Thanks for the great series of cover songs. There are dozens of Hank Williams songs that have led to, I would guess, thousands of covers. Many of them are excellent, but they usually don’t reveal much that Hank didn’t already put into his own versions. His singing is deceptively hokey at first listen, but in true addict style (like Janis Joplin, Judy Garland or Art Pepper), he poured all his desperate emotion into every song.
But when Beck covered “Your Cheatin' Heart,” he didn’t try to be more romantic or heartbroken or country than Williams did. He made it haunting and creepy and obsessive and entirely unforgettable, and I thank him for that.
(Submit a song via hello@. Track of the Day archive here. Pre-Notes archive here.)
For a more directed recommendation, I’ve found modern cello to be particularly fruitful (even if not used in a video game), especially by Zoe Keating—e.g. “Sun Will Set” and “Tetrishead”—and in the same vein, Julia Kent’s “Barajas.” Those three are really beautiful cello pieces. Do check them out, even if you don’t spend days researching the epic mixes above.
(Submit a song via hello@. Track of the Day archive here. Pre-Notes archive here.)
Reader M.J. has a wonderful find for the new series:
As a PhD researcher, it’s difficult to find the right kind of music to work to. Music with lyrics distracts from reading and typing. Absolute silence is just as distracting as a complete din. I’ve sometimes used one of the white-noise or nature-sounds websites, but they get boring.
After some searching, I’ve found that the classical music used in video games is very helpful. Thanks to sites like Bandcamp, it’s easy to find and buy music from indie games (ones that often aren’t focussed on shooting as many people as possible). My latest find is the composer Austin Wintory, especially the soundtrack to Journey. Highly recommended.
Journey won several “game of the year” awards and received several other awards and nominations, including a Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media nomination for the 2013 Grammy Awards. The music, composed by Austin Wintory, dynamically responds to the player’s actions, building a single theme to represent the game's emotional arc throughout the story. Reviewers of the game praised the visual and auditory art as well as the sense of companionship created by playing with a stranger, calling it a moving and emotional experience, and have since listed it as one of the greatest games of all time.
The full soundtrack is available on YouTube, and its most popular track, “Apotheosis,” is embedded above.
(Submit a song via hello@. Track of the Day archive here. Pre-Notes archive here.)
Yesterday—in attempt to get a new TotD series going, centered on songs that are great to listen to while working—a reader gave a shoutout to the post-rock band This Will Destroy You. I just checked out their eponymous 2008 album—which you can listen to in full on YouTube—and immediately recognized one of its tracks, “The Mighty Rio Grande,” but I wasn’t sure from where. A quick googling turned up the answer: the 2011 film Moneyball, based on Michael Lewis’s book of the same name chronicling the Oakland A’s efforts to revamp their struggling team based on sabermetrics. I’m listening to the moody atmospheric track as I type and it’s simultaneously soothing without slowing my productivity.
Do you have any recommendations for similar songs—ones with little or no lyrics that are great to have in the background while you’re typing away at work or trying to write something at home? Please drop us a note: [email protected]. Update from a reader, Jack, who mentions a movie that’s been high on my to-see list:
“The Mighty Rio Grande” was also featured in Room, which came out last year and was nominated for Best Picture. It’s in the pivotal scene of the movie and the music fits it perfectly. Such a great scene.
(Track of the Day archive here. Pre-Notes archive here.)
Personally I can’t listen to music with lyrics; they’re too distracting. But curiously that’s not the case when I lack control over the music, like when I’m working in a coffeeshop and the lyrics over the speakers are melding with the ambient noise. (That mixture of sounds is so comforting that I often work to Coffitivity, an awkwardly named site that provides a variety of ambient tracks from the cafe.)
So what’s your favorite piece of music to work to, either as an individual track or a whole album? Please send us your pick to [email protected] and describe a little why you like the track or album so much. Benjamin, one of the readers in the Writers groups, sounds off:
I usually write to Radiohead, Sigur Ros, or St. Vincent. Sometimes I throw a little Nick Cave in the mix, but he has a lot of words and an imposing voice so ... not always.
