half·alive: still feel

I’m not quite looping it just yet, and not sure it will quite reach that status. But it just struck me as a super fun song. And that in and of itself seemed to make it worthy to pass along.
I’m not quite looping it just yet, and not sure it will quite reach that status. But it just struck me as a super fun song. And that in and of itself seemed to make it worthy to pass along.
I was scrolling around over old artists I had in my Spotify library, and returned to The Decemberists – a group I hadn’t listened to in a long while. I mostly know their album “The King is Dead,” and have my favorites there. But I started to look around at some older stuff, and began listening to “The Crane Wife.”
I’ve enjoyed the album, but this track is one of my favorites. Best part is right after he sings “They keep holding me back all the time…” and the keyboards kick in. It’s fantastic.
This video has Hart and Segerman performing all the parts of a round, but presenting it in a single, continuous video that you can observe. Not only that, but multiple versions of each person exist (and interact with objects like sheet music and a hammer).
“You’re up against
too many horses
and mysterious forces”
“Remember when our songs were just like prayers.
Like gospel hymns that you called in the air.
Come down come down sweet reverence,
unto my simple house and ring…
and ring.”
The group has a large collection of videos posted on YouTube, and it’s worth checking out. I’m not sure what I love more – listening to the covers or watching the bassist and piano player really getting into each song.
I have to tell you – this is not the type of stuff I typically post on here. I remember seeing this video a long while ago, but rewatching again this past weekend… I found myself just mesmerized by it all over again. It was like the sun – I couldn’t look away.
There is most definitely a rising/falling thing that I find simply hypnotic. I’ve taken to not only listening to it while coding, but also on my walk to/from work. And it’s no exaggeration when I tell you that sometimes, as I’m walking… I’ll catch myself nodding my head in time to this tune.
There are mashups where two songs are kind of made to fit together… and then there’s whatever sorcery Bill McClintock invoked to create this stunning combination of Ratt and Marvin Gaye.
“She said let’s call it quits
Let’s not call it the end of the world
Call it what you will
I’m heartbroken still
Words are just words”
“And I’ve come to know the wishlist of my father
I’ve come to know the shipwrecks where he wished
I’ve come to wish aloud, among the overdressed crowd
Come to witness now the sinking of the ship
Throwing pennies from the seatop next to it”
“Of course the only part that I want to read
Is about her time spent with me
Wouldn’t you die to know how you’re seen
Are you getting away with who you’re trying to be?”
I was surfing around and chanced across the Mahogany Sessions YouTube channel. For their main showreel, they had a montage of performances/videos running over a song called “Human” by Rag’n’Bone Man.
Today was a pretty exceptional day for me, at work. I found this song, and it just so happened that a lot of folks were out of the office. So I had a lot of music on, head down, coding time. I worked pretty solidly, stopping briefly for lunch, and just cranked. It felt pretty great.