Songs That Touch My Soul, Nine
Published May 15, 2008
We all have them, songs that seem to touch a secret place in your soul – sometimes secret even from you. They can grow and occasionally fester like an open wound, or they can fill you up, inspire you, and occasionally even heal you. Sometimes they don't even reflect your musical tastes. They can be shameful secrets that you keep from family and friends. You feel like a drug addict craving your next fix. At times like those you thank the powers that be for MP3 players — the syringe of those suffering with this affliction.
This is the ninth installment of songs that touch my soul. And as always this edition is full of passion, desire, and lust, and with summer on its way, this one is full of summery pop craziness. This is a form of therapy, this sharing of my neuroses, my secret inner lunacy, the big ball of crazy that is me.
“Near To You” - A Fine Frenzy
“He and I had something beautiful/ But so dysfunctional, it couldn't last/ I loved him so but I let him go/ 'Cause I knew he'd never love me back...” Every time I listen to this song I wonder if A Fine Frenzy - real name Alison Sudol - knows me. More than that, can she read my mind? Feel my ache? So perfectly do the lyrics fit my life that it would seem that she plucked the pain from my heart and verbalised it in a stripped down, alt.piano-rock song. Sung with the gentle passion and longing ache I feel every time I consider the past, and the cautious optimism in which I see the future, this song undoubtedly touches my soul because it reflects my current situation.
“Pon De Replay” - Rihanna
This is an easy one. “Pon De Replay” makes me want to dance, but then that's what it's meant to do. I want to get up and let my hips bounce, belly-dancer style, gyrating in time to the repetitive beat and bass line. This bare R&B/reggae/dancehall track is just repetitive beats, hand-claps, and lyrics that equal a great dance song. Not much more to it.
A.L. Harper is an American lost in the history and passion of living in Scotland. She enjoys motorbikes, music, art and wanking. She is Blogcritics Assistant Music Editor and runs the Band of the Week feature, profiling a different indie (unsigned/inde label) band every week (contact her for more information). She is also the Managing Editor for AllThingsGirl.com and a freelance writer.
- Songs That Touch My Soul, Nine
- Published: May 15, 2008
- Type: Review
- Section: Music
- Filed Under: Music: Acoustic, Music: Dance, Music: Lists, Music: Pop
- Part of a feature: Songs That Touch My Soul
- Writer: A.L. Harper
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Comments on this articleComments
My favourite songs always change with my mood and current emotional state, but I still, after more than 100 listens, adore One Cell in the Sea.
I'm that same way with most albums where my favorite song changes from time to time depending on the mood. One Cell in the Sea is a great album.
Oh, and Kylie Minogue is icky.
She's a low rent Madonna with a better accent (and I think Madonna is atrocious, too).
Which only serves to prove that you know nothing at all about Kylie.
There are many good reasons to hate Kylie but on the other hand she is way more interesting and talented than many of those dreary old rock bands. Yes, you know who! And Madonna is way better than Kylie.
There are no good reasons to hate Kylie Minogue. Period.
I agree there's no good reason to hate Kylie.
In a world, where pop stars are trying to bare their shallow souls with hallow music, it's refreshing that Kylie simply makes pop music. She's not trying to "save the world" or reinvent the wheel. She's simply having fun and shaking her tiny booty. And somehow that seems more genuine.
You've obviously never heard her Stock, Aitken and Waterman stuff or seen "Neighbours"...
I agree with Sean Paul. Her past is a good example. She has never shied away from the fact that she was Charlene, or from her ST&W years. Never tried to hide her shame. She has also never tried to be anything other than a fun disco-pop star. She would never claim to be a performance artist, or save the world by exposing her breasts to the world. She is just a pop star. I like that about her.
That's not my point though, I have heard and seen that stuff and it was total dreck. She may be great now some of the time but the claim was that there is no reason to hate her.
Furthermore, you both seem to be trying to suggest that her music is somehow less of a construct than other kinds of music, which is also total bunkum. There is no such thing as "just a pop star" and some of her more recent work has actually been pretty arty.
Come on, admit it, you are both wearing Kylie coloured glasses!
Well I admit that I do like to stare at her perfect ass... but beyond that I will not admit too.
Did you really use the word bunkum? Seriously Rose, how old are you? I thought you were about 40-ish, but bunkum places you at about 90.
As I've mentioned before, A.L., I just have an enormous... vocabulary. My mental age tends to vary in the same way as your favourite songs, with a range somewhere between 5 and 500, whilst my flesh remains forever teenage. How about you?
I thought "bunkum" would appeal to your Bronte reading American soul, but we could go with the more contemporary bullshit if you prefer. Either one describes quite accurately the fetid gushing about Kylie displayed above. Mwuah!
....and his vocabulary is exceeded only by his modesty.
-Glen
As opposed to having one's vocabulary exceeded by one's ego, eh, Glen.
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"Near to You" isn't my favorite song off the AFF disc, but it's a good song and I really do like that album an awful lot.