THE SOUND OF SILENCE
I’ve now stared at my laptop screen for quite a while, trying to channel my thoughts in one direction, any direction that would be the form of this piece, but nothing’s coming. Not even the stories that have been floating through my head all week. After having a really full week, I’m actively trying to take my mind off work or anything really serious, let off some steam and document what this feels like.
What then do I do? I decide to just keep touching any key on my keyboard that makes sense in the moment, while I plug my ears to some random musical selection on my playlist.
Simon & Garfunkels’s “The Sound of Silence” comes on first, talking about “People talking without speaking; People hearing without listening; People writing songs that voices never share” and that “No one dares disturb the sound of silence”. The song’s mood brings the ‘post-apocalyptic horror’ movie, “A Quiet Place” to mind, but I don’t dwell there. Rachelle Ferrell’s “Prayer Dance” comes on next, and I linger on it, replaying it a couple of times. Tender and soft as it is, I wish more songs sound like it.
Burna Boy’s “If I’m Lying” comes on next and I just nod, consciously realising that I really adore minimalism in music production. In times like this, I think songs need space to breathe, and we ourselves need some of that space to absorb the experience. Years of listening to Aretha Franklin religiously has made me appreciate this.
Natalie Cole’s “Ahmad’s Blues” makes me pause, and just wonder at the beauty of complementary background vocals around a jazz-infused ballad. Dianne Reeves’ “Mista” plays next, and it portrays the same phenomenon. By the time Etta James’ “All I Could Do Was Cry” comes on, it just seems right. Seeing a clip of Beyoncé covering this song from the movie “Cadillac Records” made me appreciate the original record more.
Thinking about Cadillac Records makes me wonder how many music-inspired biopics I’ve seen, and to be honest, the list is long. From “Respect” and the series “Genius: Aretha” inspired by Aretha Franklin’s life, to Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” to Elvis Presley’s “Elvis” to Bob Marley’s “One Love” to “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” to the documentary “Don’t Make Me Over” about Dionne Warwick and “Amazing Grace”, a live recording experience by Aretha Franklin from 1972 released in 2018. The music inspired books too? Another whole different story.
I find it really interesting, getting to meet the person behind the artist, trying to understand their life and philosophies, reliving some of their experiences, thus being in a better position to relate with their songs or art from a deeper and more delicate place.
Manu Dibango’s “Abele Dance” gets me when he exclaims “Na so e dey” around the song’s 05:33 mark. For a Cameroonian, I find this really impressive. Ms. Lauryn Hill’s cover of Nina Simone’s version of Jacques Brel’s “Ne Me Quitte Pas (Don’t Leave Me)” makes me long for some good ole french — Edith Piaf, Charles Aznavour, Pomme or Stromae. Enya’s “Only If” plunges me back to 2019. The Cavemen’s “Anita” reminds me of good times. Angélique Kidjo’s “Cucala” comes on, and its such a masterclass on cross-cultural musical pollination. How else would we have imagined how beautiful salsa sounds together with afrobeat? My mind just lingers on Tony Allen’s drums on the track and the groovy guitars which carry the song.
Leon Bridges’ “River” comes on, and I just surrender. “Been travelling these wild roads for so long; my hearts been far from you; ten thousand miles gone; Oh I want to come near and give you; every part of me; But there’s blood on my hands; and my lips are unclean; Take me to the river; I want to go”. I think of new birth, baptism and total surrender. It reminds me of Coldplay’s “Broken”.
As I read through what I’ve written so far, I remember the times I used to aspire to write song reviews. I had read quite a number of those, listen to podcasts dissecting new songs and joined many Thursday Twitter spaces that just displayed contrasting opinions on the new songs released the previous week.
It currently is Thursday (as at the time of writing), and Afro Critik’s Twitter space today would definitely discuss Olamide’s “Olamidé” album which I surprisingly find to be really nice. Hearing a Lauryn Hill sample on the album’s third song just sold me. I look forward to the space.
As Keleketla’s “Freedom Groove” comes on, my room’s lights go off. To be fair, the AEDC has been generous lately with power supply compared to other times. My laptop’s battery is weak, so I save my work and hibernate my laptop.
Rambling wasn’t so futile after all. Someone says this piece counts as the Miracle Hot 100, and I see it. They also said that it also felt like a newspaper page with ads, and I also see it. I’d love to know what you think of it though.