tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15306643748695221332024-03-13T14:00:59.966-04:00The Window LeanUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1530664374869522133.post-31852885381433716522010-11-05T11:03:00.000-04:002010-11-05T11:03:09.436-04:00Falling SlowlyMy 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 <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoSL_qayMCc&feature=fvw" target="_blank">•Falling Slowly•</a> by Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova. From the soundtrack of the movie Once, and apparently, it won an oscar for best original song.<br />
<br />
<br />
I don't know you<br />
But I want you<br />
All the more for that<br />
Words fall through me<br />
And always fool me<br />
And I can't react<br />
And games that never amount<br />
To more than they're meant<br />
Will play themselves out<br />
<br />
Take this sinking boat and point it home<br />
We've still got time<br />
Raise your hopeful voice you have a choice<br />
You'll make it now<br />
<br />
Falling slowly, eyes that know me<br />
And I can't go back<br />
Moods that take me and erase me<br />
And I'm painted black<br />
You have suffered enough<br />
And warred with yourself<br />
It's time that you won<br />
<br />
Take this sinking boat and point it home<br />
We've still got time<br />
Raise your hopeful voice you had a choice<br />
You've made it now<br />
Falling slowly sing your melody<br />
I'll sing alongUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1530664374869522133.post-37744024556620865902010-10-26T17:40:00.001-04:002011-10-07T22:36:03.145-04:00I Will Follow You Into The DarkAs 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 <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mhwzpEPZSQ" target="_blank">•I Will Follow You Into The Dark•</a> by Death Cab for Cutie.<br />
<br />
Love of mine <br />
Some day you will die <br />
But I'll be close behind <br />
I'll follow you into the dark <br />
<br />
No blinding light <br />
Or tunnels to gates of white <br />
Just our hands clasped so tight <br />
Waiting for the hint of a spark <br />
<br />
If heaven and hell decide <br />
That they both are satisfied <br />
Illuminate the no's on their vacancy signs <br />
<br />
If there's no one beside you <br />
When your soul embarks <br />
Then I'll follow you into the dark <br />
<br />
In Catholic school <br />
As vicious as Roman rule <br />
I got my knuckles bruised <br />
By a lady in black <br />
And I held my toungue<br />
As she told me "Son <br />
Fear is the heart of love" <br />
So I never went back <br />
<br />
If heaven and hell decide <br />
That they both are satisfied <br />
Illuminate the no's on their vacancy signs <br />
<br />
If there's no one beside you <br />
When your soul embarks <br />
Then I'll follow you into the dark <br />
<br />
You and me <br />
Have seen everything to see <br />
From Bangkok to Calgary <br />
And the soles of your shoes <br />
Are all worn down <br />
The time for sleep is now <br />
It's nothing to cry about <br />
Cause we'll hold each other soon <br />
In the blackest of rooms <br />
<br />
If heaven and hell decide <br />
That they both are satisfied <br />
Illuminate the no's on their vacancy signs <br />
<br />
If there's no one beside you <br />
When your soul embarks <br />
Then I'll follow you into the dark <br />
Then I'll follow you into the dark<br />
<br />
P.S.: (The <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbqtuFemMOE" target="_blank">official video</a> is pretty cool too!)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1530664374869522133.post-24412468644802944352010-10-18T12:56:00.001-04:002010-10-18T20:03:16.485-04:00I Don't Believe YouPink 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 <i>why</i> 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.<br />
<br />
Which is why it is such a pleasant surprise (and highly indicative of her vast talent) to hear <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26EP0ght2kI" target="_blank">•I Don't Believe You•</a> 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.<br />
<br />
I don't mind it, I don't mind at all<br />
It's like you're the swing set, and I'm the kid that falls<br />
It's like the way we fight, the times I've cried<br />
We come to blows and every night<br />
The passion's there, so it's got to be right, right?<br />
<br />
No, I don't believe you<br />
When you say don't come around here no more<br />
I won't remind you<br />
You said we wouldn't be apart<br />
<br />
No, I don't believe you<br />
When you say you don't need me anymore<br />
So don't pretend to<br />
Not love me at all<br />
<br />
I don't mind it, I still don't mind at all<br />
It's like one of those bad dreams when you can't wake up<br />
Looks like you've given up, you've had enough<br />
But I want more, no, I wont' stop<br />
'Cause I just know you'll come around, right?<br />
<br />
No, I don't believe you<br />
When you say don't come around here no more<br />
I won't remind you<br />
You said we wouldn't be apart<br />
