songs for all!
A bit ago, greeneyedlady and I were talking about making a mix of like... various songs we'd put on a soundtrack about ourselves. I'd been working on my own soundtrack for a bit now, and since a lot of the songs on it are also some of my favorite songs ever, I figured I'd upload them to mediafire and let folks snag them as they wish.
I will warn you that my taste tends to lean towards folk and occasionally pop. However, I like a mix of things, so you may yet find something to your taste.
ALSO, feel free to meme this/do this yourself. I'm not trying to start a mass meme here, but it is always fun to see what songs others chose for themselves and to uh. Share music in a totally legal way.
Totally legal, you guys.
Some songs are in .mp3 while others are in .m4a.
01. Kermit the Frog - The Rainbow Connection
http://www.mediafire.com/?tyeuq2d5yma
Who said that every wish
Would be heard and answered
When wished on the morning star
Somebody thought of that
And someone believed it
And look what it's done so far
What's so amazing
That keeps us star gazing
What so we think we might see
Someday we'll find it
That Rainbow Connection
The lovers the dreamers and me
My father has played this song on the piano and encouraged me to sing along for as long as I can remember. I suppose it's about those of us who think we're special snowflakes because we're artists and creators and dreamers, but I love it anyway. Also, I am hugely gay, so rainbow imagery is always a plus.
02. Superchick - One-Girl Revolution
http://www.mediafire.com/?n5bmvxvmnnv
Some people see the revolution but most only see the girl
I can lose my hard earned freedom if my fear defines my world
I declare my independence from the critics and their stones
I can find my revolution I can learn to stand alone
And I'll be everything that I want to be
I am confidence in insecurity
I am a voice yet waiting to be heard
I'll shoot the shot, bang, that you hear round the world
Embarrassing fact: I like cheesy girl power pop songs. I grew up on the American Girl books and Tamora Pierce, so I'm pretty damn proud of my ovaries and a catchy song which allows me to express that makes me happy. terrorcandy introduced me to this one, and I guess I associate it with the more confident moments of my childhood.
03. Simon & Garfunkel - I am a Rock
http://www.mediafire.com/?2z1toh5no0y
I have my books
And my poetry to protect me;
I am shielded in my armor,
Hiding in my room, safe within my womb.
I touch no one and no one touches me.
I am a rock,
I am an island.
Everyone has an Official Angst Song, right? This was mine when I was ten years old. I don't know if I fully got it, but I knew books were better than the bitchy rich girls in my fourth grade class, and thus I connected to that, deeply.
04. Barenaked Ladies - Falling for the First Time
http://www.mediafire.com/?dzhum5tmtql
I'm so cool, too bad I'm a loser
I'm so smart, too bad I can't get anything figured out
I'm so brave, too bad I'm a baby
I'm so fly, that's probably why it
Feels just like I'm falling for the first time
Another song introduced to me by terrorcandy. As I began to enter my teenage years, life was increasingly about contradictions. So often my feelings about myself are polarized--there's the voice that says I'm brilliant and the voice that says I'm an idiot, and I'm never sure which one to believe, but I'm sure both of them are there for a reason.
05. XTC - I'm the Man Who Murdered Love
There'll be no more pain
from broken hearts
And no more lovers to be torn apart
Before you throw me
in your dungeon dark
Your honour, they'll be putting statues up
In every park
I'm the man who murdered love
Yeah, what do you think to that?
http://www.mediafire.com/?zaygzztaexg
In high school, and in college, I was frequently told that I was anti-relationships. I'm not--I'm just a cynical-leaning realist about these things--but I've had enough people tell me so that I've sort of grown to identify with this song. Add in the fact that it sounds a bit Ars Amatoria, and I'm sold.
06. Loreena McKennit - The Mummers' Dance
http://www.mediafire.com/?wbhdhmymhjw
When in the springtime of the year
When the trees are crowned with leaves
When the ash and oak, and the birch and yew
Are dressed in ribbons fair
When owls call the breathless moon
In the blue veil of the night
The shadows of the trees appear
Amidst the lantern light
We've been rambling all the night
And some time of this day
Now returning back again
We bring a garland gay
I first heard this song in high school, and it haunted me for weeks, but it will always remind me most of Bryn Mawr, where I went to undergraduate college. Every year, we celebrate May Day, which begins with old English Beltane traditions like the May Pole and Morris dancing, and ends with a college singalong by lantern light. And crying. Lots of crying.
