Easy Like Sunday Morning #11

Ok, so Fridays post was missing. Long story cut short I left my house on Thursday to pre-swall for soulwaxmas and I returned home on Saturday evening, on the Friday between I went to ASIWYFA's gig and went to a ludicrous house party the same night (people were arriving when I was leaving at 9am and it was the most active part of the party). ASIWYFA blew Belfast apart, I missed soulwax and Tiga on the Friday (forgot ticket and had to go back) but mix hell blew the roof of the place, 2manydjs however just did the exact same thing they did at Belsonic, it was rubbish the first time and it was rubbish again if you were to listen to the two sets you'd be convinced that no music had been released in the past 6 months as they were pretty much the same. Because of all this my body clock has been all off, I slept a good bit of today as I didn’t go to bed until lunchtime.

For the first post of the day I'm going to be posting Air's - Ce matin là from their stunning album Moon Safari. If I were to try and explain what Easy Like Sunday Morning was about to someone who didn’t get the title (ie a complete idiot), I would just give them a copy of Moon Safari and they would instantly understand what we were trying to show people. I honestly think that this is possibly the most organic sounding album every made and if I were trying to determine if a pair of speakers were worth my money or not, this is the album I'd use. Ce matin là is constantly a song I find getting stuck in my head, I'll find myself on a bus, train or walking around town/uni just humming the infectious brass lead over and over again. Everything from that typical air-esque bass to the steel sounding guitar are perfect in this track. I'm really actually surprised that I haven't posted this track earlier as it is my favorite Air track from what I personally think is the dynamic duo's best work. I urge you to get a copy of this album by any means necessary even if it means robbing it from a shop (I don't condone any criminal activity, this is clearly a sarcastic comment meant to raise a cheap laugh, however if you do decide to do this just use the ten tracks on the album as your defense and the jury will understand and probably let you off), the reason I urge you to listen to this album is that you will almost definitely find a different favorite track to mine, it's just that sort of album. I discovered this album when I was in my 3rd or 4th year of school during the height of listening to metal bands such as Megadeth and going through a typical stage of not wanting to conform (by ironically conforming to something else…), but that alone says a lot about the album, as it is something especially at that time which I would not have expected to like and it is without a doubt beside Grandmaster Flash one of the two key elements in the change that made me listen to music the way I do today. This is definitely, for me, an in bed sort of album, one to go to sleep to and one to wake up to, its therapeutic in ways that therapy could never be and proves that simplicity is one of the keys to perfection. I could go on and on about why this album is one of the best made and why it's so good but i'd rather let you discover it for yourself than let me impose learned habits in regards to how and why you should listen to it. Ce matin là by some sort of beautiful coincidence means "That Morning".

Air - Ce matin là

The next song I'm going to post is another obvious one that has somehow eluded me up until now, Simon and Garfunkel's always atmospheric The Sound of Silence. Anyone who goes to the cinema even semi-often or enjoys film will recognize this track as it is used on a seemingly regular basis within film. The best use of this track is clearly from the film The Graduate, the song plays at a time when Hoffmans character has finished his time at university, graduated and is having off time discovering who he is before he decides to tackle the world. The song very appropriately plays when his family are bothering him about his future and he lies in his pool then immerses himself underwater, hence the song being used (lots of symbolism going on here film fans). The song is a herald to what Simon and Garfunkel used to be before their constant break-ups and reunification's (as of writing this they are together…kinda). The song opens with simplistic guitar work that progresses throughout the song and is backed by the perfect and typical harmonizing voices of Simon & Garfunkel.

Simon & Garfunkel - The Sound of Silence

The next track I want to post is a slight progression for the blog as I don’t think we've talked about the genre yet. Like the track above, most people will probably be familiar with this track through film. The track is Brian Eno's Deep Blue Day which methodical film fans may be familiar with as the track that plays during Trainspotting when Renton dives into the toilet. There's not really much to talk about historically for this track other than it was purportedly first used and written for a documentary by NASA called For All Mankind. It’s a very Caribbean themed track so hopefully it'll warm you up in this shockingly cold winter we're having.

Brian Eno - Deep Blue Day

The next track I'm posting is one everyone should be familiar with, as it was Christmas number one a few years ago, I think it was the last xmas number 1 before x factor began(kudos to rage btw, really didn’t think it was even remotely possible, the internet continues to surprise me). The track also featured in what could perceivabley be my favorite film (after The Trilogy). The song, as the pub-quiz enthusiasts would probably know by now is Gary Jules' Mad World (originally by Tears for Fears). Video game fans may will be familiar with the track through its appearance in one of the trailers for the first Gears of War game (which I personally think completely misled people about what the game would be like). The track is great and one that should definitely be listened to in a relaxing manner (otherwise you'll probably over think it and make yourself depressed) I don’t like to tell people how to listen to music but I'll make an exception here by saying to concentrate on the piano, the keys keep this song alive.

Gary Jules - Mad World

To finish up today, as it's the last Sunday post before Christmas, I thought I'd throw in a Xmas treat for you all to appreciate on this fine Sunday evening. From the nature of the post and what I've just said, some of you may have already guessed that the track I'm going to post; none-other than Oceansize's cover of Walking In The Air. The reason I'm posting this is very specified, so bear with me (in honesty the song justifies itself, kind of making the rest of this post irrelevant, but there is reasoning). Covers to many are a loved thing, to others they can seem gimmicky; I stand somewhere in the middle, mainly because not all covers work and a lot are indeed gimmicky. To me covers can be a work of genius, if done right. The reason for this is that they instantly make genres of music that others may not be familiar with, or willing to explore, very accessible. It gives people an understanding of the track as the cover version will add a "what if?" element to the songs they are applied to. Now I'm obviously talking here about cross-genre covers, covers that try to perfectly emulate the same sound end up sounding shite. Some work (check for Chris Cornell's live acoustic version of Billie Jean, the one he recorded for Carry On just didn’t work imo) and some don't (ie Will Young desecrating The Doors legacy - im not even linking to this one). This is something that works and can easily be enjoyed by all, it's an upbeat and completely original look on a classic that everyone is familiar with, if you want someone to become a post-rock fan this Christmas then show them this, they may just thank you for it.

Oceansize - Walking In The Air