You wake up just after sunrise on an open weekend, sleepwalk yourself to your kitchen and grab the steaming cup of coffee or tea and head over to fogged and rain-pelted window to find out it's the quintessential stay-inside day. What song do you want played in the background at that moment? Me First
For a bit, I was chewing the cud deciding if Damien Rice's "Grey Room" or Bon Iver's "Stacks" would accompany the somber and sighful mood that I would be in. I'm a full-blown optimistic guy and nothing suits me more than sunshine. So why do I gravitate to these angst-filled singer-songwriters basking in gloom? Not sure. But given a day like yesterday and today, days full of low gray clouds where the droplets are not quite sure whether to fall as snow, sleet or rain, all I want are these somber songs to match the beautiful frown outside. For my final answer, I'm choosing the painful hymn of the late Nick Drake. Specifically, his Cello Song.
Nick Drake - Cello Song
On we go to amazing friends that have a trusted knack in musicology...
Mariah Second
Sasha’s remix of Grandnational’s “Talk Amongst Yourselves” (Involver) --- this tune makes we want to get out into the rain and drive up to the mountains (while it plays on repeat in my car). - Mariah K.
Little explanation behind this and shows a completely different attitude when confronted with the elements of mother nature. BTW, I didn't require ANY explanation when asking them for their songs. It's easy to see how Mariah's song does the talking.
Samuel Third
He's been on here before and I'm giving my Samuel Wallstreet Francis Hays Miller even more accolades. His two songs and the brief commentary are a great way to absorb the lull of a frigid Friday.
Song 1
Miles Davis - So What - Kind of Blue
Kind Of Blue: to me, Kind Of Blue is more the birth of cool, than "the birth of cool" was. Miles grew up in east Saint Louis. Having lived in Saint Louis, I hear the fucking clouds that wont leave for 6 months over winter. I hear the industry dying in the decaying pavement downtown. I see the riverboats and their glacial movement down the Mississippi. In yet, when that first horn snaps in around the minute and half mark...damn. Like death makes way for life.
Quincy Jones: "That will always be my music, man. I play Kind of Blue every day - it's my orange juice. It still sounds like it was made yesterday."
Song 2
Radiohead - Planet Telex - The Bends
Thom Yorke complained that he felt he sounds like a refrigerator humming. written in London, the album sounds like it was conceived under water. Either rain drops or within waves. The guitar affects tremolo around your head in a manner any audiophile can appreciate. In fact, check your equalizer - is it optimized to appreciate the way Radiohead is taking its wet arms, its wet peacoat and wrapping it around your body. This song is a girl walking away, it's a job loss, it's a windshield wiper, it's goddamn trash washing out of the alleys, down he streets, out of you... - S. Miller
Yum.
