Patrick Ames releases his newest single Reawakened2020 and channels the theme of change and equality. Definitely drawing inspiration from the world and the political climate, Ames integrates the power of our voice. In terms of when he wrote it, he actually wrote this back in January 2017 during the Inauguration Day for Trump. With the style being sung in that of Rockhouse Gospel, the power of the words and the vocals being full of spirit, listeners want more from Ames. The mix of Ames and Jon Ireson’s guitars add even more texture to this song. Standout lyrics such as the hour has come for the power of belief reiterates how the power of change and fighting for what we stand for is here to stay. By banding together on shared beliefs and justice, we as a world can take inspiration from Reawakened 2020 and march on to bring a new start all of us want to see begin.
Shawna Virago has pioneered and showed us she channels her strength through her music. With Heaven Sent Delinquent, the single talks about escape and how sometimes you have to blaze through to grow. Lyrics such as “I would have stayed but I had too much pride” carries more weight than a typical song. Guitar instrumentals open up the song just enough with rock that you can sense the angst, but not too heavy so that it gets out of the genre of easy listening. Virago prides herself on performing since the early 1990s, an era before social media and Instagram followers. Just raw, real music. The most organic a musician can get. The themes of storytelling and Americana run through the single and will have listeners closing their eyes envisioning the images that she creates with her lyrics.
From Australian artist, Michael Cullen, comes the single and music video titled Do You Believe. With lyrics reminiscent of streams of consciousness and free prose, the track reveals a reflective tone throughout the track. A lyric that stands out within the track “holding hands on the edge of journey” points out the meditative and thought provoking characteristics of Cullen’s songwriting. His sound reminds listeners of the sound of artists such as Depeche Mode, Nick Cave, and Spooky Black. With the tones and musical style compared to noir music and Southern Gothic Americana, Do You Believe does not disappoint those who are eager to listen to a unique sound by a musician standing out in a genre all his own.
Shawna Virago dazzles the music scene with her newest album Heaven Sent Delinquent. Combining visual storytelling with singing about emotions, Virago does an amazing job of painting pictures within the tracks on this album. Drawing inspiration from typical folk sound, Virago spins it into a world of her own. Also, deep within her music lies the themes of punk rebels, stories of the queer and transgender community, and pioneers of society. Overall the album takes the listener through a ride of journey as they listen to stories of love, adventure, and reflections. In conclusion, Virago crafts a sound that’s a perfect blend of new age Americana, folk, and punk into one album.
In the 19th century the Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel in Montreal’s Old Port became a mecca for sailors who would make offerings for “good help” for sea voyages. It still functions as an active cathedral in Old Montreal and come this upcoming weekend I hope to make my own pilgrimage to it. My girlfriend and I will be traveling to Montreal and Quebec City for a calm end-of-summer sojourn. Before I leave, though, I must highlight my favorite song related to Montreal – “Suzanne” by Leonard Cohen.
Cohen, a Montreal native, has accomplished a rare feat in his career – awards in both songwriting and literature. The daedal wordsmith has been crafting poetry and music since the late 1950s. He is the Da Vinci of Folk music – a renaissance man who rivals Bob Dylan and Paul Simon in talent and inventiveness.
“Suzanne,” a poem/song inspired by a friendship with Suzanne Verdal, is one of my favorite Cohen songs. It’s subdued potency echoes with Cohen’s soft acoustic guitar. The lyric rises with strings and angelic harmony. Clearly, as a Cohen song, the lyric is the absolute strength. The song memorializes Cohen and Verdal’s peregrinations to Old Montreal, past the Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel. Despite its documentation of a platonic relationship, the song possesses a sweet intimacy – something warm that captures the listener. The song concludes with this passage:
Now Suzanne takes your hand And she leads you to the river She is wearing rags and feathers From Salvation Army counters And the sun pours down like honey On our lady of the harbour And she shows you where to look Among the garbage and the flowers There are heroes in the seaweed There are children in the morning They are leaning out for love And they will lean that way forever While Suzanne holds the mirror And you want to travel with her And you want to travel blind And you know that you can trust her For she’s touched your perfect body with her mind.
I bolded the particular section that always gets me. The imagery portrayed by the opening line of the bolded section is perhaps the strongest in the song, a line that balances personification and metaphor. One almost feels that Cohen, like the heroes and children, will lean out for love forever. The song ends with the motif of travel represented in the repeated closing verse segments, and, as the verse before this suggests, Suzanne maintains a Jesus-like power of trust and perfection – platonic or not, this song rings with passion and love.
The Music Court 