Songs I Heard This Week (5/20/22)
I think it’s time to resurrect my old blog series, Song I Heard. This is where I occasionally share songs I’ve been listening to any given week. It’s nice to keep a record of what was speaking to me and also to give a few random thoughts, so if not for others, for myself. So, here’s what I’ve been listening to this week…
With Spring upon us, I’ve found myself in a mellow mood, mostly tuning into 60s and 70s pop-rock. With the arrival of some warm, sunny days, I can’t help but think how nice it would be to find myself sailing upon some gentle waves, the wind whipping through my hair. But since I have yet to obtain my dream sailboat (which who knows if I ever will) I can dream…
Todd Rundgren’s 1972 hit, Hello, It’s Me, has been playing in my head for days on end. It has a quality that reminds me of riding in the car on a summer day with that AM radio quality playing through the speakers. Although it was released before my time, it gives me a sense of nostalgia that makes me ache for something I can’t quite place. I think the lyrics are quite melancholy, to top it off.
While listening to the familiar Todd Rundgren version, I was made aware of the original version of Hello, It’s Me, that Rundgren wrote for his band Nazz in 1968. The tempo is significantly slower (double the melancholy), but it really fits that mellow vibe of the time, and the harmonies are lush and beautiful! It definitely works for me.
This song by Firefall is one of my absolute favorite tracks from the 70s. It has always brought me comfort in times of trouble. Sometimes we just need to hear we are loved and it will be alright.
Dan Fogelberg absolutely slays me to tears at times. This one opens his poignant debut album, Home Free. The morning it recently came to mind, I had just woken up and was sitting at my dining room table praying and watching the sunrise (“watching it come up over the rooftops”). There was news of an acquaintance who had passed away and even reflecting on Dan’s passing a few years ago, it made me pause and think of the unremarkable everyday things we should stop to appreciate. Because even in the face of loss, life goes on, and as the famous Shawshank quote goes, “Get busy living or get busy dying.”
This one was actually more prominent on my playlist last week, but I had to include it just the same. Both tracks come from the Bee Gees (almost) masterpiece, Odessa. I say almost because there were a lot of interpersonal issues within the band that kept it from reaching its full potential. Still, there are some standout tracks, including these two, which were also featured in the movie, Melody, which was released in 1971. Melody Fair is without question one of my favorite Bee Gees tracks of all time, which is saying a lot as they are my favorite band and have many decades’ worth of music. It would be difficult to pin down an exact favorite, but this one, in particular, has special meaning to me.
This song is just lovely to listen to and makes me think of a change of seasons and taking in the beauty of Spring blossoming, which I think this fan-made video did well to depict. Just breathe.
