03/25 - You And I Could See Into The Same Eternity

Spring just ran away from me. But it's been terrific. You'd expect me to post a really upbeat list because of the season, and as an antidote from the former possibly mawkish entry, but no! Spring is also for feeling lovelorn and melancholic!

Adrianne Lenker - Sadness As A Gift

When I first encountered this song on Song Exploder, I didn't immediately get it, but by now I've listened to it hundreds of times, and think it's one of the best songs of recent years. 

Charlotte Gainsbourg - Hey Joe

How great is Charlotte Gainsbourg? For some reason she does not seem to be considered a massive star, but how many others do we have that are both great movie actors and amazing music artists, in two different languages to boot? Whether in a scarring von Trier flick, the gorgeous Les Passagers de la Nuit, or in an ominous cover of a folk classic like here, she's a perennial favourite.

Julia Holter - Sea Calls Me Home

Coming home to the island every evening after work, the aroma of lilacs and a warm sentimentality envelops me. The sea stretches out towards past times and missed comrades. Julia whistles, and I feel at home, at rest, remote.

Monica Zetterlund - Ensam på havet

Surgingly lonesome composition by the always brilliant Stina Nordenstam, sung by one of Sweden's best voices ever. The sirens are calling...

Brian Eno & John Cale - Cordoba

The chorus of Sadness As A Gift kept reminding me of something, and when I realised it was the melody of John Cale's Buffalo Ballet I first intended to put that song on the list. But then that sojourn into John Cale made me go back to one of my all time favourite songs, which I've loved since I discovered it on the brilliant live record Fragments of a Rainy Season as a teenager, and realised it hadn't been on a Top 5 yet, so here goes. I've never analysed what the lyrics are actually about, but to me the song just encapsulates every heartwrenching departure from a friend/lover in my life. 

You start to walk towards the station
I'll walk towards the bus