Jump.

Fun in the sun. This song has horns in all the right sections, be-bop girls the charm the heavens, and that beat, that beat, that beat. Let loose and enjoy this with the windows down and your hand in her lap. The song?

Corinne Bailey Rae - Put You Records On - from her self-titled debut.

The words:

Oh, You’re gonna find yourself somewhere, somehow.

Animals Feel.

Full of crazy, wierd sounds and yet strangly engaging. That's how the whole album comes off, but one song in particular realy grabs me. I think it's the funky yelling that draws me in. This song is best for those times that you're girlfriend or boyfriend is coming over and you need to clean your room in a hurry... It's just that you'd like to have fun as you clean. The song?

Animal Collective - Grass - from their album Feels.


The words:

Whats with all the changes since the time i was aware
its like the apple eating people that we once were arent there
Did they empty out their pockets and debase their younger faces
and you must make sure your happy when you leave your summer places

Disease.

Huge. That's how this song starts and it never lets up. The chorus here is reminiscent of that of Beautiful Day by U2. Vocalist Tom Smith has a tense, smooth voice. The song?

Editors - Bullets

The words:

If something has to change then it always does
If something has to change then it always does

You don't need this disease, not right now
No, you don't need this disease, not right now

Oh you don't need this disease you don't
You don't need this disease you don't
You don't need this disease you don't
You don't need this disease

Voice.

Huge. Operatic. So full of emotion it hurts. Some people hate this guy's voice... but I think it's spectacular. The lyrics may not come across as especially deep or meaningful, but thats because you are reading them, not hearing them sung. This is a group that's weak on paper and most powerful in motion. The song?

Antony & The Johnson's - For Today I Am A Boy

The scribbles:

One day I’ll grow up, I’ll feel the power in me.
One day I’ll grow up, of this I’m sure.
One day I’ll grow up, I know whom within me.
One day I’ll grow up, feel it full and pure.

But for today I am a child, for today I am a boy.
For today I am a child, for today I am a boy.
For today I am a child, for today I am a boy.

Red.

Remember the first time you heard this guy's voice? It so rich, so soulful, so "lived in a car while writing this album," so good it actually cause my soul to ache, ache I tell you! Ache for my senses, fade and snuff out as they someday will. Ache for my sense of the ground below me, ache for the sense of the sky above me. Yeah, you should track down this song... but get the whole album while you're at it. The song?

Ray Lamontagne - Trouble

The heaven:

Trouble...
Oh, trouble, trouble, trouble, trouble
Feels like every time I get back on my feet
she come around and knock me down again
Worry...
Oh, worry, worry, worry, worry
Sometimes I swear it feels like this worry is my only friend
We'll I've been saved...
by a woman
I've been saved...
by a woman
I've been saved...
by a woman
She won't let me go
She won't let me go now
She won't let me go
She won't let me go now

Hard to Remember.

Simple guitar strokes give way eventually to a frenetic guitar and stirring strings which all form the backbone for this song. Isaac Brock comes through, as always, with stirring lyrics. The first minute may be a challenge, but the listener is well rewarded for paying attention. The song?

Modest Mouse - Lives

The gossip:

It's hard to remember, it's hard to remember
We're alive for the first time
It's hard to remember were alive for the last time
It's hard to remember, it's hard to remember
To live before you die
It's hard to remember, it's hard to remember
That our lives are such a short time
It's hard to remember, it's hard to remember
When it takes such a long time

Cuckoo!

Bizzarre song. Deceptively simple. Fun lyrics. Short and sweet. Enjoy. The song?

The Magnetic Fields - Absolutely Cuckoo

The juice:

Don't fall in love with me yet
We only recently met
True I'm in love with you but
you might decide I'm a nut
Give me a week or two to
go absolutley cuckoo
then, when you see your error,
then, you can flee in terror
like everybody else does
I only tell you this cause
I'm easy to get rid of
but not if you fall in love
Know now that I'm on the make
and if you make a mistake
my heart will certainly break
I'll have to jump in a lake
and all my friends will blame you
There's no telling what they'll do
It's only fair to tell you
I'm absolutely cuckoo

Honey.

Fill the kettle with water. Grab your favorite oversized mug. Dig through your cupboard and find that buried jar of honey. Glug, glug it into the mug. Pour the piping hot water over the two bags into the mug. Oh yeah... put on this song.

Joseph Arthur - Honey & The Moon.

Hunt down the full set of lyrics, but as always, here is my favorite part:

Don't know why I'm still afraid
If you weren't real I would make you up now
I wish that I could follow through
I know that your love is true
And deep
As the sea
But right now
Everything you want is wrong,
And right now
All your dreams are waking up,
And right now
I wish I could follow you
To the shores
Of freedom,
Where no one lives.

Rebel!

March to the rebellion! This is a song to never sleep to. A steady beat gives way to big finish. Yum. The world is an illusion you buy into! Fear is something you inhabit so that you can relate to those around you. But really... this song makes me want to breathe in for all my life... breathe in good days, bad days. Breathe in things changing, breathe in things staying the same. Breathe in love, breathe in hate, breathe in, breathe in, breathe in. And I'll exhale when I'm dead. The song?

