So, being the “music enthusiast” that I claim I am, I think it’s only necessary I start paying some respect to the lady lade singers of the world. I have a serious soft spot when it comes to female singers. I think it’s because I used to hear quotes like this in my History of Rock Music class: “A woman’s space in music has been in the bedroom as groupies to male love rock gods.” Not only have I disputed this statement since the day I read it, but the female singer I am about to introduce completely defies this generalization. The bar has been set quite high for other musical artists to reach since this gal has received some serious recognition from music critics around the world on her recently acclaimed album “Lungs.”
She’s British. She’s cool as hell. And, you will not find her amongst the Amy Winehouse’s and Lilly Allen’s who are splattered on Perez Hilton’s website due to their drug/drinking overdoses. No, she’s beyond that...she has talent. She has a voice that I had no idea someone was even capable of having AND she’s got a shade of red hair that I only wish I could pull off. She also sings one of my favourite songs, “Cosmic Love.” Who am I talking about? That’s right. Florence Welch, the lead singer of Florence and the Machine.
Like I just mentioned, I do have a soft spot for female singers… but I need to truly admire the female and her music if I’m going to spend my time blogging about her. Clearly, Florence passes the test. Part of the reason why I fell in love with this gingy and her music is because she literally breathes cool. Well that, and the fact that she writes ALL her music when she’s drunk or hung-over. When I drink I can barely string together proper sentences. Yet, somehow she manages to create songs that are so deep with meaning and focus on the important issues of love and pain. She was once quoted saying “I write songs when I’m drunk because it gives me the freedom to say what I’m thinking and it allows me to make feral music.” First, the word feral describes her music perfectly. Just so spot on. And second, Ms. Florence has now taught us all a valuable lesson--- if you or someone you know is running their mouth when they’re drunk (whether it’s telling someone off, or confessing their love) and they wake up the next morning excusing it as just ‘talking shit’…DON’T BELIEVE THEM! They said exactly what they had wanted to say but were too afraid to spew it out till that fun but dangerous beverage hit their lips.
Back on topic now… Cosmic Love. Why do I love it? And why should all of you love it? Here’s why:
Within 0:03 seconds of the song playing, you can tell it has all the makings of a fairytale like sound. The song introduces itself with a harp (which I love) and a piano playing… two sweet and pleasant sounds that would resemble an opening scene in a Disney movie. In those same 0:03 seconds we hear Florence’s electric, fiery voice belt out the first lyric.
The fact that her voice emerges so quickly into the song is genius. It gives us zero time to consider the sound and whether or not we like what we’re hearing. You are instantly captured at the first lyric because her voice just astounds you; it’s so different than what we usually hear coming from a female. She is not shy and she wants you to know it from the way that she right off the bat presents us with the power and dramatic vibe her voice can project.
After being whisked away into what feels like a dream by her one of a kind, almost gothic-like vocals, we approach the 0:30 second mark a.k.a the chorus. From this point on our hearts feel as though they are being electrically shocked every time the tribal drumbeat bombards our ears. It’s funny; I find most songs on the radio to be so damn bland and repetitive that by the second chorus I shut the radio off completely. But with this song, it lives for the chorus. It reaches this height of intensity as the drums bang in a stop- start rhythm and she yelllllls the words “the stars, the moon, they have all been blown out. You left me in the dark…” I mean literally yelling! It’s intimidating…but ridiculously beautiful all at the same time.
It’s at 0:57 seconds, when all the clashing sounds blend together, that we reach a state of ecstasy, which holds us over until the second chorus hits with more power and more rage than the first. During her own little version of a musical interlude at 1:51, we let her ooooh’s completely overwhelm our bodies as the anticipation grows. And then…only for a moment does she calm us, peacefully singing to the piano and harp that’s being strummed so gently until… we hear the final tap of the piano key and we are left with a dramatic pause that causes us to hold our breath and have our bodies sit completely still in preparation for what’s next.
Finally…
At 2:33, the 3rd chorus, the most perfect orgasm (or in other words, climax) takes over and kicks the shit out of us. The combination of all these sounds, and her voice make you want to either explode or completely lose yourself in what you’re hearing. I know all I can do at this point is get up and freaking rock out while banging on my fake set of drums. Going with this fairytale analogy, this particular sound resembles the final battle between the villain and hero. You know? It’s like in Beauty and the Beast where we just don’t know if Gaston or the beast will win, and you’re sitting on the edge of your chair dying to find out. Ya, this climax of the song gives me that same feeling.
And then, at 3:43 Florence leaves us the same way she welcomed us...with the harp and the piano playing, creating that “happily ever after” sound.
So why has this song changed my life? This is the first and I think only song that I never want to sing along to. I JUST want to listen to it in its entirety. Why? Well first because Florence’s voice is out of this world but second (and more importantly), none of us will ever sound like her when singing it … so why ruin the perfection that it is with our own less perfect voices. Just appreciate it
So bottom line:
1. As my new music obsessed buddy, Ms. Fain once said: “I’d turn lesbian for Florence Welch.” well, I couldn’t agree more.
2. Hopefully this blog will make Lindsay want me to play the entire Florence cd in my car.
3. Oh ya, listen to the song… it’ll change your life.
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