I like to joke that I’m musically sheltered.
It’s not that I don’t like music.
It’s just the music that I do like I love SOOOO much that I rarely feel the need to switch it up.* Thus, my music references are usually two to three years old (I’m still making Beiber jokes, people!) and when I heard someone say something about the Rhett Walker Band I thought they were making a confused Gone with the Wind reference.**
But while I’m perfectly content in my little Coldplay paradise and bubble of Needtobreathe oohing and aahing (please, please tell me we’ve got some Coldplay or Needtobreathe fans in the house who see what I just did there!) I thought it might be fun to do a song swap today. You know, in the name of branching out or something.
SO I’ll tell you the songs I can’t stop listening to these days. And in return, you tell me a song I need to listen to. Easy enough for a Monday, yeah? Here goes:
Needtobreathe: The Heart
I think this song might be one of the best things ever to happen to the human race. It just previewed last week, ahead of Needtobreathe’s next album (in April!!) and it makes me so happy I can’t even handle it. It also inspired my new life goal of convincing Needtobreathe to let me be their new keyboardist. After all, as the song says, “Long live the heart, long live the soul, that knows what it wants.” Well, I know.
Keane: Starting Line
True story: I almost cried the first time I heard this song. Probably partially because I was on an elliptical with the resistance too high at the time. But also because it’s just plain a heart-tugging song. I mean, I’m basically a sucker for pop-y ballads by British bands anyway (Why Does it Always Rain On Me by Travis for instance), but this one was extra tugging. I love the imagery of dragging your heart up to the starting line…and I’m pretty sure it’s the perfect song for the characters in the book I’m working on.
Coldplay: The Scientist
If you’ve been around this blog for more than two seconds, then you knew a Coldplay song was going to make an appearance today. Here’s the thing–I love every Coldplay album (even X&Y which is the one other Coldplay fans usually digress on) and I adore so many of their songs, it’d be ridiculous to try to pick a favorite. Except…except if I had to, this one might be it. It’s the very first Coldplay song I ever paid attention to (I must’ve been asleep the year Yellow released) and I first heard it in a bookstore in York, England. So call it nostalgia, call it sentimentality, but I have to listen to it pretty much once a week at least.
Needtobreathe: Difference Maker
This song also just previewed last week, but I first heard it live last fall. It gave me goosebumps. Still does. Needtobreathe doesn’t just make good music, they’re also fabulous lyricists. Seriously…I mean…ahh…it’s so good. I can’t even talk about it.
Honorable Mentions
Muse: Time is Running Out
For when I’m feeling overly dramatic about deadlines
Erin McCarley: Gotta Figure this Out
I listened to this nonstop when I was writing Here to Stay because it fit the story so well.
Coldplay: Every song they’ve written. FOR REAL!
Deee-Lite: Groove is in the heart
HA! Just kidding. I had to do a choreographed dance to this in college and it still haunts my dreams from time to time.
All right, time to play along! What songs do YOU love that I might be missing out on??
*****
*I’m the same way with clothes actually. Which is why my faaaavorite pair of pants dates back to eighth grade. I’m not even joking.
**Actually, the Rhett Butler Band would be a sweet band name.
Comments 13
I wish I were more of a music person. I can’t remember lyrics or melodies. Tin ear. lol But I do listen to lite classical all the time, if that counts. 🙂
Author
Totally counts. 🙂 I love the music that I love (profound, I know) but sometimes don’t feel like a very good music person either simply because I don’t keep up with what’s current. I honestly can’t even remember the last time I listened to the radio. I always have music on in my car, but it’s always my own playlists.
Ryan Kelly http://www.youtube.com/user/RKMusicLtd
Celtic Thunder http://www.youtube.com/user/TheThunderTube
(especially their version of “Amazing grace” http://tinyurl.com/lguwvfr
Eric Dodge http://www.youtube.com/user/ericdodge
Also many others but here are my favorite!
Author
Ooh I think you’ve recommended Celtic Thunder and Ryan Kelly to me in the past, but Eric Dodge is new to me. I’ll have to have a listen… 🙂
My son LOVES Keane. My neighbor too–she actually had one of their lyrics (don’t ask me which one) tattoed on her foot. No lie;)
Some of my favs right now:
Let it Go: from Frozen (love Idina Menzel – no one sings Defying Gravity like her)
Gone, Gone, Gone: Phillip Phillips
A Thousand Years – Christina Perri
Stay – Sugarland
Oh, I’m sure there’s more…but I’ll stop there.
Happy Monday!
Author
YAY for your son liking Keane. I loved Keane for a few years, then somehow just lost track of them…and last fall had this realization that I’d forgotten about them. So I checked out their 2012 album on iTunes and re-fell in love with them.
I’ll check out your suggestions. I’ve heard there’s really great music in Frozen!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5CWGi82N7k I don’t know who actually sings this song and I’ve never found a version I love as much as when we sing it at my church but this is pretty close.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpbhB6MEekc Oh my goodness, I love Rend Collective soooo much! Plus, they are Irish so they have awesome accents- but I LOVE this song!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKvQmQto5lQ So this one is totally random- I just found it one day on youtube but it is so catchy. (plus the token white people crack me up)
Author
“Token white people” – hilarious, Laura!
I remember you saying you like Rend Collective. I honestly don’t know if I’ve ever heard anything by them. So thanks for the link, I’ll check it out.
I don’t have a lot to offer right now, but when I was working on deadline at the newspaper I had a “Christian Hip Hop” playlist that I’d pull out to help keep me motivated. Good thing I was using earphones, because my co-workers might have thought I was a little crazy with the whole T-Bone thing!
What a fun post!
Author
T-Bone…hahaha!
I don’t know why I’ve never really heard of Needtobreathe before…I mean, why I’ve never heard any of their music (I remember you mentioning them before on here). I’ll have to check them out! I bought Coldplay’s X&Y album back when it came out, and I still really enjoy it. But it seems that my purchasing that CD was a bit random because I’ve never really listened to any of their other music! =)
Lately I’ve been listening to my usual bluegrassy/folk sort of stuff: The Avett Brothers, The Civil Wars, The Vespers, Handsome and Gretyl, etc. And Jars of Clay’s latest album Inland. I’ve been a fan of theirs for about ten years now, but I sort of forgot how awesome they are until recently. =) I also love She & Him, even though they’re a lot more 60s-pop sounding than I normally go for. That’s the “modern” music I listen to…of course I listen to lots of Sinatra, big band, etc., too.
Author
Oh yes, pleeeease check out Needtobreathe. I just love them so much.
I remember Jars of Clay from my youth…haha! Oh gosh, what was that song they sang that was soooo popular? Love Song something…?
I like Sinatra too. One year for Christmas my sister and I randomly gave each other Frank Sinatra biographies…neither of us realized the other was getting it, so we laughed like crazy when we opened them up.
I second the ‘Let it Go’ song recommendation! Love it – it’s just beautiful whereas the rest of the ‘Frozen’ music is more “fun.”
Hmm… other songs I am loving. *goes to check Windows Media Player* Well, juvenile or not, I tend to listen to a LOT of Taylor Swift’s ‘Red’ album. (I can’t seem to help it! They’re those “pick-me-up” kind of tunes.) A lot of people like Civil Wars though their stuff tends to be overly melodramatic (for me) and Florida Georgia Line always has a good song. I’ve not listened to them for a while, but in the Christian market I’ve always liked Casting Crowns. Their lyrics are so poignant and it’ll be fun to hear some of their new material in a couple of weeks. 🙂
Great post, Melissa.