Eric Clapton - Promises

(download)

Ah, one of my favorite breakup songs. It seems pretty straightforward; the fourth line seemingly says it all, “I don’t love you and you love me.” But a lot of this song is about what’s not being said… hell, you can hear it in every “La la la” chorus.

The narration of this song takes place sometime after the break, which seemed to end on amicable terms… the eponymous promise was to stay friends. But you know what? Turns out that doesn’t always work. Here he is, ripped apart, trying to convince himself with every verse that he doesn’t care what she’s doing or who’s she’s doing it with.

He doesn’t come clean with us (or himself) until the last stanza, where he fesses up, “I’d still love you if you’d just love me.” He’s not over her, and that promise they made just can’t work out. It just hurts him too much.

The song is a tribute to self-delusion. I think we can all relate.

Money can't buy you back the love that you had then.

One of my favorite artists for the past year or so has been Feist, who I'm sure needs no introduction. Her new album is coming out in two weeks, but the video for one of the advance singles, "1 2 3 4" was released recently.





Feist has knack for taking a sad subject (in this case, a failed relationship) and turning it into a ridiculously happy tune. See also "One Evening," "Lovertits," and "Mushaboom."

A list...

...of musicians whose music I don't care for, but I do enjoy their names:

Panic! At the Disco
She Wants Revenge
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
My Chemical Romance
Pretty Girls Make Graves
Iggy Pop
Dashboard Confessional
Say Anything
Save Ferris

The Pretenders - Talk of the Town

(download)

This is probably my favorite song right now, and, as with seemingly all of my favorite songs, it has a tinge of sadness to it. At its core, it is a story of unrequited adoration. The narrator sings, “It’s such a drag to want something sometimes.” This is generally true when you want something you know you just can’t have. She does her best to keep her feelings a secret, but she made a wish, she said it out loud. “Out loud in a crowd, everybody heard.” It became the talk of the town. Funny how everybody knows she likes him except the one person she wants to know.

Like a lot of songs I obsess over, I love a lot of the little nuances in the track. Like the second refrain, Chrissie kind of repeats herself (“Maybe tomorrow. Maybe someday.”) with a kind of quiet resignation. Or is it yearning? The driving guitar riff isn’t exactly a nuance, but it’s a pretty great hook.

In the end, it’s great to hear this kind of optimism. She loves this guy, and she’ll get him, eventually. She’s obviously shy, but these things have a way of working out. Especially when it’s the talk of the town.