17. "Sebastian" by Cockney Rebel
I was first introduced to Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel through Jonathan Rhys Meyers, sitting on a stage and looking quite like the cover to Bowie's Man Who Sold the World, in the film Velvet Goldmine. I then went to find the original album cut, which was even more cinematic than the film version. It's an odd song, a lot of glam-rock songs use descriptions that I won't pretend to fully understand, but it's beautiful and haunting, nonetheless. This is one of the few songs on my list that comes from an artist whose collected work I'm not a huge fan of, but this particular song resonates with me.
I remember this song hitting me square in the face when I heard it in theaters in 1998....then they didn't even put it on the soundtrack!!! I finally got Steve Harley's greatest hits my sophomore year at Radford, hearing his version for the first time (as well as his original take on "Tumbling Down"). No matter how many times we watched this back in 1999-2000, it still remains my favorite film of all time (With Todd Haynes' second musical masterpiece I'm Not There occupying slot # 2!)and this is still one of my favorite songs!
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