The Art of Feeling Hollow
Oh, those bittersweet teenage years…so long ago; yet hearing a song from the 80’s will snap me back in a blink of an eye. Finding a tune that spoke to you was practically the be-all and end-all of living at that age. I was lucky to have a musically adventurous older sister to introduce me to many off-the-beaten-track musicians, which has fueled my search for great artists throughout my life. (Without a little direction I probably would have spent my high-school years listening to KQRS out of Minneapolis, and I would never have found alternative musical avenues.)
I always leaned toward sorrowful songs, I still do, although not as discriminatingly. Heartache and hopelessness…what a combination to accompany you through your formative years! One of my early favorites, which was originally written and performed by British sensation Kate Bush, was Pat Benetar’s rendition of “Wuthering Heights”. The colors are dark, the harmonies are piercing and her voice is flawless.
An early favorite duo of mine was Heart. I loved the daring, shadowy music and intricate lyrics. My sister and I used to play their songs, she on guitar and me attempting the vocals ~ one of songs I loved to work on most was “Crazy On You” from the album “Dreamboat Annie”.
I took a break from the general dissatisfaction with life from time to time. One of the more upbeat songs, which had a bleak enough backdrop, now that I listen to it again, was “This Is The Day” by The The. In those days, I actually thought of it as relatively sunny.
Okay, The Smiths are simply non-negotiable when it comes to angst. I mean, really; no one can out-do the album “Strangeways Here we Come” when it gets down to the nitty-gritty, “I-feel-sorry-for-myself” genre. It’s truly wonderful! I was out of high-school, but still a teenager and adopted it as my life’s soundtrack for a time. Pathetically, the song I most related to was “Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me”. I know. But there it is, and here you go.
When I was in high school, MTV had magically come into being. We were in Colorado visiting our cousins when I discovered U2, specifically the “War” album. I was pretty sure I had died and discovered music nirvana. I will always think about climbing the mountainsides and hiking through the forests when I hear a song from this disc. I found this one particularly haunting.
It rather blows my mind that The Cure are still putting out music. They were so implausibly awesome in the 80’s and I’m still hearing new music of theirs that I like. I see music in colors, and songs by The Cure always intertwine my favorite tones: purples, blues, blacks and greens. There were so many songs that grabbed at my musical soul, but one of the best songs to feel bad to was “In Between Days”, from “Head On The Door”.
Some of my favorite dreary music comes from Tears For Fears. They have lovely melodies but can be rather sorrowful. One of their songs that I have always loved has been redone by so many artists ~ it is “Mad World” and has been recorded by Gary Jules, Pentatonix, Adam Lambert and and a female artist whose name I can’t recall, to name a few. I will post the original.
I’d love to spend a few days doing this, but I will spare you but for one more song. Until recent years, I still sported a Love and Rockets button on my leather jacket, but somewhere along the line it disappeared. As much as I loved their version of the song “Ball of Confusion” back in the day, I still find it relevant. Probably more so. This song was released as a single in 1985, before their debut album. It may be the only song of theirs that I would recognize anymore.
Thank you for taking time to listen. I hope you enjoyed going back in time with me…I fancied the trip!