<br />
No, I don't believe you<br />
When you say you don't need me anymore<br />
So don't pretend to<br />
Not love me at all<br />
<br />
Just don't stand there and watch me fall<br />
'Cause I, 'cause I still don't mind at all<br />
<br />
It's like the way we fight, the times I've cried<br />
We come to blows and every night<br />
The passion's there<br />
So it's got to be right, right?<br />
<br />
No, I don't believe you<br />
When you say don't come around here no more<br />
I won't remind you<br />
You said we wouldn't be apart<br />
<br />
No, I don't believe you<br />
When you say you don't need me anymore<br />
So don't pretend to<br />
Not love me at all<br />
Oh, I don't believeUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1530664374869522133.post-86608088393660346012010-10-15T14:38:00.001-04:002010-10-15T14:38:41.268-04:00Goodbye My LoverWith 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. <br />
<br />
One of my favorites of his is <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVyggTKDcOE" target="_blank">•Goodbye My Lover•</a>, 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. <br />
<br />
<br />
Did I disappoint you or let you down<br />
Should I be feeling guilty or let the judges frown<br />
'Cause I saw the end before we'd begun<br />
Yes I saw you were blinded and I knew I had won<br />
<br />
So I took what's mine by eternal right<br />
Took your soul out into the night<br />
It may be over but it won't stop there<br />
I am here for you if you'd only care<br />
<br />
You touched my heart you touched my soul<br />
You changed my life and all my goals<br />
And love is blind and that I knew when<br />
My heart was blinded by you<br />
<br />
I've kissed your lips and held your hand<br />
Shared your dreams and shared your bed<br />
I know you well, I know your smell<br />
I've been addicted to you<br />
<br />
Goodbye my lover<br />
Goodbye my friend<br />
You have been the one<br />
You have been the one for me<br />
Goodbye my lover<br />
Goodbye my friend<br />
You have been the one<br />
You have been the one for me<br />
<br />
I am a dreamer and when I wake<br />
You can't break my spirit - it's my dreams you take<br />
And as you move on, remember me<br />
Remember us and all we used to be<br />
<br />
I've seen you cry, I've seen you smile<br />
I've watched you sleeping for a while<br />
I'd be the father of your child<br />
I'd spend a lifetime with you<br />
<br />
I know your fears and you know mine<br />
We've had our doubts but now we're fine<br />
And I love you, I swear that's true<br />
I cannot live without you<br />
<br />
Goodbye my lover<br />
Goodbye my friend<br />
You have been the one<br />
You have been the one for me<br />
Goodbye my lover<br />
Goodbye my friend<br />
You have been the one<br />
You have been the one for me<br />
<br />
And I still hold your hand in mine<br />
In mine when I'm asleep<br />
And I will bare my soul in time,<br />
When I'm kneeling at your feet<br />
<br />
Goodbye my lover<br />
Goodbye my friend<br />
You have been the one<br />
You have been the one for me<br />
Goodbye my lover<br />
Goodbye my friend<br />
You have been the one<br />
You have been the one for me<br />
<br />
I'm so hollow, baby, I'm so hollow<br />
I'm so, I'm so, I'm so hollow<br />
I'm so hollow, baby, I'm so hollow<br />
I'm so, I'm so, I'm so hollowUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1530664374869522133.post-80043494004305608642010-10-11T10:58:00.001-04:002010-10-11T10:59:14.407-04:00So Are You To MeAs 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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
One of the songs featured on that show is <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXEs6vnl-cc&feature=related" target="_blank">•So Are You To Me•</a> by Eastmountainsouth. Enjoy.<br />
<br />
As the music at the banquet <br />
As the wine before the meal <br />
As the firelight in the night <br />
So are you to me <br />
<br />
As the ruby in the setting <br />
As the fruit upon the tree <br />
As the wind blows over the plains <br />
So are you to me <br />
<br />
As the wind blows over the plains <br />
So are you to me <br />
So are you to meUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1530664374869522133.post-20065779708798266222010-10-10T22:23:00.001-04:002010-10-10T22:24:33.715-04:00Cryin'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.<br />
<br />
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 <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqM0NRUW7yI" target="_blank">•Cryin'•</a> displays that side that's just made to listen to when the skies are falling and the rain is dancing on your windows.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1530664374869522133.post-76592098688204090452010-10-09T12:47:00.000-04:002010-10-09T12:47:08.338-04:00HallelujahI 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.<br />
<br />
Here is Allison Crowe's version of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfpVq4rPfQg" target="_blank">•Hallelujah•</a> and it is quite beautiful.<br />
