From the depths of my external hard drive: Valentine's Day Edition

For this year's Valentine's Day, we're time-travelling back to the 60s, folks. Enjoy!

Little Peggy March - I Will Follow Him

The Dixie Cups - Chapel of Love

Linda Scott - I've Told Every Little Star

Other LHNA V-day posts:

What would I do if I could have these songs dedicated to me today, but 10000 miles away someone else would fall off a bike and die ? Hmmm... 

 

(songs you should dedicate to someone today)

 

Give me my f**king songs back!

 

(songs you can no longer dedicate to anyone because they will be forever associated with that b***h/that bastard) 

 

p.s. the reason we haven't been very chatty lately is that we're working on moving the blog to our own domain, something I assume many blogs will be doing after the Blogger Scare of the past days. Worry not! We shall return mightier and awesomer* than ever.

 

*disclaimer: not a word; do not use in academical writing. 

What would I do if I could have these songs dedicated to me today, but 10000 miles away someone else would fall off a bike and die ? Hmmm...

So, Valentine's Day has come again. You know that all over the world men, women and, especially, teenage boys are going to be dedicating "Creep", "Hallelujah" and uhm... "I Will Always Love You" to their loved ones. Leonard Cohen, Bright Eyes, and Brian Adams, Death Cab for Cutie, Magnetic Fields, and The Beatles will be heard on stereos, ipods and gramophones (for the old-school) all day long. If you don't want to bore your boyfriend/girlfriend/wife/husband/crush with the same ol' same ol' here are some lo-fi and possibly less known songs that are begging to be dedicated to someone, so don't let them down :)

(The Robot Ate Me - Apricot Tea)
This song gives me goosebumps every time.

"If you want to lay at the bottom of the Atlantic ocean,
I'll be the one that comes with my ship and drops the anchor down.
Will you be the one that smiles for me?
I'll bake you muffins and apricot tea.


If you want to glide in the night sky,
I'll be the one that comes with my plane and pulls the stars out of the night,
And brings them to the day for you.


Oh, will you be the one that smiles for me?
I'll bake you muffins and apricot tea"

(Coconut Records - This Old Machine)
Everything in two sentences.

"This old machine has been good to me
All of my life I have waited for you
Waited for you
Waited for you
Waited for you. "

(Paul Baribeau - Strawberry [Acoustic])
This version is so much better than the one on "Yikes"!

"To say that you are cute would be like saying a strawberry is sweet,
'Cause a strawberry has secret flavors that are sharp, and tart, and red, and deep
And I would love to find you growing wild out by the woods,
I would make a basket with the front of my t-shirt, and take home as many of you as I could.
And to say that you are pretty would be like saying that the ocean is blue,
'Cause the ocean is full of all kinds of colors, and I see all kinds of things when I look at you
And I want to explore you with my tennis shoes off
Standing ankle deep in a tide pool with my khaki pants rolled up.
And to say that you are funny would be like saying that the night sky is black,
'Cause the night sky is filled with stars and comets and planets that no one has seen yet
And I want to look at you lying down on my front lawn
I'll try to take you all in at once, but you just go on and on and on..."



(Elephant Parade - Boat Song)
I want to fly in a balloon too.

"I want to sleep on a boat
And I'll sail away with you
Oh, but the winds are much to strong And I am feeing weak so...
So, I want to fly on a balloon
And I want to fly with you
Oh, but the winds are much to strong
And I am feeling weak so...
So, I don't know if you like to sleep on boats, too
I won't make you go
But you'll come, I know
I know. "

(Chasing Dorotea - The Anchor Song)
Those who know it, love it.

"You've gotta a sparkle in your heart stronger than the brightest sun
And every time you come around I know for sure that you're the one
You're the parachute that saves me when I feel the need to jump
You're the records that I play and you sing the songs I need to hear
There is an ocean in your eyes deeper than the dark blue sea
And every time you fall asleep I want the waves to swallow me
You're the island that I swim to when I need to find a rock
You're the cables that connect me when I need to feel attached to something"

Both illustrations found here.

Give me my f**king songs back!

 

Valentine's Day is upon us once again. Screaming at us with its chocolate scented breath. Pink sticky fingers poking. James Blunt is in our TVs, maniacally  grinning.  Hedgehogs are suddenly regarded the epitome of cute. Roses are chopped and wrapped. Reservations made. Tables booked. Teddy bears purchased.

