Review: Caught

Sometimes there are those songs that are just healing for your soul, and this has been one of them. Last weekend I was out on the Washington coast for a family reunion. I woke up early and went for a run around the neighborhood we were staying. I think it is one of the first times I just went out running without knowing where the heck I was going, as I had never visited the town before. I was willing to get lost. And reflecting on that now, I think that is metaphorically fitting. Anyway, my run eventually led me down to the beach, where I plopped myself down on a piece of driftwood and just sat and let the beach setting wash over me. And this song came on through my headphones. It hit me right then: this song spoke to me about where I was at. And it is funny because this song wasn't really offering me a solution. The healing came with the identification - I am not alone. I am not the only one who has felt like this. It was like a peace that everything will be okay. It might not be now, and that's okay, but it will be eventually...hopefully.


Song: Caught

Artist: Florence + The Machine

Album: How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful

Year Released: 2015


You can listen to it online here.


Lyrics:


It's the hardest thing I've ever had to do
To try and keep from calling you
Well, can my dreams keep coming true?
How can they?
Cause when I sleep, I never dream of you

As if the dream of you, it sleeps too
But it never slips away
It just gains its strength and digs its hooks
To drag me through the day

And I'm caught
I forget all that I've been taught
I can't keep calm, I can't keep still
Pulled apart against my will

It's the hardest thing I've ever had to prove
You turn to salt as I turned around to look at you
Old friends have said, the books I've read
Say it's the thing to do
But it's hard to see it when you're in it
Cause I went blind for you

Then you leave my head, crawl out the bed
Subconscious solipsist
And for those hours deep in the dark
Perhaps you don't exist

And I'm caught
I forget all that I've been taught
I can't keep calm, I can't keep still
Pulled apart against my will

And I was thrashing on the line
Somewhere between
Desperate and divine
I can't keep calm, I can't keep still
Persephone will have her fill

And I'm caught
I forget all that I've been taught
I can't keep calm, I can't keep still
Pulled apart against my will

Review: Love Me Like You Do

Song: Love Me Like You Do

Artist: MAX & Madilyn Bailey (accompanied by Kurt Hugo Schneider, whom you can find on YouTube - you should check out his channel)

Year Released: 2015


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIvmlWVJQxE
Lyrics:

You're the light, you're the night

You're the color of my blood

You're the cure, you're the pain

You're the only thing I wanna touch

Never knew that it could mean so much, so much

You're the fear, I don't care

'Cause I've never been so high

Follow me through the dark

Let me take you past our satellites

You can see the world you brought to life, to life

So love me like you do, lo-lo-love me like you do

Love me like you do, lo-lo-love me like you do

Touch me like you do, to-to-touch me like you do

What are you waiting for?

Fading in, fading out

On the edge of paradise

Every inch of your skin is a holy grail I've got to find

Only you can set my heart on fire, on fire

I'll let you set the pace

'Cause I'm not thinking straight

My head's spinning around I can't see clear no more

What are you waiting for?

So, Love me like you do, lo-lo-love me like you do

Love me like you do, lo-lo-love me like you do

Touch me like you do, to-to-touch me like you do

What are you waiting for?

And I'll let you set the pace

'Cause I'm not thinking straight

My head's spinning around I can't see clear no more

So, what are you waiting for?

So, love me like you do, lo-lo-love me like you do

Love me like you do, lo-lo-love me like you do

Touch me like you do, to-to-touch me like you do

What are you waiting for?

Love me like you do, lo-lo-love me like you do

Love me like you do, lo-lo-love me like you do

Touch me like you do, to-to-touch me like you do

What are you waiting for?

Review: Photograph

Okay, so this song was brought to my attention by a dear friend. And after I watched the official music video, and after you have watched the official music video (if you haven't already), can we all agree that Ed Sheeran is effing adorable?! Besides just loving this song for the pure sake of loving it, I love how he describes why photographs are timeless and precious to us...because they take a moment in our history and make it stand still, so we can remember and let our senses be awakened again to that moment, reliving the stories behind that photograph.


Song: Photograph

Artist: Ed Sheeran

Album: x (Deluxe Edition)

Year Released: 2014



You can watch Photograph the official music video here.


