Wedding Songs

As of late, I've had some trouble finding something worth writing about. I know...kind of strange considering the World Wide Web's asshole is constantly shitting out music for me to talk about. It's just lately, none of the shit has really given me that certain inspiration/motivation I need to do this whole blog thing. Today, however, is a new day. No, I'm not gonna be writing about the new Beyoncé album. In fact, my inspiration for this post isn't even coming from a new album/song I've heard. Rather, my inspiration for today's post is coming straight out of the life of yours truly.

At around 4 o'clock today I'll be attending the wedding of one of my good friend's sisters. How I got invited? No clue. But that's not the point. The point is I'm going to drink so many White Russians and dance with so many old Italian ladies - wait that's not actually the point either. My point - I think - revolves around wedding music, and more specifically the "wedding song." Let's be honest, this song may or may not end up being the most important song in your life. Yeah, you'll probably only get 70 or so versions of "Happy Birthday to You" and maybe even "Danny Boy" at your funeral. But no other song in your life will ever have the same personal significance as your wedding song. You're pretty much saying "This is the song I want to share with the most important person in my life at the ceremony celebrating our love." Damn, I didn't realize I was so deep.

I'm not a wedding expert. I've only gone to a few weddings in my short life, and most of them took place when I was still in a diaper (so from ages 0-13). But I have seen The Wedding Singer at least 50 times, which has to give me some sort of wedding music authority. So, at the risk of appearing like E! or VH1 (is it me or are countdowns the only programming these channels show), I've created my own countdown of top wedding songs. I was gonna infuse some current songs, but to be honest, nothing beats the oldies. Chances are I haven't put enough thought into making such a badass countdown, but then again neither does E! or VH1. So, in cooperation with Fox Sports and Tom Arnold, here are The Best Damn Wedding Songs Period.


21. The Carpenters - Close To Me
20. Jeff Buckley - Lover, You Should've Come Over
19. Van Morrison - Have I Told You Lately
18. Chairmen of the Board- Give Me Just A Little More Time
17. The Temptations - My Girl
16. Bob Dylan - Lay Lady Lay
15. Beach Boys - Wouldn't It Be Nice
14. Jackson 5 - I Want You Back
13. Burt Bacharach - What The World Needs Now
12. Ella Fitzgerald - Blue Moon
11. Frank Sinatra - L.O.V.E.
10. Bob Dylan - Love Minus Zero/No Limit
9. Beatles - Here, There, and Everywhere
8. The Carpenters - We've Only Just Begun
7. Joe Cocker - You Are So Beautiful
6. Ben E. King - Stand By Me
5. Bob Dylan - I Want You
4. Elvis Presley - Can't Help Falling In Love
3. Velvet Underground - Pale Blue Eyes (My sleeper pick) (Good idea if bride has pale blue eyes)
2. Neil Young - Harvest Moon
1. Beach Boys - God Only Knows

Passion Pit

I checked out Passion Pit's first release, Chunk of Change EP, for two reasons:

1. Passion Pit sounds like a slang term for a vagina (I mean why not just name your band "The Cooters" or "Locust Patch")
2. Apparently the 6-song EP was recorded solely as a belated Valentine's Day gift for the lead singer's girlfriend

I felt these two points of logic alone gave me enough reason to waste my precious megabytes on Passion Pit. But, after giving the EP a good listen to, I must admit it's not the vagina-esque name of the group, nor the backstory that makes Chunk of Change EP so good... Perhaps it has something to do with the EP flirting with a certain Electro/Pop sound, reminiscent of Postal Service or The Tough Alliance. Or maybe it's Passion Pit's synth-driven laptop Pop that makes tracks like "I've Got Your Number" and "Sleepyhead" so enjoyable... Certainly, some of the EP's success must be accredited to the screechingly risky, at times borderline off-key vocals (imagine a methed up Ben Gibbard with a higher range and killer falsetto) by lead singer Michael Angelakos. Because of his ability to change the emotional intensity throughout each song and perfectly compliment the EP's Pop backdrop, Angelakos makes each track that much more genuine and personal (it's as if he wrote these songs just for his girlfriend to hear or something).

It just makes me wonder, how much "Passion Pit" do you think this guy got for making his girlfriend such a killer present/CD? I'm gonna say in a week - 5 out of 7 days (that's my rating... creative right?)

I guess those Valentine's days where burning a mixtape for your girl with that one sick Busta and Mariah song (that I always get confused with that one Ja Rule and J-Lo song) are over.

Check Passion Pit's myspace out here
Mediafire the EP here