Thursday, March 29, 2012

Sad Songs Are Often Dream Songs



              How could I resist this?  Diane at Spunk on a Stick is hosting a Sad Songs Blogfest so I'm in.  After all, on April First A Faraway View will begin the month long A to Z April Challenge and since my theme for April will be about dream music, this blogfest fits right in.  The way I see it, sad songs make for good dream music  I could go on and on with sad songs, but I'll stick with six sad songs to make it alliterative.

Make It All So Real        Steve Forbert gives a dynamic performance of one of the best story songs ever.  It's  not just a song about sad songs, but a song with a sad story.  Writers should take a listen to this ultimate work of flash fiction put to music.  This song always stirs me inside and gives me watery eyes.



 Lalena   Originally written and performed beautifully by Donovan, I particularly like this version from my favorite Deep Purple album.  Sometimes called the "loudest rock and roll band", Deep Purple goes jazzy, smooth, and soft with a heartbreaking song that is a character study of a woman who seems to be a prostitute.  




Pavane for a Dead Princess  -- With this title you know it's going to be sad.  This is a dreamy piece by impressionistic composer Maurice Ravel.   The video is pretty dreamy as well.  Listen to this and tell me that you don't feel a bit melancholy and wistful.



Round and Round  Neil Young is a master of writing sad songs--so many to chose from.  I chose this one because it makes me feel sad, but it's a beautiful sad.  Sad is not necessarily a bad thing, it's just a part of life.



Knowing That I Loved You So  This song may be by a group with a goofy name, but it has a hauntingly sad sound that really grabs me.



String Quintet in C Major, 2nd Movement --Perhaps not officially a song, its composer Franz Schubert is considered one of the great songwriters of the 19th century.  This movement of the quintet never fails to stir up a sad feeling within me, but it also leaves me feeling very peaceful inside.  Another one of my all time favorite pieces of music.  I think it's worth the investment of time to listen to it.



      To visit other participants in the Sad Songs Blogfest go to the Spunk on a Stick blog.  Remember--posting for the fest officially begins on Friday March 30th.

     Be here on Sunday April 1st as my musical A to Z dream journey begins.   I have some great music lined up for the month.


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37 comments:

  1. Excellent choice Lee I am posting mine early ....well only a day.

    Yvonne.

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  2. Would it surprise you to know I know the last one best.
    You're the third person to post today for the blogfest. The 30th is tomorrow, isn't it?

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  3. Wow, some old bands in this mix. Good choices!

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  4. These are some good chocies. I am now feeling slack because I didn't write as much detail in my final draft (two people and one net connection limts one's time one here lmao). Mine will be up tomorrow :)

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  5. The only one I'm familiar with is String Quartet. How sad is that? (no pun intended)

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  6. Interesting 'Sad Song'collection. STMc suggested I do this blogfest, but I just came out of a 'blue funk', if I started in with sad songs,who knows where I would end up. The first one that came to my mind was Barber's 'Adagio for Strings'.

    I had no idea you had 'A Faraway' blog also. I had only seen you at 'Tossing It Out',previously, and of course, A to Z.

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  7. Yvonne -- I enjoyed the stories as well as your selection.

    Anna -- Thanks!

    Alex-- I am surprised that you would know Schubert's Quintet the best.

    C.M. -- My musical tastes tend to reach back.

    K.D. -- Not much text was really required.

    Mary -- Schubert's work has been around the longest and probably has the greatest substance.

    Faraway -- The "Adagio" is a good one that's often used in movies to set the scene for sadness. I have a total of four blogs and I entered them all in this blogfest because I like music so much.

    Lee

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  8. A great list, and I must say, I didn't know very many of these (two?). Thanks for posting! I assume the other blogs will have different songs...???

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  9. Ron-- yes, all of the blogs will have different songs that will be along the lines of my A to Z themes.

    Lee

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  10. ARLEE BOID ~
    Schubert was also amongst those I considered including in the 'Sad Songs Blogfest', only my choice would have been his "Serenade".

    Also, if I were going to select one Neil Young song for this Blogfest, I definitely would have gone with "Sugar Mountain".