Lyrics:


Loving can hurt
Loving can hurt sometimes
But it's the only thing that I know
When it gets hard
You know it can get hard sometimes
It is the only thing that makes us feel alive

We keep this love in a photograph
We made these memories for ourselves
Where our eyes are never closing
Hearts are never broken
Times forever frozen still

So you can keep me
Inside the pocket
Of your ripped jeans
Holdin' me closer
'Til our eyes meet
You won't ever be alone
Wait for me to come home

Loving can heal
Loving can mend your soul
And it's the only thing that I know (know)
I swear it will get easier
Remember that with every piece of ya
And it's the only thing we take with us when we die

We keep this love in this photograph
We made these memories for ourselves
Where our eyes are never closing
Our hearts were never broken
Times forever frozen still

So you can keep me
Inside the pocket
Of your ripped jeans
Holdin' me closer
'Til our eyes meet
You won't ever be alone

And if you hurt me
That's OK, baby, only words bleed
Inside these pages you just hold me
And I won't ever let you go

Wait for me to come home [4x]

Oh you can fit me
Inside the necklace you got when you were 16
Next to your heartbeat
Where I should be
Keep it deep within your soul

And if you hurt me
Well, that's OK, baby, only words bleed
Inside these pages you just hold me
And I won't ever let you go

When I'm away
I will remember how you kissed me
Under the lamppost
Back on 6th street
Hearing you whisper through the phone,
"Wait for me to come home."


There were some recent photographs that inspired me to take some liberty with the lyrics. Here are some of my favorite lyrics from the song.


"Loving...is the only thing that makes us feel alive. We keep this love in a photograph. We made these memories for ourselves. Where our eyes are never closing, hearts are never broken, time's forever frozen still.

Holdin' me closer 'til our eyes meet. You won't ever be alone. Wait for me to come home. And if you hurt me that's okay, baby, only words bleed. Inside these pages, you just hold me, and I won't ever let you go.

Loving can heal, loving can mend your soul...I swear it will get easier, remember that with every piece of ya...

When I'm away, I will remember how you kissed me under the [oning] back on [Bear Street]. [I should have] whispered in your ear, 'Wait for me to come back home./When I'm away, I will remember how you kissed me [in front of Foyles on Charing Cross]. [And you whispered in my ear, 'Don't go back home.']"

Review: Which Witch

I am pretty much in love with this song off Florence's new album! And if you haven't yet, you really should just check out the whole album. It is pretty fantastic!


Personally, to me, this song is about the vulnerability of liking someone, specifically liking someone who will never return your affection. Sometimes you can put your own heart and emotions on trial for caring about a person, especially if the relationship doesn't progress to your own terms of success.



Song: Which Witch

Artist: Florence + The Machine

Album: How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful

Year Released: 2015

You can listen to it here.

Lyrics:

And it's my whole heart
Weighed and measured inside
And it's an old scar
Trying to bleach it out
And it's my whole heart
Deemed and delivered a crime
I'm on trial, waiting 'til the beat comes out
I'm on trial, waiting 'til the beat comes out

Who's a heretic now?
Am I making sense?
How can you make it stick?
Waiting 'til the beat comes out
Who's a heretic, child?
Can you make it stick, now?
And I'm on trial
Waiting 'til the beat comes out

I'm miles away, he's on my mind
I'm getting tired of crawling all the way
And I've had enough, it's obvious
And I'm getting tired of crawling all the way
Crawling all the way
Crawling all the way

I'm not beat up by this yet
You can't tell me to regret
Been in the dark since the day we met
Fire, help me to forget
[x2]

And it's my whole heart
While tried and tested, it's mine
And it's my whole heart
Trying to reach it out
And it's my whole heart
Burned but not buried this time
I'm on trial, waiting 'til the beat comes out
I'm on trial, waiting 'til the beat comes out

I'm miles away, he's on my mind
I'm getting tired of crawling all the way
And I've had enough, it's obvious
And I'm getting tired of crawling all the way

 I'm not beat up by this yet
You can't tell me to regret
Been in the dark since the day we met
Fire, help me to forget
[x2]

Chained and shackled, oh
All unraveled, oh
It's a pity, oh
Never to return
But I never learn
It's a pity, oh
Chained and shackled, oh
All unraveled, oh
It's a pity, oh
Say I won't return
But I never learn
It's a pity, oh

Review: Song for Someone

So, I know there has been some controversy  surrounding U2's new album, but I'm a fan of U2, so I loved getting their new album for free. :D #sorrynotsorry


As you do, I have been listening to it on and off since it has been released. And recently when I was listening to one of the songs, Song for Someone, I was struck by the beauty and reality of the lyrics.


