And by summer 2022, I mean summer 2022 minus forty-odd years, in accordance with my preferred music eras…
1. Våren - Edvard Grieg
Although a direct translation of the Norwegian word ‘våren’ means merely ‘spring’, in this case, it is far more often translated into ‘last spring’, instantly providing ambiguity - Grieg’s swirling strings certainly convey the happy nostalgia of a former springtime which scintillates with the confidence of many more to come. Yet the sonorous undertones of the piece hint at a more literal translation - perhaps Grieg is exploring the notion of the last spring - a once joyous period of innocence, now lost and irretrievable.
2. The Crystal Ship - The Doors
Something of a leap, you may quip. Possibly, but Morrison’s menacing purrs ‘another flashing chance at bliss’ in the first stanza perhaps speak to part of Grieg’s sentiment - the knowledge of a ‘bliss’ past and drifting into the bygone. The singer declares love to a man or woman he barely knows, but his focus gradually shifts away from her as the piano’s texture thickens; his attention now rests on a different entity, a romanticised ideal of a person, whose ‘gentle rain’ serves as the panacea to all his ‘pain’. Thus by the song’s end, the original object is eventually dismissed as merely another one of ‘a thousand thrills’. Morals aside, the song speaks to our human tendency to idealise and project ideals onto individuals, who can never live up to the veneers we craft for them. Then again, Morrison allegedly wrote the song while taking LSD and staring at an offshore oil rig named ‘Platform Holly’, so maybe it’s just all about drugs.
3. Everything's Alright When You’re Down - The Jesus and Mary Chain
Here’s one for the embittered soldiers among us whose summer was somewhat stifled by rain, illness or any other woe. Even if you feel like you’re ‘livin' in a scream’, Jim’s wretched groans closing this track are surely enough to convince you that you could be worse off.
4. Requiem in D Minor, K.626 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Mozart basks in the potential resplendence of the requiem mass, in style verging on the histrionic. But the sheer power of this work, especially live, spins an imposing web of sound, amounting to indefatigable uproar. Although incomplete by Mozart, Franz Xaver Süssmayr finished his requiem, filling in the outline for the final four movements which Mozart had drafted. At times empowering, tragic, joyful and portentous, this piece speaks to all strands of the human condition… as long as your human condition has retained the patience to actually remain focussed on one matter for an interval of time exceeding the average tiktok.
5. Unloveable - The Smiths
This little cabochon concealed among the Smiths’ unfailingly wonderful discography exudes their quintessential weary sardonicism and trenchant critique of everything pertaining to people, oozing with the dreary monotony of life in 1980s Manchester. While perhaps not one’s go-to comfort song, there is something cathartic about Morrissey’s self-pitying, self-absorbed, self-deprecatory lyrics.
6. Politik - Coldplay
Arguably the opener to their best album (and no, it’s not arguable, I’m just saying that to sound vaguely democratic), Politik is raw, organic, both dreamy and feisty, and speaks to our current political climate, willing the public as well as the powerful to ‘open up your eyes’. ‘Politik’ aside, the song seems to cry out for harmony in the face of social entropy, as the chords and drums which first sounded purely energetic modify into a poignant and shadowy echo.
7. Eternal Flame - The Bangles
Just a banger, really. A wholesome, crowd-pleasing, arm-waving, stadium singalong which begs to be enjoyed. Because when the world is doomed and the tories are crashing around parliament revelling in the plight of Britain’s most disadvantaged, at least we’ve still got the Bangles telling us that we can all make the ‘sun shine through the rain’.
8. Atmosphere - Joy Division
Hardly a quintessential Joy Division track - and by their standards, positively euphoric. But Atmosphere’s softer tones are just as effective as some of their punkier stuff; Curtis begs for company, admitting that his resilient facade is just an ‘illusion’ - his ostensible rejection of companionship merely veils his true yearning - that people won’t desert him by ‘walking away in silence’.
9. A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Op.21 and Op.61) - Felix Mendelssohn
No, I’m not just including this to create a feeble link to my self-professed ‘summer charts’ theme. If you don’t recognise this overture’s pathos, humour and creativity then you should a) probably consider deleting snapchat forever until your entire sensibility evolves dramatically, and b) bear in mind that Mendelssohn wrote this at just 17. Yes, while you folks were (and still are by my reckoning) all out seshing, shopping and shooting (if you’re an etonian), Felix here was penning a masterpiece. Puts us all to shame a bit, doesn't it?
10. Changes - Yes
Overblown and swelling with electric guitar hooks, Changes is a Yes classic, funked up with a chaotic xylophone solo. This song is best heard blaring from your car radio as you rocket down the motorway with purpose - an authentic ode to change; whether it be political, personal, big or small - change isn’t to be feared.
© - Bea Wood.
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