07. Rufus Wainwright - The Art Teacher
http://www.mediafire.com/?2dtnjzdxz2e
There I was in uniform
Looking at the art teacher
I was just a girl then;
Never have I loved since then
I spent my frosh year of college going to Rufus Wainwright concerts and pretty successfully stalking him. This song, written from the point of view of a teenage girl who's fallen in love with her art teacher, is one of my favorites of his, and it speaks to me quite a bit.
08. Dar Williams - It's Alright
http://www.mediafire.com/?wt2yjmx23iw
Please don't say you don't love me,
Never dangle any sword above me,
With the kind of change that severs me in two.
Give me amberizing glasses.
Could you slow it down like molasses,
As I salvage my old self away from you.
And it's alright, it's alright, it's alright...
This is an upbeat song about change and survival, and it became my after college anthem once I was slogging through my first few months of grad school.
Coincidentally, it is also a song I associate with Hetalia!fanon!Finland, taking him from his being ceded to Russia in 1809 up through his declaring his independence in 1918. I wasn't entirely convinced until the line "I'm my own sovereign nation" towards the end of the song. Then it was pretty much sealed.
09. Lily Allen - Everything's Just Wonderful
http://www.mediafire.com/?uzgttvr2w53
Oh Jesus Christ almighty,
Do I feel alright? No not slightly,
I wanna get a flat I know I can't afford it,
It's just the bureaucrats who won't give me a mortgage,
Well it's very funny cos I got your fucking money,
And I'm never gonna get it just because of my bad credit
Oh well I guess I mustn't grumble,
I suppose that's just the way the cookie crumbles.
Lily Allen's got a lot of songs that fit my twentysomething "what the hell is up with the world?" lifestyle, in a way that's often poppy, whimsical, and in-your-face. This is the song that fits that best, and is very much the world I crashed into once I started attending University of Maryland.
10. The Rhythm Angels - Girls Like Us
http://www.mediafire.com/?oyywloj4muz
Girls like us go with like the wind
We risk it all, and if we fall, we risk it all again
We burn hot and we fall hard
Girls like us are like the stars
Nora and I saw Rhythm Angels when we went to see Dar Williams, and though they're a lot more country than I usually listen to, I like their lyrics a lot. This is another girl power song, but in a much more subdued way than Superchick. It's about pursuing one's dreams, listening to one's inner voice, and being strong--not weak--as a result of feeling deeply. I admit I associate this one with my friends, who are all passionate about one thing or another. And that's what makes y'all so awesome. <3
11. Carbon Leaf - What About Everything
http://www.mediafire.com/?myyne5vdmzd
What about everything?
What about aeroplanes?
And what about ships that drank the sea?
What about...
What about the moon and stars?
What about soldier battle scars
And all the anger that they eat?
I am not in need
Here's one that was used in an awesome Doctor Who vid. It's not 100% accurate on all counts, but I like the sense of wonder that goes with the song. When I'm feeling optimistic and writerly, I sometimes just want to hug all the universe and its potential experiences, and this song goes along well with that.
12. BONUS TRACK - Judy Collins - Bread and Roses
http://www.mediafire.com/?z5xjgqgmkyt
As we come marching, marching, unnumbered women dead
Go crying through our singing their ancient cry for bread.
Small art and love and beauty their drudging spirits knew.
Yes, it is bread we fight for -- but we fight for roses, too!
Here is a traditional folk song which has a special place in my heart due to those May Day celebrations at my undergraduate college. At the very end of our singalong, just the seniors would sing this song while holding up their lanterns. The only time the underclasswomen joined in was on the "bread and roses" refrain, and man, if everyone didn't end up crying by the end.
The idea behind the song is that women need to fight for the things necessary for life--bread--and also the little flourishes that make life worth living--roses. Overall, I think it's a pretty good motto to live by.
