Songs and Souls

Fascination with poetic and deep lyrics is one of the major factors behind my superfluous love for music.  It’s truly rare to find these songs among the waves of mediocrity. So, I’m going to keep track of these songs whenever I find one of them by writing about them and how they made me feel. 

1. What was it you wanted?

By Bob Dylan

The feeling that I get when I discover a new Dylan song that clicks with me, there’s nothing like it. This song like most of Dylan’s songs is becoming more relevant now than the time it was written in. Our reduced attention span and lack of empathy both are now almost defining characteristics of a generation that is both blessed and cursed by the interconnected world of tech consumerism and virtual social networks. So when the most prolific singer songwriter of twentieth century said ‘What was it you wanted?’, we can easily relate to the distractions of modern world and the eccentricities of creative minds intertwined. The great Bob Dylan again bamboozles us with another prophetic song that is still painfully relevant decades after it was written, thats the Dylan we know, thats what we search for in his entire discography.

2. It’s all okay

By Julia Stone

Julia Stone is a complete musical package in my view, only a little enriched by Angus' inclusion. This is a track that reiterates that, her live performances are somewhat dramatic and over the top sometimes, but she does this one with complete control in every live show of her.  'Its all okay, love will find a way to be what love is' perhaps one of the most deep if not the deepest lyric in all her discography.

3. Unfucktheworld

by Fenne Lily (Angel Olsen Cover)

'I wanted nothing but for this to be the end'- There can be a number of ways this line can be interpreted, one that I can relate to involves the insatiable urge for something, which i wanted to quit but somehow it went along with my life. ' If all the trouble in my heart would only mend'- oh how we all wish that! The chorus sticks with you, it says something about everyone, at least a generation.

4. Scott Street 

by Phoebe Bridgers

She has the voice of an angel, started from 'Motion Sickness', then discovered 'Funeral', "Steamroller'. The song hit me the most from her is this one comprising avant garde and deeply poetic lyrics and her completely original singing style which is utterly refreshing. The guitar playing tells you about her infatuation with Grunge, not only in this song but over her career.

5. The Great American Novel
by Max Jury

I was dumbfounded by how close the song got close to its title, almost comparable to reading a great american novel. I haven't read that much, but Hemingway and Faulkner would do I presume. The heartbreak and gloom in 'Its not supposed to be this way' is preceded by a soft, melancholic yet strong 'Now I'm waiting for a train'. All those complicated and profound feelings a great american novel should stir in our brain, a great singer takes a great attempt at that. The starting line of the song will sound enchanting after a few listen I think.

6. Friends with Feelings
by Alice Skye

"Dark Blue, Deep Red, these are the colors I associate with my Hair", starting line can mislead one thinking this song being girly romantic, but the next line "I've been tryin real hard, to make friends with my feelings" corrects that mistake and the song immediately becomes something more than the chilled bass line. For me "There's no Black or White but a whole lotta gray" that's the hook maybe because that part of the lyric is true for my life. So regardless of me not associating blue or red with my hair, this song becomes my song.

7. U.F.O.F
by Big Thief

This song is a complete science fiction story and a pretty good one at that too, considering the scope and limitation of describing a story within a song. One has to put a real effort to really listen to the lyrics because it's sung in that spirit of mystery the story demands. Big Thief's former works have little similarity with this song's singing style and mixing. This song reminds me of Tarkovskyi's Solaris, that's how poetic it is. You can find glimpses of great literature in their works but this one is truly unique because of it's sensual delivery of mystery, spirituality, nostalgia and general darkness of modern world and the inexplicable attraction to the unknown, what might love look like if it all wasn't of this world.

8. Young Man in America
by Anais Mitchell

After listening to the same named album property I saw a live version and it was clear to me that the voice of Anaïs Mitchell did not age one bit and it won't. The lyrics were like an absurdist painting to me, too many colours and themes, but when I found out an easier way to use my imagination to connect the dots, then it felt like a Kiarostami or Michael Haneke film where the interpretation includes input from the audience. There are elements of atmospheric rock, accompanied by a mini orchestra. Daniel Plainview of "There will be Blood" is in my imagination the protagonist of this song. He could easily say-

"Everyone'll know my name
Blowing in, blowing up
Shadow on the mountaintop
Young man in America"

9. Familiar Place

by Amy Dacus

"How did I get here?

What did I do to

Deserve this?"