<br />
<br />
I've heard there was a secret chord<br />
That David played and it pleased the Lord<br />
But you don't really care for music, do you?<br />
Well, it goes like this the forth, the fifth<br />
The minor fall and the major lift<br />
The baffled king composing hallelujah<br />
<br />
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah<br />
<br />
Well, your faith was strong, but you needed proof<br />
You saw her bathing on the roof<br />
Her beauty in the moonlight overthrew you<br />
She tied you to her kitchen chair<br />
She broke your throne, she cut your hair<br />
And from your lips she drew that hallelujah<br />
<br />
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah<br />
<br />
Wel,l baby, I've been here before<br />
I've seen this room and I've walked this floor<br />
I used to live alone before I knew you<br />
I've seen your flag on the marble arch<br />
But, love is not a victory march<br />
It's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah<br />
<br />
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah<br />
<br />
Well, there was a time when you let me know<br />
What's really going on below<br />
But now you never show that to me, do you?<br />
But, remember when I moved in you<br />
And the Holy ghost was moving too<br />
And every breath we drew was hallelujah<br />
<br />
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah<br />
<br />
Well, maybe there is a God above<br />
But, all that I've ever learned from love<br />
Was how to shoot somebody who outdrew you<br />
And it's not a cry that you hear at night<br />
And it's not somebody who's seen the light<br />
It's a cold and it is a broken hallelujah<br />
<br />
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah<br />
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujahUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1530664374869522133.post-85559870305942772512010-10-08T08:32:00.000-04:002010-10-08T08:32:41.625-04:00Let It Be MeWhen it comes to music to contemplate by, Ray LaMontagne has nicely cornered that market, in my eyes. He could take something as chipper as Happy Birthday and turn it into something that will make you really sleepy. I would absolutely love to hear him cover AC/DC's Thunderstruck, JUST to hear what he could turn it into, except it would keep him from making more of the music that he truly excels at.<br />
<br />
Like <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LWpw3CMCEg" target="_blank">•Let It Be Me•</a>. This track instantly calms me down, so much so that I will sometimes need to force myself to NOT listen to it if I have had a rough day and need to work through my anger rather than suppress it. My brain tends to view music as soundtrack material. This song is the scene where the hero, down on his luck and at the end of his rope, looks into the eyes of that one girl who has been there for him through thick and thin and realizes that the one he has been looking for has been next to him the whole time. What's better than that?<br />
<br />
<br />
There comes a time<br />
A time in everyone's life<br />
When nothing seems to go their way<br />
When nothing seems to turn out right<br />
There may come a time <br />
You just can't seem to find your place<br />
For every door you open <br />
Seems like you get two slammed in your face<br />
<br />
That's when you need someone<br />
Someone that you can call<br />
When all your faith is gone<br />
It feels like you can't go on<br />
Let it be me<br />
Let it be me<br />
If it's a friend you need<br />
Let it be me<br />
Let it be me<br />
<br />
Feels like you always coming up last<br />
Pockets full of nothing<br />
Ain't got no cash<br />
Don't matter where you turn<br />
You ain't got no place to stand<br />
You reach out for something and they slap your hand<br />
<br />
I remember all too well<br />
Just how it feels to be all alone<br />
You feel like you'd give anything<br />
For just a little place you can call your own<br />
<br />
That's when you need someone<br />
Someone that you can call <br />
When all your faith is gone<br />
It feels like you can't go on<br />
Let it be me<br />
Let it be me<br />
If it's a friend you need<br />
Let it be me<br />
Let it be me<br />
Let it be me<br />
Let it be me<br />
If it's a friend you need<br />
Let it be me<br />
Let it be me<br />
Let it be meUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1530664374869522133.post-75709512513115648262010-10-06T13:01:00.003-04:002010-10-06T23:16:13.627-04:00The Book Of LoveMany times, the images that appear in my head when listening to a powerful piece of music are far different that what the artist may have intended to evoke. I don't see that as a fault, just as I don't see what others interpret my art to mean as incorrect if it does not match up to what I had in mind. I will sometimes go YEARS interpreting a song one way only to find out that the artist meant something entirely different. Sometimes even if the lyrics spell it out for you, your interpretation of a given song, what the song means to you, can be vastly different than what it means to everyone else. Your "movie" may not match up to one that may already exist out there.<br />
