Music Picks

For the last couple of days I have been at home alone a lot. For someone who is woefully underemployed at this moment, I have been busy. Doing things. BUT, the last couple of days, my husband has been going out, working hard and bringing home the bacon, and I've been putting up a new shower curtain, listening to music I picked out, and ordering lots of greeting cards from BeeDazzles Gifts and happydaystudio. This internet shopping is an addiction. Gotta start my Christmas shopping soon!!

But, the key here is that I'm listening to music of my own. No crap that my husband has picked out. And here is a list of songs that have been on repeat. (Right. We've covered that everyone thinks I have awful taste in music and maybe this list will just reinforce that, but I'm just so pleased I can listen to songs I've picked out!)

1) Stay - Sugarland - Look, I know that I write about Sugarland a lot. Jennifer Nettles has an amazing voice. I think she's wasted in country music; her range is so large she could be doing lots more. When you listen to this song, you can feel the emotion in her voice. It's definitely a song that makes you cry the first time you hear it.

2) Our Song - Taylor Swift - Dude, I know Taylor Swift is flat. Biker Boy despises my girl Taylor. But the songs she sings just touch me in the right way. I can't stop listening and cranking it up when I'm driving (or sitting at my computer).

3) I Can't Make You Love Me - Bonnie Raitt - I had a roommate once who always said that someone always loves someone more in a relationship. That person is in a weak position in the relationship. I know my husband loves me and he puts up with a lot from this neurotic, anxious, bitchtastic person, but I also know that I love him more than he will ever love me. And this song is all about that. You can live with it and even enjoy it, but you'll always know.

4) Bring on the Rain - Jo Dee Messina and Tim McGraw - Awesome. That's all I have to say. Messina is not a great singer, but she picks great songs that work with her voice and range and this song is perfect for her. I can't imagine any other person singing it.

5) Sabra Girl - Nickel Creek - I find myself listening to more and more bluegrass and more and more folk. This song is a nice combination. Quite lovely.

6) I Have a Song to Sing, O! - Peter, Paul, and Mary - This song is included to demonstrate my folk love. I was looking around for If I Had a Hammer (mostly because this song irks the boy) and stumbled on this. I have a strange (false?) memory of my father driving down the road, humming to this song. Regardless of the truth behind this memory, it makes me happy.

7) It's Just Me - Jon Bon Jovi - I have no excuse. I love the man from Jersey. Uh, I just learned that the song is from Jon Bon Jovi's second solo album (Destination Anywhere for any nerds who care) and was released in 1997. Ummm...that's the year I graduated from high school. How come I just learned of this song's existence?

8) Bigger than the Beatles - Joe Diffie - I'm allowed to be mushy. I am a newlywed.

9) This is Me You're Talking To - Trisha Yearwood - Right before our wedding, one of my ex-boyfriend's called. He wanted to tell me that he was married and had a baby. I think he kind of hoped I would collapse into a deep pit of despair, crying for all that could have been. Instead, I congratulated him, and asked about his mom (his mom was the reason I stayed with him so long - I love that lady). It was odd because he seemed really uncomfortable and nervous while we were on the phone, and it didn't make sense because we hadn't ended our relationship badly and we hadn't had trouble communicating when we were together. Bizarre.

You're smiling that smile that
You get when you're nervous
Like you don't quite know what to do
But this is me you're talking to
This is me you're talking to

10) What Kind of Gone - Chris Cagle - I don't know why this songs appeals to me. It's catchy. But I guess BB and I are better at communication that the couple in this song, because I'm not sure we'd have this same problem with the definition of gone.

11) Don't Think I Don't Think About It - Darius Rucker - This is the guy from Hootie and the Blowfish. Ha! I love it.

12) Gravity by Alison Krauss and Union Station - I'm slowly sinking under the spell of Krauss. For a long time, I was annoyed with her voice. Now I'm impressed by the intricacy of these songs.

And the people who love me still ask me
When are you coming back to town
And I answer quite frankly
When they stop building roads
And all God needs is gravity to hold me down

13) Goodbye on a Bad Day - Shannon Lawson - Ummmm...I was pretty sure I wrote about this song elsewhere, but a search through my archives shows nothing. Lawson has not quite hit it big in Nashville, but this song is pretty awesome. We've all had bad days and this is just what we need to hear on those bad days. It could be worse.

14) I Wish I Never Saw the Sunshine - Beth Orton - When I was in college, my best friend and I were going on a road trip. She put together a mixed tape (one song from her music, one song from mine, one song from hers, and so on). This was one of her songs (Back to LA was another from this legendary mixed tape) and I kind of love it.

15) Why They Call it Falling - Lee Ann Womack - Womack is a bitch and a Republican. But she's sings pretty. In 1997 she got Best New Female Vocalist at the CMAs and she totally freaked out that she'd been on the music scene from a long time and resented the "new female" label. Argh. Take your CMA and be thankful for it!