All of that preamble leads me to the most important reason that music matters so much to me. Permanence. In a fickle world where things are constantly changing, music seems to be a constant. Even though genres may evolve with each new generation, the old stuff still exists unadulterated, in the same form from its inception. The permanence of music enables time travel, ensures that a given song will retain its ambiance, and cements the wisdom of songwriters. Music is as much a record of the past as a history book and even when a song is covered by new artists in a completely different genre, it is still evocative and hearkens to the original; it lends itself to the permanence of the original.
Permanence Playlist
Respect, by Otis Redding
Respect, by Aretha Franklin
A Change Is Gonna Come, by Sam Cooke
A Change Is Gonna Come, by Gavin Degraw
Yesterday, by the Beatles
Yesterday, by Boyz II Men
I Will Always Love You, by Dolly Parton
I Will Always Love You, by Whitney Houston
Cruisin’, by Smokey Robinson
Cruisin’, by D’Angelo
Respect, by Otis Redding
It’s an insanely popular song. Everyone knows it, everyone sings it. Most probably know the Aretha Franklin version, and Redding’s rendition can come across as lighthearted comparatively. It’s the arrangement and the connotations of the singers’ voices that truly change our impressions of the song. My Uncle Thomas says that Redding’s version is the title song for a TV sitcom about a hardworking dad just trying to provide for his family, and Franklin’s version is a feminist manifesto. It’s interesting to think about it that way and Franklin definitely supports the theory with her bold delivery. The words do take on a more loaded meaning when the song is sung by a woman, but it doesn’t belittle the plight of the sitcom dad in Redding’s song who obviously knows enough disrespect to sing the song, he just has a humor about it.
The song owes its staying power to the universality of its language. Everyone knows what it’s like to be taken for granted, and because disrespect is a staple of the human experience, that song will always have a place for its concise declaration of a need to be heard and appreciated.
I prefer the Redding version, though I will admit that the first time I heard it, it sounded wrong and I wanted to scold him for messing with a classic (egg on my face). But it’s grown on me over time because even though life is never as simple and neat as a TV show, it’s not a bad aspiration because TV shows at least teach us that people can work productively through problems that they may face.
I consider myself to be a feminist and everything, but wouldn’t you rather spend your weekend at a backyard barbecue where you can hear a dunk man give a funny speech about being unappreciated than go to a rally about gender inequality?
I’m going to end this one before I put my foot any further in my mouth.
A Change is Gonna Come, by Sam Cooke
This is an apt song. I promise, despite my ramblings, I do wholeheartedly believe in gender equality and I like to think that I support the female gender (I won’t list all my charitable efforts, give you a figure of the amount of money I have donated to breast cancer research and organizations that encourage building the self esteem and broadening the horizons of little girls, that would be superficial). I have two young daughters under the age of ten and I make sure they know that their gender does not necessarily define who they are or limits their opportunities. It breaks my heart to hear stories about how women are terrorized around the world and I am thankful to be an American in those moments. It’s not perfect here, but my daughters won’t be shot in their heads for going to school, they won’t be forcibly mutilated in the name of tradition, they won’t be killed, discarded, or sold into prostitution (America is a complex place, of course American daughters experience all those things, but I feel empowered to protect my daughter from it here and that cruelty does not characterize the whole of the society). I don’t know if a time will ever come when enough men, an overwhelming majority of men, agree that women are more than their genitals and their pretty faces. I don’t have that much faith in my human brothers, which is why I imagine my daughters will hate me when they are old enough to start dating. I can’t explain the masculine need for superiority, and I don’t want to offer excuses for it, but I will say that little boys are victimized and beholden to societal expectations just as much as little girls, but the gauntlet that a man is put through seems to breed success and power, while a woman is only battered until she is silent.
A Change is Gonna Come is a song that is most associated with the American Civil Rights Movement; and rightly so, it seems to expertly sum up the emotional toll of racism in the era. But it’s a message that is universal enough for anyone longing for something that always seems to be just beyond the horizon to use as a rallying cry to inspire hope and continued work forward towards an elusive, but not impossible goal. Gavin Degraw works very hard to convey struggle in his cover and you can hear it, you can hear him invoking a strong constitution in the face of oppression. Today, there are many movements that can, and probably do, use this song as a source of inspiration. It’s not just women who are being subjugated and persecuted (but I hope that men know that we can do more to help women enjoy a better quality of life).
