New York DJ

DJ NYC Indie Pop & Rock Song Favorites of 2009 to Enliven All Kinds of Events

These days, if you’re not that familiar with indie pop and rock, and only see and hear the bands or singers at the more popular end of the indie spectrum, it’s easy to think all this kind of music falls into one of two types: either, 1) quiet, mopey acoustic folk sung by skinny white guys with thick beards, or, 2) spastic, nervy pop songs sung by skinny white guys (or girls) wearing tight jeans. 

That may be a little simplistic, but judging from the covers of Spin or Rolling Stone for the past couple years, that conclusion doesn’t seem complete hyperbole because these are the two type of indie music that tend to be most hyped. Many who don’t know indie music much might think then that indie is either only for private listening, since the quiet folksy stuff is too sad to play at the mellower parts of an event like dinner or cocktail time, and the dancier pop stuff is just too obscure for all but a few to know.

But as a dj in nyc who is exposed to so much new music of all genres each year both new and old, both obscure and mainstream, trust me – the world of indie pop and rock is much more wide-ranging than simply the sounds of what grabs the most media attention. (If you're looking for a general and expansive list of all kinds of indie songs from the '60s until now, check out our indie playlists on iTunes by typing in "iMix", then searching "djnyc", as well as looking at the indie categories on this blog and at the dj nyc news & music blog located here.) In our list below, and playable on iTunes here there’s a huge diversity of sound and level of media visibility in terms of the artists: There’s fun, upbeat indie music great for cocktail time that looks back to the sounds of early Prince (Empire of the Sun’s “Walking On a Dream”, MGMT’s very recognizable “Electric Feel”) or the pop soul of 1960s era girl groups (The School’s “I Want You Back”, Camera Obscura’s “Honey in the Sun”); there’s melodic dance grooves that look to the future by creating fresh, lush electronic soundscapes (Annie’s “Bad Times”); there’s lovely, sentimental songs of a folksy-country mood (Laura Cantrell’s cover of New Order’s “Love Vigilantes”, The Avett Brothers’ "I & Love & You”) that will probably be the talk of your dinner party for a bit. 

In fact, the “indie” label that has become so popular and rather thoughtlessly thrown around in the past decade or so has become such a catch-all that it’s almost without meaning in terms of defining a specific sound; to many people it means a lot of different sounds. About the only thing the term is useful for is alerting you to the likely presence of a certain sensibility – being somehow new and fresh and adventurous, and going against the grain of the mainstream in a variety of ways, even if at times that newness is a retro sound that’s been off the map for awhile.

And don't think indie music can only be used here and there as an occasional filler; it often can be showcased. There’s some indie songs on our list we played this year for important signature moments, like wedding first dances: The Yeah Yeah Yeah’s “Hysteric (acoustic version)”, a strikingly simple and tender song about love enduring after difficult experiences that features a beautifully crisp female vocal, and the quite close-to-mainstream Ray LaMontagne, with “You Are the Best Thing”, a bouncy, smoky tune that echoes ‘70s Rod Stewart, from that time long ago when his music had a gritty, rough-edged sexiness to it.

And remember, the indie music you choose to play today at your event could give you some "cool points" tomorrow for being seen to be the first to break out a song that later becomes popular and loved. Not so long ago bands like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and singers like Ray LaMontagne were considered obscure, and now they’re on Saturday Night Live.

1. Electric Feel - MGMT
2. Bruises - Chairlift
3. First Train Home - Imogen Heap
4. Walking On a Dream - Empire of the Sun
5. The’59 Sound - The Gaslight Anthem
6. Honey in the Sun - Camera Obscura
7. Lisztomania - Phoenix
8. Vanished - Crystal Castles
9. Love Vigilantes - Laura Cantrell
10. Sleepyhead - Passion Pit
11. I & Love & You - The Avett Brothers
12. Hysteric (acoustic version) - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
13. My Girls - Animal Collective
14. Dominos - The Big Pink
15. This Tornado Loves You - Neko Case
16. You Are the Best Thing - Ray LaMontagne
17. I Want You Back - The School
18. Bad Times - Annie

An Excellent, Non-Cover Christmas Song for Your Holiday Party Playlist: Over the Rhine, "(Darlin') Christmas is Coming"

When the usual stable of Christmas pop songs are dusted off and hauled back out to the world around early November, many people complain they’re sick of hearing these same tunes over and over on the radio, in stores and at holiday parties. But when it comes to making a playlist for a Christmas party, most of us will simply throw on the radio stations that play this (at times) mind-numbing mix of Christmas classics, or we'll make a mix CD that may include a few lesser-played or quirky Christmas songs but overall mostly contains the familiar takes of singers from Sinatra to Diana Krall on “Silver Bells,” “Let it Snow,” “Silent Night” and the like.

