Tuesday, February 27

music before music stops

beccy posted the last three songs she'd listen to before all the ipods, radios and banjos* in the world stopped working, and then tagged enid to do the same. while enid is very chuffed and grateful to be tagged for only the second time ever, she's very nervous. you see, in her house, the man is the one who does music. enid's tastes are not fashionable or exciting. she likes to call rap "crap with a silent 'c'", which the man, who thinks of himself as john peel reincarnated, doesn't find funny. (not even the first time.)

(*probably banjos would actually still work after the cataclysmic event that stopped music. and so would bagpipes.)

once, when enid and the man had been going out for just a few weeks, two of the man's friends came to stay. late in the evening, after quite a lot of alcohol had been imbibed, the man opened a cupboard, where enid had hidden her albums, and showed them to his friends.

"sting!" they laughed, clutching their sides.

"simon and garfunkel!" they hooted, tears streaming from their eyes.

"al stewart!" they guffawed, rolling around on the floor.

so you can probably understand that, although enid does have some 21st century tastes, she's still nervous about sharing hr music with anyone except her psychiatrist. ah well, here goes.

she'll start with a blast from the past - patterns by simon and garfunkel, because when she was 18 and even more terminally untrendy than she is today, this song summed up enid's fears about life. she often chooses songs for their lyrics - probably why the man and his friends mock her choice of ear food.

From the moment of my birth
To the instant of my death,
There are patterns I must follow
Just as I must breathe each breath.
Like a rat in a maze
The path before me lies,
And the pattern never alters
Until the rat dies.


enid's spent a lot of her life living abroad, not having children, avoiding any hint of a life with patterns in it. was it the right decision? would she have been happier with someone she met at 20 and two children? and in the end, is not doing that more of a pattern than going for all the everyday anti-patterns (chaos) that children bring?

enid can't find this on youtube, so here's another favourite of hers, original video from the sixties too...



here's something a bit more recent - the jeweller by this mortal coil.

The jeweler has a shop
On the corner of the boulevard
In the night, in small spectacles
He polishes old coins
He uses spit and cloth and ashes
He makes them shine with ashes
He knows the use of ashes
He worships God with ashes.


enid loves the idea of an old man doing his best work even though no-one really notices or cares. a bit like those stone carvers in cathedrals that did as good a job on the bits no-one could see, because god could. (enid doesn't believe in god, nor he in her. it's a metaphor.) she also loves the minor key of this song, really haunting, she thinks.

(she's not found a very good version of the song on youtube - it only starts a fair way in, and then it's not as good as the one she has in itunes. but it will give you the idea.)



and finally, because english speakers tend to think that french music is crap (with a capital 'c' rather than a silent one), here's enid's favourite french song, from a couple of years ago. it's "elle m'a dit," by cali. it makes her want to cry because she misses france.

Je crois que je ne t'aime plus.
Elle m'a dit ça hier,
ça a claqué dans l'air
comme un coup de revolver.

Je crois que je ne t'aime plus.
Elle a jeté ça hier,
entre le fromage et le dessert
comme mon cadavre à la mer.




edit: enid totally forgot to tag anyone. she tags sally and juvation. (juvation's a pop star, so he'll put her to shame. sally probably has good taste (as opposed to enid, not juvation. although...)

12 comments:

Brooke - Little Miss Moi said...

Dear enid. I like your choice of songs. Particularly 1a and 1b. And you made me realise I totally forgot about the iPod when the power went off for two hours today (I read a book instead). When I was an angsty teenager, I listened to Simon & Garkfunkel (as you know) but the following Smiths lyrics resonated with me: (from how soon is now)

There's a club if you'd like to go
You might meet somebody who really loves you
So I go and I stand on my own
And I leave on my own
And I go home and I cry and I want to die.

Then I grew up and met Mr Moi so I don't worry about not meeting anyone who really loves me anymore...

I think I need a stiff drink now. Bye...

Beccy said...

I too loved Simon and Garfunkle as an angsty teen. Never heard of the others.

I loved the French video, I didn't realise the French could let their hair down quite like that, I though it was all suave and sophitication, thanks for putting me right.

(I hope I don't offend any French readers, it just shows how ignorant I am)!

I'm very impressed with how you've uploaded all the clips onto one post, I couldn't work out how to do that.

Anonymous said...

Enid or anyone else should never apologise for what they like.

Here is an interesting exercise ..no put the leg down for a minute. Name ten classic tracks. Not your top ten but ten tracks which have that certain wow factor. The other day I heard year of the cat for the first time since I dont know when. Plastic Bertrand, sitting on the dock of the bay, I dunno but have think. Your liost is rarely the same twice over.

y.Wendy.y said...

Going to dig out my old S&G CD...you reminded me...

btw - your answers on the Dating Profile challenge were, I thought, the funniest of them all..I was laughing so hard. You should have walked it! I don't believe in Cod...bwah ha ha ha ha...

Brooke - Little Miss Moi said...

Dear enid. What's the dating profile challenge? We wanna read

enidd said...

hi little miss moi. enid still likes her angsty teenage stuff too, the man or no the man - and she thinks it's one of the things you'd choose to listen to last in the world, because it's been through more of your life with you.

enid liked the video too, beccy. they looked as if they were having fun, rather than been too cool to smile. what is it with musicians thinking they have to be trendier-than-thou all the time, when writers, painters and computer programmers don't?

billyboy, you're right. the new stuff has a bit too much glamour sometimes. those top 100 lists on radio 1 were always too skewed to the last year or so - songs that actually would be forgotten by the time the next list was drawn up. enid's put her leg down now.

wendz, thanks, though it's a totally undeserved compliment. yours were better! (enid ran out of steam about half way through) little miss moi 2, it's a little competition over here http://profileoftheday.blogspot.com/. let's all have another go next time?

Juvation said...

what's "tagging" ? sorry for not being a ha0xor...

enidd said...

hi juvation, it means you've got to (oh, ok, may do if you like...) make a post on the same theme. in this case, choosing the three songs you'd listen to if you couldn't listen to any music ever again.

Momo said...

Thank you for make me re-fill my INDECISION...you knocked me out...I've never been able to make a top three of my favourite songs!

ChrisB said...

Lovely choice Simon and garfunkle.
The second video didn't play properly.
I have been tagged by Lisa for this one and I have been having trouble with you tube. I can't work out where i am going wrong found the videos I want to use but it then won't accept my blogger username and password to allow me to upload. I know beccy has done it so I will have toask her to help me tomorrow

Juvation said...

but enid, that means i have to destroy something. because, as you know, my blog is all about breaking shit.

anyway right now my knee-jerk three songs are "like i do" by minipop, "girl and the sea" by the presets, and the first track off "deep cuts" by the knife.

if i had to think about all-time favourites, it would take ages, during which time other good songs would be heard and get a look-in. rather like catting a file to itself and wondering why the process never finishes.

but, it would probably have some OMD, Floyd, and Queen. but then maybe that's just another knee-jerk.

enidd said...

momo, if enid's honest these aren't really her top three. they are just three she likes very much. as juvention says, it would be time-consuming to make a proper decision.

chris, did you wait for the second one to get past the boring part? it's not a very good video, sorry.

juvention, you could pick your three favourite songs, and destroy them, thus making the meme oddly accurate? could you send links to your choices please, as expected enid has never heard of them. that's what comes of asking a pop star.