
Coeur-Joie – Ciel De Traîne
The best and the worst thing about pop music is that you always know what to expect. I suspect that this is still the way that radio programs and famous playlists are assembled. As long as you hear a new song and know exactly where it’s supposed to go after hearing the chorus, then that could potentially become a hit.
But because everyone knows where every part is likely to go, it’s also a wonderful opportunity to mess with people’s expectations. For that, of course, you need bold, innovative artists who don’t think of “pop” as a dirty word and don’t mind taking on the risks of alienating the very public that they depend on to give them a hit single.
There’s nothing about Coeur-Joie’s “Ciel De Traîne” that will convince you that this is not a pop single. It’s jolly, pleasant, and as light as Parisian pastry. It’s everything in between that makes it a strange proposition. The vocals bring to mind Les Belles Chansons of France, and the visuals suggest a particular brand of madness is at play. “Ciel De Traîne” is everything you expect and a lot of what you never saw coming sprinkled on top of that.
sixten – Living Comes With Dying
Everyone is stuck watching the news or hearing it second-hand on the street or from friends. A lot of what is considered newsworthy nowadays involves terrible amounts of violence.
You hear so much about it that it’s bound to either desensitize you or drive you nuts. People create their virtual reality in their heads where, for example, soldiers dying are just numbers in a great geopolitical chess battle that has to be fought.
Most people can’t handle their our burdens if those should be laid upon them. So, how is it that they are so quick to accept other people’s hardships? Are we really condemned to cry alone?
Sixten’s straightforwardly titled “Living Comes With Dying” is a Swedish song that attempts to deal with the suffering of the world. It’s a song of begrudging acceptance. The singing from the duo is beautiful throughout. And if it doesn’t get you thinking about people who have it worse than yourself, at least, maybe, it will get you feeling a bit of what they’re going through.