Skip to main content

These Are a Few of My Favorite...Songs

Well, I'm rather upset that a CD I ordered last week hasn't come to me in time so that I can enjoy it while I'm on my cruise. HOWEVER, because I haven't written in a long time and my last post was ridiculously serious, I've decided to share a few of my favorite artists with you today. Everyone who knows me really well knows that my favorite songs are by a bunch of British women, so if that's not you're thing, it's ok, just exit out. No, really, I won't be offended. Much. Here goes:

1. I've sort of just discovered Brigitte Aphrodite. She's toured with Kate Nash (more on her later) and has a single out called "I Dream Myself Awake". This song, called "Dance With A Stranger", is a perfect example of how amazingly funny her lyrics are:
2. Ellie Goulding recently appeared on Saturday Night Live. I heard her music for the first time early this year and was amazed by her unique voice and fresh sound. Her album is called Lights and this is her single by the same name. Don't ask me how she moves her hips like that. I don't know. I've tried.
3. Kate Nash is a great example of not just a singer-songwriter, but an ARTIST. No matter what she's doing, her passion is music, whether it be hers or someone else's. Strange coming from a girl who wanted to be an actress. She recently created the Kate Nash Rock 'N Roll for Girls After School Music Club to empower and inspire women in music. For me, the thing that grabbed me about her was that her songs were fun, unusual, and catchy, with clever, bold lyrics. Two of my favorites by her from her two albums (2007's Made of Bricks and 2010's My Best Friend Is You) are "Mouthwash" and "Don't You Want To Share The Guilt".
4. I tell people I like Amy Winehouse and get some really bizarre looks. The thing is, despite her problems, her voice is really soulful and unique and her songs are the same way. I really hope she comes out with new material soon. My favorite Amy song is "Tears Dry On Their Own".
5. Ahhh, Paloma Faith, the album I've been waiting for. Sure, it's been out for a couple of years, but I only discovered her in the spring. Another soulful British singer, Faith has said she's done everything that can be done in show business, like being a magician's assistant and a ghost on a ghost train, as well as being in movies like The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. She seems to me like an artist who really appreciates her fans, posting a huge amount of entertaining video diaries on her Youtube channel. The song I'm going to pick of hers is "Play On", which is not a single but has a huge sound that describes why I love her so much.
5. Lily Allen has been around since I was maybe 11 or 12. I remember being that age and hearing "Smile" and immediately looking her up on iTunes and loving every track on her first album. At 11 or 12, I felt so rebellious for listening to even 30 second samples of her songs.  To me, she was the first of many British female singer-songwriters I would grow to absolutely love and adore. She's another one of those artists with catchy songs with different genre elements and clever lyrics. When thinking about which of her songs is the cleverest, I would pick "Knock 'Em Out". However, the close second for me to "Knock 'em Out" is "Back To The Start". Here's both.
6. If I'm going to talk about British female singer songwriters, I have to talk about Florence + the Machine. Her huge, distinctive voice and sound drew me in from the start. She also holds a place in my heart because her album Lungs was the first vinyl record I bought. While the ubiquitous "Dog Days Are Over" still holds up, I have to go with "Hurricane Drunk" as my favorite.
7. Marina & The Diamonds is just one girl, as I've had to explain on more than one occasion to my friends. She has a distinctive voice and biting lyrics, like the ones in her song "Hollywood" that question the sanity of the American Dream. While "Hollywood" is great, my favorite is "I Am Not A Robot".
8. Last, but not least, is Clare Maguire. I heard her on BBC Radio 1 for the 1st time in February and, coincidentally, that's the last time I heard her on Radio 1. Her album, Light After Dark, is phenomenal and now available on iTunes in America. I remember saving up my money to get this album, waiting for Amazon to have it in stock, and then getting it in the mail and screaming for a good hour I was so excited! It's very versatile, showing off her unique voice and writing style. Her second single, "The Last Dance", is incredible.
 
Hope you enjoy all my picks!
Abby, Absolute Wannabe

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Talking to Myself in the Mirror

I think it's a pretty safe bet that a lot of aspiring actors/writers/directors/filmy people practice their future Oscar speech in the mirror as kids. I did. Who am I kidding? I still do. It comes with the territory. My mirror talks go, ahem, went (who am I kidding? go) further. Sometimes, I do my makeup while talking to Barbara Walters. Other days, brushing my hair turns into a podcast interview. Most of the time, though, I rehearse what I'm going to say to my heroes. These hypothetical moments are incredibly important, and I can't afford to say anything stupid, so car rides, showers, and mornings getting ready are devoted to preparation. This probably makes me sound crazy. The word "narcissist" may also come to mind. I think one of my heroes would have appreciated both the crazy and the narcissism in this bit of oversharing, though, but we lost her this morning. One of my first posts on this blog was a tribute to Carrie Fisher. I read it over this afternoo
Post a Comment
Read more

The Film List Project #2: MASH

Did you know MASH was a movie before it was a TV show? I didn't. Maybe that's a well-known fact. Maybe I'm very out of the loop. Anyway, I watched MASH this week. I'm just discovering Robert Altman, the director of the film. He made a movie in 1975 called Nashville , which I sort of felt obligated to watch since that's my hometown. I loved the film, especially because it had so many interesting characters mashed together. MASH  charmed me for the same reason. I've never been one for war films (this is set during the Korean War), but I was fascinated by the band of arrogant, witty surgeons in the film. It really didn't feel like a war film, to be honest. It felt like the Korean War was just where they happened to be. That feeling makes sense when you realize that these men and women are just trying to feel that way themselves. I don't have any personal experience with war, but I have read a few books about the subject, fiction and nonfiction, and
Post a Comment
Read more

Cameron Crowe Ruined My Life

Believe me when I say that it pained me to type out the title to this post. Cameron Crowe is one of my very favorite filmmakers. To me, a guy who can write teenagers who are real people, really capture the full spectrum of human emotion, and incorporate a great soundtrack into his work is a real genius. Though it initially made me feel warm, fuzzy, and hopeful, a recent late night viewing of 2005's Elizabethtown  ended up making me a little nervous. I realized that Crowe was just like everybody else. Now, this probably doesn't make sense to those of you who admire his work. As a writer and filmmaker, Crowe definitely has a unique voice and vision that helps his work connect with all kinds of audiences. That's precisely the problem. Last week I wrote a post about how movies are only a reflection of life and not actually true to life itself. In the post, I mentioned that filmmakers are just one person with one perspective, and that is absolutely true of Crowe. In Crow
Post a Comment
Read more