Songs close to my heart today…

So today I am dealing with hangover and sentiments…I think it finally starts sinking in that one part of my life came to an end and it’s not happily ever after…and all I can do is just deal with it looking forward for the day when I’ll stop missing….Music is one of the best ways to deal with anything, therefore today is the day that I spend in bed with all the beautiful songs that reflect my mood and with all the great artist that I can’t imagine not being in my music library=)

I’ve put all of them in one place for you to enjoy=) And I really hope you will! Some artists are more then once on the playlist and it’s because it was hard enough to choose one song only from all the many that I like=)

No matter how sad sometimes you might be in life, learn to use the sadness for something….Fo me – it inspires me to write, to search, to create…and I think the creations made out of sadness are most honest and influential…maybe it will be helping someone by letting them relate and letting them know they are not alone going through something=)

So here what the playlist is made of, I hope you’ll find something to relate to and something new=)

Barry Louis Polisar –  is an author and singer-songwriter who writes children’s music and numerous children’s books, poems and stories. His song All I Want is You, that appeared on movie Juno, in my opinion has the loveliest lyrics.

Ingrid (Ellen Egbert) Michaelson – born December 8, 1979, is a New York-based indie-pop singer-songwriter. Michaelson was born to artistic parents. Her father is a composer and her mother is a sculptor. Michaelson took up piano at age four, and trained until seven. In 2006, Ingrid teamed up with William Fitzsimmons on his album Goodnight, which was released that same year. Ingrid and her friend Sara Bareilles co-wrote “Winter Song” which was featured on The Hotel Café Presents Winter Songs. For my playlist I chose her song You and I.

Snow Patrol – are an alternative rock band from Bangor, Northern Ireland. Originally formed in late 1994 by University of Dundee students Gary Lightbody, Michael Morrison and Mark McClelland as the Shrug, the band started by performing gigs at the university and surrounding pubs such as Lucifer’s Mill. Their first EP was called the Yoghurt vs Yoghurt debate. Their probably most know song is “Chasing Cars”. That’s how I first noticed them and been fan ever since. In my today’s playlist there are two songs of them, the previously mentioned one and “You could be happy” both because of the lyrics…

Laura Jensen – born 4 March 1977, Breda, The Netherlands, is a Dutch-American singer-songwriter based in Los Angeles. Jansen established herself as a regular at the Los Angeles live music venue the Hotel Cafe before gaining fame in her native country, The Netherlands. I noticed her after I’ve heard the cover of  Kings of Leon’s song “Use somebody”. I love Kings of Leon, but the cover made by Jensen is more often played on my playlist than the original, specially on days like this=)

Israel Kamakawiwo’ole – May 20, 1959 – June 26, 1997) was a Hawaiian musician. I think he doesn’t even need more introducition=) His two most beautiful songs are in the playlist “Somewhere over the rainbow” and “What a wonderful world”.

Death Cab for Cutie –  is an American alternative rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington in 1997. The band consists of Ben Gibbard (vocals, guitar, piano), Chris Walla (guitar, production, keyboards), Nick Harmer (bass) and Jason McGerr (drums). One of my favorite songs is “I’ll follow you into the dark”.

Noah and the Whale – are an English indie folk band from Twickenham, London, England formed in 2006. The band consists of Charlie Fink (vocals, guitar, ukulele, mandolin), Tom Hobden (fiddle/keys), Matt “Urby Whale” Owens (bass guitar), Fred Abbott (guitar/keys), and Michael Petulla (drums). Even their name is absolutely cute. First song I heard of them was “Blue skies” which is also on this playlist, but you might also know their songs like “5 years time” and “L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N.”

Angus and Julia Stone –  are an Australian brother-sister duo from Newport on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. Forming in 2005, their parents are both musical and played as a folk duo before Angus and Julia were born. At very young ages, their father introduced them to music and encouraged them to join the school band. Julia played the trumpet, Angus the trombone and their older sister, Catherine, the saxophone. They also learned many songs from their father’s cover band “Backbeat” during band rehearsals in the family’s garage. The band has released six EPs, a compilation and two albums since they began recording together in 2005. Their debut EP Chocolates and Cigarettes was released August 2006. In February 2007 their second EP Heart Full of Wine was released. I fell in love with this band when I’ve heard the song “Coffee band Cigarettes” and have been following them ever since. Besides this song in the playlist there is also very beautiful lyrics song “Take you away”.

Ellie Goulding and Erik Hassle – born 30 December 1986, is an English singer-songwriter. In 2010 she became the second artist to both top the BBC’s annual Sound of… poll and win the Critics’ Choice Award at the BRIT Awards in the same year. Erik Hassle, born 26 August 1988 in Katrineholm, Sweden,  is a Swedish pop singer-songwriter. Their beautiful cover of Robyn’s song “Be mine” cought my attention and showed the true beauty of the lyrics that I missed in the original version.

Regina Spector –  Regina Ilyinichna Spektor, born February 18, 1980, is a Russian American singer-songwriter and pianist. Her music is associated with the anti-folk scene centered in New York City’s East Village. Spektor was born in Moscow, Soviet Union in 1980 to a musical Russian Jewish family. Her father, Ilya Spektor, is a photographer and amateur violinist. Her mother, Bella Spektor, was a music professor in a Soviet college of music and now teaches at a public elementary school in Mount Vernon, New York. She has a brother Barry (Bear), who was featured in track 7, “* * *”, or “Whisper”, of her 2004 album, Soviet Kitsch. I noticed her music after watching the movie “500 days of Summer”, which I love by the way, it has two of my favorite actors Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon Levitt, perfect duo. The song “Samson” got it’s place in playlist because of the great lyrics.

