This song is my guilty pleasure. Not that it’s such an unlikely pairing because I quite like that about it. It’s Bryan Adams goddamnit, BA being all angsty in guyliner and banging the wall in frustration because he can’t see the object of his desire. For some reason, that really does it for me. Just stop it, Bryan! What are you doing to me?! Pacing the house like that with your sultry eyes!! Stop it!
And of course, the charming Mel C. I won’t hear a word against the Spice Girls. They were questionable in all the right ways.
Also, this is a banger! It totally works. It’s not just catchy, it’s actually good. You think it shouldn’t work, it’s not going to work, and then it does. Am I right? Go on, naysayers, say your piece! Having said that, I’m not a fan of Bryan Adam’s music in general. Though he does have a lovely gravelly croon.
What’s your guilty pleasure? (preferably music-related, please). Is there a song you’re a little bashful to admit you like? Go on, tell me. No judgement here 🙂
We were always meant to cross over you and I, into meaning into scattering, into journey and surrender. We were always meant to melt into cosmos, you and I, I could sense your adventure brimming with intention into mine. Come, let’s split let’s find the parade the joyous promenade the ubiquitous celebration the colours a-screaming the songs a-shimmering the dreamscape of belonging that only exists at the crossover. Let’s journey into the heart of it like we did all those lives before. It is so very lovely to see you again.
I don’t know why I have such a nostalgia for music back when I was a kid but this seems to happen more and more as time passes. And as we are in the midst of a Kate Bush renaissance, I had to share a song from the legend that is.
I find so many of her songs exhilarating (King of the Mountain, This Woman’s Work, Babooshka, Pi to name a few), as in, they make you want to fly. Or start running around doing pirouettes and high kicks (even if you can’t, which I can’t). I’ve been listening to this iconic power ballad a lot this week, as have so many new younger fans due to its recent revival as the soundtrack to the new season of Stranger Things. Which has sent it straight to No.1 and deservedly so.
Words can’t describe this type of love song, it’s so many levels beyond all others. And this is not a spoiler alert but the way it accents the scene in the aforementioned horror series is so poignant. The idea that a song can save your life is just wonderful to me. And why not? There are times only a song can get through and nothing else.
As an individual, she rarely seeks the limelight. It’s like she got a good chunk of her irrepressible talent out of her system by her 30s (whilst giving us an incredible canon of music to enjoy for all time), then occasionally pops up every ten years or so to release another album if she feels like it, whilst remaining largely a mystery.
She is also the only artist to be the youngest and the oldest to have a No.1 hit: at 19 with Wuthering Heights, and now at 63 with Running Up That Hill. Both songs were written and composed by her. I don’t really have the right word but she is beyond admirable.
Plus I only just realised what a marvellous ensemble both she and her beau are wearing in this video. If you’re grappling with some existential soul trouble and are on your way to heaven, dress accordingly and don a pair of Samurai trousers and a ballet top and walk through the pearly gates looking chic as hell.
And what, pray tell, is your favourite Kate Bush song? 🙂
I haven’t done a book post for a while and I thought I ought to address that. One, I’ve been reading a bit slower than usual and this time, one book at a time. Two, I do have a book problem, in that I’m addicted to buying books, and I really ought to get on with reading them rather than creating yet another book tower by the bed. Three, the books I did happen to read were not massively enthralling, so I didn’t feel compelled to recommend them.
Perhaps I should review them anyway? The thing is, I don’t feel comfortable giving anything a “negative” review. I only want to review stuff I wholeheartedly recommend. I’ll still read a book I’m not crazy about to the end though in case it livens up midway or has a blinder of an ending. That aside, I’ve had some great bookshop experiences lately.
Last week, in my local secondhand bookshop, I came across Jean-Paul Sartre’s Nausea. I’ve never read any Sartre and it seems like the kind of writer any reader worth their salt ought to notch on their desk post so I got it (literally only £1.29!). I also found a Vonnegut (£2!), a book of poetry by Margaret Atwood (£3!) and another book of poetry by Carol Ann Duffy (£2!). So it was a good day at the bookshop, people.
Anyway, I’ll stop banging on and let you know about some random reads I ardently recommend…
Blue Ticket by Sophie Mackintosh
This was a painfully beautiful read. So many poetic turns of phrase throughout that made me sigh. No unnecessary words are used. Some sentences are three words long. Images are painted and left hanging. An air of dystopia pervades the world. You question which country this could be happening in and you have to fill in the blanks yourself.
It deals with how women are judged within society for perfectly reasonable choices they make, and also how they are dealt with if they step over the line, drawn by an ill-natured authority. It is not for them to decide what they do with their bodies. There’s quite a parallel with what is currently happening with the anti-Abortion bill they’re trying to pass (and have passed) in certain US states. It’s not an easy read. Characters are acutely lonely for different reasons. Emotions are stark and glaring. You are left wondering what you would do in similar circumstances. Still, I found this a riveting read and – to use an overused phrase – unputdownable.
A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka
I got this a year ago, and I would have experienced it differently had I read it then. It’s quite poignant to read it with a filter of war waging in the country it talks about. It’s actually a laugh-out-loud comedy and deals with relatable dysfunctional family scenarios with delightful dry humour, reminding you how “normal” your own family is.
It puts a lens on how family members can be so different and divided despite being blood-related, something I’ve always found fascinating. But also how one’s search for love can lead them to make shocking decisions that disturb the clan status quo, whilst also in some ways bringing it together. Such as your elderly dad marrying someone less than half his age so she can get a passport and all his money, and he in return gets, well, other favours. A wonderful read when taking a pause between chores or for some coffee break quiet time. Though at times the humour is dark, and darker still knowing the country it describes is being utterly destroyed as we speak.
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
So I finally got round to reading some Vonnegut. And now I get why there’s so much fuss around this one. It’s a very surreal, unexpected premise for a tale. Gritty, unflinching, and at times, darkly ironic, it depicts the casual cruelty and senselessness of war told through the eyes of an accidental time traveller.
The main character has an unusual condition where he often finds himself coming unstuck in time so he is able to experience different moments in his life simultaneously. He is flung hither and yon from one reality to another, the main one being his experience of the deplorable fire bombing of Dresden in 1945, controversial because the war was coming to an end and it was therefore unnecessary (though of course, all war is unnecessary).
In a weird way, I found the whole tale very plausible. I could imagine someone having this condition. The ability to time travel as another level of extra sensory perception. And despite the subject matter, this book is infinitely readable because it’s peppered with such brilliant nuggets of wisdom and moments of candid comedy throughout.
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
I’ve read this before but recently I had a strong urge to read it again and it was just as enchanting as I remembered it. Hemingway always takes me a while to get into, but this tale will gently sweep you away. We learn about the strange and beautiful behaviour of fish at sea told through the eyes of an age-old fisherman. We share his lamentation and the ongoing brotherly battle of wills between him and the sea creature he is trying to overcome, as they refuse to give in to each other. Both are at the other’s mercy and beyond help. This story really speaks of the bonding between man and beast. It’s moving and humbling. You’ll probably get a lump in your throat. It may well put you off fishing. It’ll certainly renew your respect for the sea.
I’m now spoilt for choice as to what to read next but it’s a lovely dilemma to have.
Sunra Rainz 