Songs I Heard This Week (5/27/22)
A fairly random selection of songs I listened to this week…
As all Depeche Mode fans know, Andrew Fletcher died suddenly this past week. He wasn’t the most prominent member of the band, but fans loved him. It’s a sad loss that will change the dynamic of the band going forward. It also caused me to revisit a bit of their catalog this week and I landed on Stripped (from their 1986 masterpiece, Black Celebration) just because it’s one of my favorite of their releases from the 80s when the whole band was still together (including Alan Wilder). The lyrics resonate more than ever in a time when people need to intentionally pull themselves away from the control of the media over their lives to make personal connection with another person. “Let me hear you make decisions without your television, let me hear you speaking just for me.”
I discovered David Gray’s music at the time his album, White Ladder, was released in 1998 with the single, Babylon. It eventually caught fire and got quite a bit of airplay, but the song Please Forgive Me is the one that really struck me most. It’s interesting, because the chord structure is repetitive, but the drive of it and the build up are very effective. It was also one of the first songs I learned on piano. But this live version in particular moves me because you can really feel the energy from Gray himself, but also the band and the audience. It’s as good as the studio recording, in my opinion. I love that he appears to just be an average guy, nothing fancy about him, but the passion is evident.
I sure wish there were more singer/songwriters of this caliber. Saw a great documentary on him recently at the recommendation of a friend. I enjoy playing this one on guitar. It has a haunting quality. I don’t know why, but I’m always drawn to sad songs. Perhaps because as Elton John once crooned, “Sad songs say so much.”
This is one of those songs I never tire of. It was not as big of a single as Electric Blue, but it’s one of my favorites by Icehouse. I’ve played it repeatedly over the years and it still strikes some inner part of me, perhaps it’s nostalgia, but it definitely creates a longing. The lyrics seem to speak to the experience of realizing that there are no guarantees in life and things don’t always turn out the way you imagined, but you take it as it comes. “Heaven sends you no promises…”
Stumbled upon this dreamy Aurora song when someone posted it in a music group I’m in and it stuck. Had a lovely moment a couple of weeks ago while on vacation. One morning I was lounging under a shady palm by the pool and listening to this on my headphones. The breeze and the music just put me in this relaxed, wistful state of mind. Perhaps an idealistic view of love, but it’s the way everyone wants to feel at least once in their life.
