Wednesday, November 01, 2006

the soul soothing playlist

i don't really talk about music on this blog enough ... it is one of my passions but i guess it is so personal and so open to PTTP (people taking the piss) (yes liz you know you are on that list - let's drop the innocent look shall we?) that i shy away from anything but the odd comment when i am enthusing about the latest track that is consuming me

all of which is madness ... i love music ... it consumes me and lifts me and accompanies me through the day ... why on earth wouldn't i talk about here ... so in an effort to rectify the situation i have published below (with notes and comments) the playlist i made for sunday morning ... no rhyme or reason why something was chosen at the time ... something i liked or it fitted the moment or it just is a good song ... they do have some things in common ... they exist on my iPod ... they are all emotive songs for me ... and i love every single one of them ... so if you ever find yourself wandering around london on a sunny sunday morning recovering from a hangover and feeling blissful ... this lot soothes the soul ... trust me i have road tested it

no particular order - just as they were cherry picked

The Soul Soothe Mix

Grazed Knees - Snow Patrol

kinda overlooked this the first time round and drawn to my attention in the last week by Giles (hugger steward) and thank you it has been replayed many times ... a great lyric especially the last stanza ... for anyone who has ever lost themselves in a hopeless argument and can't find there way back ... Just say you love me now/And forget this whole row/Just save your energy/For making up with me

Fix You - Coldplay

never fails to heal me and i never tire of the perfect lyric

Wishing - Iain Archer

a sweet song that i picked up somewhere along the way - i think it may have been in the days of doing Greenbelt record shop ... good vocal ... and of course he went on to work with Snow Patrol and his star is ever ascending

With Arms Wide Open - Creed

just like it ... gravelly voice ... love the pictures it throws into my head ... makes me think of all the people i l have loved being together in heaven

Truly Madly Deeply - Savage Garden

sometimes smulchy pop songs do the job and this song says it all ... how better to sum up the way that love makes you feel than with the line 'truly madly deeply do' :)

The Rescue Blues - Ryan Adams

i adore this song ... at a very bad moment in my life i escaped to a snow covered norway and felt the need for The Rescue Blues

Sunday Morning - Maroon 5

the opening words of this song describe that snuggly sunday lie in with the one you love so perfectly ... Sunday morning rain is falling/Steal some covers share some skin/Clouds are shrouding us in moments unforgettable/You twist to fit the mold that I am in

One Flight Down -Norah Jones

love the jazzy smoky voice and the feeling and emotion it invokes

Easy -Faith No More

i switch between this and the original and it couldn't not be included on this particular mix ... i am easy like sunday morning

Do I Love You -Aztec Camera

from Red Hot & Blue - a beautiful song by the amazing Cole Porter delivered in a wash of ethereal production and a voice that soars

How Can You Mend A Broken Heart - Michael Bublé

stumbled across this recently ... really like his voice ... but this is the thing ... Barry Gibb on backing vocals sounding more falsetto breathy bee gees than anything they have ever produced themselves and another classic song

I'll Never Fall In Love Again - Deacon Blue

aahhh when they played it on Greenbelt mainstage - number 1 at the time - takes me back to the moment

Dream Academy - Life In A Northern Town

odd one ... no memory of where i first heard it ... not even really sure why it appeals ... the uplifting chorus was used in something else in recent years (mind blank) which led me back to the original ... makes me feel good ...good enough

Something Might Happen - Duke Special

ahh this boy ... so wonderful to watch him grow and develop ... and this song ... and this lyric ... I know what it's like to feel alone/To always be looking for your home/To stand upon a riverbank
Try to make your demons go ... i identify ... stood on the riverbank wrestling with demons and it was ok ... something might happened

Don't Let The Teardrops Rust Your Shining Heart - Everything But The Girl

from the first album they captured my heart ... such a sublime voice and the brilliance of the title makes me shiver

It Had To Be You - Harry Connick, Jr.

hmmmm ... nice ... the classy sound ...the movie ... perfection

You Give Me Something - James Morrison

the voice ... i would kill for that voice ... an awesome talent and please let this one develop and grow and give us more of the same ... the album is strong and confident and i want/need/demand more of the same

River - Joni Mitchell

i came late to Joni ... and this poignant song resonants with me for all the times i have been far from home ... figuratively and literally

Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye - Annie Lennox

married as i am to someone who can look like Ms Lennox when the mood takes her (or me) i could hardly not be a fan :) ... the vocal range and ability is mind blowing ... her creativity is a constant source of admiration ... and she always comes across as down to earth and sensible ... this song makes me ache

Scratch - Kendall Payne

i have quite a relationship with this song ... i was there in the wings watching the first time it was ever performed in public and it made me cry ... and the amazing voice of this amazing woman never fails to help me commune with God ... and best of all she is my friend and i get to watch her grow into this incredible performer and carry her guitar and laugh at nonsense ... all of that and it was used in an episode of Grey's Anatomy (soon to be screened in the UK) and as a result spent one week as the most downloaded song on Itunes ... go kendall !!

If It's Magic - Stevie Wonder

an obscure track from Songs In The Key Of Life ... to me he is one of the best ... and this song takes us to task ... if love is all these things why do we treat it so lightly and dispense with it so easily ... for me it always sounds like God speaking

I Second That Emotion - (12" Version) - Japan

a great song covered well ... i like cover versions ... intriguing voice

What A Fool Believes - Matt Bianco

saw them once in concert and they were a joyous delight and this song lifts my spirits and sounds great in the sunshine ... by this point it might have been the caffeine levels

Leave - REM

once lay in the sun on holiday playing this endlessly ... i just like it ... the weirdness of it the sentiment of it ... the sound of it

Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours (DJ Smash Essential Funk Mix) - Stevie Wonder

Motown was my entry level to music ... recently discovered the Motown Remixed album ... Motown gave the keys to the vaults to some producers and challenged them to take some classics and give them a fresh sound ... this one played loud makes you want to dance and shout it from the rooftops


next i think has to be a covers playlist ... love covers ... like the way a song is revamped reinterpreted polished and served up fresh for a new generation ... of course they also have the power to make you feel old and a bad cover version makes your teeth grit ... but we will see what we can find

and maybe this should be one of those things we all do on our blog from time to time ... pick a theme and create a playlist ... if you dont have an iPod (oh ok then an mp3 player will do i supoose) ... join in anyway ... and if you don't have itunes well you are a fool ... it is simply the most elegant and delightful way to play organise and fiddle with your music ... you don't need an iPod to us it and it dont cost any money ... just do it and stop resisting www.apple.com/uk

pretty sure that most of the above tracks can be accessed at iTunes where you can sample a 30 second snatch ... failing that feel free to grab my iPod the next time we are in each others zone and have a listen ... i sense this playlist may stay with me for some time ... thank you for listening

2 comments:

sally said...

lvoe it..you are so brave...I wouldn't dare post what I listen to, it is so uncool, and someone would take the mick (Liz..) I don't have an ipod (yet) but i do have itunes..so I am a bit cool....

Kathryn said...

Interesting how many of those, which you introduced me to, were on my "Can't go to India without" list...That alternative to an ipod about which you had such doubts behaves perfectly and was just the job, though for sheer homesickness-inducing power "Fix You" played at 4.00 am during the Bus Journey from Hell wins hands down.
But thank you, rather belatedly, for widening my musical horizons (and a few others!) x