My Playlist

Dream On – Aerosmith

I’ve always loved the song. It’s got such an honest, humble feel to it, zero pretence. No preaching, everyone’s at the same level. It’s a together song.

Brighter Than Sunshine – Aqualung

It reminds me of cold mornings with the sun warming your nose and there’s a chill in the air but parts of you are warm enough to enjoy the sting. It reminds me of being given an unexpected present which you hadn’t dared to hope for.

Times They Are A Changing – Bob Dylan

It’s such a forward looking song. My idea of a timeless classic.

Keep On Singing My Song – Christina Aguilera

This is by far the most celebratory song I’ve ever heard. My respect for her went up about a hundred notches. It’s honest and as defiant as it could be. Calm, and resolute.

I believe they can take anything from me
But they can't succeed in taking my inner peace
They can say all they wanna say about me

But I'm gonna carry on
Keep on singing my song

Whoa, & everytime I tried to be what they wanted from me
It never came naturally
So I ended up in misery, wasn't able to see
All the good around me
They wasted so much energy on what they thought of me
Simply just remembering to breathe

Clocks – Coldplay

Come out upon my seas, curse missed opportunities
A part of the cure, or am I part of the disease
You are
And nothing else compares
Oh no nothing else compares
And nothing else compares

You are
Home, home, where I wanted to go

I love the intro to this, even though it’s short. It keeps playing at the intervals between the stanzas, and it gives a lovely, wholesome feel. There’s a lot left pregnant in the song, and the constant repetition towards the end re-asserts it.

Iris – Goo Goo Dolls

And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming
Or the moment of truth in your lies
When everything feels like the movies
Yeah, you bleed just to know you're alive
And I don't want the world to see me
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am

The urgent, almost desperate need in the song comes with the repetition of the last line. Sigh.

Boulevard Of Broken Dreams – Greenday

It’s a lonesome song. It’s a self-accusing song. It’s also extremely conceited. I love it all the same.

November Rain – Guns N’ Roses

'Cause nothin' lasts forever
And we both know hearts can change
And it's hard to hold a candle
In the cold November rain

It’s sung in a melancholy strain, but somehow empty. Practical, maybe. But empty all the same. Carpe Diem. Dangerous philosophy, with it’s almost straightforward doctrine. Sung beautifully though.

Lips Of An Angel – Hinder

Well, my girls in the next room
Sometimes I wish she was you

It’s the worst kind of deception. Because you deceive yourself into believing that you aren’t in the wrong, really. I hate the use of “my girl” in these particular lines. The audacity.

Collide – Howie Day

I'm quiet, you know
You make a first impression
I found I'm scared to know I'm always on your mind

Even the best fall down sometime
Even the stars refuse to shine
Out of the back you fall in time
I Somehow find
You and I collide

Fuck. This song scares the shit outta me. It’s so brutally honest.

She’s Always A Woman – Billy Joel

I love the description of the woman here. There’s gentle complaining mixed with love for her, despite the faults he finds with her, perhaps more so, because of the flaws.

She can lead you to love, she can take you or leave you,
She can ask for the truth but she'll never believe you,
And she'll take what you give her as long as it's free,
Yeah she steals like a thief but she's always a woman to me.

And she'll promise you more than the garden of Eden
then she'll carelessly cut you and laugh while you're bleeding,
But she brings out the best and the worst you can be.
Blame it all on yourself cause she's always a woman to me.

Afterglow – INXS

The beginning reminds me of an old Hindi song which I can’t recall now.

Here I am, lost in the ashes of time, but who wants tomorrow?
In between the longing to hold you again
I'm caught in your shadow, I'm losing control
My mind drifts away, we only have today

It’s a sad song. Something hits inside.

Leaving On A Jet Plane – Janis Joplin

Janis Joplin because I like the cover better than the original. I can’t help it, her voice does this to me. John Denver must be turning in his grave, but then my knowledge about music is extremely limited.

There’re so many times I’ve let you down
So many times I’ve played around
I tell you now, they don’t mean a thing
Every place I go, Ill think of you
Every song I sing, Ill sing for you

Somehow this song makes me cynical.

Somewhere Only We Know – Keane

Even though I love the song, these lines irk me.

Oh simple thing where have you gone
I'm getting old and i need something to rely on
So tell me when you're gonna let me in
I'm getting tired and i need somewhere to begin

It’s selfish. You need to remember things when you’re high, not just when you’re low. No one waits around.