Some things never change. I’m seven years older than I was seven years ago (obviously), but somehow I’m the same person I was back then. Funny, eh? Well, I’m older now, got darker circles too, no longer have braces and I left my student years behind a while ago. But I’m still a dreamer and my dreams haven’t changed in the past eight years (they have evolved though). I’ve managed to achieve a few of them, I’m on my way to achieve some others. I still have the same taste for clothing, food, sports and music. And the people that know me also know how much music means to me.

Well, it’s been over seven years since I first listened to Faith Hill’s music. I was a High School student back then, dreaming big, wanting to open up to the world. And to this day, her music means as much to me as it meant on that summer of 2000. God it was a hot night in Virginia. I was watching tv with a friend called Athena, it was 3am and I was exhausted. I was about to head to bed when my friend asked me to stay and listen to a song that was about to start playing on CMT (Country Music Television). Country… all I could stand at the time was Shania Twain, but oh well, it can’t get any worse that Brooks & Dunn, right? That’s what I thought that day. And then, there she was singing the tunes to Breathe. I was captured by the meaning of the lyrics and music.

Faith’s music has deeply touched me over the years, I know it sounds really corny, but it really has helped me getting through some harsh times. It’s funny how you can relate to song sometimes. How those lyrics are explicitly referring to a chapter in your life. Here’s fifteen #1 hits and not fifteen chapters of my life, but quite a few. Let’s a journey back to memory lane.

1.- Red Umbrella: It’s the first track of her ‘The Hits’ cd and even though it’s a brand new song I can relate to the words of the song too. Actually, this would probably match perfectly with the chapter I’m living right now. The sky’s grey and there’re some big, dark clouds above but I want rain, because after the rain the sun starts shinning again. “Let it wash my tears away/tomorrow’s another day“.

2.- Stronger: God I love when she performs this song live. No chapter here… sorry.
3.- I Need You: Takes me back to July. It was a sunny and warm Saturday and I went to the beach and texted the following message: “I wanna wrap the moon around us, lie beside you skin on skin and make love till the sun comes up, till the sun goes down again“. Those were some good days.

4.- Lost: “I never did believe in anything I couldn’t hold between my fingers, but the way you make me feel is just so real the way it lingers. I get lost inside your stare, lost when you’re not there and everything I have doesn’t mean a thing if it’s without you“.

5.- Mississippi Girl: Can’t really relate to this song, since the song was specifically written for her. But it’s a cute song.

6.- Cry: I love the acoustic version she performed last year during the tour. Don’t we all sometimes in our lives want him/her to cry a little or at least wonder if he/she is crying? I do…
7.- There You’ll Be: This song takes me back to the summer of 2001. That was my last summer in Virginia and Faith Hill was everywhere because she was singing the main track for the Pearl Harbor movie. I was deeply touched by the song and the meaning of the lyrics and I couldn’t help sending a e-card to that special someone with the lyrics of the song.
8.- The Way You Love Me: Dreaming big and wanting to become a singer! Oh my… it was a nice attempt and thankfully, 95% of the audience was deaf. I performed this song at a nursing home back in 2001. It was an experience and I had lots of fun actually.

9.- Breathe: The song that started it all… “I can feel you breathe is washing over me and suddenly I’m melting into you, there’s nothing left to prove, baby all we need is just to be…”

10.- The Secret Of Life: Again a cute song… and like words say… “the secret of life is there ain’t no secret and you don’t get your money back“.

11.- Let Me Let Go: (silence)

12.- This Kiss: So criminal! That’s all I can say! I Love the song Gets me on a really good mood.
13.- It Matters To Me: My all time Faith Hill favorite song and I had the guts to ask her to sing a bit of it last year! (Like I said, I’ve managed to achieve some dreams in the last seven years). It brings tears to my eyes every time I listen to it, I don’t know why. I remember sending this on a text message a looooong time ago: “when we don’t talk, when we don’t touch, when it doesn’t feel like we’re even in love… it matters to me“.

14.- Piece Of My Heart: Another great track, I love the new heartbreaking version rather than the original country tune.

