I’m not really sure August had a “theme”…if it did, I couldn’t figure it out. Musically, the songs this month where all over the freaking place! They matched my scattered mind, thoughts, feelings, and emotions.
Maybe that is the theme…scattered.
Who knows really? I know, I don’t for sure.
“Saying Goodbye” by Sugarcult
I woke on August 1st singing this song. I kind of fell in love with Sugarcult again over the summer. I remember how much I connected with this song when I heard it the first time. These lyrics: “She’s saying goodbye and leaving tonight. She’s wasted all her lonely tear drops…She’s never, ever, ever looking back…” Those words resonated with my emotions at that time. Now, “she’s saying goodbye and leaving tonight…” well they resonate with the future goodbyes I will be saying…
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxgJwE5G43o]
“Come As You Are” by Civil Twilight (Nirvana Cover)
This is probably my favorite Nirvana song. I have always loved the lyrics to this song and Civil Twilight does a beautiful cover of it.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oINUq6eeWU0]
“Fuck You” by Burn Halo
When I heard that Burn Halo had finally set a release date (9/4) for WOLVES OF WAR, I immediately pre-ordered it. I just dig this band and yes, part of it is because of the vocals of James Hart. He was one of the reasons I dug Eighteen Visions (18V). My little rocker heart loves, loves, loves this song. Running to it is dangerous and driving to it is even more dangerous. There is someone in all of our lives where we just want to say: “…So fuck you, for bringing me down. What goes around comes around. Now I stand here waiting. And fuck you, for all the shit that you said…I will stand up and I will fight…so fuck you…”
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLc4R_xoUwM]
“Dead Living” by Sugarcult
iPhone on shuffle equals lyrical gifts from the Universe. Sugarcult makes their 2nd appearance on this month’s mix. I was sitting at a red light on my way to work when the lyrics hit me like a sledgehammer: “I can’t take it. It’s just a paycheck. Making arrangements to burn it to the ground. I can’t fake it, when nothing’s sacred…You can’t stop it. It just started. Dead living on the radio…I can’t take one more day…I can’t bend, this must end, counting back from 3, 2, 1…No one gets out alive…” Nothing like a song to wake you up from “dead living” and forcing you to realize that some things are what they are…like a paycheck and if you’re going to just earn a paycheck, might as well try it in Australia.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6q214wOVFvU]
“So Alive” by Dead or Alive
From “Dead Living” to “So Alive”…no connection other than dead to alive. This song was a favorite of my 14 year old self. Still is to my older self as well. No lyrical connection, just memories of younger years.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTeAEY1CbYI]
“Human” by The Cinematics
I remember the first time I heard this song and thinking, “damn.” These lyrics: “My darkest thoughts they stick like glue. Too many hours till the daytime comes and in the meantime I can watch, shadows dance on my bedroom wall…I can’t pick you up again. I’ve been breaking my back with the weight of your heart…Hope was your only dream…” There are some people in my life where I do just want to say these lyrics because there is only so much one can do for someone who won’t help themselves or move forward. This song was just a reminder that I can only do what I can do and that sometimes it’s okay to say no or just walk away.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_W-C_2yyjE]
“Current” by Stokeswood
Seriously, Stokeswood’s EP 2075 is so good. I’m so happy the band released this fun video for “Current” as it fits the song perfectly…and these lyrics: “They take what they take and they use what they use. It’s picked clean from the bone. It’s been easier now, for, I don’t know how long but I’ve been on my own…and It starts to feel like home. Let the current take me slow…I lost my train of thought from patience wearing thin. A never-ending battle between intelligence and irrelevance and it’s all I know… It starts to feel home…“ Every time I listen to this song it connects with me in different ways. Sometimes, it’s a reminder that I cannot rely on the help of others to make dreams come true. Sometimes, the lyrics “…and It starts to feel like home. Let the current take me slow…” is a feeling of how I feel about Australia being so close to being a reality. Either way, I’m still listening to this EP and song on a daily basis.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRwtj7-64Is]
“Champagne Taste” by Ivy Levan
Crazy mad love to, Ronnie, for introducing me to Ivy Levan. Bitch. Can. Sang. (Yes, I know it’s sing). This is one of my favorite songs off her album NO GOOD. “I’ll admit I can get a little mean and again, I’m sorry, not sorry…Champagne taste on a Bud Light budget…”
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ci_4oQIZX1w]
“When the River Bends” by Donavon Frankenreiter
From his album THE HEART, this is perfect advice for life: “Gotta get lost, before get found…gotta get bruised, gotta get rolled. Gotta jump back in the ring, when you’re knocked out cold. Funny thing this life, don’t fight it, everyone’s gotta jump in, before they learn how to swim. Don’t try and hold back the tide. Gotta give up to the river when the river bends…”
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YlUlZmHheQ]
“Lady Elliot” by LANKS
No lyrics, just musical greatness. I have been searching for a name for a character I am currently writing and this song gifted me her name and inspired me even more to tell her story. It is the soundtrack to her soul.
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