ryan is an asshole, i love him

For the third (fourth?) time. Absolutely ready to cry.

(Opinions are my own. Not including His Side Live songs that Ross played guitar in, even though his guitar solo in Praying for the Actors slaps)

10. Five Close Calls

This song is kind of slow and it meanders but the lyrics hit me really hard. There’s a lot of arguments about interpretation, but I think that whether you take it literally or figuratively, it’s really well-written and it tells a heartbreaking story. Ryan put so much of himself into this one and I think that even if it’s not your *favorite* it’s absolutely necessary to understand Ross’ writing.

9. Piccadilly Women

This one is… a bop. Influential, and all that jazz, but still primarily a bop. I have no idea what it means (I don’t buy a lot of the common interpretations) but I can’t help but think that maybe Ross was just experimenting with like… word painting. Maybe the words are just words. Maybe the women are just women.

8. Go to the City

I love the way this song slides effortlessly between melancholic yearning and feather-light dreamscapes. Ross has always been an outsider– even when he was the center of attention, it’s obvious from the memoirs and in interviews that he never felt comfortable where he was and would rather be somewhere else. I think that this song, in itself, is the essence of that. The guitar work is also incredible.

7. Alienation

Yes yes yes I KNOW this is stereotypical and a lot of people will argue that it belongs higher on the list but I think it’s overrated!!! It’s a GOOD song but it’s not GREAT. It introduced everyone to the Followers (and tbh it was my first Followers song) but it’s not their best work. It’s a good introduction song because it’s conventional, but that also stops it from being great.

6. Royal Blood

This is probably one a lot of people wouldn’t put on this list, but I think that it was a really interesting departure from what was expected and it was executed really well. Even though there aren’t that many lyrics, Ross says what he needs to say and lets the instrumentation do the rest– and the beautiful and haunting way the guitar and drums are at odd with the vocals (¾ vs 4/4) is GENIUS and as a pianist it terrifies me.

5. Her Shadow

Kind of an obvious pick but it’s a really, really good song. I’m glad this one has been getting a lot of attention since it was used in that movie (even if I hated it) because it deserves it. A lot of people write this off as a simple heartbreak song, but it’s so much more than that– the lyrics tell an evocative and sinister story of a man who loved the idea of a woman so much he went on to destroy her.

4. 708

Okay AGAIN, obvious, and AGAIN, a lot of people will probably say it should be higher– but hear me out. A lot of people focus on this song purely because of what they *assume* it has to do with Ross’ personal life… which is like… fine, I guess. And I agree it’s an intriguing track, with it being so stripped back and soulful. I definitely could go on about this song and it’s really really important narratively. But tbh, it’s like 8 minutes long, and it didn’t have to be.

3. Crimson Gone

THIS SONG. A masterpiece. If I could get this song etched into my soul, I would. (Actually, tbh, I may already have.) If I ever had the chance to direct a major Hollywood movie I would choose to base it (aesthetics, plot, etc) off of this song. It says just enough to imply this great sweeping story– going into detail about the things that make it feel real and honest– while letting your mind fill in the blanks. A perfect song.

2. The Diplomat

This song only ranks above Crimson Gone because I feel like it’s more understated. Crimson Gone represents the pinnacle of what Ross tried to do for years, whereas The Diplomat is what he had always done successfully, to the greatest degree of itself. I personally like to imagine Ross is actually describing himself as the diplomat, but there are a lot of other theories that I also believe. Regardless of who it is about, I think it paints a really touching and humanized portrait of someone who is fairly unknowable.

1. Miranda’s Dream

ha Pete and Keltie are such proud parents.