2001-2002 Playlist

Back then, Nelly used to wear a Band-Aid on
his cheek for his incarcerated friend.
source: Nelly's Facebook page

The 2001-2002 school year was a transitional time in my life, for more than one reason. It was around that time, like I said in my previous playlist post, that I began to listen to more than what was being presented to me on pop radio. I branched out not only by listening to music online when I could (technology was nowhere near as advanced as it is today, or even a few years later), but also by tuning into more LiteFM radio stations to learn about the music that had paved the path to what was popular in 2001.

And of course, September 11th happened. That changed the landscape for radio for at least a few weeks, with a lot of Adult Contemporary seeping into typically youthful pop radio stations, making my exploration of different types of music easier. It was also in the fall of 2001 that I began to listen to holiday music stations, or seek them out. Maybe it was when the onset of nostalgia crept into the national consciousness, I don't know, but I hadn't ever sought out Christmas radio before. I don't think I've ever fully recovered from wanting to relive the good times, the better days.

Instead of putting the songs in an order that flows well, I basically put the songs in chronological order, with the exception of a few songs. Again, not all of these songs came out in the 2001-2002 period, as I was beginning to explore other genres of music.

- "Why," Avril Lavigne
There was a time I really liked Avril Lavigne. It was mostly at the very start of her career, before she started really coming at people and trying to prove how anti-Britney she really was, or whatever. Actually, she's a fairly talented songwriter and a lot of her songs have been really good. In terms of vocals, I've always looked at Taylor Swift as a poor man's version of Avril Lavigne. I also kind of maybe had a teeny crush on her guitarist, Evan Taubenfeld.
- "Wherever You Will Go," The Calling
- "Can't Fight The Moonlight," LeAnn Rimes
- "Learn To Fly," The Foo Fighters
- "Drowning," Backstreet Boys
- "Valentine," Martina McBride
This was one of the songs that I picked up, listening to those LiteFM stations. Turns out there were a ton of crossover country hits in 2001-2002 ... I didn't realize until I started putting this playlist together.

source: Avril Lavigne's Facebook page

- "God Bless The U.S.A.," Jump5
I even listened to a ton of Radio Disney that year (and still do when my regular stations just aren't doing it for me). I loved the beautiful harmonies of Jump5, and just the vocals. Jump5 was very, very young back then, and the purity of their voices seemed especially appropriate for this song given the circumstances of the popularity of this song at the time.
- "We Fit Together," O-Town
- "Don't Let Me Get Me," P!nk
This was one of the first P!nk songs I really liked. Incidentally, this was around the time she went very pop, rather than the rough and tough R&B gal she broke out on the scene as.
- "I Hope You Dance," Lee Ann Womack
- "In The End," Linkin Park
I went through a bit of an angry period in the winter months of that year ... this song came in handy, along with "Blurry" by Puddle of Mudd and "Losing Grip" by Avril being up there. "Losing Grip" remains one of my favorite Avril Lavigne songs to this day.
- "Where Are You Christmas," Faith Hill
- "Emotion," Destiny's Child
My favorite Destiny's Child song of all time, and it's not even theirs. I loved what they did with this song, I adored the music video, and I loved the soft tenderness this song offered, and comfort.
- "Girlfriend," 'N Sync
- "Blurry," Puddle of Mudd
- "Fields of Gold," Eva Cassidy
I first heard Eva Cassidy's rendition during one of Michelle Kwan's routines at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, and immediately I went and downloaded the song. It's still among my top five songs.
- "I Need A Girl (Part 1)," P. Diddy and Usher, ft. Loon
- "Standing Still," Jewel
Jewel fans complained that she'd gone all pop on this record, but I didn't really care. I was going through something at the time (arguably still am), and this song really felt close to me. It was one of the first songs about identity, the Unknown and the in-between that I noticed, that came at a time I really needed to hear it. The lines "Out of the corner of my eye / was that you passing me by / a sweet sorrow is the call tomorrow" still hit me in the gut sometimes.
- "Just An Old Boyfriend," Kaci Battaglia
- "Hot in Herre," Nelly
Probably THE song of 2002. In fact, in the seventh and final season of the "Gilmore Girls," Rory and her friends threw a "2002 Party," and this was played at said party.
- "Complicated," Avril Lavigne
Don't love the song, but it brings me back every time.
- "Gangsta Lovin'," Eve and Alicia Keys
- "Just A Friend 2002," Mario
- "Heaven (Candlelight Remix)," DJ Sammy and Yanou
About a year before the DJ Sammy version of the song came out, I fell into love with Bryan Adams' version. That one will always be better or the best to me, but there's something about the Candlelight Remix ...

