Recent Songs About Better Things

Experience More - Subscribe to Our Weekly Events Newsletter

Following on from the last column, I said I wanted to be positive with more of my columns because I feel that positivity is in short supply in the world. As such, I decided to look at music that has that sense of betterment in it.

So, this is the second of my two lists of songs about things getting better. The first one is right about here .


Like I said last time, I have avoided songs along the lines of "you better do something"; this is about things being an improvement (or not, depending on the lyrical content, but improvement is the goal). This does mean a good track like 'Better Take Care' by Status Quo misses the cut.

So, when it came time to cull my initial list of songs, I found it interesting that I could split it into two equal length lists based on the centuries in which they were released! This list, therefore, is the second, and consists of songs released after the year 2000. The normal rules apply, but they do apply across the two lists – one song per artist (which means a song by U2 appeared in the last list, and so they won't appear here), one version of each song (again, this did make it hard at times), the word "better" is in the title somewhere, and I need to like the song.

So, here are songs about things being better from our current century.
'Better Man' by Robbie Williams (2002)

Robbie Williams released a lot of songs that crossed generations back in the start of his career, and this is one of the ones that I know people young and old enjoyed. It shows that the man really does know how to sing, and sing well.
'Couldn't Have Said It Better' by Meat Loaf (2003)

The last single Meat Loaf released that made the upper echelons of music charts, this is one of the many of his songs I bought on CD single. I just really like it, and it does show that he didn't always need Jim Steinman to create great music.
'You're My Better Half' by Keith Urban (2004)

There were a few Keith Urban songs I could have chosen here, but this is the one I just felt this week I liked most; next week, it could be another. I am something of a fan of his work, and so any song would have been a good choice. As it is, this one was written for Nicole Kidman before they married.
'Better Days' by Pete Murray (2005)

Pete Murray seems to be an artist that people have definite opinions about. I like some of his songs, and this is my favourite of those of his I've heard. His voice is interesting, but I don't mind it.
'Better Than This' by Brad Paisley (2007)

I had a choice of two Paisley songs, but this is the one I like best. It's just the tempo and sense of fun in the music. Paisley is one of my favourite modern country artists, and it's songs like this that are the reason why.
'Better Safe Than Sorry' by Halestorm (2009)

Lzzy Hale (yes, it is spelt like that) is the modern female singer that I like most, and her band Halestorm consistently releases great albums. I don't talk about her or the band's music enough, so here is a great track by them.
'It Gets Better by The Preatures (2014)

Planet Blue Eyes is the album this track comes from, and I bought it based on a couple of other songs, but found that I liked 90 percent of the album, and that includes this track. They were an Australian band, but I never got to see them live, and now it appears they have broken up. Shame.
'Life Can't Get Much Better' by Good Charlotte (2016)

I was not a huge fan of Good Charlotte in the early 2000s; their music didn't really speak to me, and they had some dodgy lyrics at times. However, the Youth Authority album that was released after a 6 year hiatus was decent, so much so that I bought this single (as a downloaded mp3). This is a really good track; it's like they're a different band.
'Love Is Better' by Australia (2016)

Weird little modern pop song that just captured me from the first time I heard it, and this was another song I bought on mp3 download, as I couldn't find it on physical media. Not sure why, but I just like it.
'Better' by Maggie Rogers (2017)

Maggie Rogers is a singer-songwriter, of whom I have two albums. I like them both, and am keen to hear what she does next. This is from the first of her albums I own, and is a great example of her work – smooth with that wonderful voice.
'Soon You'll Get Better' by Taylor Swift feat. The Dixie Chicks (2019)

This is from the Lover album that a friend introduced me to, and which I actually quite liked! It's about her mother's cancer, apparently, and, to me, was one of the definite highlights of the album. And it was good to hear the Chicks (as they are now) again.
'In Better Times' by Paul Weller (2021) fat pop

Fat Pop was an album I gushed about when it was released, and have been going back to a bit this year. In my review, I described this song as "beautiful"; it is, and what a great way to finish this list.
And there we are, another dozen songs about things getting better, all of them from the current century. The fact that we are now at a time when I can fill a list with just songs from the 2000s and beyond tells me that I am getting old. Older but better? Who knows.

Oh well. I hope you found something to enjoy in these lists!
via GIPHY

#lists
#music
#performing_arts
#pop_culture
#quirky
%wneverywhere