Still Makes Me Feel Good After So Long

Listening to music while I am doing my on-line writing tutoring, I am moved to give a shout out to the Wicker Park Soundtrack, still changing my life and making me feel relaxed since 2004. Part of the wonder of it all is how many artists released exclusive tracks for this album: Lifehouse, The Shins, The Postal Service, Napolitano & Lohner. Rarely is a soundtrack so forward-thinking that it's still kicking strong at 3 years of age. (This is a different kind of long-lasting that the Romeo & Juliet soundtrack has, for example. But that is a conversation of another day.)

My feelings for the soundtrack have nothing to do with the way Wicker Park the film gets under my skin. It wasn't bad; it wasn't good. The music is awesome (obviously, IMO). The narrative is interesting and what some "trying to be edgy high school juniors" might call "experimental, but it's been my experience that if you're going to go that route, you have your story together or give up. The first time I watched it, I was in California and making fun of it under my breath with my college roommate, not necessarily out of pain but out of a fondness that I usually feel for a movie that's trying to do something hard without alienating its audience, only to succeed in completely alienating its audience.

But that's not the reason I posted. This is:

1. Maybe Tomorrow - Stereophonics

2. Everybody Is Someone - Lifehouse (exclusive)
*Yes, even Lifehouse is capable of writing a song that doesn't sound like everything else they've ever written.*

3. A Movie Script Ending - Death Cab for Cutie (acoustic version)
*The video is not the acoustic version, but it's the best I could do under the circumstances.*

4. How to Be Dead - Snow Patrol

5. Lover's Spit - Broken Social Scene

*This is one of my favorite songs ever.*

6. Retour A Vega - The Stills

7. Flowers in December - Mazzy Star
*As stated in a previous post, HARMONICA = LOVE.
Also, it reminds me a bit of a vocalist that would appear at The Bronze singing to a song instrumentalized by someone from the Firefly time period.*

8. When the Day is Gone - The Legends
*The simple opening note phrase do-re-mi, do-ti-do completely works. It's haunting in the mouth of whatever the heck instrument/synthesized instrument they're using. And even that title = longing.*

9. When I Goosestep - The Shins (rare non album track)

10. Light Switch - Jaime Wyatt

11. These Days - Mates of State

12. All I Do - +/-

13. We All Have a Map of the Piano - Mum

14. Against All Odds - Postal Service (rare non album track)

15. Strange and Beautiful - Aqualung

*This song is
a) strange and beautiful and
b) puts a spell on me.*

16. I Know You Are But What Am I? - Mogwai
*The heavy, pensive nature of the beginning that lasts most of the song--it just kills me. A sense of forboding but then the high melody comes in on a xylophone-like instrument and there's a moment of light. These words I give it really aren't worth the song itself. Good thing the youtube video has R&J on it--something possibly worthy of such an tense sound.*

17. The Scientist - Johnette Napolitano & Danny Lohner (exclusive)
*We all know this song. Now for it a bit more melancholy.*













God bless Youtube.