Oct 21, 2010

Life's Soundtrack - Sunny Days Will Come

Photo by Justine Gordon

I've been struggling to come up with a topic for this week's playlist.  I toyed with many different options, but nothing seemed to be just right.  Then I got a note from the kind and talented Justine telling me about a mix her daughter made for her before going away to University, which contained a version of "Sunny Side of the Street" by Ella Fitzgerald.  Instantly I knew two thing: first what today's topic was going to be and second, why I love blogging and the Inspiration Studio so much.

For me, Inspiration Studio is about having a place we can go when we are stuck and the creative juices are drying up.  Each day I open the blog knowing I'll find something that will make me smile, will change the way I view something or will simply brighten my day.  More importantly, I'm inspired by the community we are building, by the people who take the time to read the posts and offer encouragements or ideas, the conversations that get started in the comment section, and by the photos that are shared through the flickr group.  Thanks to this community we are surrounded by beauty, art, encouragement and, yes, inspiration every day.  For all of this, I thank you.

Now, on to today's topic.  Justine's mention of "Sunny Side of the Street" made me crave a list full of songs about sunshine, the sun and summer weather.  A list I can turn to in the darkest days of winter when I feel as if the sun will never return, a list that will brighten those dark days and remind me that summer will come again.  The list will also work well for those of you who are in the Southern Hemisphere and are just starting to think of summer and the long glorious days ahead.  Let me get us started:

Ella Fitzgerald - Sunny Side of the Street
Court Yard Hounds - Delight (Something New Under the Sun)
Emiliana Torrinin - Sunny Road
George Michael and Elton John - Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me
Joshua Radin - Sundrenched World
The Lashes - Sometimes the Sun
Rosie Thomas - It Don't Matter to the Sun
The Wheepies - I Was Made for the Sunny Days

It is safe to say that last week's topic has been my favorite so far.  The songs are AMAZING!  What I didn't think about when I suggested the covers topic was the fact that artists don't cover average songs, they cover glorious songs.  So our list is full (and by full, I mean the longest list we've ever put together) of exceptional songs.  Trust me, you won't be able to stop listening to this, I even predict you'll be spending a bit of cash at iTunes this week.  We had so much fun with the covers topic, I think we'll bring it back in a couple of months.  So, if like me, you thought of another 15 songs after you added your suggestions, keep those in the back of your mind for the next round.


To play the songs, click on the sideways triangle in the middle of the embedded player above.  You can skip ahead or back by clicking on the < or > on either edge of the player.

I toyed with turning this playlist into an iMix on iTunes so you could easily find and download one or more of the songs.  If any of you would like that let me know and I'll create it and send you instructions.

Let me know if you love the covers playlist as much as I do and if something here at Inspiration Studio has inspired you.

Thanks as always for your amazing contributions, I can't wait to listen to your songs about the sun!

45 comments:

Kim Klassen said...

Jamie
I just hit play....

i wanted to thank you for the beautiful way you have described the iStudio...

And as for what you do... i have no words....
First I love music...but I'm afraid I've never been one to remember who sings what. You have given me a new and great appreciation for so many beautiful artists.

And as I listen to this first song...and type... tears are flowing. It's amazing how music can reach so deeply into our souls...

And as I listen to this incredible version of Hallelujah...the tears are flowing... and my heart is beating faster... amazing.

thank you Jamie..and thank you to all the beautiful commenters that share their favs each week!!

love and hugs...xxo, kim
p.s. i'd definitely purchase this playlist from itunes... :)

Clare B said...

Playing now - it's going to get me through the last few hours at work this afternoon. Thank you!

Prairie Girl Studio said...

as i sit, and also weep, listening to jeff buckley
i wonder ... and imagine ...
if leonard cohen was sitting off in the shadows ...
would he have his head bowed down.

as leonard sat off stage listening to k.d. ...
would each refrain course through his veins like never before.

and upon the final note, would all three simply join hands warmly, firmly and stand so completely still in a circle of grace ...

hallelujah

Justine said...

thankyou so much for your kind words and including my picture, it has made my day! this is a great playlist and I am going to download it and play it all through winter!

linda said...

I love to discover new music and listen to playlist so thanks for all these sunny songs..I really like The Wheepies - I Was Made for the Sunny Days!

Madelin C. Wolf said...

Thanks for posting the "sunny"song list. What did it or me was the George Michael/Elton John -Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me. I had never heard this before and enjoyed the video as well.

RRF said...

Love all of these! An imix would be wonderful and easy :-)

Suki said...

