Song Recommendations

 In these trying times, all of us have found ways to distract ourselves, and what better way of doing so than music? These songs are the ones that I hold dear, not just because they are musical masterpieces, but also because they are such instances of impeccable artistry that they leave one open-mouthed.

Blackbird by The Beatles

This song has an indescribable undertone of freedom in it. The simplicity with which John Lennon’s voice flows seems to be imploring me to discover the wonders of the world and all the things in it. It describes all that stands unlocked before us once we break those barriers which separate us from ourselves. My heart keeps on oscillating between a surprising amount of alternatives when it comes to what “the moment” is for me. When will I see “the light of the dark black night”? When will all my blemishes fade, or if they don’t, will I be able to “take these broken wings and learn to fly”. These questions remain unanswered, but hopefully, time will answer them soon enough. 

Fource  by Sorority Noise

This song. This song. I don’t really know exactly what it is about this song. But it brings that feeling of being lost in your own self right to my throat and just leaves it there to dry. The singer is not even singing. He is just reciting the lyrics—the melancholically incredible lyrics— and there is this sound of sand crunching under heavy boots that just gets your heart to slow. It is like one of those pieces of poetry that keep floating around in your head until you have no option but to take notice. His voice has a slightly drunk quality to it that reminds me so painfully of the helplessness that tugs at everyone’s hearts at least once in their lives.

River by Emeli Sande

Emeli Sande’s incredibly soulful voice, coupled with the vulnerability of the lyrics of this song, makes me so grateful for all those people who have, in any way, helped me take a step forward when I couldn’t do so on my own. But most of all, it reminds me that there are people out there ready to hold my hand when others keep breaking it. Especially when the chorus starts, her voice takes on this incredibly soft tone that reminds me that I must hold on to someone’s hand too,  just as they hold on to mine. 

Sleep on the floor by The Lumineers 

Even though this song is intended to be a love song, the richness and desperation of Wesley Schultz’s voice in this song gets to my heart as the wanderlust for the places I have yet to visit. It really makes me want to pack a “toothbrush and a favourite blouse”, and leave for unknown places that surprise and scare me. When he asks the person whom he is talking to in the song, what they will do “If the sun don’t shine on me today”, I imagine my wandering self asking my own courage the same and if it will desert me when I need it the most. When I listen to this song while in a car, every other passing vehicle makes me wonder if the people inside it know where they going or if they are just following their hearts. 

Asleep by The Smiths

Stephen Morrissey’s voice has a depth that has the power to make people feel emotions that they have never experienced before. I cannot even begin to describe how I feel about this song. I imagine this is how the dying moments of a life well-lived would feel. The hopeful yearning for “a better world” tells us that they have seen all that they wished to see in this world, and now are searching for “another world”. The tone of tiredness in his voice sounds so pleadingly expectant, especially when he says, “Well, there must be” that the song makes you live in itself even though you have never have stepped anywhere near the place that it wants to take you.

Alive by Sia

This is song starts in agony, there is no other possible way to describe it. There is so much pain in Sia’s voice that it’s difficult not to feel its palpability. But, the song is not just her pain, it’s her triumph over it. The anguish in her voice when she sings, “I’m Alive”, never fails to engender goosebumps. The song is a fight, and as it seems at first, one that she is losing: “I saw my life in a stranger’s face/ And it was mine”. But then her despair is overcome by tenacity: “But I survived/ I’m still breathing’’. This song is by no means a happy, but it is surely triumphant and not for a single moment fails to flow both the sides of life with its throbbing eloquence.

Visions of Gideon by Sufjan Stevens

Sufjan Steven’s impeccable voice seems nothing more than a whisper, and at the same time carries itself like a river. Remember that feeling of nostalgia and heartache that pervades one’s heart when they leave behind something or someone beloved and treasured? The haunting quality of his voice brings even more intensity to the enigmatic emotions that arise in me once I listen to this song. Even though I will never be able to capture the artistry of this song into words, I would like to say that it feels like the homesickness for places I’ve never even visited, inexplicable yet profound.