... Forgotten Favorites Reemerge

Of all the responses undertaken by the music community to the events of Sept. 11, the most powerful act was not industry-driven. While executives scrambled to plan tribute albums and censor records deemed "inappropriate," individual radio programmers and listeners started spinning tracks that they felt would offer solace to a nation unnerved. As the songs continued to play, a soundtrack full of poignant reflections on tragedy and occasional glimmers of hope began to surface. Although it's impossible to pinpoint a definitive track list because people possess such divergent musical tastes, several songs still evoke chills across preference lines a year later.

Relying on a simple piano melody and powerful, yearning vocals, Jeff Buckley's eight-year-old cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" was one of the first songs people popped in their tape decks after the attacks. Buckley's mournful expression of disillusionment and the loss of faith he experiences over the course of the song resonated with a population seeking to give a voice to its collective uneasiness.

Live's "Overcome," which was released a week after the attacks and focuses upon images of destruction and disaster, also articulates this palpable confusion. Frontman Ed Kowalczyk's consistent, emotive performance, backed by a powerful, symphonic piano, expresses the sorrow and the desire for hope present in the post-Sept. 11 world with heart-wrenching intensity.

"The Light" by Common, which, in an inspired programming move, was the first video that MTV aired after more than a day of news coverage, offered a unique, yet powerful and consoling voice to those in grief. While still unable to provide answers to ease his own suffering, Common still manages to conjure up enough hope to survive, proclaiming "There is a light, that shines, special for you, and me."

The music played after Sept. 11 represents a collective attempt to hear one's emotions articulated in song, turning an individual action into a national response.