True Love
December 19th, 2006 at 2:04 pm (Uncategorized)
Ahoy Mateys!
Arrrrr, its time for the Blue Beard to update his evil blog. I’m a pirate mateys! Yes, my first mate Tony B., or the ‘Plank Pusher’ as we pirate folk like to call him, loves nothing more than to dance a jig while listening to the music streamed off his favourite pirate blog, Songstory. Arrrr, being a pirate is tough job, but things on our ship have started to improve since we got wireless internet installed. Plank Pusher has been taking a break from…. feeding the sharks, HAR, HAR, HAR, HAR, HAR, HA COUGH COUGH COUGH COUGH….cough. Sorry…has taken a break from feeding the sharks, to write his very own evil pirate submission. Arrrrr, now read Tony’s posting and listen to the song as us pirates disappear into the murky mist of a haunted moonlit sky, arrrr.
Northern Sky - Nick Drake By Tony Bitzionis
Nick Drake is great. Great great great. But Nick Drake is dead. Dead dead dead. I once asked a guy at a used record store on the Danforth if he had any Nick Drake records and he got mad at me and said “What the hell! When this guy was alive you all didn’t give a shit about him, and now that he’s dead you’re all asking me for his record! No I don’t have it!”. See the thing is, Nick Drake died in the 70’s, so I would have to be around 45 to have not given any of my shit about him.
Anyhow, Adam introduced me to Nick Drake about 5 years ago with his album ‘Pink Moon’. Most of you might recognize the title track to that album because it was in some car commercial. No Seany, it wasn’t the Suzuki Areo, so stop singing. I loved his style right away, though I admit that ‘Pink Moon’ is too quiet to enjoy all the time. I like a lot of Drake’s other stuff, the stuff with horns and the like, but his melancholy songs do it for me too.
Northern Sky is one of these quiet love songs, beautifully soft but with an uplifting piano, and no choly melons to speak of. Man, I really love the piano in this song. Garret, is this good piano? I only ask you cause I know you grew up with, like, 40 pianos in your house. Also, this song is featured in Joell’s favourite movie of all time people…… Serendipity. Yeah yeah yeah, and I love Clueless–there Joey, I saved you a post.
Enjoy the song, but try not to cry if you haven’t found you’re true love.
Tony aka The Plank Pusher
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mister joey junk said,
December 19, 2006 at 5:30 pm
you know what i fuckin hate. when people hate because you’re a little behind. i’m sorry i wasnt born in the 60’s. im sorry that a lot of music today is hard to respect, not to mention listen to. im sorry that i only recently started enjoying music from way back when. i’m sorry i had no idea who nick drake was five years ago, for example. im also sorry i have to give this song a 6.5 out of 10. maybe im just sorry because im really emotional now cuz im weeping profously.
The man with 40 pianos said,
December 19, 2006 at 9:05 pm
Due to the amazing fact that I grew up in a household with 40 pianos, I feel that I am an authority when it comes to songs with pianos in them. Nick Drake makes beautiful music. His songs are dreamy soundscapes that instantly make you nostalgic and sentimental. Adam was also responsible for getting me into this tortured soul of man. I think Nick Drake is another example of why you don’t have to have an incredible voice to make incredible music. Even the music, I am no musicain, but most of his arrangments are simple and I would imagine aren’t too difficult for a musician to play, but they work so well. I don’t mean to overlook the fact that he is a great writer, because he is, may be that’s why people are so drawn to him. I don’t really have a point here so I’m gonna go teach some English. Oh yeah, Joell, I hate when record store fuck faces pull that shit too. Trust me, it’s happened to me so many times. Tony, may be I should post that letter I wrote to the record shop guy in Winnipeg. What do you think?
tony said,
December 19, 2006 at 11:10 pm
Dreamy soundscapes is right. I don’t think this’ll be the only Nick Drake song I submit. He’s got a couple really great ones that I think most of you (but especially you, Garrettt) will love. I love especially you Garrettt.
I think you should post that letter. Especially you. I remember feeling like a jerk after I read it, and it wasn’t even about me.
This was Tony.
tony said,
December 19, 2006 at 11:18 pm
Oh, and I must say that Dave, you would make a very underwhelming pirate. You would be the pirate henchman type that gets some kind of rope wrapped around his leg, especially his leg, and is strung up by the mast and goes ‘Wooooaaaowwwarrrr’. Then you would swing forth and back, like so many underwhelming pirates before you.
This too, was Tony.
The man with 40 pianos said,
December 20, 2006 at 1:20 am
speaking of singers who aren’t famous for their voices, did you know that Jimi Hendrix only started singing after thinking to himself that if Bob Dylan can do it and sound great doing it, why can’t I. I read that somewhere (I think in a funkadelic article).
songstory said,
December 20, 2006 at 10:46 am
did you know that god only created the universe after he saw how cool i am?
Chang said,
December 21, 2006 at 1:09 am
DID YOU KNOW GOD CREATED SUBWAY STATIONS - SURPRISE!
