“Easy” & “Hard” Songs, Vol. 1

A long time ago, I'm not sure exactly when, on my original blog I posted a set of "Easy" and "Hard" Songs. But since then, a) I've gotten better at finding a good variety of quality songs by people you've actually heard of; b) new songs have come out that also merit inclusion; and c) I just felt like doing this theme all over again. And there were plenty of good ones, so this is part 1 of 2. Enjoy!  ~  JH

1)  Alanis Morissette  ~  “Eight Easy Steps”

2)  Queen  ~  “It’s A Hard Life”

3)  Linda Ronstadt  ~  “It’s So Easy”

4)  98°  ~  “The Hardest Thing”

5)  MiMi & The Mad Noise Factory  ~  “Easy”

6)  The Avett Brothers  ~  “No Hard Feelings”

7)  Dragonette  ~  “Easy”

8)  Pearl Jam  ~  “Hard To Imagine”

9)  Rag’n’Bone Man  ~  “Die Easy”

10)  Donna Summer  ~  “She Works Hard For The Money”

11)  Lauv  ~  “Easy Love”

12)  Lykke Li  ~  “Hard Rain”

13)  Max Frost  ~  “Let Me Down Easy”

14)  Rihanna ft. Jeezy  ~  “Hard”

15)  Haroula Rose  ~  “So Easy”

16)  Coldplay  ~  “The Hardest Part”

17)  Phil Collins & Philip Bailey  ~  “Easy Lover”

18)  Brandi Carlile  ~  “Harder To Forgive”

19)  Oriana  ~  "Love Me Down Easy"

20)  DC Talk  ~  “The Hard Way”

21)  Clint Black ft. Lisa Hartman Black  ~  “Easy For Me To Say”

22)  The National  ~  “Hard To Find”

23)  GJan  ~  “Wasn’t Easy”

24)  Cloves  ~  “Hit Me Hard”

25)  Maxi Priest  ~  “Easy To Love”

What Love Is, According To These Songs: Vol. 1

Just in time for Valentine's Day, we begin a three-part series featuring songs about what "Love Is." A wide variety of definitions are offered within – some good, some bad, and some downright weird. But all thoroughly enjoyable!  ~  JH

1)  Pat Benatar  ~  “Love Is A Battlefield”

2)  Johnny Mathis  ~  “Love Is A Many-Splendored Thing”

3)  Chrisette Michele  ~  “Love Is You”

4)  The Darkness  ~  “Love Is Only A Feeling”

5)  Frozen Cast  ~  “Love Is An Open Door”

6)  Steven Tyler  ~  “Love Is Your Name”

7)  Dolly Parton  ~  “Love Is Like A Butterfly”

8)  Christopher Cross  ~  “Love Is Love (In Any Language)”

9)  LeAnn Rimes  ~  “Love Is An Army”

10)  Muse  ~  “Neutron Star Collision (Love Is Forever)”

11)  k.d. lang  ~  “Love Is Everything”

12)  The Hollies  ~  “Love Is The Thing”

13)  Sophie Ellis-Bextor  ~  “Love Is A Camera”

14)  Phil Vassar  ~  “Love Is A Beautiful Thing”

15)  Rod Stewart  ~  “Love Is”

16)  Girls Aloud  ~  “Love Is The Key”

17)  Styx  ~  “Love Is The Ritual”

18)  Katie Melua  ~  “Love Is A Silent Thief”

19)  DC Talk  ~  “Luv Is A Verb”

20)  Sheryl Crow  ~  “Love Is A Good Thing”

21)  Lou Rawls  ~  “Love Is A Hurtin’ Thing”

22)  Linda Ronstadt  ~  “Love Is A Rose”

23)  Aloe Blacc  ~  “Love Is The Answer”

24)  Mickey & Sylvia  ~  “Love Is Strange”

25)  Arctic Monkeys  ~  “Love Is A Laserquest”  (Wait…WHAT?)

Songs About “Things”, Vol. 2

If you liked the first volume of this miniseries of Songs About "Things," there's lots more to entertain you in this set. If you missed the first post, you can tune in here. But we're not done yet. One final set of "Things" songs tomorrow. Enjoy! ~  JH

1)  10cc  ~  “The Things We Do For Love”

2)  Gungor  ~  “Beautiful Things”

3)  Babyface  ~  “Sorry For The Stupid Things”

4)  Meiko  ~  “Bad Things”

5)  Ben Howard  ~  “Small Things”

6)  Terri Clark  ~  “Better Things To Do”

7)  Good Charlotte  ~  “Little Things”

8)  Sarah Jarosz  ~  “1,000 Things”

9)  Elevation Worship  ~  “All Things New”

10)  The Weepies  ~  “Fancy Things”

11)  The Dear Hunter  ~  “Things That Hide Away”

12)  Brandi Carlile  ~  “The Things I Regret”

13)  Yankee Grey  ~  “All Things Considered”

14)  Amy Grant  ~  “Simple Things” 

15)  The Black Crowes  ~  “Seeing Things”

16)  Anastacia  ~  “Stupid Little Things”

17)  Relient K  ~  “Chap Stick, Chapped Lips, & Things Like Chemistry”

18)  Tori Kelly  ~  “Beautiful Things”

19)  Tired Pony  ~  “All Things At Once”

20)  t.A.T.u.  ~  “All The Things She Said”

21)  Robin Thicke  ~  “The Stupid Things”

22)  Mavis Staples  ~  “I Like The Things About Me”

23)   Dawes  ~  “Things Happen”

24)  Rosi Golan  ~  “A Lot Of Things”

25)  dc Talk  ~  “Things Of This World”

Songs About Diners, Drive-Ins, And Dives

Being a longtime fan of what I consider a nice filler show on the Food Network, I decided to make a post featuring a collection of songs with either the word, "Diner," "Drive-In," or "Dive" in their titles. Because, why not? Enjoy!  ~  JH

1)  Suzanne Vega  ~  "Tom's Diner"

2)  Catherine Britt  ~  "Drive-In Movie"

3)  Jennifer Knapp  ~  "Dive In"

4)  Larry Raspberry & The Highsteppers  ~  "Dixie Diner"

5)  The Moxies  ~  "Main Street Drive-In"

6)  Nirvana  ~  "Dive"  (Pay no attention to the man in the dress...)

7)  The Gaslight Anthem  ~  "We're Getting A Divorce, You Keep The Diner"

8)  Ellis Paul  ~  "Drive-In Movie"

9)  dc Talk  ~  "Dive"

10)  The Les Claypool Frog Brigade  ~  "D's Diner"

11)  David Bowie  ~  "Drive-In Saturday"

12)  St. Lucia  ~  "Before The Dive"

13)  Benabar  ~  "Le Diner"

14)  Dave Matthews Band  ~  "Drive In Drive Out"

15)  Waxahatchee  ~  "Swan Dive"

16)  Widespread Panic  ~  "Diner"

17)  Dead Vampires  ~  "Dead End Drive-In"

18)  Sister Hazel  ~  "Swan Dive"

19)  Martin Sexton  ~  "Diner"

20)  Jim Henry  ~  "Drive-In Movie Picture Show"

21)  Niké Jemiyo  ~  "Dive"

22)  Eddie Cochran  ~  "Drive-In Show"

23)  Hidden Hospitals  ~  "Swan Dive"

24)  Travis Tritt  ~  "Put Some Drive In Your Country"  (Admittedly, this is a stretch to qualify as a "drive in" song – but it's a really good tune, so who cares?)

25)  Steven Curtis Chapman  ~  "Dive"