I just realized that my blog’s been trending rather Christian-ly the past couple of weeks (I blame you, Pope Francis). So I thought I’d take a break and post some music recommendations, since I did say music was going to be one of the topics of this blog. So here are my top three music recommendations of the week, with a little blurb about why I chose them. You should be able to find them all on YouTube and/or iTunes.
1. “Father And Son” written by Cat Stevens, sung by Johnny Cash and Fiona Apple
I love this song! The lyrics seem to perfectly encapsulate what I’m going through right now. And the harmonies are awesome. Plus, it’s JOHNNY CASH! Seriously, if you only listen to one song from this list, make it this one. You won’t regret it.
2. “The Priest” written and sung by Joni Mitchell
This song has nothing to do with actual priests. Instead, it’s about Mitchell’s relationship with songwriter Leonard Cohen (the guy who wrote the “Hallelujah” song that was in Shrek.). I love the melody- it sounds very medieval, down to the minor key used throughout the song that ends with a major chord. This is probably the most folk-inspired song of Mitchell’s that I’ve ever heard, and now I understand why some people classify her as a folk musician. Also, the lyrics perfectly capture the intense but ultimately transient nature of romantic chemistry. In conclusion, Joni Mitchell is brilliant, and so is this song.
3. “Jupiter” from The Planets by Gustav Holst.
I decided to break up the genre of my recommendations list and include a classical piece (Ugh, how I hate that terminology! Baroque, Classical, and Romantic music should not all be lumped together under “Classical.” Although Holst is recent enough that perhaps The Planets could be classified as Modern, but usually I think of Schoenberg or someone like that when I think of Modern era music. Anyway, music nerd digression over.). I played this piece in orchestra back in high school, and my church’s handbell choir is currently rehearsing it (I find it a bit odd that a church is doing a piece named after a planet named after a pagan god, but nobody asked me for my opinion…). It’s an awesome piece, and will get stuck in your head (in a good way!) I don’t have a preference as to which version to listen to, they’re probably all decent. Even if you hate classical music, you’ll probably like this piece!
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