The song below is the radio mix because it’s a bit less depress­ing than it’s strictly piano-vocal album coun­ter­part. If you really like it, I encour­age you to look up that ver­sion and take a lis­ten as well.

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Your fin­ger­tips across my skin
The palm trees sway­ing in the wind — images
You sang me Span­ish lul­la­bies
The sweet­est sad­ness in your eyes — clever trick

Well, I’d never want to see you unhappy
I thought you’d want the same for me

Good­bye my almost lover
Good­bye my hope­less dream
I’m try­ing not to think about you
Can’t you just let me be
So long my luck­less romance
My back is turned on you
Should have known you’d bring me heartache
Almost lovers always do

We walked along a crowded street
You took my hand and danced with me — images
And when you left you kissed my lips
You said you’d never, never for­get these images

I can­not go to the ocean
I can­not drive the streets at night
I can­not wake up in the morn­ing
With­out you on my mind
So you’re gone and I’m haunted
And I’ll bet you are just fine
Did I make it that easy to walk
Right in and out of my life?

“Almost Lover” from the album One Cell in the Sea. Per­formed by A Fine Frenzy. Released by Vir­gin Records. Writ­ten by Ali­son Loren Sudol. ©2007 Amp­star Music (admin. by WB Music) / Warner/Chappell (ASCAP)

I almost can’t wait for radio to ruin this song; that’s how good it is. The har­mo­nized vocals toward the end make me melt. So far, three out of the four songs I’ve heard from the upcom­ing record are absolutely stun­ning (“Cal­i­for­nia Gurls” being the excep­tion). At this point, it’s been ser­viced to radio but it’s pretty exclu­sive at the moment. Enjoy!

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You think I’m pretty
With­out any makeup on
You think I’m funny
When I tell the punch­line wrong
I know you get me
So I let my walls come down, down

Before you met me
I was alright but things
Were kinda heavy
You brought me to life
Now every Feb­ru­ary
You’ll be my Valen­tine, Valentine

Let’s go all the way tonight
No regrets; just love
We can dance until we die
You and I will be young forever

You make me feel like I’m livin’ a
Teenage dream
The way you turn me on
I can’t sleep
Let’s run away and don’t ever look back
Don’t ever look back

My heart stops when you look at me
Just one touch
Now baby I believe
This is real
So take a chance and don’t ever look back
Don’t ever look back

We drove to Cali and got drunk on the beach
Got a motel and built a fort out of sheets
I finally found you, my miss­ing puz­zle piece
I’m complete

I’m gonna get your heart rac­ing
In my skin-tight jeans
Be your teenage dream tonight
Let you put your hands on me
In my skin-tight jeans
Be your teenage dream tonight

“Teenage Dream” from the album Teenage Dream. Per­formed by Katy Perry. Released by Capi­tol Records. Writ­ten by Lukasz Gottwald, Kath­eryn Hud­son, Ben­jamin Levin, Bon­nie McKee, and Mar­tin Sand­berg. ©2010 Mara­tone AB (admin. by Kobalt Songs Music Publishing) (ASCAP)

You’ve gotta love the trans­parency in these lyrics and pure beauty in the vocals. File this one under artists I should have been pay­ing atten­tion to.

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Baby, you’ve got the sort of hands to rip me apart
And baby, you’ve got the sort of face to start this old heart
But your eyes are warn­ing me this early morn­ing
That my love’s too big for you my love

Baby, you’ve got the sort of laugh that waters me
And makes me grow tall and strong and proud and flat­tens me
I find you stun­ning but you are run­ning me down
My love’s too big for you my love
My love’s too big for you my love

And if I was stronger then I would tell you no
And if I was stronger then I would leave this show
And if I was stronger then I would up and go
But here I am and here we go again

Baby, you’ve got the sort of eyes that tell me tales
That your sort of mouth just will not say, the truth impales
You don’t need me but you won’t leave me
My love’s too big for you my love
My love’s too big for you my love

