Another week, another brave Indiependent contributor steps up the iPod docking station, prepared to lay bare their musical soul for the world to scrutinise… take it away, Kaitlyn!
Round Here // Counting Crows
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAe3sCIakXo&w=740&h=422]
When I think about my childhood, this song immediately comes to mind. I used to dance to this song in my living room with my brothers when my dad came home from work. We all used to scream ’round here we stay up very, very, very, very late’ at the top of our lungs. Even though the lyrics didn’t touch me then, they mean something to me now. Moving to Nashville, away from my friends and family, was one of the biggest and best decisions I’ve ever made, even if I didn’t know it at the time. This song helped me to connect the dots in my mind and sort through the conflicting feelings I had at that point in my life.
Rivers and Roads // The Head and the Heart
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2J-0EtsCpo&w=740&h=422]
Although I’ve only heard this song a few months ago via one of my very dear friends, it still holds a special place in my heart. These lyrics are so special to me because they relate to my current situation with close family friends of mine (as you can probably tell by now, I’m a lyrics person). Although these friends of mine all live in different states, like the song suggests, we always send each other text messages with the words “rivers and roads,” just to remind each other that we will always come back to each other. Somewhere in the depths of the internet is a video of my friends and I singing this song near a fire on a North Carolina beach with fireworks going off in the background, guitar, tambourine, and all. After all, songs that you can connect to specific memories are often times the most important.
Home // Gabrielle Aplin
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPNgq4ZRxKg&w=740&h=422]
Continuing on with the theme of friends who are more like family, I chose the song “Home” by Gabrielle Aplin. Not to toot my own hipster horn, but I have known who Gabrielle Aplin was long before her John Lewis Christmas advert. The morning that her first EP came out on iTunes, I was probably the first American to buy it. All of that being said, I have always loved everything about Gabrielle, and this song is no exception. I have always connected the lyrics to my need to create a little family unit where ever I end up, which is exactly what the chorus depicts. Everyone knows that you can’t choose the family you are born into, but you are able to choose the people that you surround yourself with. I go on vacation to North Carolina every summer with a group of 20 people, which is always just the pick me up that I need. Every year, I make videos of our time together, and in 2013, I chose this song, which made my sweet friend Jackie cry upon hearing it.
Night Drives // Deaf Havana
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsNQTabVbCo&w=740&h=422]
This song was definitely my favourite song of 2013. Although I seem to have hit a dry spell in my poetry writing, this song is the reason that I started writing in the first place, and once I started, I couldn’t stop for a year. When the songwriter, Catrina Davis, complimented my poetry (which had only been on tumblr at that point), that’s when I started sharing my poems with the outside world. I can definitely say that this song has changed me for the better. In addition to the lyrics inspiring me, the instrumentals are one of a kind, proving that teamwork sometimes works out splendidly. With a song title like ‘Night Drives,’ the instrumentals have to match a night drive, just like ‘Ocean Avenue’ by Yellowcard should have a beachy vibe (which it does). Deaf Havana certainly accomplished that with this track, which adds to the overall charm. I’ve spent many nights alone blasting this song while I’m driving down old country roads, trying to clear my head. Songs that do exactly what they are supposed to are of great comfort to me.
First Defeat // Noah Gundersen
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FvG0h2Sbsc&w=740&h=422]
This song. This song is nothing short of incredible and beautiful. The guitar at the beginning just pulls at my heartstrings, and that’s a pretty rare thing for me (another song that does this is ‘Round Here,’ which I have mentioned above). I truly believe that this song is the first song that ever made me feel something, and I was 19 at the time. I have put this song on every mixed CD I’ve ever made since then, and it has gotten me through some tough times. I’ve heard it live twice, I’ve heard live lounge versions, and every time I listen to it, it’s perfection. I breathe in and exhale out every note and every word, and that’s truly a beautiful thing.
Which songs would define your life? Tell us@indie_pendent_