I feel like I should lead with that since I said a few weeks ago that I would be posting a song a day throughout the month of August, along with what the song means to me, etc. And yet, here we are, and I'm 4 days late for my first post already. But if you think that means I won't be covering 31 songs this month, you're wrong! Anytime I miss a day, it just means I'll be talking about more songs in that post. This is gonna be a fun ride, and I hope you guys stick with me to the end.
Here we go:
Day 1: Instead of a Show by Jon Foreman
So, all you guys who were so certain that a Switchfoot song would be my first song of the month ... well, you were mostly right. It's no secret that Jon Foreman was my biggest inspiration to finally learn an instrument and start writing, but that was before he ever released any of his (now 8) solo EPs. But I was there the day the physical copies of the first two dropped, titled Fall and Winter. This song wouldn't come out until almost a year later, though, when Spring and Summer got their physical release.
This song was on Summer, and teenage me, who still struggled to reconcile my religion with my conscience, was struck by this song. It was the first song on all of the EPs that I hit repeat on before hearing the rest.
It's inspired by a scripture in Isaiah, and it's very brutal in its outcry against hypocrisy. (You'd think if more religious people actually read this thing they could find the drive to pull their head out of their ass on occasion.) This song has become even more relevant to me as I've gotten older and continued to watch the way religion can take good people and twist them into self-righteous, evil bigots.
Day 2: Changes by Tupac
I'll freely admit to my hatred of most modern hip-hop music, and I blame that entirely on Tupac (or 2pac, if you prefer) because who else could live up to this guy?
If you dig through his catalogue you'll find songs that cover some of the same subjects you see in hip-hop today, but with a very different painting of it. Rather than go into any great detail here, I'll let the all-time great speak for himself in the video. (Also, blogger is being stupid about letting me drop in the video from youtube, so I'm just dropping a link to it below.)
Tupac: Changes
Day 3: Secrets by Tears For Fears
Up until a few years ago, I never gave Tears For Fears a fair shake. That all changed when I picked up the album Elemental at 2nd and Charles one weekend, but that's not the album we're talking about here. This is from the album that followed 4 years later (1995), and would mark the last album to fall under the Tears For Fears moniker until 2004.
This is a beautiful song that shines a light on how keeping secrets can be self-destructive to us, and hurt the people we care about. The "empty" sound of the song matches the lyrics perfectly, with the lead guitar being the only instrument to really stand out, and even that has a heavy echo effect on it. All together a great song from a great band that's just barely a notch behind Switchfoot for me now.
And if you need something else to get you to listen to this one, how about this line:
"I used to think the time would come
When man would rise above the beast
I gave up thinking that way long ago
In conversation with a priest"
Day 4: Acrobat by U2
This is easily one of my top 5 favorite U2 songs, and one that almost no one I know has heard. Not surprising really, if you think about it. It was never a single, and if you stopped listening to U2 after Joshua Tree like most people (still an overrated album, as good as it is) then you missed a lot of great content.
I like this song in part because of how many different meanings can be pulled from it. For me, it's about the absolute terror of living an everyday life. It could also be something Bono wrote about dealing with being a celebrity. I won't delve any deeper because this is one of those songs I think everyone should hear and judge themselves.
It's dark, it's edgy and very unlike anything they had done up to that point. Easily my favorite song off of Achtung Baby, and like I said before, one of my favorite U2 songs in general.
Oh, and I'd love to hear from you guys on this one (or any other songs I mentioned here) on what meaning you pulled from this.
And that wraps things up for today. I look forward to jumping back in tomorrow, and I hope you guys join me.
Oh, and no, I have no idea what songs I'm picking from day to day. It's based entirely on my mood at the time, which I feel is the best way to do this. The only exception will be the last day, which will be my favorite song of all time. But, other than that, nothing is set in stone, so each day will be as much of a surprise to me as it is to you!
See ya next time!
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