Since today is Valentine's day, the theme for today is love. And for those of you say "St. Valentine was a murderer and Valentine's day is a fake holiday invented by greeting card companies," I say, "yes, it is, but Coca-Cola invented the Santa Claus we know and love, so what's your point?" It's so interesting to me how people "rebel against consumerism" for this one day each year, but really they're just bitter. Besides, even though it can suck for single people (especially single girls, of which I've been one many a Valentine's day), what's wrong with having yet one more day to celebrate and do something special? And just think about all the delicious candy that's going to go on sale tomorrow. Mmmmmmm... Candy. Any holiday that revolves around chocolate can't be too bad in my book.
So that's the theme for the day and maybe the plethora of good music I am about to unleash will cheer you anti-Valentine's day people up (I've actually had a somewhat terrible day myself thanks to the lovely Metro Transit Authority and Con Ed). Instead of just finding songs with the word "love" in the songs for today though, I am going to post songs that I think are really romantic.
Umbrella [mp3] -
Rihanna featuring
Jay-Z - "Good Girl Gone Bad" (
iTunes) - Yes, I know. You indie snobs reading this are probably vomiting right now. But it really is a sweet song. It's one of the few pop songs these days that isn't just about f***ing someone's brains out (though you can't really tell that from the music video... but oh well). Listen to the lyrics. "Now that it's raining more than ever, know what we'll still have each other. You can stand under my umbrella." It's actually a very nice, romantic, simple concept for a song. And yes, it's catchy as hell.
Song No. 6 [mp3] -
Ane Brun featuring
Ron Sexsmith - "A Temporary Dive" (
iTunes). A sweet, pretty song about how it would be easy to write a song about someone. "I would spend three or four lines on describing your eyes. And then the next three or four lines on the dimples of your smile. And then I would tell the world about the way you hold my hand, and they would understand." Aaawwwwww...
You Picked Me [mp3] -
A Fine Frenzy - "One Cell in the Sea" (
iTunes). This song is very close to being too cheesy, but it's a pretty song and overall I like the sentiment it expresses of finding someone special amongst the millions of people in the world.
Oh, It Is Love [mp3] -
Hellogoodbye - "Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs!" (
iTunes). I actually wanted to post
Here (In Your Arms), a sweet almost dance-able song about one of my favorite things - cuddling. I also like how how it emphasizes the joy in even the smallest of touches, like your cheeks brushing. But I can't post that one, so I'm posting this one instead, a very cute alternative.
Spoon Me [mp3] -
Ohm - "Star Fall" (iTunes unavailable). I think the title is self-explanatory.
Fading in C# Minor [mp3] -
Una - "One" (
iTunes). For most of you this song might not be that romantic, but - as someone currently in a long-distance relationship - the longing that this song expresses is something that I can relate to.
Love Song [mp3] -
Sheila Nicholls - "Wake" (iTunes unavailable). I was torn between this and her song
Bread and Water (another song with an intense sense of longing - "it's bread and water without you...") but I already posted
Bread and Water somewhat recently, and this song is a nice, positive song about love.
Thank You [mp3] -
Dido - "No Angel" (
iTunes). I almost didn't want to post this because it was so overplayed years ago, but it really is a great love song about how that special someone can magically make everything ok. Dido has a lot of great love songs like
Here With Me,
Take My Hand, and the rather sad
White Flag.
These Words (I Love You, I Love You) [mp3] -
Natasha Bedingfield - "Unwritten" (
iTunes). Another song I was hesitant to post because of overplay when it came out (and I know you hipsters are probably trying not to throw up again). Also another song about writing a love song. And she's right, there's no better way to say "I love you."
My Man (Medley) [mp3] -
Regina Spektor - "Live at Bull Moose" (iTunes unavailable). A mildly disturbing song about a very unhealthy relationship, but I think that everyone experiences this kind of totally unhealthy blind love at some point.
Fairytale [mp3] -
Sara Bareilles - "Careful Confessions" (
iTunes). This is a song for all you bitter V-day haters out there. A sasssy, cynical commentary on the unrealistic romance of fairytales. Again, I was torn between this and her song
Love Song, another slightly bitter song ("I'm not going to write you a love song cuz you asked for it, cuz you need one..."). Something tells me Ms. Bareilles has not had the best of luck with men.
Today's theme is "bomb." Not for any real reason (though I guess the violence in the world would be reason enough). But really, it's just that I was scanning through my music and I decided to close my eyes and pick a song by pointing to it, and I ended up with "I'm the Bomb" by Electric Six. Turns out it was a good pick, as there are lots of good songs that fit the theme. As always, feel free to leave suggestions for songs that fit the theme or for future themes.
I realize this is late in coming, as this movie has been out for a while, but I finally got to see Once last night. I suspected I would love it since music, Ireland and Czech people are like my three favorite things. And love it I did. The music was great (as I'm sure you all know it won the Oscar for best song) and I have to say it was probably one of the most real movies I've ever seen. It seems like Hollywood - and even the independent entertainment industry - always tries to make us believe that love conquers all and love is the most important thing in the world and as long as you have that, it doesn't matter if you have to give up everything else. This film has a much more realistic outlook on that. Sometimes love doesn't conquer all and sometimes you have to be practical and play with the cards life dealt you. The film was completely heartbreaking, but at the same time extremely happy and uplifting.
