Sunday 15 July 2012

A cool love

So, this is the first of the new Music Ruminations blogs

Please bear with me a little bit because I am working this out as I go along, I assure you that it will be worth it. I have refrained from doing a spoken commentary on this blog because I think it needs to be one step at a time. Let's see how it goes.



The reason I am doing this is because it is interactive. If you suggest songs that you like on the playlist, probably via the comments here, then I can add them and we can start to generate playlists together. Then everyone is better off.

I wanted to talk about Love. There are a lot of songs about love. In fact I did some research, and using advanced techniques (stole the idea from someone else's work from google) and the most scientific answer I was able to get was that it is a stupid question because most songs are about love.



It has always been the way hasn't it? I think it would make a fairly understandable and logical argument to suggest that song, or musical expression has actually evolved from this as the primary purpose. Everything that came after through song is perhaps a bi-product. A lucky bonus. or maybe, songs about lost love were the driver. That angst causing people to want to express it in a more eloquent fashion than just letting out a primal scream at the sky and walking away and kicking a dodo or something -I am sure this is perhaps why the Dodo is not with us, primary cause of extinction was kicking through unrequited love, rather than them just being tasty, they were in the wrong place any way.

The issue, which you cool music hipsters with your finger on some sort of pulse already know is that most of the songs are rubbish. They suck, they mean nothing in real terms to us. We are too cool for that. But then some cool people put out love songs don't they.

That is where I want to go today, cool people writing about cool love, in a cool way. Now cool is the word I use, perhaps you have a different word, groovy, awesome, I don't know, but substitute it in and you will get the idea.

 A cool love

Click on thelink for the playlist

The playlist starts with two mellow classics. The unique Stevie Wonder, and the peerless Roberta Flack. Stevie Wonder has such a complex and varied catalogue that it is taking years to appreciate it all. Sunshine of My Life is not a song I would usually search out and put on. But listening to it today, it has a joy and an energy that is infectious. Roberta Flack, is a different kind of cool. A very quiet mellow, but in the same way intense, song about another person. A bit mushy perhaps, I get that, but what a voice.

I then branch out into three upbeat songs about love, by very cool bands. Everlong by the Foo Fighters, one of my favourite songs, Ever Fallen in Love by the Buzzcocks, obvious, and Another World, Another Planet by The Only Ones which is more obscure, but a great song and for some reason I always put those last  two songs together in my mind. I know the last song isn' t really about long lasting love, but it is still cool. Because I said so.

I am not going to go through the entire playlist, mainly because I got into this a little more than I expected and there are going to be a lot of songs when I am finished.



I have tried to group the songs into some sort of order and general theme. There is some flow I hope.

Some of the songs you may agree with, some probably not, some may make you snicker and wonder what you are doing here . . Regardless, listen, suggest, let's get this done and then the next one is about unrequited love, the yang for the ying.. . .

Thanks guys






4 comments:

  1. Here's a kicker: Canada don't have Spotify!!!

    Hi. Been a little while. Oh well, all sorts of things causing problems. I'm crawling out from the rubble to see daylight again.

    I'll just be brief. The CURE have rather a lot of love songs, for and against. Mr. Smith sings about love as only he knows how.

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  2. That is no good. Why doesn't Canada have Spotify? Potential business opportunity there!

    Glad to hear that you are getting out of the rubble and hope to see you post some more stuff at some point

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  3. Howdy doody: Got a wee bit of a comeback on the go at Music By Day. (there's a plug). Not much but it's a start. Thanks for reading.

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  4. Checkout our free EP Columbus, oh band churchcampband.bandcamp.com

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