Today’s challenge invites us to share a song that makes you want to fall in love. Love songs are, of course, about three quarters of the popular music canon, so one is hardly spoiled for choice. I’m choosing today to share this exquisite number from Bob Dylan’s 1997 album “Time Out Of Mind”. It’s been covered by many people, but I like the sparseness of the original. (I should really learn this one.) Here’s “To Make You Feel My Love”
Today’s challenge invites us to share a song we like by an artist no longer living. There are a lot of musical heroes I could choose from. I’ve earlier in this challenge already shined a spotlight on David Bowie and Prince, so here’s my favourite Warren Zevon song, “Accidentally Like A Martyr”
Today’s challenge invites us to share a song from a band we wish were still together. I don’t recall who it was who first introduced me to Great Big Sea; I think it was Seanan McGuire. But once I found them, I fell in love with their whole sound, and got to see them live four times. They always put on an amazing show, and I’m sorry that I won’t get to see them again, unless they decide to get back together.
So here’s Great Big Sea, with one of my favourite songs of theirs, “Boston and St. John”.
Today’s challenge invites us to share a song we think everyone should listen to. This is another one that’s difficult because it’s so very broad, and also because I’d tend to want to pick a song that everyone might not have hard already. Most classics are classic for a reason, after all.
My pick isn’t really obscure, since it’s been around a few years and he’s reasonably well known at this point, at least in the circles I move in. But it’s has become, easily, my favourite Christmas song, and now that we’re past Thanksgiving and properly into the Christmas music season, I figure I’ll share it for today’s entry.
So, here’s Tim Minchin, with “White Wine In The Sun”.
Today’s challenge invites us to sing a song that “moves you forward”. This is another vaguely worded prompt that I’m not sure how to interpret, but there’s certainly a great deal of inspirational and motivational music out there. For instance, there’s this great little number from my friend Ben Wakeman, a wonderful Atlanta area singer-songwriter, which tells us that even when everything around us is awful, we should still get on with getting on with things. That’s certainly a message for our times if I ever heard one, so here’s “Get Your Ass Up Off The Floor”
Today’s challenge invites us to share a song with someone’s name in the title. Obviously lots to choose from, but this song is one I’ve loved since I first bought the album it’s own, the year it came out, and which I cover form time to time.
Here’s Concrete Blonde, with “Caroline”
Today’s challenge invites us to share a song that has many meanings to ourselves, and I have to admit that I’m a bit stumped. There are certainly songs that have different *associations* in my mind. It isn’t so much that the song means a different thing as that it resonates on a different frequency emotionally, depending on the context. I’m not sure that’s entirely what the question is going for, but since that’s all we have to go on, here’s a song that stirs a lot of different emotions in me, depending on who is on my mind when I play it1. Here’s “Beeswing” by Richard Thompson.
The details of which I have no intention of expanding upon here ↩
Today’s challenge invites us to share a song that makes us think about life. There’s a lot of great songs that make one introspective and philosphical, especially in the singer-songwriter canon. For today’s entry, here’s a song that directly addresses modern life in a way that is both humourous but also profound. Here’s Baltimore’s We’re About 9, with their song “Live With This”
I was born in 1970, which was a pretty great year for music. The Billboard year-end Top 100 chart would make a pretty killer playlist.
I’m going with a song that reflected the mood of the times, and sadly, which still does. It would require almost no alteration to bring this song into the present. Here’s The Temptations, with “Ball of Confusion”.
Today’s challenge invites us to share a song we would sing as a duet with someone at karaoke. After 16 days of difficult decisions choosing which song to highlight, finally here’s an easy one. Not only is this a fun song, but it is a favourite memory with one of my favourite people. The very first time I met Julie Wotzko, at Sunnie Larsen’s birthday party, we did this song together. We’ve since reprised it, and even though she’s now an ocean away1, I look forward to doing it again sometime.
Here’s “The Internet Is For Porn”, from the cast recording of the Broadway musical “Avenue Q”.
do you have to be an ocean away? ↩