So what is "Zen"? It's actually a meditative state.  I don't much about it. I do know that there are some songs that somehow "suck me in" to such a degree that all I can do is relax and listen and to me, that is "Zen".

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I don't inject the marijuana, but if I did, it would probably heighten the experience of listening to these songs. Myself, I'm happy to put on some headphones that cancel out all other songs and just drift with these tracks.

5. Pantera-Planet Caravan.  I get so mad that Pantera wasn't given a chance to reform and explore their softer, trippier side.  This Black Sabbath cover (and to a lesser degree Suicide Note Part 1) show that the band could do anything they wanted to.

4. Pink Floyd-Shine On You Crazy Diamond.  This blog could have a couple dozen Pink Floyd songs on it, but it's this "suite" that really takes you on an audio adventure.  It's lengthy, but has some many different passages that it never gets boring.

3. Cold (with Aaron Lewis) "Bleed". This track was also known as "13" because everybody got a little sensitive around 911. This track not only explains how so many of us feel about music, it emotionally connects you with the singers at the same time.  I truly believe that this is one of the greatest songs ever written, even if very few people know about it.

2. Led Zeppelin "In The Light". To me this falls right in the pocket with "Stairway To Heaven" and "Kasmir" as one of those multilayered, multi textural  masterpieces. It, is rather slow and mystical with those magical lyrics from Robert Plant that may mean everything to some people an nothing to others.

1. Pearl Jam-Black. This is the song that inspired this blog. This song makes me lose track of time. It makes me wish it was an hour long and I could put it on why I played down to sleep. Interestingly enough, it's far from my favorite song, or even favorite Pearl Jam song, there is just something hypnotic about it.

I have created a YouTube Playlist for you of these songs. It runs 48 minutes  (the Pink Floyd alone is 26 minutes) and will play all five songs back to back.  I challenge you to find some time to relax this weekend, forget about your holiday stress and just chill.

 

 

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