Beautiful

Christina Aguilera won a Grammy for this song. But it's in my head because it was on Glee, my new addiction--like I needed another one. Beautiful becomes an anthem in the capable hands of Mercedes (Amber Riley) as she combats social pressures in the episode Home.

Hello, I Love You

Performed on their first demo tape in 1965 , The Doors later released Hello on their album Waiting for the Sun in 1968. It stayed a week at #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 later that year. The band's leader, Jim Morrison, would die only 3 years later in Paris of unknown causes.

Love is Spoken Here

Our church choir is singing this on Sunday, so it's been in my head for awhile. Love is Spoken Here was written by Janice Kapp Perry in 1980 (approximately). It was included in the Children's Songbook published in 1989.

I've Got You Under My Skin

Michael Buble is so much better than Harry Connick, Jr. There I said it. Anyway, Buble included this Cole Porter song on his 2005 album It's Time. However, it's quintessential recording features Frank Sinatra and Nelson Riddle's orchestra. Sinatra's version was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2000 as part of the album Songs for Swinging Lovers. You don't hear titles like that anymore.

This Too Shall Pass

So I'm a sucker for Ok Go's music videos. I love Here it Goes Again and A Million Ways to Be Cruel--my friends and I actually performed that dance. Yeah, we rocked. A while ago, I saw the Rube Goldberg machine version of their newest video, This Too Shall Pass released in March of 2010. Very cool, but the cause and effect visuals overshadowed the music and I didn't have a very distinct impression of the song. Well, today I saw their alternate music video done with the Notre Dame marching band. To borrow some phrasing from my friend DangGina: I. Love. It. To see the video go to Ok Go's YouTube channel. For an added bonus, you can see an interactive floor plan of the RGM version at okgo.net.

Hips Don't Lie

Dancing With the Stars recently performed a tribute to Haiti to Shakira's Hips Don't Lie. Watching it made me wonder why they would pick a song in Spanish when Haitian's speak French and Creole. Well, I didn't know that the rapper featured on the song was Wyclef Jean from Haiti. That made a lot more sense, although if you wanted to hear true Haiti, they could have used music from RAM. I saw one of their weekly concerts at the Hotel Olaffson in Port-Au-Prince. Awesome. You can't help but move.

Big Spender

The musical Sweet Charity chronicles the mishaps of a taxi dancer (someone who gets paid by the dance) in New York. Big Spender is sung by the dancers inviting men to come dance with them. The musical started on Broadway in 1966 to much acclaim and has had several successful revivals including a recent one starring Christina Applegate. Interestingly, Bob Fosse was the original choreographer for the Broadway production.

Daughter

Released in 1993 on their album Vs., Daughter became one of Pearl Jam's biggest hits. According to Eddie Vedder, the band's lead vocalist & guitarist, the song is about a child with a learning disability. It a pretty dark piece of poetry. Then again, I haven't heard too much hope in any of Pearl Jam's songs.

Single Ladies

The dancing in the music video to Beyonce's mega hit, Single Ladies, was inspired by a 1960's dance video choreographed by Bob Fosse. Apparently Beyonce has inspirational powers of her own. Of several parodies on YouTube, I think I like this one the best.