I feel the same about the Istudio. I always love to come hear for companionship, conversation, inspiration, music and a lot of other goodies.
I love the sunny theme this week. :)

Rachael Schirano \\ Rachael Schirano Photography said...

thank you for sharing with us such a beautiful, moving play list. thank you.

Kim said...

all i can say...is I LOVE it!

k said...

I am already excited for this playlist. I love reading your words =)

dbalyoz said...

oh jamie, this has been one heck of a heavy day in so many ways, but the music is on and i feel lighter and moved to play with my photos with a smile on my face. THANK YOU. :)

k said...

oh but girl...i love the oasis cover...but...i have to go with oasis on that one! :)

A Box of Chocolates said...

Hallelujah has to be one of my fav absolute fav songs. I will go listen to the play list now but as the the imix PLEASE do it that would be so easy and great. It amazes me how you manage to find all these wonderful songs.

Lani Gerity said...

Fantastic!
Esp the graphics for Emiliana Torrini Sunny Road.
Loved it!

Lynn said...

Listening to Allelujah right now, it is one of my fave songs, I so enjoyed it at the show Hope for Haiti when Justin Timberlake and Matt Morris sang it.

This song just brings out so many emotions but one of them is a feeling of "JOY", so I thank you for that today :)

Great playlist btw, I have always loved G.M and Elton singing that song together, oooooohhhhh gives me goosebumps. I certainly would download your list for my ipod :)

I have been following the blog a few weeks, but don't often comment. I will try too do that more :)

Thanks again,
Lynn

Roxanne said...

Great playlist--I love Hallelujah!

Lucy said...

nice playlist :)

Lisa Gordon said...

Great playlist, and gorgeous photo Justine!!

Jill said...

You know I don't listen to music often. Hardly at all anymore. So when one of kids wants me to listen to something or now as I hear snippets it's really a treat. Thanks for putting all this together. I'm skipping ahead though to the sunny stuff also--love the sunny side of the street song!! My favorite before this was Willie Nelson singing it.

Anonymous said...

These playlists are so wonderful. Thanks so much for putting them together. I didn't listen to the first ones, so I have some catching up to do. I hope to have some creative time this weekend, and these playlists will be keeping me company! So many artists I really didn't know. I rarely download from iTunes, but I've downloaded a couple of new albums recently because of you! :-)

Kathe said...

Wow, such nice songs. Relaxing and dreamy. Thanks for putting these together to share with us.

Charmingdesigns said...

Wonderful list. Love Elton John, brought back memories, Thanks for introducing me to a couple of new artist. I enjoyed playing them all

LizlovesVintage said...

Hello,
Keep up the good work! Your Blog is inspiring and creative. Let me know when you get stumped, I would like to contribute;) Peace, Love
Hugs, Liz

Rhonda said...

Thanks for a very diverse, playlist. It is just lovely. Thanks for turning me on to some new artists. Good job.
Rhonda

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the list of songs, many of which I never would have found on my own, let alone thought to have listened to. I found a couple new artists that I will have to explore now (Joshua Radin and Emiliana Torrinin).

Anonymous said...

wow, the playlist are a great way to listen to what's out there. I have to admit I'm usually not up on the latest so thank you. Um, George Michael sounded pretty darn good there doing the Elton John song!

Claudia said...

Jamie
Thanks for this bright and fun group of songs. I do believe my fav is
Delight (Something New Under The Sun)I just love this group and have never heard them before. Thanks for introducing me to them!!

p.s. the last song's link went to the previous song.

knitalatte said...

Jamie,
I feel the same way about the inspiration studio.
It is such a wonderful place to visit and soak up all the wonderful ideas, words, photos and contributions to creativity.
It is beautiful visually and feeds the soul. Thank you Kim Klassen for making it all possible.

As always Jamie, you blow me away!

Sun N Fun to add to the mix:

The Fifth Dimension; Aquarius (Let the sunshine in)

Beatles; Sun King

Bobby Hebb; Sunny

Norah Jonones; The sun doesn’t like you

Cream; Sunshine of your love.

ELK said...

what a fabulous description of i studio..I agree..
I lead Chapel at my preschool on t
Thursdays and we sang "this little light of mine" always a big hit with the kids!!

Harrison House said...

Wonderful music! Only problem is that I start paying so much attention to the music that I forget what I'm supposed to be doing! Not really a complaint though...having raised a musician I know that there is really no such thing as "background music". How can you do anything else when K.D. Lang is singing Hallelujah?

Anonymous said...

I am sooooo happy to find your blog. I adore music so I am digging these songs. beautiful.
xx Emily from EL Vintage

urban muser said...

