A few more JSC songs

 Hello!

 You may remember that in July last year I started a song challenge. I used the prompts from a photo challenge but chose songs for them instead.

 I never finished this challenge due to travelling and generally being busy, but I had an unfinished post with three days worth which I just stumbled upon and thought I should post so it wouldn't be wasted. Here it is.

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 Prompt 2: Shoes

 I've picked Diamonds on the Souls of her Shoes by Paul Simon.

 I used to like this song but it always came second to You Can Call Me Al - recently, however, they seem to have switched places in my affections. It's just so upbeat and a song you want to run down the street dancing to. Well I do, anyway.

 It's also a song I imagine being played at the end of a film; an everything's-turned-out-okay kind of song. If I ever write a film I might include it.

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 Prompt 3: Cold

 I've picked Sun Burns Gold by Maura Kennedy.

 I've mentioned the Kennedys often on this blog and have even have the honour of interviewing them - I simply love their music. Sun Burns Gold is a solo effort by Maura and I found it on Retrospective, their best-of album on which I just keep finding new and wonderful songs.

 In the song, Maura describes very vividly and beautifully the wintery scene around her and wishes summer would come. It's an ode to the summer - yet it's an ode to the winter at the same time. It's very cleverly done.

 In the instrumental in the above live clip she does amazing things with her voice. I don't think this is as prominent in the album version where the instrumental is mainly the guitar, but it is still a lovely instrumental, simple but very powerful. All in all, I really like this song and am glad I found it.

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 Prompt 4: Red, white or blue

 I have chosen Red, and The Right Thing by Simply Red for my song.

 I first encountered this song on the way to college in the car - the fact that I was going by car rather than bus suggests I had an exam that day, and I have a strange feeling it may have been biology, though I can't say for sure.

 I have since been a big fan of this song. One of the top comments on YouTube says the best bit of the song is the key change at the end, but I actually much prefer the sound of it before the key change. The key change sounds like Stars a bit too much! Before that it sounds so sophisticated and jazzy and is a unique song, I feel.

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 So there you have it; days 2-4 of the challenge. I had picked songs for other prompts but hadn't written about them; maybe I will sometime. For now, I hope you enjoyed my song selection.

 Thanks for reading,

 Liz x

Songs: Diamonds on the Souls of Her Shoes - Paul Simon - 1986

Sun Burns Gold - Maura Kennedy - 2010

Simply Red - The Right Thing - 1987

JSC: Happiness is...

 Hello!

 You are maybe wondering what JSC stands for. It stands for July Song Challenge, and is a challenge I have invented for myself using the daily prompts of the Fat Mum Slim July Photo Challenge.

 Basically the original challenge is to take a photo each day of the month on a specific theme. I decided to twist it to pick a song that I feel suits each theme and share it with you, my readers, along with the story of why this song is important to me, and why it fits the theme if it isn't obvious.

 The story of my challenge is that I decided I wanted to choose a song a day for all of July, and that each song must have a theme. I wanted the themes to come from an external source rather than me making them up as I wanted a real challenge where I may have to really think to find a song that fits.

 My friend Kylie (click green link for her blog) had done the FMS photo challenge a previous month which was how I had heard of the monthly challenges and I decided it would be a good source of a daily theme. So, please note: I don't have any links or endorsement with Fat Mum Slim or the photo challenge; I'm simply using it as a source of daily themes.

 Day 1's theme is "Happiness is..." I had to think for a bit, as there are many songs that make me happy but in the end I settled for Love Changes (Everything) by Climie Fisher.

 This was my second-favourite song for a bit - my favourite being Is This Love? by Alison Moyet. The reason why the latter is not my happiness song is that I just feel Love Changes (Everything) is more upbeat and therefore better fits the theme.

 It a song that makes you happy and hopeful and you just want to get up and dance to it! Well, I do; who knows, I may be in a minority, but you cannot deny that it is a song that fills you with hope - even if things are going badly, love can change everything.

 Plus it is a beautiful and well-produced song that is simply nice on the ears and I think would make enjoyable listening - and make you happy - even if you couldn't understand English, because the tone of the song is just so positive.

 I wrote a post about this song when I first started this blog two years ago, at which time I was obsessed with the song; feel free to check it out.

 So, I intend to pick a song a day. I probably won't post daily, as I once did that for a bit and I saw these posts got less views than others on the blog, which suggests that people maybe don't have time to see each daily post before the next one arrives. So I'll probably be posting three or four days worth of songs at a time.

 I hope you enjoy them! Also, watch out for none-song-challenge-related posts as there will be some of them as well. I have a post linking royalty and music planned to celebrate the birth of the royal baby, who is due some time this month, so watch this space!

 Thanks for reading,

 Liz x

Song: Love Changes (Everything) - Climie Fisher - 1987