Lucy Dacus is pretty straightforward with the lyrics, but this one along with "Dream State"came from a vision in a dream. So floating on the sweet and dark guitar playing of Amy Dacus, we can create our own dreams from these two songs. Amy Dacus represents the young singer songwriters of US, her experimental collaboration with Julien Baker and Phoebe Bridgers, named 'Boygenious' has produced some of my favourite indie auteur type songs. But this song says more about her than the overblown riffs of 'Night Shift' or the punk rooted 'Troublemaker Doppelganger', she played her best in this song, the song stands on her bass solo. The name of the song is also another artistic feat perfectly leading us to the place we wanted to go, a familiar place.

10. The Partisan
by Henry Jamison (Leonard Cohen cover)

"There were three of us this morning
I'm the only one this evening
But I must go on"

War is a undeniable reality that inspired numerous great works of art. Leonard Cohen wrote this timeless masterpiece that was inspired by a french resistance song. The voice of Henry Jamison fit perfectly in this song and he holds the overall lone and grim realist vibe throughout.

11. Tomorrow is a Long Time
by Bob Dylan

What is poetry? What really makes a poet? If you intend to find at least a partial answer to those questions you must give a listen to one of the most timeless masterpieces of the only musician Nobel Laureate, Bob Dylan. This song was used in a number of situations in various movies and TV shows and almost every time it felt essential. This song is one of his most accessible and instantly hard-hitting ones, almost as if he said about what he went through but in a "Pigeon sat on a branch reflecting on existence" kind of way, all his folk wisdom and effortless poetic stature found their way into the lyrics. Like all the other Dylan songs you can cover it all you like, add layers and instruments, but its impossible to achieve that unapolegetic, edgy and famously rude singing style of Dylan.

12. Everybody Knows
by Sigrid (Leonard Cohen cover)

13. Appointments 

by Julien Baker

of the "Boygenious" supergroup, Julien Baker hit me the last, with her quintessential twenty first century poetic lyrics. Other two members of that group also stroke me with their deep nostalgic lyrics, yet Julien felt completely unique. There is profound sadness in this song but its not depressing. There is resilience and glimmer of hope which took me by surprise because the composition of the song was designed to do so. You find the mundane and essential experience of modern human relationships just approaching the song...

I won't stop you from leaving
I know that I'm not what you wanted
Am I?
Wanted someone who I used to be like
Now you think I'm not trying

---------

And I already know how it looks

You don't have to remind me so much

How I disappoint you

But then you are engulfed with emotions by the poetic realization....

Nothing turns out like I pictured it

Maybe the emptiness is just a lesson in canvases

this feels just too familiar, thoughts that we failed to convert into words, suddenly she becomes the narrator of our deeply hidden melancholy, and we hesitate to sing with her because of the sheer vulnerability it represents. With a smooth, almost organic progressive transition she reaches the optimistic yet sad ending chorus of the song and declares....

Maybe it's all gonna turn out alright

And I know that it's not, but I have to believe that it is

I have to believe that it is

I have to believe that it is

Like her we all have to believe that our existence, our lives as futile and insignificant they are, must mean something, our hope lives on. Personally this song reminded me of the poetry of Jibabananda Das in terms of its unfathomable sadness and impossible optimism. This is post rock songwriting at its best and i dont mean the genre that is defined by the absence of lyrics, rather i find this song successfully incorporating all the musical triumphs of last three or four decades and yet shines as a glittering diamond amongst the LA new wave. 

14. I Know The End

by Phoebe Bridgers

15. My Own Version of You

by Bob Dylan

The elegance and maturity of Dylan's voice has never been better, floating in the possibility of being his latest album, "Rough and Rowdy Ways" boasts the prolific songwriter's wisdom and aged superfluous observations. This song describes the author's insatiable hunger for bringing someone to life that's unorthodox for everyone and that challenges the overly familiar reality we live in. His deep understanding of the way of the world, historically and socially, becomes evident in the lumps of very distressed and eager lyrics of this song. The pop culture reference also establishes his never-ending affiliation with popular art, even after taking a godly approach to the lyrics of the song. Bob Dylan is still a catch to the millenials because of his ease to incorporate all kinds of ideas, old and new into his songs. His last real album "Long and Wasted Years" gave us a handful of songs to celebrate the true greatness of Dylan's songa. This one, on the other hand doesnt shy way from blunders, it shows what truly is happening. David Bowie's "Lazarus" and Leonard Cohen's "You want it darker", both contributed creating somewhat of a new genre, Dylan's latest certainly should be listed alongside those last works of great artists of their time.

