3 posts tagged “music”
What were your top 10 favorite songs or albums of 2007?
I was going to skip this question altogether, as I don't listen to newfangled music, with the hip hop and the bee bop and all of that. That's not to say that I don't listen to some newer songs and/or know of recent artists...I hear them and know of them...they just don't tend to sink in for a few years (speaking of which, keep an eye on that Radiohead band...they're going somewhere...also, what's up with Oasis these days?). But anyway, I literally couldn't name a single album that came out this year, aside from "Songs Inspired by Shrek the Third" or other movie soundtracks. And as for specific songs that came out this year, that would be even more challenging...wasn't there something about an umbrella? Seriously, I'm not kidding...I've really never heard this song, but Entertainment Weekly keeps talking about it...or maybe that was a few months ago....
Yeah, music isn't my thing...but I do know what I like. To that end, I thought I would list 10 songs that I've been listening to lately from my library that have stuck out as particularly relevant or just old favorites that I discovered all over again. I can't say that my insights on these songs will be as knowledgeable as those I have about movies, but bear with me...here goes (in no particular order):
1. Yeah! Oh Yeah! (The Magnetic Fields) - Is it "The Magnetic Fields" or just "Magnetic Fields"? Either way, Jackie introduced me to this song a year ago or so as something we should duet during a karaoke session...and I'm still inclined to participate. So catchy, so seemingly upbeat...such a perfect anthem for hurting those you love. A great song all around...gets in quick, does the deed, and leaves without making a fuss...a perfect ninja of a song. Definitely high on my holiday playlist.
2. Wait For You / Wait For Jane (Tammany Hall NYC) - Perhaps the first of several more sentimental choices, I have this song in two versions. The original version, "Wait For Jane," was co-opted by HBO for one of their commercials around late 2002 and changed to "Wait For You," necessitating the change of a few words throughout. Still, with either version, it's a hopeful song and is good for solo car sing-a-longs.
3. December (Collective Soul) - A bit obvious, perhaps, but still a good song. It's not really specific to this time of year or any of my many bubbling emotions, but the title drew me to revisiting it and it's just a good song. It also reminds me of summer 1995 during my first summer at the University of Miami Summer Theatre Academy. This song was on the radio all the time in the UM Hurricanes' Weight Room, where I would go after camp to wait with my stepdad, who was the Strength and Conditioning Coach for the team. I always wondered what the name of this song was and finally found out a few years ago...good song.
4. Dangerous (Roxette) - You may think that this is about that "certain someone," but it's really not. It's one of those songs where I heard it in the mall or something and was like, "Oh, yeah, I sort of remember this song from years and years ago." It's one of those songs that makes up the wallpaper of the late eighties/early nineties, but in a good way.
5. I Don't Like Mondays (The Boomtown Rats) - A bit morbid, perhaps, but it does speak a great truth: I don't like Mondays. Plus, sort of like "Yeah! Oh Yeah!," there's no cheerier way to hear about a school shooting, and you can sing along, too! But indeed, on any dreary day of the week, Monday or not, it's a good song to turn up in the car.
6. Fix You (Coldplay) - Another sentimental choice. Still, given this time of uncertainty and malaise, this song can't help but...not pick me up, but at least put a full orchestral score behind my issues. Plus, the lyrics keep popping into my head lately and I can't help but relate to them.
7. Leave (R.E.M.) - Chris and millions of other people would be far better able to dissect this song and its actual or intended meanings (though isn't R.E.M. usually intentionally vague...or is that someone else...?). But for me, it's another great song that I can't help but turn up to maximum volume and sing along to in the car when I'm feeling down...which has been often lately.
8. The Blower's Daughter (Damien Rice) - It would be nice if I could say that I'm cutting edge enough to have discovered this song while sorting through my bootleg LPs I bought from a sidewalk vendor in the Village, but really, it was in the movie Closer. Still, another song wherein the lyrics bounce in and out of my head throughout the day and I find myself humming along. Another winsome choice, if not necessarily sentimental.
