Tuesday Tunes: vol. I (original title, I know)

So Tuesdays are one of those days without any real identity, you know? It's kind of sad, really. The only thing I associate with Tuesdays is the release of new CD's and DVD's. Poor Tuesday-I think companies do that just to make it feel a little more special.

Anyway, since Tuesdays can be somewhat "blah" (yet amazing things can come out on that day), I've decided that every Tuesday I will post a playlist. (I'm also just really obsessed with making playlists and this is a way for me to share them.) Some of them will be very specifically themed; others might just be a random compilation of songs I'm currently listening to. Maybe I'll expose you to some new music, maybe not. I'll try to put LaLa and/or Youtube clips on here so you can sample or hear all of a song and decide whether you might want to LEGALLY procure it. I'll also list any albums I'm interested in that happen to be coming out that particular Tuesday. The other day I was thinking about all the music that plays in the coffee shop where I work and how it varies so much depending on who's working. I thought it'd be really cool if there was some way for us to share all our best "shift playlists." But since there's not, I'm just going to take the Narcissistic College Girl route and post a Playlist of the Week on here on Tuesdays. Bam.

As I was writing all that about Tuesdays being ho-hum, I was reminded of this scene from Seinfeld. Love it:


Side note-Anna Margaret hasn't posted in over 2 weeks. For your viewing pleasure:


And now, on to the first Tuesday Tunes playlist (if you have a less lame name for this, let me know):

THIS WEEK'S THEME: "Lonely Boys." (Like Dan Humphrey's alias on Gossip Girl!! 2 more weeks, y'all!!!)
LONELINESS: One of the greatest themes of some of the greatest music in the world. Yay for alienation and heartbreak!! :) :)

Tuesday Tunes, Vol. I

Track 1: "Tired of Being Alone" by Al Green
A classic. Deceptively upbeat.

Track 2: "Girl from the North Country" by Bob Dylan
Missing someone. And a little bitter 'bout it.

Track 3: "Breakeven" by The Script
Upon first listen, you may be inclined to dismiss this song by Irish band The Script as a generic tune any Average Adult Contemporary Chart-Topper this side of Adam Levine could've cranked out, but give it a chance. It's undeniably catchy and not as formulaic as you might think. There's also that great tension between a foot-tapping singsong melody and "Someone-Done-Gone-and-Ripped-My-Heart-Out" lyrics.

Track 4: "Fake Empire" by The National
Take Note: Embracing a G-L-A-M-O-R-O-U-S Party Lifestyle in a Big Bustlin City does not guarantee happiness and probably leads to alienation. Or at least Matt Berninger's weary baritone will make you think so.


Track 5: "The Boxer" by Simon & Garfunkel
Who doesn't love a good storybook song? Somehow this song always makes me think of Holden Caulfield, but grown-up and wiser, yet still lonely. :(

Track 6: "Love is No Big Truth" by Kings of Convenience
In the same bouncy vein as "I'd Rather Dance With You," but the frustration of a Cynical Guy Who Just Got Broken Up With is sure evident in the lyrics this time.

Track 7: "Cannonball" by Damien Rice
Yep, I know this song's been done to death, but I'm a sucker. Breaks my heart every time I hear it.


Track 8: "Operator (That's Not the Way it Feels)" by Jim Croce
One of the great sad songs from an underrated songwriter. Well, as underrated as a '70s Radio Singer-Songwriter With a Big Mustache can be.

Track 9: "How to Fight Loneliness" by Wilco
I just want to give Jeff Tweedy a big bear hug when I hear this and tell him that instead of him "fighting loneliness" when it sets in, he can just hang out with me and let me come to all of his shows since they literally cannot be topped...except maybe by Lady GaGa (just based on theatrics)...

Track 10: "People are Strange" by The Doors
Another classic. Yet we have to remember that People are Always Strange, regardless of whether you're lonely/a stranger or not.


Track 11: "A Lack of Color" by Death Cab For Cutie
Still my favorite DCfC song. And I can't help but think of "The Goodbye Girl," episode 21 of season 1 of The O.C. (I have a problem)...and how this song is playing when precious Anna Stern is telling sad confused Seth why she's moving back to Pittsburgh. Something about missing the seasons and the snow and the Jimmy Stewart museum and peanut butter pie. Yes, I just recited all that offhand yet I cannot for the life of me remember basic math formulas. Welcome to my life. (Oh, and shoutout to STEPHANIE S. who made me realize that Anna is actually quite wonderful...wanted to hate her at first because I was always a Seth/Summer shipper, Big Time, but then I realized Anna is actually quite cool. Samaire=Favorite guest star, with Michael Cassidy as a close second/possible tie. They're also pretty much the only tolerable ones, so it's a bonus that they're WONDERFUL). Sorry for Unnecessary O.C. Tangent. It happens sometimes. CONFIDENCE, COHEN.

Track 12: "Please Do Not Let Me Go" by Ryan Adams
One of the more Heartbreaker-esque songs on Love is Hell. Slightly more countrified than most of the album's other tracks, but continuing with the Running Motif: Sadness.

Track 13: "Beach Baby" by Bon Iver
Justin Vernon, with his ridiculously wonderful falsetto + his sparse chords and sad words, has an unparalleled ability to both break my heart and ease my mind.

Yay!!! Enjoy wallowing!! If you need a big dose o' happiness to go with your sad songs, check this out immediately. Greatest discovery of the day: The Daily Bunny.

RELEASED TODAY: Joanna Newsom, Have One On Me
Shout Out Louds, Work
David Byrne & Fatboy Slim (!!!!), Here Lies Love

Night night!! :D