Songs I'm liking a lot right now

Hah. Already resorting to the old "list" posts aye. Nice start to the new blog life. Well hey don't knock it, you might actually find something here that you'd like. And to show that I'm not being lazy, I'll wrote little blurby thingimajiggies to go with the songs.

Old or new, here are some songs I'm really feeling right now.

song title - artist
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My faves right now:

The Man Of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts - Sufjan Stevens

2005 was a good year for music (Kanye West, Maximo Park, and Gorillaz all dropped masterpieces, while Oasis, Foo Fighters and Coldplay turned in assignments good enough for pass grades), but I definitely missed out on this little golden nugget during then. Having only discovered the music of Sufjan a year ago, I've gone back and dug up a few goodies of his, and his album 'Illinois' is full of them. This isn't technically my favourite off the album, but then again, I don't know which is. This just happens to be the one I'm listening to the most recently. Read into the Superman/Christ imagery what you will, but there's no denying that the music itself catches the ear, and even though the song is over 6 minutes (an absolute marathon by mainstream standards), it does feel too short.

Princess Of China (feat. Rihanna) - Coldplay

It's tempting to brand myself a REAL Coldplay fan, call Chris Martin a sell-out for including Rihanna in the album, accuse them of bowing to the mainstream audience who are baying for catchy tunes, and top it off by saying I once followed them when they were "good". The problem is though, that this song is just too damn good. The melody of the chorus (which is heard just once) is perfect for Rihanna's voice, which in turn is perfect along Chris Martin's voice. The other members of the band hold up their end and them some, brilliantly building up a menacing backdrop of synth, dark bass and thumping kickdrums, all culminating in the two vocalists final lament. Which reminds you that it's actually a sad song.

Beth/Rest - Bon Iver

The closing track of one of my favourite albums of all time, this is simultaneously my favourite track on the album and the most different. It starts big, which is unlike an album closer; these things are meant to build to a crescendo right. But when listening to this album as a whole, you understand that this song is the album's crescendo. It starts loud, but not abrasive. It isn't the Muse definition of big however. It doesn't bombard, but it doesn't let up either. There's a soothing way to how it begins without asking for permission, but almost instantly makes way for the true star of the song, and indeed the album: Justin Vernon's beautifully autotuned vocals. Yes, beautiful autotune. Kanye West may have made it acceptable to lament in this form, but Vernon has made it into an art. I've never heard a song sound so uplifting and so sad, all at once.

Call Me Maybe - Carly Rae Jepsen

Not quite sure why I like this song so much actually. It's cookie-cutter pop, with verses and a bridge that go absolutely nowhere, lyrics that are so simple they make Ke$ha look like a prodigy, and vocals that are indistinguishable from the thousands of other artists of the current Top 40 mold, all who will be forgotten before Carly realizes that she should have saved every penny she made off this song. Even the end is below par, stopping abruptly after the last chorus, seeming unsure of how to finish off, before simply dying. But I'm listening to it now, as I'm typing this. And I'm smiling. Because my jam is on. And I love it. Sigh, I give up. This is 'Nothing In This World' by Paris Hilton all over again.

Them Kids - Sam Roberts

Songs about nostalgia are a funny thing; most of the time, they are written for a market that didn't even live during the times the singer is referring to. In the case of this song, it doesn't pine after a certain era of music in terms of genre, but rather attitude. "I just don't understand why the kids don't know how to dance to rock and roll" is the hook, over and over. It's not exactly that kids don't dance; I've seen kids dance, although said kids were either annoying attenttion-whores or extremely wasted. It's more that no one dances to a rock song just because they are happy. Forget moshing, forget horny grinding, Sam laments the loss of just dancing because you're happy and the song you like just came on, a-la the 50s. The song rides a single guitar line and doesn't let up, merging old school rock sensibilities with some 21st century production. It's curious that he talks about "the golden years" being under attack; mate, that attack ended a long time ago and the golden years lost. It was a first round knockout. No matter, in our own little way, we can throw songs on and reminisce about days that existed decades before we did, and just dance to rock and roll. Or at least nod along and think about dancing to it. Sorry Sam.