I’m developing an unhealthy obsession with Train.

(To clarify, I mean the band, not the vehicle).

I don’t know what it is, but that band just seems to describe my life. Their albums are so half-and-half – sometimes you get the most ridiculously happy, cheerful songs that can brighten your day when you hear them, like “Hey Soul Sister” and “50 Ways To Say Goodbye”. Sometimes you get the songs where you can tell there’s a real story behind them – and probably not a happy one – like “Drops of Jupiter”.

I haven’t heard a song of theirs that I don’t like yet. There are some that I like, and some that I absolutely adore – I want “Hey Soul Sister” and “Marry Me” played when I get married – but I’ve yet to find one that I dislike. I love how personal they are – none of their songs are repetitive, and they don’t have that irritating “Boom-boom” beat, or autotuned meaningless lyrics – you can tell that every song is about someone, or some event that has happened, and more often that not you can relate to that. The variety of instruments – I mean, they helped re-introduce the ukulele to mainstream music, they use a Mariachi band in one of their songs, and sometimes they stick with the traditional guitar and drums, and every song they sing works. It just all works together.

I suppose there’s also a personal reason for why I like them so much – they’re “our” band. Yes, me and my fiance have a band, and that band is Train. We play and sing the songs to each other when we’re apart – like now, when we can only properly communicate via webcam chat, so we give each other mini concerts, and Train is often a popular choice – he usually chooses “Hey Soul Sister”, and my personal preference to perform is “Marry Me”. Every time I hear a Train song; whether that’s on the radio, or in a TV advert, or just because I’ve got them on my computer and like to listen to it to chill out, I think of him and it never fails to make me smile. Train plays a big part in keeping me sane while I’m away from him, which is why I can’t wait to go and see them in February.

Excited IS the word!

First of all, a little introduction so you’ll understand exactly why I’m so excited. Me and my fiance both love the song “Hey Soul Sister” and, as an extension, the band who wrote/played/sang it, Train. They’re like “our” band, we play their songs on guitar together, we sing them, we have it on in the car all the time – songs like “Hey Soul Sister”, “Marry Me” (my particular favourite, for obvious reasons!), and “50 Ways To Say Goodbye”. So whenever I hear one of their songs, I immediately think of him, and even though just recently it’s been hard because he’s back home and I’m at uni, just listening to a Train song makes me smile.

We also both like Mumford and Sons, and when I couldn’t get tickets for their tour, I was quite upset. Then, two days later, Train announce that they’re doing a small UK tour – only a few dates. So it was like fate, we weren’t meant to get the Mumford and Sons tickets because otherwise we couldn’t have had the Train ones. I was fairly convinced there was no way I’d get tickets – if Mumford and Sons sold out so quickly, what chance was there of getting Train ones?

This morning, I managed to get us tickets via the LiveNation pre-sale. Words can’t even describe how excited I am – me and him, going to see “our” band!!! So yes, I am a very happy bunny today. In other exciting news, I go home tomorrow for the weekend again! I know most people are quite happy to go home and then not go back until Christmas, but not me – I love my family to bits, and I don’t think I’d enjoy a weekend where I don’t see them and my fiance. I like it at uni, I’m making new friends and everything, but I still wouldn’t be here without my family, and I think it’s important to remember that.

My Current Music Obsessions!

For the first time in ages, I have been just sitting down, chilling out and listening to music. Although I like being busy, and love having people around me, this evening it’s been lovely to just relax (well, I can’t exactly do much the way my back is right now!). So, I thought I’d blog about my current music obsessions and the reasons why I’m currently obsessed with them.

Plain White T’s – Hey There Delilah – I’m ashamed to say, I never heard this song until a couple of weeks ago, when my boyfriend played it on his phone while he was at my house, and it’s one of the most beautiful songs I’ve heard for a long time. I don’t know why I hadn’t heard it before, I remember it being really popular a couple of years ago, but I’m so glad I know it now – I absolutely adore it. I love the really simple acoustic-y songs, and it’s so beautiful. Learning to play it on guitar 🙂

Train – Drive By – I’ve been hearing this song on the radio for a couple of weeks, and although I was able to sing along to the chorus because I’ve heard it so many times, I never actually heard who it was by. I’m a fan of Train (another of their songs appears in this list, no prizes for guessing which one!) and when I heard this was by them, it made me love them even more. The chorus is so catchy and the words are beautiful.

Ed Sheeran – Lego House – This one is mainly for the video (Rupert Grint is amazing in it!) but I also just love the song. Yes, it’s played a lot, as is A Team (which also appears in this list), but I could listen to it all day. Again, it’s another one with beautiful lyrics, and the video is very clever – it kind of shows you that the song could be about romantic love, which is what I assumed at first, but it could also be about obsessive love, which is what the video shows.

Ed Sheeran – A-Team – I just love this one. I like the cover Birdy did of it, but Ed Sheeran is mindblowing on this one, I love the lyrics (for a girl who loves epic score instrumentals, I’m also mad on lyrics, I absolutely adore meaningful, beautiful lyrics) and the guitar. I’m learning to play this one on guitar too.

Ed Sheeran – Drunk – Yup, another Ed Sheeran song. What can I say, I think he’s great. At first, I wasn’t too keen on him, but I listened to A Team and Lego House and was keen, and then I heard this one and it sealed the deal. Gorgeous song, and I love the video, even though I don’t like cats 😛

Train – Hey Soul Sister – This one is mine and my boyfriend’s “our song” kind of thing (there are a couple of others too, but this is the one that makes me think of him every time I hear it). He played and sang it for me, not long after we got together, and although I loved it before that (I used to play it on the ukulele, which I haven’t played for ages and need to get back into!), the link to him just makes it even more special. I can’t help but smile every time it comes on the radio, and I love it when one of us plays it on guitar (he taught me to play it too!) and we sing it together. I have the lyrics printed out and blu-tacked above my bed so that before I go to sleep, I can look at them and think of the first time he sang it to me.

 

So that was a brief(ish) and very soppy romantic look at the songs I’m currently mad about. There are a few more (Birdy’s covers of A-Team and Skinny Love, and Winter Winds & Awake My Soul by Mumford and Sons are almost permanently on that list!) but those are the main ones!