Speaking of Minnesotans, it's Minnesota Monday here at Guilt Free Pleasures and our band this week is The Honeydogs. These guys have been a staple of the Minneapolis music scene since I was but a wee child (since the mid-1990s to be more specific). I saw them perform and met them once briefly years ago, back when I still lived in Minnesota. They seemed like nice, down-to-earth guys. Their music is a little bit country, a little bit rock 'n' roll, a little bit pop, a little bit folk, a little bit psychedelic, a little bit jazz, a little salsa, a little funk, etc. They masterfully utilize a number of different styles, sometimes all at once, which is what I love most about The Honeydogs.
I just finished reading the book Acceptance by Susan Coll. It's a fictional novel about the college admissions process, with alternating points of view from various students (the overachiever, the athlete, the emo girl), parents and even a college admissions officer. Even though there are a lot of characters, each character is very well developed. The book takes a humorous, slightly cynical view of the whole process and society's increasing obsession with it, which I think a lot of people can relate to. I know I can. I went to a high school very similar to the one in the book - a competitive suburban public high school where kids fill their schedules with AP classes and in order to be in the top 10% of your class, you have to have higher than a 4.0 GPA. The book also makes some very astute observations, such as the fact that when students apply to more schools (in order to ensure, in their minds, that they get in somewhere) this is counterintuitive because more applications make each college more selective, therefore lowering your chances of getting in.
Bad news for Hipsters everywhere: Polaroid has announced that it is no longer going to produce the instant film that has become synonymous with the name of the company. It has already stopped making instant film cameras and while the film is being phased out a little more gradually, it is likely that it will be gone by 2009.
Yesterday I saw Be Kind Rewind, starring Jack Black and Mos Def and directed by Michel Gondry. I suspected that the movie would be good because I love Jack Black and Mos Def, plus there is always a really magical quality to Gondry's films. Like most of his movies, this film was sentimental, funny and enchanting.
Anyway, it was a night full of Brits. Half the audience seemed to be British - coming out to support bands from the motherland I assume (my ears were delighted by all the charming accents around me). When I arrived, Nat Jenkins was playing. I didn't catch his whole set. He looked kind of like a country bumpkin in his plaid shirt, but that was fitting because his music actually had a folky/country feel to it, along with a hint of 60s pop (there was a certain bounce to it). It was an interesting combination but it worked.
Next up was The Duke Spirit, with sassy lead singer Liela Moss, who totally stole the show. She was stylish, fun and full of drama and energy. She also had a very sexy voice. Their music was in the same vein as The Kooks - high energy dance rock, with the occasional slower, more dramatic number. I really enjoyed their performance and I think Liela Moss is the coolest. The one unfortunate thing was that the lighting guy decided from here on in it would be a good idea to light the audience instead of the band, so we were blinded and the band was backlit for pretty much the entire rest of the show.
The Kooks were fabulous. I had never really bothered looking at pictures of them, so I was surprised at how young they are (they're all around age 22 from what I can gather via Wikipedia and some of them look even younger). They had a great energy and lead singer Luke Pritchard liked to get up close to the audience, as you can see from the picture (right), which is always fun. The audience went crazy every single time. Much to my delight, they played my two favorites - Matchbox, She Moves in Her Own Way and You Don't Love Me. It got steaming hot from everyone dancing and jumping around, but it was a blast.
Today's band is The Battle Royale from Minneapolis. Though it might not look like it from their laid back photo, these kids know how to get their dance on. If Todd Fink of The Faint adapted the vocal stylings of Q And Not U, you would have The Battle Royale. Or well, you would have half of their newer album, "Wake Up, Thunderbabe," which was released in January to much blogosphere acclaim. They've got a slightly dark dance-pop electronica thing going on, with just the right amount of dissonance in their vocals to make you feel like "hey, these guys are pretty chill." In a somewhat distinct contrast, the other half of the album is more folk-rock than dance-pop, somewhere between The Arcade Fire and The Flaming Lips.
Last night I saw the movie Charlie Bartlett, starring Anton Yelchin, Robert Downy, Jr., Hope Davis, and the practically the entire cast of DeGrassi: The Next Generation (good news for those of you cult followers who yearn to see Jimmy out of his wheelchair). In the movie, rich kid misfit Charlie Bartlett (Yelchin) gets kicked out of private school and goes to public school, where he at first has some trouble fitting in. However, he soon finds his niche as a boys' bathroom psychologist/prescription drug dealer and quickly becomes the most popular kid in school.
Last Thursday I saw Jerry Springer: The Opera. Now, you might be thinking "that sounds like a bad off off off broadway show." But this was legitimate. It was at Carnegie Hall and starring Harvey Keitel as Jerry Springer (the one and only speaking part). I even saw Neil Patrick Harris in line to pick up his tickets beforehand. It was performing only a two-night run here in New York City. Originating in the UK, it is a bit controversial and has not gotten much stage time here in the good ol' US of A.
