off to boston, music
(And yes, this is me being somewhat lazy and harried because I’ll be out of the office for three days. Just lay off me, alright?)
Six Songs
“Written Invitation” The Whigs
I really like the sound/feel of this song. It’s a little too rocking to be called “ambient rock” (which reminds me more of Beach House or some Yo La Tengo), so let’s call this “Sleepy Rock.” Sure, there’s some drumming going on, but it sounds like these guys just rolled out of bed and recorded this song. Speaking of Yo La Tengo, I bought their album “I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One” back in college after reading a review that said something to the effect of, “This is the album you put on when you want to make out but don’t want to seem like you want to make out.” The same could be said for this song.
(Note however that this song would not qualify for my “Let’s Make Out or Something” playlist. The goal of the LMOOS playlist is to establish an environment or ambience that is conducive to making out without appearing too obvious or corny. Practically speaking, you would put on LMOOS when you are at least 75% sure that you’re going to make out, since it’s not too obvious but still a little obvious. This song, however, is one that I’d put on if I thought making out was 50-50 or even less – just some music to listen to while chilling at the apartment, whatever happens happens.)
(And yes, ladies, take note: if you are ever in my apartment and I put this song on, help me out and make the first move. I’m not feeling that strong.)
“While My Lady Sleeps” John Coltrane
Goddamn, this is just about the smoothest effing song ever. I wish I was classier, so I could appreciate it more. For some reason, it makes me miss winter and drinking really good Scotch. Also, I’m drinking the Scotch in a tuxedo. And I have great hair.
(I have a feeling that it could get really weird here and that’s not the place I want to go, so let’s just stop now and enjoy the song as is.)
“Weathervane” Absent Arch
Back in March, when I was in NYC for our annual NCAA tourney and fantasy baseball draft decadent-fest, we went to Paddy Reilly’s, an Irish bar in Gramercy, on the Saturday night after the draft. It had been a very long day – seven (!!!) hours of drafting, replete with pitchers of Coors Light and enough nachos to put most averaged-size moose into a food coma – and I didn’t think the prospects for a rousing Saturday night looked too good. Still, we were all in a great mood and decided to give it a try.
A few pints of Guinness later and the house Irish band jamming away, half of us were dancing, the other have enthusiastically chatting, and it turned out to be a terrific, terrific ending-at-4am night. Since then, I’ve been trying to get more into Irish music, but much of it, I’ve found, is inaccessible (maybe it’s just me, but I haven’t been able to get into all the rebel songs with the flutes and the like). Still, I love some parts of Irish music, namely the violins/strings, dancing, clapping, passion, etc.
The point of all this? While this song could not be classified as Irish or Gaelic in almost any respect, to me, it’s perfect: it’s got the stand-up bass as the backbone, the sing-along chorus, the strings, and, in the end, the clapping and dancing. Just perfect.
“This First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” Christy Moore
On the other end of the spectrum, there’s this song. No clapping or dancing, and Christy’s Irish accent is all over the place, but still, it’s perfect: a wonderfully Irish interpretation of a classic love song. Just the way he sings “heartbeat” makes me want to put one arm around my lady and the other around a delicious Guinness. Please don’t ask me to choose between the two.
“When U Love Somebody” The Fruit Bats
A harmless little indie rock song with about twenty words that makes you happy. What more can you ask for, really?
“Street Life” Roxy Music
I’ve never been really sure of the definition of a “guilty pleasure.” I think it means indulging in something that you are aware is bad for you, but you do so (and revel in doing so) anyway. So maybe this song doesn’t truly qualify as a guilty pleasure of mine, but I can’t count the number of times that, when this song’s come on the old iPod speakers and I’ve been drinking, I’ve said “Ohhh yeah!”, cranked it up, and maybe danced around the room a little bit. Maybe. Just a little.
[Have a good weekend.]
