"Turtle Wings"

There are several qualities that I feel music should have for me to consider it to be worthy of my respect and approval. The best way for a song to impress me would be for it to have lyrics that blow my mind. A couple of the best lyricists that I can think of off the top of my head are Jesse Lacey and Ben Gibbard (of Brand New and Death Cab for Cutie, respectively.)I also GREATLY appreciate depth of sound through the use of a variety of instruments. When a song has a heavy use of strings (especially cello or bass) or piano I'm likely to fall in love. Andrew McMahon (Something Corporate, Jack's Mannequin) is one of the artists that I'd marry given half a chance for that very reason.

I tend to lean toward the mellow side when it comes to music I truly admire. That's not to say that an upbeat, fast-paced, loud song can't have lyrical depth and instrumental variety. I just probably wouldn't like it as much as a more mellow, low key song. To me, the slower or softer songs have more of a subtlety feel to them. That's what I like.

None of this has any bearing or relevance to this week's playlist. I just wanted to say it, so I did. I do what I want. I mean, quite a few of these songs are mellow, melodic, and have deep lyrics. So, I guess this is relevant after all. Kudos, me.

Most of these songs are sad and kind of about heartbreak. Don't worry though, I'm not heartbroken at the time. I figure I'll do a heartbreak playlist this week, and next week I'll find some really excellent love songs for Valentine's day. I like Valentine's Day, by the way. That's right - a single girl that likes Valentine's day. Refreshing, right? I'd like to think so.

Catharine thinks I should call this playlist "Turtle Wings." I think that's incredibly bizarre, and I like it.

Turtle Wings
Runaway Train - Soul Asylum
Everybody Hurts (REM Cover) - Dashboard Confessional
Love Hurts - Heart
Breathe (2am) - Anna Nalick
Bad Day - Daniel Powter
Say It To Me Now - Glen Hansard (from Once)
Goodbye My Lover - James Blunt
Almost Lover - A Fine Frenzy
Sometime Around Midnight - The Airborne Toxic Event
A Bad Dream - Keane
Somebody's Baby - Jon Foreman
So Far Away - Carole King