My music world

Anouk - Lost

Anouk est une jeune artiste qu'on m'a fait découvrir cet été, et je crois qu'elle mérite sa place dans ce blog. Après avoir travaillé avec la Mano Negra, elle prend ses envols seule, avec Nobody's Wife, qui réveillera je pense quelques souvenirs. Sa voix rauque convient au blues, au rock, à la pop. Je n'ai pas choisi la chanson la plus joyeuse, mais Lost est ma préférée. L'arrangement est parfait, tout est bien bien dosé. La sensibilité, les émotions sont partagées. Le final est grandissime. C'est une chanson à écouter de toute urgence, mais attention à la tristesse qu'elle provoque.

If roses are meant to be red
And violets to be blue
Why isn't my heart meant for you

My hands longing to touch you
But I can barely breathe
Starry eyes that make me melt
Right in front of me

Lost in this world
I even get lost in this song
And when the lights go down

This music's irresistible
Your voice makes my skin crawl
Innocent and pure
I guess you heard it all before

Mister Inaccessible
Will this ever change
One thing that remains the same
You're still a picture in a frame

Lost in this world
I even get lost in this song
And when the lights go down
That is where I'll be found

I get lost in this world
I get lost in your eyes
And when the lights go down
That's where I'll be found
Yeah yeah

I get lost in this world
I get lost in your eyes
And when the lights go down
Am I the only one

Brad Paisley & Alison Krauss - Whiskey Lullaby

Brad Paisley est le genre de type qu'on aime bien : souriant, humble, un peu nounours. Il fait des chansons qui touchent un public large (pour ceux qui aiment la country). Bref, il marche... Pour la voix, elle est grave avec un bon accent américain. Typique pour un chanteur country. Alison Krauss elle est plus "bluegrass". Elle n'a jamais vraiment marqué le billboard, mais elle a décroché un grammy awards (bluegrass). Bon, elle a une jolie voix claire... Mais c'est la chanson qui m'a emballée, plus que les artistes. C'est la "berceuse du whisky", ou comment trouver du réconfort dans l'alcool pour au final, en mourir.

She put him out like the burnin' end of a midnight cigarette
She broke his heart he spent his whole life tryin' to forget
We watched him drink his pain away a little at a time
But he never could get drunk enough to get her off his mind
Until the night

He put that bottle to his head and pulled the trigger
And finally drank away her memory
Life is short but this time it was bigger
Than the strength he had to get up off his knees
We found him with his face down in the pillow
With a note that said I'll love her till I die
And when we buried him beneath the willow
The angels sang a whiskey lullaby

(Lullaby)

The rumors flew but nobody knew how much she blamed herself
For years and years she tried to hide the whiskey on her breath
She finally drank her pain away a little at a time
But she never could get drunk enough to get him off her mind
Until the night

She put that bottle to her head and pulled the trigger
And finally drank away his memory
Life is short but this time it was bigger
Than the strength she had to get up off her knees
We found her with her face down in the pillow
Clinging to his picture for dear life
We laid her next to him beneath the willow
While the angels sang a whiskey lullaby

(Lullaby)

Dierks Bentley - Come A Little Closer

Il s'agit là de country. Normal peut-être pour un cowboy issu tout droit de l'Arizona. Normal peut-être pour le timbre gravement velours qu'ont souvent  les chanteurs de ce style de musique (et je ne parle pas de l'accent). Je ne suis pas particulièrement fan de ses productions, mais Come A Little Closer est une savoureuse lovesong épicée country. Une guitare répétant le même rythme qui reste dans la tête, une autre hawaïenne cette fois rajoutant une note sensuelle accentuée par la bass, un banjo en fond apportant une profondeur, et une voix chaude, qui ne force pas qui contribue à cette saveur aphrodisiaque, et surtout une progression musicale qui fait qu'on ne s'ennuie pas. Telle est la recette d'une chanson réussie à goût unique qui fait qu'on en redemande.

Come a little closer, baby
I feel like layin' you down
On a bed of sweet surrender
Where we can work it all out
There ain't nothin' that love can't fix
Girl, it's right here at our fingertips
So come a little closer baby,
I feel like layin' you down

Come a little closer, baby
I feel like lettin' go
Of everything that stands between us
And the love we used to know

I wanna touch you like a cleansing rain
Let it wash all the hurt away
So come a little closer baby
I feel like lettin' go

If there's still a chance
Then take my hand
And we'll steal away
Off into the night
'till we make things right
The suns gonna rise on a better day

Come a little closer baby
I feel like strippin' you down
Back to the basics of you and me
What makes the world go round
Every inch of you hits my skin
I wanna be stronger than we've ever been
So come a little closer baby
I feel like strippin' you down

