Friday, December 04, 2009

Songs I Dig - 15

As promised, here's another edition of the Songs I Dig blog. I'm trying not procrastinate as much this time around and seeing that the year is almost over, I do need to compile my listing of the top songs of 2009 (it still kind of boggles my mind that the year is almost over). I am going to try to knock off as much of these songs as I can, so pardon me if some of the paragraphs for the songs may be shorter than usual. I just want to cover as much as I can before the year is out.

The Fray - "Never Say Never" : The Fray was back in 2009 with a new album and some great new songs. One of them, "Never Say Never" did great on the charts. It got plenty of radio time and could be considered as one of the best songs of the year. The song starts with a solemn piano opening and gradually builds into a dramatic ballad. The song's theme is typical in modern pop music - falling in and out of love. It's just a great song, with a soothing melody and great message.

Daughtry - "No Surprise" : Another group with a new album in 2009 is Daughtry. The "should've been Idol champ" of a few years back came out with a vengeance with "No Surprise" that quickly climbed the charts. The album, "Leave this Town" debuted at number one on the billboard charts and remained there for another week. "No Surprise" is a break-up song and again, sort of follows the in and out of love theme. The song appears to be in a particularly high octave for Chris to sing, but he does it magnificently well. Again, this one will rank as one of the best songs of '09.

The Script - "The Man Who Can't be Moved" : Here's a group I knew absolutely nothing about until I heard this song on the radio. And it ended up being another great song from this past year. The Script is of Irish decent and has had great success in the United Kingdom. The band is gaining more noteriety in the United States for its music and sound - although they haven't exactly had a smash hit here as of yet. I really connected with "The Man Who Can't be Moved" as it related to a personal matter in my life. It's got a great message and it's one of those songs you can't help but to sing along to.

Jordin Sparks - "Battlefield" : 2009 has proven to be a big year for former American Idol contestants and winners. Season 6 Idol winner Jordin Sparks' new album "Battlefield" was released in mid-July and debuted at number seven on the Billboard charts. The song of the same name as the album was the first to be released and gained plenty of radio airplay. It's a song that describes the struggles of love and relationships. As the lyrics states, "why does love always feel like a battlefield?" In a relationship, there's often push and pull between the two sides and not enough compromise. I think this song sets a very true message within its lyrics.

Dave Matthews Band - "Funny the Way It Is" : Probably one of my all-time favorite bands from the past 20 years has to be Dave Matthews Band. You want to talk about great song writing? Here's the group that epitomises great song writing. "Funny the Way It Is" was the debut song from their recent album "Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King." It doesn't directly talk about love, relationships, break-ups, what-have-you, but more about irony. I just love the juxtaposition displayed in the lyrics of this song. It also tackles the overall degredation of society as a whole. Yet the music video is rather quirky and funny in that Dave Matthews way.

Katy Perry - "Waking Up In Vegas" : Within the past year in a half, Katy Perry started as an unknown in the music industry and has become one of the biggest female artists in pop music today. Her debut album produced two triple-platinum songs in "I Kissed a Girl" and "Hot N Cold." I am pretty sure "Waking Up In Vegas" can't be that far behind. It's a fun, quirky song that's as catchy as can be. Katy basically describes a nightmare situation in Las Vegas to a T in this song. From being broke after gambling away all of the money, waking up with a ring on your finger along with a hangover and not remembering what happened the previous night. It's one of those songs that's just simply fun to sing along to.

Parachute - "She is Love" : Okay, back to the love and/or relationship-themed songs. Parachute is a group new to the music industry and released their debut album "Losing Sleep" in 2009. Each of the members of the band graduated from college in 2008 and have since been touring and promoting their album. The first single released was "She is Love." It has so far topped out at number 66 on the Billboard Charts. It's a sweet song and the lyrics divulge no bad relationship blood within them. The theme of the song basically follows the lines of "in my darkest days when I'm feeling the worst, she (or he) is there to lift up my spirits and make my life meaninful." It'd actually make a decent wedding song, in my opinion.

That is going to wrap it up for this edition of the Songs I Dig. Please be sure to check back for one (or two) more editions of the SID before I give my special top songs of '09 blog. And until then, be sure and enjoy the holiday season.

No comments: