30 Day Song Challenge

"In Your Eyes" - Peter Gabriel (1986)

Purely nostalgic for my 1980s upbringing and the pop culture associated with that fantastic decade.

"Barbie Girl" - Aqua (1997)

I think this is a harder choice than favorite song. I’m going with "Barbie Girl" from Aqua. My sophomore year in college, my next door dorm neighbor played this song on repeat, along with another really annoying song. I have a visceral reaction when I hear the first few seconds. Ugh.

"Lovely Life" - Rebekah Jordan (2005)

I’m going for a more obscure song called "Lovely Life" by singer-songwriter Rebekah Jordan. I heard Rebekah perform several years ago at Pechanga Casino as part of the Temecula Film Festival (totally random, I know). I bought her EP and have ended up listening to it a lot. The song reminds me of a lazy summer day.

The video is crappy. The song starts around the :51 mark. Enjoy!

"Let It Be Me" - Ray LaMontagne (2009)

This song is beautiful and the lyrics are simple, yet there is a longing for love and friendship that becomes so big it seems like it can never be fulfilled. I’ve certainly felt this way.

Here is an acoustic version from KCRW.

"Graceland" - Paul Simon (1986)

Could that be any more vague? How can songs NOT remind me of someone?

For sake of not driving myself crazy, I’m picking "Graceland" by Paul Simon as a song that reminds me of my stepdad Rickey, who has a music and movie collection to rival that of the Library of Congress. He was a music major in college, plays piano and guitar, and knows exactly what I’m talking about when I ask "do you remember the movie with that guy at that place that we saw that one time?" The depth of his knowledge of American music is as extensive as his collection. When I go home to Chicago, it’s a constant learning experience — he plays his iPod 24/7 and will explain to me the history of any song that comes on, from the production to the singers.

I copied my personal collection of classic rock from him. He loves Paul Simon. Hence my choice of song.

The video is just audio of the song, so don’t expect anything spectacular, except great music.