Top 12 M83 Songs

A picture I snapped of M83 at Coachella in April

I’m strict about dedicating this site to movies, because movies are my life. M83, however, is more than music. To me, they are inspiration. They are hope and sadness and desperation and peace.

Since discovering their work, M83 was quite literally influenced every single writing and film project I have been involved with. They are as much to thank for my creativity and passion for film as anything.

Tonight, M83 comes to my neck of the words, making it the third time I have seen them live. In the past five months. Rock ‘n’ roll.

And So it Begins is a movie blog. This is just a different angle of my process.

Honorable Mention

We Own the Sky
from Saturdays = Youth

At a house party in July 2010, as the first thunderous beats of “We Own the Sky” began to play over the speakers, I looked over at the computer cranking the tunes, slowly walked up to it, and made sure to lock the band’s name into my memory. I’ve listened to a variation of their music everyday since.

12. Midnight City
from Hurry Up, We're Dreaming

It’s all in that intro. Those obscure, confounding series of noises that should in no way work. But do. And then some. THAT is power.

11. I Guess I’m Floating
from Before the Dawn Heals Us

I try to limit my lists to 10, but sometimes I simply can’t. When I finalized the tracks below, I realized this miraculously tranquil song wasn’t included, and then I remembered the solace it brought me in the days leading up to the release of my short film, Earrings. “I Guess I’m Floating” was there for me in ways no person was. An endearing work of art.

10. Fields, Shorelines and Hunters
from Before the Dawn Heals Us

There are really three sides to M83: The serene, the pop bombast, and the grab-you-by-the-throat roller coaster. Place “Fields, Shorelines and Hunters” in the last category. A track that says, “Buckle the fuck up. For here we go.”

9. Sitting
from M83

“Let’s go.”

That’s goddamn right.

8. Wait
from Hurry Up, We're Dreaming

The most common question I’ve received in regards to Earrings is, “What’s next?” Well, to finally answer affirmatively, it will be one of two things. The first film is the best thing I’ve ever written, but would be very expensive in terms of locations and extras. The second idea is called Wait, and is based solely on the limitless inspiration this song has provided me. What occurs on and after 4:11 never fails to bring tears to my eyes.

Stay tuned.

7. Raconte-Moi Une Histoire
from Hurry Up, We're Dreaming

Hey, let’s make a song in which a six-year-old girl tells a story about a frog from the stream of consciousness of a six-year-old girl.

How the hell could a song like this work? Well, it couldn’t. Point in fact, I don’t know one person (myself included) who liked "Raconte-Moi Une Histoire" (translation: Tell me a story) the first time they heard it. But I know dozens of people (myself included) who love it now.

What’s better, the flight of 2:10, or the wail of 2:53? Impossibly hopeful.

6. Don’t Save Us from the Flames
from Before the Dawn Heals Us

A perfect track for the grab-you-by-the-throat category. “Don’t Save Us from the Flames” jumps off right away, then slows, then jumps, then flies.

Bleeding all around, yeah.

5. You, Appearing
from Saturdays = Youth

“We Own the Sky” was my first introduction to M83, but “You, Appearing” was my first real introduction to the full scope of their music. The opening track to Saturdays = Youth, I was immediately transfixed with its steady power.

This song still runs chills down my spine.

4. Can’t Stop
from Before the Dawn Heals Us

Arguably the band’s most hated song, “Can’t Stop” is, essentially, front man Anthony Gonzalez repeating the words, “I can’t stop, I can’t stop yeah,” 34 times.

But, my god, does this track grab me.

3. Lower Your Eyelids to Die With the Sun
from Before the Dawn Heals Us

I’m frankly surprised that “Lower Your Eyelids to Die With the Sun” is the only epic M83 track that made my list, but no matter, this 10:42-long godsend starts exactly how it should, and ends precisely how we want it to. And believe you me, there is not one wasted second in between.

2. Outro
from Hurry Up, We're Dreaming

When I was visualizing the concept of the trailer for Earrings, I knew right away that we were going to do something different. Breaking the fourth wall is tricky, and showing a scene in the trailer that is not in the movie is something I normally detest. But once I heard what “Outro” does at 1:35, I was convinced that I had to do what I had to do.

I’m quite proud of that trailer for a multitude of reasons, but if anyone finds any shred of power in it, “Outro” is largely to thank.

1. Intro
from Hurry Up, We're Dreaming

A story: on October 4, 2011, I discovered that Urban Outfitters was legally streaming M83’s new album, Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming, on its website. I hit play. The first song was “Intro,” and my life was forever altered.

How does one explain the power of music to someone else? Someone hears a song a disregards it as mindless trash. Another person hears the same song and appreciates its scope. A movie-obsessed guy looking to make a film hears a song and his life clicks into place.

By the time I first heard “Intro,” Earrings was all but written. I mean literally. I had everything outlined in my head, I just had to perform the arduous task of committing the idea to paper. I had delayed it to the point that I didn’t think it would ever get written. The evening of Oct. 4, I rushed home and wrote the first draft in one sitting.

That’s the power of music. That’s the catharsis that an extended wail of the word “hail,” followed promptly by as inspiring a beat drop as I’ve ever heard, had over me.

I’ve listened to “Intro” at least once everyday since that glorious afternoon in October, and when Gonzalez and company (hopefully) cue up the song this evening, my life will be as content as it possibly can.

My 2013 updated list of my favorite M83 songs

My essay on how M83 motivates my art