"All I Want is You" --- Barry Louis Polisar

In today's media focused cultural, it isn't a surprise that some of the most popular music is that found in top rated movies. "All I Want is You" by Barry Louis Polisar is no exception to this rule. The comedy-drama "Juno" was released in 2007 from Mandate Pictures and Mr. Mudd film company and featured this song (along with many other great songs and artists). Though the entire soundtrack received high ratings and good reviews on iTunes, the highest rated song is by far "All I Want is You." The reviewers claim that the song just "makes [them] happy" and that it is "a great song about love." I would agree with both of these statements and many others made in the iTunes critiques.

Some reviewers did rate the soundtrack poorly saying it was "juvenile" or a bunch of "bad acoustic guitar" but this was the extent of their reasoning. I would argue that the reason some of these songs sound "juvenile" or have "bad acoustic guitar" are because of the era they reflect. The time period that a majority of the music from the soundtrack was originally written in (or inspired by) relished in acoustic guitar, bad vocals, and juvenile chord progression (much of which hasn't changed over the years) and focused mainly on the lyrics and their meaning. For examples look at the lyrics in "All I Want is You."
       "If you were the river you were the river in the mountains tall
       The rumble of your water would be my call.
       If you were the winter, I know I'd be the snow
       Just as long as you were with me, when the cold winds blow"
These lyrics use figurative language quite creatively to describe the love the writer feels for another. Another critique mentioned the theme of love saying that "It's just a bunch of liberals... singing about crappy love." Though I don't care to comment on the issue of whether or not these artists were liberal, I would like to note that around 80-90% (google search of the statistic) of all songs are written about some facit of love so this theme is extremely common. In addition, in observance of the theme of the movie, the soundtrack being about love should not be a surprise.

All the negative and positive buzz aside, I believe the song is very good and I truly enjoy it. I find the harmonica, rhythmic guitar, and twangy vocals comforting, interesting and down-right enjoyable. In addition, the lyrics convince the cynic in me that their might be a person out there to love me and be mine. The song may be simple in construction, both lyrically and melodically, but there is something about the bareness that warms your heart and holds your attention.


purchase the song: iTunes, Amazon
listen to the song: Youtube, Grooveshark, Jango.com, Playlist.com, Audiolizer, Spotify



p.s. Leave me comments with feedback please! I am always looking to improve.