Top 5 Songs I'm Listening to on Repeat (two months later)

5. "Right Here, Right Now" from HSM3

I cannot help it.  There is something so sweet and innocent about High School Musical's love story that it warms my cynical heart.  With lyrics like "When I'm looking at you, my heart loves the view," how can they go wrong?  It does not fail to put me into a good mood and I can even begin to believe that there are fairy tale love stories.

4. "Foundations" - Kate Nash

This song has been on repeat for me since spring of last year... and it hasn't gotten old yet.  Her lyrics are poignant and biting, yet absolutely hilarious and relatable.  The upbeat boppity nature of the music does not match the lyrics- "You say I must eat so many lemons... because I am so bitter..." but it's great work-out music.  And just general rockin' out music.

3. "Wolves (Act I and II)" - Bon Iver

The entire Bon Iver album is on repeat for me currently, and which song it is depends upon how sad I'm feeling.  Wolves breaks my heart again and again--I don't know if I understand it, but that's part of its appeal.  It means whatever I need it to at that moment.

2. "Hideaway"- The Weepies

This is one of the most upbeat Weepies songs in existence... and it's fantastic.  I didn't know they could manage non-depressing songs, but here it is.  The lyrics are clever, the music is catchy, and it's easy listening without being devoid of meaning.

1. "Sarah" - Ray LaMontagne

Ray LaMontagne was introduced to me freshman year and his first album was on repeat all of spring that year.  He is at once hopeful and devastating, beautiful and melancholy.  "Sarah" is all of those things wrapped up into one.  The man creates hauntingly gorgeous melodies and his voice gets to me.

Top 5 Songs I Am Listening to On Repeat

When I find a song I really dig, I usually end up putting it on repeat for a good week, which is kind of embarrassing since I've got my iTunes and iPod synced with last.fm (the fact that I am evening linking to my last.fm profile is incontrovertible proof of my status as a masochist) and sometimes these songs are guilty pleasure pop songs (i.e. Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone"). The following are the Top 5 songs that have been getting the repeat treatment in the last few months..

5. TV on the Radio - "Ambulance," Desperate Youth and Bloodthirsty Babes
Having just recently started listening to TOTR, I realize that I came to the party a little late. But this song has fast become one of my favorite TOTR tracks if only for it's poignant lyrics. This song perfectly imagines love as a horrible, nasty car crash, which sort of captures the essence of what love is often times all about. Also the notion of having someone there to sweep you up and take you to the hospital after you've smashed into another car head on is kinda sweet, right?.This imagery, as morbid and dark as it is, sort of gets to the essence of what love is often all about. It's all fun and games until you crash—or perhaps thats once the real fun can begin?


4. Lupe Fiasco feat. Matthew Santos- "Fighters," The Cool
I have to admit, it took me a while to like Lupe Fiasco, mostly because I felt like he ruined the amazing backing track on "Daydream" from his first album Food & Liquor with some pretty insipid lyrics. I decided to give him another go upon the recommendation of some pals and was pleasantly surprised with his second album, The Cool, as a whole and with "Fighters" in particular. It's a groovy, downtempo track built on a great keyboard loop with a heaping dose of melancholy, which for some reason is always really refreshing for me on a hip-hop track. It's a simply produced, rather minimalist track that features Lupe's swaggering flow nicely.

3. Mates of State - "The Re-Arranger," Rearrange Us
I've been a fan of Mates of State since Bring It Back, which is an all around solid album. Unfortunately, Rearrange Us didn't really do it for me except for this gem. With driving piano and intricate interwoven harmonies that are perfect for singing along at the top of your lungs, this is Mates of State just the way I like them—which is to say, on repeat.


2. Bic Runga - "Sway," Even Better Than the Real Thing Vol. 2
For those who aren't familiar, Even Better Than the Real Thing are charity compilations of covers performed by Irish artists during the Ray D'Arcy radio show. Caley and I picked up Vol. 1 when we traveled to Dublin in high school and it seemed to be playing everywhere we went (Damien Rice was also on every single billboard). I recently discovered that Volumes 2 and 3 existed and got hooked on this track. This is an unusual choice for the compilation series given that Bic Runga (pronouced "Beck") is not an Irish artist (she's from New Zealand, but apparently she's HUGE in Ireland) and this is not a cover (unless you can cover yourself), but an acoustic version of her most popular hit.

1. Estelle feat. Kardinal Offishal - "Magnificent," Shine
My brother recommended this UK chanteuse to me and I've been hooked on "Magnificent" for the last 48 hours. Estelle lies somewhere between fellow compatriots Amy Winehouse and Martina Topley-Bird with a touch of Lauryn Hill. "Magnificent" has an upbeat reggaeton beat perfect for dancing and a catchy sing-a-long melody. I also appreciate the strong woman content, with lines like "You're not gonna be the one to tell me how much I'm worth." Estelle basically says, "Boy if you wanna get with me you better get your shit together." I feel that. As for Kardinal Offishal, I don't rightly know who he is other than the fact that he spells his name like something from a lolcatz caption and is Canadian ... in other words, really freaking cool.