A song for Parsnip, episode 5 - Bring on the tears

I'm on my hols at the moment but thanks to bloggers scheduling options I have miraculously posted a new playlist!

I'm someone who finds music very emotional. Sometimes it makes me happy, sometimes it makes me sad, and I often choose the mood I want (I have all kinds of playlists that are mood-related!) but sometimes there are songs that will just make me cry no matter how joyful I feel at the moment I listen to them! You best believe that if I hear Joni Mitchell's Both Sides Now (her 2000 version) I'm gonna cry even if I'm on a beach with handsome men massaging my feet and a pina colada half way to my mouth! Sometimes it's because of the music, or the way it's sung, but often it's because of the lyrics. So here are some of the songs that I can't listen to without bawling.... Trust that I'm a mess while writing this post!

Okay so I'll start with an obvious and slightly cheesy song. Jewel's You were meant for me is a simple song that isn't much to write home about in and of itself, but the words are such a good description of a mundane break-up that it's hard not to relate to it! Like she says " hearts get broken everyday". I think Amy Winehouse made a much more musically brilliant song in this same vein with Wake up Alone, but as I was young when I first heard Jewels song it has an odd little place in my tear ducts!

Led Zeppelin Since I've been loving you. I don't need to explain this to you. It's Led Zeppelin.

I can't express strongly enough how much I love this song. Hip Hop makes me feel many things, but it rarely makes me cry. For me The Beggar is all about Mos Def's delivery. It's the frustration of trying to make someone believe how much you love them. The lyrics are pretty straight-forward and repetitive, but that's what I find it so powerful. When he screams every nerve in my body just explodes! 

Oh Dusty! Everything about this song is designed to be a tear-jerker... and it works! If you have ever loved anyone who is likely to go traveling for long periods of time, this song may be even harder to listen to than if you're just going through a breakup! The real kicker comes right at the end....

"I'd have been the shadow of your shadow, if it might have kept me by your side"

Oh god... Bawling!

So this is a random one. It's cold. A song for people who have been cheated on and have gone beyond sadness and have moved on to numb fury. When the vicious guitar comes in I loose it. I've got your number is emotional, the singing is so soft but Guy Garvey delivers it like he's spitting venom. I adore this song and it is lyrically one of my all-time favourite songs....

"Don't put this not by your face on the pillow

Don't put this letter in the pocket near your heart

Keep it in the bottom drawer where you hide the sex tools

I pray you always need them

I know. What. You. Have. Done.

Throwing advice like grenades at the table

You're spinning your wisdom in stories that change

Your lies are florescent my baby-faced angel

Grow a fucking heart love.... 

I know. What. You. Have. Done. 

I've got your number"

Yep..... I've got your number indeed!

 Erykah Badu is capable of making me laugh, dance, sing and cry. Green Eyes is about her break up with Andre 3000 (from Outkast) and is like 3 songs in one. It's really something. Beautiful, quirky and sad....

"I'm insecure, but I can't help it
My mind says move on, my heart lags behind
But I don't love you anymore
I'm so insecure
Never knew that love did this"

Been there Erykah, been there!

A Perfectly sad but humorous song about regret. I love this whole album, but this song really gets to me.

Another song that is not at all soppy but still gets my emotions going is Running up that hill by Kate Bush. The song itself is rousing, and the drums make me want to pound my fists along with it. It's not really a love song, but it's about swapping places with someone so you can experience how the other feels. The thing is it has my all time favourite lyric in it, and every time I hear it I cry!

"You don't wanna hurt me, but see how deep the bullet lies"

Sometimes for me it's a simple as that! I could apply those words to so many things in life.

I had to put Lenny Kravitz in here somewhere. My love for Lenny was DEEP when I was a young teenager. Heaven Help is one of my favourite songs to sing. When I was a dramatic teen it spoke to me about being lonely, being ready to love and be loved already! As an adult I see it differently and I think it's about a man who is ready to stop fucking about and commit to someone. As much as I like the lyrics I think the music and the delivery are really what makes this emotional for me.

