Eureka! I've Found a New Song I Like!

Things were pretty quiet (a word one never ever says out loud in a dispatch center if one wants to keep it that way) at work this past Saturday morning and after watching the same news and weather repeat over and over about six times I decided to flip through the channels on TV to see if there might be something a little more interesting for Kevin and I to watch. There wasn't but VH-1 was actually showing videos for a change on their Top 20 Countdown show so I decided to stay put on that channel for a bit and see what might be new in the world of music outside of My Chemical Romance, Mindless Self Indulgence, Panic At the Disco, and the other bands that Amanda listens to constantly. Not that there's anything wrong with any of those bands, I've come to like them all but still ... a little diversification is a good thing, right?

One of the videos that came on really caught my attention not only for the song itself but also because I thought the singer was very pretty in a sweet sort of way, she looked like someone you could sit down and talk to and she wouldn't be full of herself but just really nice. I'd never heard of her before but I get the feeling I'll be hearing about her in the future.

Her name is Sara Bareilles and she's from the town of Eureka, California. And yes, for those of you who are reading that and thinking "You're kidding me, right? There really is a Eureka, California?" - the answer is yes, it's a small coastal city with a population of less than 30,000 in the northern part of the state in Humboldt County, land of the giant redwoods. I was there once many, many years ago and it was a very pretty place!

Anyhow, geography aside, Sara is a singer-songwriter and pianist, who was born and raised in that cute little coastal California city where she graduated from high school in 1998. She sang in community choirs and in her high school plays and was voted "Most Talented" by her class her senior year. From there she attended UCLA and performed in the college's A Capella group, Awaken, before graduating in 2002 and playing small gigs in small clubs. Her big break came in 2005 when she signed on with Epic Records and began work on her first major-label album. While writing songs for her new album, Sara would open for bands such as Aqualung and Mika. She also co-headlined a tour with Jon McLaughlin before opening for Maroon 5 on their 2007 U.S. tour.

The song that was on the video I saw Saturday morning - Love Song - was released as the "free single of the week" on iTunes in June of 2007. The following month her album Little Voices was released and it shot to #1 on the list of most downloaded albums at iTunes while debuting at #45 on the Billboard 200 chart. Since then the Love Song has entered the Billboard Hot 100 and was obviously in theVH-1 Top 20 Countdown.

I don't exactly "get" the video but there are so many of them that I don't get that I've basically given up worrying about the interpretation anymore and just enjoy the music for what it sounds like. Luckily a quick search of YouTube produced the video so I'm able to post it for you here. I always figure it's best to let you hear what I'm writing about when I start talking music so that you can then give an objective opinion of your own before you start shaking your head thinking "she listens to that?" or "yeah, good choice!" So, take a listen and tell me what you think. Oh, and I'm going to post the lyrics below for those who, like me, aren't sure what some of the words are!

Love Song by Sara Bareilles

Head under water
And they tell me to breathe easy for a while
The breathing gets harder, even I know that
You made room for me but it's too soon to see
If I'm happy in your hands

I'm unusually hard to hold on to
Blank stares at blank pages
No easy way to say this
You mean well, but you make this hard on me
I'm not gonna write you a love song
'cause you asked for it
'cause you need one, you see

I'm not gonna write you a love song
'cause you tell me it's
Make or breaking this
If you're on your way
I'm not gonna write you to stay
If all you have is leaving I'm gonna need a better
Reason to write you a love song today

I learned the hard way
That they all say things you want to hear
And my heavy heart sinks deep down under you and
Your twisted words,
Your help just hurts
You are not what I thought you were
Hello to high and dry
Convinced me to please you
Made me think that I need this too
I'm trying to let you hear me as I am

I'm not gonna write you a love song
'cause you asked for it
'cause you need one, you see
I'm not gonna write you a love song
'cause you tell me it's
Make or breaking this
If you're on your way
I'm not gonna write you to stay
If all you have is leaving I'm gonna need a better
Reason to write you a love song today

Promise me that you'll leave the light on
To help me see with daylight, my guide, gone
'cause I believe there's a way you can love me
Because I say
I won't write you a love song
'cause you asked for it
'cause you need one, you see

I'm not gonna write you a love song
'cause you tell me it's make or breaking this
Is that why you wanted a love song
'cause you asked for it
'cause you need one, you see
I'm not gonna write you a love song
'cause you tell me it's make or breaking this
If you're on your way
I'm not gonna write you to stay
If your heart is nowhere in it
I don't want it for a minute
Babe, I'll walk the seven seas when I believe that
There's a reason to
Write you a love song today