9. Jamie (Weezer) - For those who know me and the specifics of my current situation, this song seems obvious, like I purposefully went out and found a song with her name in the title and conformed my feelings around the existing lyrics. But amusingly enough, I first heard this song back in 2000, as it was constantly sung to me (Jamie, Jeremy...similar sounding enough). During this period of time, I was working at AMC Theaters in Sarasota (East Siiiiiide!) in the box office, and when I would close, it would be me and the scheduled manager up in the office, closing out the books for the night. At the time, my classmate Billy Farmer was a manager, and when we would close together, he would turn this song on and sing it to me over and over again. Then he'd flick me on the back really hard...his fingers were like little columns of lead. It was all in good fun (even the welts on my back), but that song always stuck in my head. So now, when it's actually become relevant, it's surprising to note that it's a weirdly fitting song (though not perfect...she's not my lawyer and we won't necessarily be together for all time, as we're not together yet in the first place). Hopefully.
10. Tonight, Tonight (The Smashing Pumpkins) - Okay, I don't think I need to explain why this song is awesome. I've been listening to some of their songs lately because I saw them in concert a couple of months ago and I was reminded how great they were...even if they spent a lot of their time playing new songs and practically rushing through their old ones. I can't say that this song is sentimental or reflects my current feelings or really has much to do with anything...it's just awesome.
Okay, the day has really started now...I was actually in a good mood this morning and now...sigh. However, someone did give me tiny bottles of Jack Daniels and Patrón and a giant pencil, so it's not all bad. And today is our [Removed for Privacy Purposes] Pictures Holiday Party, so that might be amusing...free taxi vouchers and all....
Music-wise, what was the first 45, single or download you bought?
Submitted by Paddy Melt Wagon.
First of all, it's a little weird to think that some people may have had their first real experience purchasing music by buying a song off of iTunes or something. It makes me feel a little old...I still recall my first little Fisher-Price (it may or may not have actually been Fisher-Price, but as they basically provided all childhood toys between 1979 and 1987, I'm willing to bet it was) record player that played plastic records of such classics as "Baby Beluga" and "Puff the Magic Dragon." I also remember when they didn't have new-fangled "cars" and my friends and I caught rides to school on the unicycle of a mustachioed stranger and how we marveled at the advent of electricity.
And while I'm on this discussion of age, my 13-year old sister often makes me feel really ancient. The other day, we were chatting via Instant Messenger (it's sort of like a telegraph without the tapping) and she said that her new computer was "tight." Now, I'm not actually 95 years old and I'm more than aware of today's lingo. However, I pretended that I didn't know what this meant, just for funsies. My sister then attempted to explain it to me and how kids her age use slang. And although I know she was trying to be helpful, in a way, she was also condescending by demonstrating how "uncool" I am. This made me feel old. Of course, I also realize that a) I was kidding in the first place and do know all of today's slang, b) I'm only 25, which is actually a far better age to be than 13, c) that I usually tend to go out of my way not to be "cool" (which, for me, means "trendy"), and d) kids today are stupid. So really, my decrepit feelings were unfounded and I bristled at nothing in particular. But still...damn hooligan kids....
Anyway...back in my early days of buying music (which probably started when I was around 9 or so), I exclusively bought soundtracks. I believe my very first cassette tape (which was bought specifically for me as opposed to when I would take tapes from my parents) was the Batman soundtrack. However, it was unfortunately the Prince version of the Batman soundtrack when I really wanted the Danny Elfman version with the score. So there I was, listening to such classics as Batdance and Partyman, wondering when the score would start...alas, it never did. But I did learn that trust makes you a real lover and that it's not that kind of party (gettin' higher tonight), which were important childhood lessons.
Eventually, I did get the Danny Elfman score (following a decent report card, from the music store near Beasley's in the Southgate Mall...ah, Beasley's), which was astonishingly great (and still is...just like Beasley's). And in terms of things I bought myself...that I can't remember. It may have been the Danny Elfman score for Batman again (on CD this time), which was the first CD I owned. It may also have been the Batman Returns or Edward Scissorhands score CDs...they were all purchased around the same time (summer 1992). And really, I didn't set out to buy any CD that was song-based (as opposed to score-based) until summer 1996 when I purchased the Mission: Impossible soundtrack (primarily for "Dreams" by The Cranberries)...which I then traded with someone for the score album when I quickly tired of the songs (which, yes, was also by Danny Elfman).
It's dedication time. What song are you sending out, and who is it dedicated to?
Also, I decided to start "online journaling" (which sounds like "scrapbooking") at Vox because I really like this Question of the Day thing...unfortunately, today's is lame. Since I don't have a real answer, I guess I'll just say the "Night Court Theme Song" and it goes out to Jennie and Alex.
