(no subject)
I missed my entry for the month of August. I'm going to make up for it by doing two (or more!) entries for September. There's a lot going on in my life right now, but I'm not going to write about that right now. I'm too busy having it going on. Instead, I'm going to do an entry on music. Songs, specifically. I just read a good book called Songbook. The author talks a lot about specific songs and their greater relationship with music.
I was surprised at some of the songs he picked. I guess since he's a forty-something divorced male, his taste is going to differ from mine. I wouldn't say he has bad taste -- it was actually pretty good. It was just different. For example, he picked I'm Like a Bird by Nelly Furtado. He also picked Frontier Psychiatrist by the Avalanches. I like both those songs, but they have absolutely nothing to do with each other. I guess that's a good thing, though, because it shows an ability to appreciate all different types of music. He does pick some songs I don't like, like a Badly Drawn Boy song that was just kind of blah, but overall he picked good ones.
Weezer
Only in Dreams
I still think that to this day, the Blue Album by Weezer is the only album where every single song is good. In the twelve years it's been out, almost every song has been my favorite at some point. For the last five or so years though, it's been Only in Dreams. It's like a well told story. It has a setting, a buildup, a climax, and a resolution. It's amazing.
Stars
Your Ex-Lover is Dead
The first time I heard this song, I was doing an Element 1 performance. We'd just got off, and the next group was a modern dance group. It was the first time I'd ever seen modern dance, and it was everything I'd hoped for. When they parody modern dance in movies (e.g. The Big Lebowski), they're not parodying it; that's exactly what it's like. Anyway, I loved the song. I love the lyrics "live through this / and you won't look back."
Michael W. Smith
Kentucky Rose
I'm probably going to get made fun of for this one, but I still get goose bumps every time I hear it. I've loved it since I was a kid. The song tells a simple story about sacrifice, but its power is in that simplicity, I think. It's a little bit cheesy, but I don't care. It's amazing.
Jimmy Eat World
Goodbye Sky Harbor
This, along with the Stars song, is one of the few songs where I can remember exactly where I was when I first heard it. I was sitting in the Jesus Chrysler with my brother at Cornerstone in Illinois, and he said, "dude, you have to hear this song." I remember we didn't say a word the entire sixteen minutes. I think this is my favorite song. I can remember listening to it again driving back from out West. I had the midnight to 8am shift, and it was playing as the the sun was rising over a dusty highway in New Mexico. After almost ten minutes of Jim Adkins' voice layered upon itself, he comes back with the lyrics "I am but one small instrument," and it was heartbreakingly beautiful.
Biffy Clyro
Christopher's River
I love this band, but I only wanted to pick one song from them. It was retardedly difficult. I picked this song because it reminds me of being a kid, and how awesome it was. "Our shadows softly on the grass / day would break we'd have our laughs" for some reason just brings me back. I know there are a lot of ways to listen to this song, but for me, I listen to it as a song for an old friend that's gone.
Black Eyed Peas
Elephunk Theme
I can't help myself whenever I hear this song. I have to move. If I was captured and told everytime I moved, they'd cut off a finger, I'd be fingerless after ten beats. I love the bhangra sound to it. I love that they give props to bboys. BEP is one of the few hip hop groups I really enjoy, and this is one of their better songs.
Aereogramme
Sunday 3:52
Never before has a song done so much with so little. This song is just beautiful. I can't describe it without sounding sappy. It's a song that makes you feel like you're in love without all the harmful side effects.
Pinback
Penelope
It's a love song for a goldfish. You can't get any better than that. It's a song you can listen to when you're feeling sad that will make you happy, or you can listen to it when you're riding in your car with the windows down and it's a perfect day, and it will take you even further.
Wilco
Hummingbird
I was hesitant to put this into my songbook, because most of these songs I've listen to for years, but this one I've only been listening to for a few months. I can tell it's going to stick with me, though, and so I'm going to include it. Everytime it starts off, it reminds me of a Beatles song, but then it changes, and it's good. "With his sleeping bag underneath the stars / he would lie awake and count them." That entire part is just awesome.
