This morning however I woke up and randomly happened upon two old favorite composers of mine and have been happy all day, so here's a little bit more Music Mondays.
Music Monday: New Wave1. David Byrne & Brian Eno - Strange Overtones - off the new album Everything That Happens Will Happen Today. This was the song that hit me this morning nearly after waking up. I was searching the festival lineup for next week's ACL and here was a free download. I'm smitten. Brian Eno has been a small presence in my musical life, his Music For Films was the actual soundtrack to my life a few winters ago, but I am more familiar with his production work. He has worked with Bowie and U2 and many others. This is only is second collaboration with Byrne, the new wave god/lead man from Talking Heads. There's a very good chance you've found yourself humming one of his tunes, even if you don't know who he is. He's a weird guy, but he's a damn fine artist. Also of note, this song is quite obviously about writing a song. That just tickles my fancy.
2. David Bowie - Sound And Vision - off of the first of Low. The album artwork from this one is enough to make you love it. Add to that now the fact that this is also a song about writing a song. "I will sit right down waiting for the gift of sound and vision." Anyone that's ever created something knows exactly what the Thin Duke is talking about here. Again, it makes me giggle with glee. Plus the composition is just perfectly happy. This was the beginning of the Berlin Trilogy that saw Bowie collaborate with Brian Eno in recreating himself another time and creating some of his best known work to date. I always felt strange about David Bowie until one fall about 3 or 4 years ago when I bought an album on a whim. Ever since that day I've fallen in love with this man and his musical genius. He is one of the most romantic songwriters around, but in a way that almost makes you feel uncomfortable as it simultaneously wraps your heart in a warm blanket, shielding it from the cold bitterness of the lonely world. Well, that's what I thought at the time. But I still do believe in the romanticism of David Bowie. The weird androginous romanticism.
3. Coldplay - Strawberry Swing - off the latest offering, Viva La Vida or Death And All Of His Friends. I hate typing that whole title. Funny that this is the third offering in a joyful playlist and it is the third offering that Brian Eno has had his hand in. The man is pretty awesome. On this you can actually feel his footprint. Say what you want about Coldplay, or their new album (personally I like about 3/4 of it) but this song is absolutely beautiful in a Peter Gabriel "Solsbury Hill" sort of way *wink*. Again, Eno mixes with a band in need of a change, and he helps to no end as "Strawberry Swing" samples new ground for the Brit foursome in the way of percussive pounding and overall atmosphere, but still manages to keep that optomistic cloud of grinning. I want to frolic to this song. With polaroids snapping about, holding hands, in a grassy field. I want to Love to this song.
4. Peter Gabriel - Solsbury Hill - off of Shaking The Tree. I fell in love with this song as early as I could, my freshman year of college. It was before the song was used in pretty much every trailer for a movie vying for Oscar attention. It was before I fell in love for the first time. It was before I got cynical about some things (which is also before I am now, which is not so cynical... most of the time). This is the vintage version of Coldplay's track above. This is the first track I can remember wanting to play as I walked out of a building, breaking into sunlit green patches and picnic tables. The first song I wanted to play as my dreamgirl slo-mo tracked in my direction, smiling just past me. This was the first song I wanted to Love to. Now while this wasn't influenced in any way by Brian Eno, it still feels the same as the above tracks, so I felt it's inclusion justified. Peter Gabriel is a production genius in his own right.
2. David Bowie - Sound And Vision - off of the first of Low. The album artwork from this one is enough to make you love it. Add to that now the fact that this is also a song about writing a song. "I will sit right down waiting for the gift of sound and vision." Anyone that's ever created something knows exactly what the Thin Duke is talking about here. Again, it makes me giggle with glee. Plus the composition is just perfectly happy. This was the beginning of the Berlin Trilogy that saw Bowie collaborate with Brian Eno in recreating himself another time and creating some of his best known work to date. I always felt strange about David Bowie until one fall about 3 or 4 years ago when I bought an album on a whim. Ever since that day I've fallen in love with this man and his musical genius. He is one of the most romantic songwriters around, but in a way that almost makes you feel uncomfortable as it simultaneously wraps your heart in a warm blanket, shielding it from the cold bitterness of the lonely world. Well, that's what I thought at the time. But I still do believe in the romanticism of David Bowie. The weird androginous romanticism.
3. Coldplay - Strawberry Swing - off the latest offering, Viva La Vida or Death And All Of His Friends. I hate typing that whole title. Funny that this is the third offering in a joyful playlist and it is the third offering that Brian Eno has had his hand in. The man is pretty awesome. On this you can actually feel his footprint. Say what you want about Coldplay, or their new album (personally I like about 3/4 of it) but this song is absolutely beautiful in a Peter Gabriel "Solsbury Hill" sort of way *wink*. Again, Eno mixes with a band in need of a change, and he helps to no end as "Strawberry Swing" samples new ground for the Brit foursome in the way of percussive pounding and overall atmosphere, but still manages to keep that optomistic cloud of grinning. I want to frolic to this song. With polaroids snapping about, holding hands, in a grassy field. I want to Love to this song.
4. Peter Gabriel - Solsbury Hill - off of Shaking The Tree. I fell in love with this song as early as I could, my freshman year of college. It was before the song was used in pretty much every trailer for a movie vying for Oscar attention. It was before I fell in love for the first time. It was before I got cynical about some things (which is also before I am now, which is not so cynical... most of the time). This is the vintage version of Coldplay's track above. This is the first track I can remember wanting to play as I walked out of a building, breaking into sunlit green patches and picnic tables. The first song I wanted to play as my dreamgirl slo-mo tracked in my direction, smiling just past me. This was the first song I wanted to Love to. Now while this wasn't influenced in any way by Brian Eno, it still feels the same as the above tracks, so I felt it's inclusion justified. Peter Gabriel is a production genius in his own right.
3 comments:
"Love to" ... heehee... kinda makes me giggle. nice.
i'm SO excited to add this to "Kyle's Mix" on the old iPod and discover more musical genius.
as always, thanks for sharing :)
Yaaay! Funny, I was just going through blogs, trying to find something to listen to, and lo' Kyle has done it again.
I like the new masthead as well.
This is my favorite Music Monday by the way.
Post a Comment