Hope you enjoyed! What are some of your own favorite songs?
Maybe I should make a soundtrack about specific people I know, next.
I will warn you that my taste tends to lean towards folk and occasionally pop. However, I like a mix of things, so you may yet find something to your taste.
ALSO, feel free to meme this/do this yourself. I'm not trying to start a mass meme here, but it is always fun to see what songs others chose for themselves and to uh. Share music in a totally legal way.
Totally legal, you guys.
Some songs are in .mp3 while others are in .m4a.
01. Kermit the Frog - The Rainbow Connection
http://www.mediafire.com/?tyeuq2d5yma
Who said that every wish
Would be heard and answered
When wished on the morning star
Somebody thought of that
And someone believed it
And look what it's done so far
What's so amazing
That keeps us star gazing
What so we think we might see
Someday we'll find it
That Rainbow Connection
The lovers the dreamers and me
My father has played this song on the piano and encouraged me to sing along for as long as I can remember. I suppose it's about those of us who think we're special snowflakes because we're artists and creators and dreamers, but I love it anyway. Also, I am hugely gay, so rainbow imagery is always a plus.
02. Superchick - One-Girl Revolution
http://www.mediafire.com/?n5bmvxvmnnv
Some people see the revolution but most only see the girl
I can lose my hard earned freedom if my fear defines my world
I declare my independence from the critics and their stones
I can find my revolution I can learn to stand alone
And I'll be everything that I want to be
I am confidence in insecurity
I am a voice yet waiting to be heard
I'll shoot the shot, bang, that you hear round the world
Embarrassing fact: I like cheesy girl power pop songs. I grew up on the American Girl books and Tamora Pierce, so I'm pretty damn proud of my ovaries and a catchy song which allows me to express that makes me happy. terrorcandy introduced me to this one, and I guess I associate it with the more confident moments of my childhood.
03. Simon & Garfunkel - I am a Rock
http://www.mediafire.com/?2z1toh5no0y
I have my books
And my poetry to protect me;
I am shielded in my armor,
Hiding in my room, safe within my womb.
I touch no one and no one touches me.
I am a rock,
I am an island.
Everyone has an Official Angst Song, right? This was mine when I was ten years old. I don't know if I fully got it, but I knew books were better than the bitchy rich girls in my fourth grade class, and thus I connected to that, deeply.
04. Barenaked Ladies - Falling for the First Time
http://www.mediafire.com/?dzhum5tmtql
I'm so cool, too bad I'm a loser
I'm so smart, too bad I can't get anything figured out
I'm so brave, too bad I'm a baby
I'm so fly, that's probably why it
Feels just like I'm falling for the first time
Another song introduced to me by terrorcandy. As I began to enter my teenage years, life was increasingly about contradictions. So often my feelings about myself are polarized--there's the voice that says I'm brilliant and the voice that says I'm an idiot, and I'm never sure which one to believe, but I'm sure both of them are there for a reason.
05. XTC - I'm the Man Who Murdered Love
There'll be no more pain
from broken hearts
And no more lovers to be torn apart
Before you throw me
in your dungeon dark
Your honour, they'll be putting statues up
In every park
I'm the man who murdered love
Yeah, what do you think to that?
http://www.mediafire.com/?zaygzztaexg
In high school, and in college, I was frequently told that I was anti-relationships. I'm not--I'm just a cynical-leaning realist about these things--but I've had enough people tell me so that I've sort of grown to identify with this song. Add in the fact that it sounds a bit Ars Amatoria, and I'm sold.
06. Loreena McKennit - The Mummers' Dance
http://www.mediafire.com/?wbhdhmymhjw
When in the springtime of the year
When the trees are crowned with leaves
When the ash and oak, and the birch and yew
Are dressed in ribbons fair
When owls call the breathless moon
In the blue veil of the night
The shadows of the trees appear
Amidst the lantern light
We've been rambling all the night
And some time of this day
Now returning back again
We bring a garland gay
I first heard this song in high school, and it haunted me for weeks, but it will always remind me most of Bryn Mawr, where I went to undergraduate college. Every year, we celebrate May Day, which begins with old English Beltane traditions like the May Pole and Morris dancing, and ends with a college singalong by lantern light. And crying. Lots of crying.
