Lyrical Lessons
June 27, 2012 § Leave a comment
New York City, you’re almost gone. I think that I’ve fallen out of love I think I’ve fallen out of love Think I’ve fallen out of love With you.
“Dear Chicago” – Ryan Adams
Our timing was never right, New York. But occasionally, I still think of you.
Lyrical Lessons
April 19, 2012 § Leave a comment
“Jolene” – Ray LaMontagne
Sometimes, you need people to be your nine-pound hammers. And sometimes, you realize you’ve become theirs.
One of my all-time favorite songs.
Lyrical Lessons
August 24, 2011 § Leave a comment
This is how it works
You’re young until you’re not
You love until you don’t
You try until you can’t
You cry until you laugh
And everyone must breathe
Until their dying breath.
No, this is how it works
You peer inside yourself
You take the things you like
And try to love the things you took
And then you take that love you made
And stick it into some, someone else’s heart.
“On the Radio” – Regina Spektor
Simple enough, no?
"Suppose I kept on singing love songs, just to break my own fall"
February 9, 2011 § Leave a comment
You know what people like? Cheesy shit. Romantic shit. That OMG-this-makes-me-want-to-barf-out-of-my-eyesballs-but-I-secretly-wish-it-was-my-shit shit. Then enters Valentine’s Day, taking this vomit-inducing behavior to an entirely new level of queasiness. You can’t take four steps in a single direction right now without seeing a barrage of pink and red, hearts and cupids, chocolates and roses, and oversized novelty stuffed animals. And there’s really nothing wrong with that. There are people who really love this over-commercialized holiday. There’s nothing wrong with being in love with love. But there’s also nothing wrong with boycotting the holiday completely, only looking forward to the day after, when all that candy is on sale for half off.
February 14th may seem like a discriminatory holiday, reserved for the lovers, the romantics, the grade schoolers. But what I’ve come to realize is that this date isn’t exclusive to those having a sweaty hand to hold, googily eyes to stare at, or disgusting pet names to shamelessly share. I know plenty of couples that roll their eyes at the holiday’s hoopla. I also know plenty of single friends who spend it together, sharing a different, but equally fulfilling kind of love.
And personally, I think Valentines is a bit overrated. A holiday shouldn’t be a prerequisite to showing affection. Why not surprise someone on an ordinary day? Why not some “Hey, it’s Thursday!” chocolates, or “Congrats on paying your bills on time!” tulips, or a “You didn’t hit anyone with your car today, here’s a bracelet!” Why do the “meaningful gifts” have to be designated to a specific day? Why not celebrate the smallest victories, the every day life?
And what’s with the passive-aggressive pressure to find the all-elusive perfect gift? What ever happened to the homemade macaroni noodle card? Or a poem? (Roses are red, violets are blue, I’ve gained 10 pounds, since I started dating you.) Before you panic and scourge the mall for a piece of jewelry that she’ll then pretend to like, consider simplifying things.* Unless you’re dating a superficial dipshit, most girls just want to know you care.
A mixtape is an underrated, fading art form. Any idiot with a basic knowledge of iTunes can create a playlist packed with song titles with love in the title. The key to a great mixed tape is finding meaningful songs (as endearing as “honey got some boobies like wow, oh wow” sounds, it lack a certain eloquence). Ideally, you should have no problem coming up with the songs to best describe and dedicate to your lovely lady, but for the time-crunched or lyrically challenged, here’s a few ideas to help you get started.
“Won’t ya kiss me on that that midnight street, sweep me off my feet, singin’ ain’t this life so sweet?” – David Gray, “This Year’s Love”
Perfect For: The beginning of a relationship when you allow yourself to be super naïve.
Bottom Line: We all know how it is in that first stage of a relationship – you want to believe in all the possibilities, be around each other all day and night, and obsessively tweet about how amazing life is. Also, you still sneak off into your closet to let out a fart during a movie rental night on your couch (No? Is that just me?). It’s healthy to be optimistic. I just wouldn’t start designing wedding invites quite yet.
Related: “Love Is You” – Chrisette Michele (“Well, love must be a drug to make me feel this way”)
“Cause I’ve learned in the past, that love will never do without you” – Janet Jackson, “Love Will Never Do (Without You)”
Perfect For: Romantics. Queso lovers.
Bottom Line: Get that? Love itself ceases to function without you, yo.
