Deep tracks continue to be important to me. While trying to pick the three songs I was going to talk about in this deep tracks column, I ran a few ideas by my girlfriend and suitemates. In this suggestion period, some of the people around me enjoyed some of my song choices enough to add them to their playlists. The feeling of pride and camaraderie that I have when someone likes a song I show them is amazing.
The first of my deep track suggestions continues the trend of under-appreciated songs involving Paul McCartney. “Beware My Love” comes from the Paul’s days with Wings. This song is off a Wings album that is most notable for not being Band on the Run. Wings at the Speed of Sound did achieve a great deal of popularity at the time of its release, and two of its songs, “Silly Love Songs” and “Let ’Em In,” have retained their recognition from most classic rock fans. “Beware My Love” is, however, the best song from the album. Clocking in at over six minutes, “Beware My Love” is given ample time to repeat its warning of caution. Paul warns his “love” that the apple of her eye isn’t right for her. This song was one of the first that I “discovered” on a vinyl album. I had just gotten my first record player and found this album on sale for $5 at Park Ave. CDS, my local music store. It, along with “The Note You Never Wrote” and “Wino Junko,” conjure the memory of sitting in my living room enjoying one of my first experiences with vinyl.
The next song is close to my heart because it has helped me at various stressful and confusing points in my life. I’ve been fortunate in that my only major source of stress has been from school and grades, but I like to pull out this song during midterm and final season. “Tight Rope” by Leon Russell describes his balancing act on a tightwire. Lyrics like “I’m up on the tightwire / One side’s ice and one is fire / It’s a circus game with you and me” provide a musical expression of my feelings at these various points of stress and work. Unfortunately, I don’t remember the first time I heard this, but I do know that it stuck with me because of its message and because of Russell’s slightly wonky vocals and guitar chords.
The last song I want to discuss is actually the most recent “deep track” that has stood out to me. I heard this song last week through my Discover Weekly Spotify playlist. It was late at night and I was sitting in my 8-person common room playing video games. “Pinball” by Brian Protheroe struck me because of its relatively mundane and dated, yet very compelling lyrics. “Got fleas in the bedroom / Got flies in the bathroom / And the cat just finished off the bread” and “So I walk over SoHo / And I read about Monroe / And I wonder ‘Was she really what they said?’” juxtapose his admittedly gross home-life (Walsh Hall anyone?) and the dated reference of Marilyn Monroe’s death and various scandals. The escalating tempo and continued monotony of Protheroe’s life appeal to me. I’m a big fan of songs that begin with acoustic instruments and softer vocals and proceed into a full accompaniment and strident singing. When I heard this song, I was next to one of my suitemates, and I immediately asked him if he would listen to it. As “Pinball” played again, he began to bob his head and smile. He told me with a nod that he was “really vibing with this.”
It is the experiences and memories like these that continue to provide me with an endless supply of songs to talk about here and share with my friends and family. It’s a gratifying experience to have something you enjoy validated by a person you love or respect. I hope that with both this column and the previous, that someone has listened to and enjoyed a new song that might have otherwise passed them by. While I can only describe the memories, I can and will share the melodies.
Featured Image by Capitol Records