Lyrical Overanalysis: Harry Styles' "Don't Let Me Go"

As far back as I can remember (and maybe this is owing to the fact that I was an English and Psychology double major in college ... though I think that's more the effect, not the cause), I've liked picking apart song lyrics. I've mostly stopped doing this, since I think most song lyrics these days are written practically on autopilot. Pop song? ABCBDBB and maybe 2 lines of A to outro, especially if you're Taylor Swift. If you're writing for a male singer, throw in a couple of "girl"s.

You get the picture.

This past week, a song recorded and mostly written by One Direction's Harry Styles (yes, without the other 4 guys, the ones that most people over the age of 25 don't even realize exist) was discovered on the internet. It was posted by New Zealand songwriter and producer Sam McCarthy (who did the music and production for the song) about 8 months ago, though young Harry sounds a good deal younger than he did in Novemberish.

 

For me, any solo venture (whether it be for fun or business) is exciting, because it's a way for the individual to express him or herself. And for me to, for lack of a better phrase, "pick their brain."

So here are the lyrics to the great gem that is "Don't Let Me Go" by Harry E. Styles:

now you were standing there, right in front of me
I hold on, it's getting harder to breathe
all of a sudden these lights are blinding me
I never noticed how bright they would be
I saw in the corner there is a photograph
no doubt in my mind it's a picture of you
it lies there alone in its bed of broken glass
this bed was never made for two
I'll keep my eyes wide open
I'll keep my arms wide open 

Chorus:
don't let me
don't let me
don't let me go
'cause I'm tired of feelin' alone
don't let me
don't let me go
'cause I'm tired of feelin' alone 

I promised one day that I'd bring you back a star
I caught one and it burned a hole in my hand, oh
seems like these days I watch you from afar
just tryin' to make you understand
I'll keep my eyes wide open, yeah 

Chorus // Electric Guitar Break 

don't let me
don't let me
don't let me go (sung by Sam McCarthy?)
'cause I'm tired of feelin' alone
don't let me
don't let me
don't let me go
'cause I'm tired of feelin' alone 

don't let me
don't let me go
'cause I'm tired of sleeping alone

My memory isn't what it was when I was 15, when I could memorize oodles and oodles of song lyrics within 3 listens, but this song was easy as 1-2-3 to get down. Probably because there aren't even two proper stanzas, and the chorus consists mostly of the same three words. But I like a man who keeps you guessing.

I'm not going to venture to guess who or what this song is about (though my guess is NOT Taylor Swift), but I will offer you a quick non-professional psychoanalysis session, free of charge. There's one thing that stands out to me that speaks louder to me than anything else: "don't let me go / 'cause I'm tired of feelin' alone" or "don't let me go / 'cause I'm tired of sleeping alone." I don't know if Harry was being a lazy songwriter or just plain evasive, but the way those lines are written comes across as quite selfish. At best, maybe there's a deeper, maybe even subconscious reason for his loneliness that he hasn't yet unearthed.

(As a side note, in an interview Ed Sheeran did earlier this year with U.S. radio station 95.5 WPLJ, Ed revealed that "The strangest thing about Harry is he lived at my flat for a while, but he had a house, he had two houses ... this was like a couple of months ago. He had two very posh houses in London and he'd just come and stay ... He lives just at his mates' houses. It's cool 'cause obviously he gets to see his friends every day and you wouldn't want to be in a big house on your own.'' Hmm.)

Overall, the song is pretty good. It's catchier than it is a lyrical masterpiece, but that's all it really takes to sell a song these days. (The song was pulled from SoundCloud shortly after its widespread discovery, which makes me think that perhaps the song was never made for the public to hear.) My favorite lines are "I saw in the corner there is a photograph / no doubt in my mind it's a picture of you / it lies there alone in its bed of broken glass / this bed was never made for two" just because of the seamless transition between the two different ideas. All it takes is a glance at Harry's Twitter page to know that he's got a way with words and wit.

This is a good start for Harry -- just the right amount of vague, angsty, sentimental, romantic to win girls over for years to come. It's feels a little lazy or amateur in parts, as if he's run out of words to rhyme and has chosen something generic ("hand" and "understand"/the whole of the chorus), but that's understandable for a beginner. Vocally, the recording highlights the fact that Harry Styles isn't a particularly expert vocalist, but he has enough of what it takes to be a lead singer and angsty acoustic rock "star."

Let's compare this writing sample to a little love poem 15-year-old Harry Styles wrote for his then-girlfriend Felicity Skinner in 2009, shall we?

source: er, Felicity May Skinner's Facebook page? And all of Tumblr

He's come a long, long way.