Wednesday, February 11, 2015

What are your 10 favorite Carpenters songs?

I think that Karen Carpenter had one of the most lusciously deep and warm voices in rock, and have always loved their songs. Back before there were digital tools to correct pitch in real time, there were singers like Karen Carpenter with perfect pitch.

What are your top 10 songs from the Carpenters? These are mine, in order of most favorite:

  1. Merry Christmas Darling - Without a doubt, one of the best original Christmas songs that have earned a spot in most people's playlists during Christmas. Their Christmas CD is absolutely my favorite seasonal CD, and this song in particular is such a heartfelt favorite.
  2. Close to You - Even though they weren't the first to record this song, they're the ones who turned it into a #1 hit. And heck, it's Homer and Marge's song. If you get married, don't you want this to be your song, too?
  3. Superstar - "Don't you remember you told me you love me, baby?" If you're not a romantic, that line might not have much meaning, but for romantics around the world, those words are pure heartbreak. You've got horns, strings and an oboe, and a woman with dour pleas for her love to return. They did not write this song, but it was their treatment, under Richard Carpenter's creativity, that made it popular.
  4. Top of the World - The only Carpenters song that'll leave you with a, "Not a cloud in the sky, got the sun in my eye" gleefulness, with a southern twang on your tongue.
  5. Rainy Days and Mondays - I feel like this was the song you'd most likely hear, the day Karen Carpenter died. It may have been sunny in Southern California on that day, but it was raining in the hearts and thoughts of fans.
  6. We've Only Just Begun - "So much of life, ahead." This would be the other song that was most likely played, the day Karen Carpenter died. At 32, her career was cut tragically short.
  7. Yesterday Once More - This song is all about remembering the good ol days -- yesterday.
  8. Sing a Song - Every kid who watched Sesame Street would recognize this song. Written by a Sesame Street staff songwriter, Joe Raposo, and sung by Sesame Street crew, it was the Carpenters who made this song popular in pop music.
  9. Ticket to Ride - This revisioned Beetles hit, was not as popular as the Beetles original. Still, its remake turned this song completely upside-down with a very somber tone.
  10. Touch Me When We're Dancing - You can feel the disco underneath the jazzy slow-jam, can't you?

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