Category: Music

As with other categories in this meme, there are lots of songs that make me laugh; the choice comes from deciding which one to post here. So again, I’m posting too. The first is a great, very funny song from an artist who has written many funny songs. Unfortunately, I can’t find a good video of the studio version of this song, but here’s a pretty good live version of this crazy song about a woman who suspects her boss at the shoe store leads a double life. Here is Jill Sobule and Karen By Night.

Another artist who has a knack for writing songs that are pretty amusing is Jane Siberry. On top of that she makes some pretty funny videos too, and this is one of my favorites: Ingrid and the Foortman.

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.

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.

http://youtu.be/6-6YcAyYJ0Y

And a picture of Jann just for the hell of it.

 

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.