it’s hard to hold a candle in the cold November rain

Alright, today it’s a song once again, I hope you don’t mind. But somehow it has been stuck in my mind the entire day and its sad melancholical feeling has stalked me somehow. Well, it’s November and even though it is not raining the world here is grey and preparing for winter to arrive, a season I don’t really enjoy.

November Rain is one of my ‘favourite’ sad songs – if sad songs can be anything close to a favourite. Whenever I hear it, I somehow feel my heart tense up and I have to think of all the moments of love lost and long gone. Moments when I was truly happy and my little world seemed just perfect. But we all know how long those moments last, don’t we? Not even glass is as fragile as those precious little moments of love and happiness. It’s a song that makes your feeling pour out of your heart like the November Rain pours down on the earth. It’s something everyone of us has experienced or will experience at some point in their life.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not trying to sound all depressed now, certainly not. Love, and that is what this song is about, is the one feeling that makes us truly alive. I would not want to miss it, even if it hurts and gnaws on my heart. It’s my greatest weakness and my greatest strength. So how about you sit with my for a while and listen to that beautiful rock ballad by guns ‘n’ roses. We’ll pick up a book after that again – I already know which one. (Expect the review soon!)

…inside your mind

Last night I was able to witness something unique – the 25th anniversary of the Phantom of the Opera, the longest running musical by A. L. Webber live from the Royal Albert Hall in London. My my, what a show! It was spectacular and I loved seeing it once more and I am truly grateful that modern technology enables us to watch it on a big cinema screen in a small town, as not all of the Phantom fans could fit inside the Hall.
This musical always gives me goosebumps – its visualisation, its songs, they are totally in unison.

Of course, I also love the story, which, however, always makes me sad.
Each time I see it I wish so very much that for once Christine says “I don’t mind your ugly face.”, each time I wish she’d walk with the Phantom as it is breaking my heart to see him left behind in all his misery. He does what he does not because he was born evil, but because the cruelty of humans made him so.
They banned him, shunned him simply because he was born not the same as others even though his heart wanted to feel, wanted to love, as a human heart does.

But I guess that is one of the things we can learn from ficitonal stories…while drowing in the beauty of this music.

Maybe you’re wondering why I am reviewing a musical? Well, there’s a book to it,too, even if it is not quite the same as the musical itself. “Phantom of the Opera” by Gaston Leroux.
(…also, music is somehow a part of a library for me.)

I’ve seen many musicals but the Phantom will always be a special one for me. I don’t think I can see it too often, because I am enchanted every time again. I still remember seeing a Phantom-movie when I was really little, visiting my grandma – it was an adaption filmed in black and white, so you can guess just how old it was and I still love the CD I have from the original London cast with Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford ( see video at the end of the post). I think these early impressions next to my love for sad romantic stories have put a spell on me that can never be broken – the Phantom of the Opera is there… inside my mind.

If you have not seen it yet I highly recommend you do. It should be part of everyone’s cultural repertoire and it simply is an experience that you will never forget.
It’s a point of no return, a place where you are allowed to laugh, to love, to suffer, to cry, to enjoy, it’s a place beyond your fantasy.

Baby Let’s Rock!

Hey there,
to all my readers: As often mentioned, my library contains more than just books and today we’re back to the music topic! Have you ever dreamed of hugging your fave singer? Ever wondered how they are in real life?
How about you start living that dream and support a wonderful friend of mine but giving his songs a listen and downloading his new single?

I can promise you this man is not only very talented and can make you shiver with his voice only but that he is a down-to earth guy with a big teddy – heart. – AND HE CAN ROCK!
So, please support HOMER BROADNAX!

Just copy and paste the following URL: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/homerbroadnax

(as sadly the wordpress linking is f***ed up….)

But your tears are not mine…

Here’s another music related post and one of the more personal ones to be honest. This song,
“Stolen Season”, by The69Eyes, has been my very favourite song for years now even though I admit I am still not quite sure if I understand the full extend of it.
Finally, after years, I think I can finally grasp the biggest part of it though and even though the song will most likely only make you smile while tears are running down your face and the rain is pouring outside, it still tells you something else. You are not alone.
There’s a famous English saying. “I’ve been there.” Meaning as much as “I know what you are going through because I experienced something similar.” That is one of the things this wonderful song in minor expresses for me. The lyrics and the actual song are structured in a quite simple way but sometimes it’s exactly that what makes a song beautiful and worth listening.

In this song, Jyrki’s velvety, dark voice reaches the abyss of your heart, grasps your sorrow and opens your eyes. It’s a song full of despair and hope at the very same time. Yes, love brings tears, pain and sometimes we wish we could simply lock it out of our life…but nevertheless we never stop seeking for it, even if we don’t do it consciously. In a way the lyrics have always been contradicting themself for me.
“But your tears are not mine.” “As long as I can have you by my side.” Mh.
Well..that is life. We hurt each other, we laugh together, we love – we walk the wild garden side by side, experiencing its seasons together.

Love’s a stolen season – in any way. If you run away from it you’re stealing happy moments from yourself.
If you dare you might risk having your heart stolen.
And more practically compared to actual seasons: There are hot ones, blossoming ones, rainy ones, cold ones – the circle of the year is just like love.
Mh. In the end it’s on you to decide what you want I suppose.

So I’ve quite spoiled the song for you from its content – but that’s only my view on it. Listen to it and you might understand it completely different.

One of my biggest wishes is to hear this song performed live for once when I am at a The69Eyes concert.

Next chance: April 11th, Backstage, Munich.
(and for all of you who are not living in Bavaria, keep an eye open for the guys – they are still on their “DarkDecadence” tour and I am quite sure they will entertain us at some festivals this summer!)

The song reviewed above is one of their ballads but usually you get to hear goth rock songs by them that will get your ass moving. So give them a try. It’s like Elvis, just with a vampiric touch.

Happiness – Hurts

Don’t be scared by the title of this post – “Happiness” is the album title, Hurts is the artist. (Yes, I think this irony was quite intended.)
And I am somehow in love with their music. It reminds me a lot of the 80ties electro and at the same time it offers very sensitive lyrics about the most tender subject in all of our lives: Love.
Not the kitschy, groovy and truly romantic kind of love, but the love we find in reality.
Not always happy, sad, destructive and yet with a fragile hope.
Like Depeche Mode’s “Enjoy the Silence” these songs tell you about the bliss of a moment, the small blink when you allow yourself to ignore the problems and the thought that feelings and hearts can break so very easily and just feel. It’s not a rose-coloured look onto the world but in the end I think it’s in a way better than the usual love song. This music stays with you in your happy times and in the moments that you break down crying because there’s another scar on your heart. You’re not alone.

Also, I am impressed by the vocal strength of the singer. At first I thought it was fragile and could not offer that much but listening to the songs I actually noticed that his voice holds many surprises, is stronger than I expected and that -even if it is not my beloved baritone-it goes under your skin.

Additionally I like the clear look of the guys. Structured, cold, unexpected.

Well yes, this is not a book review, but as said before, my library contains all kind of media.

So if you like electro and strong lyrics, I highly recommend giving Hurts a chance to gain a place in your life.