Love, love Explosions in the Sky. Their music is an experience and it's really inspirational. Check out the band This Will Destroy You if you’re into the post-rock ambient sound.
Ria gets vivid:
Closing my eyes, I listen to Gabriel Faure’s “Pavane” [embedded above] and imagine myself sitting inside an ancient, ruined cathedral, while it’s raining outside. I rest my back on the damp, mossy wall of the cathedral and watch the blurred view of the green valley. I have a blank notebook and a pen. The notebook lies open on my lap. My heart longs to write something. I open my eyes and start writing.
(Submit a song via hello@. Track of the Day archive here. Pre-Notes archive here.)
I can’t guarantee that you haven’t already included this cover—“Stairway to Heaven” by [the Australian Beatles tribute band] The Beatnix—in Track of the Day, as I only looked through the first 20 pages, going back to November. I don’t have a lot to say about this one, except how great it is. Do check out the video (not just audio).
Update from another reader:
Now that you’ve opened the “Stairway to Heaven” can of worms (there are so many covers that you could do just those from now on), here’s a quick way to close it: “Stairway to Freebird” performed by Dash Rip Rock since the late ‘80s/early ‘90s. (Not sure if covering two songs in a single mashup counts.) It’s also discussed in this article in The Wall Street Journal, which is referenced in the 55-second intro to the song.
(Submit a song via hello@. Track of the Day archive here. Pre-Notes archive here.)
Reader Anthony says he “love[s] this cover concept, and my favorite so far is Peter Tosh’s “Johnny B. Goode.” His pick for the series:
So there I was driving down the highway and who should pop up on the local classic rock station but Metallica (no surprise there) playing “Whiskey In a Jar,” that old folk song that … uh … well just listen to it. Metallica owns it now.
(Submit a song via hello@. Track of the Day archive here. Pre-Notes archive here.)
Reader Mike Kludt recommends a sweet and pathos-tinged rendition of a classic Eagles song:
This came to my attention years ago. It’s from The Langley Schools Music Project, a compilation of 1976-77 recordings by a Canadian music teacher of elementary school kids singing contemporary pop songs. (Yes, you read that right. Look it up. It’s a cute story [’Tis].)
It’s a solo rendition by a young girl of “Desperado.” She does a very nice job, but to me the key is to imagine that she’s singing about her dad. This gives it an emotional edge that is almost startling to someone like me who remembers when the original came out and who frankly didn’t give it much thought.
(Submit a cover via hello@. Track of the Day archive here. Pre-Notes archive here.)
Last week, Elaine—who writes our Politics & Policy Daily newsletter—asked readers, “What song should Donald Trump come out to when he walks on stage Thursday night at the Republican National Convention?” The winning picks are here, including a bunch of honorable mentions. Elaine is doing the same contest this week for Hillary Clinton, who speaks tonight in Philly. Scores of you have emailed song recommendations (there’s still time via hello@), and Elaine will be announcing her picks tomorrow, but here’s a teaser from reader Steve Perez:
What song should Hillary Clinton come out to when she walks on stage Thursday night at the Democratic National Convention? Stevie Wonder’s “I Just Called to Say I Love You,” because she is afraid to use email these days.
Heh.
(Submit a song via hello@. Track of the Day archive here. Pre-Notes archive here.)
For our reader series of songs inspired by presidential candidates, Mark gets ambitious:
In your long list of endeavors this election cycle, I offer an album (in its entirety) that speaks to the different players in the election cycle of 2015-2016: Chris Rea’s Road to Hell, released in 1989. (The Geffen CD issue, which is what I’ve got, included “Let’s Dance.”)