It’s understandable - at a Christmas party it’s hard to be a music snob. As a host, it makes sense to give your guests a fun atmosphere that’s accessible and upbeat, and, unless it’s an announced "theme" Christmas party involving a more offbeat selection of music, too much sad acoustic indie-pop or experimental noise-rock covers of Christmas songs might not add to the festiveness much, or could take away from it. And new Christmas songs, of whatever genre or style, rarely tend to be memorable, at least in a good way.

An exception to this rule that can add a little freshness to your Christmas party music playlist is the album Snow Angels by the alt-countryish band Over the Rhine. (We're a big fan of theirs, go here for a post I did about a great song from an older album of theirs that can be used for a first dance at a wedding, or just in general as a nice addition to a wedding dinner music playlist.)

On Snow Angels, first released in late 2006, Over the Rhine has created a sturdy, cozy collection of jazzy, acoustic, and slightly bluesy pop songs about Christmas and/or winter that feel impressively like covers of classic Christmas songs but are all (save for a few actual covers) their own. There’s striking melodies of all moods in their original songs, from the melancholy remembrances of “Snow Angel” to the playful sweetness of “Snowed in With You” to the sultry slow-burn of “North Pole Man.” All these tunes, too, have lyrics that take a cue from American Songbook pop standards in that they're sentimental without being treacly. Also, the production is clean but always kept simple and not too polished - much like vintage mid-century holiday classics - and the versatility of singer Karin Bergquist’s warm voice is able to convincingly sell the feel of the songs, whether they’re concerned with longing, promise, sexiness, playfulness, or anything else.

Of all these great songs, though, the standout is “(Darlin’) Christmas is Coming.” With its old radio-like echo of the word “darlin’” throughout, its gently bouncing verses rising into a sweetly soaring chorus, and its inclusion of charming lyrical detail like the ringing of Salvation Army bells, or beautiful images like snow “falling like forgiveness from the sky,” this is a tune that does a most difficult thing - it connects with the spirit of those long-ago Christmas classics but doesn’t sound at all derivative of them. I think Irving Berlin and Bing Crosby would be impressed.

Unfortunately, because there only seems to be room for superstar artists' covers these days when it comes to new Christmas music being heard by the general public, this song will probably never reach a wide audience and become the classic it should be. So if you like it, help it out a little and let the world know about it.

Over the Rhine - (Darlin') Christmas is Coming

A Great Indie Pop First Dance Song: She & Him, “I Was Made for You”

Fans of indie pop, alt-country, singer-songwriters, or all three have probably heard the music of M. Ward, a singer-songwriter who for about a decade has been releasing albums of moody, otherworldly-sounding, yet often warm folk and pop that stitches together vintage sounds - from genres, like folk or bluegrass, to actual old sounds, like vocal effects that make it seem his voice is emanating from a 1930s radio. A couple years ago, Ward began a side project called She & Him with the increasingly popular actress Zooey Deschanel (known for her supporting roles in Elf, Yes Man, and as a lead in an underrated indie film featuring some great music called All the Real Girls).

Last year the pair released their debut album, Volume One, a well-crafted collection of songs that blends retro styles like vintage country twang, '60s girl group harmonizing, and a touch of classic torch song jazz into an enchanting mix. But the real surprise here is Deschanel, who sings lead vocals and wrote most of the songs. Her vocals, usually delivered crisply but with a sweet, slight country-ish drawl, quite beautifully convey a range of emotion throughout the album, from the exuberance of celebrating a new love to late-night, tear-in-your-beer, honky-tonk heartache. And what's also impressive is that you can tell - not just from the strength of the songs, but also from the choice of the radio-unfriendly musical styles themselves - that Deschanel and Ward have made music they care about, and that Deschanel is not simply a pretty young face trying to pull a Jennifer Love Hewitt and cash in on her growing stardom. Though the album may not be thematically deep, and though at times it sounds too derivative of its retro influences, Volume One is of the quality and integrity that that most actors with musical side projects think they're making but rarely do.

