“Loco Train” by Wakeup Starlight (Video)

A music video that I’ve grown instantly attached to, “Loco Train” is the latest single by Wakeup Starlight.

Wakeup Starlight
This band was started in 2010 by Caleb Cummings and Chris Noble, and they’re currently augmented by a bass player named Dave Janssen. You can read their bio on this website, but (basically) they’ve already put out a couple of EPs. Their sound was more rock-oriented in the beginning, but now a prominent folk element permeates their oeuvre, and they’re releasing the kind of songs that you play and record life moments to. They got in touch with me just the other day via e-mail, and I’m more than pleased to have discovered their music. Continue reading

Closer – The Best Of Sarah McLachlan (Compilation Album)

"Closer" Compiles Together Sarah Mc Lachlan's Greatest Hits Up To The Year 2008

"Closer" Compiles Together Sarah Mc Lachlan's Greatest Hits Up To The Year 2008

This one took a little to sink in, and it didn’t sink in completely. But the bits that managed to do it are ones I now treasure indeed. Sarah Mclachlan is a Canadian artist that began her career in 1988 with the album “Touch”, in which her trademark mixture of folk and pop was already fully manifested. That record included the hit single “Vox”, and that is the one song which starts this 16-track compilation which was first issued in 2008.

I think I don’t have to tell you it is one of the tracks that I truly treasure from it. The other two that I deem as exemplary songs are “Possession” and “Building A Mystery”. Both were quite successful in terms of chart performance – “Building A Mystery” topped the Canadian charts and almost hit the top 10 in the US. For its part, “Possession” garnered a lot of publicity since it dealt with a famous stalker that even filed a lawsuit against McLachlan – he was to eventually commit suicide before the trial started.

Some might find it startling that songs dealing with such negative realities turn out to be such compelling listens – just look at Elvis Costello’s “High Fidelity” or The Police’s “Every Breath You Take”. But when songs like that are successful, I don’t think that means people are “evil”– quite the opposite. It just showcases that “normal” people are naturally attracted to what happens on the other side. The more people who are keen on songs like these, then, the more representative sample we have of people’s saneness. Continue reading