Today feels like a Jeff Buckley day, and if Darth Vader has taught me anything, it’s that I should search my feelings and find them to be true. As such, I’m obligated to obey such feelings.

Anyway, here is the first Jeff Buckley song I ever heard, courtesy of my mysterious friend from my equally mysterious past. It’s one of those songs (and artists) that’s stuck with me for years, and will probably stick with me in the foreseeable future. It’s raw and passionate, and one of the best ballads ever written.

So this song floated by my head courtesy of something on TV, so here it is on either/or! Luckily, it takes a little more than just a chance encounter with a piece of music for it to appear on this here site: we have standards, y’know. Otherwise, I’d be posting about ad jingles all day long.

INXS was one of Australia’s most prominent rock bands. While they were certainly well-known for their music, the band is also inexorably linked to frontman Michael Hutchence, his personal life and unfortunate suicide in 1997. Here is one of the band’s most famous works: a gorgeous rock ballad with shades of country guitar, and singing that almost sounds like Elton John without the flamboyance. In a good way, trust me.

Hands up those who like somewhat sombre love songs? Ok, now put your hands down because this is a website and I cannot possibly see who’s raised their hands. However, if you did illogically signal your fondness for sombre love tunes, then I sure have a fix for you.

This is about as simple as music gets: just a lone voice and a ukelele here (and some slide guitar, as Arborea helpfully pointed out to me), but they’ve conspired together to create something that’s delightful and just a little bit creepy too. In a good way, trust me. The ukelele reminds me somewhat of the Sword and Sworcery soundtrack, which is most certainly a good thing.

There were a handful of songs that I heard sporadically throughout the nineties that embodied an ethereal spirituality and, for one reason or another, stuck with me. Dreams by Fleetwood Mac and In the River of Dreams by Billy Joel (there’s a recurring theme here) to name two, and another being this track. Sure, laugh off the Bee Gees if you must (hey, Stayin’ Alive is still pretty damn catchy), but the group was incredibly prolific and we never even bothered to acknowledge when one of the two remaining members, Robin Gibb, passed away. So sit back and enjoy one of the best pseudo-Australian groups ever!

So I decided to take a song suggestion from each of my colleagues who are at work this week, listen to them and post about it, no matter what they are. I may regret this! Today’s song comes from Kim and it certainly ain’t half bad: it’s a sweet and simple little pop ballad, performed by a group that got their name from a PJ Harvey album. While their music doesn’t seem to reflect Harvey’s, it still seems pretty rad!

On this, one of the more terrible days in America’s history, I’m taking a leaf out of Kotaku’s book and posting this wonderful tune. This is one of those times where we absolutely need tunes, messages and performances like this.