"When a Cajun Man Gets the Blues," Tab Benoit

Song: "When A Cajun Man Gets The Blues"
Album: Tab Benoit - Live At Jazz Fest 2007
Artist: Tab Benoit

I took my son to see the I-Max movie, Hurricane On The Bayou, and this song was featured. Tab Benoit's voice is wonderful and the simplicity of this arrangement is great. "It's so hard to drive, with these tears in my eyes." This lyric just gets to me. I think about New Orleans, Katrina and the people who are still suffering there.

"Lua," Bright Eyes

Song: "Lua"
Album: Lua - EP
Artist: Bright Eyes

Honesty.

Bright Eyes (a.k.a. Conor Oberst) is a master of conveying a feeling with a song. This is one of my favorite things about music-- it’s probably the best medium for conveying emotions. Yet Bright Eyes strips this song of all the optimism and hopefulness that usually accompanies a budding romance. This is a complete expression of the “out of self” observations of an addict and the resignation that accompanies the fall of an individual in tandem with the fall of society. If you have a shot at getting some and still can't muster a thread of hope, the world is weighing heavy my friend. In a word, this song is honest, heroically so.