Tell me what to do to take away the you?
Take away the you…

“Sort Of” from the album Every­body. Per­formed by Ingrid Michael­son. Released by Cabin 24 Records. Writ­ten by Ingrid Ellen Egbert Michael­son. ©2009 Cabin 24 Records/Ingrid Michael­son (ASCAP)

I heard this song tonight and I was blown away. Unfor­tu­nately I’ve never, for what­ever rea­son, paid atten­tion to the band that recorded it. I just down­loaded their entire discog­ra­phy after hear­ing this record. The instru­men­tal in this track is just so incredible.

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Wasted time
I can­not say that I was ready for this
But when worlds col­lide
And all that I have is all that I want
The words seem to flow
And the thoughts, they keep run­ning
And all that I have is yours
All that I am is yours

Painted skies
I’ve seen so many that can­not com­pare
To your ocean eyes
The pic­tures you took
That cover your room
And it was just like the sun
But more like the moon
A light that can reach it all
So now I’m branded for tak­ing the fall

So when you say for­ever
Can’t you see
You’ve already cap­tured me

“The Sun and the Moon” from the album The Ever­glow. Per­formed by Mae. Released by Tooth & Nail Records. Writ­ten by David Elkins, Zachary Gehring, and Robert Sweitzer. ©2005 Myman Jones (admin. by Polay Finan­cial Man­age­ment) (ASCAP)

Folks, this song right here is one of the best songs ever writ­ten. I don’t say that because I can relate to the lyrics 100% but because it truly is beyond words. I can’t believe I haven’t posted it before. Soak it in!

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You and I are gonna get it right
Don’t let me go
It takes two to make a leader but
One has to fol­low
Help me, help me under­stand
What we’ve become
We fell apart and then pro­ceeded to
Both play the victim

On and on and on we go
Just like a carousel that’s lost con­trol
We don’t know why, we don’t know why
We go, we go, we go in circles

I want you more than any­thing
Just as you’re leav­ing
For every wound there’s an apol­ogy
That’s lost it’s mean­ing
You and I, I think we’re bet­ter off
With­out each other
The last ride, the unavoid­able
Keeps get­ting farther

On and on and on we spin
To find an end to where we begin
We don’t know why, we don’t know why
We go, we go, we go in circles

“Carousel” from the album Absence. Per­formed by Paper Route. Released by Uni­ver­sal Motown. Writ­ten by Justin Daly, Chad Howat, and Andrew Smith. ©2009 After Dark­ness Music/Art Is Hard/Smith Smith Pub­lish­ing (ASCAP)

As much as I hated the movie, I couldn’t help but fall in love with the film score. Yes, I’m talk­ing about the new Twi­light movie. Howard Shore man­aged to make some­thing incred­i­bly beau­ti­ful out of this movie and for that I’m grate­ful. The song below is one of Howard Shore’s “clas­si­cal” inter­pre­ta­tions of the theme song for the movie per­formed by the band Met­ric. Enjoy the score or skip to 2:30 for the song, but either way turn the vol­ume way up.

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Other lives, always tempted to trade
Will they hate me for all the choices I made?
Will they stop when they see me again?
I can’t stop now I know who I am

Now I’m all yours, I’m not afraid
And you’re all mine, say what they may
And all your love, I’ll take to the grave
And all my life starts now

Tear me down they can’t take you out of my thoughts
Under every scar there’s a bat­tle I’ve lost
Will they stop when they see us again?
I can’t stop now I know who I am

“Wed­ding Plans” / “Eclipse (All Yours)” from the sound­track for The Twi­light Saga: Eclipse. Per­formed by Met­ric and Howard Shore. Released by Chop Shop Records/Atlantic Records/E1 Music. Writ­ten by Emily Haines, James Shaw, and Howard Shore. ©2010 Chrysalis Music Group (ASCAP)