<br />
And then there's <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytXEtbC4OqA&NR=1" target="_blank">•The Book Of Love•</a> by Peter Gabriel. While watching the series finale of Scrubs (which has brought me a vast number of my favorite songs) we see the main character JD imagining his future as home movies projected on a large sheet in front of the hospital. It is the perfect set of images for the song, and I present it thusly.<br />
<br />
The book of love is long and boring<br />
No one can lift the damn thing<br />
It's full of charts and facts and figures <br />
and instructions for dancing<br />
But I<br />
I love it when you read to me<br />
And you<br />
You can read me anything<br />
<br />
The book of love has music in it<br />
In fact that's where music comes from<br />
Some of it is just transcendental<br />
Some of it is just really dumb<br />
But I<br />
I love it when you sing to me<br />
And you<br />
You can sing me anything<br />
<br />
The book of love is long and boring<br />
And written very long ago<br />
It's full of flowers and heart-shaped boxes<br />
And things we're all too young to know<br />
But I<br />
I love it when you give me things<br />
And you<br />
You ought to give me wedding rings<br />
And I<br />
I love it when you give me things<br />
And you<br />
You ought to give me wedding rings<br />
You ought to give me wedding ringsUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1530664374869522133.post-4081497299178481402010-10-06T00:09:00.002-04:002010-10-06T07:36:36.700-04:00I Just Don't Think I'll Ever Get Over YouThe name of this blog is inspired by a discussion that a friend of mine and I had. Neither of us were feeling particularly lucky in love, and we described our general depression as leaning against the window in the pouring rain watching life move by too fast. Music can often help stir up emotions that have been repressed, allowing them to be vented and released. I know the value of a good cry in therapeutic terms. Music is a powerful aid in that therapy.<br />
<br />
Today's song is <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5J-DtKldpE" target="_blank">•I Just Don't Think I'll Ever Get Over You•</a> by Colin Hay (a song that I discovered as a result of our conversation).<br />
<br />
I drink good coffee every morning<br />
Comes from a place that's far away<br />
And when I'm done I feel like talking<br />
Without you here there is less to say<br />
I don't want you thinking I'm unhappy<br />
What is closer to the truth<br />
That if I lived till I was 102<br />
I just don't think I'll ever get over you<br />
I'm no longer moved to drink strong whisky<br />
'Cause I shook the hand of time and I knew<br />
That if I lived till I could no longer climb my stairs<br />
I just don't think I'll ever get over you<br />
Your face it dances and it haunts me<br />
Your laughter's still ringing in my ears<br />
I still find pieces of your presence here<br />
Even after all these years<br />
But I don't want you thinking I don't get asked to dinner<br />
'Cause I'm here to say that I sometimes do<br />
Even though I may soon feel the touch of love<br />
I just don't think I'll ever get over you<br />
If I lived till I was 102<br />
I just don't think I'll ever get over youUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1530664374869522133.post-89948282731053348232010-10-05T23:25:00.000-04:002010-10-05T23:52:04.190-04:00Colorblind<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div>There are numerous people who post on the internet trying to explain what songs mean. I am not one of them. I often have no clue what a song means. I do get very strong images in my head, however, when I hear a particularly powerful song.<br />
<br />
Today's song is <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0s7ycdUcHk&feature=artist" target="_blank">•Colorblind•</a> by Counting Crows.<br />
<br />
To me, the song evokes a powerful sense of loss and contemplation. I envision a man sitting on the edge of a bed, head hung low. Maybe the end of a relationship, maybe the end of a life. Either way, it's raining out, and the windows are beckoning.<br />
<br />
I am color blind <br />
Coffee black and egg white <br />
Pull me out from inside <br />
I am ready <br />
I am ready <br />
I am ready <br />
I am <br />
taffy stuck, tongue tied <br />
Stuttered shook and uptight <br />
Pull me out from inside <br />
I am ready <br />
I am ready <br />
I am ready <br />
I am fine <br />
I am covered in skin <br />
No one gets to come in <br />
Pull me out from inside <br />
I am folded, and unfolded, and unfolding <br />
I am <br />
color blind <br />
Coffee black and egg white <br />
Pull me out from inside <br />
I am ready <br />
I am ready <br />
I am ready <br />
I am fine <br />
I am fine <br />
I am fineUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0