Music For a Sunday Night
Posted on January 16, 2011 Posted by John Scalzi 23 Comments
Because I’m apparently on a Petra Haden kick tonight, her and Bill Frisell’s version of Coldplay’s “Yellow,” which depending on your tastes may be better than the original. It’s from this album, which is excellent overall, and also includes this heartbreaking version of “Moon River.”
While I’m on the subject of “Yellow,” I’ll tell you a story about that song, which I thought I’d already recounted, but which a quick trip through the archives says I haven’t. One night I was having a dream in which I was playing guitar, and I was working through a version of “Yellow,” and everyone around me started singing along. And after we were all done, I said, wow, I’m glad you liked what I was doing enough to join in. And someone said, you don’t understand. We weren’t joining in; we were trying to drown you out.
I wonder if other people have dreams like that.
a lot of my dreams involve monsters of one kind or another and me in a world where the doors dont lock, cars wont run, guns are jammed, all manner of what would be really bad plot devices in a bad horror movie. except, like I said, its my dream.
Greg:
I occasionally have dreams like that, but inasmuch as I almost always know I’m dreaming, there’s some part of my brain that says “okay, you’re done with this dream now,” and then I wake up.
Toward the point of always knowing that I’m dreaming, when in my dream that person said “we’re trying to drown you out,” that part of my brain went “really? I can’t even play guitar in my dreams?” And then I woke up, slightly grumpy.
cool version of yellow, btw.
Thank you. I’m dealing with so much in my job. I needed this. I won’t explain but it was perfect and right.
Ah, man. Why is it everyone but me seems to be able to tell that they’re dreaming? not being able to play guitar in real life and dreaming about it? I had a dream as a teenager that I was flying a helicopter and at the time I had no idea how to do it in real life. did that clue me in? nope. I was completely unaware of the huge plot hole. I do remember thinking, wow, this is fricken awesome! and that feelng stuck with me for many years until I finally learned how to fly one. turns out they’re fricken awesome in real life too.
roommate way back when told me he had a dream where he was at his job at a grocery store stacking cans in a huge pyramid. the cans fell over. all of them. he said he realized that it was just ridiculus and that he must be dreaming. so he put his arms out and went flying around like superman. lucid dreaming at its best.
The only times I ever have a glmpse of realization that I am dreaming is when I’m dying. Alien chomps off my feet and is eating my legs. and I’m thinking if I scream loud enough I could wake myself up.
it not like, hey, its a dream, lets rewrite this whole messy bit. Just vague indirect awareness, but never direct control. I watched Inception recently, and though the movie itself sucked, watching those guys control their dreams was making me drool.
I do like this better than the Coldplay version. Good call!
awww. Just listened to the “Moon River” clip. Now I need to go find pictures of puppies or unicorns or something happy.
John, no real connection here other the the heartbreaking aspect, but I thought you might enjoy this.
A rather thoughtful song from as Australian “country” artist.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxxzfgkNrsc
Cheers
Portishead performs one of their darker songs “Over“.
/me smiles at “Moon River”. That was my folks’ song when they were dating.
And Jeff Ball @#8: I’ll see your Ignorance and raise you an Arrogance and Greed:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-n8ITk6UWM
(So they’re English, not Aussie… but they’re still bloody good.)
Yes. I have dreamed of trying to make you stop singing. But you are nothing if not tenacious, J.
That indeed is a very moving rendition of “Moon River” – I like it! Thank you for the link, John.
I am not a Coldplay fan at all, but my favorite cover of “Yellow” is by Alex Parks.
@Jeff Hentosz:
Oh no you di’n’t!!!
Jack Black & Kyle Gass are Tenacious (D)!
Our Esteemed Host is merely dogged. He lacks the Pick Of Destiny. No one drowns that out.
Well, all in all, I’d take this version of the the bad dream versus showing up at school naked or some variation on that theme. Of the dreams I remember, I often have some variation of being in a crowd of people I know, but not recognizing any of them…I’m sure a shrink could make something of that one! Meanwhile, I’m sure your guitar playing is not THAT bad, John.
I haven’t dreamt of my dream characters ganging up to complain about me, not that I can remember. But it does give me an opportunity to recall the end of an odd dream I had the other day, apparently involving men at something like a stag party drunkenly showing off to each other. Fortunately I can’t remember the details but the final mental image was three disconnected testicles – none mine – resting in transparent plastic bags! I do remember thinking, don’t they need these? is this an injury you can recover from?
Months before Inception I had a dream where I was required to shoot myself in the head with a blue pistol. I remember thinking, well, at least I will find out if there is an afterlife. I shot myself, and there was! But I am not tempted to try it again…
On Coldplay, I read only yesterday that their bass player Guy Berryman was championing the longish-running but not-yet-super-successful Alabama sisterly duo The Pierces – well, persuaded them not to pack it all in, apparently – and then co-produced their forthcoming album, out in spring sometime. I found their previous album, “Thirteen Tales Of Love And Revenge”, on Spotify, and thought it sounded great. Especially the track Secret (video for that at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzNFwxsSPwU ).
Hmm, sounds like I am pimping them. I don’t mind Coldplay – they seem a nice enough bunch of blokes – but am no fan, and hadn’t even heard of The Pierces before yesterday, honest.
Last night I dreamed that I was describing a dream I had had to some people, and they were very bored. They explained to me that no-one is interested in hearing about some-one else’s dream.
It was all a bit meta.
The cover of “Yellow” was lovely.
Off topic – can someone please explain Coldplay aversion? When I’ve asked those who have it, I usually get some version of “they suck”.
@#18 AnneInTO
Off topic – can someone please explain Coldplay aversion? When I’ve asked those who have it, I usually get some version of “they suck”.
I’m afraid I can’t be of much help. I don’t know why I’m lukewarm about Coldplay – something about the vocals I think. (My personal preference is for deeper, more rugged-sounding male vocals. For example, I like Nickelback.) What always puzzled me is why so many of my friends rave about Coldplay. I don’t think they suck, but Coldplay doesn’t light a fire for me.
Some dreams can be helpful.
Many decades ago, when I was in jr high school (now known as middle school, for you youngsters) I had apparently heard the phrase “rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.” Anyway, in a dream I was on a ship that was in trouble, and everyone was running around making preparations for the sinking. Someone shouted, “Shouldn’t we at least try to stop the boat from sinking at all?” I woke up, and realized that the rational part of my brain was trying to tell me that I should get serious about school. Things improved a lot after that.
This song started a few years of actually liking some of the songs I was hearing on TV, both in shows and commercials. I vividly remember the ABC “Yellow” ads with this song.
As far as comparing versions, I really, really like the guitars on this one (a lot!), but the vocals didn’t do it for me except for the parts with multi-part harmony, which were awesome, like a pipe organ of voice.
John:
Every freaking night and, on bad days, in daydreams.
One of my favorite albums. But why not an image of Petra while it plays? She is so much easier on the eyes.