seventeen

[amethysting.livejournal.com]

Me & You
She & Him
Volume 2
2010

Okay, so I was like really stressing about what song to post today. The song I do end up picking is always the one that stood out during my week...or the song that marked my week somehow. Now, I could have posted Biggie. He was very influential this week. But. Well. No.

So, I decided to go with the song that my iPod picked for me. You know, it isn't the most spectacular song. Like, it doesn't hold a candle to some of my all-time favourites. But. I was sitting in my living room. Hungover. Depressed. Guilty. Exhausted. Just an all-around bad scene. And this song came on. That quiet guitar made me take notice. I stayed seated, but I turned my gaze from the floor to my iPod. And then, as if MY IPOD WAS SPEAKING TO ME:

"...you never knew
One day from the next
Dig your heels in a little girl
Put them to the test
You gotta be kind to yourself
You gotta be kind to yourself

Well I heard you had the blues
Again
Seems like all those little things
Add up in the end

Well I know that you heard a lot about
Things you can't control
So many things we like to have
We just cannot hold
You gotta be kind to yourself"

I get caught up in the charming and quirky quality of Zooey Deschanel's voice. I love the Country twang. And M. Ward's lovely, soft, warm background vocals. The sad sound of the lap steel. The way the drums come in...but quietly...and like they are being tapped not with an imposing wood drumstick, but rather one of those drumsticks with the little tassles on the end (I'm sure there is some official drumming term for them, but like, whatever). I like that that tassle drumming sounds like shuffling feet. The violins that come in right at the end.

And you know, in the thinking I did do yesterday (between naps and getting hit with waves of guilt) this song...well, not to sound all cheese-like, but it kind of guided me...or came at exactly the right moment. I am not fucking nice to myself most of the time. Yesterday I kind of accepted the fact that I have to take care of myself...so I'm happy I heard this song when I did. It's the song I will associate with a moment when things were slightly clearer.

Comments

[cabaretlights.livejournal.com]

--> I'm really happy you decided to go with this song (that is -- I'm happy you went with the one you texted me about way back when you heard it; I was really curious).

--> I love Zooey Deschanel. She's managed to escape being totally hipsterfabulous and actually lend a little integrity to her quirk (despite her being the ultimate Manic Pixie Dream Girl...but those are her characters, not HER, so!). She's just so cute, and I get drawn in by her voice, too!!

--> I like that sometimes songs are about the moment they're heard in. Like, maybe in ten years this song won't be The Best Song You've Ever Heard, but really what matters is that it meant something when you heard it. It's nice to have something that lasts forever, a CD you'll always return to: but the ephemeral has its own exceptionally potent/important quality. And re: the message -- GO WITH IT. It's exactly right. ♥

--> Love love love that this isn't something I'd normally listen to. I steer pretty clear of hipster folk but the more I listen to this, the more I like it. MAYBE ONE DAY I WILL LIKE THE GENRE? I definitely like this song!!

--> I also love that this documents the Great iPod Shuffle of 2011. ♥