Five songs I've been listening to a lot recently, in no particular order

1. Start a War, by the National

I like this song a lot.  It's good writing music, and it's racked up 23 plays in iTunes since I added it about a week ago.  I think the singer's voice is perfectly suited to this kind of song - wistful, sad, resigned.  It builds but never breaks, and there's an anxiety in that which fits in the context of the song.  I like the simplicity of the guitar throughout, and the simplicity of the lyrics, this line in particular: You were always weird, but I never had to hold you by the edges like I do now.

2. Breakeven, by the Script

Probably the thing that bothers me most about this song is that "breakeven" is one word when it should clearly be two.  This is a radio song, and a sad pop breakup song, but I've listened to it a lot anyway.  It's incredibly wistful and catchy.  And I like the line, "What am I gonna do when the best part of me was always you?" It's a little trite, but whatever.  There's a truth in that.  Besides, radio is so awful this month that I feel excused in finding the best in the middle of all the bad.

3. Beaming, by Quiet Science

I first heard this song on a long car ride with Ben.  It was on a mix he had made for a friend, and the title was "Everything is gonna be alright (?)" with the artist simply listed as "?".  There's only one or two sites on Google that will turn up if you search for the lyrics.  But it's by a band called Quiet Science, and it's a very pretty song.  With very pretty, simple lyrics that are hard to find.

4. Look at Miss Ohio, by the New Frontiers (Gillian Welch cover)

I still haven't looked up the original version of this song, for which I feel kind of bad.  I also don't really understand it.  But it reminds me of the color palette of the mid-1900s, and I love the line, "I wanna do right, but not right now."

5. Drumming Song, by Florence and the Machine

This song is just mad excitement.  Louder than sirens, louder than bells, sweeter than heaven and hotter than hell.

By the way, we're sorry that we can't get mp3's up on this page.  We don't want to be sketchy and it's just difficult to find a good file hosting site.

Love,

Sarah