Wednesday, July 11, 2012

the giddy: summer edition.

This past month I scored a pair of nice headphones (Skull Candy Aviators) on sale and I've been revisiting some of my favourite tunes to give them another listen. A friend of mine once asked me what my favourite part of a particular song was - that moment you wait for and get excited when it gets to that part - a "giddy" moment, if you will. While I don't have big enough ears to describe the chord changes off the top of my head, I can tell you why I dig these parts (it usually comes down to lyrics and mood/tempo change). So, in no particular order...

Sheryl Crow - Soak Up the Sun - 2:58
Sheryl Crow is one of my guilty pleasures. She writes catchy songs, sings in my vocal range, and she has been through a lot of hard stuff as of late, so I'm sending her positive healing vibes as well. In this particular tune, I love the lyric "maybe I am crazy too!" that follows "maybe something's wrong with you that makes you act the way you do". It's the acknowledgement that we are all a bit off our rockers, but that we don't necessarily have to put up with it.





Alanis Morrisette - One Hand in My Pocket - 3:00 

When this song comes up on my playlist, I turn up the volume and sing along, word for word. Best line of the song is "What it all comes down to is that  everything is just fine, fine, fine". For me, through the entire tune she describes how I feel about myself, but rarely express. What I usually say to people is that "everything's fine", so I relate to that deep down, and it pulls at me.




Das Racist - Rainbow in the Dark - 1:10
This tune is like candy. The lyrics are extremely catchy and clever. The part that makes me smirk is "I’m afraid of clowns, I’m afraid of small towns" because I am in fact afraid of clowns, and I went to college in a small town. I'm not actually afraid of small towns, but after living there for three years, I can say I understand the sentiment.




Notorious B.I.G. - Big Poppa - 1:40
Biggy had a flow that has yet to be matched. He really was a player and while there are several parts to this tune that make me smile (and yes I know all the words and I rap along), the best line is  "Soon as he buy that wine I just creep up from behind, ax you what your interests are". Baller on a budget. I love it.




D’Angelo - Brown Sugar - 2:45
When he plays the piano solo and improvises vocally over it with his beautiful falsetto "oo oo-ooo", dear lord, I melt. I am rooting for him with this comeback and hope that he is still able to bring it. The world could use some more of his smooth jams.




Garbage - I Think I’m Paranoid - 2:45
I have a girl crush on Shirley Manson. Great voice, gorgeous, edgy, and can sing the pants off pretty much anything thrown her way. The best part of this song, by far, is the final verse. Her singing is  intense and has a raw quality that is immediately contrasted with a very sweet, melodic sound at the very ending. I relate personally to this song far more than I'd like to admit.




Sleepy Brown/Outcast - I Can’t Wait - 3:41
I swoon when I hear "this is dedicated to the lover in you, in you, in yooooou". I recommend listening to this on headphones - it sounds so much richer.




Adele - Someone Like You - 3:10
I can not get enough of Adele. Her voice sucks me in, and I was super bummed when she had to have surgery on her vocal cords. Thank goodness she recovered, I would love to hear her sing live. The lyric that tears out my heart is "who would have known how bitter sweet this would taste".




John Mayer - Something Like Olivia - 2:00
This is one helluva catchy song.  My favourite lyric of the song is "If Olivia herself were at my door, I’d have to say I’d let her in". Mostly because John Mayer has the reputation of being a bit of a dog, and for the entire song, he has been singing about how he would never ever pursue her, but hey, if she showed up at his door, well, all bets are off.



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