February's Homework Assignment

Oh nosss! I almost forgot to do this month's homework assignment from Professor Z! This month has been  honestly way too chaotic so my apologies about that; hopefully March will be more merciful. In any case, here's the prompt:

I'd like for you to blog about the most beautiful piece of music that you've ever heard. Keep in mind this isn't about a piece of music that influenced you or is part of the soundtrack of your life. Rather, it's music that aesthetically moves you. Please tell us what the piece of music is, who composed/wrote it, why you love it, and how it moves you. And if you want to be visual, show us images that you associate with this music.

Man, this is such a fabulous topic! There are so many moving, touching pieces of music out there but one specifically jumps out to me when I read this prompt. And that one is: "I"ll Fall With Your Knife" by Peter Murphy.

Here's a link to the song in case anyone wants to listen to it:

I'm not sure what it is about this song --perhaps the surreal opening, the soulful highs and lows of Peter's voice, or the poetic beauty of the lyrics-- but it just touches me to the core. I'm pretty sure Peter Murphy wrote the lyrics along with singing it and that just makes it all the more meaningful to me. This was one of first songs I heard from Peter (the first was Instant Karma) and I was (still am) honestly mesmerized by his voice. It's unbelievable what he can do with it and how absolutely phenomenal he sounds, really. Before I heard this song, I didn't believe it was humanly possible but his voice proved otherwise.  "I'll Fall With Your Knife" really captured that unique aura of his voice and I like how seamlessly it transitions from one distinct sound to another (they introduce like 3 different elements/instruments and it's done so well you don't even realize it until you give it another listen).

Whenever I hear this song, it's like I get swept away. It just washes over me. Everything else in the world suddenly disappears and loses meaning, I'm fully absorbed in the song. It transports me out of this realm to another place, somewhere ethereal, otherworldly, and preternatural, beyond this world. And when the background singers start chanting, it's hard not to get carried away to that place, somewhere more marvelous than this one. I have no idea how to describe it and I know I sound like a mystic right now but, it's just downright magical. I've got no other way to define how this song makes me feel. Every single line speaks to me astutely, I couldn't even start picking one apart to show you. The metaphors are so intertwined and so poetic, you just have to hear the whole. I've always read it as a beautiful demonstration of love, as a declaration of love to someone and that just makes it all the more touching. Isn't a love that's willing to fall with your knife the best love you could ever find? And that's why I love this song so much. It moves me so profoundly.

I remember being completely obsessed with it when when I first found it. It was the only thing I'd listen to for weeks. I'd force my friends to listen to it, I'd play it on repeat at home, I even inscribed part of the lyrics in my signature on an online forum (lol back when that was cool). In fact, this song was how I found one of the best friends I've ever had. We bonded over this song, Peter Murphy, and other stuff. That was back in high school (which was a long time ago now) and we've drifted since but this song still reminds me of how rewarding being true to yourself is. When you're genuinely yourself, the people you find are the ones worth keeping. I'd never have learned that if it wasn't for this song. This song was also the start of my induction into Goth, the flowering of my love for Peter Murphy, and many other things. For that reason, it holds such a special place in my heart. It brings out such a powerful emotion and sensation for me. It like wrenches my heart (in a good way) and I always end up crying (or getting very teary-eyed) when I hear it. And that's not just because of the memories, but because of the beauty of the words and sounds all put together. It truly is a beautiful sound.

Alright, well this is getting mighty long so I'll just leave it at that. But yeah, this song is one of my favorite and I'm glad I was able to share it with you all. Let me know what your favorite songs are below and please please please give this one a listen to and tell me what you think.
Cheers!

P.S. There was this one very specific fan-made music video for this song that I always think of when I hear this song but I can't seem to find it anywhere. If I do, I"ll post it here but if not, I just thought I'd explain why I don't have any visual aspect to this entry. (Update: found the image thumbnail of the video but unfortunately it seems the video itself was taken down by youtube b/c of copyright things sad face :(

 

August's Homework Assignment

Why hello there, everyone!

With August practically extinguished, I thought I'd make one last post before September starts. And what better way to do that then with another fun little linkup for Professor Z's August Homework Assignment! So here's the prompt: 

For August's Homework Assignment, you are tasked to show us how songs or music inspire your dress, mood, art, writing, etc. Make that correlation between the song and the product of your inspiration; or, tell us what kind of music you listen to before you go out for the evening, or before work or school, or while you are relaxing at home. Remember, your post doesn't need to be fashion related. Get inspired! Think outside the box! HAVE FUN!!!

First off, I just gotta say how much I just really love the prompt. I'm very musically inclined (meaning I'd be listening to something 24/7 if I could) so I can't wait to share what's been on my playlist lately. 

1. To start, a lot of this month for me has been sitting around and waiting for my ankle to heal. As such, a song that's been constantly playing in my head as a nice summary of my situation is Regina Spektor's "Somedays". It's a cute little melody about how we all have days that just sortof slip through our fingers and how at times, they don't even feel days from our lives, like our days, at all. Anyways, it's a pleasant gem esp. when you feel like brooding.

2. Other music this month included a lot of the Sweeney Todd soundtrack. After watching the movie, I couldn't get any of these songs out of my head! I'd wake up humming "There's no place like London" and eventually I wound up finding the soundtrack online. This resulted in me playing the entire album on repeat continuously. I really couldn't get over how great some of the songs and just how well they went together. They're witty and lyrical with great attention to score details. I like how the tone can be cynical and dark but hopeful all in the same song. It's quite a feat. Most of the songs were modified to fit the film version but I feel like that didn't detract from their quality at all. In fact, they make quite a few songs more enjoyable & manageable. Plus, the choice of actors was superb; their singing fit their parts so perfectly. I was really impressed both Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter carried themselves quite nicely and Ed Sander's (Toby) charming childish voice was a sweet surprise. Jayne Wisener (played Johanna)'s voice was just perfection. 

A couple of my favorites include: "Not While I'm Around", "Pretty Women", "Worst Pies in London", "Green Finch & Linnet Bird"*, "Johanna", "A little Priest", "By the Sea", "God That's Good". "Wait" and "Poor Thing" were pretty good, too. Basically, I loved the whole thing. 

Here's a great playlist if you'd like to listen to the playlist.

3. So those are the songs I've been obsessed with and have been gobbling up in my relax/free time. When it comes to school or work, I tend to gravitate towards instrumental pieces to get me into the mood. I stay away from songs with words because I get distracted by them waaaay too easily and end up spending more time pondering the lyrics than actually getting any work done.  So the artist I've been listening to lately for work is Bob Acri. He mostly does piano pieces and my favorite from him is "Sleep Away". The reprise for that one is fabulous as well. But yeah, you get the easy listening vibe I have for work-related music.

4. A random song I've been jamming to is the Mystery Jet's The Ballad of Emmerson Lonestar. I have a cousin's wedding to go to in Texas next month and this has been my way of getting ready: listening to British guys sing about the "Radlands". Yuuup. That's probably not the smartest way to prepare but oh wells. It's a good song.

5. OH I've also been getting back into Bastille. I fell in love with this band a little over a year ago but had let it sit on the back burner when our radio stations decided to overplay Pompeii but gosh darn, Dan's voice is like British red velvet and listening to their stuff reminds me how much I adore it. Also, those eyes and that hair, man. Gooood stuff. 

Alright, well that's about it.. Perhaps in the future I'll do another post on my favorite artists and my music tastes but that's it for now. Thanks for reading and linkup yourself so I can know what you're listening to! :)