Twelve Months of Music Part 4: An April Mix
Apr 01 '06
The Bottom Line When April with his sweet showers has struck to the roots the dryness of March - then it's time to whip up another dozen songs.
"April is the cruelest month." That's what T.S. Eliot wrote, but I've found that we need to be wary whenever dealing with someone whose name is an anagram of "toilets." For me, April has never been about cruelty. It's a month with much more of an awkward, gangly feeling. Spring has come to the world, but it's not all bright sunshine and roses yet. The weather is still going through its growing pains, sending strong storm and blustery winds our way. For all the unexpected squalls and storms, though, April has its share of natural beauty. Think back to the last time you remember seeing a rainbow, and chances are that you've conjured up a mental picture of the serene calm after an April storm.
And of course, it's impossible to talk about April without addressing the whole "fool" issue. The idea of the "April fool" actually dates back to pagan times and the ridicule of those who held on to the antiquated traditions of celebrating the start of the new year after the spring equinox. These days, though, the fool aspect seems to stem much more directly from the "awkward teenage phase" of the year. Yep. By the time April rolls around, the year has matured, as have everyone's plans and goals for the upcoming months, but the year still isn't comfortable in it's own skin. It's only natural that everyone pass through this awkward phase, making fools of ourselves at least briefly, as the year grows up.
But enough with the April philosophy for now. As with every other month, April has plenty of complex intricacies that make it hard to sum up in a few words. But as with the other months, certain songs step up to the challenge and manage to capture April's essence when we gather them together into a larger whole. Here's a mix of twelve songs to lead us through the sudden growth spurt of April.
April's Fool by The Merrymakers
The song is charming, cheeky, Beatles-esque pop at its finest. With equal parts rollicking beer hall piano and wistful, melancholy guitar riffs, the song from Sweden's Merrymakers tells the tale of love won and lost from the perspective of someone who's still not convinced that the breakup is worth regretting. It's a charming musical smirk and shrug of the shoulders, a way of saying well, "now that we've gotten past the unpleasantries, let's see life really has in store," just as April is the time cast off those mistakes from early in the year and get on with what the rest of the year is really supposed to be about.
♬ she packed in January
she left in February
it took 'til March to realize
that I was April's Fool ♬
Then She Appeared by XTC
Spring may officially start in March according to the meteorologists, but the real signs that most people recognize – the glistening dew that appears in the morning, the blooming flowers that dot the neighborhood gardens, the animals venturing out from their long hibernations - those don't come around until April. Put them all together and we can watch the world come back to life. As we hear XTC's Then She Appeared, it's like hearing that annual re-birth captured in song. Snappy, jangly, celebratory, full of wonder, and dripping with amazement, the song is all about new life and new beginnings.
♬ and the sun which formerly shone
in the clearest summer skies
suddenly just changed address
now shines for her blue eyes ♬
Tropicalia by Beck
With April's warming temperatures and frequent rainstorms, it's a month with noticeably tropical undertones - at least it feels that way when you've been coping with snow and freezing temperatures for the last fifteen weeks. Maybe it's better to call it a faux-tropical feel. And Beck captures the spirit of slightly out of place, faux-tropical atmosphere perfectly with Tropicalia. The bossa nova beat with timbales, shakers, trombone, and woodblocks ground the song in pure Brazilian musical tradition, but the nonsensical nature of the lyrics plus the odd, jarring, mechanical sound effects whip the song up into something much more surreal, just as April offers us a surreal fun house mirror reflection of tropical weather as we emerge from the long winter months.
♬ you wouldn't know what to say to yourself
love is a property you couldn't sell
misery waits in big hotels
to be evicted ♬
Baby Love Child by Pizzicato 5
It may be nothing more than pure, unadulterated kitsch, but Japanese popsters Pizzicato 5 have captured the very essence the romantic mood that follows a light April rain shower. Combining acoustic guitar noodling, English horn fills, breathy vocals in an exotic accent, and well-placed DJ scratches with drum loops at a relaxed tempo that never feel heavy handed or invasive, the song feels drifts past like a dream. It doesn't quite feel like it meshes with our sense of reality, but we certainly don't want it to end, like the unexpected blossoming of a sudden spring romance.
♬ we are in bed at night
I can see what you want
you want me yes you do
ai shiteimasu ♬
The Rainbow by The Apples in Stereo
If Pizzicato 5 have captured that light April rain shower feeling, it's only natural to look for a rainbow afterwards, and The Apples in Stereo are ready to provide. It's pure power pop right the start - sweet, sugary electric guitar licks, snappy drum rhythms, and smart, snarky vocals all rolled into a crinkly cellophane wrapper. It's pure, exuberant energy captured in song, but just like the most picturesque of April rainbows, the song's verve is fleeting, both in it's sub-three minute length and in the song's fickle, flighty lyrics.
♬ take a trip under the ground
take a little look around
baby don't you know
people come and go
oh, just like a rainbow ♬
Somebody's Crying by Chris Isaak
Chris Isaak offers us another rain song for our collection, both in subject matter and in musical arrangement. Lyrically, Isaak wraps his sweet, sweeping tenor around a heartbreaking story of unrequited love, soaring up into rich falsetto at just the right moments to push the listener's emotional buttons. On the music side, the song is built around a simple repeated guitar arpeggio drenched in an old school Sun Records style reverb. The results give us a melancholy feel of loss without ever dropping into genuinely depressing territory, much like a sudden April rainstorm can spoil our day without spoiling our lives.
