Ear buds in, music on and I’m in my happy place.
Today has been a bit of a strange day in the Indie Book Nook. I’ve been sat in my little cozy corner, laptop open and focused on the screen. The morning was spent in a digital marketing bootcamp (more about that soon), while the afternoon was spent editing a book by one of my favourite authors.
But, with it being a Saturday, and with me having two teenagers, I couldn’t really concentrate properly. Not with the daft kitten trying to get my attention, too (by the way, she’s not actually a kitten. She’s just tiny and acts like a skittish kitten). So, what did I do? I plugged my brand-spanking-new ear buds into my ears and scrolled through my Amazon Playlist. And found the playlist I set up last year for when I was finishing The Witch Laws. And, what a playlist it is.
You see, it’s not only Indie Books that I love. I love indie music, too. And, I mean, I LOVE indie music. I have signed posters of Oasis, and an absolutely astounding number of 90’s era indie band CDs floating around the house and the car. I’ve spent a lot of time in the mosh pits of gigs – from massive stadium concerts to little basement pubs. I’ve written extensively about indie bands, at one point becoming one venue’s in-house reviewer. Give me that twang of a guitar, a throb of a bass and the beat of a drum and I’m a starry-eyed teenager again.
Anyway, as usual, I digress.
To block out the noise of the TV, my husband snoring and the demands of hungry teenagers and cats, I found my perfect playlist. It’s called Classical Indie Bliss Out. And, my word, did I bliss out.
Thanks to my husband, around a year ago, I learnt of a brilliant musician called Julia Violinista, who does spectacular arrangements of classic indie tunes. She’s a virtuoso. Honestly. I can’t praise her enough. She’s also got impeccable (in my opinion) taste in music, with violin arrangements of songs by Arctic Monkeys, Oasis, The Verve, Embrace, Elbow, Radiohead… And all of them are *chef’s kiss*.
Anyway. I was happily editing the manuscript I’d been sent when the slow throb of Do I Wanna Know by Arctic Monkeys began to pulse in my ears. You know the song. The moody, dulcet tones of Alex Turner pondering whether or not to tell the object of his desire how he feels. It’s an amazing song, bringing memories of teenaged angst filled summers, wishing I could tell my crush how I felt, but terrified the love would be unrequited. It’s deliciously painful. But, yeah. Julia Violinista’s arrangement is something else. It starts with a slow, pulsing heartbeat of the violin; building up to the heart-wrenching dilemma of speaking out. But it doesn’t build quickly. Oh no. It’s almost painful as the verse builds to a crescendo, to the release of breath. Your heart beats faster, feeling every single agonising decision. When it finally releases, it’s not until Turner would be singing ‘Crawling back to you…’ But it doesn’t let you go for longer than a split second before the tension begins to build again.
It’s honestly four and half minutes of sweet, sweet agony. A dopamine and adrenaline hit that’s just as potent as if you were on a rollercoaster. It ends the way it begins; the slow, throbbing pulse of the violin as it fades to nothing – leaving you breathless and still pondering the question – Do I Wanna Know?
Unfortunately for me, though, my rollercoaster wasn’t over. Now, I know, I know. I created the playlist. I *should* know what’s coming next, shouldn’t I? But tell me, do you ever put a playlist on without hitting that shuffle button? No, I didn’t think so. It’s another way of ensuring that hit of dopamine, not quite knowing what’s gonna flow into your ears, next. But knowing it’s going something that you love, right? Thought so.
So, yeah. The next song up was an Oasis one, but not with Liam’s snarl. Oh no; I’d found the most beautiful cover of Don’t Go Away that has ever been sang. It’s actually my favourite version of the song, which, as a die-hard Oasis fan, is saying something. And it’s sung by Kate Rusby. A folk singer from Barnsley, South Yorkshire, who honestly, has the voice of an angel. The way she belts out Don’t Go Away honestly hits me right in the feels, every single time. This evening was no exception. I’m sat in my little Nook, with my husband (now awake) sitting in the recliner. He kept glancing at me, concern in his eyes. I was staring at my screen, glassy-eyed, mouthing the words, with tears flowing freely down my face. Moved, quite literally, to tears. Her voice pulls the pain of the lyrics, the desperation of the words, and gives voice to them. She’s feeling everything that Noel Gallagher must have felt when he wrote ‘don’t go away. Say what you’ll say, but say that you’ll stay. Forever and a day. In this time of my life, when I need more time, yes, I need more time, just to make things right.’ With a bit of added charm, Kate manages to still inject her Barnsley accent into her beautiful rendition. Mixed in with her perfect pitch, her fully ended ‘”d’s” and “t’s” is a very down to earth “cummin‘ darrnnn”. If it doesn’t pull your mouth into a smile, even as you feel her heart breaking, you’re a robot.
The song ends as it begins, a lightly twanging guitar, fading away on one, last, poignant note.
Generally speaking, I’m not really one for listening to sad songs. I have to skip certain tracks or even resort to turning the radio off when certain songs come on (I’m looking at you, Athlete. Wires has me in floods of tears. Every. Single. Time.). My preference is happy, riotous songs. Like Charlemagne by Blossoms, I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor by Arctic Monkeys, Round Are Way by Oasis, or Sale of the Century by Sleeper. Give me something I can pogo to and pretend I’m 18 again, and I’m right there. Even if the song is a bit, I dunno, more morose in the lyrics, if it’s got a catchy tune and heady guitar riff, then I will put it on repeat. Local Boy in the Photograph by the Stereophonics is actually really, really sad if you actually dig into the lyrics… But my word. That searing guitar riff that opens the track – it still sends my heart racing in anticipation as soon as I hear the opening note…
Oh, look. I’ve gone off track. Again. Oops (little Local Boy pun there.).
So yeah. Tonight I blissed out. To Indie music, while editing an Indie Book. In my little Nook.
But, right now? The daft kitten who isn’t really a kitten is causing havoc in the house, attacking my geriatric cat. Bum’s a-wiggling and everything. So, I’d best go and rescue the other cat, cardboard boxes and head off to bed.
Sally.
PS: If you’d like to know more about Amazon Music Unlimited, click the below link for a 30 day free trial and access to 90 million songs, without ads.
Oh, and if you’d like to check out my playlist, and hear for yourself how utterly transfixing those two tracks (not to mention the others in the list), click on Classical Indie Bliss Out. You won’t regret it.
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