Come a little closer baby
Just a little bit closer baby
Come a little closer baby
I feel like layin' you down

The Fray - Over My Head (Cable Car)

The Fray est un groupe de pop-rock tout frais. Toujours un piano derrière, une batterie bien dosée, une voix pouvant être appuyée comme angélique. The Fray est un mélange de Coldplay et de Maroon5. Bref, j'aime bien, et c'est le genre de musique dont le CD peut être écouté sans en avoir marre. Longue vie à The Fray ! J'ai choisi Over My Head (Cable Car), car c'est elle que je préfère. Ce qui est sûr, c'est qu'il met les points sur les i, mais je trouve sa manière de penser trop passive, comme s'il n'avait pas agi. Est-ce normal ?

I never knew
I never knew that everything was falling through
That everyone I knew was waiting on a queue
To turn and run when all I needed was the truth
But that's how it's got to be
It's coming down to nothing more than apathy
I'd rather run the other way than stay and see
The smoke and who's still standing when it clears

Everyone knows I'm in
Over my head
Over my head
With eight seconds left in overtime
She's on your mind
She's on your mind

Let's rearrange
I wish you were a stranger I could disengage
Just say that we agree and then never change
Soften a bit until we all just get along
But that's disregard
Find another friend and you discard
As you lose the argument in a cable car
Hanging above as the canyon comes between

Everyone knows I'm in
Over my head
Over my head
With eight seconds left in overtime
She's on your mind
She's on your mind

Everyone knows I'm in
Over my head
Over my head
With eight seconds left in overtime
She's on your mind
She's on your mind

And suddenly I become a part of your past
I'm becoming the part that don't last
I'm losing you and its effortless
Without a sound we lose sight of the ground
In the throw around
Never thought that you wanted to bring it down
I won't let it go down till we torch it ourselves

And everyone knows I'm in
Over my head
Over my head
With eight seconds left in overtime
She's on your mind
She's on your mind

Everyone knows
She's on your mind
Everyone knows I'm in over my head
I'm in over my head
I'm in over...

Everyone knows I'm in
Over my head
Over my head
With eight seconds left in overtime
She's on your mind
She's on your mind

Keith Urban - Tonight I Wanna Cry

Keith Urban est un chanteur country (encore). Originaire de Nouvelle-Zélande, il s'est mis à la country en... Australie. Puis il est parti vers Nashville pour étendre son marché. Guitariste reconnu, il a multiplié les sorties d'albums, de singles, les awards, les performances avec d'autres artistes. Et pour couronner le tout, il s'est récemment marrié avec Nicole Kidman. J'ai hésité entre deux chansons que j'aime bien : Better Life dont l'instrumental (très country, très joyeux) épouse la chanson, et Tonight I Wanna Cry. Cette chanson a l'air très appréciée lorsque je la partage, donc autant la faire connaître. Les paroles ne sont pas de haute volée, mais là encore l'instrumental (très soft, très clair) renforce l'interprétation où l'on a rien à redire. On croirait presque que Keith est à côté, qu'il pleure sa perte devant nous. La simplicité est de mise et ça fait du "bien", mais on partage sa douleur.

Alone in this house again tonight
I got the TV on, the sound turned down and a bottle of wine
There's pictures of you and I on the walls around me
The way that it was and could have been surrounds me
I'll never get over you walkin' away

I've never been the kind to ever let my feelings show
And I thought that bein' strong meant never losin' your self-control
But I'm just drunk enough to let go of my pain
To hell with my pride, let it fall like rain
From my eyes
Tonight I wanna cry

Would it help if I turned a sad song on
"All By Myself" would sure hit me hard now that you're gone
Or maybe unfold some old yellow lost love letters
It's gonna hurt bad before it gets better
But I'll never get over you by hidin' this way

I've never been the kind to ever let my feelings show
And I thought that bein' strong meant never losin' your self-control
But I'm just drunk enough to let go of my pain
To hell with my pride, let it fall like rain
From my eyes
Tonight I wanna cry

I've never been the kind to ever let my feelings show
And I thought that bein' strong meant never losin' your self-control
But I'm just drunk enough to let go of my pain
To hell with this pride, let it fall like rain
From my eyes
Tonight I wanna cry