16. Don't Cry 

by Morgan Wade

17. Bachpan 

by Amna Riaz

There is something profound in Amna Riaz's voice that can express deep sadness and nostalgia, coupled with her simple but heartfelt lyrics make her new age lofi tracks memorable. One of her singles has a cover where a teen girl is sitting with a cockatoo on the roof of a festively lit building, depicting the isolation and coming of age maturity reflected in her music. 'Bachpan' hit me really hard because the story in the lines resonated with my childhood, the longing for living a simpler life in a less complicated time was never said directly, 'hum to janti nahi hain, pehchanti nahi hain, apna dil' applies to everyone, after all who knows their mind very well?

18. 100 words 

by Prateek Kuhad

Prateek Kuhad came into fame by his single 'cold/mess', luring me to check out the video of his live performance in Mumbai. He starts the show with a track that instantly mesmerized me, I couldn't listen to next two or three songs because of the tune of '100 words' was playing in my head in a loop.

'Do you have a 100 words for me?

'Cause I have only three
And you couldn't even sing for me
And I keep on writing these songs
Over and over
And I keep getting closer, to you'

19. L'enfer 

by Stromae

Stromae is the most prominent example of music transcending language barriers. His signature dance driven music with a bit darker tone in lyrics, have managed to conquer the non french speaking world as well. His latest album 'Multitudes' is very special for a number of reasons, one being finally overcoming his mental health issues and returning back to the world of music, the fame,tours all of it. L'enfer talks about his struggle to cope, finding the suicidal thoughts and coming to terms with them.

20. For Remembering 

by Angus and Julia Stone

21. Land of Gold

by Anoushka Shankar

The challenge for any offspring of legendary musicians is to break out from the looming shadows of their parent and teacher, and to create something of their own. So being the daughter of the best sitar player of the world, that question of her own identity was always surrounding her. Trained in classical music by none other than her larger than life father, she didn’t stay in the familiar territory of indian raga, rather she created her own genre encapsulating the western inspirations and her ever growing rebel attitudes best shown in her 2016 album 'Land of Gold'. She managed to build a dynamic group of musicians to perform the tracks from her album in Glastonbury festival and gifted us with one hour of enchanting music led by her Sitar and complemented by other instruments that originated from different parts of the world like cello, keyboard, drums, sanai. Manu Delago is an essential part of her music, playing all kinds of things according to the need of her sitar, sanai was not present in the album versions but it gave life to the live performance and perfectly captured the sorrows and miseries of this modern world. Without uttering a single word, this group and she told us everything using the language of music, it was genre defining and life altering performance.

22. Coming Home

by Bjorn Riis

'If I'm coming home to you
Would you open up the door
When I'm coming home to you
Would you take me in your arms'

Starting with this question to one's beloved the song slowly narrates the story of someone who's lost and trying to get back to the once neglected and forgotten love. 

'I've been out there
Floating among the stars
And I've tried to be someone else
Someone else but me'

Journey of the protagonist resembles some of our own error in judgement and consequent missteps.

'Cause darkenss try to grab a hole
Make a hole in my soul
But it's time for me to come on home
I'm coming home to you'

Despite the fatal mistake and wrongdoing, we still hope to be forgiven and accepted by our loved ones that Bjorn Riis calls 'Home'. Any song created by Bjorn Riis featues outstanding guitar playing which often undermines the lyrical aspect of the song. This song is exceptional to that trend, it builds the atmosphere and tells the story using simple progression of acoustic riffs, only to be immersed in the final climax of a solo that's really unique and confirms the mastery of the artist who's primarily a guitar player. I get the taste of David Gilmour type guitar solos in Bjorn Riis's works, but here I was pleasantly surprised witn not only a atmospheric progressive guitar solo but also a fantastically well written song.

23. Fade into a Dream

by Leon

Going through a heartbreak is an essential human experience that can change a person's way of looking at things. I fell in love with Leon's music listening to the album 'Circles', where I found 'Lift you up' and 'Wildest Dreams' and sad and beautiful 'Dancer'. This track hit me a bit later because I was going through a heartbreak and the first one in my life. 'So, I know, I know, I know You'll fade into a dream'- relating to this statement came a bit later when I was ready to move on. 'Some things are not meant to last' simple and powerful lyrics and the haunting voice of Leon in the midst of retro disco sound, it truly is mesmerizing.

24. I still love you

by NIGHT TRAVELER

NIGHT TRAVELER is the best thing for me that came out of the revival of 80's retro sound. The drumbeats and the distinctive guitar solos all are prominent elements of the lounge vibe of their albums.