Felicity Urquhart & Josh Cunningham – I Want You
As a means of survival, one needs to be convinced that they’re the only one who has ever had a particular life experience. As a way to truly enjoy life, one must believe that nobody else in this whole wide world ever truly fell in love before they got a chance to do it.
Yes, we must assume that this is false. All of the old novels, poems and letters published in dusty books tell us that people have been doing it for years. In fact, most of them go star-raving mad from it.
Some of them recover, others do not. Those who are not able to return among the sane either despair or, in the rarest of cases, make their feelings known through great works of art like Felicity Urquhart & Josh Cunningham did.
Yeah, Felicity Urquhart & Josh Cunningham’s “I Want You” is just about perfect. You couldn’t find a co-writer, producer or wiz-kid guitarist to improve this. Strictly musically speaking, this is just a folk-rock acoustic guitar stomp with repetitive lyrics. Spiritually speaking, this is a fantastic document about love, lust and infatuation. It’s just near perfect!
Real Ones – Nusrat
There’s been a public debate in recent years about major pop stars taking on trends that were made popular, originally, in countries other than their own. The more combative of those involved in the argument think that the likes of Gwen Stefani ought to apologise to the Jamaican and South Korean people from whom she has liberally taken inspiration throughout he career.
But why not start going after Jeff Buckley then? The late singer, one of the very best in history, once called Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, the Pakistani singer-songwriter, “My Elvis.” Buckley even covered the artist and promised that, if you listen very closely, you will be able to hear traces of Ali Khan in his music. Yes, the truly great artists don’t allow for gates to be placed in front of them when it comes to grabbing inspiration and creating beauty.
That’s why Real Ones, a musical group originating from the always fascinating Norway, uses “Nusrat” as a way to pay homage to the aforementioned singer, but also to develop those traditional grooves and way of singing into something modern. It’s also entertaining as heck and helps to keep this music as a living, breathing thing. Don’t take inspiration from places outside of those where you live? Ridiculous!