Related: “She Is Love” – Parachute (“They call her love, love, love, love, love”)
“I got faith in you and I, so put your pretty little hand in mine” – Miguel, “Sure Thing”
Perfect For: Swoon effect (also known as the ultimate cheese). Middle school romances.
Bottom Line: There’s a reason why so many of us girls went through a boyband phase: because those dudes gave us our first glimpse (albeit, disillusioned) of true love. Also, there is not a female on this planet who doesn’t like being told how amazing she is (we’ll just deny, deny, deny). We never outgrow that. Like, ever.
Related: “This I Promise You – NSYNC (“I’ve loved you forever, in lifetimes before”), “Just the Way You Are” – Bruno Mars (“Her laugh, her laugh, she hates but I think it’s so sexy”)
“And it’s sick that all these battles are what keeps me satisfied” – Skylar Grey, “Love the Way You Lie”
Perfect For: Dysfunctional relationships. Masochists.
Bottom Line: If songs like this resonate best/most with you regarding your current relationship, I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that you can probably do better.
Related: “Not Myself” – Amos Lee (“Does anybody have a clue? How hard I’ve worked at loving you?”),“Gravity” – Sara Bareilles (“You loved me ‘cause I’m fragile, when I thought that I was strong”), “Slow Dancing In a Burning Room” – John Mayer (“Go cry about it, why don’t you?”)
{WTF, not a single copy of this Garth Brooks song is available for embedding. What is the substitute? An asston of covers that I’d rather avoid shuffling through. Sorry}
“She’s sun and rain, she’s fire and ice. A little crazy, but it’s nice” – Garth Brooks, “She’s Every Woman”
Perfect For: Every female that ever existed. Also, the bipolar.
Bottom Line: Listen guys, we know we’re more than a little nutty sometimes. Even the most rational, level-headed, seemingly well-adjusted get off-balance sometimes, so bless your confused little hearts for being patient enough to tolerate it. We appreciate it more than we’ll ever dare to admit.
Related: “Beautiful Mess” – Jason Mraz (“Your style is quite selective, but your mind is rather reckless”)
“A man needs something he can hold onto, a nine-pound hammer or a woman like you” – Ray LaMontagne, “Jolene”
Perfect For: The wanderers, the commit-a-phobes and those seeking refuge in the arms of another. Also, those with substance abuse issues.
Bottom Line: This dude can’t get his ish together (for crying out loud, he’s waking up from a drunken knock-out, with his face all busted), despite the fact that there’s this woman who’s obviously doing all sorts of things to keep his soul intact. But imagine that kind of love – the kind of love that anchors someone, keeping his sanity, keeping the slightest glimmer of hope, keeping him from going over the edge completely. I have plenty of anchors like that (see: Moon family), but I’d like to be someone else’s anchor, someone’s nine-pound hammer someday. So get it together man – clean yourself up and go home – there’s a woman who loves you.
Related: “Better Man” – James Morrison (“Well, I needed shelter from the storm I was in”), “She’s Got a Way” – Billy Joel (“She’s got a smile that heals me”)
Don’t underestimate the power of the mixtape. The cheese is less potent when it’s in ballad form. Let the lyrics help you communicate the words that are difficult to vocalize.
Bonus points for accommodating choreography and subsequent performance(s).
*Uh, it’s not like I would turn away any gifts (I like shiny things). I am, after all, a chick (for the most part).
"I love you more than songs can say"
November 30, 2010 § Leave a comment
I accidentally hit the “Name” tab in my iTunes the other day, organizing all my music in alphabetical order by song title. It never occurred to me how many versions of the same song I had in my library, but as I scanned the list, there were indeed, quite a few. Some I hadn’t heard in played in recent memory, but there were others, that by judging by the play count, were obvious perennial favorites.
And I know plenty of music snobs, people who swear and die by the originals, never wanting to give covers a shot. And while there are plenty of misfires, versions that make a complete mockery of its predecessors (GTFO Mariah Carey with “I Wanna Know What Love Is”), I think it’s foolish to block your ears to adaptations that give a different spin on a classic. Great songs will stand the test of time (and the dreaded auto-tune). Great lyrics will remain meaningful and relevant, even if it jumps genres and decades. And for the current, desperately-yet-ironically-seeking-originality generation, contemporary covers and remixes may be the only way to introduce the “good stuff”, or the stuff that hasn’t been tainted by over-stylization and the rap industry.
