I was going to say that this one is a little out of character, but so was the last one, so maybe now it's becoming in character. Although this one is a different type of different. Whereas last one I kept in a direct timeline, this one is, well, not even close. The past (and present) few months have been hectic and hard to keep up with, and some of these songs I'm honestly not sure were from the month of April. But I know they made an impact, long enough for me to remember them past April into May. And being that my months kind of have been blending together excessively, I feel like there hasn't really been a definitive start and stop. Besides, even if they couldn't keep up, NO SONG LEFT BEHIND!
"The World You Love" - Jimmy Eat World
I never tire of this song, and the feels it gives me never diminish. More than anything, I always connect to the lyrics:
"I fall asleep with my friends around me, only place I know I feel safe, I'm gonna call this home."
I've always viewed home as a fluid concept, and while moving put a good distance between myself and my friends, I also know that I can go almost anywhere and still be home. And I knew that in another month, one more piece of home was moving to me.
"I fall asleep with my friends around me, only place I know I feel safe, I'm gonna call this home."
I've always viewed home as a fluid concept, and while moving put a good distance between myself and my friends, I also know that I can go almost anywhere and still be home. And I knew that in another month, one more piece of home was moving to me.
"Songs For Teenagers" - Fake Problems
Immediately upon hearing the guitar I thought I needed this song for my mix. As soon as the lyrics started I was like, hmm, maybe not. But then I kept falling more in love with the melody and percussion. Finally, "It's a shame, all the ways we build ourselves up, just to let each other down." sold me, and here it is.
"Wandering Limbs" - Kimbra This song is one of those that I'm not really sure if it was April or not. I had notated it under the April heading, but it felt like so much longer than that. Then again, April had so much happen that it could've seemed shorter than it really was. More than anything though, when I marked this song as mix material, what caught me the most was the accompaniment by Sam Lawrence. Initially I didn't know who it was, but it reminded me of the singer from As Tall As Lions. Deep down I knew it wasn't, but I really really really wanted it to be, because now and forever into the future I will be sad that they stopped existing as a band.
"Dreams So Real" - Metric
When I went back over this song, I thought I had the wrong version, except it's the only version I have. Not gonna lie, I keep wondering why this song caught my attention, because it just constantly seems like an unmemorable type of song. But I distinctly remember the lyrics "I'll shut up and carry on, the scream becomes a yawn." getting into my head and making me write down the song to come back to later. It's just such a great way to talk about how often people fall into complacency, and time moves on without them.
"All The Way" - Taking Back Sunday
Another one I'm not sure of when it came in, I just remember working at Best Buy and seeing that Taking Back Sunday had a new album, so of course I had to check it out. I listened through it at some point, and this one caught me just a little. What put it over the edge was that it kept coming on shuffle (of course.) It also helped; and maybe this isn't the right way to classify it; that some of the lyrics were.. I don't know, "country" ish? (I had to ask how to even start to describe, and I'm still not satisfied.) But how he uses "ain't" and instead of "I taught" it was "I done taught."
"Fairweather Friend" - Spitalfield
This I can blame mostly on my new friend Ben. Well, new friend, back in April. I basically started talking at him through the back "wall" of the kiosk where I work, whenever he was around, and, when it comes to making conversation with people I don't know anything about, I always start music. And, it took him just a smidge to start talking more than one sentence at a time, so it mostly just involved me telling him to listen to these musics once I realized that while our music paths crossed, it wasn't very often. Spitalfield was I think one of the first three bands I recommended to him, which, I think I force everyone to listen to them at some point or another because I love them so damned much. But this time I was a little bit surprised. Anyone I ever point to Spitalfield seems to enjoy Five Days and Counting the most, off of Remember Right Now, and in this case Ben was no exception. But the other song he told me he enjoyed was Fairweather Friend, and that was a first. It's actually one of the few songs in their entire collection that Mark Rose is not the main singer on. As a kicker, it came on shuffle maybe a day after he told me this. So yeah.
"The Whitest Lie" - Bayside
This was another album that I didn't realize existed until I walked by it at Best Buy. I still (2 months later) haven't really gone through the album more than once, which, once is good. But I haven't given in the same amount of consideration that I gave Killing Time. Which, at this moment I love the most out of all their albums, but it is entirely possible that Cults could surpass it, if I only give it the chance. However, when I actually happened upon this album I can't remember. Before this blog I went through all my statuses on Facebook for the past few months to try and even find out what month it was, because I was certain that I posted some lyrics, but couldn't find them. However, as I'm writing this, I'm starting to think I actually posted the lyrics to Twitter. Whoops.
"The House That Fire Built" - Mae
This was just straight unfamiliar nostalgia. Unfamiliar, because I did not recognize this song in the least when it came on. But nostalgia, because I most certainly recognized the voice as soon as he started singing and it immediately reminded me of late high school and seeing Mae perform in Davenport in the last few months before the venue closed for good. I can't even remember what it was called, I just remember it was near the bookstore. There's really not much more to say on the song, other than it's just so, so, good.
Honourable Mention:
This one came on shuffle while I was at work, and the reason it's honourable mention is because, much like Metric, on second listen it didn't seem quite as memorable, but I still enjoyed it. Just no memorable lyrics to redeem it. I'm slowly (through shuffle) getting more into This Will Destroy You though, I'm not entirely certain how I came across them, but they're perfect for certain moods.
"Pyramids" - Two Door Cinema Club
I hope I don't get ostracized for this, but the intro of this song caught my attention at work, and I checked, thinking it was Slowdive, and wondering when I squished them onto my iPod. Listening to them side by side, well, it doesn't make any sense at all. But in the moment, it's the thought that occurred. The lyrics are very simple, but catchy, and it's just an overall feeling of exploration that the song gives me that left it lingering in my head.
"Little Black Backpack" - Stroke 9
This song is a beast on its own. Jake played this album in its entirety for me while we drove to his hometown, so I would know "what his childhood consisted of." I had not recognized the name Stroke 9, but as soon as this song came on I realized I had heard it before. I can't... this song is awful. But it deserves a mention not only for being part of Jake's childhood, but for following me into Illinois during my trip. My first foray outside of my parents house upon visiting, we stopped at the mall. And this song was playing. What.
