Day 115: I have a bit of a confession to make. This is not, in fact, the first time that I have embarked on a project to send out daily messages related to music. Back during the second semester of my Freshman year at MSU, I used to send an e-mail (no doubt using "PINE") containing a song quote to the likes of Jen, Jovon, Abigail, Amy, and Amy. But something else pretty important also happened during those first few weeks of 1995. With a little help from Jovon (and others), a certain brown-eyed girl and I figured out that we kind of liked each other, and Jen and I officially started dating. The date when that happed was exactly 20 years ago today, and on the Friday of that week, I e-mailed out the words to today's song, the aptly titled, "Friday, I'm In Love" from The Cure. So, Happy Friday everyone, and Happy "Anniversary" Jen, and just so you know, I "can never get enough, enough of this stuff."
01/24/2015
Day 116: As it turns out, that whole thing about dating the girl I met my Freshman year at MSU worked out pretty well. We got engaged on the 4th of July in 1997 and were then married 2 weeks after graduation from MSU in 1998. Looking back on things, Jen and I planned a fairly low-key, simple wedding with reception at Schular's in Marshall. The setting was not the type of one where you would hire a DJ and there wasn't really any room for dancing anyway, so we just had Andy Elms burn us a CD of our favorite songs to play in the background as our friends and family ate. (Since it was 1998, burning a CD was actually a remarkable undertaking and accomplishment). But, we did manage to have at least one dance together as a married couple. The song that we choose for that special occasion was today's track, the lovely "Angel Mine" by the Cowboy Junkies. The song itself is perhaps an odd choice for a first dance, as it does not speak of some sort of idealized, magical version of love. Instead, Jen and I have always been fairly pragmatic, and I think the message of the chorus echoes that spirit, "I can't promise that I'll grow those wings, or keep this tarnished halo shined. But I'll never betray your trust, angel mine." After 16+ years, I think maybe we were on to something. Love you sweetie!
01/25/2015
Day 117: The CD that Andy Elms burned for us for our wedding day contained a lot of cool tracks, and I am pretty sure that I could put my hands on the original CD in the cabinet out in the living room. I can't say that I can recite each track from memory, but I am quite sure that today's song, "I've Been Waiting" from Matthew Sweet's 1991 album "Girlfriend" was one of them. The lyrics are "sweet" and pretty straightforward, "I didn't think I'd find you perfect in so many way, but I've been waiting..." The song just puts a smile on my face every time. Plus, the quirky anime video is pretty awesome as well. Enjoy!
01/26/2015
Day 118: Alternative music was not exactly known for boy bands or heartthrobs, but there certainly were a couple of bands and/or singers that the ladies seemed to like. As I remember, Evan Dando, the lead singer of the Boston based act The Lemonheads, seemed to fall into this category. If true, alternateens were no doubt pretty excited when today's selection "Into Your Arms" hit the charts in 1993. But in all honesty, I can see why. It is another straightforward, sweet song with a nice hook, "I know a place where I can go when I'm alone... I know a place that's safe and warm from the crowd. Into your arms whoa into your arms I can go. And if I should fall, I know I won't be alone, be alone anymore." Yep, a generation just swooned, didn't they?
01/27/2015
Day 119: Every once in a while, you discover a band, but they you kind of write them off. Then, you sometimes discover many years later that the band is actually a lot better than you thought they were. I had this experience with Nada Surf. I first ran across Nada Surf in 1996 when their song "Popular" hit the airwaves at MSU. It was a clever novelty song, but nothing really more than that. A few years later down at Purdue, I picked up a used copy of their debut album High/Low and it was actually pretty good... but I didn't really give the band much more thought. Years later, as a part of the Toyota Music Renaissance I discovered that they put out several albums in the first decade of the 21st century, and they are actually all... kind of awesome. Today's selection, "Always Love" from the 2005 album "The Weight is a Gift" is a great example. I can't say that I know for sure the band's image for this song, but to me it a simple reminder: "To listen to the voice that told me. Always love. Hate will get you every time. Always love. Don't wait till the finish line." In other words, as I interpret it, love conquers all. Amen, brother surf.
