Super Songs and Why They're Super and Why You Should Hear These Super Songs

(actually if you find the reason for why they're super good enough, then i don't have to tell you why you have to hear them)

At the risk of sounding like i know what people around me should listen to, here's my second installment of songs that i hear day in day out without ever thinking "damn- that song again!" (Which by the way, is my way of rating a good song). You see songs, according to me, are of six kinds (i started by thinking three but as it turns out, way more):-

1. The kind you change within seconds of playing and never hear again.
2. The kind that is currently playing all over the place so you listen to till its "hot". And occasionally hear it playing many months later at some obscure party and you go "oh yeeaah, this song was good once.
3. The kind that is always good or played anyways- the classics. Guaranteed to be played for decades and decades no matter where you are. Infact, at parties (the slightly grown up ones) the DJ will HAVE TO play summer of 69', that thing you do, uptown girl, i want to break free etc. etc. at some point. It's like a zone or dimension that you just slip into.
4. The kind that you don't particularly like, don't hear very often, but for some reason, you know the words and can't help but hum along to. Or worse, you get a phrase stuck in your head! This usually happens by keeping your radio on all the time.
5. The kind that are great songs and, for a while they're all you listen too, but then for no reason, you get tired of them. No real explanation for it, but we all know the songs that just fade.
6. My kind! The ones that you know in a few seconds that the song is going to be amazing. And it is, and all is well with the Earth and all its beings. Unfortunately, these ones are rare and so when one comes along, Earth and its beings MUST be happy.

My last list (posted many months ago) had a lot of these level 6 songs...and since then, thanks to my well musicified friends (you know who you all are, stand up and take a bow (and it's even more fun if you say "take a bow" like Austin Powers! )) I've gotten to listen to a LOT of music and have, therefore, come across quite a few of my now favorites.

But first, about me (calculated move to build suspense about upcoming list while servicing my blog infused ego by talkin about me) -

To begin with, as you may have picked up if you know me (the stuff i listen to) or have read my previous list, you'll know that i prefer the slower ones. Slightly sad, little melancholic, good lyrics (ones that make sense, and sometimes ones that done make any!) and all together, ones that make me imagine myself in the mindset of the song. Also one more measure for me to know if i like the song, as I've found out recently, is that i try to imagine a good music video for the song (i really should pay more attention to the road while I'm driving!!!). Other than that, I pretty much listen to everything else. Hip hop and Psy stuff and lounge are all i want at a party but in the end, they wont be part of my list as they don't say anything more than boom boom boom boom (and if its lounge then you'll hear an om shanti in the back ground.) And i can't really connect with a song that goes "flippin a wittin fa shizzle ma nizzle on tha dizzle"!!

And like last time, i would love if you send me some of your favorites so that i could hear more stuff and expand my list. No pressure , ofcourse, but consider this- While I'm riding high on this wave of lots of good music to hear, i fear that if the list ever runs out, I'll turn rabid!! I need my fix ok!

Anyhoo, here's the list, in no particular order:

