Ben Folds is one of my very favorite artists in part because he’s a master of both the melancholy and the manic. For every subtle, soft-hearted piano ballad you have an off-the-tracks ivory crasher.
‘Sports & Wine,’ from Ben Folds Five’s self-titled debut, is as light on its feet as anything the band produced. The studio version (my Song of the Day #873) gives each of the band members a chance to shine, especially Darren Jesse on drums.
The first Beach Boys song I considered for this list of favorite “happy” songs was ‘God Only Knows.’ It’s probably my favorite of theirs. But I quickly realized that it’s pretty melancholy as love songs go.
So I went with my backup, another favorite of mine, ‘Wouldn’t It Be Nice?’ You could argue that this song is bittersweet as well — after all, it’s about a couple that can’t be together the way they want to be — but it’s musically exuberant.
If anything reveals my bias for sad songs it’s my failure to consider A-ha’s ‘Take On Me’ when compiling my list of favorites. Without question, this song belonged on that list.
But it was too peppy, too synth-y, too 80s to even get into the conversation. Major oversight. I apologize to all Norwegians.
I spent the past three weeks listing 15 songs I consider favorites. I tried to skip around between genres and artists for the sake of variety, but all of those songs shared one thing in common.
They were thoroughly depressing.
I know I’ve explored my penchant for the melancholy before, but this exercise really highlighted exactly how morose I really am.
The White Stripes released their last studio album seven years ago and officially broke up three years ago.
I don’t consider myself a major fan but every time I listen to one of the three albums of theirs I own, I regret that we won’t get any new music from them.
I could certainly get a Jack White fix from any of the dozen bands he’s started since leaving the Stripes, but it’s not the same. There’s a chemistry between him and Meg that makes these songs special.