Dixie Chicks - Not Ready To Make Nice

Les chicks sont de retour avec un nouvel album, Taking The Long Way. C'est un album plus profond que les autres, plus personnel.. Les thèmes sont diversifiés et changent des "je t'aime", "tu m'as menti" ou autres : la petitesse d'esprit des gens qui habitent des petites villes, campagnardes, la psychologie des Célèbres, Alzeihmer, l'infertilité. Aujourd'hui, il n'est possible d'écouter Not Ready To Make Nice. Ca reste de la country (donc évidemment ne sera pas diffusé en Europe), mais une country beaucoup plus "passe-partout". Et je suis tombé littéralement tombé amoureux de cette chanson, que j'écoute en boucle d'ailleurs. Les Dixie Chicks ont attiré les foudres lorsqu'elles ont critiqué Bush "Just so you know, we're ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas.". Dans cette chanson, ce ne sont pas des excuses qu'elles font, mais elles nous font part de leur "déchéance" et souffrance suite à leur accusation. Elles continuent de revendiquer et d'assumer ce qu'elles pensent. Et le clip vidéo est tout bonnement génial, top, super, avec une phrase qui reste : "to speak without thinking is to shoot without aiming". C'est un vrai bonheur de retrouver les Dixie Chicks

Forgive, sounds good
Forget, I’m not sure I could
They say time heals everything
But I’m still waiting

I’m through with doubt
There’s nothing left for me to figure out
I’ve paid a price
And I’ll keep paying

I’m not ready to make nice
I’m not ready to back down
I’m still mad as hell and
I don’t have time to go round and round and round
It’s too late to make it right
I probably wouldn’t if I could
‘Cause I’m mad as hell
Can’t bring myself to do what it is you think I should

I know you said
Can’t you just get over it
It turned my whole world around
And I kind of like it

I made my bed and I sleep like a baby
With no regrets and I don’t mind sayin’
It’s a sad sad story when a mother will teach her
Daughter that she ought to hate a perfect stranger
And how in the world can the words that I said
Send somebody so over the edge
That they’d write me a letter
Sayin’ that I better shut up and sing
Or my life will be over

I’m not ready to make nice
I’m not ready to back down
I’m still mad as hell and
I don’t have time to go round and round and round
It’s too late to make it right
I probably wouldn’t if I could
‘Cause I’m mad as hell
Can’t bring myself to do what it is you think I should

I’m not ready to make nice
I’m not ready to back down
I’m still mad as hell and
I don’t have time to go round and round and round
It’s too late to make it right
I probably wouldn’t if I could
‘Cause I’m mad as hell
Can’t bring myself to do what it is you think I should

Forgive, sounds good
Forget, I’m not sure I could
They say time heals everything
But I’m still waiting

Shannon Noll - Shine

Franchement, je me demande pourquoi la musique a des frontières. Je ne comprends vraiment pas pourquoi Shannon Noll n'est pas diffusé en France. Je ne le fais pas exprès, mais lui aussi vient d'Australian Idol. Il est difficile de se prononcer sur un nouvel artiste, mais ses débuts semblent prometteurs. Il est orienté plus vers le rock que vers la pop, il sait très bien chanteret il le montre, il donne la pêche, il a une voix sympa qui correspond à son créneau, ses chansons sont cools... Bref, ça fait du bien. J'ai alors choisi Shine. C'est une chanson d'optimiste ou d'ambition. Il est arrivé le temps de briller, de tenir le monde qui s'arrête pour te voir.

Get up, get up, get up, get up
And lift your head
C'mon, c'mon
Get up out of bed.
Today's the day you hold the world
With your song

Go now, go now, go now
Help ascalate
Angels come down
Help with this parade
To hear the voice ring out
C'mon lets shout
And let your song be heard

This is the time
This is the day
That we've been waiting for
All the world will stop
To watch you shine

Hey now, hey now, hey now, hey now
Sing your hymn
This is the new national anthem
We will all stand on guard
To let you be heard

Let go, let go, let go
All the cannons
How beautiful this world has become
Now everyone will see
What i believe
That these words should be sung

This is the time
This is the day
That we've been waiting for
All the world will stop
To watch you shine
This is the time
This is the day
That we've been waiting
All the world believes
That you will shine

And if you fall
And if you fall
And if you trust and
Yes it will come true

Hey, hey, yeah

This is the time
This is the day
That we've been waiting for
All the world will stop
To watch you shine
This is the time
This is the day
That we've been waiting for
When all the world will stop
To watch you shine

Kelly Clarkson - Because Of You

Au début, je n'aurais pas pensé que je la mettrais ici. Mais c'est en voyant les extraits d'American Idol que je me suis dit qu'elle aurait sa place. Kelly Clarkson vient donc de la télé réalité. Elle a tout de suite été remarquée, et je trouve que malgré son manque d'expérience sur scène, elle savait manier jouer avec son publique. Et ne jouant pas que sur une seule gamme. Je l'ai connue par The Trouble With Love Is, qui faisait partie de la bande musicale de Love Actually. J'ai apprécié son premier album, mais sans plus. Et le second est plus rock, et contient Because Of You. J'ai hésité entre cette chanson et Breakaway, mais je pense qu'il y aura pour un peu plus tard une rubrique pour cette-là. Je n'ai pas tout de suite accroché tout de suite pour Because Of You, mais après avoir pris connaissance des paroles, je me suis complètement retrouvé. Cette chanson, je l'aurais chanté à ma mère, tout est vrai, sauf deux phrases.

