Class of 2021 – The 100 Greatest Songs of the Year!
Playlist on Spotify at the bottom of each page.
#100-#81 | #80-#61 | #60-#41 | #40-#21 | #20-#11 | #10-#2 | #1
“…I was watching the tent city on my NYC block grow and grow. Everyday it seemed like there was another man added to this ramshackle village…”
1. Caged Animals “The Ghost Of Jesus”
(from Underneath The Spell)
“I began writing the “The Ghost of Jesus” in 2010 as a recollection of the one homeless man who lived in my hometown. He had Christ-long hair and camped in the small patch of woods between a busy road and the banks of the toxic Passaic River. He was the sole resident of Hawthorne, NJ’s ‘darkness on the edge of town’.
The original song had a verse and some shaky music and it sat on my hard drive for a few years untouched. I always believed this song had something to say but at that time I couldn’t fully access it. Around eight years later, during the thick of the opioid crisis, I was watching the tent city on my NYC block grow and grow. Everyday it seemed like there was another man added to this ramshackle village and it broke my heart to realize how separate they were from the rest of our community.
One night, while walking back to my apartment, the opening lines of ‘The Ghost of Jesus’ popped into my head and connected with me a whole new way. The homeless man from my hometown and these new men living on my block helped me find the full story, music and all. In a flicker of inspiration I had the song.
I’ve been writing songs since I’m 13 years old. I love the mystery of wading into dark waters and hunting for an idea. It’s a great reminder to stay alert and to take notice of what’s going on around you. Sometimes this process has gifts to give and other times it ends in frustration but occasionally a path begins to clear and you see something rare headed your way.
As I finished ‘The Ghost of Jesus’, it immediately felt vital. It’s a song of empathy and redemption and, though I’m not religious, I found myself in this character’s need for a spiritual home. I love singing these words, in spite of the specific religious reference, they feel universal to me. Jesus is almost a stand-in for that same desire for understanding and love that binds the world together. Maybe music is my religion.”
– Vincent Cacchione
#100-#81 | #80-#61 | #60-#41 | #40-#21 | #20-#11 | #10-#2 | #1
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