Emery
The Secret
There are a couple songs on here I know other people aren't really going to be like, and this will probably be one of them. I like it for the same reasons I like Only in Dreams. The music tells a story. The climax comes with an amazing harmony on the lyrics "yesterday's gone / tomorrow's here." It's strange that I like this song so much. At the time I first started listening to this song, under those circumstances, I should have hated it. In fact, I'd skip to the next song right after the climax, but I don't anymore.
Rockapella
Stand By Me
An amazing cover of a classic song. At first, I listened to this song as sort of a novelty. It was like, "hey, it's guys from Where in the World is Carmen San Diego." Now I listen to it because it's a good song. I wish they did more like it. I'd never really taken a capella stuff seriously before this. You need pretty serious talent to be able to stand alone on just your own voice, and these guys have it.
mewithoutYou
Gentlemen
This is another song that most people probably won't like. I think that mewithoutYou is sort of an aquired taste. I just love the way Aaron sings. The best way I've heard his voice described is in a review of their album, in which the guy writes, "he screams each word as if it were his last." That's a perfect description. One thing that makes a huge difference for me is the amount of passion a person or a band has for their music. I can almost hear it sometimes in the songs. MewithoutYou has that passion.
Remy Zero
Fair
This song reminds me a lot of the Aereogramme song. The harmonies in it just make you stop and listen. If I could have a hundred songs like this, but different enough, then I'd be happy. I don't know what it is that makes me love songs like this so much. It doesn't seem like there's anything particularly spectacular about it, but I still need to listen to it at least once a week.
Alkaline Trio
Radio
I was growing up in Chicago as Alkaline Trio was getting big, and this was the song that got me hooked. Put it on in your car as you're driving, turn it all the way up, and scream along. It'll be the most cathartic experience you've ever had, I promise. The song is fairly simple, but it's well done. It's so hateful and full of spite you can't help but love it.
Don Maclean
Starry Night
A beautiful song about one of my favorite artists. My mom used to listen to this song all the time. That's how awesome it is. Words can't describe, you need to listen to it, especially if you like Vincent Van Gogh's work.
--
I know I'm forgetting some songs, and I'm also leaving some out. I could stay here for the rest of my life writing about the songs that I love, but this will have to do for now.
I was surprised at some of the songs he picked. I guess since he's a forty-something divorced male, his taste is going to differ from mine. I wouldn't say he has bad taste -- it was actually pretty good. It was just different. For example, he picked I'm Like a Bird by Nelly Furtado. He also picked Frontier Psychiatrist by the Avalanches. I like both those songs, but they have absolutely nothing to do with each other. I guess that's a good thing, though, because it shows an ability to appreciate all different types of music. He does pick some songs I don't like, like a Badly Drawn Boy song that was just kind of blah, but overall he picked good ones.
Weezer
Only in Dreams
I still think that to this day, the Blue Album by Weezer is the only album where every single song is good. In the twelve years it's been out, almost every song has been my favorite at some point. For the last five or so years though, it's been Only in Dreams. It's like a well told story. It has a setting, a buildup, a climax, and a resolution. It's amazing.
Stars
Your Ex-Lover is Dead
The first time I heard this song, I was doing an Element 1 performance. We'd just got off, and the next group was a modern dance group. It was the first time I'd ever seen modern dance, and it was everything I'd hoped for. When they parody modern dance in movies (e.g. The Big Lebowski), they're not parodying it; that's exactly what it's like. Anyway, I loved the song. I love the lyrics "live through this / and you won't look back."
Michael W. Smith
Kentucky Rose
I'm probably going to get made fun of for this one, but I still get goose bumps every time I hear it. I've loved it since I was a kid. The song tells a simple story about sacrifice, but its power is in that simplicity, I think. It's a little bit cheesy, but I don't care. It's amazing.
