Tuesday, July 23, 2013

.cinq.

So, I stole this idea from the lovely Emily Jane (she always has great ideas).  The idea was to put together a list of "5 songs that changed your life".  I don't know if any song has really "changed" my life, but a lot of songs have definitely made an impact on me.  Here are the 5 (current) songs that I can put at the top of the list.

Elbow - One Day Like This
Elbow is probably one of my favorite bands of all time.  No one can paint a picture with the mix of words and instrumentation quite like Guy Garvey and the talented gents that make up the band.  The song Starlings is, to me, a perfect example of what love sounds like.  However, I chose a different song for this list.  The song I chose to include is a song that makes me believe that love...genuine, beautiful, messy, complicated, real...love actually exists.  I'd be okay having one day like that.
"Someone tell me how I feel
It's silly wrong but vivid right
Oh, kiss me like the final meal
Kiss me like we die tonight"


The Damnwells - The Same Way
I think of all of the bands that I love, The Damnwells is the most underrated.  Alex Dezen is a wonderful storyteller and a genuine song writer.  There are so many songs that I love dearly, that it was hard for me to pin down just one.  If you take the time to check out any more music by them, I highly recommend Down With the Ship, Kiss Catastrophe, Sleepsinging, Golden Days, Come, Me, Sophia, Everything...oh, man...there are just too many.
The Same Way, to me, is a song about loss.  Lost love, lost friendship...just loss...and the way we can all relate to it.  Your pain and loss may not look the same as mine, but I can relate to yours and you can relate to me.
"And everybody knows it's gonna be a long winter,
And everybody feels the same way one time,
The same way, with the same rhyme"


Noah Gundersen - David
Some songs just get under your skin in a way that you can't define or describe.  David is definitely one of those songs for me.
"I wanna hunt like David
I wanna kill me a giant man
I wanna slay my demons
but I got lots of them, I've got lots of them"


Wye Oak - Civilian
So, it's probably no secret that I'm a sucker for a song that has the ability to draw you in emotionally, and to be honest, I don't think I've heard a Wye Oak Song that doesn't do just that.  Lead singer, Jenn, has the ability to swing a hook at your heart strings from note one.  The song Civilian has a different meaning to each person who listens to it, I'm sure.  To me it's a perfect example of falling short, but moving forward anyway.
"I am nothing without pretend
I know my faults, can't live with them
I am nothing without a man
I know my thoughts but I can't hide them"


Glen Hansard (The Frames) - Say It to Me Now
Speaking of the feels...there are few people who can build emotion like Glen Hansard.  He can take a quiet, unassuming song with simple, honest lyrics and he can build it into something that'll tear your heart right out.  Say It to Me Now is probably the best example, but Disappointed, Headlong and Santa Maria also are fantastic examples.  Say It to Me Now is the one that I chose for this list because I can remember the first time I heard it and how it affected me.  I don't know if there is another song I can say that about.
"And I didn't understand
When you reached down to take my hand
And if you have something to say
You better say it now"