I remember starts very nicely, but it descends in to a bitter rant that becomes cacophonous. I love the fury. Love it.

Ain't no sunshine is such a friggin' classic.... Bill Withers original is amazing, but in terms of bringing out the misery of the song, young Michael Jackson just takes it to a new level. His voice was miraculous.

This one is so personal to me. I don't often hear hear pop songs that touch a nerve... and as for X-Factor singers, well.... let's just say I don't have good feelings towards that programme and what it has done to music! The only person who has surprised me is Will Young. I don't think he has a great voice, but I often think his lyrics feel so genuine that they really hit home with me (and he did such good videos once he had some freedom!). I won't go into details, but I've lived through what he sings about in this song and I can't hear it without breaking down! Actually, I think his song All Time Love is also a pretty heart breaking song as it goes, that one makes me cry too as a matter of fact!

Gonna get all modern now. I love moany female singers, so I love Banks. Drowning is a great song. Love the beat and the lyrics....

"Take it from the girl you claim to love; you're gonna get some bad Karma
I'm the one who had to learn to build a heart made of armour"

She been burnt!

I very specifically like the single version of Walking after you by the Foo Fighters rather than the album version. There is something so creepy about this song, but it's still really beautiful!

I like a couple of the tracks from Corinne Bailey Rae's first album, but the second one was really something special. It is also hard to listen to because she wrote it after her husband died from an overdose. Knowing this makes the lyrics all the more poignant. I'd do it all again bops along quite nicely, but underneath it all is a deep sense of sadness that kills me. 'The Sea' is a fantastic album, I recommend it to anyone who hasn't heard it before.

While I'm on the subject of songs about lost loved ones I have to mention Jesus to a Child. You know George Michael already slays me, but this song (which is just flat-out sad in sound and feel) was written about his boyfriend who died from evil AIDS. I don't know if I've ever heard another song with lyrics that convey the sadness and loss of a loved one the way this does. It's all about what he is singing. If I've made it to the bridge without bursting into tears then I've done pretty well....

"So the words you could not say, I'll sing them for you, and the love we would have made, I'll make it for two. For every single memory, has become a part of me..... you will always be. My love."

If those lyrics don't break your heart then you don't have one. Empathy people. His grief is palpable in this song and it's immeasurably beautiful because of it.

I'll finish with Bjork, because she just released an devastating album that is so heartbreaking I struggled to listen to it. In my love post I talked about Vespertine - an album about love and sex, well Vulnicura is the flipside to that album.... it is about the breakdown of her relationship with her long-term partner and father to her daughter. It is immensely sad. I just found myself weeping when I first heard my beloved Bjork sing "Did I love you too much?" in Black Lake. If you want to wallow in some seriously dark heartbreak then listen to this album - It's not on you tube so I can't put a video up. If you seek it out, you have been warned!

A song for Parsnip, episode 4 - Romance

Happy Valentines guys! Let's get romantic shall we? Here are my favourite slow jams for a bit of a romantic interlude....

The Isley Brothers - For the love of you

Chocolate Milk - Out among the stars

Ohio Player - Heaven must be like this

Jamiroquai - Everyday

Omar - There's nothing like this

Esperanza Spalding - Cinnamon tree

India Arie - Brown Skin

Teddy Pendergrass - Love TKO

Minnie Riperton - Inside my love

Marvin Gaye - Come live with me angel

Al Green - Can't get next to you

Bob Marley - Turn your lights down low

Corrine Bailey Rae - Closer

Ciara - body Party

Musiq Soulchild - Sobeautiful

Cassandra Wilson - You move me

Janet Jackson - Any time any place

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D'angelo - Untitled (how does it feel).... Sorry Jessica, I couldn't add the video version 'cause it'snot the full song and it annoys me that it's an edit - I wanted the whole 7 minutes!

