No More Darkness, No More Light
Amos Lee
2018

Speaking of having a difficult time picking a song, I really, really struggled to pick a song on this one. And some of you right now are saying, cool story bro, but who in the ____ is Amos Lee? Well, perhaps the single artist from my entire list that you should give a listen to, honestly (I'll throw a couple others out here along the way). But this is a singer/songwriter who combines R&B, soul, and pop into one beautiful package and he just hits the spot, every time. I came across this guy almost 20 years ago while watching some random Reese Witherspoon movie (Just Like Heaven) which wasn't memorable but there was a song in one scene that was. That song was a piano version of "Colors" from his debut album, which may be the best thing he's ever done. And thus began a long love affair that has spanned three live shows (including one in Colorado’s famed Red Rocks, which you should absolutely put on your bucket list).

But for this selection I wanted something slightly less polished that captured just the man and his guitar and the way he originally wrote this song. I love the rich sound of his guitar here — you feel like you’re right there in the coffee shop with him. He wrote this about the Parkland High School school shooting, and it’s a gem. This is actually the acoustic version, and take a look at the video below to experience the magic with eyes and ears. It’s an important reminder that even sad songs end up in my Top 100 because they’re important to the whole joy experience (relatedly, I’m not a lyric guy necessarily but I end up thinking a lot about the title and lyric of this song about no more darkness and no more light).

Anyways, that’s enough in this one. Just check out this guy’s entire catalog, and to get you going, here’s a little Amos Lee starter kit: check out this, this, this, this, and this. 

Other Songs Considered:
Colors, Don't Leave Me Lonely, Flower, Sweet Pea, Southern Girl