It's Friday & I'm In Love "Music"

You can always tell when school starts up again because I go "blog silent" . . . things happen and the blog suffers. I took a bunch of photos last week, but it was either process them or grade some essays. Guess which one I picked? Happily, the essays are all graded, and I'm caught up. So that brings me to this week's "lovely" topic, and it's an easy one: music. Honestly, I'm shocked that neither one of us has tackled it up to this point because music is so integral to our lives.

Let's face it, we all have a connection to certain songs, certain songs that will rock you to your very core. You remember where you were when you heard one song. Another brings you to tears each and every time. Some will transport you back in time 30 years when you could, in fact, rock that ponytail. There's music to chill by, music to cook by, music to grade by . . . hell, there are a fair amount that you can fuck by, but who's counting (me . . . seven, but that's another Friday). Over the years, I would like to think that I've refined my taste into some respectable categories, but I would be lying. Case in point, I'm listening to Ke$ha's "Take It Off" right now because it's catchy. Do I honestly think it has artistic merit? Hell, no. But the chick knows who to spin a tune . . . or at least her producers do.

Instead of listing all the music that I like - and believe me, there is a ton of it - I'll focus on just ten songs that I don't think my life would be the same without. Yes, I could live without them, but I would be a bigger bitch than I already am (but I did try to find some nice videos for you so I can't be that big of a bitch).

1. "Breathe Me" by Sia - There is something about her voice, the way that she starts by asking for help. I've been known to watch a really crappy trailer for a movie if they use this song or not turn away from a super-depressing commercial about cancer research just to hear it. 
2. "California Waiting" by Kings of Leon - I'm pretty sure that if you've read a few posts, you might know that I love the Kings. I've officially seen them more in concert than any other band, including U2. It is happy, peppy, and, as an added bonus, you can kinda, sorta understand all the words (but I don't like this version that much).
3. "Show Me What I'm Looking For" by Carolina Liar - I love the end of this song, where the chorus breaks the normal pattern and the symphony kicks in and the bells chime. Not quite chill-bump inducing, but nonetheless, it's pretty brilliant. 
4. "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" by Jim Croce - From the introductory plonk of the piano, I can tell you exactly how my dad would dance with me as a four-year old. Nothing makes me feel like a kid again . . . nothing. But then again, I wanted to be Dorris for the longest time.
5. "The Reflex" by Duran Duran - While we're on this trip down memory lane, let's visit the 80's. There's a special place in my heart for Duran Duran. I loved Simon LeBon and probably would have thrown my bra at him had I been to a concert in their heyday. My first time seeing the Double D's? Three years ago . . . where a co-worker and I nearly got popped for open container in New York City. 

6. "In the Sun" by Joseph Arthur - If you haven't heard this song, go have a listen . . . I'll wait. It was featured in Saved, which is an amazing movie, and pretty much makes the movie extra special. It's not a song that will always make me cry, but it pushes me over the edge. 
7. "Babylon" by David Gray - The first time I heard this song? Heading to Ohio on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, just about to crest the hill where they post the sign that you've left the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Dave bought me the CD on one of his trips to Canada because it came out three weeks earlier than in the States. 
8. "Thoroughly Modern Millie" by Julie Andrews - Yes, it's a show tune. Yes, I love it. No, I never got to see it on Broadway. I just love this song . . . and I have no explanation for it. 
9. "Life On Mars" by any artist - Prime example of the song being the focal point. I like it by David Bowie, Arcade Fire, Seal . . . hell, I even like it by Popshop and Seu Jorge. And the fact that it was the title of one of my favorite British serials doesn't hurt either. 
10. "Bad" by U2 - Honestly, I could have chosen several dozen, but that would have skewed the list a bit. "Bad" makes feel like I am 15 again, sunbathing on my grandparents' farm, wondering my a certain basketball player had yet to call me. Back then, I was probably moping while trying to look the part of a sunbather; now, I would say, "F**k You!" which is the name of the song by Cee Lo Green that is running on iTunes . . . his asterisks, not mine).

Happy Friday and enjoy the weekend!
- Jill, who just bought a Justin Bieber song . . . but don't tell Mom