We all get obsessed with songs. That’s the whole point of writing a song, I guess. To get everyone who hears your song to be unable to get the song out of their heads. Sounds mighty powerful. I wouldn’t know; I’ve written lyrics to songs but the melody part — the actual point of the exercise — is way outside my skill set.

I’m throwing down here a couple of songs — one recent, one not old but not the artist’s most recent work, — that are always playing somewhere in my head. If I hear them out here in reality, I will stop whatever I’m doing to hear the song out. I’m that smitten.

Go on — take the plunge. Get infected…

First — I have been a Marina Diamandis fan from the moment I first heard/saw the video for her “I’m Not A Robot” (as part of her “band” Marina & The Diamonds). I turned my daughter onto Marina, too. Among the things I respect about this artist is the fact that she’s got a lot on her mind. Even the way she approaches relationships isn’t from the “you hurt me, now I’m angry” rack, it’s from the whole “Relationships are damned complex” store. “Forget” is a shining example — off her album Froot — filled with great songs.

Second — Vampire Weekend’s “This Life” off their just released Father Of The Bride. The whole album is brilliant. “Harmony Hall” is on the verge of becoming another permanent fixture in my head. “This Life” is a perfect combination of jaunty tune with deeply ironic lyrics: “Baby, our disease, is the same one as the trees, unaware that they’ve been living in a forest”. There’s a drumbeat under the line “Oh, Christ, am I good for nothing” that has the distinct feeling of one pounding one’s hands into one’s head in angst — all while unable to resist the urge to dance. That’s a great song.