It’s the last installment of the 30 Day Song Challenge – for real!
Day 24 – A song with lyrics you love
fun. – The Gambler
There’s a universe where this is the song that I dance to at my wedding!
I’m used to love songs focusing on one part of the relationship – crushing, the honeymoon phase, breaking up, etc. – but never the full life cycle of a successful relationship, like this one does. All the way from “We were barely eighteen when we crossed collective hearts…” to “You said you’d be here ’til we decide that it’s our time but it’s not time, you’ve never quit in all your life.”
On top of all that, the song is just beautifully written. The entire song reads like a modern epic poem from a high school English class. Pair that with Nate Ruess’s emotion vocals, and you have my reaction every other time that I listen to this song: maybe crying… maybe.
Honorable mentions: Just a bunch more sappy, but heartfelt, love songs! Paramore – The Only Exception, Paolo Nutini – Last Request, Frank Ocean – Bad Religion
Day 25 – A song you love but would be embarrassed if it started playing loudly from your laptop at a coffee shop
ごまっとう – SHALL WE LOVE?
As has come up several times in this series already, I used to listen to some really embarrassing Japanese pop music!
This song has always been my gold standard for “EMBARRASSING J-POP” because of THAT bridge/opening! If they just cut that part out, I wouldn’t be nearly as embarrassed about it!
Honorable mentions: Miles Fisher – New Romance (I actually think this song is great but, like the song above, the lyrics are very, very bad: “Look at the way that hip bone’s connected to those thighs!” And these writers actually speak English! This music video is also a Saved By The Bell-themed Final Destination tie-in, which doesn’t sound like it should work, but it does!), Jesse McCartney – Shake (I want to pretend like I’m not embarrassed to like this song but…)
Day 27 – A song that calms you down
fun. – Be Calm
A fun. double-whammy! “Aim and Ignite” was one of my favorite albums in high school – does it show?
I have personally used this song to talk myself down from many, many stressful moments, from pre-exam or pre-interview nerves to literal emergencies.
Just like the “song that makes you feel energized” prompt, I don’t necessarily need a song that’s entirely soothing and low-key to calm me down (though the two honorable mentions below are). If my brain is running at a million miles an hour, sometimes it’s easier to listen to something that is frantically telling me to “BE CALM” than quickly bringing myself down from 100 to 0.
Honorable mentions: Maroon 5 – Sunday Morning (sometimes the most obvious option is the correct one), The xx – Angels (this song makes me want to fall asleep, but in a good, happy way!)
Day 28 – A song with great vocals
Beyoncé – XO
Beyoncé – need I say more?
She was one of the first people that came to mind after reading this prompt, but the trouble actually came with narrowing this down to a single song. I chose “XO” specifically because it doesn’t necessarily show a wide range (though it might? I know nothing about vocal range), but instead shows how her voice can be so powerful and yet effortlessly expressive.
(This may or may not be because I love singing along to this song and while I feel like I’m hitting all the right notes, my voice feels like it takes up a small corner, while Beyoncé’s takes up the entire house!)
Honorable mentions: Adele – Chasing Pavements (for many of the same reasons as Beyoncé above – but you don’t need me to tell you that they’re great singers, do you?)
Day 29 – A song you believe is a genuinely good one hit wonder
DREAM – He Loves You Not
I’m a sucker for a sugary pop song – that’s it!
Honorable mentions: Dexy’s Midnight Runners – Come On Eileen (I have no idea why, but this is one of my favorite 80s songs), Jennifer Page – Crush (another sugary pop song!)
Day 30 – A song you’d listen to while wistfully looking out the window of a bus
Maggie Rogers – Say It
Like the “calms you down” song above – I’m pretty sure I’ve actually listened to this song while wistfully looking out a window.
I’ve talked about having countless unrequited crushes in earlier blog posts, and this is just the most recent in a long series of songs that makes me think, yes, this is what a crush feels like.
This song comes with the added bonus of describing that feeling of “oh shit, I don’t have the energy for this right now” – another instance of feelings-that-are-very-familiar-but-not-commonly-examined-in-song.
Honorable mentions: Taylor Swift – All Too Well (Bryan and I went to a Taylor Swift dance party where the DJ obviously did not know anything about Taylor Swift. He prefaced this song by saying, “Who knows this deep cut?” and then after everyone squealed upon hearing the first notes, he cut back in with a “Wow, ok, never mind”)
Trisha Serquina 