Something in the Air: Best Seduction Songs

I am a huge fan of songs that make you feel something. A couple years ago I created a top 25 list of the sexiest songs out of frustration from looking on the internet and finding nothing. In the years that have passed, I've been lucky enough to amass an additional 20 songs on to the list of perfect songs to seduce your lover (or lovers) to. I can't say that it always works but add a glass of wine and a starry eyed glare in the right direction and you might have yourself a fantastic evening, courtesy of these touching tunes.

00The National - Lemonworld*
01 The Rolling Stones - Beast of Burden
02 Hall & Oates - One on One
03 Chicago - No Tell Lover
04 Sade - Sweetest Taboo
05 Michael Jackson - You Rock My World
06 Joseph Arthur - September Baby
07 Bill Withers - Ain't No Sunshine
08 Bon Iver - Skinny Love
09 Corinne Bailey Rae - Closer
10 Dwele - Weekend Love
11 Elvis Presley - One Night
12 Norah Jones - Sunrise
13 Paolo Nutini - Last Request
14 Mary Wells - You Beat Me to the Punch
15 Todd Rundgren - Hello, It's Me
16 Jose Gonzalez - Heartbeats
17 Maroon 5 - Woman
18 Badly Drawn Boy - Silent Sigh
19 Sheryl Crow - My Favorite Mistake
20 The Shins - Sea Legs

*Lemonworld basically inspired this list. It is an otherworldy song.

Women Rock (Or I'm Not Very Creative With Blog Titles)

I was just on my new favorite site, http://8tracks.com/, and randomly decided to create a mix entitled "Women Rock". Yes, not that creative but it is full of songs that do not die: "I Love Rock 'n Roll" - Joan Jett, "Something to Talk About" - Bonnie Raitt, "I'm the Only One" - Melissa Etheridge, and the INCREDIBLE "My Favorite Mistake" by Sheryl Crow.

Actually, I'm not a big fan of female singers. That sounds bad but it is certainly not a conscious choice. It just so happens that my absolute favorite musicians always seem to be male. There is not a single female that makes it to my top 10 (well, Fleetwood Mac..).

Yet when I was going through a serious break up way back when, I immediately turned to Melissa Etheridge and Sheryl Crow religiously. Once again this was not a conscious choice but for some reason I gravitated towards their powerful voices and strong lyrics. This was about the time (early 2007) that I really started to learn about their music inside and out. I would go on a stationary bike and scream the words to "I'm the Only One" like the person I was directing it towards was right in front of me. It helped me blow off a lot of steam and I'm eternally grateful for this amazing music.

It wasn't until recently (as documented in another post) that I re-discovered Bonnie Raitt, another incredible female voice, and fell in love with women rockers all over again. Tonight I found myself listening to Heart, Stevie Nicks, and Patti Smith all in a row and enjoying it more than I could've imagined. These are voices I've heard all my life - with mixed feelings - and they've become part of my personal landscape. They're probably some of the only strong female influences I've ever known.

My cousin, who is an intense music lover in her own right, is a huge fan of female vocalists (although she'll deny that she has a particular preference) but they usually fall more on the pop side of the spectrum. If you're in her car for longer than ten minutes you're sure to hear Natasha Bedingfield, Katy Perry, or Shakira. She seems to rarely buy full albums these days but these are three of the most recent purchases.

Although this strays very far from my taste, I don't think there's anything wrong with this of course. I just find it interesting that if you compare our personalities, she is actually very into having female friends. She is always telling me about a debacle with one of the women she works with or a friend that broke plans, etc. She is very into being around females. I am not. I have some of the most beautiful, intelligent, special girl friends - but very few. I can't stress how unconscious this is (I would love to have more female friends) but nevertheless I have never been a girl's girl. I'm very feminine and fashion obsessed but I'm usually not compatible with many females. They confuse me. Is that wrong to say? Probably but I don't mean it like that. I'm equally confusing and so is every guy out there. My female cat is a much less complicated person than anybody I've ever met. She also has great taste in music.

Point being, I wonder if there's a correlation between my cousin loving to be around girl friends and also loving female voices and me having few female friends and not particularly listening to female artists. I'm probably looking way too much into it but I find it an intriguing coincidence (and the fact that I usually like deeper, raspy voiced female singers).

Maybe I'm just high.

So, in celebration of you reading this post, here's a great list of some of my favorite songs by some incredibly inspiring and immensely talented females of all sounds and styles.

Stevie Nicks - Stand Back
Melissa Etheridge - I'm the Only One
Bonnie Raitt - Not the Only One
Sheryl Crow - My Favorite Mistake
Cher - Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves
Heart - Alone
Mary J. Blige - No One Will Do
Adele - Cold Shoulder
Etta James - I'd Rather Go Blind
Audra McDonald - Any Place I Hang My Hat is Home
Jewel - You Were Meant For Me
Mandy Moore - I Could Break Your Heart Any Day of the Week
Amy Winehouse - Valarie
Beyonce - Me, Myself, and I
Billie Holiday - Speak Low
Sharon Jones - Got a Thing on My Mind
Queen Latifah - Hello Stranger
Regina Spektor - Eet
Nina Gordon - Horses in the City
Rihanna - Rude Boy
Mary Wells - You Beat Me to the Punch
Alice Russell - Hurry on Now
Carrie Underwood - Last Name
Chrisette Michele - Best of Me
Corinne Bailey Rae - I'd Like To

Check out my playlists at http://8tracks.com/angelicadiamond

I'd Like to Take You on a Trip: All the Way Back to the Year 1997

Is anyone aware of how many good songs there were in 1997? Although I've been around music since the day I was born, the first year I clearly recall becoming obsessed with specific modern songs was 1997 and it was definitely the coolest year to wake up to these crazy sounds. I have an ecclectic taste in music and I'm almost certain it must've come from being an impressionable 11 year old in 1997. Every song I remember loving as a child was a hit in this wonderful, ridiculous year... take a look.

Barely Breathing - Duncan Sheik (number one for a reason!)
You Make Me Wanna - Usher
Lovefool - The Cardigans
One Headlight - The Wallflowers
The Freshman - The Verve Pipe
How Bizarre - OMC
If You Could Only See - Tonic
Crash Into Me - Dave Matthews Band (I remember feeling embarassed when this song was on)
The Impression That I Get - The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly) - Missy Elliott
All By Myself - Celine Dion (even then I was a sappy loser)
Mo Money Mo Problems - Notorious B.I.G.
All For You - Sister Hazel
Barbie Girl - Aqua
Fly - Sugar Ray
Tubthumping - Chumbawamba
Walking on the Sun - Smash Mouth
Semi-Charmed Life - Third Eye Blind
Everyday is a Winding Road - Sheryl Crow
Song 2 - Blur
Un-Break My Heart - Toni Braxton
Don't Let Go - En Vogue
Bittersweet Symphony - The Verve
Where Have All the Cowboys Gone? - Paula Cole

and of course..

You Were Meant for Me - Jewel

A song I still love or possibly love more than ever. It's my theme song.


So bottom line is: How lucky am I to have been brought up in a time when these songs were on the radio? I don't even want to start naming songs that 11 year olds hear nowadays on Z100 and the like. These are classic songs that sound as good today as they did in '97. What an excellent year for music. I never realized..