"I Was Made for You" is one of the songs here where Deschanel and Ward are at the their best. While on some of the more twangy tunes on the album, Deschanel leans a bit too hard on the country drawl (she was born in L.A. and went to high school in Santa Monica, so she's no coal miner's daughter), on "I Was Made for You" she keeps just enough of the drawl to make things warm, but also channels the breezy sweetness of the '60s girl group sound. From the opening lyrics about taking a walk and seeing a boy pass by to the backup “ooh, uh-huh” female vocals, this song seems like it could be the prequel to innocent "teenager-in-love" girl-group classics like "My Boyfriend's Back" or "He's So Fine."

Why is this tune a great first dance song? Mostly for one important reason - it manages to flawlessly create a tricky mood to pull off, but one that's perfect for a couple's initial foray alone onto the dancefloor for their guests and photographers. In the song, the solid foundation of lush retro production, a bouncy melody, and Deschanel's joyful vocals all come together to convincingly capture the pure, teenager-y thrill of falling for someone, and from my experience as a DJ at weddings, few things could be better than feeling that during a first dance. Plus, like most simple pop tunes should, the song doesn't overstay its welcome, being only two-and-a-half minutes long. The one caveat is that the song isn't gender neutral like many first dance songs - twice in the song, Deschanel sings "I have been waitin' for a long long time/for a boy like you" - but come on, guys, the wedding should be more about your bride anyway, right?

Have a listen...

She & Him - "I Was Made for You"

Off the Beaten Track Songs for All Kinds of Road Trips

I’ve been away from the blog for almost a month - much longer than I had intended - but this was largely because for about two weeks I was on a road trip vacation with my girlfriend. I returned eager to make a collection of songs that people could use for all kinds of road trips – weekend getaways taken with a significant other, meditative solo excursions out of town, long family vacations, and so forth.

Now, this is a blog in which I usually write about how to use music and the DJ to make events such as corporate parties, weddings, and fashion shows succeed on a higher level. So DJ advice on songs for a road trip might seem a bit out of place - after all, road trips are not really considered an event, they of course don’t feature live DJs spinning from the passenger’s seat, and the music which people bring with them in their cars for a road trip is often very personal.

But then again, our company doesn’t only DJ events that are live. We also provide carefully pre-crafted mixes of songs to clients as well. For example, when we provide music mixes to a restaurant in the city, the most important element is not beat-matching and getting people to dance, but the more mellow mission of crafting a mood or moods that enhance the guests’ time eating dinner or drinking cocktails. Plus, I took a look on iTunes and found their road trip collection – though fun – felt a bit generic and one dimensional. Sure, the iTunes collection might give some people a smile on their trip to blast “I Can’t Drive 55” by Sammy Hagar or “Life is a Highway” by...by...uh, that one guy who sung it, but there are so many other moods that music can put you in touch with on a road trip than just rockin’ out. Road trips can offer moments for pleasant reflections, for melancholy musings, for innocent joy, for quiet sadness, and a lot more kinds of feelings.

And really, a road trip is a sort of event to those embarking on it. It almost always arouses some sort of passionate feeling, usually it involves some degree of planning, and ever since cassette decks and Certron C-60 tapes came out in the early '70s, mixes of music have been almost as important as the gas money.

So I’ve assembled a mix of songs that hopefully you aren’t too familiar with, and that cover a range of emotions and that go with a variety of moments, from driving through the lights of a big city late at night to cruising along an empty rural highway under clear blue skies and bright sunshine. There’s mellow acoustic guitar instrumentals, folk, indie rock, electronica, classic rock, roots reggae, vintage country, vintage rock, synthpop, alt-country, blues, and more. From some of the songs' subject matter - cars, highways, welcome escapes, anticipated reunions - you'll be able to tell they're related to the theme, but other songs were chosen simply because they just have a certain feel - be it propulsive, sweet, lush, moody, dreamy, austere - that goes well with different kinds of road trip moments.