1. Far Away Blues - Joe Purdy: Song about missing someone. I like the song for its simplicity. He misses her, he thinks of her and its just about that. And that's how it is with us all. We all have that person we think off, and then it passes as we get back to life and its issues. Love the lines "oh the water's mad, she's been fighting with the wind" and "things are fine and people are great, but I've been thinking of you."
2. First Day of My Life - Brighteyes: Song about love, those happy moments and everything great about it. I love how the song brings across so much happiness, love and sincerity in such basic ways. The lyrics are real and meaningful and are way more special then all the "i love yous." I love the lines " remember the time you drove all night, just to meet me in the morning" and " glad i didn't die before i met you". So simple and beautiful.
3. Walk Away - Ben Harper: Song about a relationship that's over and how you just have to move on. I like that it tells you that life is life, and that at the end of the day, you just have to get on with it. But for the moment it hurts and that sucks. And thats what it's about. Run me through a carrot grater and roll me around in salt if you haven't gone through this or don't know how it feels. Come to think of it, if you don't know what its about then maybe i should do that to you! Love the line "so many people to love in my life, why do i worry bout one."
4. This Year's Love - David Gray: Song about new love, doubt and vulnerability. He has been scarred before and is hesitant to allow himself to fall in love again. Cos he knows that we will lose himself entirely and he can't take getting hurt again. By the end though, he lets go and decides to go for it regardless of the consequences. Love the lines " when you hold me like you do, feels so right, start to forget how my heart gets torn"
5. Isn't Love - Joe Purdy: Song about hating this girl and all that she is because he doesn't want to love her. But he already does! I love the situation. Sometimes you think everything's wrong about the person but you cant help feeling like you do. So you have this inner fight that leaves you frustrated and lost. You can see it in these lines "i wish you had not been born, why'd we have to meet......and i hope this isn't love." Love the lines "go away why can't you leave me be, cos i love your face and you need to hurt me." He love's her but he hates her cos he hates himself for loving her.
6. How To Be Dead - Snow Patrol: Song about a fight between a couple. I like to think that the whole song is a dialogue between the girl and the guy. (and you'll get it if you hear the song enough. Infact call me up next time you're listening to it so i can explain it.) The whole song is an argument about those typical problems - time and space and all the things between. And that's it. No after effects, no conclusions - Just the fight. And maybe that's why i like it. It's just about what it is.
7. Chemistry - Teddy Geiger: Song about a relationship that just isn't working out. And all they have for each other is chemistry and that's not enough. I like the line "beneath our walls is chemistry." Just wish the song was longer - by the time you get into it, it's over.
8. For Blue Skies - Strays Don't Sleep: I think its about separation, longing, loneliness and a drug addiction! The whole song brings across this image of a cold machine like life, where at the end of the day, you come home to an empty house and an empty existence. The drugs come in cos of the line "wanna burn this filth, you alone with those pills" (as if he wishes to start anew and break free). And then, by the end the entire song sounds hopeful with the words "i forgive you."
9. Lost Cause - Beck: Song about something or someone too far gone to even try saving. The song brings across all the darkness of this place where everything's coming to an end. I like the lines "noone standing at your door, and that's what you thought love was for." and "i'm tired of fighting for a lost cause"
10. Perfect Blue Buildings - Counting Crows: Song about tripping and rehab (i think atleast). Awesome lyrics, the types that make a lot of sense about something even though you don't know exactly what that something is. To me, it's about despair, release and desperation all seen in a guy with a drug problem. The vivid colours (blue buildings, green apple seas) along with lines like "wanna get me a little oblivion" and "help me stay awake, i'm falling" all paint a picture of someone who wants to be saved but can't do it on his own.
11. Goodbye My Lover - James Blunt: Yes, as the title suggests, it's a song about the end of a relationship. What i like about it is that it doesn't say why it's over. Infact, all he sings about is how he never wanted it to end (as seen in the lines "I'd be the father of your child, I'd share a lifetime with you"). Strong lyrics that show just how close they were at one time and how killing it must be to not have that anymore. The video's great too cos it's one of the few that bring up images of what the song's about (remember i mentioned my "picture the video" criterea earlier?). You see this couple who are making love, but its shown in bursts - so you get a sense of the passion, and end with him sleeping alone on the bed. I like the lines "shared your dreams and shared your bed, I know you well, i know your smell, Ive been addicted to you."
12. I Love the Rain the Most - Joe Purdy: Just a song about good times. Folksy, rythmic song that gets one thinking of a picnic by a river, on a warm sunny afternoon. And i love it for just that. I love the line "we can jump in the river, don't know if the water or sky is clearer."
13. Save Tonight - Eagle Eye Cherry: A going away song. Really nice lyrics. And what i like most is that you can feel the supressed sadness that one feels when you have to go away, and when you try to block it out by doing whatever you have to avoid thinking about leaving someone. Love the lines "fight the break of dawn," and "tomorrow comes to take me away."