Oh crikey. I was given Pink Martini's new album, Hang on Little Tomato, for my birthday, and last one I downloaded for free was a collection of Bollywood music, Bollywood for the Skeptical. But I guess the last one I purchased was... um... Free Me by Emma. And if you don't know who that is, I'm not going to tell you. And listen to "Crickets Sing for Anamaria" before you judge too harshly.
Sountrack to Kandukondain Kandukondain, a Tamil remake of Sense and Sensibility that has lush, joyful music that makes you want to run around in the fields like Marianne, frolicking with Willoughby. In a good way - you know, the fiesty, sharp-witted, big-hearted heroine way, not in the sad-sack moping in a cottage way.
"I'm Looking through You" by the Beatles and "Brilliant Disguise" by Bruce Springsteen. The former is my favorite Beatles song ever, and the Beatles are my favorite artists ever, so there you go. I pair them because they're both about not seeing people as they really are, whether you are the looker or the lookee. This is a problem I have that has caused me major pain over the last fifteen years or so. Oddly though the songs don't make me sad. They're just resonantly descriptive.
"Instinct" by Crowded House. Another favorite band and another song that reminds me of how wrong I can be. But in a good way. It's hopeful.
"Mitwa" sung by a bunch of people on the Lagaan soundtrack and "Konjum Mainakkale" sung by Sadhana Sargam on the Kandukondain Kandukondain soundtrack (mentioned above). (And yes, I had to look up the names of the artists. I have a hard time remembering what I cannot pronounce.) I'm listening to these a lot lately. Re: "Mitwa": In structure I think it probably fits under the oft-employed and oft-mocked genre of "song accompanying compilation of footage of movie characters accomplishing a major challenge," such as cleaning up an old building, doing a makeover, etc. But, according to the subtitles on the version I saw, it's about getting your friends to join you in a task of importance. Looking at a translation of the lyrics, I will readily admit it's cheesy but I like it anyway. Re: "Konjum Mainakkale ": I just think this is very musically pretty. I don't know what it's about exactly - during the movie, Aishwarya Rai is running around in an beautiful field, and there are really interestingly-costumed backup dancers popping up in strange places. The subtitles suggest that she is singing to the minah bird, but I can't find a translation on line at the moment. Hindi movie music is in my head all the time these days because discovering Bollywood movies has been so purely enjoyable, so fun. It's so thoroughly entertaining and, like some of the items on Melina and Kelly's lists, it makes me want to dance. It inspires me to learn about so many things I never would have guessed I would find interesting and as a result I'm reading all these fascinating books on the social meanings of film, travel essays, architecture, history, novels, etc. India in general has always intrigued me, I think becuase as a little girl we lived in England for a bit, and the movies are turning out to the way in that I needed. In many different ways, they engage my brain and my heart. Voila.
"Song 2" by Blur. You know the one - 'Woo-OOH!" I likes me some Brit pop, but this one has extra oomph for me becuase it came out when I lived in Toronto, and every other Friday night our graduate college had big fancy dinners followed by nutty parties in our common room in which people got really silly, fuelled by alcohol, people having to have been on their best behavior with visiting scholars and government officials for the preceeding three hours, incredible amounts of school stress, etc. This one always got people bouncing around the room, kicking off shoes and academic gowns, yelling, having fun. Canada's best and brightest doing truly awful but genuinely-felt dancing.
I don't listen to "Under Pressure" by Queen and David Bowie all that often, but I do really love it becuase I believe it's true that turning away from life and from problems doesn't work, that giving love another chance is all we can really do, because at the most basic level it's love that inspires hope and creativity and bridge-building and all that. Plus we should be nicer to each other. Something in our complicated world needs to "dare [us] to care fore other people."
Side note: I am often struck by how many of my favorite songs are sung by men. I don't know why this is. I have sung in a variety of organized and unorganized ways most of my life and I feel strongly about making sure women from all walks get to raise their voices in whatever way is joyful and useful to them, but most of my favorite songs and artists are men. Go figure.
Another side note: this is hard to do, this list. It's hard to choose and explain. This list does not give you a full sense of the music I like. Waaaah! I feel pigeonholed and judged!