Which is just dandy.


But what about when things don't work out?

We’ve all been there. Or at least every serious music lover has. You’ve lost your favourite song(s) to someone who, it turned out, was, well, let's say less than worthy of said songs.

‘Lost’ because you can’t listen to them anymore. They remind you of a person and a time you’d much rather apply the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind treatment to. You’ve left all that in the past, but unfortunately you’ve been forced to leave the songs there too…

How did you get there?

It seems so unavoidable. You meet someone, fall in love… a song is playing, and the problem begins.  And it's a problem that can begin anywhere, where you may most or least expect it..

Many, if not most, people meet in bars, clubs or other social places. Since clubs, bars and other typical locations where alcohol is served tend to play music, and all these places can be the cause of our topic today.

Now the good thing is that the music at said establishments tends to be crap - you probably won’t lose any sleep over ‘losing’ that Black Eyed Peas track.
  

No, higher risks are likely to be posed by places such as your local indie club (adieu Kaiser Chiefs), your computer at home (ciao Bright Eyes), your car (seeya Kanye), your friend's home or car (goodbye, uhm, Mariah), your iPod (later Sebadoh!) or, since the O.C., every decent television programme ('bye bye Deathcab', 'farewell Futureheads', 'good riddance Snow Patrol').

The biggest cause of the aforementioned problem however, and the most difficult to 'repair' once the damage is done, is definitely the mixtape (sorry, but 'mix CD' just sounds bad), and differs from the former examples as it involves songs you actually already loved before you met the person in question.

 

 

What matters most is what you were listening to when you met this person (see above), when you were thinking about them (ditto), but most importantly of all, the songs you included on that cursed mixtape. The one they didn’t even listen to/like/understand/appreciate (or, and this is the worst: they said "oh yeah, i kind of liked that one song, I don't remember what it was called, but it was nice, and a girl was singing it"). 'Nice'!!! These are your favourite songs we're talking about! 

And, as anyone who has ever made a successful mixtape can attest: making one is not just a matter of collecting a few random songs and pushing record/burn.

The truth is that, unless you shuffled it, you’ve put some thought into it. And chances are, if you were successful and achieved what you set out to do, you probably put (at least some of) your favourite songs on it…

So you’re fucked right?

Not necessarily.

Here are some tips to help reclaim your favourite songs:

1.       Context. Yep, this one is all-important. Simply change the context of listening. If you remember hearing the song in question in the bedroom with the person in question, simply listen to it in the bathroom/kitchen/broom closet instead. Or leave the city and/or country. That works too.

2.        Listen to remixes of your favourite songs (see point 4 below) from now on. Granted this might be a problem with all those Smog songs you once burnt on a CD for her/him, so you’ll have to make your own remixes of said songs (try Acid).

3.       Break into their home and physically remove said song from any iPod, PC they might have. If you can actually get your hands on the original mixtape, that is obviously the best. In fact if you do that, you can happily disregard all the above and below points, as the sheer catharsis of that simple act of criminality will be of inestimable value to you and your psychological well-being.

4.       Simply burn a new CD for someone completely new, using the songs in question! Of course you will probably only be postponing the inevitable (see above), but what the hell!

5.       Rig up a Clockwork Orange/Lost style brainwashing device and listen to all the songs in question on repeat for several weeks while watching a selection of completely random imagery. 

Or simply avoid losing the songs in the first place!

1.       Avoid meeting new people in any places where music is played. Or simply avoid meeting new people. Period.

2.       Don’t watch any TV series made after 1999. Friends in relatively safe, as is Frasier.

3.       If you really must make one, only include songs you dislike on your first mixtape… Of course you won’t impress the object of your affection, or in any way achieve what you set out to do, but at least you’ll have the last laugh (hahaha)

4.       Here’s a clever one: include only remixes of your favourite songs on the mixtape!  Yep, this way you’re sort of giving them something you love, but not quite!

5.       Avoid karaoke. Duets in particular. So, the next time you and your special person are invited to a Singstar party, simply say no.
 

6.    Don't fall in love to begin with... But where's the fun in that?

 

And here are a few sad, angry and beautiful songs to help soundtrack your day:

 

The Walkmen - The Rat

Shellac - Prayer to God
Songs: Ohia - Being in Love

Jeff Buckley - Last Goodbye
And you will know us by the Trail of Dead - Mistakes and regrets 
Sebadoh - Soul and Fire