Jimmy Eat World
Goodbye Sky Harbor
This, along with the Stars song, is one of the few songs where I can remember exactly where I was when I first heard it. I was sitting in the Jesus Chrysler with my brother at Cornerstone in Illinois, and he said, "dude, you have to hear this song." I remember we didn't say a word the entire sixteen minutes. I think this is my favorite song. I can remember listening to it again driving back from out West. I had the midnight to 8am shift, and it was playing as the the sun was rising over a dusty highway in New Mexico. After almost ten minutes of Jim Adkins' voice layered upon itself, he comes back with the lyrics "I am but one small instrument," and it was heartbreakingly beautiful.
Biffy Clyro
Christopher's River
I love this band, but I only wanted to pick one song from them. It was retardedly difficult. I picked this song because it reminds me of being a kid, and how awesome it was. "Our shadows softly on the grass / day would break we'd have our laughs" for some reason just brings me back. I know there are a lot of ways to listen to this song, but for me, I listen to it as a song for an old friend that's gone.
Black Eyed Peas
Elephunk Theme
I can't help myself whenever I hear this song. I have to move. If I was captured and told everytime I moved, they'd cut off a finger, I'd be fingerless after ten beats. I love the bhangra sound to it. I love that they give props to bboys. BEP is one of the few hip hop groups I really enjoy, and this is one of their better songs.
Aereogramme
Sunday 3:52
Never before has a song done so much with so little. This song is just beautiful. I can't describe it without sounding sappy. It's a song that makes you feel like you're in love without all the harmful side effects.
Pinback
Penelope
It's a love song for a goldfish. You can't get any better than that. It's a song you can listen to when you're feeling sad that will make you happy, or you can listen to it when you're riding in your car with the windows down and it's a perfect day, and it will take you even further.
Wilco
Hummingbird
I was hesitant to put this into my songbook, because most of these songs I've listen to for years, but this one I've only been listening to for a few months. I can tell it's going to stick with me, though, and so I'm going to include it. Everytime it starts off, it reminds me of a Beatles song, but then it changes, and it's good. "With his sleeping bag underneath the stars / he would lie awake and count them." That entire part is just awesome.
Emery
The Secret
There are a couple songs on here I know other people aren't really going to be like, and this will probably be one of them. I like it for the same reasons I like Only in Dreams. The music tells a story. The climax comes with an amazing harmony on the lyrics "yesterday's gone / tomorrow's here." It's strange that I like this song so much. At the time I first started listening to this song, under those circumstances, I should have hated it. In fact, I'd skip to the next song right after the climax, but I don't anymore.
Rockapella
Stand By Me
An amazing cover of a classic song. At first, I listened to this song as sort of a novelty. It was like, "hey, it's guys from Where in the World is Carmen San Diego." Now I listen to it because it's a good song. I wish they did more like it. I'd never really taken a capella stuff seriously before this. You need pretty serious talent to be able to stand alone on just your own voice, and these guys have it.
mewithoutYou
Gentlemen
This is another song that most people probably won't like. I think that mewithoutYou is sort of an aquired taste. I just love the way Aaron sings. The best way I've heard his voice described is in a review of their album, in which the guy writes, "he screams each word as if it were his last." That's a perfect description. One thing that makes a huge difference for me is the amount of passion a person or a band has for their music. I can almost hear it sometimes in the songs. MewithoutYou has that passion.
Remy Zero
Fair
This song reminds me a lot of the Aereogramme song. The harmonies in it just make you stop and listen. If I could have a hundred songs like this, but different enough, then I'd be happy. I don't know what it is that makes me love songs like this so much. It doesn't seem like there's anything particularly spectacular about it, but I still need to listen to it at least once a week.
Alkaline Trio
Radio
I was growing up in Chicago as Alkaline Trio was getting big, and this was the song that got me hooked. Put it on in your car as you're driving, turn it all the way up, and scream along. It'll be the most cathartic experience you've ever had, I promise. The song is fairly simple, but it's well done. It's so hateful and full of spite you can't help but love it.
Don Maclean
Starry Night
A beautiful song about one of my favorite artists. My mom used to listen to this song all the time. That's how awesome it is. Words can't describe, you need to listen to it, especially if you like Vincent Van Gogh's work.
--
I know I'm forgetting some songs, and I'm also leaving some out. I could stay here for the rest of my life writing about the songs that I love, but this will have to do for now.