Alicia Keys & Maxwell - Fire we make

Maxwell - Submerge:till we become the sun

A song for Parsnip, episode 3 - Let's get it on

I thought it might be fun to add some sexy playlists before the break up one, and I'll start with the full on sexy tunes first. Tomorrow I'll add the smoother and more romantic favorites. I'm not going to add any comments to these.... they all make me want to take my clothes off and that's explanation enough! It's all R&B / hip hop and it'll start slow then get more intense, and my choices are often about the beats. Just sayin'.

Don't let me into my zone....

Janelle Monae feat Miguel - Prime Time

Kelly Rowland feat Lil Wayne - Motivation

Ciara feat Ludacris - Ride

J Cole feat Miguel - Power Trip

Rihanna feat Future - Loveeeee song

Miguel - Sure thing

The Roots - Break you off

J Cole feat Missy Elliott - Nobody's perfect

Usher feat Rick Ross - Lemme See

Lil Wayne feat Drake - She Will

Schoolboy Q - Studio

Ludacris - Helluva night (could only get the damn clean version!)

Childish Gambino - IV. Sweatpants

A$AP Rocky - F**kin' Problems

Jay z feat Rick Ross - Fuckwithmeyouknowigotit

Beyonce - Diva

Rihanna - Birthday Cake

Danny Brown - Dip

A song for Parsnip, episode 2 - Love

Following on from my Last music post I thought I'd theme this one for Valentines Day. I don't make a fuss about Valentines because it's my boyfriends birthday, but I love him very much so songs about love feel appropriate. These are songs about full-on love... not unrequited love or heartbreak, and I think it's tricky to find songs like this. Most 'love songs' are pretty melancholy (which is awesome) but for me, because I'm in a relationship where the love is mutual I appreciate songs that celebrate love rather than mourning it. This edition is therefore about requited love, but it will quickly be followed by one about my favourite tear-jerkers!

"You and I are lovers, and night time folds around our bed

In peace we sleep entwined, and your love flows through me

Though an ocean soothes my head, I burn for you"

As I mentioned in my last post, my boyfriend is a musician.... I think that's one of the reasons that we sometimes speak to each-other through music and lyrics. Some people think that sort of thing is tacky and embarrassing, but it's an emotional language that we both understand, and it's my version of romance! He once sent me the lyrics of this song by Sting late at night, and I was just so full of love for him when I read them. I Burn for you is such a lovely song. He loves the live version of the original arrangement, but I adore this version from Symphonicities.

"When you're on the outside baby and you can't get in

I will show you, you're so much better than you know

When you're lost and you're alone, and you can't get back again

I will find you darling, and I'll bring you home"

So now we have a song that really resonates with me. I'm so lucky to not have any struggles with my mental health, but when you fall in love with someone who does you have to learn how to deal with it, and to me By Your Side by Sade is a perfect example of someone who is not only offering love, but also support and kindness to someone who needs it. 

"I don't wanna bore you with it, ooh but I love you I love you I love you!"

Stevie Wonder is the king of love mutual-love songs! I could add tons... You and I / Love having you around / I love every little thing about you / I was made to love her / Joy inside my tears.... the list is endless, but I'll stick to just a couple of my favourites! If me and my boyfriend had a song the way some cheesy couples do, then it would be this one - Knocks me off my feet.

"You are the flame in my heart

You light my way in the dark

You are the ultimate star

You lift me up from above

Your unconditional love

Takes me to paradise"

I entirely love this song, I love Lenny Kravitz. It doesn't take much explanation... I belong to you is the name after all, but I think it's adaptable - It could be about a partner or a child, because it's nothing to do with sex, just unconditional love!

"I never knew what love was all about until I met you"

I had to put some swing in here. Tony Bennett has written so many great tunes, but I have to choose Sarah Vaughn singing Until I met you with Count Basie because it's awesome!

Who would've known that a boy like him, would have entered me lightly, restoring my blisses?

Who would have known that a boy like him, after sharing my core, would stay going nowhere?

You know I'm going to have Bjork in every playlist right?! Cocoon is such a pretty and gentle song about love. If you occasionally like to have very romantic love-making sessions then may I recommend the album this song is from called Vespertine!

