So, for the last month I've been participating in the 30 Days of Music Challenge on Facebook, and it's been really fun...and sometimes frustrating. Figuring out a song (or narrowing it down to just one song) for each day has been, in fact, a challenge. But now I've reached Day 30 and decided to recap and give explanations for why I chose the songs I chose. Others who were playing gave their explanations at the time they posted their song, but I decided to just let the songs stand alone until now. Not that my explanations are that exciting or revealing, but since a few people asked about a few of the selections, I thought, "Hey, that could be a good blog post." Let's see if you agree...
30 Days of Music Challenge
It's nearly impossible to pick a favorite song. There are just so many genres and so many artists and picking a favorite seems crazy. Now, if this had said, "pick your favorite song of the last month or this week or even today" that would have been much easier. Please note that Day 30 has the same response because if we're talking about all-time favorites then really, it probably doesn't change in a year. Anyway...why did I choose this one? Have you HEARD this song? It's without question my favorite Billy song, and it is absolutely one of my all-time favorite songs. I just need to hear the first few notes and I'm transported. I tend to put this one on replay when I get in my Billy Joel moods.
First and foremost, I hate country music. Yes. I said hate. It's the twang, and the whine, and the steel guitar. I just don't like it. I have no issue with the fact that millions love it, just as long as they don't try to suck me in. This song...ugh. So sick of it, and have you really listened to the lyrics? Yuck. I don't like the original and I didn't like the Glee rendition. VETO.
My all-time favorite Matt Nathanson song. I loved it the first moment I heard it but was completely gaga for it after he sang it live at The Fillmore in San Francisco. It's the music, it's the words, and it's his voice singing them...all of that combined make me smile. And it's just such a simple sentiment...that we get through the days because of little victories. See? You smiled didn't you? I knew it.
The lyrics to this song are quite simply heart wrenching. The first time I heard it I cried. A lot. There are a lot of songs that can make me cry...I'm a girl, what do you want? But this one just tells such a sad, and very common, tale, and to this day, I can hardly get through it without some tears being shed.
This always reminds me of my friend Shawn. It's his favorite Elton song, and I always liked it, but now whenever I hear it I think of him.
This will forever remind of Washington DC. It's without question my favorite Todd song, and because he's so great, he played it for me after his show was over. Just him on the guitar in the green room of The Red Palace. It was incredibly generous of him, and I'll never forget it.
This song came on my iPod as I pulled out of the driveway of my old apartment, heading to the condo I live in now. There was something so perfect about it...that I was going home, to my new home, and I will never forget that moment.
Someone else playing this game posted Billy Joel's We Didn't Start the Fire, and that was a great choice. Wish I'd thought of it. I know all those words too. I know the words to hundreds of songs, so I just had to pick one. I went with this one because it's such a great song and the lyrics are fantastic. There are a few words that I don't let myself say, but I still know them.
To be fair, there are probably a lot of songs I could do dance to. I choose not to dance to any of them. I probably wouldn't dance to this one either, but it's fun and maybe in my living room, when all the doors and windows are closed, maybe, just maybe, I dance around to it. Maybe.
This was a weird one because I didn't want anyone to think I thought a song was dull and therefore put me to sleep. I tried to think about a song that relaxed me and let my mind slow down enough to actually get to sleep. A lot of John Mayer does that for me, but I'm particularly drawn to this song, and I do have it in a playlist called Music to Sleep by.
Much like picking a favorite song, it's hard to pick a favorite band and hard to pick a favorite song from said band. I've seen Third Day and Switchfoot more than any other band in concert so at some level, I think that does make them my favorites. Anyway, I went with this song because when I heard it the first time I was contemplating a job move and it just spoke right to me. It still does that today, and I absolutely love it.
I know this is unpopular but I just don't like Fleetwood Mac. It's really Stevie Nicks I don't like. There are actually a few songs I can stand, but she just bugs me so much that I can't get there. I could have picked any of their songs, but this one was the first that popped up when I searched.
If you haven't heard this, just go listen. It's just fun. And yeah, I like it. I have no interest in actually doing the Dougie mind you, but there are moments where I pretend to be an urban youth and this just fits right into it. And I don't really feel guilty about it at all!
