Music of the Moment
My musical selections-du-jour tend to be more like selections of the week or more, until I've played them out over and over and move on to my next rotation. But in an attempt to document my ever-flowing sonoral obsessions, here is the first, I imagine, of many editions of Music of the Moment.
1. Back to Black - Amy Winehouse (Back to Black)
I heard this song was recently selected as one of the best breakup songs for Valentine's Day, and I can see why. While her other lonely song (ha, like there's only one other), "Wake Up Alone," is much more heart-wrenching, this song, along with the interesting black and white video now circulating on MTV (and YouTube), comes up on my playlist more often than most. Which is interesting, considering how far from lonely/breakup mood I'm in particularly lately. Observe:
He left no time to regret
Kept his dick wet
With his same old safe bet
Me, had my head high
And my tears dry
Get on without my guy
You went back to what you knew
So far removed from all that we went through
And I take the troubled track
My odds are stacked
I go back to black...
2. Doo Wop (That Thing) - Lauryn Hill (The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill)
Cheryl, my coworker, hears my music selection and comments on how interesting it is for a 23-year-old white boy (read: it's pretty ghetto sometimes). Then this came up on Barrett's stereo on the way to the Oscar party. He told me Lauryn Hill stopped performing because white people were buying her music, which painted it a bit black for me (pun intended). But after some Wikipedia research revealed that this is but an unsubstantiated rumor, I can continue to revel in the old-school harmonies and singable melody along with the oh-so-fun rap lyrics I still don't really know. Li'l Kim really took her style from Miss Hill.
3. Like a Star - Corinne Bailey Rae (Corinne Bailey Rae)
I had a tough time figuring out which song from Rae's album to put on this list, since I've been playing several of them lately. "Like a Star" makes the cut because it's lighter, smoother and doesn't drive me up a wall like repeated playings of "Put Your Records On." I'd recommend this to my mother, even if it is about fighting. It's just so purty.
4. Shut Up and Drive - Rihanna (Good Girl Gone Bad)
This is a little outdated but this song and the following were ubiquitous on my iPod shuffle and at home and at work. I liked the video for this sassy, underplayed rockout song about being sexy and all that jazz. I love Rihanna's commitment to close harmonies as well and doing her own backup singing. She's just not that good live.
5. Fergalicious - Fergie (The Dutchess)
How many more ideas do you need for text messages to turn on a guy who's into you? Or impetus to go to the gym and "work on your fitness?" Another good video, with the girl scout theme and the little fat kid who dances like he's in a Missy Elliot video. Only problem is misspelling "tasty..."
6. Wind It Up - Gwen Stefani (The Sweet Escape)
The anthem of mid-winter in England (before things really started going downhill) has new significance now, since I sent a line as a text to Barrett and got "that gave me a boner" as a response. (The line? "But, see once it gets in/ The pumping begins,/ Then you'll find out why all the boys stare.")
7. Class - Catherine Zeta-Jones and Queen Latifah (Chicago Motion Picture Soundtrack)
For some reason this was going through my head a lot lately, so I just decided to play it a couple times to placate my auditory memory. I just love lines like "Jesus Christ! Ain't there no decency left?" and "Every girl is a twat!"
8. Smile - Lily Allen (Alright, Still)
Another song from that lovely Christmastime in Bristol that I sang while castle-hunting in Wales with Sophie, this song is so deliciously catchy that it's hard to listen to it just once. And whoops, suddenly it's at the top of your most-played list, now that you can actually find it on Limewire. The video is sadistic: don't piss that bitch off! Compare to Amy Winehouse's breakup song:
When you first left me
I was wanting more
But you were fucking that girl next door
What'd you do that for?
When you first left me
I didn't know what to say
I've never been on my own that way
Just sat by myself all day...
I was so lost back then
But with a little help from my friends
I found a light in the tunnel at the end
Now you're calling me up on the phone
So you can have a little whine and a moan
But it's only because you're feeling alone
At first, when I see you cry
It makes me smile
It makes me smile...
9. Gimme More - Marie Digby (Cover of Britney Spears, Available on YouTube)
I was looking for covers of Rihanna's song "Umbrella" and found a nice one on YouTube by an artist called Marie Digby. Then I saw she had a cover of Britney Spears' "Gimme More" with her playing acoustic guitar and singing. I thought, never in a million years. Silly me: what a funny and competent job this new singer does with the song, sitting on the floor in front of her white couch looking a bit like an amateur porn star with a touch of class. Check it out.
10. Rehab - Amy Winehouse (Back to Black) or Paolo Nutini (BBC Radio1 LiveLounge Cover)
I believe I asked back in fall of 2006 from England if anyone had heard of Amy Winehouse and if "Rehab" was playing on the radio. The response: nope. How forward I was and lucky I was to find her over there. One of my housemates' friends said Amy Winehouse was "the tits," and I found I agreed. This song is so clever, so well-produced, and the video is a riot, with the band sitting around in pajamas with their heads back playing along while Amy sings through her bedroom, bathroom, interview room and, eventually, a rehab cell. Scottish cutie singer Paolo Nutini does a rocking cover on Radio1's LiveLounge (somewhat like the StarLounge on Star 98.7 but artists often do covers of other singers' popular songs, sometimes with riotous results) that even Katie, who doesn't like the song, could dance along to on her way out for the night.
