6 Wistful Thinking Tracks

You know what’s the best?  When you’re either so set on someone, you can’t stop thinking about them and how right it all feels, or when you’re not really stuck on anyone in particular to the degree that you’re not even thinking of anyone from your past. Either way, there’s an amazing feeling of freedom that comes with knowing there’s a wonderful world of possibilities ahead for you.  And you know what the icing on the cake is?  That somehow, the majority of your friends are in great and happy relationships with guys that you actually LIKE and would be friends with even out of context from their relationship.  It kind of gives you hope for humanity.

Consider this your soundtrack:

1) Wings, Maybe I’m Amazed

I don’t know what it is about this song lately, but I heard it randomly when I was on a post-dinner drinks outing at Tom and Jerry.  It reminded me of when I saw McCartney live at CitiField last fall, and as cheesy as his aesthetic was, and much as an “oh this is laaaame” gut-reaction I had to it initially, the more you listen to it, the more you can’t help but like it.  And not only like it as much for the tear-jerkigly “aww” factor that it’s a song about McCartney thanking his wife for being fully engaged in their relationship and what a wonderful person she is (or WAS, because GREAT, she’s DEAD just to make it all the more sad)– but for the awesome early 70’s guitar solo.  There’s something about both slide guitar and twangy drawn-out guitar solos that just hits me *right here*.  I’m getting all verkelmpt.  Talk amongst yourselves.  Here, I’ll give you a topic: The Radical Reconstruction of the post-Civil War South was neither radical, nor a reconstruction.  Discuss.

2) Hem, Valentine’s Day (Bruce Springsteen cover)

Sally Ellyson’s voice somehow manages to entirely embody emotion without being overwrought.  It’s an interesting contrast, especially as this song is originally by Bruce Springsteen– where he’s taking great pains to hide his overwhelming emotion and failing, albeit in a way that I find particularly HOT, Ellyson, on the other hand, seems to feels at ease with that level of emotion written into the song without seeming at all cheesy about it.  Turn up this track and float away into emotional maturity, y’all.

3)  Yeasayer, I Remember

I just saw these guys in concert, and I have to say, the live version of this song was WAYY more gutwrenching than the one on the album.  Even though technically this song is about a breakup, I feel like it till works just because of the wist-filled focus on its chorus: “You’re stuck in myyyyy mind/aaaaaaall the time.”

4) Beach House, Take Care

Between amusing (only) ourselves with a million inside jokes and talking shit about dudes, listening to Beach House probably ranks #2 of the top 3 things that me & my roommate do.  Beach House might as well now be considered its own emotion.

5) The Beach Boys, Wouldn’t It Be Nice

I was hanging out with my good friend and her boyfriend I’d met for the first time who was visiting from out of town (they unfortunately live on opposite coasts).  As I stepped out of the room to make some coffee and reflected on how great it was that her boyfriend is such an awesome dude and how happy they must be to be spending time with each other, I could kind of hear them chatting/bantering in the background.  Though I couldn’t hear exactly what they were saying, I got this overwhelming sense of peace and contentment.  Sure enough, the song that immediately came to mind was “Wouldn’t It Be Nice”.  I know I’ve posted this before, but how AWESOME is this accapella version?

6) Bruce Springsteen, Atlantic City

As I mentioned before, there’s just something about the way in which Springsteen expresses himself that I find uncontrollably hot.  The delivery itself, the fact that he alludes to a mysterious set of circumstances about his past, the slice of working class life details (plus mob references!), and the haunting backup vocals all just really make me crazy in the best possible way.  So when he hits that line about “Put your makeup on/get your hair pretty/and meet me tonight in Atlantic City”, I’m like, halfway to the bus station.