This is my final blog entry of June 2012, and I have to say; this has been an amazing month for me, and I only really realised when I was writing yesterday's blog entry and looking back on all that has happened in my life in the last thirty days.
I have Domino by Jessie J stuck in my head at the minute - not the best song in the world but quite catchy and upbeat. I heard it on the radio at work today, which is probably why it is in my head! Also My Kind of Love by Emeli Sande - I really like this song and her voice is so incredible.
I also discovered another song today; well, I say discovered but I think I had already heard snatches of it because parts of it sounded familiar. But today was the first time I heard the song through - in fact it was on the radio twice while I was at work - and I really like it. It turned out to be Brokenhearted by Karmin.
I must admit that, while the name rang a distant bell, I knew practically nothing about this band (or, rather, duo). However, I now fully intend to listen to more of their music and see what other material they have, and then I can decide how far I think they can make it in the charts. Judging from this song, I have high hopes for them! It has such a good beat.
When I first heard it I was wracking my brains trying to think who it could be - Jessie J, Pixie Lott, Lady Gaga and even X-Factor winners Little Mix came to mind, but it didn't sound quite like any of them. I was pleased to see that it was a band I didn't know; I love discovering new talent.
I realise that I have been blogging a lot recently about newer music that is currently in the charts. However, I still spend just as much time listening to the older stuff - music that never ages. One of my all-time favourites has to be A Letter to Elise by the Cure.
It is twenty years old this October; I never realised until I researched it for this blog entry. Happy birthday, song!
When I was younger, my parents used to play the Cure a lot in the car when we were travelling. I liked this song, but I preferred the flashier, louder, more upbeat songs like In Between Days and Love Cats. While I still love both those songs, I have come to really appreciate the simple beauty and poignancy and sheer emotion in A Letter to Elise, and it is now among my favourite Cure songs.
It is certainly, for me, the most mood-versatile Cure song - many of their other songs I have to be in a certain mood to listen to, but A Letter to Elise I will happily listen to any time. It is so perfect as a song. Four-and-a-bit minutes of sheer beauty and emotion and sincerity.
From when I first listened to this as a child, my favourite lyrics have always been;
"Oh, Elise, it doesn't matter what you do, I know I'll never really get inside of you,
To make your eyes catch fire the way they should."
There is so much love in that second line. I love this song. And, listening to the song more recently, I have come to really like the stanzas he speaks at the end, almost like a poem;
"Every time I try to pick it up like falling sand,
As fast as I pick it up, it runs away from my clutching hands."
It is such a strong image, and the narrator's sense of defeat at the end, "There's nothing else I can really do at all," is heartbreaking.
I love this song and I am so glad that I rediscovered it in all its beauty and brilliance. The Cure are amazing! And not remotely dreary and Gothic as some people seem to believe! Listen to some of their songs and you will see how varied their material is - they can do bouncy pop songs (Friday I'm in Love); arty, slightly bittersweet numbers like Boys Don't Cry and Close To Me; and beautiful, poetic love songs such as A Letter to Elise, Catch and Pictures of You.
So, I will sign off for now, but I am challenging myself to write on this blog every day as is humanly possible during the month of July. There are some days where it just won't be possible because I will be away without Internet access, but whenever I can blog, I will!
Let July - and a very musical summer - begin!
Thanks for reading,
Liz x
Songs: Brokenhearted - Karmin - 2012
A Letter to Elise - The Cure - 1992
