Posts tagged music
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Whatever and Ever, Amen
Alright. I am a singer. So I often listen to new music and picture myself singing it. But… what of ye normal folk? Do ye grab the hairbrush of life and belt ye chords into pulp alongside Ms. Houston’s musings? …What, like you haven’t done that?
Thus, I came to my question tonight.
If you had made an album. Which one would it be.
For example. You think about this question and ponder, out of all the albums in all the world and time and space… you come up with, “I think I’d be Rihanna. Rihanna, “Good Girl, Gone Bad”. Fo sho. Before that Chris Brown nastiness. Yes, I would have made that album. With those songs. I could have written “Umbrella”. Yeah. I get that song. It totally could have come from me.
That situation is hypothetical of course. I really hope that out of all of the history of music your soul identifies with something… umm… yeah… better.
So here we go. All actual reality aside, including time/space/gender/actual talent/reality of any sort/etc… Albums, I could potentially, possibly, presumptuously assume I might have made myself!
(this is when I went to my itunes library and scrolled for twenty minutes)
1) Alanis Morrisette - Jagged Little Pill. Okay. This was the first CD I ever owned. But please. These songs are “scorned woman” at it’s best, and John Mayer knows, I feel it yo. And “Uninvited”??? You can’t lie and say that song doesn’t still rock your socks off. I totes could’ve made this album. “YOU OUGHTA KNOW, OUGHTA KNOOOOOOOOW!” ;)
2) Billy Joel - The Essential Mix Disk One. Hold your horses! Don’t judge… Me and Billy get each other. “Captain Jack” is a love letter to post war consciousness and yes that is my critical studies degree talking, I bet you five bucks you don’t know this song, and I will bet you another five that you will dig it. There’s something about his city slang and his restlessness that I relate to. Song after song, Billy tells stories that I somehow feel I already know. And since they quoted “We Didn’t Start the Fire” On The Office, I know I’m not alone in my sentiments.
3) Jamie Cullum - Twentysomething. He’s a jazz prodigy. And he covers The Neptunes. And Radiohead. And MY FAIR LADY. Yeah. I def could’ve made this album.
This is where I say I could’ve written Ke$ha’s debut album. Let’s be honest. Any semi-social girl in Los Angeles in 2010 could’ve.
4) Muse - Black Holes and Revelations. Okay, I could not have written the music, but I def could’ve written the lyrics. This album is so under-appreciated.
5) Sia - Some People Have Real Problems. Oof. This is the album I would’ve written in the fall of 2008 when I was breaking up with the asshole-who-must-not-be-named. There are too many perfect songs. Sia doesn’t write radio-ready, she writes just what is. “Academia”, “The Girl You Lost to Cocaine” and “Death by Chocolate” are musts, and pretty much verbatim from my own soul… except the cocaine part. The asshole wasn’t an addict, just an acerbic ace of all diatribes. Yeah. I wrote that, alliteration whatwhat?
I wish I could’ve written so many of the albums I adore. I, like so many of my sex, feel akin to the ditties of one Tswift, but alas, my versions would have more curses and less references to rom-coms. I wish I could’ve written a U2 album, but I’m not that cool. And The Beach Boys get a special shout out, because I effing love their music, but I know there’s no way in hell I would have ever thought up those chord progressions. “Good Vibrations”?! That is practically a symphony. A symphony of perfect summers. <333
I also wish I wrote Death Cab for Cutie’s “Plans”, but no way Jose… the holy in me recognizes the holy in you.
Maybe that’s what music appreciation is all about.
What would you have written?
Say what you will about John Mayer.
Well, you can’t, because he’s probably already said it. But the man makes good albums. And he’s put one out about every three years since I was in middle school. Meaning I can literally measure my life in Mayer albums. I bet you can too.
Room for Squares - 2001. I’m in middle school. I hear his radio stuff, and get strange sensations I don’t understand for the video to “Your Body is A Wonderland”. I’ll come back to this album in later years and appreciate it more.
Heavier Things - 2003. Good god this a great album. I would play this in my ‘95 Nissan Altima cruising around with my newly minted driver’s license and feel like I was cool. Staring at the cover art, I suddenly realize it’s Mayer holding his huge guitar boner, and I’m okay with it.
Any Given Thursday - this actually came out before Heavier Things, but this is when I discovered it and fell hard for the song spells of Mr. Mayer. This… is what I imagine the perfect concert sounds like. And this is when you realize he can play guitar better than he can sing. And that I’m not the only lady to think he sounds like a sweet and sensitive sexy mofo. I made my college decisions to this album… and almost went there with my almost boyfriend. I think Mayer would have liked me to do more to it, but I just wasn’t ready yet.
Continuum - 2006. I was a freshman in college. I can remember downloading this album and walking to breakfast. Palm trees swaying, my soul crying out, because I needed to hear someone sing these songs to me in this moment. I was terribly lonely. I felt so lost. And this is his best album. He can do no wrong for me after this. And he will try, publicly, to make almost everyone on the planet think he’s a D-bag. Jessica Simpson, John? *facepalm* Even so, I saw him in concert at the Gorge in George with my little sister. He played guitar, the sun set, and all was right and beautiful with the world. I returned sophomore year to meet a man who loved John Mayer just as much as I did, which turns out is not the best measurement in a mate. I was also heartbroken to this album.
As/Is/The Village Sessions/John Mayer Trio/Where the Light Is - live or early session albums. All superb. And played to death during my college years. His live, almost eleven minute, version of Gravity is nothing short of brilliant. It’s a song you could listen to for the rest of your life. I can remember driving through the hills explaining to my mom how I was totally over the asshole and putting my career on track to, “Three years brokenhearted, now the ghost is finally gone…” It would take a lot more than good music to get me there, but as John as my witness, I did.
Battle Studies - 2009. I was following his blog. I had a poster. I was ready for this album to be fantastic. And it’s fine. But it’s over saturated with his own idea of himself. Or his thoughts on the media. Or Jennifer Aniston. It’s just… not. He needed to see a therapist and talk this all out. I know, because I had been doing the same thing. Then again, there’s no way he was going to top Continuum. But again with the bad choices, John. Taylor Swift? *facepalm*
And here we are at Born and Raised - released May 18, 2012. I’m out of college. I’m making a living doing something I love. I’m actually in love with a good man who likes John Mayer music enough, but likes Gavin DeGraw’s albums better. And that’s good. It’s a new phrase for John and I. He’s wielding a new sound. It’s seriously more country. But I dig it. He sounds like he’s trying to be what he knows he can. For himself. And for us. The souls who want to listen to him sing. At this point, we’re his longest and most rewarding relationship and he wants to make it up to us.
I say we let him.
(Source: Spotify)
**THE** studyguide playlist for EDC2012, top songs from every act performing!!
(Source: Spotify)