"Turn me inside out, make my heart speak

Don't want no one else, you are all I need

Personality in everything you do 

Makes me love everything 'bout you"

One in a Million by Aaliyah is a great all-rounder because it's got good loved up lyrics but it's written & produced by Missy Elliott and Timberland so it's got nice booming base and a cool groove. too

"I'll be there when your hair turn grey"

I find it hard to explain why Sea Sick Steve's Under a blue and cloudless sky makes me so emotional, but it's to do with his simple expression of love. It's such unpretentious romance that you know it's deeply felt by the man who wrote and sings it. I just get it, and it's gets me!

"I hope you know I'd gladly go anywhere you take me
It's so amazing to be loved
I'd follow you to the moon in the sky above"

Luther Vandross had the most creamy voice of all time, and So amazing is a straight laced and non-complicated love song about someone who he adores. It's so cheesy that it's almost ridiculous, but it's still lush. It also includes some of the silliest lyrics ever (Bye bye sadness, hello mellow) which I find endlessly hilarious!

"Stripped of all makeup, no need for fancy clothes
No cover-ups, push-ups, with him I don't have to put on a show"

This is a little snifter of my RnB loving youth. I wasn't too fussed about Christina Aguillera but I thought her Stripped album had some good songs on it and Loving me for me is my favourite. I stand by this song even though it already sounds pretty dated, because I think the lyrics are good even if it is a bit cheesy. It's about someone loving you for who you are on the inside. Make your own minds up!

"He Gives me everything, and tenderly
The kiss my lover brings, he brings to me
And I love him, and I love him"

I was going to put this song in my favourite covers playlist, but I decided to keep it for this one because it's such a lovely love song. This is a delicious song originally by the Beatles (And I love her), and changed up by Esther Phillips. I love most versions of And I love him, but the Shirley Horn version one is so smooth and seductive that it takes the crown!

"I'll be loving you always
Until the rainbow burns the stars out in the sky. Always
Until the ocean covers every mountain high. Always
Until the dolphin flies and parrots live at sea. Always
Until we dream of life and life becomes a dream"

Nobody has ever written a song with such an emphatic declaration of love as Stevie did with As. For such a bouncy and joyous song to be so emotionally stirring is kind of unusual. If I could put the deep well of love I feel for my boyfriend into words then it would sound something like this.... in earnest. This song is a total masterpiece and is therefore a good way to finish this post!


Come back soon for the Heartbreak edition!.

A Song for Parsnip, episode 1 - Covered

I said some time ago that I'd write start to write about more than just clothes on my blog, but in reality I haven't had time to do much more than wardrobe weekly's and a few posts with new clothes, but I'm obsessed with more than just clothes. Music is an essential part of my life and always has been. I wanted to be a singer when I was younger (not a pop star you understand, but some kind of musician who sang!) and music has always been a passion of mine. Then I fell in love with a proper musician, who (with the exception of 80's pop music) has such an extensive musical knowledge that he has opened me up to more than I ever would have discovered on my own. I have little pockets of time where I get obsessed with certain things - break up songs / happy songs / famous samples / solo piano, that sort of thing. I thought I'd share some of my favourites with you, like mini playlists. My current obsession is cover versions. I gave you guys a taste of that in a post a while back where I shared the ASTR cover of Hold on we're going home, so here are some other covers that I love!

Cover

Original

I love Bjork..... I know many people don't get her, but when she's on form she writes music that gives me chills, or to quote her directly "lightning hits my spine" when I listen to her. That's why I don't like many cover versions of her songs - they're often perfect, so you can't better them, or even match them. Having said that, when I heard Robert Glasper's version of Joga live on Giles Petersons radio show I got those same chills, so here it it is.

Cover

Original

Anyone who's seen Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind a) loves it (unless they're a dumb-ass!) b) couldn't believe how amazing Jim Carey was in it c) Loved Becks Version of Everybody's gotta learn sometime from the soundtrack and (if they're of a certain vintage) d) Remembered that Baby D did a rave version of this song that was in no way as emotionally resonant!. It's a perfect song, and a perfect cover - taking a good song and making it way better. 3 cheers for John Brion!