1. “The Road to Hell (Part 1)” - This song is for the Vichy Republicans:
I said ‘mama I come to the valley of the rich
Myself to sell’
She said ‘son this is the road to hell’
2. “The Road to Hell (Part 2)” - This song is for the Independents:
Oh look out world, take a good look
What comes down here
You must learn this lesson fast and learn it well
This ain’t no upwardly mobile freeway
Oh no, this is the road
Said this is the road
This is the road to hell
3. “You Must Be Evil” - This song is for every breathing Democrat
regarding Trump:
You’re giving out some bad ideas here
I can’t believe that you don't realize
You must be evil
4. “Texas” - This song is for Ted Cruz (the reference to killing and Texas doesn't help):
Well my wife returns from taking
My little girl to school
She’s got beads of perspiration
As she tries to keep her cool
She says that mess it don't get no better
There’s gonna come a day
Someone's gonna get killed out there
And I turn to her and say
Texas
5. “Looking for a Rainbow” - This song is for the Trump believers:
Well we come down to the valley
Yea we're looking for the honey
I see a rainbow
I say that's the land of milk and honey
6. “Your Warm and Tender Love” - This song is for the il/legal immigrants:
I was a stranger to the land and life around
In constant danger, being hurt by what I found
And of hurting what I treasured most
Foolish eagle never dove
Till I fell upon your warm and tender love
In the shadows of your warm and tender love
7. “Daytona” - This song is for the hesitant Hillary voters:
Now she ain't easy so you take good care
Or she will scream down on your lust
She can please you like no other
Or she can leave you eating dust
8. “That's What They Always Say” - This song is for the Libertarians:
I’m getting out, I'm holding on
I'm hanging in, the time is wrong
And every morning brings another reason
A piece of cake, no lion share
Just one more dice and you'll be there
That golden bridge is just around the bend
9. “Let's Dance” - This song is for the apolitical (do any still exist?):
Caught in a world full of tears
So many bad times and fears
So while there's a chance and you're near
Let's dance
10. “I Just Wanna Be with You” - This song is for Bernie Sanders fans:
I just want to be with you
No matter what they say
Just want to be with you
Every night and every day
Cold nights, dark days
I want to be with you
11. “Tell Me There’s a Heaven” - This song is for the anti-Trump
Republican establishment:
Tell me
Tell me there's a heaven
Tell me that it's true
Tell me there's a reason
Why I'm seeing what I do
I only hope this exercise has not ruined what has always been a fantastic album to listen to.
Hat tip to a young lady named Maria, who goes by the name Ria, which
reminded me it's been a while since I listened to Chris Rea.
(Submit a song via hello@. Track of the Day archive here. Pre-Notes archive here.)
Dr. Strangelove is one of my all-time favorite movies (I’d probably call it #1 if somebody threatened to chop a limb off to make me choose) and this scene has always been my favorite. I’ve watched the movie since I was tiny (it’s my dad’s favorite too), and I can’t remember ever not being able to appreciate the irony. It’s probably a big part of shaping my odd sense of humor.
Vera Lynn’s full version of the song is here. Some quick background:
“We’ll Meet Again” is a 1939 British song made famous by singer Vera Lynn with music and lyrics composed and written by Ross Parker and Hughie Charles. The song is one of the most famous songs of the Second World War era, and it resonated with soldiers going off to fight and their families and sweethearts. The assertion that “we’ll meet again” is optimistic, as many soldiers did not survive to see their loved ones again.
(Submit a song via hello@. Track of the Day archive here. Pre-Notes archive here.)
A reader writes, “‘Hey Jude’ worked rather well in those scenes depicting the Prague Spring of 1968 in The Unbearable Lightness of Being.” That’s Marta Kubišová’s voice, in her native Czech. She’s one of the most iconic cultural figures of Cold War Czechoslovakia:
During the Prague Spring [a brief period of liberalization in 1968 that ended when the Soviet Union and other members of the Warsaw Pact invaded Czechoslovakia to halt the reforms], Kubišová recorded over 200 SP records and one LP, Songy a Balady (Songs and Ballads, released in 1969), which was immediately banned from stores. Her song “Prayer for Marta” became a symbol of national resistance against the occupation of Warsaw Pact troops in 1968. In 1970, the government falsely accused her of making pornographic photographs leading to a ban from performing in the country until 1989. She was a signatory of the Charter 77 proclamation. Her first LPs after the Velvet Revolution in 1989 were a re-issue of Songy a Balady and a compilation of old songs, titled Lampa.
(Submit a song via hello@. Track of the Day archive here. Pre-Notes archive here.)