    But different tokes for different folks, eh?

    ~ D-FensDogg
    'Loyal American Underground'

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  11. I love Deep Purple's version of Lalena.
    There's one thing I didn't get though; what do you mean by "sad songs are often dream songs"? My dreams don't usually have a "soundtrack", although they feature other interesting elements...

    Thanks for commenting on my latest post!

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  12. The Neil Young song is really sad. Sad is not necessarily bad, true.

    And thank you Arlee, I am honored. If the recommendation can include blogs that do not participate in the Challenge, but truly awesome, may I suggest OneStonedCrow for O. The link is here:

    http://onestonedcrow.blogspot.com/

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  13. you have a few songs I have never heard before!

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  14. Wow, Arlee - I don't know any of those, not even the Deep Purple!

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  15. A blog about dreams! Very cool. The image at the top is spectacular.

    I'm a Neil Young fan too.

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  16. Wow...some really obscure songs (to me) on this list. Awesome picks!

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  17. yikes! another one where i don't know any of the songs.
    i must be music illiterate!
    have fun a-z'ing!

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  18. I'd never heard of any of those before! *blushes* Great choices, though!

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  19. not heard of any of these... sad for me, thank you for the list.

    Jeremy [Retro-Zombie]
    Visit The Madness:
    iZOMBIE

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  20. StMc -- So many choices from either Schubert or Neil Young.

    Jay -- Sad songs put me in a dreamy mood.

    Oceangirl -- I'm trying to use blogs that are signed up in the Challenge, but I'll visit this one you've suggested.

    baygirl -- I tend to come up with obscurities sometimes.

    L.Diane -- "Lalena" is one of Deep Purple's best.

    Tamara -- Some of Neil Young's music can really put me in a dreamy mood.

    Dawn -- Thanks!

    Karen -- I love blogfests like this.

    Vic -- These blogfests can really help us expand our musical horizons.

    Kyra -- That's ok. I've been finding things on other lists that are new to me.

    Jeremy -- Maybe not your normal genre of listening?

    Lee

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  21. I understand 'beautiful sad'. So many songs have that kind of effect on me.

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  22. Browsing the Sad Song Blogfest list, nice song choices.

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  23. I'm such an eclectic music lover. I'm all over the place with music genres--depends upon my mood.

    Neil Young put out some awesome songs.

    I do like String Quintet in C Major. ah, violins. They can say a lot and in a many moods. I tend to listen to a lot of instrumentals when I'm writing.

    Sia McKye OVER COFFEE

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  24. OK, Lee. There was a lot I didn't know in your list. I knew the last one. Classical music does tend to be very sad. It's very gloomy here ... to go w/ all the melancholy tunes ...

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  25. Hi Arlee
    Great list of songs. I will check into the ones I'm not familiar with.
    Nancy

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  26. I have quite a few songs to look up! Thanks for introducing us to something new.
    HMG

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  27. JL -- Beautiful sad can induce a reverie.

    Gossip -- a lot of good music today.

    Sia -- I tend to have eclectic tastes as well.

    MPAX -- Sad music, gloomy day--what a great combination.

    Nancy -- They're all worth hearing in my opinion, but then again I picked them.

    Susan -- We just made a Costco run yesterday and have plenty of tissue here.

    Heather -- I always like to discover music that is new to me.

    Lee

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  28. Oh wow, that Lalena video and song were definitely eye-catching and enchanting. Good song choices!

    Shannon at The Warrior Muse, co-host of the 2012 #atozchallenge! Twitter: @AprilA2Z

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  29. Lee, Thanks for sharing your list. The Pavane for a Dead Princess was a dreamy, yet sad piece.

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  30. Shannon -- Yes, I kind of liked the Lalena video. Apparently it's excerpts from some Spanish movie.

    Cynthia -- This Pavane is so haunting.

    Lee

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  31. You've got some GREAT selections here!!

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  32. Excellent mix of genres that carry a contemplative theme.

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  33. Jennie, Damyanti, and Paula-- Thanks for stopping by.

    Lee

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  34. Love those instrumentals Lee. Simply beautiful.

    .........dhole

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