Friday 25 April 2014

Songs To Listen To When Travelling by Train

Luckily, I generally only travel on trains for leisure nowadays. Often I am alone, and it is bliss: a rare moment when life can just stay on hold as I plug into my ipod and dream...
Travelling through countryside is the best, particularly the journey between Hampshire and Kent. Here are the songs that perfect my pastoral journeying:


The uplifting ones:

Arthur C Clarke's Mysterious World by The Divine Comedy
A song about viewing your significant other as a paranormal phenomenon!

The Pheasant by Matt Berry
A prog-style piece that is great for the parts of the journey where we speed past fields and hills; rabbits and swooping buzzards. 

You Know What by NERD
Upbeat and groovy as hell.

Telling Them by Starsailor
Wonderful, orchestral and emotive. A song about eloping.

Medicine by Matt Berry
The video of this fits the style perfectly (see it on my playlist). This was amazing live.

Maypole by Magnet
Creepy and addictive! 

Broomfield Hill by Bellowhead
A fantastic traditional folk ballad, complete with Bellowhead's orchestra of delights. 


The procrastinators: 

Our Mutual Friend by The Divine Comedy
There's a sadness in the staccato here that is beautiful and heart-breaking; as usual, Hannon's arrangements tell as much of the story as the lyrics.

The Trees They Do Grow High by Pentangle
The lyrics tell a tale of arranged marriage and loss; this is a traditional folk song and transports me to another time and place.

October Sun by Matt Berry                                                                My favourite from Kill the Wolf. When I first heard the melody on a pre-release sample on itunes, I was addicted. When I heard the whole track I was in love.

The Badger's Wake by Matt Berry 
This reminds me of The Wicker Man in that it celebrates the cycle of life through quirky, rustic lyrics (am I getting carried away here, or making sense?!). I love watching the wildlife out of the window to this one.

Too Young to Die by The Divine Comedy
Another tear-jerker if you're a sentimental nut like me! Hannon's voice is perfection here, and there's a hint of Bowie about it for me.

Love is Here by Starsailor
Starsailor manage to marry many emotions in this track.

My Body May Die by the Swingle Sisters and Pulp
This is from the soundtrack to Reeves and Mortimer's Randall and Hopkirk Deceased. I loved this song as a kid watching that show and got hold of the soundtrack years later. 

Cause We've Ended As Lovers by Syreeta
This was written after her marriage to Stevie Wonder ended, and the sentiment is so bittersweet and beautiful. The recording also has a really authentic quality to me, I'm not very technically knowledgeable about that stuff, but it just sounds 'untouched' to me.






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