Saturday Songs - March 3

As has been recently de rigueur of this weekly post, I again put up my ‘Saturday Songs’ on Sunday. This seeming lapse in focus is again the product of Scottish adventures (up in the Highlands as with last weekend). Fortunately, I can offer at least one musical picking from my Highlands travels. In fact, this set of songs might be the most diverse in the history of Pueblo Waltz! Scottish, Danish, Irish! Be excited…

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1. “O Caledonia” – Dougie MacLean

I know it’s wrong, but I can’t help but think about Dougie MacLean’s song “O Caledonia” as analogous to Don MacLean’s “American Pie,” one emblematically American and the other emblematically Scottish. But while Don’s song is a clear product of the beatnik generation with its obtuse lyrics and somewhat extraordinary length (at over eight minutes, it’s still the longest single to sit atop the Billboard 100 chart), Dougie’s song is a simple celebration of pride and love for Caledonia—the Roman name for Scotland.

Driven by some beautiful finger-picking—played in an open C tuning—MacLean manages to toe the line between hokey-ness and wide-eyed wonder. Even as he sings openly of his love for Scotland, he reels back the sheer patriotism by incorporating a string of personal admissions, having “lost the friends that I needed losing,” “kissed the ladies and left them crying” and “stolen dreams.” The song is not just a national celebration; it is an account of self-discovery and struggle.

Of course, MacLean was not yet 30 years old when he wrote and recorded this song. But despite his youth, the song distinctly sounds like it was written by an old soul. In that way, listening to the more recent studio recording of the song above makes more sense; MacLean’s wizened look and slightly grittier voice finally provides the appropriate narratorial presence.

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2. “The Balcony” – The Rumour Said Fire

Discovered by my friend Leah in the course of her Danish adventures, The Rumour Said Fire are a pop quartet based in Copenhagen, Denmark. The immediately apparent thing, of course, is that despite their Danishness, they sing in English. Like other many other bands and singers from non-English speaking countries, The Rumour Said Fire must have been quick to recognize the musical dead-end of their own language and the open-door opportunity of English. There is something somewhat dark and hegemonic about the universality of the English language in the pop world. From Phoenix to The Tallest Man On Earth, there is a strange sadness in the way that English is lingua franca in the music world. I can’t help but respect more and more the staying power of Icelandic artist Sigur Rós, who mostly stick to their native language.

However, all that said about native languages and English, The Rumour Said Fire remain as equally capable a pop band as any indie-pop outfit Los Angeles could spit out onto the scene. “The Balcony” displays a warm vulnerability that recalls the Shins and strives for the easy, sunny harmonies of a pseudo-Americana group like Fleet Foxes.

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3. “Velcro” – Bell X1

Described as Ireland’s biggest rock act right after U2, Bell X1 cannot be easily described. They are a curious amalgam of sounds, but “Velcro” finds them mixing electro-pop with arena rock. Imagine LCD Soundsystem cross-pollinated with Snow Patrol. And then take away Gary Lightbody’s voice and replace it with a better one. Of course, Bell X1 has none of the charm of either act; the melody and lyrics sometimes seem a little too mechanical for their own good—all the pieces are there, but it’s as if someone forgot to tell them they needed to play with a little spirit too.

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4. “Why” – Josh Ritter

The single off Josh Ritter’s recent 6-song EP Bringing In The Darlings, “Why” is a sweet, acoustic tune that presses its addressee with variations on its eponymous question. Part of a collection that Ritter has termed his “lullabies,” “Why” and the other five songs on the EP are a result of a recent writing session. You wonder that someone can be so productive; this EP comes somewhat on the heels of the 2011 release of Ritter’s novel Bright’s Passage, which also received rave reviews from not a few publications. What can the man not do?

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5. “Highs And Lows” – Mindy Smith

The song that immediately jumped to mind when I stumbled across this second track on Mindy Smith’s 2009 album Stupid Love was my Jill Andrew’s “Another Man”—one of my favorite tracks from last year. (I have a thing for quirky country rock with female vocals.) Smith doesn’t have quite the flair that Andrews exhibits, but her voice is supported by fantastic production and a shipshape arrangement. In particular, the light percussion that rattles its way through the track—including the calm flicker of a conga drum—helps ease the song in a positive direction.