Cover

Original

I'm always banging on about Becca Stevens. Don't care. I love her. I didn't think I could love anything as much as I love her version of the Smiths There is a light that never goes out, but then I heard this (at a gig) and I was like DAYUM! Here she is with her arrangement of Frank Oceans Thinkin bout you. It really gives me goosepimples!

Cover

Original

I think I might be the only person who liked the Beyonce / Andre 3000 version of Amy Winehouse's Back to black, but you know what? I'm sticking to my guns because I like it as much now as I did when it was first released. The original is so good that they had to drastically change the arrangement or there wouldn't have been any point in doing it! This version is so dark and dirty - I thought it was super sexy from the first hint of throbbing base. I'm right and everyone else is wrong about this one!

Cover

Original

Anyone who loved Buffy the Vampire Slayer might remember this song, because it played while Buffy and Angel danced at her prom. It was kind of a big deal, and the Sundays version of the Rolling Stones Wild Horses made it a bit emosh. This is one of my favourite songs to sing along too - but I have to be able to get loud so it's a bit of a secret single behaviour!

Cover

Original

I'm a sucker for a bit of Acoustic guitar (I used to play you see, so plucking plucks at my heart strings... titter titter!) so I always like Jose Gonzalez, but then he COVERED A KYLIE SONG! I find this arrangement of Hand on Your Heart soothing and beautiful.

Cover

Original

This is a love of old - I adore Marvin Gaye, and I Want You is my hands down favourite song of his. I was quite into Massive attack when their cover version featuring Madonna came out, and I loved it.... slow, sexy, sad and sultry. I made a music video to go with this song for a college project and made my best mate, sister and sisters boyfriend to play out a love triangle for it. Slow-motion kissing and everything! I still love the atmosphere they created with this version.

Cover

Original

Good lord it's all getting a bit depressing isn't it?! Let's lift it up a bit with... errrr.... Radiohead?! You may wonder how No Surprises could possibly be turned into an uplifting song, but hey, how about a version with a reggae flavour?! My boyfriend introduced me to Easy star all Stars, and I have to recommend their Radiodread album to y'all! Dub certainly makes OK Computer a bit less soul-suckingly dark!

Cover

Original

I feel like Jamie Cullum is not someone that people hold in great esteem, but I think his version of Rhiannas Don't Stop the Music is totally genius. Totally different arrangement with a completely different atmosphere to the original, but really quite beautiful. I heartily dislike many of his covers, but this one I love!

Cover

Original

Are you ready to go down the Pomplamoose rabbit hole?! My boyfriend found these guys on you tube years ago and once you've watched one of their videos you just have to watch them all!. He really loves their version of Aerosmiths I don't wanna miss a thing, but I prefer them doing Lady Gaga's Telephone!

Cover

Original

Ahhhhh... Nouvelle Vague, the French cheesy bossa-nova cum jazz cover maestros! When I was a younger I took a trip to Paris with a friend, we stayed in Montmartre and went to a little cafe on Rue Caulaincourt (the name of which is  sadly long forgotten) which had paintings by local artists all over the walls. I ate the best duck I've ever had, drank the best Merlot I've ever had and heard some awesome music playing that I swore I recognised. I'm quite old, so these were the days before Shazam and I had to ask the manager what was playing. turned outfit was Nouvelle Vagues version of the old XTC classic Making plans for Nigel. I like many of their cover versions, but as this was my gateway drug to Nouvelle Vague I figured I put this one up!

Cover

Original

I can hold a tune, but I'm always in awe of good A Cappella singers, and frankly The Sacramento State singers just took this Ben Folds Five tune to the next level! I think Selfless, Cold and Composed is Ben Folds best song, but I often find myself putting this version on rather than the original nowadays!

Cover

Original

This is a new discovery which I have to thank Bonobo for. One Thing by Amerie is a TUNE, but I have become obsessed with this version by Peter and Kerry - I am so digging how London Kerry sounds, and I am so down with them bringing a bit of Nelly Furtado's Say it Right at the end, because I really love that song too!