“tunes”day: ‘for the first time’

of course i could fill an entire year of “tunes”day posts with john legend songs. i could actually approach two years, with my collection over 100 songs by the man. and yes, he is the man. there’s no denying his talent or charisma, and frankly, he could sing the phone book and it would sound completely ok for a first dance song. but why not choose from one of his much more appropriate songs. though the obvious choice might be ‘all of me’ which he wrote about his wife (though i still like to pretend it was penned about yours truly) i’m going with ‘for the first time’. it’s one raw ballad. just the man, that voice, and his piano.

“tunes”day: ‘i choose you’

oh sara bareilles how i adore thee and every song you sing. on the latest album there’s a song called ‘i choose you’. it’s a bit synthy in beat but the sentiment is still raw. check out this live version in the video, which is stripped down and pretty perfect for a first song option. and then go buy every song of hers on itunes and thank me for it later.

“tunes”day: ‘this must be the place (naive melody)’

oh, new wave isn’t the first genre that comes to mind when thinking of potential first dance songs? not sure why not. well at least in the case of talking heads’ ‘this must be the place (naive melody)’. i like the idea of this song at a destination wedding in a tropical location, guests surrounding the dance floor, palm trees and salty sea air surrounding them. everyone humming it through the day-after brunch and far beyond, because it’s just the kind of song that gets stuck in your head and you don’t seem to mind.

“tunes”day: ‘let my love open the door’

in my book, there’s a direct correlation to my favorite moves and how much i love their soundtracks. one such flick i really enjoy is ‘dan in real life’ and the soundtrack that’s performed nearly entirely by sondre lerche is also a keeper. in particular, his cover of pete townsend’s ‘e. cola mix’ version of ‘let my life open the door’. not that i don’t love steve carrell’s rendition in the actual film, it’s just that sondre’s is just so very spot on–and versatile for a ceremony (even a reading!) or first dance song.

“tunes”day: ‘everlong (acoustic)’

my dear friend tied the knot back late last year. a beautiful destination wedding across the board. but of course, one of my favorite details was the music. one big stand out? the acoustic rendition of foo fighter’s ‘everlong’ performed live by a vocalist and guitarist. it hadn’t crossed my mind to have this song for a first dance, but after being lucky enough to hear the sound check earlier in the day, i knew it’d be perfect. and it was.