As Bono states in the below interview and performance, this song was written about the first time you fall in love. I think the song is written with enough layering and ambiguity that it is not just talking about a romantic love relationship between two human beings. It is definitely a song about love, though.


When I was listening to it recently, I was struck by how I longed to be the fulfillment of the lyrics, "You've got eyes that can see right through me. You're not afraid of anything they've seen." I want to be that for people, and specifically for someone. However, so often I find that I am the one who has, "the scars from where I've been," and only want someone to, "see right through me," and not be afraid of what they might find. This song holds such beautiful dichotomies - I love it! It is certainly a song for someone, or a song for everyone. It sings about such humanity, and yet about such hope. It is beautiful.

U2 actually performed Song for Someone on The Graham Norton Show, which is like a triple win, win, win: I like U2, love this song, and I like The Graham Norton Show! ;) However, in this version they do leave off the last verse segment - which is really great (see italicized lyrics below). Also, can we please take a moment and appreciate how awesome Bono sounds singing live (while sitting on a couch) after decades of performing - amazing!

Song: Song for Someone

Artist: U2

Album: Songs of Innocence

Year Released: 2014


Lyrics:

You got a face not spoiled by beauty

I have some scars from where I've been

You've got eyes that can see right through me

You're not afraid of anything they've seen

I was told that I would feel nothing the first time

I don't know how these cuts heal

But in you I found a rhyme

If there is a light
You can't always see
And there is a world
We can't always be
If there is a dark
Now we shouldn't doubt
And there is a light
Don't let it go out

And this is a song
A song for someone
This is a song
A song for someone

You let me into a conversation
A conversation only we could make
You break and enter my imagination
Whatever's in there
It's yours to take
I was told I'd feel nothing the first time
You were slow to heal
But this could be the night

If there is a light
You can't always see
And there is a world
We can't always be
If there is a dark
Within and without
And there is a light
Don't let it go out

And this is a song
A song for someone
This is a song
This is a song for someone

And I'm a long way
From your hill of Calvary
And I'm a long way
From where I was, where I need to be

 If there is a light
You can't always see
And there is a world
We can't always be
If there is a kiss
I stole from your mouth
And there is a light
Don't let it go out

Relevant Life Lyrics, pt. 1

"Dreaming along at a pace you'll understand
Go go go go go go
No no no no no"

- Daniel in the Den, Bastille

Isn't that the truth? "Here is this opportunity, invest your heart into it! OH, wait..." #storyofmylife ;)

Review: Bastille

So, I just was introduced to this wonderful band by a dear friend a couple of months ago. However, I am kind of slow-moving and skeptical when it comes to giving myself to new music. It wasn't until like two weeks ago that I purchased their extended album, All This Bad Blood, and have been listening to it non-stop. (Yes, I am also one of those people...sorry! I find new music and I listen to it obsessively from anywhere to a few months to a year - I think Mumford and Florence were both a year strong and probably the longest. And strangely enough, I usually don't stop listening to a certain artist because I am sick of it, it is usually due to the fact that move on because I have found something new to obsess over).

Anyway, well, like you do when you obsess over a new artist you look to see if they are touring somewhere near you sometime in the near future. I came to find out that they were actually just in my area of the world not that long ago...that was a sad, sad realization. Prior to Tuesday, June 17th, the closest date they released for a tour stop was sometime in October and on the East coast (I live on the West coast). And, yes, I may or may not have conspired with my sister to see if we could actually make the trip happen...yep, I did.

However, to my utter joy and delight on Tuesday I found out that they are coming to my neck of the woods (city) in November. They decided to do a Bad Blood Last Stand tour. YAY!!!

And better yet, I got access to pre-sale! And even better...wait for it...I got tickets!!! I AM GOING TO SEE BASTILLE...LIVE!!! *FREAK-OUT*

Okay, so, ever since I saw Mumford and Sons live a year ago I am trying to make it a priority to see the bands I really like live. Shortly after I saw Mumford live they ended up breaking up (but hopefully coming back). I felt incredibly grateful that I was able to see them live (I must do a Mumford post, they are so great and that concert meant a lot to me). So, I didn't want to miss an opportunity to see Bastille live.

