Music is my life

How often do you use your iPod (or phone or whatnot)? What is your perfect playlist for ____ (fill in the blank - it could be your perfect playlist for a sunny day, for a road trip, for thanksgiving, etc.) Choose 5 songs, note the song and artist andwhy you chose this song.

Tonight I was teaching 3rd-5th graders tap, and I forgot to bring music which was terribly unfortunate because the kids in the class then had to tap to the sound of my voice. Music is essential to dance, and technology makes it easier than ever to download the latest songs and use them in class. I would be completely lost without my iTunes library because half of my music is on my phone (mainly songs for teaching ranging from Disney to racy rap) and the other half is on my iPod (my Beyoncé warm-up playlist, solo songs, and basically anything else). Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, and Celine Dion get me pumped backstage before I go on stage to perform. I don't have an all time perfect playlist because I can't keep a favorite song for more than a day, but I do have a running list of songs I would love to dance to. Many of the songs on this playlist are sad and more than likely love songs of some sort simply because they are better for dances.

First on my list is Skinny Love by Birdy. I can’t even begin to describe how gorgeous this song is. The song is, in my opinion, talking about a relationship that wasn’t in the best of places and it is kind of saying come on just get through, it will get better. The song is just so pretty and the piano in the background is one of my favorite parts of the song along with the pauses and then the big explosive, “Come on skinny love!”

Second on my list is I won’t give up by Jason Mraz. This song is the perfect duet because it is a gorgeous love song. This song has a light easy going feeling to it but still gets across the intended message. At one point the song really starts to pick up but it is more subtle than one would think. There is an ensemble in the back that adds in for emphasis and then it goes back to just Jason Mraz singing for the very end.

Poison and Wine by the Civil Wars falls next on my list. If you have not heard the Civil Wars go check them out because they are amazing! This song is perfection. I don’t know how else to put it because it is so pretty to listen to and it starts out soft but powerful. This song isn’t one for the background. It commands attention, which I love. It has the typical boy sings, girl sings, now sing together, but it works because it is almost like the movies where the boy and girl both think the other doesn’t love them anymore and how he or she is coping with it. Super cheesy but its awesome.

Forth on the list is 3,000 miles by Tracy Chapman. Before you go and listen to this, if you do, this song is on the depressing side but that is what makes this song. The entire premise is someone is 3,000 miles away from someone else and there is nothing either person can do. I can’t listen to a song without a little dancer or many little dancers popping into my mind and start dancing and it is not something I can really control. The entire dance would be one giant add on and it works because the song builds and then it goes back to the same pace and tempo as the very beginning, which is when the original add on leader is left on the stage alone. The musicality of the song itself is beautiful, the lyrics don’t really vary that much but it works for the song because when two people are apart that’s all they can think about.

Finishing out my top five, is Wild Ones featuring Sia by Flo Rida. The other four songs are more on the soft and easy listening side, but defiantly not this song. I love my fiery, explosive, energetic songs. In my mind this song is more of an opening number to get the audience into the show, but the original speed of the song isn’t fast enough. I speed the song up 7.15% because it is well faster but it just gives the song an overall more intense fierceness (that’s my favorite word). To also fully get into this song, you have to play it loudly.

Simply because music is a major part of my life, some of my other musical suggestions include: To Build a Home by The Cinematic Orchestra, One and Only by Adele, and Crazy in Love by Beyoncé.