Top 5 Music Obsessions of the Day
Listen as a playlist on Spotify
1. “Metropolis” :: The Church
“And it’s only a day away,
we could leave tonight,
you could sleep along the way –
dream in black and white.”
“Metropolis”, from Australian band, The Church, was released as the 1990’s album, Gold Afternoon Fix, lead single. The song is credited to be written by all four members of the band, Marty Willson-Piper, Peter Koppes, Richard Ploog, and Steve Kilbey. There is a dreamy quality to the song, wistful in its melodic lifts and falls, and within its layered guitar. For years, “Until the Milky Way” was my all-time favorite song by The Church, and though it is still up there, “Metropolis” has hit the number one slot, as of late. I think I am embracing the hope in the song, the city within the lyrics, and the daydreamy optimism that weaves throughout. Like my feelings for “Until the Milky Way”, though, I find “Metropolis” cinematic and story-triggering, both songs ache for a visual unraveling of character and plot, to me.
2. “Don’t Dream It’s Over” :: Crowded House
“There’s a battle ahead,
many battles are lost,
but you’ll never see,
the end of the road,
while you’re traveling with me.”
Another Australian song in today’s music obsessions, this one, “Don’t Dream It’s Over”, by Crowded House, appeared on the band’s 1986 self-titled, debut album. The song was written by Neil Finn. There is a very specific time in my life that this song brings me back to; not 1986, but a few years later, when a friend of mine and I fell musically in love with the album this is on, and with this song. I feel like, despite the melancholic undercurrent, that this song is has hope strewn about in it, and it seems fluid enough to swim through the fear and insecurities that can pull apart people. I feel like the song transcends one-on-one human interaction, and expands to world relationships, but then circles back to the the intricacies of two.
3. “I’m Where I Should Be” :: Paul Weller
“Got up in a mind to get up,
fixed on the day.
Shook any fears I had,
washed them away.”
“I’m Where I Should Be” is off of Paul Weller’s twelfth solo album, Saturns Pattern. Weller has spoken in interviews about this song, including describing the songwriting and recording process, and some of the inspiration for the song itself, but it is the following quote that resonates the most with me: “I just became more present again,” Weller added. “It’s taken me a fucking long time to understand who I am… though I guess that’s partly through getting older.” This song is overflowing with hope, but tucked inside is a realistic perspective peering through. Saturns Pattern is a new listen for me, and this song is my first-day-listen favorite. I relate strongly to the theme of being present in your life while you are in the midst of living it; that is the sentiment I am personally getting from the song today, as well as the layered instrumentation going on within the song.
4. “Don’t Go Away” :: Oasis
“So don’t go away,
say what you say,
but say that you’ll stay,
forever and a day,
in the time of my life –
’cause I need more time,
yes, I need more time,
just to make things right.”
“Don’t Go Away” comes off of Oasis’ third album, Be Here Now. The song is written by Noel Gallagher. The horns were said to be in homage to Burt Bacharach, the “master of break-up songs”, which meld in perfectly with the added strings and guitar work. This song is one of the main reasons I have recovered from an earlier distaste for Oasis, and dug in deep to their albums and songs. Though this is a break-up song, as Noel states in this quote: “It’s a very sad song about not wanting to lose someone you’re close to. The middle eight I made up on the spot — I never had that lyric until the day we recorded it: ‘Me and you, what’s going on?/ All we seem to know is how to show/ The feelings that are wrong.’ It’s after a row. Quite bleak.”, I still can pull out threads of hope that the relationship sung about here isn’t gone for good.
5. “Cherish the Day” :: Sade
“If you were mine,
I wouldn’t want to go to heaven.”
“Cherish the Day” was the fourth, and final single, released off of Sade’s fourth studio album, Love Deluxe. The song was written by Sade (Abu), along with Andrew Hale and Steward Matthewman. The content of the music video has led to the song being touted as an unintended to the Twin Towers in New York City. To me, the song is a tentative love song that exists on the precipice of letting oneself fall, or turning around and running. I love the low-fi feeling to this song, it comes across like trip-hop light, in a good say. This song, and Sade herself, always remind me of a good friend of mine, and of spending an evening drinking wine in her living room and listening to Sade spin on vinyl, her voice swirling around our conversations.