I don't see a lot of sunny songs in these comments :) I think you blew everyone away with the covers playlist and they forgot!

Here's a few to brighten up the list for next week:

Walkin' on Sunshine: Katrina and the Waves
You are the Sunshine of My Life: Stevie Wonder
Blister in the Sun: Violent Femmes

I played this week's list as I finished up my work day in my kitchen yesterday. Perfect!

Kia said...

Oh no, I cannot hear/see your play-list, Jamie. When I click play a message says “this video contains contents from Vevo, who has blocked it in your country (I’m in Scotland) on copyright grounds”. Gee, so unfair! I have seen a couple of artists I don’t know (Emiliana Torrini and Joshua Radin) and will see if I can find them…

Kia said...

I'm back ;) I was able to find Emiliana Torrini and Joshua Radin songs, wow, simply fantastic! I loved them! Thanks you so much, I am always so happy to find new lovely songs :) Have a lovely and sunny day!

Julie Helmick said...

What fun!! You did a great job. Now I have a smile on my face & a few tunes in my heart!

Leanne said...

Super tunes! Thanks!

Creating My Beautiful Life said...

Thanks for introducing me to some fabulous new songs & artists! I especially love the Oasis "Wonderwall" cover by Ryan Adams!

she dreams big! said...

Nothing, NOTHING is better than the song Halleluia. These are all keepers! Thank you!

Kelly said...

Love them! k.d. lang is so awesome.

bee said...

loved the covers mix, jamie!. i didn't know regina spektor had a version of no surprises. that was too cool! :)

ok, so now 'sunny' songs... first, let me say that i've never heard of joshua radin, that song you posted is lovely, will certainly have to check him out!! :)

some of the sunny songs i can think of are sunny and happy... some are sunny and sad... here we go (i'm going to get carried away again!)

you are my sunshine - norman blake (from the o brother soundtrack and a song that reminds me of someone very special in my life...)
ain't no sunshine - bill withers
island in the sun - weezer
sun it rises - fleet foxes
sun is shining - bob marley
sun in an empty room - the weakerthans
staring at the sun - U2
looks just like the sun - broken social scene
soak up the sun - sheryl crow
hard sun - eddie vedder
i'll bring the sun - jason collett
jogging gorgeous summer – islands
i will never see the sun – great lake swimmers (they’ve been on the Toronto subway too much)
song for sunshine – belle and sebastian

jamie, thank you so much for inspiring me, to rekindle my love for music and discovering new artists and revisiting so many of my favourite songs that i haven't heard in so long. it's been a real blessing and truly inspiring for me!

-bee

Prairie Girl Studio said...

sun's up, uh huh, looks okay ...
(the first line in bruce cockburn's
'wondering where the lions are') ...
maybe a stretch, but i like the song! ; )

first off ~ LOVE justine's glorious image ... perfect choice, jamie!

just a few to add to the beautifully bright and sunny selections so far ...

• good day sunshine ~ the beatles
• house of the rising sun ~ the animals (1964 classic)
sinead o-connor sings a rather haunting version
• in the sun ~ joseph arthur
(live at glastonbury festival)

and now, on a different note ~ i really also love classical music and have been wanting to suggest something along that line ... this selection is performed by the United World Philharmonic Youth Orchestra ~ there is a very serious tone to this piece that may strike a chord in many ...
• sunrise - "daphnis & chloe" - ravel - united world philharmonic unfccc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PklZbyPUvM

and how about a little broadway?
• sunrise sunset ~ from 'fiddler on the roof'


mmmm ... *sigh* ...
thank you so much, jamie, for capturing the very essence of the i.studio so perfectly ... you are truly a gem of gems ... xoxo
pg

kelly@thebluemuse said...

what a beautiful post, our community here really is a special place. love love love the covers playlist!
There was a song i think from the eighties "Walking on Sunshine" maybe Laura Branigan. It is one of those songs that always makes you feel happy no matter what.

Kelli said...

More great music... hooray!
I would love the imix if you made one.
:)
Here's some more sun songs...

California Sun ~The Ramones
Keep on the Sunny Side ~ The Whites
Why Does the Sun Shine? ~ They Might be Giants
Sun Comes Up ~ Cowboy Junkies
Song of the Sun ~ Mike Oldfield
Burning in the Sun ~ Blue Merle
You are my Sunshine ~ Ray Charles
Here Comes the Sunshine ~ Grateful Dead

blue elephant photography said...

i love your songs =) and like kim, i just hit Play and i am working through my photos with a smile ♥