I'm sure there's a lot of great music out there that I don't know about that you really adore on your road trips. I encourage you to comment below with any suggestions you think would be good for people to know more about for a road trip mix, whatever the mood of the song, and if I get enough I'll make another mix incorporating those suggestions. Just please don’t include the obvious stuff that we've all seen in too many Hollywood movies or car commercials, like Foghat’s “Slow Ride” or Billy Ocean’s “Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car.” We all know about those songs too much, and unfortunately we can’t forget them.

Go here to check out the mix.

Great New York City Songs for Your Event - At Any Time of Year

Well, the New Year is almost here and along with midnight kisses, champagne, and Auld Lang Syne often comes the tradition of watching the ball drop in Times Square. So with New York City in many people's mind's tonight, we thought this a perfect time to bring you a mix of great New York City songs for your events to not just feature at year-end events, but throughout the whole year.

Often at events located in or near the city, no matter what time of the year, we find that playing a few songs that reference New York in some way add an extra sentimental touch, both for those who live here or nearby, and those who have come to the event from out of the state or out of the country. The great thing about the city is that there's been so many songs in so many styles written about it, so therefore we've chosen songs are from a wide range of genres - jazz, soul, rock, folk, indie pop, reggae, hip-hop, merengue, and more. The songs are also from a wide variety of moods, some quiet, some loud, some in between, so you'll find many songs here to everything from a small dinner gathering to a huge corporate party. Many of these songs even helped define these genres they come from. Some of these are classics you've heard many times but still love and would want to hear many more times, some are newer and likely completely unfamiliar, some are only songs you want to hear when drunk, but all feature the city as a central part of the tune and capture an essence of the Big Apple in their own memorable way.

Here is the list of the songs included in the mix (arranged in a consecutive order, generally, of rising party-ability):

1. Take the "A" Train - Duke Ellington
2. Let Me Off Uptown - Mel Tormé
3. The Brooklyn Bridge - Mel Tormé
4. Manhattan - Ella Fitzgerald
5. Autumn In New York - Frank Sinatra
6. Spanish Harlem - Ben E. King
7. Brooklyn and Jamaica - Morgan Heritage
8. Take the L Train (To Brooklyn) Brooklyn Funk Essentials
9. Breakfast In NYC - Oppenheimer
10. Walk on the Wild Side - Lou Reed
11. Going Home - Luna
12. NYC - Interpol
13. Coney Island - Death Cab for Cutie
14. Wintering in Brooklyn - The Last Town Chorus
15. The Only Living Boy in New York - Simon & Garfunkel
16. The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy) Simon & Garfunkel
17. The City - Joe Purdy
18. Fairytale of New York - The Pogues feat. Kirsty MacColl
19. Angel of Harlem - U2
20. New York, New York - Ryan Adams
21. Broadway - Goo Goo Dolls
22. New York City - They Might Be Giants
23. Rockaway Beach - The Ramones
24. Rockin' the Bronx - Black 47
25. Brooklyn - Mos Def
26. South Bronx - KRS-One & Boogie Down Productions
27. New York New York - Grandmaster Flash, Melle Mel & The Furious Five
28. No Sleep 'til Brooklyn - Beastie Boys
29. Brooklyn's Finest (feat. The Notorious B.I.G.) - Jay-Z
30. Big Pimpin' (feat. UGK) - Jay-Z
31. Across 110th Street - Bobby Womack
32. Native New Yorker - Odyssey
33. Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do) - Christopher Cross
34. New York Soul - Ray Barretto
35. Funky Broadway - Wilson Pickett
36. 110th St. & 5th Ave. - Tito Puente
37. Un Dia en New York Los Hermanos Rosario
38. Fiesta en el Bronx - Frank River
39. NYC Beat - Armand Van Helden
40. New York City Boy - Pet Shop Boys
41. I Love New York - Madonna
42. I Love NYC - Andrew W.K. 
43. New York State of Mind - Billy Joel 
44. Theme from New York, New York - Frank Sinatra

So, as Frank Sinatra sings in his famous rendition of "New York, New York," let those little town dreams melt away and go listen to the mix here.

