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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In honor of Radio K (the University of Minnesota's radio station), from whom I "borrowed" my idea for Theme Thursday and who is going FM today (congrats!) I thought I would make "radio" the theme of the day. And man are there a lot of good songs for this theme. Feel free to list any songs you really like with the word "radio" in it (or about the radio) in the comments section. And of course there's also some great bands with "radio" in their name (ie Radiohead, TV on the Radio)
I'm back from London. Part of me is sad but the other part of me is liking sleeping in my own bed and meals that cost less than $20. Unfortunately I didn't get to see any shows while I was there. It appeared that no one I liked was really playing and I didn't want to exorbitant amounts of money to go see bands I had never heard of. Plus I kind of just ran out of time. If you want to check out my pictures from London (above) and Brighton (below), click the links. As usual I took lots of photos, but I love the architecture so I couldn't resist. I also went to Bath, but I have to get those pictures from my friend as I didn't have my camera that day.
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.