Okay, this song is just funny, and the video is hilarious. I never saw the movie, but I'm told I should. I mean come on, it's about snakes. On a plane. And it has Samuel L. Jackson. What could be bad?
This is from the band's last album, and the first time I heard it I just fell in love with it. It's all about letting God's love for us just run through us like a melody, like a symphony and it makes me want to hear what He has to say to me. And what I love about Switchfoot is, they write such poignant lyrics that I know they are anointed and I do hear God's voice through them.
I got SO SICK of this song during Train's last tour. Forget how overplayed it was on the radio. Which it was. I got sick of them posting a song from it every night, making a big deal about the part where it says "hold your cell phones up in the air". Really? You write those words then make it part of your show? Lame. And no, when I saw them in concert I did NOT hold my cell phone up in the air, but I suppose I'm in the picture.
I'm not a fan of this song and on the day this hit I was hearing it all the time. And it was driving me crazy. I wish he'd record the version he sang on the Grammy's. So much better!
This is a great song, but why it's even more great for me, and why I think it should be on the radio, has everything to do with Brodie Brazil and the San Francisco Giants. He used it in an intro video for the World Champions Parade, and it was freaking awesome. In case you doubt me, you can check it out here. Just hearing the beginning gives me chills and takes me right back to that moment. GO GIANTS!!
It was hard to choose on this too...this whole game of playing favorites is not, well, it's not my favorite. Anyway...Achtung Baby has always been my favorite U2 album and therefore one of my all-time favorites. This song just has such a great sound, and it was so different from prior U2 music that it really made you wonder if you were listening to the same band. I think I need to have an Achtung Baby album day pretty soon.
This song is great and if it doesn't get your adrenaline pumping, nothing will. When I'm having a bad day, I listen to a lot of hip hop because the beat and the words help me get out whatever I need to. I love this song because of the story it tells and the scene it was in in the movie. It was the moment when Eminem knew how good he was. And so did everyone else.
I don't know what it is about this song. Maybe it's the title. I just like it. And it makes me smile. On another day this choice could have easily been different, but I think this works very well.
Another great Billy song. This one always reminds me of college, and yeah, I guess there's some sadness associated with that, but mainly I just think the song itself is sad. It's about remembering your life and how it fades over time, and as much as we want to remember, as much as we keep like postcards and play programs, it still fades. See? Sad.
There's nothing in my life that tells me I'm actually going to have a wedding, but if I did, I'd definitely want this song to be involved somehow. The lyrics are so beautiful and his voice his perfection.
I don't want my funeral to be sad. I want it to be a celebration of my life, and I want people to remember that I'm in a much better place. My mom has always said she wants this song, well, the instrumental version, played at an upbeat tempo, and I think it's perfect. I love this version. Lauryn Hill's voice is so pure and it's just so uplifting that you can't help but smile and maybe even dance.
It's called The Humpty Dance. What more do you need to know?
I sang and played this at Christmas in church a few years back, and I loved learning it and being able to share my friend JJ's words with others. I can play a lot of things on the piano, so choosing was a little hard. I think I came to this one because it is so beautiful, and I am always looking to share JJ's music with other people.
Yes. Another Billy song. The piano on this song is ridiculous. I absolutely love it and am sure I probably could play it if I had time to practice, but I don't, so I just wish I could.
It's not really that this song makes me feel guilty, but it definitely challenges me to do more than I'm doing. It really can take just one of us to make a difference to someone else, and I know that many times I don't do something because I think that my contribution is so small that it won't matter and that's just simply not true. Also, Brandon Heath is amazing and the song completely rocks.
We listened to a lot of John Denver growing up and I love so much of it. It's pure 70s and reminds me of so many things about growing up. It still makes me sad to think about him dying so young, after he'd gotten his life back together, but I'm glad he left us so much great music. This is one of my favorites.
See Day 1, and if you haven't already, go listen to this song!
So there it is. Feel like taking the challenge yourself? It was actually quite fun, and I'm thankful to Layne for sucking me in.
Until next time...
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