hear the sound of the things you said today

dear friends,

the monkey posted his "songs that give you chills" playlist. as he explained below, it was a nice vacation idea & in a couple of weeks we're gonna have to do it again, so please write in any song recommendations for me to investigate...

DISCLAIMER #1: like everything that's suggested to me, I tend to start dreaming like I have stars in my eyes & before you know it, a little playlist project has become an unruly weeklong medley of tunes. so following j's example, I'll stick to 15.

yeah, my full list is too long to print here. my apologies. I am unduly enthusiastic which is why you'll often find me smiling to myself with an alarming shark-like grin.

DISCLAIMER #2: I told j that I'd put songs that were not remotely obscure. so again my apologies, most of you will be very overly familiar with a few o' these tunes. don't "duh" me.

1. good vibrations - the beach boys

I never tire of this song. ever. the way it begins. the way it builds. the way the cellos attack! the theremin solo! being one of those people who naturally anthropomorphize everything (which is perhaps why I'm so fond of furniture with feet. & tubs with feet.) I always liked to imagine the theremin as a very solemn operatically trained woman, stepping up to the mic & letting loose! that would be my rock fantasia segment anyway.

2. a day in the life - the beatles

I was a little kid when I first heard it & it certainly had that wind coming out of the speakers & blowing on my face effect. I can't ever tire of it. not even when I worked at a video store & we had a classic rock station playing all manners of crap 5 billion times a day. I love songs as collages & as neatly stitched together as this song may be, that's what it is to me. unfortunately, my favorite part, besides lennon's deliciously spacey vocal contribution, would be impossible & impractical to describe, all I'll say is that it's when I pretend I'm a conductor majestically bringing the orchestra down - BAH! BAH-BAH! BA' BOMMM! "I heard the news..." if you even know what I'm talking about, I love you.

3. interlude (ceremony of carols) - benjamin britten

this instrumental harp interlude sounds like a cold night when you're trying to get home & it starts to snow softly & for whatever reason, maybe it's the first snow of the year or you just had a decent day, the sight of it fills you with elation so you start to run through the white, laughing your way down the street.

4. let's take a trip together - morphine

foggy & slow, this tune creates a world around you, where you'll probably nod yes to anything that's asked of you.

5. you made me realize - my bloody valentine

an unusual chills choice in that the chills comes from a different place. in this song, when hard & fast gives way to noise & noise & more noise & then goes back, I feel a crazy headrush. to me this is the song I want played when I ride the siberian express at coney island. ok, we're going backwards! now scream! AAAAAH!

6. road - nick drake

I never knew what nick drake was singin on this one. I thought he was talking about country road short cuts. no matter, I picture the dark undersides of rustling roadside trees. I'm gonna have to engineer this snapshot for myself. I'll need a car (nothing fancy), a driver, an english country road. oh, contributor james?

7. he needs me - nina simone

as a rule, I'm not crazy about masochistic jazz standards but the first time I heard this I was hushed. simone's crazy wine dark vibrato (which tells you everything that she must be as a woman: strong, passionate maybe crazy) tells a short story of unquestioning love from someone who feels tiny & inconsequential next to the object of their devotion. but only just. they're not entirely unaware of their role in things.

8. grounded - pavement

while there are a few other songs of theirs that give me the chills (the hexx especially) this one makes me go into a dreamy state. I always get the same complex story, a sad one about accidents on icy roads, lost siblings & regret.

9. sorted for e's & wizz - pulp

this song is so close to how I felt when I was in & out of college & totally disconnected from the social scene I was in. I'm so uncool! everyone's so skinny & on drugs! I don't belong here! AAAH! so when jarvis sings "just keep on moving", I do & feel much better for the memories.

10. pyramid song - radiohead

see j's post.

11. marconi's radio - the secret machines

a long, long build-up leading to a mystery. a song that definitely rewards repeated listens even though I'm still not quite sure what the story is. I just think that this is the sound of lying in bed, trying to sleep, slowly realizing something important about yourself & your place in the world & trying to take that with you as you finally drift off.

12. the great valerio - richard & linda thompson

creepy, crawly allegory. stern vocal. gorgeous guitar.

13. sunday morning - the velvet underground

like a pink plastic ballerina in a music box, turning.

14. sunny afternoon - the kinks

I've always wanted to use this song in a genteel horror movie. it sounds like drunken lethargy about to go very bad indeed. I think it's all those "ooooohs".

an amazing number even if you think it sounds like a perfectly nice summer song.

15. fearless - pink floyd

many reasons. the way the guitars sound like water. the sense that it goes on & on. the you'll never walk alone chant at the end. a nod of recognition on the other side of a room. buying the cd after hearing a band covering it the night before. yeah.

love, d