Mood Song #1: "Stop the World," by The Clash

Artist: The Clash
Song: Stop the World
Album: Super Black Market Clash

Perfect for: Walking by yourself late at night in a shady part of town/alley/campus.

Download link at the end of the post.

This song is too thoughtful to be just another song by a punk band, let along a punk B-side. Were it not for Joe Strummer's iconic voice providing the narration, you might not believe it's a Clash song; however, paired with its A-side counterpart, it makes a bit more sense.The flip side of the 1980 single "The Call Up," which itself musically sounds like it might have fit somewhere among the track listing of The Wall, provides a fantastically creepy soundtrack for a late night walk.

Strummer's narrative lyrics actually tell the story of an eerie walk through a city immediately after its nuclear destruction. The smoke and dusty debris still hang thick in the air as he assesses the damage and moves on to sing another song. This song is perhaps one of the most successful attempts ever to convey the feeling of one's surroundings. While I doubt you will walk through a scene of nuclear destruction anytime soon, the atmosphere of this song can easily translate to any other kind of walk.

The first time my iPod played this song while I was walking alone, I felt like I was in a movie, and not just because the song starts off with the familiar beeps of a countdown leader preceding an old movie clip. The whole song is shrouded in an atmospheric, hazy sound that suggests being in a shady place. Mick Jones's sparse guitar cuts through the air with intermittent bursts of reverb-heavy notes that only add to the creepiness.

The rhythm section (Paul Simonon's thumping, reggae-tinged bass playing and Topper Headon's shuffling drum beat) provides the song with a chugging, traveling feel, as if you're walking down the streets with a feeling somewhere between being somebody important and being followed by someone important.

My college career has been filled with many cross-campus, late-night walks from the library to my dorm, and this song never fails to lend a bit more imagination to those walks.

Download: Stop the World