9-8-11 - "Higher Love" ~ James Vincent McMorrow

This one's a cover of an '80s song that you might have heard, in all its synth-pop horn chorus glory.  But you won't hear trumpets in this drastically altered version - McMorrow brings it down real low with simple piano chords and ethereal falsetto vocals.  It allows you to focus on the lyrics and the cry for the titular "higher love" - love that supersedes the many injustices in the world.  "Without it, life is wasted time..."

Original Steve Winwood version:

"I could light the night up with my soul on fire

I could make the sun shine from pure desire..."

9-6-11 - "Cannonball" ~ Damien Rice

Damien Rice's music is good for introspection.  The mellow tunes can be simply background for reading or deep thought, but then they can also reel you in with lyrics that make you think.  This one is about a lost romance, but one that molded the lyricist and perhaps prepared him for future events...

"Cannonball" (Album version on Grooveshark)


"so come on, courage, teach me to be shy..."

5-4-11 - "Hands Open" ~ Snow Patrol

I'm nothing if not predictable.  Wait, did I use that line to open yesterday's post?  Yes, yes I did.  Sorry.  Funny story though, tonight's song gives a nod to last night's, and I'm still in Chicago, so there you go.  Snow Patrol is pretty great, and this one's a rocker.  It probably has something to do with a relationship that hasn't really started yet, but the singer sure hopes it does...

"Put Sufjan Stevens on
and we'll play your favorite song,
Chicago bursts to life
and your sweet smile remembers you;
My hands open and my eyes open,
I just keep hoping that your heart opens..."

4-18-11 - "Falling Slowly" ~ The Swell Season

I just started listening to The Swell Season thanks to Coachella.  I'd heard of them before, but never gotten around to listening.  It's pretty mellow stuff, but if you're in the right mood it is pretty good.  The collaboration between Czech pianist/vocalist Markéta Irglová and Irish singer/songwriter Glen Hansard is quite a pairing.  The two voices blend together incredibly well, and this song is just... swell.

"Take this sinking boat and point it home,
we've still got time;
raise your hopeful voice, you had a choice,
you've made it now..."

3-17-11 - "Run" ~ Snow Patrol

I was going to do some kind of traditional Irish music today, but decided to go a slightly different direction - an Irish band.  Well, sort of... Snow Patrol's members may hail from Ireland originally, but the band's home base is in Scotland... anyway, they're pretty sweet and I probably should have had them on the site a lot sooner than now.


Run is probably my favorite of their songs, although they have quite a few that I like a lot.  This one is fairly straightforward musically, and the minor chords in the verses go perfectly with the emotions expressed in the lyrics.  The sparse and haunting strings accent the mood, and Gary Lightbody & co. bring it up for the choruses with a hopeful call to the lover, to seize that love and let it burn brightly, no matter the cost.

(apologies for the cheesy lyric video; it's the only way to get the full song)


"Light up, light up,
as if you have a choice,
even if you cannot hear my voice,
I'll be right beside you, dear..."

2-25-11 - "Lille" ~ Lisa Hannigan

I was very sneaky in dropping you a little bit of Lisa Hannigan a few weeks ago - she sang with Damien Rice on "9 Crimes".  OK, not that sneaky, since I mentioned her in the post title.  But she's quite good as a solo artist, too, so here you go.  Lille is a song that came out of a sadness - the end of a good thing (happened to be her time in Damien's band).  But it springs hopeful at the end...

"and our breathlessness as we run
to the beach endlessly,
as the sun creeps up on the sea..."

2-14-11 - "9 Crimes" ~ Damien Rice (with Lisa Hannigan)

Damien Rice is an Irish bloke who is also a pretty talented songwriter.  This one is hauntingly beautiful, a tale of love gone awry.


(I recommend listening without watching the video at first - the video is quite interesting but also somewhat strange and may detract from your first listen.)

"It's a small crime and I got no excuse..."