Why is this grown woman freaking out about a band from Britain?! (Well, isn't being British cool enough?!) It has been a long time since I have listened to an album and have actually enjoyed the entire album, every song. And I wasn't expecting that from them actually. I was expecting maybe something similar, but slightly not as cool as Mumford (though their styles of music aren't similar). I love Mumford and Sons music, but there are some songs on both of their albums that I skip past and could do without, not so with Bastille's album (I have their extended album All This Bad Blood). I mean there are like two songs that, I don't hate, they just aren't as favorite as many others on the album.

They have just been surprising me again and again, and I like that. I like that one of the first times I listened to their album I was driving to work and Tuning Out came on, and I was like, "This sounds like a Christmas song?? Wait, this is a Christmas song! It is O Holy Night?! What?! Who puts a cover to one of the most powerful Christmas songs ever on their normal album?! Cool, I like that...a  lot!"

Also, I am a bit of a history NERD. So, the fact that he (Dan Smith, lead singer) wrote a song about Pompeii and Icarus won me over. However, the first Bastille song I fell in love with was Flaws and it is still one of my favorites...so much love for that song, perhaps I will do an individual post on it one of these days.

I also have been watching a few interviews with the band (you know that other thing you do when you obsess over an artist). Dan talks about how he writes songs and I appreciate his approach. He says he tries to steer clear of writing autobiographical songs (which I appreciate to an extent) and that he writes about things he has read, studied, heard, or about other people's experiences. He admits that there are pieces of his life in his music, and I think that is inevitable, but he tries to write his songs with ambiguity - which is so great! This leaves his music open to interpretation and thus I think reaches a wider audience.

Also, something else I didn't expect about Bastille was an underlining note of optimism, or hope, in their music, which sounds completely contradictory to say because the title and theme of their album is Bad Blood. It is about life and it is about humanity, which I love, but it isn't vengeful or hateful. And on a slightly unrelated note, it also isn't vulgar, ostentatious, or stereotypical popular culture music. It is vulnerable. And maybe I can't quite put my finger on why I feel that way about their music, but I do and I kind of like that it is still a mystery, that means I have more listening and searching to do.

Anyway, for now, I will leave you with some lyrics from their song Haunt. There is a line in that song that so sticks with me: "the terrifying rarity of truth." See below for more.

“The wisdom we learn as our minds,
They do burn,
They’ll entice naivety in youth,
As adults we’ll grow and maturity shows,
All the terrifying rarity of truth,
As you turn to your mind,
And your thoughts they rewind,
To old happenings and things that are done,
You can’t find what’s passed,
Make that happiness last,
Seeing from those eyes what you’ve become,
What you’ve become…”

- Haunt (Demo), Bastille, All This Bad Blood Lastly, I leave you with a few songs that I really love. Besides Flaws, I think the other two songs are only on their extended album. Durban Skies. Dan wrote this song about his parents meeting, falling in love and getting married. How precious is that! His parents are from South Africa, hence Durban. I love that in this song he says, "all I got to be thankful for."   And, of course, here are two great versions of Flaws. Enjoy! I know I do.       AND, one more because I really like this song...a lot! This is Laughter Lines.     

Review: I'll Keep You Safe

Hello again, and yes it is another Sleeping at Last post! You really shouldn't be surprised at this point. I promise I do listen to other music. I hope to review some other favorites (Mumford & Sons, Florence + The Machine, etc.) one of these days.

 

I really just love this song, so much! It is a song of hope. This song reminds me that no matter what season of life is upon us, we are not alone. There is somebody who is with us and for us. Though life may cut deeply, there can also be deep healing. Some of my favorite lyrics of this song are, "God knows, our mistakes will be made, but I promise you I’ll keep you safe. As you build up your collection of pearls that you pulled from the deep, a landscape more beautiful than anything that I’ve ever seen. The sound of the branches breaking under your feet, the smell of the falling and burning of leaves, the bitterness of winter or the sweetness of spring, you are an artist, but your heart is your masterpiece. And I'll keep it safe."

 

Hope you enjoy!