I will not make the same mistakes that you did
I will not let myself cause my heart so much misery
I will not break the way you did
You fell so hard
I learned the hard way, to never let it get that far

Because of you
I never stray too far from the sidewalk
Because of you
I learned to play on the safe side
So I don't get hurt
Because of you
I find it hard to trust
Not only me, but everyone around me
Because of you
I am afraid

I lose my way
And it's not too long before you point it out
I cannot cry
Because I know that's weakness in your eyes
I'm forced to fake a smile, a laugh
Every day of my life
My heart can't possibly break
When it wasn't even whole to start with

Because of you
I never stray too far from the sidewalk
Because of you
I learned to play on the safe side
So I don't get hurt
Because of you
I find it hard to trust
Not only me, but everyone around me
Because of you
I am afraid

I watched you die
I heard you cry
Every night in your sleep
I was so young
You should have known better than to lean on me
You never thought of anyone else
You just saw your pain
And now I cry
In the middle of the night
Over the same damn thing

Because of you
I never stray too far from the sidewalk
Because of you
I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt
Because of you
I tried my hardest just to forget everything
Because of you
I don't know how to let anyone else in
Because of you
I'm ashamed of my life because it's empty
Because of you
I am afraid

Because of you

Missy Higgins - Nightminds

Vu que ça fait plusieurs fois qu'on veut me poser une colle en me parlant de cette Australienne, alors je vais anticiper : Là-bas, elle est très connue (vu le nombre de questions...) Missy Higgins a son style bien à elle : elle ne fait pas de chansons rythmées et ne pousse pas sur sa voix. Comme quoi on peut faire passer des émotions sans ! Nightminds est ma préférée. L'interprétation est mélancolique, mais la chanson est pleine d'espoir à mon goût. Affronter la vie à 2 permet d'être plus fort. C'est ce qu'elle nous transmet ici.

Just lay it all down. Put your face into my neck and let it fall out.
I know
I know
I know.
I knew before you got home.
This world you're in now,
It doesn't have to be alone,
I'll get there somehow, 'cos
I know I know I know
When, even springtime feels cold.

But I will learn to breathe this ugliness you see,
So we can both be there and we can both share the dark.
And in our honesty, together we will rise,
Out of our nightminds, and into the light
At the end of the fight...

You were blessed by a different kind of inner view: it's all magnified.
The highs would make you fly, and the lows make you want to die.
And I was once there, hanging from that very ledge where you are standing.
So I know
I know
I know,
It's easier to let go.

But I will learn to breathe this ugliness you see,
So we can both be there and we can both share the dark.
And in our honesty, together we will rise out of our nightminds
And into the light at the end of the fight.

...and in our honesty, together we will rise out of our nightminds
And into the light... at the end of the fight...

Anthony Callea - Bridge Over Troubled Water

Comme quoi la télé réalité peut sortir des prodiges. Anthony Callea vient d'Australie, et a enchaîné les tubes (là-bas) depuis qu'il a perdu la finale. (La gagnante n'a pas eu beaucoup de succès.) Pour un mec (et jeune en plus), il a une très bonne qualité vocale (Je lui reprocherais d'en faire un peu trop). Je lui souhaite de continuer sa carrière avec brio. Il a d'ailleurs le physique pour (même s'il est tout petit). C'est un des seuls qui a réussi à me faire sentir des "choses". Il a repris Bridge Over Troubled Water, mais d'un point de vue plus "classique" par rapport à Aretha Franklin. L'instrumental et son interprétation font que la chanson évolue, et c'est pour notre plus grand bonheur. C'est une chanson d'amitié : si ça ne va pas ("troubled water"), il y a quelqu'un à nos côtés qui nous fera passer le cap difficile ("bridge")

When you're weary, feeling small
When tears are in your eyes, I will dry them all
I'm on your side when times get rough
And friends just can't be found

Like a bride over toubled water
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down

When you're down and out
When you're on the street
When evening falls so hard
I will comfort you
I will take your part when darkness comes
And pain is all around

Like a bride over toubled water
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down

Sail on silver girl
Sail on by
Your time has come to shine
All your dreams are on their way
See how they shine
If you need a friend
I'm sailing right behind

Like a bride over toubled water
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down