And If It's Quite Alright

I once had an extended argument with a very, very dear friend over the inevitability of either growing old or growing up.  Recently, I began to realize that it doesn't matter much either way because there is no escaping either. They go hand in hand. One of the few absolute and undeniable truths of this life is that time will pass. And with its passing, if we've lived life as we ought, we will experience indescribable joys, chief among them love. And if we've truly loved (loved friends, family, lovers, hobbies, loved anything at all) then without a doubt the natural course of life will, from time to time, leave us feeling loss and heartache as the world spins and things change. We love, we learn, we grow up, we grow old.  When all is said, is done, if we can look back and feel something, whether it's an acute and painful nostalgia or a wide sweeping contentedness (and particularly if it's both), we have lived.

Music?

Madeleine Peyroux's cover of "Dance Me to the End of Love" by Leonard Cohen

Alright, so Cohen is the original singer of this song, and it's of course incredibly lovely. But I always love Madeleine's voice, and this version makes me quite happy, so it's what you're getting today. It's smooth and sweet and jazzy and perfect. I think it a great shame that this style of music ever fell out of vogue because it showcases the talent of the singer in a way that I don't think any other genre really has. Go ahead and argue with me, but do it in your head please.

"Barton Hollow" by The Civil Wars

So I saw The Civil Wars earlier this summer, and I was so very impressed with them. I was really struck by their chemistry onstage and the serious talent of those two. Every time Joy Williams sang, I was convinced that she was the more talented of the duo. Then John Paul White would sing or play guitar and I'd get confused again. The biggest disappointment I had was finding that they weren't a couple, particularly after Joy stopped and told the audience that she'd felt her unborn baby kick. So cute. And he looks like Johnny Depp. Also, I've been having an internal struggle with how much I like things sometimes described using the word "Country" like The Lumineers and Mumford and Sons and the soundtrack of Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? and how much I really, really can't stand The Dixie Chicks, Taylor Swift, and plenty of other sounds deemed country. So, naturally, I turned to the internet. This website had a good explanation. It would appear that I'm into what the pros have labeled "Bluegrass" which shares roots with Country, but is a bit more hillbilly. Banjo, mandolin, fiddle, folk... Hillbillies know what's up.

"Lost Kid" by Apache Relay

So, sorry for giving you a bit of musical whiplash today. This song is a bit closer to rock than the other songs today, but I'm still not sure that exactly covers it genre-wise. On Facebook they describe themselves as "Indie Roots." What the heck does that mean? And listen, the genre "indie" really does bug me. Indie is just short for independent, right? That doesn't describe the sound at all! So why is it relevant for the music to be independently produced? It was produced at all, which is what you and I are looking for, right? Rough. Oh, and this song has great lyrics. For the record.

How about we all go to sleep now?

xx coco