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Music
Apr 4, 2018 14:17:17 GMT
Post by Maolsheachlann on Apr 4, 2018 14:17:17 GMT
I gave up music for Lent, so I've been listening to a lot of it in the last few days.
First of all, I don't defend my taste in music-- it is probably atrocious. But it's mine!
My favourite song of all time is probably "Night Fever" by the Bee Gees.
My second favourite is "Baker Street" by Gerry Rafferty. That's the one I wanted to write about it in this post.
I can't remember the first time I heard this song (how many songs do you remember hearing for the first time?), but I do remember listening to it once when I was going through a bout of hypochondriac fretting over an imaginary illness. (This would have been in my youth.) I thought I was not long for this world and somehow this made me more receptive to the song and its rather yearning subject matter.
Funnily enough, I had a similar experience (that is, one that is unpleasant at the time but strangely pleasant to remember) when I came back from a visit to London in 2010, one that left me with a strange feeling of displacement-- Dublin seemed so small and unimportant after the vast ant hive of that teeming metropolis. This, of course, chimes with the theme of the song, which is all about the impersonality of London.
I love songs like this which are dramatic, in the sense that it's a snapshot of someone at a particular moment of their lives-- not one that is completely universal (like falling in love, or growing old, or bereavement, etc.) but one that is somewhat more specific, but still easy to relate to.
Does anyone know any similar songs?
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Post by assisi on Apr 6, 2018 20:08:56 GMT
I gave up music for Lent, so I've been listening to a lot of it in the last few days. First of all, I don't defend my taste in music-- it is probably atrocious. But it's mine! My favourite song of all time is probably "Night Fever" by the Bee Gees. My second favourite is "Baker Street" by Gerry Rafferty. That's the one I wanted to write about it in this post. I can't remember the first time I heard this song (how many songs do you remember hearing for the first time?), but I do remember listening to it once when I was going through a bout of hypochondriac fretting over an imaginary illness. (This would have been in my youth.) I thought I was not long for this world and somehow this made me more receptive to the song and its rather yearning subject matter. Funnily enough, I had a similar experience (that is, one that is unpleasant at the time but strangely pleasant to remember) when I came back from a visit to London in 2010, one that left me with a strange feeling of displacement-- Dublin seemed so small and unimportant after the vast ant hive of that teeming metropolis. This, of course, chimes with the theme of the song, which is all about the impersonality of London. I love songs like this which are dramatic, in the sense that it's a snapshot of someone at a particular moment of their lives-- not one that is completely universal (like falling in love, or growing old, or bereavement, etc.) but one that is somewhat more specific, but still easy to relate to. Does anyone know any similar songs? There is a song by a very good Scottish band Big Country, dating back to the 1980s, that describes a young girl who had a violent father, marries a man she sees as a hero, he leaves her with two kids and she reflects on her misfortune. Somewhat sad, but the song is quite nice and all the more poignant as the lead singer Stuart Adamson would take his own life in his forties. www.youtube.com/watch?v=-E4960jHfgE |
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Post by Séamus on Apr 7, 2018 0:25:07 GMT
Big Country's 'LookAway' is one that I often start singing to myself on occasions, usually when someone asks whether they can look at something or somewhere. It's interesting that, at a time when single sales were important, Ireland was the only country where they had an official #1 song.
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Music
Apr 7, 2018 7:12:21 GMT
Post by Maolsheachlann on Apr 7, 2018 7:12:21 GMT
I never heard it, I must give it a listen.