Arcade Fire - Rebellion (Lies)

The power:

Sleeping is giving in,
no matter what the time is.
Sleeping is giving in,
so lift those heavy eyelids.

People say that you'll die
faster than without water.
But we know it's just a lie,
scare your son, scare your daughter.

Repetition is for Gods.

Distorted vocals, funky sound effects, and straight forward drums start things off with deceptive simplicity. But layer upon layer is constructed. There enters strings, guitars, wierder and weirder sound effects and the defogging of the vocals. The words start nostalgic and build to a plea, but they close with a return to nostalgia. The song?

Broken Social Scene - Anthems for a Seventeen Year Old Girl


The writing on the wall:

Used to be one of the rotten ones
and I liked you for that
Now you're all gone, got your make up on
and you're not coming back [can't you come back?]
Bleachin your teeth, similing flash,
talking trash under your breath [under my window]
Park that car, drop that phone,
sleep on the floor, dream about me
Used to be one of the rotten ones
and I liked you for that

Energy.

A strong steady beat. A high octane harmoica. Jangly drums. This song is about energy, and lots of it. Driving fast, running fast, talking fast: just do whatever you do. And if you're doing it to this prison tune, do it fast. The song?

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Ain't No Easy Way

The scribbles:

It's easy to fall in love
When you fall in love you know your done
you got easy eyes to hunt
when the world above needs your blood
and the cold vain to the richest man
They're paid away to steal our hand
There aint no easy way no there aint no easy way out

On Your Side.

Ah, poor Ryan Adams. He's always broken and troubled. Luckily, he channels that pain and is famously prolific for it. He published an album a couple years ago amid much controversy and it's the album that seems to get the most criticism. The album is Rock N' Roll and it's fifth track showcases my favorite vocal performance by Adams. The song?

Ryan Adams - So Alive

The words:

Today I watched the boats
Moving through the harbor
Walking on water
In your arms I'd stay
Forever if I could
Forever if I may
Keep me in your thoughts, don't disappear
I am on your side
And so alive
So alive it isn't real

Blue.

With a honey-molassaus melody and vocals delivered on a tune of subtle sunbeams this sad song is best listened to while mouthing the lyrics, sipping a cup of hot tea, and listening to love birds love. The song?

Joanna Newsom- This Side of the Blue.

Lyrics:


And the rest of our lives will the moments accrue
when the shape of their goneness will flare up anew.
hen we do what we have to do (re-loo, re-loo)
which is all you can do on this side of the blue.

It's The Trumpet.

Today's song lives and dies by the trumpet. Monotone vocals, a chorus of party people, a contagious hand clap and that trumpet trumpet trumpet make the song. The lyrics are goofy, full of summer and sweat, fun and fear of change. The song?

Jens Lekman - A Sweet Summer's Night on Hammer Hill

And the requesite lyrics:

My heart goes like
Bumpa Bumpa Bumpa Bum
Can you feel the beat of my heart?
Bumpa Bumpa Bumpa Bum
Can you feel the beat of my heart?
Bumpa Bumpa Bumpa Bum
Oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no!

Gray.

Today's tune to live by comes from one of my all time favorite lyricists. This man is so literate in a startingly effecient way and he brings these talents together with such precise delivery it's sometimes hard to believe. The song is the opening track to his most recent LP, Life in Slow Motion. Much like yesterday's song, today's song is all about the ending. It's an epic ending full of huge orchestration and concise lyrics. It's a song best played at the very hardest part of an evening's jog when you don't think you've any running left in you. The gentle atmospheric intro breaks open to reveal a crisp clean center half a song before giving way to the orchestral close. The music will keep your mind from your legs and your worries. It will train your focus on your breathing and the memory of the last clear blue sky you took time to enjoy. The song?

David Gray - Alibi

The song finishes with the following lyrics:

Tonight I'm running wild I'm running

First.

We'll start things off with something short and sweet. At less than 90 seconds it'll be a quick download for all you digital junkies and the pay off is a big, fat finish. The song rolls right out from under your speakers. Thinking of that old beat-up elevated highway, this is a tune thats perfect as you barrel up to speed on the on-ramp. The rambunctious finish will charm the final drop of beauty from that setting summer sun. The song?

Joe Firstman's Introduction to the War of Women

And here are the lyrics:

And then she'd tell me
That women are only as evil as you let them be
When their luxuries are felonies
And they're killing me with all of that Goddamn jealousy
But I would still be your showman
And for only you I'd write
But you ain't giving me a bit of your time
And now I want you.
So listen to me closely
Leave this lush lazy-eyed and lonely
Then I'm going to want you
Cause I can love you like all hell has broken loose
I'll be your light switch on the sun
And I can love you like all hell has broken loose.

Like a Soundtrack.

The focus of this blog is point out songs that can be felt as much as heard. These are songs that when heard may place you in the middle of your own little movie. These are songs for cruising, for walking, for thinking and dreaming. These are songs for breathing, for crying, for laughing. These are songs for living like your life is the best movie ever. These are soundtrack songs.