01/28/2015
Day 120: Who would have guessed that two of the tracks about Bringing the Love would be from the kings of gloomy rock known as The Cure? Well, believe it. For those of us that are a certain age, today song "Just Like Heaven" is just magical. The way the instruments build in the opening moments, the lyrics about running away together, the piano solo... yeah, it's just magic. Of course, in the end, it seems that the couple comes to a tragic end at the top of a ocean cliff, but let's try not to think about that too hard. Robert Smith sure doesn't seem too broken up about it. But, in all honesty, I wouldn't change a thing. This song is just about perfect. It's heavenly.
01/29/2015
Day 121: Today's track "American Dreaming" from Dead Can Dance is an interesting one. I first saw this video on 120 Minutes while in High School and it really stuck in my head. Oddly enough, I literally can not bring to mind a single other song from this band. Not one. So, I guess I would consider this to be a bit of a One Hit Wonder. But, no matter, I still just love the folky, raw beauty of this song. As it pertains to the theme of this chapter, the song contains the line, "I'm in love with an American girl, Though she's my best friend. I love her surreptitious smile, That hides the feelings within her." It just seems so earnest, so pure, and for that reason the song has just stuck with me.
01/30/2015
Day 122: I have always been a sucker for a concept album. And, I have also always been a sucker for the band Semisonic. I consider them to be a bit of a Guilty Pleasure. But, I don't think that there is any reason to feel guilty about today's song, "Chemistry," the sort-of title track from the brilliant 2001 album, "All About Chemistry." The album itself contains only songs that pertain to some theme related to love, whether it be true love, a love that's on the rocks, or even (uh-hem) self-love. Today's song is all about those early experiences (or perhaps "experiments") with love, told in a geekily awesome and clever way: "I remember when I found out about chemistry, It was a long, long way from here... So for awhile we conducted experiments. In an apartment by the river road, and we found out that the two things we put together had a bad tendency to explode." When I first heard the song as a experimental Chemical Engineering student at Purdue (not far from River Road) it just hit every chord just perfectly. But, perhaps my proudest moment with this song was when I talked Kimber into using the song at her and Al's wedding reception. Now that wedding had chemistry.
01/31/2015
Day 123: The band U2 is known for a lot of things: future Nobel Prize Peace Prize winner and singer Bono, lead guitarist "The Edge," huge multimedia concert events, etc. But, they really aren't know so much for their love songs. But, I think that today's track, the lovely "All I Want is You" is a notable exception. It seems to me that this song was a bit of a Hidden Gem on the 1998 album Rattle and Hum, but it got new life in 1994 iconic Gen X movie "Reality Bites." The song has that expansive U2 sound and a great little hook, "All the promises we make from the cradle to the grave, when all I want is you." I don't know about you, but all I want to do is to listen to it again.
02/01/2015
Day 124: Some love songs are light-hearted. Some are simple. Some are funny, and some are grandiose. But it is a little more rare for a love song to be what probably most love songs should be: passionate. Today, as a winter storm decends on us here in Michigan, I would like to highlight a song that brings some heat, the intense "I Want All of You" from the Verve Pipe off the underappreciated 2001 album "Underneath." The song builds slowly, methodically, but steadily, like a lyrical undressing: "I want all of you, from your feet up to your mouth, every inch of north and south". It starts out acoustic, but builds to an electric climax, "You are everything, you are everything. In my night and through my day. Would you listen to me say? I'm in love with you." It gives my the chills, in a good way, every time. If you can listen to this song without your pulse elevating a little, well, I guess I just feel bad for you. Stay warm everybody!
02/02/2015
Day 125: They Might Be Giants are best known for their quirky, off-the-wall style. But, every once in a while they tip their hands a bit and show more of their serious side. They have even attempted a love song or two. But, even when they are singing about trying to freshen up a potentially stale relationship as they are in today's track, "Another First Kiss," they still come off sweet and light hearted. The song seems to describe a couple that is in a rut and have "run out of things to say." Their solution? "How 'bout another first kiss." Perhaps it sounds a little naive and oversimplified, but you know what? Maybe it isn't. That is the beauty of TMBG. If you peel back the quirky onion a little bit, you can often find a slightly more profound meaning. Couldn't we all use another first kiss once in a while?
So, that ends this little tour through the world of love. But, unfortunately, as TMBGs imply in today's song love isn't always perfect. Love is hard. Love doesn't always last. And sometimes, love isn't returned. Fortunately, there is a whole other set of songs to cover these emotions as well. Tomorrow I will turn the coin over and begin a new chapter on the darker side of love
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