15.- Wild One: What can I say? I can be a little wild sometimes.

I can’t wait to get the cd and listen to it.

P.S.: Another of my dreams was to see her performing live, I got a pre-party ticket last summer and not only did I get to see her inches away from me, but she even gave me a hug and performed that bit of It Matters To Me I mentioned above. Dreams do come true, we just need a little Faith .

Everyone’s talking about her these days. DJ’s will play her latest single Umbrella over and over again on the radio stations, but truth is Rihanna has been there for a while now. I’ve known about her music for about a year now. My sister is really into r&b music and well, it’s a music genre I like myself. So, one day, I was trying to fix her mp4 player and started listening to a song called Unfaithful. I really liked her voice and how harsh the song was. Ever since that day, I’ve been listening to some of her songs, she has some good stuff. So here’s, Rihanna and another song that’s not so popular that I particularly like.

And let’s take that umbrella (red umbrella for Faith Hill) and shelter from the storms that seem to be approaching.

Here’s a link to read about this girl from Barbados: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rihanna

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=GSHHEMO6

I’ve come to realize that you sometimes need to be slapped on the face to open your eyes and wake up. I have finally opened mine and I have seen what I’ve been avoiding to see all this time. It’s time to turn the page, I deserve someone better, way better. Because, just like grandma used to say to me, I’m a treasure. And I do NOT like writing about such personal things, but I’ve never been this hurt and wounded in my life before, and this seems to be my only way to let this out. Here’s a song that clearly explains how I feel right this minute.

Unsaveable - Faith Hill

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=QZL6TU4L
Love
So cruel
Yeah that’s all that I got from you
Tell me what in the world could I do
But leave
After all that you’ve done to me
Now it’s so easy to say I’m over you

‘Cause baby I cried a little too hard
A little too long
What I thought was right
Was way too wrong
And too far gone
I can’t bring back the love
There just ain’t enough
Available,impossible,unsaveable

Here
You come
Tryin’ to make up for what you’ve done
It’s too late to say you’re sorry now
Now it’s your turn
You can’t cross that bridge you burned
You’re on your own when will you learn

‘Cause baby I cried a little too hard
A little too long
What I thought was right
Was way too wrong
And too far gone
I can’t bring back the love
There just ain’t enough
Available,impossible,unsaveable

Love
There’s someone out there for me
Who thinks I’m beautiful
I’ve got to go

‘Cause baby I cried a little too hard
A little too long
What I thought was right
Was way too wrong
And too far gone
I can’t bring back the love
There just ain’t enough
Available,impossible,unsaveable

I wish I knew what this song says… Kuch Is Tarah was another ‘fortunate discovery’, another serendipity. I was looking for this popular Hindi song online and I came across Kuch Is Tarah by Atif Aslam, a very popular pakistani singer. I have found a translation to the words, I don’t know how accurate it is, but I don’t mind really. Through the background music, his tone and the feeling he puts into the song I know everything I need to know about this song. It’s definitely a love song dedicated to someone, that’s my guess, otherwise you don’t sing with such passion.

Kuch Is Tarah - Atif Aslam

kuch is tarah teri palkein meri palkon se mila de
Somehow let your glance meet my glance

aansu tere saare meri palakon pe saja de
Let all your tears adorn my eyelashes

tu har ghadi har waqt mere saath raha hain
You have stayed with me all moments, in all time

haan ye jism kabhi door kabhi paas raha hain
Yes this body has sometimes stayed afar, sometimes near

jo bhi ghum hain ye tere unhe tu mera pata de
Whatever sorrows you have, give them my address

mujhko to tere chehare pe ye ghum nahi jhachta
I do not like to see this grief on your face

jaayiz nahi lagta mujhe ghum se tera rishta
It does not seem possible to have a bond of grief with you

sun meri guzarish ise chehare se hata de
Listen to my request, remove that from your face