I don't ever want to drink again
I just...ooh, just need a friend...
1. Back to Black - Amy Winehouse (Back to Black)
I heard this song was recently selected as one of the best breakup songs for Valentine's Day, and I can see why. While her other lonely song (ha, like there's only one other), "Wake Up Alone," is much more heart-wrenching, this song, along with the interesting black and white video now circulating on MTV (and YouTube), comes up on my playlist more often than most. Which is interesting, considering how far from lonely/breakup mood I'm in particularly lately. Observe:
He left no time to regret
Kept his dick wet
With his same old safe bet
Me, had my head high
And my tears dry
Get on without my guy
You went back to what you knew
So far removed from all that we went through
And I take the troubled track
My odds are stacked
I go back to black...
2. Doo Wop (That Thing) - Lauryn Hill (The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill)
Cheryl, my coworker, hears my music selection and comments on how interesting it is for a 23-year-old white boy (read: it's pretty ghetto sometimes). Then this came up on Barrett's stereo on the way to the Oscar party. He told me Lauryn Hill stopped performing because white people were buying her music, which painted it a bit black for me (pun intended). But after some Wikipedia research revealed that this is but an unsubstantiated rumor, I can continue to revel in the old-school harmonies and singable melody along with the oh-so-fun rap lyrics I still don't really know. Li'l Kim really took her style from Miss Hill.
3. Like a Star - Corinne Bailey Rae (Corinne Bailey Rae)
I had a tough time figuring out which song from Rae's album to put on this list, since I've been playing several of them lately. "Like a Star" makes the cut because it's lighter, smoother and doesn't drive me up a wall like repeated playings of "Put Your Records On." I'd recommend this to my mother, even if it is about fighting. It's just so purty.
4. Shut Up and Drive - Rihanna (Good Girl Gone Bad)
This is a little outdated but this song and the following were ubiquitous on my iPod shuffle and at home and at work. I liked the video for this sassy, underplayed rockout song about being sexy and all that jazz. I love Rihanna's commitment to close harmonies as well and doing her own backup singing. She's just not that good live.
5. Fergalicious - Fergie (The Dutchess)
How many more ideas do you need for text messages to turn on a guy who's into you? Or impetus to go to the gym and "work on your fitness?" Another good video, with the girl scout theme and the little fat kid who dances like he's in a Missy Elliot video. Only problem is misspelling "tasty..."
6. Wind It Up - Gwen Stefani (The Sweet Escape)
The anthem of mid-winter in England (before things really started going downhill) has new significance now, since I sent a line as a text to Barrett and got "that gave me a boner" as a response. (The line? "But, see once it gets in/ The pumping begins,/ Then you'll find out why all the boys stare.")
7. Class - Catherine Zeta-Jones and Queen Latifah (Chicago Motion Picture Soundtrack)
For some reason this was going through my head a lot lately, so I just decided to play it a couple times to placate my auditory memory. I just love lines like "Jesus Christ! Ain't there no decency left?" and "Every girl is a twat!"
8. Smile - Lily Allen (Alright, Still)
Another song from that lovely Christmastime in Bristol that I sang while castle-hunting in Wales with Sophie, this song is so deliciously catchy that it's hard to listen to it just once. And whoops, suddenly it's at the top of your most-played list, now that you can actually find it on Limewire. The video is sadistic: don't piss that bitch off! Compare to Amy Winehouse's breakup song:
When you first left me
I was wanting more
But you were fucking that girl next door
What'd you do that for?
When you first left me
I didn't know what to say
I've never been on my own that way
Just sat by myself all day...
I was so lost back then
But with a little help from my friends
I found a light in the tunnel at the end
Now you're calling me up on the phone
So you can have a little whine and a moan
But it's only because you're feeling alone
At first, when I see you cry
It makes me smile
It makes me smile...
9. Gimme More - Marie Digby (Cover of Britney Spears, Available on YouTube)
I was looking for covers of Rihanna's song "Umbrella" and found a nice one on YouTube by an artist called Marie Digby. Then I saw she had a cover of Britney Spears' "Gimme More" with her playing acoustic guitar and singing. I thought, never in a million years. Silly me: what a funny and competent job this new singer does with the song, sitting on the floor in front of her white couch looking a bit like an amateur porn star with a touch of class. Check it out.
10. Rehab - Amy Winehouse (Back to Black) or Paolo Nutini (BBC Radio1 LiveLounge Cover)
I believe I asked back in fall of 2006 from England if anyone had heard of Amy Winehouse and if "Rehab" was playing on the radio. The response: nope. How forward I was and lucky I was to find her over there. One of my housemates' friends said Amy Winehouse was "the tits," and I found I agreed. This song is so clever, so well-produced, and the video is a riot, with the band sitting around in pajamas with their heads back playing along while Amy sings through her bedroom, bathroom, interview room and, eventually, a rehab cell. Scottish cutie singer Paolo Nutini does a rocking cover on Radio1's LiveLounge (somewhat like the StarLounge on Star 98.7 but artists often do covers of other singers' popular songs, sometimes with riotous results) that even Katie, who doesn't like the song, could dance along to on her way out for the night.
I don't ever want to drink again
I just...ooh, just need a friend...