The Carpenters - "I Need To Be In Love"

In Bridget Jones' Diary, Bridget wallows in romantic self-pity by listening to All By Myself at obnoxious volume. This is a totally relatable moment, though I don't listen to much Jamie O'Neal. My song of choice is I Need To Be In Love. Before I get to any lyrical content, check out that title. It's not I want to be in love. It's I need to be in love. Right there it doesn't seem like this is going to be a level-headed affair.

But actually it kind of is. That's the beauty. In my mind, this song is the ultimate for romantic losers, because you've got overdramatics, but they're balanced by a certain weary pragmatism.

The opening line indicates a certain degree of rationality: "The hardest thing I've ever done is keep believing there's someone in this crazy world for me." But as the song goes on we get such "poor me" sentiments as: "it took awhile for me to learn / that nothin' comes for free / the price I've paid is high enough for me," and "so here I am with pockets full of good intentions/ but none of them will comfort me tonight / I'm wide awake at 4 a.m. / without a friend in sight."

But the best is the chorus.

"I know I need to be in love
I know I've wasted too much time
I know I ask perfection of a quite imperfect world
And fool enough to think that's what I'll find"

Those of you who have never had trouble making romantic connections will have to trust me when I say that these lines perfectly describe what it feels like when your love jones is on the fritz.

In typical Carpenters fashion, the music ushers the proceedings along with delicate piano, sweeping strings, and Karen Carpenter's jaw-dropping voice; a voice that feels to me like wrapping up tight in a warm blanket. It's just what you need when your world is feeling a little cold.

Album: A Kind Of Hush (1976)
Fave moment: The final chorus, where the drama has built to its zenith and you have no choice but to close your eyes, throw your arms out Broadway style, and sing along.

Comments

Honoring the Legacy of REO Speedwagon

I suppose I should have known the saga of REO Speedwagon couldn't end with a whimper. Before I get into the latest developments, here's a brief review of what's happened so far: In September 2024 came the announcement that the band was effectively breaking up at the end of the year. Apparently, frontman Kevin Cronin ruled that bassist Bruce Hall was no longer fit to continue touring following back surgery in summer 2024. Hall felt otherwise. Here we learned that REO had essentially become a three-way partnership between Cronin, Hall, and Doughty (who retired from touring in January 2023) following the departure of original members Alan Gratzer and Gary Richrath in 1988. Doughty sided with Hall, so Cronin was outvoted 2-1. No Bruce Hall, no REO Speedwagon. In December 2024 Cronin revealed he would continue performing REO Speedwagon songs with the two musicians who replaced Doughty and Hall, as well as Brian Hitt and Dave Amato (who replaced Gratzer and Richrath), with the on...

The Unlikely Musical Life of Tom Kelly

You may not know the name Tom Kelly, but I guarantee that you've sung along to songs he wrote. Born in West Lafayette, Indiana in 1952, Tom moved to Effingham, Illinois when he was 11 years old, just in time to witness the Beatles' debut on Ed Sullivan. Bit by the rock music bug, he joined a local band called the Trifaris, singing and playing bass. His family moved back to Indiana in '66. When Tom finished high school, he decided to go to college in Illinois, but his choice was made based on extracurricular factors, not academic ones. "I started at Eastern [Illinois University] because there was a band,” he told the Effingham Daily News in 2011, “Then I transferred to Southern [Illinois University] because there was another band.” Champaign, Illinois Continuing his college hopping, Tom headed closer to home to attend Purdue, and there he had a group called The Gaping Huggers, comprised of former fellow Trifari JC Marshall on drums, and University of Illino...

12 More by Collective Soul

Sometimes an artist just needs 12 more songs to summarize their career. Case in point... Collective Soul released a pretty decent best of compilation - 7even Year Itch: 1994-2001 - nearly a quarter of a century ago, but there's been nothing to summarize their output since then. Considering that output consists of seven albums and a couple of EPs, we've got our work cut out for us. (Since the band stopped having "hits" in 2009, most of these are just my personal preference, though I did give the singles first consideration). 1. "Better Now" (from Youth , 2004) "Better Now" is buzzy burst of optimism that has stood the test of time/\. 2. "There's a Way" (from Youth , 2004) Great riff, great chorus, great bridge, great song. 3. "What Can I Give You" (from Afterwords , 2007) Fascinating structure on this one: It starts out somewhat pedestrian, then goes into a soaring chorus followed by an even more melodic post-chorus, the...

3 Minutes, 49 Seconds

Search This Blog