2008: The Set List

I've actually kept a list all year. Val, aren't you kind of proud? :) I trimmed it a tiny bit, but it's still a pretty long list.

• Yesterday- switchfoot
Beautiful, melancholy tribute to a friend of the band. It's quite sad, but so hopeful at the same time. Very comforting if you've lost someone you love.

• Falling Slowly- The Frames
I too was charmed by Once, and the opening lines of this song are perfect. Also, I remember laughing during the movie when he went up high in the chorus while they were practicing. I wasn't sure it would work. But then when they sang it for real, it was so lovely, I practically melted, and bought the soundtrack the following day.

• Natalie- Florez
My roommate used to manage this band. This song was on Scrubs and it's actually NOT about a girl, but about a boy named Nate who auditioned to sing for Florez-- and then bailed out on them at the last minute. Terribly clever revenge, Alex. :)

• Question- Old 97's
This song plays when Turk asks Carla to marry him for the last time. It's adorable.

• Lovesong- Sara Bareilles
I sang this all. summer. long. And I can sort of play some of it on the piano. Anyway, I think Sara is brilliant and I really hope she doesn't fizzle out in the next couple years. I expect at least a few more great singles from her.

• You Give Me Something- James Morrison
This is one of those songs that just makes sense to me. The composition is perfection. If I had written this I could die absolutely delighted. It's also very Stevie Wonder-ish, which is probably why I love it.

• New Soul- Yael Naim
At first it was just catchy. Then it grew on me. It's so sweet and carefree. What's not to love?

• Say- John Mayer
This song is very simple. Comfortingly so. It speaks for itself.

• Almost Lover- A Fine Frenzy
If heartache had a sound, it would be the first two chords of this song. And then her tone is just-- ouch. Wow. Heartbreak personified. Mad Props.

• Supermassive Black Hole- Muse
I know this song is old, but I rediscovered it. I have it set as my ringtone. It makes me want to walk into a party, dressed like a rockstar, wearing some kickass boots, flanked by my equally rockstar roommates and own the entire party. And this is all in slow motion of course.

• Misery Business- Paramore
Why isn't this song on Guitar Hero? or Rock Band? Is it? I want to play! Hooray for yelling while driving! And hooray for wildly successful local bands. :)

• Astonishing- Little Women
Wow. I'm still going to write a musical. The end of this song reminds me of that every time I hear it.

• Without Love- Hairspray
I wish I'd written this too. Talking about it doesn't do it justice. And honestly, neither does either recorded version of it. The movie soundtrack is missing some power, and the original Broadway cast version would actually be fine if Marissa Jaret Winokur's "Tracy voice" didn't make me want to throw my iPod at the wall. But the lyrics are spectacular. I think I need to see it live.

• Just- Mark Ronson/Phantom Planet
I'm obsessed with horns this year too. The horns in this song (which is actually a Radiohead cover) are so sassy and delicious. I love it.

• Pork & Beans- Weezer
Yes. :) I love the video. I love how stupid and awesome and hilarious and geekishly rebellious it is. Makes me happy.

• Troublemaker- Weezer
This song should have a music video starring Ryan Atwood. It sounds like it would be an opening song during season one of The O.C. I can't explain why that makes me so happy. But it does. Probably because season one of The O.C. was fantastic. Is fantastic.
Also, the line "Marryin a beeyotch-- havin 7 ki-yads" is-- amazing.

• Cliffs of Dover- Eric Johnson
My favorite song to "play" on Guitar Hero 3. Which I'm terrible at. But still love unconditionally. I also think it's hilarious that Joanna and I "sing" this song like it has words. But really we just play air guitar and make riff noises.

• Rehab- Amy Winehouse
Lord, Lord, help the tragedy that is Amy Winehouse. But this is a great song. Again with the old school feel and the horns. I like it a lot. And I'm actually quite fond of her inebriated vocals.
"They have the courage to be drunken buffoons, which makes them poetic!"

• A Mirror Is Harder To Hold- Jon Foreman
Gut-check honest, hopeful, pleading and sweetly pathetic. The horns add just the right amount of sap. And 6/8 time is the best. And if was Jon singing this to me? I would definitely not go.

• A Change Gon' Come- Sam Cooke & Cold War Kids
This song still rings true. The Sam Cooke version is so epic too. I mean, the intro sounds like an old school Disney movie. It's incredible. Music just doesn't sound like this anymore. Cold War made it their own, which I respect. But Sam is the man.

• Consolers of the Lonely- The Raconteurs
Jack White is like the unofficial King of Nashville. And this whole album really is great. But the drummer does a phenomenal job navigating through the various tempo/style changes and the whole track has great swagger too.

• Shake It- Metro Station
Remember when "Yeah!" came out? It's like that. Something about having the chorus memorized by the end of the song is so satisfying, isn't it? ;) Stupid? Yes. But who doesn't enjoy driving and singing "Shake, shake-- shake, shake-- a-shake it!!!"

• Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours- Stevie Wonder
One of many Motown tracks I listened to on repeat this summer. Stevie can pretty much do no wrong.

• The Way I Am- Ingrid Michaelson
This song is just adorable. And except for the Rogaine part, entirely true for me. I'm excited for the day I'll be able to relate to it wholeheartedly.

• Viva La Vida- Coldplay
One of those songs it's really hard not to listen to. Something authoritative and fanfare-esque and dreamlike about that symphonic intro. And then the intriguing opening lines; "You USED to rule the world?! What happened?!" Very effective storytelling device. :) Also, the line "Revolutionaries wait... for my head on a silver plate," got stuck in my head all the time this summer.

• City- Sara Bareilles
Violins + Piano will always be a winner. I listen to/sing this song pretty much every Saturday night that I'm cleaning up the Blue Room at work. It's so-- accurate. Heartbreakingly so. It's like a monologue. Sara Bareilles must be descended from Eponine Thenardier.

• This Is Home- switchfoot
I wasn't crazy about it when I first heard it. I mean, it works for Caspian, but I wasn't feelin it. But one day I heard it differently. I thought about "home" a little differently. More like a person than a place. And then I loved it.

• Rock N Roll- Eric Hutchinson
Why is it so fun to sing the line "Fancy drinks and fifty dollar cover charge!" I don't know. But this is BOCA's current car song. A little summer in the midst of dreary wintry-ness.

• To Make You Feel My Love- Adele
My second favorite song of the year. I already wrote a whole blog about it, so I won't ramble on any longer. :)

Artist of the Year: Tyrone Wells
Need. Sugar So Sweet. Baby Don't You Change. Seabreeze. Patience. Sexy Yodeling.
I can't get enough.
This guy is phenomenal. I will never pass up a chance to see him live.

Song of the Year: Southbound Train- Jon Foreman
Relaxing. Reflective. Rugged. Cellos. Harmonica train whistles. And my most favorite voice in the whole world. I can't get enough of it.

First Album I'll Be Purchasing In 2009:
Fiction Family
(read: Jon Foreman meets Nickel Creek. Literally.)

Three Songs That Sum Up My 2008:
Somebody To Love- Queen
Change The World- Eric Clapton
Patience- Tyrone Wells

The first two sung BY me. The last, sung AT me. You can laugh. And you should.
But it's very true. :)