Today's Theme: I'm feeling calm.
I'm on vacation this week - thank you, April Vacation; without you I would be a giant crankypants - and in celebration, I'm putting up some of the songs I've been listening to today in my relaxed stupor. The vids aren't super, but I'm a fan of the songs.
Half Acre, by Hem
I am holding half an acre / torn from the map of Michigan / and folded in this scrap of paper / is a land I grew up in / Think of every town you've lived in / every room you lay your head / and what is it that you remember / do you carry every sadness with you / every hour your heart was broken / every night the fear and darkness / lay down with you / A man is walking on the highway / a woman stares out at the sea / and light is only now just breaking / so we carry every sadness with us / every hour our hearts were broken / every night the fear and darkness lay down with us / But I am holding half an acre / torn from the map of Michigan / I am carrying this scrap of paper / that can crack the darkest sky right open / every burden taken from me / every night my heart unfolded / my heart.
Red at Night, by The Gaslight Anthem
This whole album, actually, is the tops and I strongly, strongly recommend buying it. This is off their first album, their third comes out in June, and they are one of the best punk bands out there. Love, love, love. If I was ever going to Desert Island stuff, their albums - and a cd player to play them - would be the first two things on the list. That's right; I'd take them over my computer.
I'll Fly Away, Gillian Welch and Alison Krauss
I'm a little sentimental about this one because some very dear friends of mine taught it to me last year. It was the best going-away present I've ever had.
Sweet Dream, by Greg Laswell
I really wish I could actually use this song to go to sleep because the melody is just right, but the beat goes too quickly. Also, all I have is a bootlegged copy with a minute of silence at the end, so it's incredibly jarring when the actual music comes back on again. But, I have to stress, this song is lovely, and probably something everyone wishes someone would write about them.
Steve's Song, by Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog Commentary!
Funny, clever, and calm. I think this is my favorite song off Commentary!, even though all of it is winning material (see: Nobody's Asian in the Movies, Better than Neil, and Ninja Ropes).
I'm still a bit suspicious why they asked me to be in this / and yes, my best guess is my 's's.
The Chain, by Ingrid Michaelson
This is a lovely, layered round. Very dramatic within its range, passionate and hopeful. While not breaking my carefully-maintained peace!
Bridge Over Troubled Water, by Johnny Cash (additional vocals by Fiona Apple)
I love this rendition so much more than the original, I can't even. Cash's voice wasn't the best by this album, released a short while before his death, but the interplay between his and Fiona Apple's voices takes the back of your neck and gently pulls you into the song.
Half Acre, by Hem
Click to viewI am holding half an acre / torn from the map of Michigan / and folded in this scrap of paper / is a land I grew up in / Think of every town you've lived in / every room you lay your head / and what is it that you remember / do you carry every sadness with you / every hour your heart was broken / every night the fear and darkness / lay down with you / A man is walking on the highway / a woman stares out at the sea / and light is only now just breaking / so we carry every sadness with us / every hour our hearts were broken / every night the fear and darkness lay down with us / But I am holding half an acre / torn from the map of Michigan / I am carrying this scrap of paper / that can crack the darkest sky right open / every burden taken from me / every night my heart unfolded / my heart.
Red at Night, by The Gaslight Anthem
This whole album, actually, is the tops and I strongly, strongly recommend buying it. This is off their first album, their third comes out in June, and they are one of the best punk bands out there. Love, love, love. If I was ever going to Desert Island stuff, their albums - and a cd player to play them - would be the first two things on the list. That's right; I'd take them over my computer.
I'll Fly Away, Gillian Welch and Alison Krauss
I'm a little sentimental about this one because some very dear friends of mine taught it to me last year. It was the best going-away present I've ever had.
Sweet Dream, by Greg Laswell
I really wish I could actually use this song to go to sleep because the melody is just right, but the beat goes too quickly. Also, all I have is a bootlegged copy with a minute of silence at the end, so it's incredibly jarring when the actual music comes back on again. But, I have to stress, this song is lovely, and probably something everyone wishes someone would write about them.
Steve's Song, by Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog Commentary!
Funny, clever, and calm. I think this is my favorite song off Commentary!, even though all of it is winning material (see: Nobody's Asian in the Movies, Better than Neil, and Ninja Ropes).
I'm still a bit suspicious why they asked me to be in this / and yes, my best guess is my 's's.
The Chain, by Ingrid Michaelson
This is a lovely, layered round. Very dramatic within its range, passionate and hopeful. While not breaking my carefully-maintained peace!
Bridge Over Troubled Water, by Johnny Cash (additional vocals by Fiona Apple)
I love this rendition so much more than the original, I can't even. Cash's voice wasn't the best by this album, released a short while before his death, but the interplay between his and Fiona Apple's voices takes the back of your neck and gently pulls you into the song.