I’m not the kind of person who thinks a lot about my funeral, and when faced with the question on this meme, I actually thought of a number of songs I could have played at my funeral. One song did rise above all the others, and some my find it an odd choice for a funeral song, but I think it’s just perfect. Kate Bush wrote Moments of Pleasure for her mother who had passed away while making the album The Red Shoes. The song is a series of memories about people who she loved that had died. It’s quite poignant, but is also a celebration of all the special moments she has shared with people she has loved. Moments of pleasure.
30 Day Song Challenge Day 23 – A Song That You Played at Your Wedding Reception
There’s a slightly convoluted story to go along with this selection. The song I’m including in this post, The Magnetic Fields’ The Book of Love, was a song I asked my friend Chris Perry to play at my wedding. He surprised us by playing a different Magnetic Fields song, It’s Only Time, which was beautiful, and totally fitting. Then, when we had our reception, seven months later, Chris came prepared to play The Book of Love for us, which he did, beautifully. I think this is truly one of the most beautiful and romantic songs ever written, with sentiment, humor and a beautiful melody. It was meant to be played at our wedding, and instead it was played at our reception, but this is the song I’m including here.
30 Day Song Challenge Day 22 – A Song That You Listen To When You’re Sad
There are several songs I listen too when I’m sad, but one that always makes me feel better comes from Jann Arden, you guessed it, a Canadian singer/songwriter. Mend is heart-achingly beautiful and such a comfort after you have a fight with the one you love that feels shattering. It’s about the healing after the war. I love the way the vocals soar during the chorus, and the lyrics, so simple, yet so powerful. Now a caution before you watch the video: the only thing I could find was the song paired with a video of scenes from Dawson’s Creek. Just listen to the song, don’t watch the video and you’ll be all right. The other problems is that embedding isn’t allowed, so you have to click on the link below to listen to it. But please do, it’s worth it and it will instantly make you feel better if you’re sad.
And a picture of Jann just for the hell of it.
30 Day Song Challenge Day 21 – A Song That You Listen To When You’re Happy
Okay, that’s more like it. There are tons of songs I listen to when I’m happy, but I will restrain myself to posting just two here. The first comes from one of my favorite artists, and lots of her songs make me happy. Her songs also make me laugh, make my cry, make me sad… She’s a true original, and her name, once and again, is Jane Siberry. This particular song isn’t the first song of hers I heard. It was from her third album (the second that I purchased). It was the first video of hers that I ever saw, and it’s a joyous, wacky video featuring Jane, the oddest family you’ve ever seen, and a very large cow. How can you not watch this video, and listen to this glorious song and not revel in its joy: Jane Siberry’s One More Colour.
Another song that I love to listen to when I’m happy comes from 80’s synth-pop band Book of Love. I just adore this song… it doesn’t matter that we sometimes affectionately called lead vocalist Susan Ottoviano, Miss Monotone, it’s a song full of joy and makes you want to dance. It’s also another song that I included on a mix tape that I made for my husband Scot when we first started dating, so I have a personal connection to it as well. Unfortunately, the only version I can find on YouTube is the 12″ version, which I enjoy, but not as much as I love the album version. Oh well, you’ll get the idea. Please enjoy Book of Love’s You Make Me Feel So Good.
30 Day Song Challenge Day 20 – A Song That You Listen to When You’re Angry
Not only is this day 20 of my 30 Day Song Challenge, it’s also the 300th post on our blog. So there. Anyway, a song that I listen to when I’m angry… just about anything off Nine Inch Nails’ Pretty Hate Machine would qualify… especially Head Like a Hole, but there’s a song that strikes me as dripping with anger that is even cooler, and it has an awesome video to boot.
Dalbello is a… (wait for it)… Canadian musician who got her start as a teen pop singer (Lisa Dalbello) and matured into a sophisticated singer/songwriter/drummer (!) whose songs are direct, angry, compelling, and usually dealing with feminist issues. She’s got an amazing voice that just howls. Think Alanis Morisette about ten years earlier. The song I’ve chosen is called eLeVeN, and while it doesn’t scream with the same rage as Head Like a Hole there is a simmering fury underlying the vocals. I’m not sure what the significance of the number eleven is in the song, but Dalbello repeats the lyric, “I count eleven,” several times, and it reminds me of the warning, count to ten before acting rashly. And this video? It’s bizarre and oh so cool. Check it out.