Photo by Bethan / CC
Total TUNES chosen by the experts to brighten your lives
When you’re having a real stinker of a day with your arthritis, a beautiful song can lift you up and whisk you away to another planet,leaving aches, pains and worries behind, for a moment at least.
We asked some real experts – a bunch of total musos from PRS for Music – to put together a playlist especially for Arthur’s Place, and tell us what they love about each track. These are some proper TUNES – they’ll lift your spirits, swell your heart, chill you right out and put a spring in your step.
These are Spotify links – if you don’t have a Spotify account, simply click on the link, fill in your details and sign up for free to listen to these gorgeous uplifting songs. You can also listen to the whole playlist here.
Julianna Barwick – Bode
Julianna Barwick’s tracks are built around loops that build up and cascade down in the most ethereal way. This track sounds music from the heavens.
Grouper – Heavy Water/I’d Rather Be Sleeping
Liz Harris, aka Grouper, is from Portland, Oregon, aka the friendliest place in the world. Every years thousands of swifts roost in the chimney of a local Portland school, swarming for hours before suddenly spiralling down into the chimneys. This track is as dreamy as a summer Portland evening, watching the swifts against the sunset with a group of friends and a bottle of wine.
Eurythmics – Jennifer
Maybe it’s the sound of the waves at the beginning, maybe it’s the sound of Annie Lennox’s smooth vocals, but this song has a beautiful longing that is unusual for an 80s synth track.
John Foxx – Kaiyagura
If you look in the dictionary under the word ‘crystalline’ you’ll find a link to this track.
Steve Gunn – Lurker
Steve Gunn apparently lives in Brooklyn but sounds hopeful and positive and as friendly as can be. Perhaps he’s lying about New York.
Bill Evans – Peace Piece
A legendary jazz pianist who I hope wouldn’t find it insulting to have his track compared to a lazy Sunday… reading the newspaper, rain beating against the windows, a cup of tea. Contentment.
Nick Drake – Pink Moon
Everyone loves Nick Drake.
Neil Young – Red Sun
Neil Young is an auteur; he doesn’t conform to other people’s expectations and follows his own vision. This is one of those songs that fits into the common idea of what he is about but he’s just as good at simple songwriting as he is at experimentation. This is just a beautiful song.
Donnie & Joe Emerson – Baby
Donnie and Joe Emerson lived on a farm with their parents who sold land to fund a recording studio. They made this record and it flopped; proof that the world is upside down.