Indie Wedding Song Mixes, Parts 8, 9 & 10

Recently, on iTunes, we completed our iMix collection of indie wedding songs. As I have explained in posts describing the previous 7 entries in the collection, the tunes in these last 3 mixes cover a range of "wedding moods," with some songs appropriate for first dances, some for atmosphere during dinner or cocktail hour, and some you could use for a less traditional take on ceremony processional and/or recessional music. (Go here to see my posts on the previous mixes in the collection.) What unites all the songs we've picked in this whole collection of about 200 songs is simply that they're all great to help craft a soundtrack for a wedding that features eclectic and unusual pop and rock which often explores romance from a less mainstream, more fresh point-of-view.

Some standouts on mix 8 include the breezy ramshackle sound of "Scythian Empires" by Andrew Bird; "I Love How You Love Me," Camera Obscura's lovely minimalist version of an oldies pop song made popular by Bobby Vinton and the Paris Sisters; and a pair of classic alternative tunes from the '80s that influenced today's indie rock, "Just Like Honey" by the Jesus and Mary Chain, and "A Strange Kind of Love" by former Bauhaus lead singer Peter Murphy. Go here for mix 8.

Much of Mix 9 nods back to some of the influencers of today's indie rock and pop, such as The Blue Nile's "Saturday Night," an orchestral pop song so sweeping and cinematic you'll see visions of black and white movie lovers in your head; the tender lullaby feel of The Innocence Mission's "Happy, The End"; and the romantic jazz club feel of Fairground Attraction's "Allelujah," which glides along so gently and elegantly on the silky vocals of Eddi Reader (the song is featured on the band's excellent but relatively obscure album The First of a Million Kisses, cover pictured). Go here for mix 9.

Finally, mix 10 largely retuns to the acoustic feel of our first mix in the collection. Included on this last mix is a stripped-down, acoustic guitar cover of Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes" by Matt Ketteman and Cameron Mizell, which conjures a Mark Kozolek/Red House Painters-like haunting prettiness from the instantly-recognizable melody; the clean, soaring vocals and shimmering acoustic guitar on Alison Krauss's "Simple Love," and ex-Velocity Girl singer Sarah Shannon's sweet, loungey tune "Along the Way." Go here for mix 10.

Yet More Indie Wedding Music Playlists

Because more couples seem to be searching for indie music to play at their weddings, we've put together more iTunes playlists (mixes 6 and 7) of our favorite indie wedding music. As mentioned in my last post about our previous mixes (go here for that post), while some of these songs are great for first dances, more of them you'll likely find can be used in other areas of your celebration, especially to establish your own unique atmosphere (but still accessible to the parents, as well as those cousins from Indiana)  during cocktail hour or dinner.

Of particular note on these mixes are "In the Morning" (mix 7) by Club 8, a Swedish duo (pictured) that combines pleasant jangly guitars with sunny, ethereal female vocals and a touch of loungey mellowness in the tradition of groups like The Sundays, The Cardigans and Saint Etienne. This song would fit in perfectly during a dinner, and because it has a vintage, breathy Astrud Gilberto quality to it, it could even be mixed in with some samba. Also check out "The Luckiest" (mix 6) by Ben Folds, a piano-driven song that pairs a beautiful vocal melody with endearing lyrics about a clumsy guy who feels so fortunate to have found love. This song seems custom-made for a first dance - and even more so if one of you is considered a bit klutzy!

Mix 6 is here, mix 7 is here.

More of djnyc's Favorite Indie Wedding Songs

Many clients we DJ for are first attracted to us because of our awareness that a wedding doesn't have to feel like a wedding. While these couples still want some traditional elements, like a first dance and a cake cutting, and want an overall sentimental vibe, they also want songs played throughout the celebration - and especially during the early part of it - that aren't they typical wedding fare like overplayed jazz standards, stale '70s and '80s lite rock, or more recent but often generic-sounding Top 40 hits.

The couples who want their weddings to have an unpredictable soundtrack often request many songs and artists that fall into the genre called "indie" rock or pop music. Because this label is a catch-all for so many different sounds - from the cerebral, melancholy pop of a band like Death Cab for Cutie to the ethereal guitars of M83 to the nervy symphonic electronica of the English duo Frou Frou (pictured is the cover of their album, Details) - it's often hard to define what exactly unites all this music, besides it being the iPod of an East Village or Williamsburg hipster. From our perspective, though, it's rather simple to know what qualifies as "indie" - any new-ish rock or pop sound that's a bit under the radar, eclectic, unexpected, or sometimes all three.

