Rut

These days I find myself descending into a musical rut—the first such rut I’ve had in a long time. For the last year or two, I’ve always been able to turn to soul music when I needed something to listen to. The voices of Sam Cooke and Otis Redding always satisfied. Now, not so much. Don’t get me wrong, I still love that stuff; I just need a break, or else I worry that it will become background noise.

And so I’ve been searching my music library for something new to turn to. It’s been a challenge. I’ve had to delve past the upbeat, looking for something that fits this quiet melancholy that accompanies New England winter.

Fortunately, I’ve found some appropriate music: three tracks from the Velvet Underground, off of their self-titled 1969 album. These songs—“Pale Blue Eyes,” “Jesus,” and “Candy Says”—are soft and meditative, repeating the same musical figures over and over with little variation, as Lou Reed’s voice floats effortlessly above. When I say “effortlessly,” here, I’m not trying to say that his voice is so good that it comes across as effortless; rather, that it is sung with no effort whatsoever. Often flat, Reed’s phrases frequently trail off into a whisper.

And it’s perfect, allowing the songs to achieve a beautiful stasis. If you’re tired, a little bit sick of the world, or something similar, these are great songs to just sit and listen to, over and over again. These are songs that were meant for such a rut.

The Velvet Underground - Pale Blue Eyes (YSI) (dropbox)
The Velvet Underground - Jesus (YSI) (dropbox)
The Velvet Underground - Candy Says (YSI) (dropbox)