Falling Slowly

My friend Ora, who helped inspire the name (and very creation) of this blog, introduced me to a fair number of the songs on this list. She has great taste in music, and although I had known some of the songs already, some were hidden gems from artists I knew well. But she also keeps me abreast of things that the layman should, but might not, be aware of, like •Falling Slowly• by Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova. From the soundtrack of the movie Once, and apparently, it won an oscar for best original song.


I don't know you
But I want you
All the more for that
Words fall through me
And always fool me
And I can't react
And games that never amount
To more than they're meant
Will play themselves out

Take this sinking boat and point it home
We've still got time
Raise your hopeful voice you have a choice
You'll make it now

Falling slowly, eyes that know me
And I can't go back
Moods that take me and erase me
And I'm painted black
You have suffered enough
And warred with yourself
It's time that you won

Take this sinking boat and point it home
We've still got time
Raise your hopeful voice you had a choice
You've made it now
Falling slowly sing your melody
I'll sing along

I Will Follow You Into The Dark

As has been discussed earlier, many of the songs in this blog have been featured in television shows or movies that make me smile with their intelligent writing, Scrubs is one of my favorites, and the topic of today's entry did in fact appear on that show. But that's not how I found it. I happened on this video on Facebook, and it is a very simple, yet very touching and poignant piece of footage. Witness how easy it is to make a wonderful music video with minimal expense in •I Will Follow You Into The Dark• by Death Cab for Cutie.

Love of mine
Some day you will die
But I'll be close behind
I'll follow you into the dark

No blinding light
Or tunnels to gates of white
Just our hands clasped so tight
Waiting for the hint of a spark

If heaven and hell decide
That they both are satisfied
Illuminate the no's on their vacancy signs

If there's no one beside you
When your soul embarks
Then I'll follow you into the dark

In Catholic school
As vicious as Roman rule
I got my knuckles bruised
By a lady in black
And I held my toungue
As she told me "Son
Fear is the heart of love"
So I never went back

If heaven and hell decide
That they both are satisfied
Illuminate the no's on their vacancy signs

If there's no one beside you
When your soul embarks
Then I'll follow you into the dark

You and me
Have seen everything to see
From Bangkok to Calgary
And the soles of your shoes
Are all worn down
The time for sleep is now
It's nothing to cry about
Cause we'll hold each other soon
In the blackest of rooms

If heaven and hell decide
That they both are satisfied
Illuminate the no's on their vacancy signs

If there's no one beside you
When your soul embarks
Then I'll follow you into the dark
Then I'll follow you into the dark

P.S.: (The official video is pretty cool too!)

I Don't Believe You

Pink is one angry chick. Don't get me wrong, I like her stuff tremendously. But some of her songs are pretty brash. That's probably why I like her stuff so much. Back when I was in college, my friend Bill and I were outside one day and the women's soccer game was at halftime. From across the campus we heard the strains of Alanis Morrisette's "You Oughta Know" blaring from the loud speakers, and then spent a good twenty minutes riffing on the possibility of a wave of very angry women running over the hill at us like the Scottish army in Braveheart. Pink sings stuff that makes Alanis seem like June Cleaver. "So What" shows that she can hang with the old boys and party like a rock star.

Which is why it is such a pleasant surprise (and highly indicative of her vast talent) to hear •I Don't Believe You• show her softer, more vulnerable side. Even looking at the lyrics, at first blush, you see a lot of positive affirmations; "the passion's there, so it's got to be right" and "but I want more, no, I wont' stop, 'Cause I just know you'll come around." But in a very subtle interplay of words, she turns that confidence into vulnerability with a single, questioning word: "right?" She shows her voice wonderfully here, and this song is truly music to contemplate by.

I don't mind it, I don't mind at all
It's like you're the swing set, and I'm the kid that falls
It's like the way we fight, the times I've cried
We come to blows and every night
The passion's there, so it's got to be right, right?

No, I don't believe you
When you say don't come around here no more
I won't remind you
You said we wouldn't be apart

No, I don't believe you
When you say you don't need me anymore
So don't pretend to
Not love me at all

I don't mind it, I still don't mind at all
It's like one of those bad dreams when you can't wake up
Looks like you've given up, you've had enough
But I want more, no, I wont' stop
'Cause I just know you'll come around, right?

No, I don't believe you
When you say don't come around here no more
I won't remind you
You said we wouldn't be apart

No, I don't believe you
When you say you don't need me anymore
So don't pretend to
Not love me at all

Just don't stand there and watch me fall
'Cause I, 'cause I still don't mind at all

It's like the way we fight, the times I've cried
We come to blows and every night
The passion's there
So it's got to be right, right?

No, I don't believe you
When you say don't come around here no more
I won't remind you
You said we wouldn't be apart

No, I don't believe you
When you say you don't need me anymore
So don't pretend to
Not love me at all
Oh, I don't believe

Goodbye My Lover

With the Window Lean, I'm trying to give you a variety of artists before I start repeating any. But it is inevitable, as some artists, like Peter Gabriel, Colin Hay, and Ray LaMontagne are too good to just nail down to one song. James Blunt is likely to have more than one spot in this list, and it won't take very long, either.

