Perfect Songs

Last year I did a bunch of monthly blog posts choosing five favourite songs I'd been listening to each month, and it was a lot of fun to catalogue songs in that way and sort of define a month in loved sounds. I'm not planning to do that again at the moment, but I do just feel like doing something similar and listing some songs that are swirling around like bright and rushing blood in my head right now. So here are some songs that I really, really love at this moment.

1. Joan - All The Way

This is a true synthpop bop that came up on an autogenerated Spotify playlist for me (of course). Spotify just wants to feed me so much of this stuff and it is incredible. It's so bouncy, has fun little "Go West" style jingly guitar parts peeking around the corner of the song like me peeking into my autogenerated Spotify playlists at 1am and winking. It's really good, thanks.

2. The Good Natured - Lovers

This is one of those hidden little bands that seem to have slipped through a bunch of cracks and live underneath the grates with their amazing songs that you can see hidden down there. Lurking. Every time I remember their existence it blows my mind again. They're incredibly good at choruses, and have a very catchy sort of pop structure throughout a lot of their material that's blended really nicely with some fun, dark lyrics and a great sort of "thrown at the wall" indie style sound. This song will not leave my head and I like the home footage style music video. And I love singer Sarah's hair and penchant for shorts with tights. Style icon and legend.

3. Vampire Weekend - Harmony Hall

Vampire Weekend are a band that I never really listened to until very recently. I think I heard an early single and just didn't find it that compelling at the time, and that combined with their apparent ubiquity just kinda pushed me away from ever paying them much attention. But eventually when I finally sat down and paid attention to their albums I realised that I love them. I guess sometimes it takes sitting down and actually taking the time to listen to the sounds and words of a song or an album to connect with it in that big, warm way that feels so good. So I'm glad I did that, just sat down and listened to an album of theirs without really doing anything else. Because I finally got that gleeful feeling of hearing a weird, funny lyric for the first time and being like, "wow, okay."

Anyway, Harmony Hall/2021 was released in January of this year, and it's beautiful. They've mastered these really gentle, lilting swells. That same kind of calm, soaring release that I love about a lot of Cat Stevens songs. Such a very alive and dreamy feeling. I love Vampire Weekend. I love. Them.

4. Dolly Parton - Marry Me

I'm putting this here because it's cute and great in general, but the thing that really sells it is the laugh Dolly does at the end, which has rejunivated me and extended my life. I'm an immortal now, thanks to Dolly Parton.

Songs. They're good, aren't they?