Soul Food

I don't pretend to know things about music. Despite a short stint in high school choir, and an even shorter time as a middle school band geek, I really couldn't tell you anything about notes, scales, octaves, or reading music. However, I am a consumer of music, so I feel that that deems me worthy to comment on it. For Christmas, one of my dear friends gave me an iPod to replace a sad and broken Mp3 player, so I have spent the last few weeks uploading CDs and playlists and editing iTunes to construct an awesome iPod that has permanently been attached to my person ever since. In that process, I was able to to rediscover some old favorites that I have long ago dubbed "soul songs".

Let me explain. Soul songs are those rare songs that you usually come across on accident that speak directly to your soul and are generally kept on repeat for months until another soul song is discovered. These songs contain the exactly perfect blend of melody, voice, and lyrics that appeal to an individual taste. Of course soul songs depend on the person who they speak to, so they vary from person to person, but you know what I'm talking about.

These songs are not ground-breaking or hidden gems, but amazing nonetheless:

1. "Colorblind" by Counting Crows- a beautiful mixture of melody and a voice that shouldn't go with it but does

2. "Paperweight" by Joshua Radin and Schuyler Fisk- one of the most sensual and sexy songs I've ever heard even though it's hard to wrap my head around the fact that Schuyler Fisk once played the sassy spitfire, Kristi in the 1995 classic, The Babysitters Club movie (For reals!) Also, I'm sort of angry that this song became the theme song for the Nicholas Sparks movie, Dear John. Sellout.

3. "Down" by Jason Walker- this song is apparently on the Vampire Diaries soundtrack which I have never seen because, let's face it, my embarrassment level regarding vampires pretty much maxed out during the third Twilight movie

4. "Somebody to Love" redone by the cast of Glee- okay, so I know the original Queen version was awesome, but there's something about all the contemporary voices blending together that makes this version magical

5. "Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac-old school but amazing lyrics and melody- also brilliantly redone by the SoCals on last season's The Sing-off which I cannot find ANYWHERE!

6. "Homecoming" by Scenic Sideshow- this song will forever be my favorite bedtime song....probably

7. "You Make It Real" by James Morrison- I'm a sucker for men (and women, for that matter) who simply sing and play their instruments and this is a winner for me. Also, I'm pretty sure this song was on an Overstock.com commercial, which is weird, but does not make me love it less.

8. "Cannonball" by Damien Rice- This man's voice is haunting to me and I would like to know who his songwriter is, because WOW

9. "Congratulations" by Blue October and Imogen Heap- Now, I am not usually a fan of Blue October...it's a little "harder" than I generally like my music, but the delicacy of this song both in meaning and in collaboration of voices with Imogen Heap makes this my current soul song of which I cannot get enough.

10. "Faithfully" by Journey and redone by the cast of Glee- Okay, so if you know me at all, you know I have an insatiable love for Journey and Glee, so it's no wonder that this would be one of my soul songs. I loved "Faithfully" long before Glee was a glimmer in Fox's pocketbook, but then you remake it to feature Cory Monteith and Lea Michele and I go weak in the knees.

11. "Playing Favorites" by The Starting Line- This song and I first bonded my freshman year of college when I was learning that music existed outside of the standard Top 40. Many of those songs were forgotten, but this one stuck.

12. "Even Angels Fall" by Jessica Riddle- Every time I listen to this song, I start to miss Heath Ledger. This song is my favorite off of the 10 Things I Hate About You soundtrack.

13. "You'll be in my Heart" by Phil Collins- My favorite Disney song by an exceptionally under appreciated artist.

14. "When You Say Nothing At All" by Ronan Keating- For awhile, this was my go-to "favorite" song because I've liked it since I was about 10. May not be my favorite anymore, but still tugs at the heart strings, especially when Ronan Keating sings it.

15. "On Your Porch" by The Format- I have listened to this song about a million times and I still kind of want to cry when I hear it.

This list of soul songs has been about ten years in the making, and I'm sure I could come up with more, but I'll cut myself off. Obviously this is not a standard review, because it's implied that I would rank them all highly. Nevertheless, I hope some of you share my passion for soul songs, and I'd love to know some of yours. Now go boot up your iTunes and download these masterpieces.