Yesterday, by the Beatles
It’s no surprise that Yesterday has the most covers in history. I am partial to the Boyz II Men version; there are few things better than a Philly, 90’s doo-wop, four part harmony. Their synchronicity transcends the genre and I think they are one of the best examples of the four part harmony, not to shit on the Beatles (but come on, they were definitely great individually and they were the experts at that cacophonous “Ah”, but as a unit they are nothing compared to Boyz II Men, and not to mention that Yesterday was McCartney solo).
It’s a love story, it’s the classic battle between man and time, of course everyone can relate with two of the most timeless themes of humanity. It plays on insecurities and that “grass is greener” mentality that things used to be much better before the introduction of change. Everyone has those times when they sincerely think that recessing to the past would make life better and easier, but when you are a child you have child problems that can feel as huge and insurmountable as adult problems to an adult. And I for one prefer being an adult to being a child, I appreciate my autonomy.
I Will Always Love You, by Dolly Parton
Has anyone ever said that Dolly Parton is a beast? Because I would be honored to be the first and I want it recorded in books. Her voice has so much vibrato that she renders a song down to its bare bones and makes you weep with her. It works amazingly for this song too, because there are times when it sounds that her voice is breaking because she is on the verge of sobbing. And everyone knows that desperation, that romantic longing for the promise of happiness that a relationship offers. She is also a beast because she breaks it down on the second verse, a la Michael McCary of Boyz II Men, and she speaks her lyrics sincerely to whomever is the lucky man that Parton loves so much.
That is the biggest difference between hers and Whitney Houston’s versions (excepting the arrangement, instrumentation, and vocals). Both singers fall into that that longing trap, the song doesn’t allow for much else because the lyrics are about something very specific. The song endures because it is about love lost and the singers who take it up are forced to call up very sorrowful memories of being left, of losing happiness. Houston is belting where Parton is sobbing, but they both sound very sad. Houston probably just mourned very loudly (as we all did at her death).
I don’t want this song to resonate, because it means that we can’t help but be sad in the wake of a failed relationship, and I spent a considerable amount of time after my divorce convincing myself otherwise. But it’s impossible to resist. Even if you only know the Houston version, and the Parton version comes on, you will feel the same pang of regret and sorrow in both.
Cruisin’, by Smokey Robinson
This is also one of my favorite Ambiance songs, but I saved it for Permanence because Robinson was right that music is played for love, and it doesn’t hurt anything if you’re also cruising at the same time. I love this song because more so than any other song, I want this song to be the definition of love as I know it. There are many different types of love songs and sometimes it seems that there are only love songs, but they each present a different world in which love exists. Sometimes love is tumultuous, full of regret, or lustful. Cruisin’ is just cool and I want the rest of my life with my wife to be the tone and temperament of that song (Valeria, my wife, loves it and there is nothing sexier than hearing her sing along with her accent). It’s happy music, it’s an affirmation of everything positive that us humans can muster and it’s free of agitation and stress. An everlasting ideal that may be unachievable, but that won’t keep me from chasing it (and I’m pretty sure that I’ve found it).
And there it is. Why I cannot live without music. Even if I don’t hear a new song for months, even if my car radio is broken and I manage not to encounter music from any source, I will always have a song in my head, a nonstop playlist looping on my subconscious giving me just what I need when I need it.
I realize that I don’t have a lot of modern stuff on any of these lists and that was not intended as a slight against modern music. It’s probably a testament to the availability of music these days that allows me to discover new artists everyday that have been around forever, and new material by familiar artists that may have gone unnoticed. I’m sure that if I’m still making playlists in 10 years, it’ll include a lot of stuff that’s on the radio now; I’m slowly listening my way to the present.
Bravo Mr. Livingston. The first completed serial. We’re deducting points for lateness though. Check out the rest of the Permanence Playlist and we’ll see more of Wes and his musical stories in Issue 8 when he debuts Superman Lover.
Rolling in the Deep by Adele
Rolling in the Deep by John Legend
Cupid by Sam Cooke
Cupid by Amy Winehouse
Killing Me Softly With His Song by Roberta Flack
Killing Me Softly With His Song by The Fugees
PRL Serials 