Cherry at Cherry Extract is going through a tough time after the death of a friend. She’s been listening to a lot of songs that give her some comfort. For even the most casual music fans, the power of a song to evoke feelings of joy, laughter, sadness, reflection, anger, and…well, you get the idea, is an amazing thing really. Many artists, whose songs have deep meaning in our lives, often view their musical creations as their children who go forth in the world and do things that they never imagined they could do. The songs no longer belong to them, but rather belong to “us” and have multiple meanings the authors couldn’t have imagined.
When my friend from high school died a while back, I started listening to songs that reminded me of a particular time when we were in a school play together. The songs weren’t maudlin at all. One was “Talk To Ya Later” by The Tubes, another was “Turning Japanese” by The Vapors. They were songs that just kind of took me back to a time when life seemed full of possibilities, riddled with insecurities, and ripe with experiences that proved to be indelible.
Cherry’s post gave me an idea for this week’s mix, and it’s this: “Comfort Songs.” If you have song suggestions (and stories of songs) that bring you comfort, let me know and I’ll toss it in the musical blender and serve it up on Friday. 🙂
Beenzzz
November 14, 2007 at 8:05 amGreat idea for a mix. All my comfort songs come from the following bands:
U2: Joshua Tree Album
Tears for Fears
Men at Work
Thompson Twins
Can you say, “80’s?” I think those songs just take me back to a simpler time when I was young and carefree.
J
November 14, 2007 at 9:07 amI don’t know if this would work for a mix 6, but I find all thing Simon and Garfunkel quite comforting. I know, I’m a dork.
ML
November 14, 2007 at 1:03 pmI agree with Beenzzz’s choices.
Scott
November 14, 2007 at 5:07 pmWhen my best friend, Matt, died two years ago, I returned to the music of U2 because it had occupied so much of our adolescence. I made a mix cd to get me through the pain and ended it with “MLK”, which brought me great comfort after spending hours crying over my fallen friend. Another song that helped me was Bob Dylan’s “He Was a Friend of Mine” from the Bootleg series, vol. 1-3.
lalunas
November 14, 2007 at 7:53 pmChee said, The Start of Something by Voxtrot.
I like Crosby,Stills & Nash,Our House.
Scott
November 15, 2007 at 11:43 amCrowded House