James Blunt –  James Hillier Blount (born 22 February 1974), better known by his stage name James Blunt, is an English singer-songwriter and musician, and former army officer, whose debut album, Back to Bedlam and single releases, including “You’re Beautiful” and “Goodbye My Lover”, brought him to fame in 2005. His repertoire can be best described as a mix of acoustic-tinged pop, rock and folk. I love all of his songs, but “Goodbye My Lover” is the one for today… “goodbye my lover goodbye my friend…”.

Damien Rice – born 7 December 1973, is an Irish singer-songwriter, musician and record producer who plays guitar, piano, clarinet and percussion. Rice was raised in Celbridge, County Kildare, Ireland and began his musical career as a member of the 1990s rock group Juniper. After leaving the band he worked as a farmer in Tuscany and busked throughout Europebefore returning to Ireland in 2001 and beginning a solo musical career. There is a big number of amazing songs from him, I love all of them, the clip to “9 Crimes” used to be my favorite when it came out. The song for today though was “Can’t take my eyes of you”.

Michelle Featherstone –  is a British American singer-songwriter. Born in Chester, England, and raised in Cambridge, England, Featherstone now resides in Hollywood, California. Featherstone didn’t initially intend to pursue a career in music. As an Art History major and Anthropology minor at West Chester University of Pennsylvania in West Chester, Pennsylvania, she found herself managing the Walt Disney-Tishman Collection of African Art after graduation. After about 18 months at Disney’s Imagineering arm, Featherstone decided that “corporate America” wasn’t for her and made the decision to reconnect with her musical roots while working as a waitress in Southern California. One of my favorite and always touching songs is “Coffee and Cigarettes”.

Bon Iver – one of my absolute favorite bands ever! It’s a folk band founded in 2007 by American indie folk singer-songwriter Justin Vernon. It includes Michael Noyce, Sean Carey, and Matthew McCaughan. Vernon released Bon Iver’s debut album, For Emma, Forever Ago independently in July 2007. The majority of that album was recorded while Vernon spent three months in a remote cabin in northwestern Wisconsin. Bon Iver won the 2012Grammy Award for Best New Artist and Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album for their self-titled album. The name Bon Iver is derived from the French phrase bon hiver, meaning “good winter” or “have a good winter”. Today’s song is a cover called “I can’t make you love me”. The titel says it all….

Lenka – born Lenka Kripac on 19 March 1978, is an Australian singer and songwriter, known for her song “The Show” from her album Lenka, which was in advertisements, including for Old Navy. Previously known in Australia as an actress, she has appeared in Australian television serials and feature films. “The Show” is the one on the playlist today, to brighten the mood bit up, differently than most of the other songs on the list=)

Sara Bareilles –  is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She achieved mainstream success in 2007 with the hit single “Love Song”, which brought her into the number one spot on the Billboard Pop 100 chart. And that’s the song on the list, again, for some more up beat mood=)

Daniel Powter –  (born February 25, 1971) is a Canadian recording artist. He is known for his hit “Bad Day” (2006), which spent five weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100. Powter was the only act to register a #1 hit in that year without previously having had another song chart in the Hot 100. “Bad day” is one of the songs that always makes my day better and I love the clip, with the amazing actress Samaire Armstrong.

City and Colour –   is the recording alias for Juno Award-winning Canadian singer-songwriter Dallas Green, who was also the guitarist and vocalist of the post-hardcore band Alexisonfire. He plays melodicacoustic and folk music and is often accompanied by a rotating number of Canadian indie rock musicians, such as Daniel Romano and Spencer Burton of Attack in Black. The name City and Colour comes from his own name: Dallas, a city, and Green, a colour. His reasoning for the name was that he felt queasy “putting the album out under the name Dallas Green”.Green said that he had been writing material since he was around the age of 14. Regarding the songs released on his first album, Sometimes, Green said that he had been writing material for it as early as when he was 16 years old, and finished writing songs for it in 2005. I discovered them watching One Tree Hill a while ago and been following them ever since. This song “The girl” is just one of the great songs of his, I chose it for the lyrics today.

Priscilla Ahn –  born 1984 is a Korean American singer-songwriter. I had her song “Dream” in one of my previous playlists. Now it’s time for another beautiful song of hers “Rain”.

James Vincent Mcmorrow – one more very dear to me artists who’s album is currently on my phone and played almost every day.  He is an Irish folk music singer-songwriter. His debut album Early in the Morning was released in February, 2010. He wrote the album during a self-imposed seclusion in a beach house in Ireland. His music has been compared to Bon Iver, Sufjan Stevens, and Ray LaMontagne. “If I had a boat” is one of my absolute favorites…”If I had a boat, I would sail to you…hold u in my arms, ask you to be true..” =)

William Fitzsimmons – last but not least, another favorite of mine. He  is an American singer-songwriter, based in Illinois, perhaps best known for his songs “Passion Play” and “Please Don’t Go”. His first two full-length albums, Until When We Are Ghosts (2005) and Goodnight (2006) were completely self-produced and recorded by Fitzsimmons at his former home in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. On today’s playlist I added “Please don’t go” and “So this is goodbye”.

I am sure I haven’t mention a lot artists that wanted to, but I’ll leave that for next time, this list is long enough already=)

Sincerely,

S.