♬ give me a sign and let me know we're through
if you don't love me like I love you
but if you cry at night the way I do
I know that somebody's lying ♬
Goodnight Moon by Shivaree
There's something a little bit haunting about April evenings. The year is moving on, but sunset still rolls along awfully early, even with daylight saving time adding in an extra hour. Mix in the gradually warming weather and we end up with more than a few hazy, foggy nights. Shivaree's Goodnight Moon is drenched in echoey guitars layered atop one another, surrounding the song that same thick, foggy haze. Add in Ambrosia Parsley's coyly kittenish crooning, and the song becomes something truly mysterious and just a little bit sinister, perfect for a hazy, shadowy April evening.
♬ there's a nail in the door
and there's glass on the lawn
tacks on the floor
and the TV is on
and I always sleep with my guns
when you're gone ♬
Villiage Green Preservation Society by The Kinks
Village Green finds the Kinks at their most wistfully nostalgic. It's a celebration of everything that makes the quaint country villages of yesteryear such an idyllic paragon of simpler times, even if those country villages may only have actually existed in our minds If Norman Rockwell were a British rock icon of the sixties, this is the song he would have recorded. There something about the song I can't quite put my finger on - something woven in between the baroque pop of the piano and organ riffs, the harpsichord sound of the guitars, and the light, chugging drum beat - that captures the spirit of nostalgia perfectly, just as April always invites us to spend some time reflecting on the past as the rain showers pour down outside.
♬ we are the office block persecution affinity
God save little shops, china cups, and virginity
we are the skyscraper condemnation affiliate
God save Tudor houses, antique tables and billiards ♬
There She Goes by The La's
In between its famous rain showers, April offers us some absolutely beautiful sunny days. The temperatures are warming up to a reasonable level, the birds are returning from their winter migrations, and there's something pure and innocent about the world around us on those days - a purity and innocence reflected in The La's biggest hit, There She Goes Again. As the song mixes together its jangly, resonant guitar licks, its snappy tambourine fills, it's simplistic arrangement, and its jubilant chord progression, it fills listeners with an infectious feeling of wide-eyed innocence and wonder - a sense of overwhelming joy mirrored by spring's unstoppable return over the course of the month.
♬ there she goes
there she goes again
she calls my name, pulls my train
no one else could heal my pain
and I just can't contain
this feeling that remains ♬
Rainy Day Parade by Jill Sobule
For all the beauty that April offers, though, there are plenty of awkward moment mixed in to balance things out. April takes the world through plenty of growing pains with its sudden storms and the inevitable mud puddles that follow. It'd be easy to let those days drag down our spirits, but it's much more fun to be defiant - to grin coyly, hold our heads up high, and mock our woes with a snarky sarcasm. Jill Sobule offers us the perfect soundtrack for those days. Mixing her tales of woe together with deft latin rhythms, light guitar riffs, resounding chimes, and thundering timpani, Sobule rises out of her misery to a truly jubilant chorus, helping us to rise above all the overcast days of April.
♬ I used to have the stars in my pocket
now I just watch them on TV
my friends, they've all run away
but they'll come back again
and we'll have a celebration
gettin' back on my medication
we'll have a rainy day parade ♬
Something in the Air by Thunderclap Newman
By this point, some of April's aspects should be pretty clear - a feeling of rebirth and renewal, a wide eyed sense of wonder towards the blossoming world around us, an inescapable optimism. Thunderclap Newman's lone hit has all of these in spades for both its musical and lyrical content. On the instrumental side, the classic rock guitars, the splashy cymbals, the honky tonk piano, and the sweeping arrangements all blend together into a rich celebration of life. The lyrical side may fall into hippie clichés at times, but its revolutionary sentiments pointing towards the bright possibilities that the world holds still reflects the infinites potential that the bright, sunny days of April offer to us.
♬ call out the instigators
because there's something in the air
we've got to get together sooner or later
because the revolution's here
and you know it's right ♬
April Fools by Rufus Wainwright
But in the end, as the year matures and develops, April can never fully escape from those awkward growing pains. Wainwright's April Fools is full of thick, gangly arrangements that blend the thumping drums, the flowing strings, the plucky piano, the chugging guitar, and the drawn out, sleepy vocals into a package wrapped up in an awkward grace, with the kind of natural beauty of a newborn deer trying to walk for the first time. And lyrically, Wainwright leads us down a surreal, stream-of-consciousness path through a world of love and uncertainty - a fine reflection of the uncertain promises that April makes for the rest of the year.
♬ oh, what a shame that pocket's did bleed
on Saint Valentine's
and you sat in a chair thinking
"boy I'm such a prince"
well, life's a train that goes from February on
day by day
but it's making a stop on April first ♬
April - it's a time for change, a time for growth, a time for opening ourselves to the myriad possibilities that present themselves. It may be a little awkward, and there's no guarantee that we get hurt in the process, but it's a far cry from that "cruelest month" that T.S. Elliot once described. Time to head out and seize the day with the aid of these twelve songs.
Why stop here? Be sure to also have a look at:
January
February
March
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