07. Rufus Wainwright - The Art Teacher
http://www.mediafire.com/?2dtnjzdxz2e
There I was in uniform
Looking at the art teacher
I was just a girl then;
Never have I loved since then
I spent my frosh year of college going to Rufus Wainwright concerts and pretty successfully stalking him. This song, written from the point of view of a teenage girl who's fallen in love with her art teacher, is one of my favorites of his, and it speaks to me quite a bit.
08. Dar Williams - It's Alright
http://www.mediafire.com/?wt2yjmx23iw
Please don't say you don't love me,
Never dangle any sword above me,
With the kind of change that severs me in two.
Give me amberizing glasses.
Could you slow it down like molasses,
As I salvage my old self away from you.
And it's alright, it's alright, it's alright...
This is an upbeat song about change and survival, and it became my after college anthem once I was slogging through my first few months of grad school.
Coincidentally, it is also a song I associate with Hetalia!fanon!Finland, taking him from his being ceded to Russia in 1809 up through his declaring his independence in 1918. I wasn't entirely convinced until the line "I'm my own sovereign nation" towards the end of the song. Then it was pretty much sealed.
09. Lily Allen - Everything's Just Wonderful
http://www.mediafire.com/?uzgttvr2w53
Oh Jesus Christ almighty,
Do I feel alright? No not slightly,
I wanna get a flat I know I can't afford it,
It's just the bureaucrats who won't give me a mortgage,
Well it's very funny cos I got your fucking money,
And I'm never gonna get it just because of my bad credit
Oh well I guess I mustn't grumble,
I suppose that's just the way the cookie crumbles.
Lily Allen's got a lot of songs that fit my twentysomething "what the hell is up with the world?" lifestyle, in a way that's often poppy, whimsical, and in-your-face. This is the song that fits that best, and is very much the world I crashed into once I started attending University of Maryland.
10. The Rhythm Angels - Girls Like Us
http://www.mediafire.com/?oyywloj4muz
Girls like us go with like the wind
We risk it all, and if we fall, we risk it all again
We burn hot and we fall hard
Girls like us are like the stars
Nora and I saw Rhythm Angels when we went to see Dar Williams, and though they're a lot more country than I usually listen to, I like their lyrics a lot. This is another girl power song, but in a much more subdued way than Superchick. It's about pursuing one's dreams, listening to one's inner voice, and being strong--not weak--as a result of feeling deeply. I admit I associate this one with my friends, who are all passionate about one thing or another. And that's what makes y'all so awesome. <3
11. Carbon Leaf - What About Everything
http://www.mediafire.com/?myyne5vdmzd
What about everything?
What about aeroplanes?
And what about ships that drank the sea?
What about...
What about the moon and stars?
What about soldier battle scars
And all the anger that they eat?
I am not in need
Here's one that was used in an awesome Doctor Who vid. It's not 100% accurate on all counts, but I like the sense of wonder that goes with the song. When I'm feeling optimistic and writerly, I sometimes just want to hug all the universe and its potential experiences, and this song goes along well with that.
12. BONUS TRACK - Judy Collins - Bread and Roses
http://www.mediafire.com/?z5xjgqgmkyt
As we come marching, marching, unnumbered women dead
Go crying through our singing their ancient cry for bread.
Small art and love and beauty their drudging spirits knew.
Yes, it is bread we fight for -- but we fight for roses, too!
Here is a traditional folk song which has a special place in my heart due to those May Day celebrations at my undergraduate college. At the very end of our singalong, just the seniors would sing this song while holding up their lanterns. The only time the underclasswomen joined in was on the "bread and roses" refrain, and man, if everyone didn't end up crying by the end.
The idea behind the song is that women need to fight for the things necessary for life--bread--and also the little flourishes that make life worth living--roses. Overall, I think it's a pretty good motto to live by.
Hope you enjoyed! What are some of your own favorite songs?
Maybe I should make a soundtrack about specific people I know, next.