Joy Division “Atmosphere”
some songs find you when you’re most vulnerable to them. when i first heard atmosphere, it felt like recognition, as if it understood the heaviness, the way i experienced the world
it felt so true to me that i imagined it being played at my funeral. not out of darkness, but because it captured something i couldn’t express myself
listening to it now, i still feel what i felt then. a familiar reminder of who i was
it’s #SongOnSunday #SongsOfMyLife time again
Kate Bush "This Woman’s Work"
if i went by history alone, i’d probably have picked "wow", the kate bush track i’ve listened to more than any other
but this song carries a different kind of weight. it has an emotional power that’s hard to escape
one of her most personal, most vulnerable pieces, a moment where the music feels almost too honest, too exposed
fragile, overwhelming, and completely human
Aurora “It Happened Quiet” (Live)
some performances reveal the moment a song was born. this live version does that for me every time
there’s a point where emotion simply breaks through, and overwhelms me, i feel her standing in the exact place she was when this heartbreak shaped itself into music
the delivery is perfection: aurora’s fragile, precise voice, the guitarist, the body language, the engagement, the way they channel the moment
Orpheus by David Sylvian (1987)
one of the songs that has been with me for a large part of my life. the music is brilliant in its simplicity, and the voice lands exactly where words fall away
the lyrics have always felt as if they were written for me, again and again, at every point in my life
they’ve brought me tears, introspection, and a kind of enlightenment; a musical anchor
i hope you enjoy it
starting today, i’ll try to share a song on sunday, not just a song i love, but songs that, in one way or another, have shaped me throughout my life
some are recent, others go back decades, but all of them resonated deeply at the time and still do whenever i return to them
beware: my musical taste is a bit eclectic
Hans van Leeuwen