Songs I Heard This Week (6/15/22)
That dramatic opening still exhilarates…and that guitar solo! Not to mention Beth Gibbons’ Billie Holiday-inspired vocals. I am and always will be a trip hop fan girl. When I discovered the genre in the late 90s I quickly changed course in my music consumption, to the point of obsession. While I always dreamed of being a singer someday, for the first time I knew what direction I wanted to take with my own music. While that certainly evolved over time into a mix of electronic genres, this early Bristol sound first captured my attention, along with artists like Massive Attack, Hooverphonic, Esthero, and my next selection, Morcheeba…
Oh so tempting to choose the opening track, The Sea, from Morcheeba’s chillout album, Big Calm. But I found myself playing this one on repeat this week. Always loved the song, but for some reason, it seemed more poignant than I even remembered. Sometimes the greatest truths come in the simplest forms, such as the lyrics, “Fear can stop you loving. Love can stop your fear.” But it’s not always that clear.
Speaking of poignant songs, none so much as The Innocent Age by Dan Fogelberg. This is a prime example of the kind of music that speaks to my contemplative side (as Dan often does), which in my humble opinion is one of the best songs he ever wrote. It so successfully expresses how so many of us start out with ideas of what life will be like in the future, never appreciating how simple and wonderful life is when we are young and free, and the wistful sadness of knowing we can never go back and reclaim that time of innocence. “Yearnings unanswered, reckon the wage you pay to recapture the innocent age.” I look forward to the day.
Such a great song. And while I could bore you with some commentary on the lyrics, which are pretty self-explanatory, how ’bout this instead? I love Phil Collins. I love Genesis. That’s all.
Okay if you made it this far you may get a rare glimpse into the recesses of my mind. This song resonates with me for reasons that I often feel torn between an inner-strength of knowing who I am, along with a fearlessness to go after what I believe, but also the vulnerable part of me I reserve only for a select few. Perhaps deep down I am nothing more than a little girl who just wants to be protected and cared for. In fact, perhaps deep down that’s what we all want.
