Winter music
For some reason, winter is a time when I discover great, soul-moving music. Many others may latch on to memorable tunes during summer, and I suppose my high school and college years were more like that. But recently, there's been something about the dark, chilly months that have had a great impact on my music library.
For instance, when I lived in L.A. in 1999, a friend gave me Ben Harper's "Burn to Shine". I'd seen the CD in the store but never heard any Ben Harper. By the time I'd moved to Seattle two months later, I had bought Harper's remaining albums and played them constantly in the rainy drives to and from work. Four years later, Harper is still one of favorite artists.
And in 2001, I discovered Nick Drake, a nearly forgotten English singer who died of an overdose in the 70s. He enjoyed somewhat of a boost in 98/99 after Volkswagen used his song "Pink Moon" in a TV spot for the new Cabrio. Though it sounds weird, but that commercial made a deep impression on me, largely because of the music. But I'd never found out the singer's name. Then, a couple weeks after 9/11, my wife and I saw the John Cusack film "Serendipity". Near the end a folk song kicked in and I'll be damned if it wasn't the same voice as in the VW commercial. A bit of Googling later that night and I'd figured out it was Nick Drake. In a rare move for me, I bought the 4-CD box set of everything he had done, based on two songs I'd heard. Again, I listened to them constantly at home, and too and from work as the Seattle autumn deepened into winter.
Now I've discovered Gordon Lightfoot. Like Drake, the discovery was rather accidental, but with a bit of a back story. A few years ago I recall driving near Seattle and hearing a song on the radio. I actually only heard about half of the song, and the announcer never revealed who it was. But the chorus always stuck in my head, along with a single line of lyrics: "Sometime, you better take care, if I find you've been creeping around my back stair." Fast foward to November, 2004, and I'm reading "Generation Kill", a book about the Iraq War by Rolling Stone reporter Evan Wright. He describes a firefight and writes that the squad leader begins mumbling, "Sometime, I feel it's a sin, when I feel like I'm winning but I'm losing again." The song is "Sundown" by Gordon Lightfoot, and though the lyrics don't match the ones I remember, something about the cadence causes me to pause. The radio song from a couple years ago immediately surfaces. That night, I check out MSN Music, and download the 1974 album "Sundown". Awesome. Looks like Mr. Lightfoot will help make this winter listenable.
For instance, when I lived in L.A. in 1999, a friend gave me Ben Harper's "Burn to Shine". I'd seen the CD in the store but never heard any Ben Harper. By the time I'd moved to Seattle two months later, I had bought Harper's remaining albums and played them constantly in the rainy drives to and from work. Four years later, Harper is still one of favorite artists.
And in 2001, I discovered Nick Drake, a nearly forgotten English singer who died of an overdose in the 70s. He enjoyed somewhat of a boost in 98/99 after Volkswagen used his song "Pink Moon" in a TV spot for the new Cabrio. Though it sounds weird, but that commercial made a deep impression on me, largely because of the music. But I'd never found out the singer's name. Then, a couple weeks after 9/11, my wife and I saw the John Cusack film "Serendipity". Near the end a folk song kicked in and I'll be damned if it wasn't the same voice as in the VW commercial. A bit of Googling later that night and I'd figured out it was Nick Drake. In a rare move for me, I bought the 4-CD box set of everything he had done, based on two songs I'd heard. Again, I listened to them constantly at home, and too and from work as the Seattle autumn deepened into winter.
Now I've discovered Gordon Lightfoot. Like Drake, the discovery was rather accidental, but with a bit of a back story. A few years ago I recall driving near Seattle and hearing a song on the radio. I actually only heard about half of the song, and the announcer never revealed who it was. But the chorus always stuck in my head, along with a single line of lyrics: "Sometime, you better take care, if I find you've been creeping around my back stair." Fast foward to November, 2004, and I'm reading "Generation Kill", a book about the Iraq War by Rolling Stone reporter Evan Wright. He describes a firefight and writes that the squad leader begins mumbling, "Sometime, I feel it's a sin, when I feel like I'm winning but I'm losing again." The song is "Sundown" by Gordon Lightfoot, and though the lyrics don't match the ones I remember, something about the cadence causes me to pause. The radio song from a couple years ago immediately surfaces. That night, I check out MSN Music, and download the 1974 album "Sundown". Awesome. Looks like Mr. Lightfoot will help make this winter listenable.
