Theme Thursday - Love

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.

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One of those days

It's been "one of those days," so bear with me if my post is even more incoherent than usual. Since I'm too tired to think of an organized theme for the day or one particular artist I really want to highlight, I think I will just post some random songs that I really like at the moment in no particular order. Again, I'm at work so I won't be able to check if these links work until later. My apologies if they don't.

First is The Moment I Said It by Imogen Heap. I know she's become quite the sensation, particularly her song Hide and Seek, but I feel like The Moment I Said It hasn't gotten any acknowledgment (as evidenced by the fact that I couldn't find it anywhere on the internet) and it is my favorite of all of her work (though I must admit I like most of her stuff a great deal) and one of my favorite songs of all time. This song is really dark but so beautiful. About saying things you regret and fighting with you loved one, it's really chilling - especially the part where she kind of re-enacts a fight musically.

Second is Stuck to You by Hellogoodbye. This song is sexy and danceable. While a lot of their music is danceable because they tend to have kind of an electroinca/techno-y sound, this song is not techno-y at all, which is nice. It's actually a pretty decent rock-n-roll song (or as I like to call it, dance rock). And like I said, it's sexy - a quality which their more techno-y songs lack.

Third is Girl Anachronism by The Dresden Dolls. This is another favorite of all time. From their self-titled 2003 album, one of my favorite albums of all time too, this song is a piano frenzy. Amanda Palmer (the singer and piano player) is a genuis. Her piano playing is always so complex it sounds like there's a full orchestra or something. You forget that the band is only piano, vocals and drums (my three favorite instruments). I played piano for 12 years when I was younger, so I love songs with complex piano parts. It is one of my goals to start playing the piano again and learn this song. I bought their piano book, and it is the best song book I've ever bought. It is actually what she plays (as opposed to other piano books which simplify the piano parts a lot for the mainstream) and there is tons of cool extra stuff in it too. Plus there are funny notations on the music about how to play it or the history behind a certain part. I also tend to love songs that require singing/speaking really quickly, so I am definitely predisposed to like this song. But I think it's really very fun and I love the part where the whole song slows down ("just let her crash and burn, she'll learn") and then just kind of stops for a moment and she speaks "the attention just encourages her" in such a perfect, condescending tone.

Ok, I guess that's all for today kids. Sorry for any incoherence. I wanted to post something. I'm trying to post every day. Plus I'm just sitting here at work anyway, so I might as well post something even if it's slightly incoherent. Tata dahlings.