don't let your ears refuse to hear.

About four years ago, a friend gave me the soundtrack to The Last Kiss. A gift from a friend is always wonderful and welcomed. But, this gift in particular was extraordinary. During that period of my life I was going through a very difficult time. I was lost, heartbroken, and confused. When gifted with this CD, she explained to me that it helped her through a difficult time as well, and that each song helped bring her back to life. After hearing this, I wasn't very convinced a CD could pull me out of my funk. But, boy was I wrong. Slowly, little pieces of my soul came back, and I seemed to understand how healing music really is.  The CD introduced me to so many new artists that have become constant plays on my iTunes. Joshua Radin, The Cary Brothers, Aimee Mann, Rachael Yamagata, SCHUYLER FISK, and the man I want to talk about today... Ray LaMontagne.

Ray LaMontagne

His song Hold You In My Arms was an instant favorite. Over the next four years I had slowly collected different songs from his various albums. Until recently he had been on the back burner of my iTunes, getting snubbed over new favorites such as Mumford and Sons and the easy listening pop/hip hop tunes of artists like Rhianna and Britney. Lately his music has made its way back through my ears and straight into my heart. His raspy voice, and incredible song writing talent attribute to the appeal of his music. If you are ever having a bad day my suggestion is to have a good cry, eat some good food, and pop this man's tunes into your CD player. In 10 minutes you will feel golden!

My top 10 Favorite Songs:

(in no particular order)

1. Hold You In My Arms

2. Within You

3. Jolene

4. Empty

5. Be Here Now

6. You Are The Best Thing

7. Let It Be Me

8. Trouble

9. Be Steal of Borrow

10. Shelter

I'll leave you with a preview of his sweet musical stylings.

Enjoy!

xoxo