ch-ch-ch-changes

March 9, 2008 11:10 AM

Songs about change?

What are some good songs about changes - specifically wellness, health, love, turning over new leaves, making some realizations, new mindset, attitude, path, etc?

Bonus points for songs with a beat, rhythm, or something that inevitably makes a person move their head or tap their feet to...

I'm thinking along the lines of the chorus in Talib Kweli's 'Get By.' Thoughts?

posted by raztaj to society & culture (36 comments total)

David Bowie's 'Changes'?
posted by box at 11:16 AM on March 9

Changes--Phil Ochs.
Gordon Lightfoot version.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 11:19 AM on March 9

Deftones- Change
posted by Wanderlust88 at 11:21 AM on March 9

Johnny Nash : I Can See Clearly Now
posted by Neiltupper at 11:24 AM on March 9

There's always the classic "Time to Change" from the Brady Bunch...

What? It's great!
posted by Asparagirl at 11:24 AM on March 9 [1 favorite]

Sam Cooke: A Change Is Gonna Come, covered by any number of others.
Dylan's The Times They Are a-Changin and Blowin' in the Wind.
Not exactly dance tunes really.
posted by dawson at 11:27 AM on March 9

New Attitude - Patti LaBelle
posted by SuperSquirrel at 11:30 AM on March 9

Change- Blind Melon
posted by inconsequentialist at 11:34 AM on March 9

Todd Rundgren - Change Myself
posted by txsebastien at 11:37 AM on March 9

We just finished doing our annual employee awards presentation using the theme "change" and here are a list of the songs we liked.

Changes In Lattitudes-Jimmy Buffett
Change My Mind-John Berry
Cool Change-Little River Band
Everything's Changed-Lonestar
Roll With The Changes-REO Speedwagon
Change-Melissa Etheridge
Change-John Waite
Change the World-Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
Changes-Santana
Changes-David Bowie
Things've Changed-Sammy Hagar & The Waboritas
posted by cainiarb at 11:38 AM on March 9

Wind of Change, of course!
posted by Wolfdog at 11:43 AM on March 9

My personal fave is Pyrite Pedestal by Pretty Girls Make Graves. Lyrics here.

Also, Better Things, by Jackson Browne, but covered awesomely by the Kinks and Dar Williams (separately).

Fidelity, by Regina Spektor.
posted by lunasol at 11:51 AM on March 9

Change by Sparks.
posted by Oriole Adams at 11:54 AM on March 9

Toad The Wet Sprocket, "Throw It All All Away"
Counting Crows, "A Murder of One"
Bruce Hornsby, "Gonna Be Some Changes Made"
posted by jferg at 11:55 AM on March 9

Solvent - My Radio comes to mind, even though it's really about a radio station instead of a person.

The Cinematic Orchestra - Horizon: "All I can say is keep lookin' forward don't look back"
posted by aubilenon at 11:59 AM on March 9

Thanks for the suggestions so far! Any others you can think of or favorites would be appreciated. (Change does not have to be part of the title, but that's cool too!). All genres appreciated, too. Shukran.
posted by raztaj at 12:24 PM on March 9

Time Has Come Today -- The Chambers Brothers
Something's Changed -- Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
Suddenly Everything Has Changed -- The Flaming Lips
A Little Change -- Bradley Walker

...and my favorite song ever about change and resolve and moving forward:

New Day Rising -- Husker Du
posted by BitterOldPunk at 2:27 PM on March 9

Heart of the Matter - Don Henley (India.Arie does a nice cover of this too)
posted by kitkatcathy at 2:33 PM on March 9

Fishbone's "Change" is probably more about macro level social change than personal, but I guess both. Although it's soft and sweet rather than foot-tapping, it's a fantastic song. When I was younger I found it quite inspiring.
posted by sneakin at 2:39 PM on March 9 [1 favorite]

Good old Man in the Mirror probably fits the bill, god bless someone for transcribing every last hoo! in the lyrics there.
posted by Wolfdog at 3:00 PM on March 9

Heather Headley - Change (has a Christian slant to it, but it's catchy nonetheless)
posted by splendid animal at 3:12 PM on March 9

Seconding Man in the Mirror.
posted by salvia at 3:28 PM on March 9

Lord I've been changed - Tom Waits
THE STRANGLERS - Something better change
posted by Lanark at 3:30 PM on March 9

Sheryl Crow – A Change Will Do You Good
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 3:30 PM on March 9

No More Drama, Mary J. Blige
Brand New Day, Sting (warning, some of the imagery in that video could be considered offensive to some people's religious sensibilities)
posted by fuse theorem at 4:09 PM on March 9

How about "Drops of Jupiter" by Train or (stretching the request a little) "Drive" by Incubus?
posted by Gorgik at 4:47 PM on March 9

Still by Ben Folds
posted by greytape at 4:59 PM on March 9

16 minutes of Change, by Oingo Boingo.
posted by Katemonkey at 5:01 PM on March 9

Martin Sexton's "The Way I Am" [lyrics] [youtube]
posted by booth at 9:04 PM on March 9

Here's Ben Sollee covering Sam Cooke's "A Change is Gonna Come". It definitely makes me tap my feet.

Full disclosure: He is my brother-in-law.
posted by jtfowl0 at 9:20 PM on March 9

Buddy Miles - Them Changes
The Zombies - Changes
posted by ludwig_van at 10:58 PM on March 9

Will.i.am has attracted some notice of late for his little-publicized Yes We Can and We Are the Ones. They're both explicitly and implicitly about Change, though the second one more explicitly so than the first. ;) Afwan.
posted by mumkin at 11:57 PM on March 9

this list isn't complete without Tears for Fears' Change.

Also take a listen to Nina Simone's Feeling Good.

Beck's album 'Sea Change' is a soul-deep rumination on change.

Try as you might, though, some things always stay the same...and you can't change that.
posted by prinado at 12:24 AM on March 10

Marianne Faithfull's Blazing Away - "feel it, release it, things change..."
posted by gingerbeer at 12:38 AM on March 10

Sparks, Change
posted by thomcatspike at 3:27 AM on March 10

sugar's "changes."
posted by ifjuly at 8:04 PM on March 13