HYMN FOR THE WEEKEND
Music is incredible. It soothes, it stirs and evokes memories of a time long gone. Like a time-machine, it takes you back and sometimes, gives you hope for the future. Here's a list of songs that waltzed into our lives, stirred us and stayed with us forever. So, let your guard down, turn up the volume and let the music take you away.
Eye In The Sky – Alan Parsons Project
From the sound engineer of ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’ this one is comfort food for the soul. An old favourite of ours, we must have heard this atleast a million times. We love this song because it has a mood of its own, the kind you’d listen to around dusk approaching twilight, sipping on whiskey, each gulp as intoxicating as the music.
Dreamgirl – Dave Matthews Band
This whiskey-voiced boy is Dave Matthews. This song is laced with sensuality, enough to stir hidden desires. With lyrics that tease, “Your top was untied. And I thought, how nice it’ll be, the fall of your sweat on your spine”, this song is like a wave of desire and lust. There is a strange freshness to this song, the kind you’d crave once in a while. The kind that brings a coy, knowing smile to your face. Now that’s the effect of Dave Matthews voice. Dream boy, dream about a Dreamgirl.
Yumeji’s Theme – In The Mood For Love
Brought to life by Japanese composer Shigeru Umebayashi, this song is an irony of sorts. It’ll painfully squeeze your soul with every note, and infuse life in the very next. This duality will tantalise, tempt and tear you apart, all while making time stop to dictate its own pace. It’s so achingly beautiful, it’ll leave you in an emotional turmoil of tears and longing and hit you where it hurts the most – your soul. This is probably the only composition, which when the music hits you, you will feel the pain.
Even Gods Do – Thea Gilmore
Her voice is magical and if you’ve got a good ear, you wouldn’t want this song to end. You’d want to listen to her when you wake up, and before you turn in, in that torn shirt, comfy pyjamas, unruly hair and dreamy eyes, snuggled in your duvet, bargaining with sleep to let you be up for a tad bit more. It’s a selfish motive, but the song is such.
Neutral Milk Hotel
Netural Milk Hotel (NMH) is such an endearing band. It invites you, encompasses you and makes you fall in love with them. Just like we did, and here are our two favourites.
King Of Carrot Flowers (Part 1) - NMH
This song gives an oddly pleasant feel, like a melodic roller-coaster, inviting everyone to hop on and sing along. It's made for summers and lemonades at the barn. And yet in almost Bukowski fashion, it'll draw you in and hit you with the ugly reality of the times. It's a celebration of irony. And it is one beautiful mess.
In The Aeroplane Over The Sea - NMH
This is our happy song. It picks us up from a dreary day. And it is all sorts of lovely. If you listen carefully, you’ll hear this sound in between, the kind that gives you an easy-breezy feel, the kind that gushes you to the happy land. Then, the saxophone kicks in and elevates your mood much higher, inching you closer to that aeroplane over the sea.
Bombay Theme – A. R. Rahman
This is undoubtedly the finest theme for a Hindi movie till date. An instrumental, orchestrated piece by the musical whiz A.R. Rahman, this music stirs your soul. A medley of flute and gentle notes, this echoes an ethereal sound. This song doesn’t intrude your space or thoughts. Yet, it’s hard to miss. It's haunting. Almost like the ocean. It'll have you speaking to yourself as the waves hit the shore, on a blue skied 4 am morning.