Mood Music

Song Lyric of the Day:

I’m glad you got out / But I miss you / I’ve had a hole in my heart / For so long / I’ve learned to fake it and /Just smile along

Iggy Pop & Kate Pierson / “Candy”

7:56PM.
As my nine or so loyal readers know, I am very, very into song lyrics (see above). And not just so I can have a different Song Lyric of the Day every day, either.

Whenever I listen to music, I always pay attention to the songs’ lyrics. Why? Obvious love of words aside, because a well-written song, with clever lyrics, imaginative rhymes, and unique words (televangahypnotism) can transport me in the same way a book can. Like authors and poets, songwriters (the majority, anyway) tell stories complete with characters, plots, and themes. They tackle issues to increase social awareness. They find the words to express our innermost feelings. They detail obsessions and fetishes. And sometimes they just make us laugh.

That said, here’s what some songs mean to me or make me think and feel. I’ve linked to the lyrics so you can interpret at will.

• When you want that special someone to get the f#ck out of your life: “Don’t Stay” by Linkin Park
• When you’re in love with your vehicle: “Toyota Van” by Scarlet Thread
• When you need motivation to walk all over the man in your life: “In These Shoes?” by Kirsty MacColl
• When you need a recap but don’t have time to watch Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace: “The Saga Begins” by “Weird Al” Yankovic
• When you really, really want to be forgiven: “Everlasting Love” by Carl Carlton
• When you truly regret the end of a relationship: “Last Goodbye” by Jeff Buckley
• When you want someone to understand just how much you love them: “Maps” by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
• When you feel like a pity party: “Cry” by James Blunt
• When you want to understand why some of us love Radiohead: “Karma Police“
• When you want to be really obvious: “Talk Dirty to Me” by Poison
• When you need motivation to work out: “Macho Man” by The Village People
• When you need to know you can make it through: “Move Along” by The All-American Rejects
  
• When you want someone to go weak in the knees: “With or Without You” by U2
• When you want a better job: “Minimum Wage” by They Might Be Giants
• When you know you screwed her up for life: “Sour Girl” by Stone Temple Pilots
• When you want to get it on: “Temperature” by Sean Paul
• When you feel all alone in the world (males): “Outside” by Staind
• When you feel all alone in the world (females): “Last Girl on Earth” by Supreme Beings of Leisure
• When you want to believe your relationship is stronger than it is: “Dream About Me” by Moby
• When you want to beat the living hell out of someone: “Blue Monday” by Orgy
• When you want to hear cool techno: “Faster Kill Pussycat” by Paul Oakenfold
  
• When you feel like you can take on the world: “Army of Me” by Bjork
• When you want to drive the neighbors crazy: “My Humps” by Black Eyed Peas
• When you need a reminder to go to church: “Hell” by Squirrel Nut Zippers
• When you suspect he’s not the most stable person: “Trigger Happy Jack (Drive by a Go-Go)” by Poe
  
• When you’re tired of hanging out with someone: “Not That Social” by Von Bondies
• When you want to express your love through rockabilly: “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” by Queen
• When you want to pay tribute to cross-dressing: “King for a Day” by Green Day
• When you want to celebrate being a pessimist: “Only Happy When it Rains” by Garbage
• When you want embrace your inherent wickedness: “Evil and a Heathen” by Franz Ferdinand
  

I could come up with dozens more, but I’ll wait to see what, if any feedback, I get on this post. What do certain songs mean to you?