Have you ever think, if you go on a desert island and you only can take 10 albums with you, each one of a different artist, what would they be?
Probably this is quite a stupid question nowadays, as it is enough to take your mp3 player or mobile phone with hundreds of albums inside, not necessary to kill your head with such silly doubts, but I took the challange and here it is my summer time playlist :
Banks by Paul Banks
Julian Plenti Lives…by Julian Plenti
Interpol by Interpol
Sleeping with Ghosts by Placebo
Rio by Duran Duran
Everybody Wants by The Struts
Midnight Boom by The Kills
Hot Fuss By The Killers
Hunky Dory by David Bowie
Nevermind by Nirvana
Well, what to say …some of them has something to do with summer, holidays, some of them with memories, wishes, some of them … just a desperate desire to listen them again.
Unsurprisingly, first 3 of them have in common my favorite rock voice…Paul Banks, and among these, for 2 of them, I admit, I cheated a bit as Paul Banks and Julian Plenti are the same person…
So, let’s talk about Banks and Lives albums and happy to say that finally, this opportunity comes now, after few years of their release.
Inevitably, his music, as a solo artist, was often compared with Intrepol music…is it so important to analize this? Not sure …
Paul Banks has a crazy talent and on his personal work, he express his freedom and his amazing creativity, in a simple, sincere and superb way.
Magical yearning voice, soothing acoustic guitars, lovely piano lines, his music troubles our souls and captivates our hearts. Here and there, shadows and lights, images and feelings…it is a state of mind…
Melancholic melodies, brilliant lyrics, feeling involved, concerned, only few of the millions reasons that I adore his music.
Banks and Lives albums feature my definite supreme summer anthem “Summertime is coming”, theses lyrics… Yeah… I adopted as my summertime motto:
“Summertime is coming so get out
Forget all the things we do with doubt ….
….Summertime is calling for you child
To give you a sense of reliance
To feel at home in a crowd
The season the season is calling
And all of it breathes into one day…
….Can we waste some more time just colliding in space?
No matter how high we set the bar … we win ”
Every song is special, something to think about, a word, an emotion…Time which pass, fear of getting old, dreams, truths and lies, aspirations, lonely hearts, this music is profound and meaningful…He says
“Time is disgraceful, we’re all just watching as things fall apart
And silence seems wasteful when I know what’s coming for me in the dark
I’m young again, thanks a lot…
Jobs are disgraceful, they tick like suffering from a clock
I sized my potential, it just seemed small in the wrong box “- Young again…simply wonderful.
A neverending questioning that provokes us… how …hmm…each of us different, free to apply to our own sentiments and Banks understood this better then anyone
“Now and then I can see the truth above the lies
Now and then oh I feel, you’re truly anesthetized
That’s whyWhen I walk today
It’s in silence and in rain
Can a man turn the page
While he’s trying to amaze?
So I hold my arms apart
But don’t deny you any pain” -The Base
On these albums, he is also coming up with some excellent instrumental parts with delicate sweet guitars, astonishing samples, sounds, someone’s else voice, movies dialogues.
Sorrowful or joyful, Paul’s music is poignant. And even when he attacks a fantastic song as “I am a fool to want you” this cover is so awesome that I almost forget the original by Frank Sinatra.
He is a perfectionist, this music is simply sweating love and emotion.
“You only know me like the shoreline knows the sea…
You only hold me as the canyon holds the stream ” Over my shoulders
And these lyrics are absolutely amazing….
“Sometimes I feel I coexist with me, and one side makes me old and one side makes me struggle…
Sometimes I feel diminished by routine.
It’s one night, two years cold, next she’s making me doubles
I’m drinking moonshine cuz I’ve had enough of starlight …and in my moonmind, it’s a summer night and I watch it break ” Paid for That
So, yes, these are quite some good reasons that this music is a total inspiration now, watching this blue sea, clear blue sky, starry nights, amazing sunsets…and ever.
Paul Banks has great style, he loves what he is doing and he is doing it seriously, this is utterly obvious and contagious. He is Genius.
Just hope that he will be back urgently with a new album.
For Banks record, he said he worked to his solo album during the Interpol tour… now, the El Pintor tour is still on going but almost finished, so it is quite reasonable to hope that good news will be revealed soon.
And if we count also on his own words “As a biological function of life, I will continue doing music, whether or not people get it or respond to it “, so really, we have all chances that another beautiful album will be here soon, as we desperately need it.
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