 

 

Song: I'll Keep You Safe

Artist: Sleeping At Last

Album: Atlas: Darkness - EP

Year Released: 2013

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lyrics:

i’ll keep you safe.
try hard to concentrate.
hold out your hand,
can you feel the weight of it?
the whole world at your fingertips-
don’t be, don’t be afraid.
our mistakes, they were bound to be made.
but i promise you i’ll keep you safe.

you’ll be an architect,
so pull up your sleeves
and build a new silhouette
in the skylines up ahead.
don’t be, don’t be afraid.
our mistakes, they were bound to be made.
but i promise you i’ll keep you safe.
i’ll keep you safe.

your darkness will be rewritten
into a work of fiction, you’ll see.

as you pull on every ribbon
you’ll find every secret it keeps.

the sound of the branches
breaking under your feet,
the smell of the falling
and burning of leaves,
the bitterness of winter
or the sweetness of spring,
you are an artist
but your heart is your masterpiece.
and i’ll keep it safe.

dismiss the invisible
by giving it shape,
like a clockmaker fixes time
by keeping the gears in line.
don’t be, no don’t be afraid.
God knows, our mistakes will be made.
but i promise you i’ll keep you safe.

as you build up your collection
of pearls that you pulled from the deep,
a landscape more beautiful
than anything that i’ve ever seen.

the sound of the branches
breaking under your feet,
the smell of the falling
and burning of leaves,
the bitterness of winter
or the sweetness of spring,
you are an artist,
but your heart is your masterpiece.
and i’ll keep it safe.

Review: Jupiter

I should probably start this post off with apologizing because I am about to give you another Sleeping At Last post, but, in fact, I am not really sorry. ;) I think Sleeping At Last is brilliant! I absolutely love his lyrics and really just his philosophy behind why he does what he does.  Here is a little excerpt from his website that, in my opinion, sums up why he is so amazing: Ryan O’Neal, "pursues this challenge relentlessly through his commitment to musical integrity in his songwriting, and in this way nurtures a unique and personal relationship with his listeners. He has remained true to the things that brought him to music in the first place: his love of melody and the power of words. His music and lyrics emerge from a place that is honest and raw, asking every question that occurs and promising no fast, sure answers, but somehow always offering hope as the consistent, overarching theme." And I really can't say it any better myself. Please go to his website (linked above) and check out what he does, and why he does it.

 

So, this song in particular, Jupiter, is one of my favorites right now! I really love the lyrics, "Make my messes matter. Make this chaos count." And I'm pretty sure the reason I am loving these lyrics right now has a lot to do with how chaotic my life feels. There is a quote one of my friends shared with me recently that pretty sums up my life for the last five-six years, "Life has a way of testing a persons will, either by having nothing happen at all or by having everything happen at once" (Paulo Coelho). The "nothing happening" part felt true of my life prior to the last two years. The last two years, in particular  the last year, have been so full of changes. Some of these changes have been a long time coming and I am SO grateful for them, even though they can be super uncomfortable and vulnerable, and the other changes are definitely unexpected. I suppose most changes in life can be uncomfortable, but my hope and desire through it all are that "my messes matter," and that this chaos will count. This song has really given me a hope that even the scariest, darkest, most uncomfortable and the most vulnerable of times can really mean something, and that they can create a beauty inside of me that is worth far more than the temporal pain or discomfort. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this song as much as I do. Cheers!

Song: Jupiter

Artist: Sleeping At Last

Album: Atlas: Space 2 - EP

Year Released: 2013

Artist's song explanation:
"I wrote this song from the perspective of Galileo Galilei, who discovered Jupiter’s 4 Moons, which are consequently named the “Gailelean Moons.” The song is divided into 4 parts, representing each of the moon’s Mr. Galileo discovered. If you listen close, you’ll hear some radio static that NASA recorded of Jupiter’s unique storm systems. Because Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system, it’s an awful lot of planet to explore – so as I wrote this song, I tried to have it constantly progressing into new territory."

Lyrics: 

I wrote it down in the winter of 1610.

Just a secret under lock and key until then.
While collecting the stars, I connected the dots.
I don’t know who I am, but now I know who I’m not.
I’m just a curious speck that got caught up in orbit, in orbit.
Like a magnet it beckoned my metals toward it, toward it.

Make my messes matter.
Make this chaos count.
Let every little fracture in me shatter out loud.

Make my messes matter.
Make this chaos count.
Let every little fracture in me shatter out loud.