the musical education of santhy

[educatingsanthy]

Song #34 - The Lady is a Tramp From 1967’s ‘Frank Sinatra: A man and his music + Ella + Jobim. This one’s a bit of a selfish post because my birthday is coming up on the 28th, and this is like one of my favourite songs *ever*. It manages to make me smile and feel inspired no matter how ridiculous or depressed I’m feeling and as such I consider it essential viewing for anyone. Ella Fitzgerald is seen as one of the greatest performers and this song/performance really shows you why - it’s a Sinatra-focused show, and she is perfectly graceful as she effortlessly steals the show from under his feet. I want to be her when I grow up.

[educatingsanthy]

#33 - First Day of my Life, Bright Eyes (2005)

This is just a very Santhy song, to me. For full effects, watch the video too. 

Love. 

[educatingsanthy]

#32 - You’ve Got the Love Florence + The Machine (2009, Lungs)

Sometimes it seems the going is just too rough And things go wrong no matter what I do Now and then it seems that life is just too much But you've got the love I need To see me through

[educatingsanthy]

#31 - Doo-Wop (That Thing), Lauryn Hill (1998) Album: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill

One of the first songs I remember just one day ‘knowing’. It had been a hit for a while when I first moved to England, and at some point having heard it a million times on high street shop playlists, I started humming it and almost fell over in astonishment at how I’d picked up English songs. 

More culturally, it’s important because it is the perfect embodiment of neo-soul. And it’s feminist. Gotta love a good feminist song that also points out to men that they’re caught in the patriarchy too.

[educatingsanthy]

#30 - Vanderlyle Cry Baby Geeks, The National Album: High Violet (2010)

I first heard this during an open mic night in Oxford, sung by a boy with a voice full of treacle. 

(I also definitely heard it as ‘explain everything to the geese’ which just makes it even better)

[educatingsanthy]

#29 - Lordi, Hard Rock Hallelujah (2006)

I’m unsure whether you fully appreciated and absorbed the sheer weirdness that is Eurovision while you were here, but similar to how all of the UK made Kate Bush no 1 for a song about Wuthering Heights, these guys burst onto the normally twee and cutesy Eurovision stage in full death metal gear and just kicked ass.

seriously at one point there is a flamethrower guitar. A FLAMETHROWER GUITAR. 

Not sure if it’s entirely your thing but no musical education involving recent European songs would be complete without this. (am I being hyperbolic? Possibly. Is it necessary? Absolutely...) 

[educatingsanthy]

#28 - True Colours, Eva Cassidy (2011) Album: Simply Eva

Released several years after her death, this is one of her less well known songs - a cover of a perfectly 80s Cyndi Lauper song, Cassidy makes it sound so sweet and sincere and simple. Gets me every time.

[educatingsanthy]

#27 - Gay Pirates, Cosmo Jarvis (2011) Album: Is the World Strange or am I Strange?

A recent find - thanks, Spotify - but one I utterly adore. So much sweetness and sadness - a tiny piece of love that was always doomed. Poor star-crossed pirates. 

Best enjoyed with a cat nearby, for cuddling purposes.

[educatingsanthy]

#26 - Total Eclipse of the Heart, Bonnie Tyler (Faster than the Speed of Night, 1983)

No coverage of popular British music through the last century would be complete without some amazing 80s power ballads and they don’t really get better than Bonnie Tyler. Usually, every time anyone says ‘turn around’, someone will start quoting this song.

Also known for one of the best, most epic key changes in all of music.

I don't know what to do and I'm always in the dark We're living in a powder keg and giving off sparks I really need you tonight Forever's gonna start tonight Forever's gonna start tonight

[educatingsanthy]

#25 - Straighten up and fly right, Nat King Cole & The King Cole Trio (1943)

The monkey looked the buzzard right dead in the eye And said ‘your story’s so touching but it sounds just like a lie’

One of my all-time absolute all-star favourite songs to dance to. 

I aspire to have this much sass.

[educatingsanthy]

#24 - Lux Aeterna, comp. Clint Mansell, perf The Kronos Group (2000)

Taken from the Requiem for a Dream soundtrack (and then sampled in a wide variety of things) so it’s hard to not know this piece of music, but it’s a different experience entirely to just listen to it the whole glorious 6.5 minutes with no other distractions.

[educatingsanthy]

#23 - Diablo Rojo, Rodrigo y Gabriela (Rodrigo y Gabriela, 2006)

Magic fingers, flamenco twirls.

[educatingsanthy]

#22 - Wuthering Heights, Kate Bush (1978)

Album: The Kick Inside

Iconic song, insane video, you probably already know of this genius.

It’s not just that the concept of Wuthering Heights, that it’s a song written from the perspective of a fictional heroine, that’s wacky, it’s the way Kate Bush so completely and totally owns it. And the dance moves are just so ingrained into the modern British feminist psyche I cannot even. 

Ps - She wrote this when she was 18. EIGHTEEN. And it went to No.1, which just proves how wonderful the British public can be. 

[educatingsanthy]

#21 - Yemma, Souad Massi, 2003

Album: Deb

The whole album is worth listening to; this is stunning.

This is one of the sounds I fell in love with while at Wolfson. I hope it stays with you too bubs.

[educatingsanthy]

#20 - A horse with no name, America (1971)

Delicious 70s Americana (with Sad Undertone of Futlity of Existence) 

[educatingsanthy]

Song #19

’This Year’ by ’the Mountain Goats’, taken from 2005’s ‘The Sunset Tree’ A song for when the year feels like it’s never going to end - a very 'May’ feeling, I find.

(The formatting’s abit off because I scheduled this draft as one of the firsts. This is absolutely one of my closest songs, and I used it to get through quite  alot of 2016, when it seemed like it would never end. It’s wonderful, and I wanted to save it till we were at that mid-quarter-2 point of the year when Christmas has totally vanished from memory, but most of the time, the weather is not being nice. May is the month that gave Wales its greenery, perhaps?)

[educatingsanthy]

#18 - Haus am See, Peter Fox (Stadtaffe, 2008)

Somewhat unsure as to how I first got introduced to the music of Peter Fox  - bizarrely, fairly sure it wasn’t when I was living in Germany. Either way, the perfect music for late spring, settling you into what will hopefully be a chill and music-filled summer with some humming, earnestly laid back German lyrics.