When the day's been long and hard...

Iron and Wine is always there.

This is an old one, originally off their 2004 album Passing Afternoon and featured again on the Around the Well (Bonus Track Version) release last month, and I feel a bit guilty about posting such an old song, but at the same time, it's been one of those weekends. I certainly needed this and maybe others out there do to, so, here you go. Add it to your collection if you don't have it at the very least.

Communion Cups and Someone's Coat [mp3] (iTunes)

Theme Thursday: Covers

I'm officially bringing back Theme Thursday (I'm not sure if it was ever 'out,' but I'd like to think that I'm a trendsetter). This Thursday's theme is covers. From time to time, I crave the familiarity of the oldies but goodies. I have to say, it's a pretty unsatisfying experience...Inevitably, I find myself wishing, yearning, that these songs were imbued with the soul-searching angst of indie rock. And thus, I was determined to find some indie-awesome covers that had the best of both worlds: familiarity and soulful inflection. Here are my findings:

Can't Help Falling in Love [mp3] Ingrid Michaelson - "Be OK" (iTunes). I love Ingrid Michaelson with the fiery passion of a thousand suns. She's so phenomenal, and she lends her glister to this awesome cover of The King's old hit.

In My Life [mp3] Leah Siegel - "Beatles Complete on Ukulele, Vol. 1" (iTunes). This isn't the last you'll hear of Leah Siegal from me. I have fallen into a deep infatuation with her lyrical perspective, and find myself queueing her up over and over again. In My Life has just the right balance of old and new to make me swoon.

Make You Feel My Love [mp3] ADELE - "19" (iTunes). This British crooner helps me to love unrequited love (story of my life) with this cover of Bob Dylan's original. Make You Feel My Love lives in the land of covers, having been refab'd by such as Trisha Yearwood, Neil Diamond, Billy Joel and more...and so it's all the more incredible that ADELE's version is by far my favorite.

Sea of Love [mp3] Cat Power - "Juno" (iTunes). By far my favorite track off of the Juno soundtrack, which is saying a lot existing as it does in the sea of indie-awesomeness. The detached, old-time radio feel of Sea of Love makes waves of happiness swell somewhere deep down inside.

Handle Me With Care [mp3] Jenny Lewis with The Watson Twins - "Rabbit Fur Coat" (iTunes). I have long held that I will know when I have found my soul mate when I find someone who has a deep and abiding love for The Traveling Wilburys. When I found Jenny Lewis' rendition of Handle Me With Care, my standards tightened quite a bit...now Mr. Right has to know both The Traveling Wilburys and Jenny Lewis.

Such Great Heights [mp3] Iron & Wine - "Such Great Heights EP" (iTunes). This song is just the best I'm-irrationally-in-love song ever. And so, when I found this ridiculously mellow version of the song, I found myself plunged into a reverie where both I and he have freckles in our eyes.

Everybody Wants to Rule the World [mp3] Clare & The Reasons (iTunes). By far my favorite on this list, Clare Muldaur could woo me all day, everyday. *Sigh*

What a Wonderful World [mp3] The Innocence Mission - "Now the Day is Over" (iTunes). The perfect ending to a near-perfect list! What a Wonderful World makes me see the world through wonderfully hazy glasses, and makes me feel that all is right in life!

Theme Thursday - Sunshine

It's a beautiful sunny day here in NYC, so the theme for today is Sunshine.

Sunshine [mp3] - Atmosphere - "Sad Clown Bad Summer - Number 9" (iTunes). I love this song and how it reminds us to enjoy the simple things in life and focus on the positive. This is from Atmosphere's newest album that just came out in the end of August. And, as I always have to add, Atmosphere is from Minneapolis. It's really relaxing, which is awesome because I don't usually think of rap as a particularly relaxing medium.

Asleep on a Sunbeam [mp3] - Belle & Sebastian - "Dear Catastrophe Waitress" (iTunes). Belle & Sebastian have a lot of songs about sunshine/sunniness, but I like this one and it is another perfect relaxing song.

Burned by the Sun [mp3] - Beulah - "The Coast is Never Clear" (iTunes). Very groove-able. A great song for driving with your windows too.

Sunset Soon Forgotten [mp3] - Iron & Wine - "Our Endless Numbered Days" (iTunes)

Sunburn [mp3] - Muse - "Showbiz" (iTunes unavailable). This one is less relaxing (or well, it becomes less relaxings part way through the song) but I think the piano part is really pretty.

Sunshine [mp3] - Simian - "We Are Your Friends" (iTunes unavailable). This one is more upbeat, almost dance-able.

Don't Take My Sunshine Away [mp3] - Sparklehorse - "Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain" (iTunes). I like this one until about 40 seconds before the end when all of a sudden it becomes really hard rock and for like 15 seconds out of nowhere and I don't think that fits in with the rest of the song. But the beginning reminds me of my old favorite band, Remy Zero.

Island In The Sun [mp3] - Weezer - "The Green Album" (iTunes). This song is one of the best chilling on a sunny day songs ever so I had to post it.

Hope you all have a chance to get out and enjoy the lovely weather while it lasts. Tata dahlings.

Theme Thursday - Dreams

So I'm going to start something I am going to call Theme Thursdays - an idea I will admit that I kind of stole from the University of Minnesota Radio Station, Radio K. So Theme Thursday is going to work as follows: I'm going to pick a word or a concept and find three songs (or so) that relate somehow - either by title, artist or album.

Today's theme (we're going to start off with an easy one) is Dreams. And I think I'm going to try to hit up a few different decades for this one.

So first we have the 80s classic Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) (mp3) by the Eurythmics (iTunes). This song like, IS my childhood and I still love it to this day.

Next we have the 90s hit Dreams (mp3) by The Cranberries (iTunes). Man, some great music came out of the 90s. In fact, we're going to do three 90s songs, because Dreamlover (mp3) by Mariah Carey (iTunes) is another great one. And to represent the later 90s, With You in Your Dreams (mp3) by Hanson (iTunes). Not gonna lie - I didn't appreciate Hanson in the 90s, but I do now. Especially after everything they went through to get their newest album released (I got to see the documentary, Strong Enough to Break, about it and meet them. They gave everyone free CDs and autographed them. Way cool.) Yes, they are indeed Indie now. They left their label. Go Hanson. In fact, the just released a new CD, "The Walk," two days ago. It's pretty good. I think I liked "Underneath" better though.

I kind of want to put up a song by the short-lived girl band Dream, but I will resist... I'm not going to sink that low today. But their songs were pretty hilarious.

And now for this decade, Fever Dream (mp3) by Iron & Wine (iTunes), and Dreams (mp3) by TV on the Radio (iTunes) - who I sadly don't get to see for free on Sunday at McCarren Park Pool because I am going to be in Connecticut... boo...

And let's do one foreign song, since it's such an easy theme: Dreams Come True (mp3), by Korean group SES (iTunes unavailable). And yes, this is the Korean version (though some parts are still in English). I don't like the English version because my favorite part of this song is the rap part toward the end, which was excluded from the English version. It reminds me of Alvin and the Chipmunks. Listen to it. You'll understand.

Ok, happy Theme Thursday! Sorry if I'm a little flaky about posting over the next few days. I've got some craziness coming up. But I will do my best to keep the posts coming. Tata dahlings.