Bryce said,
December 21, 2006 at 11:13 am
I agree with Garret who I think said that Drake’s musical arrangements are somewhat simple, and probably relatively easy to play, but, that being said, they do work very well. The simple acoustic guitar, the piano, and I like the kicking drums throughout the song; the drums can be heard most clearly right before he starts singing. I’m trying to figure out what it is that Drake possesses that other musicians with similarly simple arrangements lack, and I think it is, as has been said before, the mood and emotion he creates through his lyrics and and the way the he sings them. True, he isn’t the greatest singer, but I never doubt the depth of his emotional stake in the words that he writes when I hear him sing them. And the simple images of purity he creates: breezes in the top of a tree, moon and the ocean, emotion in the palm of his hand; these are all feelings he’s never known, but now that he’s met his new love, his “northern sky” is brightened. Such a simple idea really, the idea of a rebirth and renewal through love, definitely not a concept unique to Drake, but the original images he uses and the way he brings this concept to life is unique. When I think of brightening a northern sky, I immediately think of the northern lights. Aurora Borealis is only visible in remote northern locations devoid of human development, natural wastelands perhaps. That is why the northern lights are so amazing, not just for the visual beauty they create, but also because of where they appear: the juxtaposition between the frigid, empty arctic, and the dancing coulours of aurora borealis. It is fitting to me that he chose this image or idea of “Northern Sky.” From what I know about him, his personal and emotional life could be equated to a bit of a natural wasteland, where no joy or vibrancy existed. Didn’t he kill himself? I also like the title because I’ll never forget the sky as seen from the back field at Northern Secondary School during morning soccer practices. One last thought, anyone ever heard Elliot Smith? His melancholy, morose lyrics and delivery remind me of Nick Drake. I can picture both guys as manic depressive recluses holed up in their apartments with various substance abuse problems agonizing over their failed lives. Happy Holidays!
songstory said,
December 21, 2006 at 2:36 pm
Here comes the breakdown:
I disagree completely with Garret and Bryce that this song has simple arrangements that would be easy to play. I count 6 instruments playing throughout this song (not including Drake’s vocals) and none of them are playing different melodies. None of them are simply there to echo each other. I would say that to create a song such as this that features six instruments playing six distinct melodies counts as pretty advanced arranging. Yes, some of the instruments are subtle, and the song is soft, but arrangement wise, this shit is pretty impressive. For it not to sound busy and muddled is also a feat. Also, I would say the only instrumentation that is unquestionably simple is the bass.
Let’s break it down even further. Look at the organ break/bridge at 1:46. That is a brilliant climax builder. Listen to the drums. The snare is almost bossa nova style. Think about the combination of instruments–what is that, a xylophone, playing a prominant role?
One other thing I noticed that i found interesting is that Drake maintains some of his British accent when he sings. Thats unusual. I don’t usually hear accents when people sing. Even look at the artist featured on Songstory…Amy Winehouse, Omar, Celine Dion, they all sound the same as if an American or Canadian were singing.
One last thing. Did anyone else notice that it looks like Drake has a milk moustache in the picture?
40 pianos guy said,
December 21, 2006 at 9:03 pm
Davey Boy, If you’re trying to stir something up then consider it stirred. First of all, I am not an arranger, so I have no real idea about the complexities of arranging. However, there are a couple of faults in your argument. You said “I count 6 instruments playing throughout this song (not including Drake’s vocals) and none of them are playing different melodies.” You then go on to say “I would say that to create a song such as this that features six instruments playing six distinct melodies…” These are contradictory statements. I agree that there is something to be said about the difficulty of creating something simple (this is an oxymoron that works). Using six instruments in a song effectively while leaving enough space to breathe and ponder is what most musicians try to achieve. Space is so important in Music. In terms of six distinct melodies, besides the short piano solo near the beginning, the instruments are all pretty much playing the same thing. If you think about it, the wandering piano solo that Drakes sings on top of is brilliant. How often do two elements in a song get to solo simultaneously? I think hardly. There would be too much competition going on, which would make the song sound busy. It actually works in this song. The problem that I have with song melodies this beautiful though, is that I can’t concentrate on the words. I get lost in the music and my mind drifts into dreamland.
songstory said,
December 22, 2006 at 2:29 am
Yep they are contradictory statements. I mistyped and didn’t proofread. I meant to say that “none of them are playing THE SAME melody.” Beyond that I stand by what I said. I do agree with what you say about songs with beautiful melodies making it hard to keep track of the lyrics.
Bryce said,
December 22, 2006 at 10:56 am
I see what you are saying about the 6 different instruments Dave. Definitely. Funny that I don’t seem to focus on that though. Music is all about the lyrics to me, no matter what I’m listening to I can’t stop hearing the words. It never happens to me that I get “lost” and don’t hear lyrics. Maybe this is a bad thing? I am always straining to hear and trying to understand exactly what the artist is saying. Perhaps this, and my lack of prowess as a musician of any sort, negates the meaning of any analysis I provide, I don’t know. I do know I like the lyrics though.
jj said,
December 22, 2006 at 4:35 pm
[IMG]http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/missjumbalaya/nickdrakefeelings.jpg[/IMG]
H said,
January 3, 2007 at 5:03 am
i gotta keep up. Somehow it seems rediculously anticlimactic to post now. It’s Next Year damn it. (sigh)
I lvoe you gyus.