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Music
Apr 7, 2018 7:14:07 GMT
Post by Maolsheachlann on Apr 7, 2018 7:14:07 GMT
I gave up music for Lent, so I've been listening to a lot of it in the last few days. First of all, I don't defend my taste in music-- it is probably atrocious. But it's mine! My favourite song of all time is probably "Night Fever" by the Bee Gees. My second favourite is "Baker Street" by Gerry Rafferty. That's the one I wanted to write about it in this post. I can't remember the first time I heard this song (how many songs do you remember hearing for the first time?), but I do remember listening to it once when I was going through a bout of hypochondriac fretting over an imaginary illness. (This would have been in my youth.) I thought I was not long for this world and somehow this made me more receptive to the song and its rather yearning subject matter. Funnily enough, I had a similar experience (that is, one that is unpleasant at the time but strangely pleasant to remember) when I came back from a visit to London in 2010, one that left me with a strange feeling of displacement-- Dublin seemed so small and unimportant after the vast ant hive of that teeming metropolis. This, of course, chimes with the theme of the song, which is all about the impersonality of London. I love songs like this which are dramatic, in the sense that it's a snapshot of someone at a particular moment of their lives-- not one that is completely universal (like falling in love, or growing old, or bereavement, etc.) but one that is somewhat more specific, but still easy to relate to. Does anyone know any similar songs? There is a song by a very good Scottish band Big Country, dating back to the 1980s, that describes a young girl who had a violent father, marries a man she sees as a hero, he leaves her with two kids and she reflects on her misfortune. Somewhat sad, but the song is quite nice and all the more poignant as the lead singer Stuart Adamson would take his own life in his forties. www.youtube.com/watch?v=-E4960jHfgEThanks for that, Assisi. I will certainly have a listen. |
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Post by Tomas on Apr 7, 2018 9:30:39 GMT
Sad to hear how he died. I had no idea that it was the same man that starred in "new wave" Skids before who made Big Country. Here in Sweden they were popular too but I never listened to a single song from them when that happened. (On the other hand Skids first success lp was almost the very first record I bought from my own pocket money.)
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Music
Apr 7, 2018 18:29:49 GMT
via mobile
Tomas likes this
Post by cato on Apr 7, 2018 18:29:49 GMT
I do with considerable embarassment confess to both liking and owning a Chris De Burgh tape in ancient times. I also was a fan of the Wolfe Tones. I blush as I type these words.
It is strange that the non judgemental crowd get all snobby , superior and extremely judgemental when it comes to liking what is judged to be naff music.
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Post by cato on Apr 7, 2018 21:05:52 GMT
One of my secret but deeply unfashionable secrets are my collections of " the best of .... " albums. Real fans have the original albums , in vinyl. Naturally.
My parents loved country music and it is a genre I have come to appreciate more and more. I was in a music/bookstore a few years ago and Hank Williams singing gospel music was being played on the intercom. A hipster type went to complain about the really bad music. His face fell when he was told by the shop owner did he not realise this was one of the kings of country music ? He attempted to claim he didn't recognise the version being played but his pseudo creditentials were exposed for everyone to smile at. Sometimes justice occurs in this world.
Last Sunday the choir sang Handel's Alleluia chorus at the end of mass in St Kevin's Harrington St. A perfect conclusion to an Easter morning.
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Music
Apr 7, 2018 21:13:29 GMT
cato likes this
Post by Maolsheachlann on Apr 7, 2018 21:13:29 GMT
What I like about country music is that the lyrics are usually good and the songs are usually ABOUT something.
I like Waylon Jennings especially. "Are you Sure Hank Did it This Way?", "I've Always Been Crazy", "Can't You See"...and yes, all heard on compilations!
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Post by Maolsheachlann on Apr 7, 2018 21:14:11 GMT
The film "Small Engine Repair" is set in an Irish town where everybody listens to country music. I thought this was a narrative device and such places didn't exist, but apparently they do!
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Music
Apr 7, 2018 21:23:37 GMT
via mobile
Post by cato on Apr 7, 2018 21:23:37 GMT
What I like about country music is that the lyrics are usually good and the songs are usually ABOUT something. I like Waylon Jennings especially. "Are you Sure Hank Did it This Way?", "I've Always Been Crazy", "Can't You See"...and yes, all heard on compilations! I love Jennings. Can you think of a more American name than Waylon Jennings? |
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Post by Maolsheachlann on Apr 7, 2018 21:56:32 GMT
No! I came to know him through the Duke of Hazzard, which he narrated. Sadly, he seems to have subscribed to crude and outdated notions of masculinity. Attachments:
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Post by Tomas on Apr 8, 2018 17:38:41 GMT
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Post by Maolsheachlann on Apr 8, 2018 17:53:22 GMT
Very good!
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Post by assisi on Apr 8, 2018 20:36:26 GMT
Sad to hear how he died. I had no idea that it was the same man that starred in "new wave" Skids before who made Big Country. Here in Sweden they were popular too but I never listened to a single song from them when that happened. (on the other hand Skids first success lp was almost the very first record I bought from my own pocket money.) Before Stuart Adamson died he had moved to Nashville to experiment with a more country music oriented type feel to his hitherto Celtic Rock style. He formed a new band, the Raphaels, and made one album 'Supernatural'. One of the songs off that is the type of hauntingly plaintive music that only a few Irish and Scottish bands seem to achieve: it's called 'Old Country Country': www.youtube.com/watch?v=bu-cB0yLc3Q |
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