We’re featuring playlists from different individuals across Mennonite Church USA reflecting on their top 10 most important songs. This playlist comes from Alyssa Bennett Smith became a Mennonite three years ago at Rainbow Mennonite Church in Kansas City, Kansas. In May 2015, she graduated with her Masters of Theology degree from Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Shawnee, Kansas, where the focus of her capstone project was Mennonite Church USA polity and foundational documents. Alyssa and her husband, Joshua, now live in Denver with their three cats. She works for Mennonite Church USA as the Web and Social Media Content Manager and serves as caretaker at First Mennonite Church of Denver. 

You can listen to Alyssa’s full playlist below and stream all past playlists online.

1. Regina Spektor, Laughing With: For years I’ve loved Regina Spektor for her bizarre vocalization and lyricism. I remember being a little offended when I first heard this song, thinking maybe it was insensitive to those who may question or deny the existence of God, as if to say they only believed the way they did because they were comfortable and unchallenged. Eventually, I grew to love it for the subtle way it points out that when humans are pushed to their limit, we all reach for something, even if we don’t call it God. I also love that it portrays God as having a sense of humor about Godself.

2. Cake, Short Skirt/Long Jacket: This may seem like a strange choice (because it is), but I love the way that Cake is able to describe this theoretical woman using nothing but nonsense. What does it mean to have a mind like a diamond? How do I get my fingernails to shine like justice? What facility is she touring, exactly? No one knows, but despite the lack of concrete description, we can tell that this woman is strong, confident, and not wasting her time explaining herself to anyone. It’s the best.

3. mewithoutYou, Timothy Hay: mewithoutYou has been one of my favorite bands since high school, and their musical evolution has been pretty incredible. This song is from their album “It’s All Crazy, It’s All False, It’s All a Dream, It’s Alright,” which came out while I was in college and just before I got engaged. Hearing this song makes me think of dancing at concerts with my then soon-to-be husband, playing music with my friends and talking about theology in coffee shops. Aaron Weiss (the lead singer) is one of the most incredible songwriters and poets I have ever heard and this album in particular is full of wildlife and farm imagery, which I also love.

4. Nickel Creek, When In Rome: My husband put this song on a mixtape for me while we were dating. I listened to it over and over again and fell in love with Nickel Creek. I’ve always been a sucker for strings, and when you combine incredible technical skill with beautiful harmony, I’m bound to fall in love.  Add the message of the song on top of that and I didn’t stand a chance. As a life-long church goer, I have been a part of many a mission trip, service project, and evangelism outreach program. I love the way this song puts those types of experiences within the context of relationship and listening to those who you are trying to “help.”

“Where can a teacher go? Wherever she thinks people need the things she knows. Hey those books you gave us look good on the shelves at home, and they’ll burn warm in the fireplace. Teacher, when in Rome…”

5. Billy Joel, Piano Man: I grew up in a very religious (though non-Mennonite) household. The two distinct memories I have of listening to “non-Christian” music with my parents are: listening to a Carpenters record that my mom loved, and my mom singing along to Piano Man every time it came on the radio.  My mother isn’t a musician, but every time this song came on the car radio we would all sing along—it was so fun!

6. Jack White, Take Me With You When You Go: It was hard to choose just one Jack White song. I’ve been a fan of him since he was a part of the White Stripes, and I think I like his solo music even more.  His vocal style has always been a favorite of mine, and his songs always have really beautiful, dissonant harmonies with hints of bluegrass instrumentation mixed with electronica and all sorts of other mismatched nonsense.

7. Pat Benatar, Hit Me With Your Best Shot:  Who doesn’t love Pat Benatar? This song makes me feel like I could conquer the world, which is why I can often be found singing along (loudly) in my car. It makes any bad day better and is great for dancing or singing karaoke (in the car or elsewhere).

8. mewithoutyou, The Angel Of Death Came To David’s Room: I tried to pick just one mewithoutYou song, but I couldn’t choose. This song is a hauntingly beautiful depiction of King David visited by the Angel of Death. The king offers his merits, excuses, and rationale for why it isn’t his time to go. “But I slew Goliath with the sling and stone, it’s not my time to go. –He’ll be waiting for you when we get back home.” Death is the great equalizer. Definitely a dark song, but so good.

9. Peter, Paul and Mary, If I Had a Hammer: I love any song that I can sing along to and this song definitely fits the bill. A couple of years ago while on a road trip with my husband, I put this song on repeat for over an hour. Seriously. I thought he was going to throw the iPod out the window. Something about it makes me want to sing it over and over again. The lyrics are hopeful, the harmony is simple and beautiful, and it just bounces along.

10. Paul Simon, You Can Call Me Al: I would listen to Paul Simon sing the phone book. With all of Paul Simon’s songs, this may seem like a strange choice (it was a toss-up between this song and Kodachrome). Similar to the Cake song I mentioned earlier, this song is full of nonsensical metaphors and images but still manages to make (a little) sense. My husband and I put this song on the mix CDs that we gave out as favors at our wedding. We had no real reason to choose it except that we both liked to sing along with the words and we thought it would be funny. It was.

Listen to Alyssa’s playlist: