"42"- Coldplay

This song not only holds the fourth spot on Coldplay's 2008 album Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends but I will argue that it should hold a spot within the canon of songs about mourning.

It makes this case from the get-go. It opens with Chris Martin beautifully declaring ""Those who are dead / are not dead, / they're just living in my head." This statement is first accompanied with a piano which draws attention to the words and highlights their significance. Martin repeats the line once more, this time joined by strings, ultimately driving toward the main part of the song, during which the whole band comes in. A good model for thinking about this song is light traveling through a prism. It opens with Martin singing and piano playing. That is like the light traveling along. Suddenly it hits a prism and it brings out all its colors. Jonny Buckland's guitar work shines like a poignant purple. Another color is the verse that Martin repeats twice "You thought you might be a ghost / you thought you might be a ghost / You didn't get to heaven but you made it close / You didn't get to heaven but you made it close." On the second time Martin ends with "Oh oh oh". The band continues to rock and the song ends with Martin repeating the song's opening words.

Now the reason I want to include this song in the canon of mourning songs is because its mood seems to capture how the mourning process. You begin somber and slow pondering mortality. You then celebrate the person, as symbolized by the rocking and playful middle of the song. As you wonder about your own mortality. That is what Martin does with that verse he repeats twice. Finally you return to the thoughts that the mourning process provided you.

I hope that I have provided a commentary on this song that does it justice. Check it out for yourself by entering this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0xfWCDLoCU (Sorry for some reason, it will not allow me to hyperlink)

Please enjoy,
Nick Howard

"Shoplifters of the World Unite"- The Smiths

This lesser known track from the 1980's premiere British Indie band opens with a crash of Johnny Marr guitar that mirrors the crash of the wave. Without knowing it, the listener is on this beach and going to be subject to the uniqueness of it. Case in point, the concept behind the song. The entry for the song found on wikipedia details how once during a chat with playwright Shaun Duggan, Morrissey, the lead singer of The Smiths, clarified that the shoplifters he is empowering are spiritual and cultural in nature. He was issuing a call to arms in hope of reclaiming and reshaping culture.

Songs like this from The Smiths almost operate in an universe of their own; one in which a pop song can contain the chorus of "Shoplifters of the world/ unite and take over./ Shoplifter of the world / hand it over!" And that is what is appealing about it. It functions in the reshaped cultural landscape that Morrissey is calling for.

Musically, this song slowly drives, resulting in a very calming and lulling sound. A listener is draw in and soon begins to demand right along with Morrissey. Truly I believe that this track showcases the ability of The Smiths; to write songs that are unconventional and different but still accessible to a listener.

Here is the music video for the song. It captures the band playing the song live for a 80's TV audience ( the audio is not live)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRbp0ZIehk0

Please enjoy,
Nick Howard

"My Sweet Lord"- George Harrison

I have already spilled a far amount of ink about this jam, but still I feel the need to discuss it further and include here in this space I am dedicating to my musing on music.

From the start this song welcomes you in. It opens with a simple acoustic guitar rift and soon other instruments being to play along. Almost two minutes in, the song really picks up. The drums become quite apparent and a listener cannot help but tap along with it. For me, I love to sing along with it, for the song contains some very important noteworthy lyrics. Harrison sings about his desire to connect with God. He uses both Christian and Hindu phrases. And that is why this song really matters. It charts the spirituality of a man born into a Christian England but blossomed in a Hindu India. Harrison was already inspired by the sound of the sitar by the time The Beatles visited India in 1968. Following the pilgrimage, Harrison was for all intents and purposes a confirmed Hindu. He would explore his new found faith for the rest of his career. And this song is a perfect example of this exploration. The song begins with using "hallelujah" as the words of praise sung in the background. But following a mid song vocal break/ highlight of George's guitar playing, "hare krishna" can be heard. Now initially I believed that this shift was permanent and only Hindu phrases were heard throughout the rest of the song, but last week while doing a close listen of the song I discovered that "hallelujah" is heard a few last times before a full cornucopia of terms from Harrison's new faith are chanted. Interestingly enough, I would say that the spirituality Harrison exhibits in this song reminds me of Rumi. Rumi was a mystic Islamic poet who aligned the love of God with romantic love. Many of his religious poems can be read as romantic. The same can be said about Harrison's words here. He very easily could had used them in a love song from his days in The Beatles. Instead they comprise this spiritual song from early on in his solo career.

I was unable to find a link for the album version so please enjoy this very popular live version from George's Concert for Bangladesh.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qdKZBXMX5E&feature=related

Please enjoy,

Nick Howard

But are they just simply songs? Welcome to the blog

While conceiving of the blog, I came down to central question about music: But are they just simply songs? Internally I answered resoundingly "No!" For me music is like literature. And for those who do not know, I am an English major, so I spend a good amount of my time considering the worth of the written value. I consider if it has an value that contributes to the greater story of humanity? Does it capture something that is both rooted in a time and timeless? Is it said by one person but speaks for all of us?

And those are the same questions I ask of music. Now I do enjoy a good pop song now and again. They are fun to sing along to while driving or hanging out with friends. But when I want to put to use my mind's full intellectual functions, I listen to music that satisfies some of the same requirements I have for literature. Mainly, does it make me think? Am I left to ponder it after it concludes. The next time I hit play on my ipod or computer, am I doing so because I want to enter back into a world of its own and bask in its glory?

As for this blog, I envision it being a few things. Inspired by the website "1000 Awesome Things", I will catalog songs I believe that others must know about/ give a listen. These songs will be both classic and current. Also, I will offer commentary on various other musical thoughts of mine. For example, things I would love to see happen in music but will probably never happen. Or share an album review for a new release by a modern band. Compare it with what has come before and what I believe is to come. I only ask that my readers are open to my words and the music they attempt to do justice to. For if a person has an open ear, then his or her mind will follow suit.

Please enjoy,
Nick Howard