Ben Folds - Losing Lisa

Ben Folds' new album is out today. How shall we celebrate? With a bouncy song about depression? Perfect.

Ben Folds - Losing Lisa

The Beatles - Let It Be

It's a strange, troubling and wonderful thing that words can be interpreted in different ways. I was listening to Aled Jones' Sunday Morning radio show on Radio 2 this morning (not through choice) when "Let It Be" came on. 

When I find myself in times of trouble, mother Mary comes to me, 
speaking words of wisdom, let it be. 
And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me, 
speaking words of wisdom, let it be. 

Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be. 
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be. 

And when the broken hearted people living in the world agree, 
there will be an answer, let it be. 
For though they may be parted there is still a chance that they will see, 
there will be an answer. let it be. 

Let it be, let it be, ..... 

And when the night is cloudy, there is still a light, that shines on me, 
shine until tomorrow, let it be. 
I wake up to the sound of music, mother Mary comes to me, 
speaking words of wisdom, let it be. 

Let it be, let it be, ..... 

Given that Aled Jones's show is basically a christian show (for all that it pretends to be multi-faith) I ended up thinking that the lyrics summed up really well the idea of faith. The song obviously uses religious imagery, that almost goes without saying. I'm really talking about the line "there will be an answer, let it be", which could be interpreted to suggest that you've got to wait for the answer to come from elsewhere. Saying "let it be" is basically saying "have faith". And because I knew that McCartney isn't a Christian I assumed that he was trying to picture things from a Christian's perspective, trying to understand faith. If this were the case then while McCartney might be trying to picture how it would feel to have that kind of faith, he might not necessarily be endorsing it - there's nothing in the song about the answer actually being found or the people in the world no longer being broken-hearted. I guess what I'm trying to say is that he could even be criticising faith by implying that just "letting it be" isn't actually doing any good.

This last sentence might be an interpretation too far. It certainly reflects how I feel about life - and I reckon one of the warning signs of over-interpretation is when a song suddenly seems to reflect your own opinion when it didn't five minutes ago! Still it shows how ambiguous words can be. I was mildly suprised to read this paragraph in Wikipedia:

McCartney explained that his mother—who died of cancer when McCartney was fourteen—was the inspiration for the "Mother Mary" lyric. McCartney later said, "It was great to visit with her again. I felt very blessed to have that dream. So that got me writing 'Let It Be'." He also said—in a later interview about the dream—that his mother had told him, "It will be alright, just let it be."

So it would seem that McCartney probably didn't set out to examine faith! In fact, it would seem from that paragraph that he endorses "letting it be". Not necessarily, but possibly. I don't pretend to have read enough on the subject, and I certainly don't have the finest of minds for interpreting songs.

Anyway, this all goes back to what I was saying earlier about the ambiguity of words being both troubling and wonderful. People care deeply about Beatles songs and it's not just because the music is awesome, it's also because the lyrics can be complex and worthy talking about. 

The Beatles - Let It Be

Radiohead - Reckoner

Lovely wonderful Radiohead are, quote, "asking radio stations to play Reckoner", which I guess is the Radiohead equivalent of releasing a single, and they invite us to remix it. Get the bits from here. 

Radiohead - Reckoner

Jesse Dee - My Two Feet

Jesse Dee seems to have become an essential part of my daily listening. He inevitably crops up at some point in my head and then acts like an ear worm, burying himself in until I can't help but put the CD on. This trad jazz style track isn't really representative of the CD but it shows he's no one trick pony. (I wonder what trick it is that the famous one-trick pony has?). Jesse's got funk, soul, trad jazz and ballad all down. And what a voice. 

Jesse Dee released Bittersweet Batch on September the 16th. I'm not trying to push you toward buying it but if you don't, let's be honest, you've failed as a human being. 

Jesse Dee - My Two Feet (alt)

Manic Street Preachers - Australia

In some ways the bands you hear when you're first getting into music are the most important ones. They don't just reflect your developing taste, they help shape it. The Manic Street Preachers are one such band for me. When I was about 15 I was roped into playing keyboards at my dad's church and the guitarist there, Adrian, lent me Everything Must Go (1996) and This Is My Truth, Tell Me Yours (1998) and I devoured them. I'd guess they were about the second band that I really paid attention to (Travis were the first). And I still get excited when I hear lyrics that aim for the same kind of eloquent, idealistic, passionate anger about injustice. Anyway, I found Everything Must Go in my attic a couple of weeks back and have been rediscovering it in the car. "Australia" was the fourth single off this album and suggests band members' reactions to Richie's disappearance.

Manic Street Preachers - Australia (alt)

The Friends - Sleeping

Here's another track from The Friends' demo EP. It's so full of promise that I get excited just listening to it. I'm not sure which of the Friends is the lead singer but whoever it is sings with such joyous abandon as to make me grin all over. Yes. Grin all over. You heard me. Someone needs to sign these people, give them a shit load of money and let them make the best record ever. This might sound like hyperbole. I'm not sure it is.

The Friends - Sleeping (alt)

Don't be put off by the slightly rough opening to the track (it is a demo, after all) it gets really good shortly after. And Happy Birthday to me.

Innercity Pirates - Compani-animals

We all know I love Los Campesinos! but fellow Taffs Innercity Pirates are equally awesome and if this video to "Cockney Sparra" is anything to go by they are going to be big. They released the Cockney Sparra EP back in June. Compani-animals is the third track and just edges it as my favourite, mainly for the lyric "you were my chocolate spread, I was your toasted bread", though there are plenty of gooduns including an East 17 reference - awesome.

Innercity Pirates - Compani-animals (alt)