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=DYXNXGD0

Cuando me encuentro de bajón me encanta escuchar a Alanis Morissette. Sus canciones tienen un efecto efervestente en mí y consiguen que mi ánimo suba en cuestión de minutos. Alguien se acuerda del hombre de hojala, sí, ese personaje de ‘El Mago de Oz’ que carecía de corazón y por consiguiente de sentimientos. Viajó hasta Oz para que el mago le diera un corazón de cuerda… y se curó. En fin, es igual. Cuando en noviembre estuve en Irlanda, me compré un disco llamado ‘Chick-flicks’ (en los países anglosajones se utiliza este término para referirse a las típicas comedias románticas) y el primer tema del cd era Crazy de Alanis Morissette, que se incluye en la BSO de The Devil Wears Prada, muy bueno el filme por cierto. La canción tiene el sello Morissette pero a la vez suena diferente, por eso me gusta. Y al igual que otras canciones como You Learn o You Oughta Know, esta canción también tiene ese efecto del que acabo de hablar.

Crazy - Alanis Morissette

In a church by the face
He talks about the people going under
Only child knows…

A man decides after seventy years
That what he goes there for, is to unlock the door,
While those around him criticize and sleep…
And through a fractal on a breaking wall,
I see you my friend and touch your face again,
Miracles will happen as we dream

But we’re never gonna survive unless
We get a little crazy
No we’re never gonna survive unless
We are a little…

Crazy yellow people walking through my head.
One of them’s got a gun, shoot the other one.
And yet together they were friends at school
Ohh, get it, get it, get it, no no no!
If I were there when we first took the pill,
Then maybe, then maybe, then maybe, then maybe…
Miracles will happen as we speak.

[Chorus]

Crazy…
No no, we’ll never survive, unless we get a little…bit…

In a sky full of people, only some want to fly.
Isn’t that crazy?
In a world full of people, only some want to fly.
Isn’t that crazy?
Crazy…
In a heaven of people there’s only some want to fly.
Ain’t that crazy? Crazy, crazy… crazy…

[Chorus]

No no, we’ll never survive unless, we get a little bit…

http://download.yousendit.com/270E98403CDC05A6

Este tema tiene historia. La escuché hace ya nueve años (cómo pasa el tiempo) después de que tras una sesión de karate, en el vestuario una amiga de la infancia, me hablara de una cantante llamada Shania Twain. Ella había estado de viaje en EE.UU./Canadá y se compró su disco. Me lo dejó prestado para que lo escuchara y Shania Twain se convirtió para mí en todo un referente musical. Fue ella quien me introdujo en el mundo de la música country. Y de eso hace ya casi un década! El caso es que, me acosté y como solía hacer entonces, cogí mi reproductor portátil de cds y fui escuchando los temas, algunos más movidos y algunos más lentos, hasta que llegué a From This Moment On. Tengo que explicar que tuve un muy mal día en la clase de karate porque tras un examen para pasar de cinturón, el examinador nos miró a las chicas y nos dijo “parecéis mujeres haciendo karate”. Me sentí ofendida y tenía los sentimientos a flor de piel. Cuando sonó este tema no pude contener las lágrimas por el significado de la letra. Aún hoy me sigue poniendo los pelos de punta… No sé si me casaré o no, pero desde que escuché esta canción siempre he tenido claro que si me caso me gustaría que este tema sonara en mi boda. Pues ahí va, From This Moment On.

From This Moment On - Shania Twain

(I just swear that I’ll aways be there.
I’d give anything and everything and I will always care.
Through weakness and strength, happiness and sorrow,
for better or worse, I will love you with
every beat of my heart)

From this moment life has begun
From this moment you are the one
Right beside you is where I belong
From this moment on

From this moment I have been blessed
I live only for your happiness
And for your love I’d give my last breath
From this moment on

I give my hand to you with all my heart
Can’t wait to live my life with you, can’t wait to start
You and I will never be apart
My dreams came true because of you

From this moment as long as I live
I will love you, I promise you this
There is nothing I wouldn’t give
From this moment on

You’re the reason I believe in love
And you’re the answer to my prayers from up above
All we need is just the two of us
My dreams came true because of you

