Savvy Six – The Six on Random

Thanks to the insightful, witty, and funny JDub, I’ve totally stolen her idea of the Savvy Six and I’m applying it to my iTunes library. The deal is to play it on shuffle and talk about the first six songs to come on and the meaning of the song or the effect that the song has had on you/me. And so I shall begin:

  • Dusty Springfield – Son of a Preacher Man

I’ve been in love with this woman since I was about 10 years old when I first heard this song. Her sultry voice, the boots, the riff, the smoothness of the music, the brass in the background… My god, is this a magical song. Fast forward to 1998/1999 and I’m in Ohio at the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame with my high school and she was indicted that year.

  • Counting Crows – Mrs. Potter’s Lullabye

Now, I actually love that this song is nearly 8 minutes long because Adam Duritz is able to say everything he needs to say in that amount of time. Truth be told, I love this entire album, but this song always strikes me as being so…honest and personal. It’s the confusion about fame or popularity, about being anywhere between 18 to 30 and wondering what the hell is going on and how much, if any, control one has over one’s life. One is trying to understand the past while making sense of the present and also planning for the future, when the truth of the matter is that we all have so little control over any of it.

I am an idiot, walking a tightrope of fortune and fame.
I am an acrobat, swinging trapezes through circles of flame.
If you’ve never stared off into the distance, then your life is a shame.
I know I’ll never forget your face, sometimes I can’t remember my name.

And the chorus is such an earnest and young-love plea to the eponymous woman of the music, whoever she is — and the truth is that she’s every woman a man has ever known. She’s the ideal woman that we long and pine over while dealing with reality; she is the eternal “Maria,” the woman we lost and let go of because we were too young and brash; she is woman we dream of. And in those 8 minutes, Duritz captures my college years of Robyns and Sierras, the years of that “swirling dust sparkle jet stream,” and it kinda rocks.

  • Samuel R. Wright – Kiss the Girl (Little Mermaid Soundtrack)

Um. I’d like to say “no comment,” but I’ll just say that this song actually is pretty incredible. The calypso influence — I propose — along with Paul Simon’s 1986 album, Graceland, set the stage for a renewed interest in African and Caribbean-influenced music in the 1990s and even today (Vampire Weekend, anyone?). So, this movie came out in 1989 when I was all of 7/8ish years old (ed. holy crap, was I really that young?) and, to be honest, whenever I’m on a first (or second) date and I’m thinking about whether or not to kiss the girl, this song plays in my head. (No lie.) How do I determine if I really like the girl? Depends on whether (1) this song is playing in my head at all and (2) how loudly it plays.

Wow. haven’t heard this song in forever. Ok, so this is another college song. Junior year specifically. I was dating, wait for it…Mary! Except that it was one of those situations where we were much better friends than we were a couple. However, really pretty song and probably really sweet if you’re in love with a girl named Mary.

  • The National – Wasp Nest

I first encountered The National while I was living in China and visiting Beijing. I guess a bit of context first: Beijing is big city with lots of traffic and it’s kinda hard to get around. I was in Beijing for a week prepping for the LSAT that was being held over at BeiDa and, coming from Nanjing, it was a bit of a shock to the system. It was a 20-30 minute taxi ride,sans traffic, to get from the hotel to the hotel and typically I would spend my time talking with the cabbie about whatever they talked about.

Side story: One cabbie tried to tell me the story of the sartorial history in Beijing during the 1800s and why men’s buttons are on one side of jackets and women’s buttons are on the other. (ed. does anyone know if this is even true or what the story behind that is?)

After visiting BeiDa and doing a practice exam, I was feeling particularly depressed and it was dark and cold (December). I took a cab back to my empty hotel room and managed to totally get caught in traffic. So, to sum up, I was depressed, it was dark, there was traffic, and I just wanted to go sleep. Awesome. I had my ipod on watched the sunset off in the distance as we crawled through traffic…and this song was playing. I found — and still do — the solitude of this song pretty magical and appropriate.

  • Willy Mason – We Can Be Strong

I first heard of the incredible Willy Mason when he opened for…..(Alicson? Help me out here?) someone who I can’t remember. Sondre Lerche? In any case, out walks this 21 year-old kid from Massachusetts and I very much remember being prepared for a boring opening band. I was really mistaken when he started singing. His voice is just…impressive. He has a voice of a 40 year-old that’s reminiscent of Johnny Cash and some of the great country singers. And this kid’s only 21! Also, according to his website, if he is touring in the area and you give him advance notice, he’ll stop by your house and have a concert as a house party. I love it. Also, I remember thinking that the girl who sings is really cute.

Evidence of the aforementioned house party (the song is “Save Myself.” Another one of his great songs).