This week’s Friday Jam Session, is brought you on a Saturday morning.
..because someone’s Friday ended with an epic five hour nap.
Yeah, I like to live life on the edge.
Anyways, this week’s music is best enjoyed on a quiet, sun-shining morning with a cup of coffee, so as least I’m doing something right. By far my favorite playlist on my iTunes is one that I affectionately refer to as “#SoulMusic.”
I’m a writer and a lover of words, so as a music junkie, I love a set of lyrics that has the power of moving people. Today I’m sharing #SoulMusic that all has a similar sound, but that doesn’t mean that those are the boundaries. On my #SoulMusic playlist I have songs that are happy, sad, inspiring, fast, slow and some that don’t have words. They cover every topic that one can sing about and come from every genre. The one thing that they have in common is that they are songs that move me. My fellow music junkie roommate describe these as “lay-your-head-on-your-computer-speaker-and-be-absorbed-into-the-music” kind of songs.
Yeah, she has an unique way with words.
Stubborn Love by The Lumineers
The Lumineers are one of my newest discoveries and really, their entire album could be considered #SoulMusic. The lead singer has that raw type of voice that convinces you that it only speaks the truth. I particularly love this song not just for its lyrics but because of how the music progresses through the story that it is telling. Plus, the little girl in the video is adorable.
Drops of Jupiter by Train
Either you are laughing at me or raising your eyebrows right now, but either way, most of you can’t help but sing along. And that’s why this song makes the list, because it doesn’t actually make sense. “She acts like summer and walks like rain.” What does that even mean??? All I do know is that this song makes me smile…and that the 90’s were weird. Pat Monahan, you are creepy and your shirt clashes with the rugs that you are standing on, but hey, thanks for this song.
Runaway by Mat Kearney
Mat Kearney has a special place in my iTunes partially because he is a fellow Oregonian, and while I actually have no idea where he gets his inspiration for his music, I like to tell myself that it comes from the same things that I love about our home state. For some reason this one reminds me of my mountains and is one of my all-time favorites to play on long drives.
This is The Thing by Fink
I discovered this song on the “Dear John” movie soundtrack (which is a gem in itself.) It’s the only song that I have ever heard from this artist but it is one that I always put on repeat for two main reasons. First it is one that you could drop the vocals and I would love it just as much. I am a sucker for that guitar. Second, it sounds so personal and a little sad. It’s sort of, as if we are getting an inside peek into someone’s inter-monologue.
Daylight by Maroon 5
This is a little bit different for Maroon 5 and I think it’s beautiful. It’s both happy and sad, and the kind of song that you can determine it’s meaning for yourself. They took two different approaches for the music video. I’m featuring the one I like better and you can find the other one by clicking here. Neither of the videos feature the song in it’s original form, so I definitely recommend looking that up as well.
A few other artists that sound like this that I can always count on for some good #SoulMusic are Phillip Phillips, Lifehouse, Bon Iver, Snow Patrol, Augustana, OneRepublic, NEEDTOBREATHE, Goo Goo Dolls, Imagine Dragons, Mumford & Sons and The Fray. In a few weeks I’ll feature a Vol. 2 post and share some #SoulMusic with a different sound.
Enjoy!
The Good Stuff 