From this moment as long as I live
I will love you, I promise you this
There is nothing I wouldn’t give
From this moment
I will love you as long as I live
From this moment on

http://download.yousendit.com/B3B87C46018D6C48

Hace mucho que no incluyo un tema y eso que me paso el día escuchando música. Sarah McLachlan es una de esas artistas que trabaja como las hormiguitas, sin cesar y en silencio, pero que como estos insectos también ha recogido los frutos del trabajo constante y bien hecho. Sarah McLachlan no suena en los 40 o en Cadena Cien (salvo que un tema suyo se incluya en una BSO, como Angel en City of Angels), pero su música llega al público masivo. A mí me enganchó hará ya unos ocho años, gracias a una compañera que visitó conmigo los EEUU. Dos canciones suyas me cautivaron por su sencillez, transparencia y sobre todo, por la peculiar voz que tiene McLachlan. Su música me relaja, su música me gusta. Esta canción, Push, es una de mis favoritas de su último disco Afterglow.

Push

Every time I look at you the world just melts away
All my troubles all my fears dissolve in your affections
You’ve seen me at my weakest but you take me as I am
And when I fall you offer me a softer place to land

[CHORUS:]
You stay the course you hold the line you keep it all together
You’re the one true thing I know I can believe in
You’re all the things that I desire, you save me, you complete me
You’re the one true thing I know I can believe

I get mad so easy but you give me room to breathe
No matter what I say or do ’cause you’re to good to fight about it
Even when I have to push just to see how far you’ll go
You wont stoop down to battle but you never turn to go

[CHORUS]

Your love is just the antidote when nothing else will cure me
There are times I cant decide when I cant tell up from down
You make me feel less crazy when otherwise I’d drown
But you pick me up and brush me off and tell me I’m OK
Sometimes thats just what we need to get us through the day

[CHORUS]

http://download.yousendit.com/031F41DB05AEB53C

Es otra forma de decir te quiero o gracias por estar ahí, menos pedante. Me gusta particularmente el primer verso porque, durante nueve días, sentí que el mundo desvanecía y a pesar de encontrarnos en ciudades cosmopolitas, sólo estábamos él y yo en la faz de la tierra.

Es curioso ver cómo, en ocasiones, los astros parecen ponerse de acuerdo para que una cosa te lleve a la otra y a otra y te encuentras con canciones como ésta. Título significativo, letra significativa… serendipity . Vega fue una de las concursantes de OT 2 y aunque ya ni me acordaba de ella, apareció esta canción y claro, una no puede resistirse a escucharla. Pues ahí va, India.

http://download.yousendit.com/A99F15771A909E48

Hoy desperté y a mi lado te busqué
Hoy yo te hallé escondido en un papel
De una canción que escribí para ti
Hoy sin dudar ya no necesito más
Sólo esperar confiar en que vendrás
Creo en ti por favor vuelve a mi
Te esperaré
Con la clara intención de ser feliz
Con la clara intención de ser de ti… esperaré
Te esperaré
No me importa ni el tiempo ni el lugar
Sólo quiero que sepas que estaré
Esperando el momento en que cumplas tu promesa de volver
Hoy me da igual lo que piensen los demás
Hoy para ti escribí otra canción
Sólo te pido por favor cree en mi
Hoy tu calor no andará por mi colchón
Hoy mi dolor acunado por tu voz se dormirá
Sonará cuando vuelvas a por mi
Te esperaré
Seré fiel al recuerdo de tu piel
Al sabor de tus besos, tu mirar.. esperaré
Te esperaré
Buscaré en tu sonrisa una ilusión
Buscaré la manera de tener
Un momento entre tus brazos
El mejor de tus abrazos
Ese día en q tú vuelvas para no marchar jamás
Con la esperanza de que no me fallarás
Espero ver amanecer un día más
Tediosa espera que no matará mi ilusión
De que regreses pronto y yo….
Te esperaré
Con la clara intención de ser feliz
Con la clara intención de ser de ti… esperaré
Te esperaré
Buscaré en tu sonrisa una ilusión
Buscaré la manera de tener
Un momento entre tus brazos
El mejor de tus abrazos
Ese día en que tú vuelvas para no marchar jamás…