The contributions of these songs and artists combined will influence my tastes for times to come and suffice to say, they made an impression by being true to their credo for expression.
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YOU'RE THE BEST THING ABOUT ME by U2 - - -
I have been extremely forthcoming in my profusions of appreciation for this era defining band but it can never be enough. To cast oneself through time and tides for forty years and stand with heads held high as paragons of showmanship are feats each member of the quartet has deservedly achieved plus a shot at further posterity.
U2 ably entered the arena this year with a song that was as popular as it was distinct to their sound. You knew the guitars, the bass, the drums spelled their unremitting energy and they brought all of these on YOU'RE THE BEST THING ABOUT ME. No political or social order was set in fine fettle here, this was the joy that they could bust out at fifty plus years of age and that came with earning every second on the haloed global firmament they occupy. However this is an U2 song and so lyrically there may be more than what meets the eye : lines like '' it's children who teach", "why am I walking away?" , " when you look so good, the pain in your face doesn't show" establish an interface with feelings about the world we live in and the titular sentiment echoes those feelings that are affirmative of positive worldviews. It helps that in the age of the anti-social, the planet's biggest hit makers decided to produce an anthemic shout out to the good times culled together from all their collective experiences. It is fuelled by their longevity and zeal to maintain consistency. That counts for a lot today.
VERSACE ON THE FLOOR by BRUNO MARS-----
The lifeline of an artist is in the mold of versatility he adapts. We are given to watching particular traits and styles become second skin with certain of these performers but blessed is someone like Bruno Mars who can make every mood and inflection a signature , such is his capability.
I believe, in all earnestness, he is one of the most accomplished singers of our times across genres and on VERSACE ON THE FLOOR, sensuality is packaged in the exceptional masterclass of delivery and production that made LOCKED OUT OF HEAVEN and especially GORILLA from his previous album such roaring standouts. The buoyancy of LOCKED OUT.... and the feral intensity of GORILLA are tempered expertly in this piano ballad about igniting the climax of latent passion, set to retro style synths and a tinkling sound that match the will they- won't they build up of an encounter. About this retro style of employing synths , I have to say it is an enduring parameter of choice, not just some period idea that is used again and again. It's all in the name of good creation. There is a refined line of execution here that actually makes it honest and sweetly accessible because the call of the flesh is never overt and is more attuned to the degree of attraction, as a natural adult awakening riding on an impulse of uncertainty. That said, at its heart its a pure musical gift and beautiful from start to finish as Bruno's voice summons magic. It is one of the best tracks of our times and sensuality is the name of the game here. The seductive power of the human voice is something Bruno exemplifies , as he does on VERSACE ON THE FLOOR.
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A LETTERED SOUL: REFLECTIONS ON LITERATURE, CINEMA AND CULTURE .
Non-FictionI have often wondered about the very curdled natures of our opinions so much so that the perch of imagination simply becomes a bystanding abstraction and real thoughts of genuine merit slip between the fingers. That is a human tendency, to beat arou...
