Easy Like Sunday Morning #6

This week I have decided to list some of my all-time favourite more relaxed or laidback tracks. Originally this wasn't an intentional thing but as I was compiling the tracks that's just the way it went. Practically all of these tracks I would consider essential listening providing this type of music is what you're into. If not, you may find some of them a little difficult to get on board with but you may even surprise yourself if you give them a chance.

Firstly is Oceansize's Music For A Nurse. After getting featured in an Orange advertisement, a television drama and a recent film, The Invisible, this track was consequently considered almost platitudinous or overplayed if you listened to the critics. Thankfully I didn't and still don't. Regardless of where or how heavily this track was featured, it never becomes convoluted or feels misplaced. It is rare for a song to be able to convey such a large range of emotions from so many different people. Whereas some people may hear this song as a melancholic or desolate piece, I see it more as a graceful yet ultimately triumphant song. There is no wrong interpretation, it is roughly down to how the song is approached and the listeners general outlook and overall levels of perception but even then let's not get ahead of ourselves. Music For A Nurse comes from the innovative yet frequently misunderstood album Everyone Into Position. Originally, although I enjoyed it, I didn't quite see what the big fuss was about. I was very much still in love with their first album Effloresce and with the follow-up there was a slight departure in style and a significant departure in focus. At first glance, Everyone Into Position seemed to be a softer, more brooding rendition of their music as opposed to the heavier yet multifaceted first album. It took me a long time to come to terms with this new approach because while I often acknowledged its artistic merit in my own mind, it never quite hit the pinnacle of Effloresce for me. To an extent, my stance hasn't changed but after managing to see them live (still my favourite gig) I learnt a new level of appreciation for the album, particularly Ornament/The Last Wrongs. It was only after this concert that I came to realise just how elegant and imaginative it was aesthetically. Music For A Nurse was chosen because it is an untarnished extension of these aesthetic qualities.

Oceansize - Music For A Nurse

The second track to be posted is The Postal Service's Such Great Heights. You may remember that the last time I did this I chose Death Cab For Cutie's Soul Meets Body. It isn't a coincidence that this weeks post features The Postal Service, a collaborative effort between Ben Gibbard, the vocalist for DCFC and Jimmy Tamborello (also known by the pseudonym Dntel) of Figurine and Headset. It was a deliberate choice to continue with this alignment as I feel it best summarises Ben Gibbard's songwriting prowess yet also offers something fresh and to an extent unconventional. The name The Postal Service originates with the way in which they chose to produce the bands songs. It was only after Tamborello had written and recorded the instrumental parts that they were sent to Gibbard who would then edit or refine them and come up with the vocals which he believed best fitted the music. Given that this was a sideproject for both artists, in order to undertake these songwriting duties without compromising their main projects, they chose to send eachother demo tapes via the United States Postal Service. The song Such Great Heights is arguably the standout track from the album because whilst there are other tracks which are notable, it best represents both the band itself and the ideals on which it was formed. The vocals are irrestibly catchy yet the music is so off-the-wall that it just works. Listening to this song and concentrating solely on the instrumental parts gives a huge inclination as to just how made for eachother these two are. Despite being very much an electronica song, it still manages to maintain a certain degree of indie pop sensibility which never ceases to bring a smile to my face.

The Postal Service - Such Great Heights

The middle track for today's post is by the man himself, Gerry Rafferty. Of course it could only be his seminal not-quite-a-number-one Baker Street. Unless you're a robot from outer space (and even then you probably still would have heard it), it is practically guaranteed that you have heard this track somewhere along your travels. It is inescapable and is one of those rare tracks that means something to each individual listener. If you haven't heard it or the name sounds unfamiliar to you, why not take some time to get acquainted? Its unlikely you'll regret it. One of the main reasons this song is so well-known is because of that saxophone solo. Not only did Raphael Ravenscroft's solo rejuvenate the instrument within the mainstream media but it also did so within the public domain resulting in a surge in saxophone sales. Baker Street, to me, is essential Sunday listening. I don't know what it is about this song but it just perfectly manifests a lazy Sunday morning or afternoon to me in a way that very few songs can. It manages to convey a lackadaisical vibe without stretching too far into that category while all the while remaining effortlessly cool. It is a shame that Rafferty failed to emulate the success of Baker Street in later years because if this is what he could do with a song about busking in London, who knows what he could have done with more commodious subject matter. Then again, maybe this unpretentious background is where the song's engagingness stems from. Personally I think its the killer sax solo.

Gerry Rafferty - Baker Street

Fourth on the chopping block is La Ritournelle by Sebastien Tellier. You may remember Mr. Tellier from his Eurovision entry that was deemed controversial due to his emphasis on singing in English rather than his native tongue of French, leading Tellier to increase the amount of French within the song itself. Regardless, he still only scored 47 points resulting in a position of 18th, demonstrating exactly how tasteless and bureaucratic this 'competition' is. I don't know what would be worse, Tellier losing to a bunch of manufactured pop artists or winning and obtaining a sense of unflourished credibility in all the wrong circles. I once put a slightly remixed version of La Ritornelle onto a mix CD and sent it around a multitude of people around the United Kingdom and Ireland. The reason behind this distribution was because of a project involving an exchange of music that crops up every couple of years on various different forum boards I use. Needless to say the results were unabashededly negative. I hope this second lease of life fares a little better because I honestly believe this song to be one of the greatest of all time. It just works on so many different levels and offers something which has become more and more difficult to acquire within the music industry in recent years: purity. Admittedly, the remix which I originally sent around I feel is a slight improvement over the source track due to a very, very minimal increase in speed, but I think it would be wrong of me to post anything but the original within this post. It is still utterly fantastic in every respect.

Sebastien Tellier - La Ritournelle

Lastly we have a track I've been sitting on for the best part of a year, Common Market's Tobacco Road. I'm sure you want to know exactly why I've been sitting on a track for so long, especially considering this blog has only existed for just under three months now. The answer is that sometime in the future I am hoping to be featured in a Halo 3 montage showcasing my skills and whatnot. Whilst this track was never intended to be used in conjunction with the gameplay footage, after initially listening to it whenever that was I figured that it would make excellent credit music. I am reasonably sure that I was introduced to this track after downloading it from a blog which is puzzling because it is not the sort of music that is typically featured on blogs. Either way, it has everything that one could possibly want from credit music; an unashamed melody and flow that hints at a sentimentality that most rappers wouldn't touch with a six foot pole. The use of piano is simple yet effective and communicates a mixture of despondency and longing remembrance that expertly fits the message I will almost undoubtedly be trying to divulge at the end of the video. The very fact that it is making it into this video whenever it will be (it may even never come around) should give a broad implication as to just how highly I think of it. Give it a few listens and hopefully you'll feel the same way.

Common Market - Tobacco Road