MEME | Seven Songs Meme

[From Moyen Age]

Rules:

• List seven songs you are into right now.
• No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they’re not any good, but they must be songs you’re really enjoying now, shaping your spring/summer.
• Post these instructions in your blog along with your seven songs.

1. "It Was You" (acoustic version), from Melody, by Sharleen Spiteri:
   I prefer the acoustic version over the album version because it italicizes Sharleen Spiteri's sultry vocals.


2. "The Story", from The Story, by Brandi Carlile:
   Everybody probably heard the song a hundred times since it was featured on the "Grey's Anatomy" soundtrack. It's still a favourite of mine, and I especially the part towards the end when she cast her voice for the high notes - and it crackles just a little.


3. "Where I Stood", from On A Clear Night, by Missy Higgins:
   A more mellow piece by the Australian singer. I was listening to this song a lot when I was writing my novel-in-progress. It's about giving up a relationship that you recognise has helped you grow, yet knowing in the core of your heart that it is time to move on.

   And I won't be far from where you are if ever you should call
   You meant more to me than anyone I ever loved at all
   But you taught me how to trust myself and so I say to you
   This is what I have to do
   
   'Cos I don't know who I am, who I am without you
   All I know is that I should
   And I don't know if I could stand another hand upon you
   All I know is that I should
   'Cos she will love you more than I could
   She who dares to stand where I stood
   Oh, she who dares to stand where I stood
   

   The pain of trying to do the right thing, even when it tears your heart trying to walk away. Knowing that though you are the one who chose to give her up, you can't ever bear to see her with somebody else.

   We are fools that way, us creatures of love.



4. "Jumpers", from The Woods, by Sleater-Kinney:
   I've been playing Sleater-Kinney heavily on the iPod these past two months. Their songs are visceral and intense and they never fail to lift me out of a dark mood. "Jumper" has that perfect opening to how I've been feeling these days:
   

   I spend the afternoon in cars
   I sit in traffic jams for hours
   Don't push me
   I am not OK
   
   The sky is blue most every day
   The lemons grow like tumors they
   Are tiny suns infused with sour

   "Tiny suns infused with sour" - the visual and gustatory bursts in that single line. Their songs are meant to be felt.


5. "What's Mine Is Yours", from The Woods, by Sleater-Kinney:
   I always pay attention to Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein's alternating guitar licks at the start of the song. It's a good example of just how in sync Tucker and Brownstein are with each other, how each compliment the other in spite of their different vocal qualities and guitar styles. To paraphrase Janet Weiss, the sheer chemistry between them help them reach for the moon.


6. "You're No Rock n' Roll Fun", from All Hands On the Bad One, by Sleater-Kinney:
   It's a happy, popsy tune, a little playful even, especially if you watch the MTV, where the girls ham it up.


7. "One More Hour", from Dig Me Out, by Sleater-Kinney:
   Perhaps my favourite Sleater-Kinney song ever. But you may like to check in with me a few years down the road and we'll see how I feel about it. I love the background story behind the song.

   It's a story about breaking-up, as one half of a failed relationship is moving out of the place they used to share. The girl who is leaving has trouble letting go. She leaves some stuff behind for her ex. Suddenly she cries, "Oh, you've got the darkest eyes." In the profound shade of her lover's eyes, she saw all that she once had and lost.

   I guess at one point or another, we all know that feeling of not being able to let go. This is the last song Sleater-Kinney played at their final concert - right before they went into "indefinite hiatus".

   
   

   i know it’s so hard for you to let it go,
   i know it’s so hard for you to say goodbye
   i know you need a little more time

   These lines sum up how I feel about "indefinite hiatus".