Some of my favorites:
1. Adele, Garth Brooks “To Make You Feel My Love”
Thanks to Bob Dylan, only a song this beautiful could remain consistent when sung by two distinct voices, one being a modern day Etta James (Remember in Little Mermaid, when Ursula captures Ariel’s voice in a conch shell and wears it around her neck? Yeah, I’d like to do that to Adele’s), and the other being a country superstar. I love both versions with equal affinity, and remains one of the few love songs I have yet to get sick of.
2. Maxwell, Greg Laswell “A Woman’s Work”
Originally written and performed by Kate Bush, these two covers make it hard to believe that the song should’ve been sang by anyone but a dude (although Maxwell’s pitch is high enough to be mistaken for the other gender).
3. Jeff Buckley “Hallelujah”
Interpret it any way you want; it can be reflective and a little heartbreaking, but always, always stunning. This song is about as lyrically perfect as any song is ever going to get, and reaffirms my belief that Leonard Cohen is one of the most brilliant songwriters ever.
4. CCR, Marvin Gaye “I Heard It Through the Grapevine”
I’ve been so in love with both versions of this 1966 original that I’ve given up trying to choose a favorite. In this contest, there are no losers.
5. David Gray “I Think It’s Gonna Rain Today”
Six degrees of separation: “I Think It’s Gonna Rain Today” was written by Randy Newman, who also penned “Feels Like Home”, which Chantal Kreviazuk covered. Chantal also did a cover of “Leaving On a Jet Plane”, originally written and sang by John Denver. The song was also previously made popular by being covered by Peter, Paul, and Mary, who were also responsible for “Puff, the Magic Dragon”, one of the few songs from my childhood that I absolutely loathed. Is that six degrees or five?
6. Jason Mraz “In My Life”
Taking a break from his side job as a toilet paper guru, Jason Mraz covered one of my favorite Beatles songs, giving it a subtle-yet-undeniably-Jason hint of spice, making teenage girls oblivious to the fact that Paul and John were originally responsible for the masterpiece.
7. Ryan Adam, “Wonderwall”
Let’s get this straight: I absolutely love the original by Oasis, but this rendition by Ryan Adams swept me off my feet.
8. The Side Project “I Wanna Dance With Somebody”
If there’s a decade of music that gets constantly shit on for being a bit on the cheesy side, it would be the 80’s. But how could you hate on a period of time that gave us this, this, or this (okay, maybe not this one). Whitney Houston has always been my favorite pop diva (beat it, Beyonce), and her original version still remains one of my go-to’s to bust out corny dance moves. But leave it to a local Seattle band to be able to take a song that makes me dance like this, and transform the composition into something this beautiful.
9. Sarah Blasko “Hey Ya”
Some covers are arranged so uniquely that they take on an entirely new perspective. Who knew Outkast, responsible for lyrical gems such as “roses really smell like poo-oo-oo” could provide for such a lovely backdrop?
10. Whitney Houston “I Will Always Love You”
It broke my heart to see clips of Whitney’s most recent tour endeavor, where she sounded utterly deflated trying to sing this song (crack, is indeed, whack), but I have remained a fan, choosing to remember the Whitney during her glory days, blowing people away with her jaw-dropping voice. So many forget that it was the great (and my personal hero) Dolly Parton who wrote and originally performed this song, but with Whitney making it the classic as we all know it as being today, it’s hard to believe that anyone else but her was ever supposed to sing this song (often imitated, never duplicated).
11. Etta James “A Sunday Kind of Love”
I’ve heard countless versions of this 1946 jazz favorite, but none that ever came close to touching Etta and her powerhouse of a voice. They don’t make ‘em like this anymore, folks. This is the gold standard.
There have been countless times where I’ve heard my dad play an oldie that I particularly enjoyed, only to be informed of its rich history involving multiple renditions performed throughout decades of time. With the exception of the musical diarrhea that American Idol manages to purge out each season, I’m always open to new and different interpretations of music, especially if an artist can create new meanings and bring in new audiences by making the smallest architectural changes in melody. Good music will remain good music and can hit different emotional tones when sang by unexpected voices.
Uh, except you, Jessica Simpson, and your version of “Angels”. That shit was unacceptable.
soopastryheart 