. Her words in this song make me forget about pain, even though it might be about pain.
"Song to Woody" - Bob Dylan (mp3)
A great American poet singing about another great American poet.
"Pussy" - Brazilian Girls (mp3)
I have watched the video version of this song around 100 times. A must-see and must-listen. I feel this group should be the next big thing, but they may be too smart to be that.
"King Leer" - Morrissey (mp3)
I feel that Morrissey has always been misunderstood by his sad fanbase. His lyrics are so flippant, and anyone who can tastefully sing, "I crept up behind you with a homeless chihuahua, you cooed for an hour, you handed him back and said, 'You'll never guess, I'm bored now'" is a genius in my book. Of course my book doesn't have many pages.
"Waiting On a Friend (Rolling Stones cover)" - Pearl Jam (mp3)
Simply love this song for the content and the great sax playing, especially toward the end.
"New Partner" - Palace Music
My first introduction to Will Oldham. One of the best love songs ever to be vomited out of this singer.
"How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore" - Prince
I have been a Prince man all my life. This is one of his underproduced songs: raw Prince just singing his horny heart out.
"Human of the Year" - Regina Spektor (mp3)
Cliche is coming. Her range is so remarkable. I think Regina is one of the most underrated singers out there today. 'All mankind is now your brothers.' I'm not sure what this song is about, but I love music that is open for you to make up you own mind.
"Rock Box" - Run-DMC (mp3)
I was in Greece when I first heard this song, and I listen to it almost weekly. It was the first rap song I had heard outside of Kurtis Blow.
"I Don't Know What It Is" - Rufus Wainwright (mp3)
There was a time in my life where this song got me out of some emotional holes. I own all o his albums. Rufus is proudly gay, and I am a straight man. He makes me want to be gay. I don't know what it is. I have performed this song many times, singing into a pencil or whatever, while wearing nothing but underwear and sweat. There, I said it. All true.
"Inni Mer Syngur Vitleysingur" - Sigur Ros (mp3)
I stood right next to the stage at a music festival while this dream-like group spoke to me in a language that is usually reserved for mystical goats and the unspoken elements in life that make you believe that all matter is to be considered a thing of splendid delight and throwback-heart clockwork. They make you wonder at the often-broken human machine, which can, from time to time, be a locomotion of all desired emotion.
Reader Comments (2)
Utterly disgusting choices and descriptions of said choices.
hideous.