One of my favorites of his is •Goodbye My Lover•, a song about loss and memory. In it, we see a man broken by lost love, although the nature of the loss is not quite made clear. Did she leave? Did HE leave? Did she die? It doesn't matter. What matters is he is a shell of a man without her, and there is little int he world more powerful than the sorrow of a lost love.


Did I disappoint you or let you down
Should I be feeling guilty or let the judges frown
'Cause I saw the end before we'd begun
Yes I saw you were blinded and I knew I had won

So I took what's mine by eternal right
Took your soul out into the night
It may be over but it won't stop there
I am here for you if you'd only care

You touched my heart you touched my soul
You changed my life and all my goals
And love is blind and that I knew when
My heart was blinded by you

I've kissed your lips and held your hand
Shared your dreams and shared your bed
I know you well, I know your smell
I've been addicted to you

Goodbye my lover
Goodbye my friend
You have been the one
You have been the one for me
Goodbye my lover
Goodbye my friend
You have been the one
You have been the one for me

I am a dreamer and when I wake
You can't break my spirit - it's my dreams you take
And as you move on, remember me
Remember us and all we used to be

I've seen you cry, I've seen you smile
I've watched you sleeping for a while
I'd be the father of your child
I'd spend a lifetime with you

I know your fears and you know mine
We've had our doubts but now we're fine
And I love you, I swear that's true
I cannot live without you

Goodbye my lover
Goodbye my friend
You have been the one
You have been the one for me
Goodbye my lover
Goodbye my friend
You have been the one
You have been the one for me

And I still hold your hand in mine
In mine when I'm asleep
And I will bare my soul in time,
When I'm kneeling at your feet

Goodbye my lover
Goodbye my friend
You have been the one
You have been the one for me
Goodbye my lover
Goodbye my friend
You have been the one
You have been the one for me

I'm so hollow, baby, I'm so hollow
I'm so, I'm so, I'm so hollow
I'm so hollow, baby, I'm so hollow
I'm so, I'm so, I'm so hollow

So Are You To Me

As a kid I was obsessed with television. Every show was appointment television. As I grew into my twenties, however, television almost completely disappeared from my life. Nothing could capture my attention anymore. The only show I watched with any kind of regularity was The Simpsons. I still don't go in for the big must watch shows. I have never seen more than one full episode of Seinfeld or the Sopranos. But when I know a show has decent writing and a premise I can get behind, I will give it a shot. I now usually have at least one show that is appointment television. Often times, the key to a good show becoming a great show in my eyes is the correct usage of music.

Alias was recommended to me by my best friend Stacey. It became a staple, appointment television. As this blog indicates, I am a sucker for emotional music. Alias had roots as an action show, with espionage and intrigue. But what kept me with the show especially was the growing relationship shared by this tough CIA double agent and her handler. You spend 45 minutes watching this woman kick ass and save the world, and then you get 5 minutes of her softer side. Those 5 minutes are the emotional anchor of that show that sets it aside from other action dramas, and a reason it is one of the few shows I own the entire run of on DVD.

One of the songs featured on that show is •So Are You To Me• by Eastmountainsouth. Enjoy.

As the music at the banquet
As the wine before the meal
As the firelight in the night
So are you to me

As the ruby in the setting
As the fruit upon the tree
As the wind blows over the plains
So are you to me

As the wind blows over the plains
So are you to me
So are you to me

Cryin'

Sometimes, something happens, and no matter how hard you try, nothing you can say can improve the situation. That can be bad, like when you've just put your foot in your mouth, and hurt someone you love. It can also sometimes be good, like when you're watching a sunrise with your significant other and the moment just cannot get any better.

Sometimes in life, as is in music, there are no words. Joe Satriani is known for his screechingly fierce guitar licks and up tempo axe-wielding. But he also has a softer side, and •Cryin'• displays that side that's just made to listen to when the skies are falling and the rain is dancing on your windows.

Hallelujah

I will freely admit to having never heard this song before it appeared in The Watchmen. The Leonard Cohen version seemed very clunky and comical to me. I read something about them thinking about using the Allison Crowe cover, but that it was too tender for what Zack Snyder wanted to be an ultimately silly moment (two people stripping off their rubber costumes to have sex in a giant mechanical owl). I was intrigued. I looked it up.

Here is Allison Crowe's version of •Hallelujah• and it is quite beautiful.


I've heard there was a secret chord
That David played and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care for music, do you?
Well, it goes like this the forth, the fifth
The minor fall and the major lift
The baffled king composing hallelujah

Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah

Well, your faith was strong, but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty in the moonlight overthrew you
She tied you to her kitchen chair
She broke your throne, she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew that hallelujah

Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah

Wel,l baby, I've been here before
I've seen this room and I've walked this floor
I used to live alone before I knew you
I've seen your flag on the marble arch
But, love is not a victory march
It's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah

Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah

Well, there was a time when you let me know
What's really going on below
But now you never show that to me, do you?
But, remember when I moved in you
And the Holy ghost was moving too
And every breath we drew was hallelujah

Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah

Well, maybe there is a God above
But, all that I've ever learned from love
Was how to shoot somebody who outdrew you
And it's not a cry that you hear at night
And it's not somebody who's seen the light
It's a cold and it is a broken hallelujah

Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah