Monday, January 9, 2023

“Moon Boy” by First Day Of Spring – A Song Feature

 

     The start of “Moon Boy” reminds us of the Moody Blues, who would sometimes begin songs by reciting poetry. An example is the 1968 release of “The Word & Om.”  “Moon Boy,” a single from the UK band First Day Of Spring, begins with a 19th Century poem from Charles Baudelaire. The message of the poem is that you should remain continually drunk. But the intoxication isn’t necessarily from alcohol. The poem states, “But on what? Wine, poetry or virtue, as you wish. But be drunk.”
 
     The poem and the lyrics are included at the bottom of this post. First Day Of Spring frontman, Samuel Jones, said that the poem was spoken by friend and poet Lucia Dove, who was joined by Micky Denny. Jones also provided insights into “Moon Boy:”
  "I feel like I write a lot about my attempts/struggles to live in the moment and being present. A mindfulness kind of thing I suppose, in the sense of leaving things behind and not looking too far forward. This song has that going on in there somewhere. The video has a lot of looking back. I’m someone who clearly clings on to the past quite a bit. And this is what I mean by being present. No past or future, just the beauty of the now in a positive way. I wanted the song to have a real unashamed buoyancy to it and I think that has been achieved.”
 
      Originally hailing from the coast of Southend-on-sea but now residing in London, First Day Of Spring is a five-member band.
First Day Of Spring's music has various themes. euphoric & exuberant, or through gentle melancholic stillness, taking the listener out of their own reality is the aim of the songwriting. “Moon Boy” is the first release of four songs that will be on the upcoming album “Fly Over Apple Blossom.”
 
     “Moon Boy” by First Day Of Spring

“Moon Boy” by First Day Of Spring
The poem of 19th Century poet Charles Baudelaire:
You have to be always drunk. That's all there is to it—it's the only way. So as not to feel the horrible burden of time that breaks your back and bends you to the earth, you have to be continually drunk.
But on what? Wine, poetry or virtue, as you wish. But be drunk.
And if sometimes, on the steps of a palace or the green grass of a ditch, in the mournful solitude of your room, you wake again, drunkenness already diminishing or gone, ask the wind, the wave, the star, the bird, the clock, everything that is flying, everything that is groaning, everything that is rolling, everything that is singing, everything that is speaking. . .ask what time it is and wind, wave, star, bird, clock will answer you: "It is time to be drunk! So as not to be the martyred slaves of time, be drunk, be continually drunk! On wine, on poetry or on virtue as you wish."
 
The lyrics:
I don’t want to be around
The older guys
To ease my mind
I get tired of being around
When all the guys
Are weighing’ me down
You’ve gone and wasted on my time
Because your wasted on that moon shine
 
Change my mind
Change my mind
Change my mind
Change the times
Make me kind
Make me kind
 

Wednesday, January 4, 2023

“Crumble” by Thomas LaVine – A Song Feature

 

     The songs released by Thomas LaVine in anticipation of his upcoming EP “Idle Daylight” are each vocally enticing, lyrically insightful, and instrumentally lush. The most recent of the releases is “Crumble,” which showcases LaVine’s comfort in residing in the upper vocal register. His voice effortlessly pilots the melody from its falsetto-assembled cockpit.
 
      The instrumentation within “Crumble” is a blend of traditional acoustic Folk and sophisticated soundscape. At the outset, gentle guitar and light percussion sit atop peaceful synth. The vocals soon enter (the lyrics are included in this post). Just beyond the first 30 seconds, a kick drum seems to signal an upcoming change. An electric guitar then delicately joins. It would be interesting to see a performance of “Crumble” to determine whether it is a pedal steel guitar – sliding notes are heard during the song.
 
     "Crumble" is the fifth song from my upcoming "Idle Daylight" EP. Thomas LaVine explains:
  I consider ‘Crumble’ to be the sister song to another song from this EP, ‘Giants.’ While ‘Giants’ explores the dreamy and carefree time spent in adolescence, ‘Crumble’ is the result of the aftermath once you come of age and begin to form a real and more seasoned perspective on life. My footing in the things I believe became a lot shakier in my early twenties. While I've come to understand myself and my spirituality more as I have aged, I also understand I may never find the answers to the questions I have, and the path ahead has become more about finding peace with that rather than answers themselves.”
 
     It is with that explanation that we appreciate the lyrics repeating the line “Hanging on the callow.” Because “callow” is not a term we often encounter, we went to an on-line dictionary: as a noun, a callow is “someone who is callow behaves in a way that shows they have little experience, confidence, or judgment.”
 
      The bio of Thomas LaVine is interestingly informative:
  Born in Brandon, Florida, and raised in the small town of Blacksburg, South Carolina, Thomas LaVine blends the organic textures of his indie folk roots with ethereal nuances. LaVine is a producer and songwriter who creates music in a tool shed he converted into a home studio. He is at heart a minimalist, even while building vast soundscapes to get lost in as one would a lush forest on a warm evening just as the sun sets. LaVine is a songwriter who uses captivating metaphors to convey emotionally honest ideas about love, existence, and connection to a place, memory, and nature. Known to be abstract, LaVine likes to treat songwriting like a canvas on which to paint with many colors.
 
     “Crumble” by Thomas LaVine

Lyrics of “Crumble” by Thomas LaVine
Staring in the silent cold
Are you frozen?
Are you broken?
The valley showing down below
Are you floating?
Are you hoping?
 
I’ve been living on the edge of
Somewhere I don’t know
And it feels like it just might crumble
I’ve been looking at the outside
Fire and snow
Searching for my young soul
Hanging on the callow
Hanging on the callow
 
Hanging on the callow
Hanging on the callow
 
Staring at an empty place
With a blank face
In a blank space
And holding on for better days
That you can’t make
So you dream chase
 
I’ve been living on the edge of
Somewhere I don’t know
And it feels like it just might crumble
I’ve been looking at the outside
Fire and snow
Searching for my young soul
Hanging on the callow
Hanging on the callow
 
Hanging on the callow
Hanging on the callow
 
You’re my harbor
It’s getting darker without you
You’re my harbor
It’s getting darker without you
You’re my harbor
It’s getting darker without you
 
I’ve been living on the edge of
Somewhere I don’t know
And it feels like it just might crumble
I’ve been looking at the outside
Fire and snow
Searching for my young soul
Hanging on the callow
Hanging on the callow
 
Hanging on the callow
Hanging on the callow
 
     “Giants” by Thomas LaVine


Lyrics of “Giants” by Thomas LaVine
Learned everything about love
In the early days
Somewhere we just messed it up
And we lost our grace
 
Now we know we’d give it all
Just to see that place
The sadness, we had this
We knew
 
We were giants
We were free
We’re the ocean
We’re the sea
 
Smell of the evening air
Will you take us home?
You’re a candle that burned in the night
When we were lost
 
We were giants
We were free
We’re the ocean
We’re the sea

We were giants
We were giants 
 
There inside a picture frame
Where everybody looks the same
Dirty clothes and dirty feet
That was happiness to me
 
We were giants
We were free
We’re the ocean
We’re the sea
 
When we felt right
When we knew
There’s a skylight
Breaking through

Monday, January 2, 2023

Songs From “Best of” Lists of Others

 

     The “Best of 20xx” lists of others provide an opportunity to discover songs that were somehow missed or just underappreciated. For example, we enjoyed the release of “This Is Why” by Paramore, but it wasn’t until watching the charismatic performance on Jimmy Fallon that the song seemed electric.


      "Pierced Arrows" by Hurray For The Riff Raff

     "Back To The Radio" by Porridge Radio

     “Stabilize” by Nilufer Yanya

     "Mirrored Writing" by astragal 

      “Be By Your Side” by Pillow Queens

      “Double Ending” by Dendrons