Happy Music Monday! If you're seeing this, we've gone a week without a famous music figure dying. Let's start a new trend, shall we? Today Scott's got five songs about new days. Get ready. The last one might be controversial.
Ever gotten out of bed the day after a breakup and told your reflection "this is where it all begins again!" Ever walked away from that mirror and immediately spent the day mad at the stuff you supposedly just threw away? That's the sound of this song. It's a new day, but that doesn't mean you've immediately forgotten the past. It takes some work to push through that new day and start a new trend. But if you keep at it, you'll reach the new week, then the new year, then the new you.
Four more comin' right up.
Basia actually occupies a special place in my heart, because I don't think we'll ever go back to a time when a song like this could be a radio hit. The mix of friendly jazz and electronica aren't new to us like they were in the late 1980s, when this sound was truly part of a new day. Can you imagine someone creating a new instrumental sound in this day and age? Unless someone turns record scratching into something they play in coffee shops, we're not getting another Basia.
Mysterious and wobbly, this song well represents how The Cure can be both familiar and new all at the same time. It almost sounds like the vocals have the wrong backing track, but that's just part of the magic! And, by the end, it's all tied together into a wonderful whole.
I keep meaning to do a great big multi-part Music Monday illustrating how Sting slowly lost his mind. The man went from punk rock reggae to playing instruments from the Battle of Hastings! And this record right here, this is the turning point between "innovative but sappy" Sting and "when did you turn into Phil Collins" Sting. Which is sad in both cases, because the pair of them are clearly talented, they just stopped caring. In this case, the new day was not what people would consider better. Radio-friendly, sure. But not better.
I'll say it openly: Kanye really is this generation's David Bowie. He focuses on himself and does whatever he wants, he's got a complex relationship with an older brother figure he often attempts to be, he commits to a concept then swerves a whole different way on a whim, he has a reputation for borrowing other people's ideas and taking credit for them, and he's apparently having a breakdown while finding God which is right where Bowie was as he zipped from station to station. This particular duet with Jay-Z (who is kinda of Kanye's Scott Walker) is an apology to the kids they'll one day have about how hard it will be for them to grow up with famous dads. It's proof that somewhere in that messy head is a talent who can deliver as needed. Maybe he just needs to get away from the pressure! Kanye, why not take RZA to Berlin and lay low?
Let us just remind you: some images come from the corresponding Wikipedia page and are here under fair use. See you next week.