Here's a few more iTunes mixes of songs we've played for couples over the years, and some we haven't but think would be quite appropriate for anyone looking for a more offbeat feel to their wedding music. (Also included are a few songs from artists that influenced today's indie music, like The Pixies, R.E.M. and the Velvet Underground.) We posted Part 1 of these mixes last month, a list of acoustic indie first dance songs, which you can listen to here. The songs on these subsequent mixes are intended for the earlier parts of a wedding, but certainly not all are intended as first dance suggestions. Some of these tunes will strike you as excellent first dance songs, especially the Magnetic Fields' funny and tender "The Book of Love," (on mix 5) but most others, like the alternating blissful and exhausted tone of Frou Frou's "It's Good to Be in Love" (on mix 3) are less custom-made for a first dance than they are simply songs that offer a more original perspective and/or sound to evoke a sentimental mood than most mainstream pop. Therefore, you'll likely find you can fit these in anytime during the cocktail hour or dinner of a wedding.

Okay, enough introduction: For Part 2 of our favorite indie wedding songs, click here. For Part 3, here. Part 4, here. And Part 5 here. And coming soon: Our favorite indie wedding dancing songs, for when you've had a few drinks and your non-cliche music-lovin' butt wants to get shakin'.

Some of Our Favorite Acoustic Indie / Alt-Country First Dance Songs

In DJ-ing weddings in and around New York City for years, often we perform for couples who are very knowledgeable about music, and therefore don't pick the usual classic (or sometimes cheesy) first dance songs seen on those generic, one-size-fits-all first dance lists on wedding websites. Often couples, especially in New York City, prefer a first dance song which is, of course, slow and romantic, but is a bit more subtle or less polished than the usual first dance staples - either in the music, the message, or both. These couples also tend to not want a first dance song that is overly-familiar, which we love - it's great to be reminded that there's people out there who would rather have NO first dance song than have a first dance song by Celine Dion!

You may be one of those more discerning couples, so we've created a list on iTunes located here of some great first dance songs of the alt-country variety that we've played for brides and grooms over the years as well as some other songs in this style that we haven't played yet but we think would appeal to anyone who's looking for a first dance song that's pretty and sentimental but also completely shlock-free.

Pictured above is the cover of the self-titled album by Easmountainsouth, which includes one of my favorites songs on the list, "So You Are to Me." Its melody and vocal have that kind of inarguable prettiness that commands your attention, and the lyrics and spare production make it seem like a song written hundreds of years ago, born out of some long-ago lovers' impending separation, like a soldier going off to war, or a traveler leaving for a long sea voyage. (Forgive me, I was an English major.) Another one of the songs in the list, "I Want You to be My Love" by Over the Rhine, I wrote about in a separate blog entry which you can check out here. And finally, another song on the list worth highlighting is "Fields of Gold" by Eva Cassidy, who makes the already pretty Sting song a hundred times prettier. By stripping down the production sheen of the original, Cassidy lets her absolutely lovely voice take center stage and makes the feeling of the song so much more powerful.

Off the Beaten Track First Dance Songs: Over the Rhine, "I Want You to Be My Love"

Most of the time when I DJ weddings, the couple will know or at least have in mind their first dance song. Often these songs are ones the groom and bride have a personal connection to, or have lyrics that are appropriate to their relationship, or are simply classics, like "At Last" by Etta James. But sometimes couples aren't sure of a song yet when they hire DJNYC, and they ask if I know of anything good. I really enjoy telling them of some songs that I think would be great first dance songs, and that probably aren't on any "cookie cutter DJ" first dance lists. What I tell them next is to not just look at all these rather same lists of favorite first dance songs that are all over the internet but instead to explore a bit more, especially going through their music collections to find a special song. Then, if they still want one of the first dance "staples," great. At least the couple thought about it a bit and realized you don't have to pick one of those well-known songs.

Now and then I'll be posting an entry of a first dance song I think would work great but is likely not well known. First up is one of the songs I suggest most to couples, "I Want You to Be My Love" by the group Over the Rhine. It's from their album Drunkard's Prayer, and is a stunner of a tune. There's a lovely piano melody; the lyrics are simple, true, but also feel entirely fresh; the female vocals have a perfect balance of passion and tenderness. When I hear the song's last line, "And I want you/And all you've been through" it gives me the good chills.  

Over the Rhine - I Want You To Be My Love