Wednesday 21 January 2009

Killer Opening Songs (Sting - A Thousand Years)


You get home at the end of a hard-working day. You remove your shoes, take your clothes off, put some music on and make a beeline for the bathroom to have a cold/hot shower (depending on which part of the hemisphere you live). As the water runs down your body you find yourself singing at the top of your lungs to the chorus of a Killer Opening Song.

Imagine that you come out of the bathroom, towel wrapped around your midriff or upper body depending on your gender. And you find that Killer Opening Song spreadeagled on your bed. It's bathing you in its sexy stare, its hair remaining still whilst the wind caresses the curtains of your bedroom wildly. You remove the rectangular piece of absorbent cloth from your (insert body part here) and the Killer Opening Song, still in bed, still staring at you, beckons you over.

Have you ever made love to a Killer Opening Song? Have you ever canoodled with an Introductory Album Track?

In case you haven't, let me tell you what it feels like:

Your heart makes a funny sound; a rapid succession of light beats or taps, like rain. You, curiously, feel liberated, strange, though, you never felt imprisoned before. This is music that sneaks into your brain under the door. This is a song that fills you with glee, it makes you jump high in the air and execute a split mid-flight. This is a K.O.S. that casts a spell on you and for days, sometimes weeks, to come you will be in its sole company. Musical promiscuity is a big no-no. This is a tune that causes a mild outburst of OCD (Obssessive Compulsion Disorder) in you. From now on, your regular walk to work, your commute on the train, your meals even, will be dictated by this track's duration. 3:53; 4:02; 3:20. They are numbers to others, they are magical digits to you.

Moreover, this is a song that sends you straight to the album's lyrics section.

A thousand years, a thousand more/A thousand times a million doors to eternity/I may have lived a thousand lives, a thousand times/An endless turning stairway climbs/To a tower of souls/If it takes another thousand years, a thousand wars/The towers rise to numberless floors in space/I could shed another million tears, a million breaths/A million names but only one truth to face/A million roads, a million fears/A million suns, ten million years of uncertainty/I could speak a million lies, a million songs/A million rights, a million wrongs in this balance of time/But if there was a single truth, a single light/A single thought, a singular touch of grace/Then following this single point , this single flame/The single haunted memory of your face/I still love you/I still want you.

Notice the simplicity and yet, oh, the beauty of this Killer Opening Song. Thousands vs single, million vs one. The dichotomy that lies within us, humans. We're a tiny particle, we're that single, minute, Lilliputian particle in the midst of many, thousands, millions, and yet... I still love you, says the singer.

Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner has written many a fine Killer Opening Songs before but with this 1999 outing, Brand New Day, he took pop music to another level. Sting found fame with the British band The Police in the late 70s and early 80s and when he decided to become a solo artist after the trio disbanded, many thought (and hoped) his career would falter. It has luckily turned out to be the opposite and he has confounded his critics time and time again with albums full of cross-cultural forays. Enjoy.

And before I forget, the question again: Have you ever made love to a Killer Opening Song before?



Copyright 2009

27 comments:

  1. oh...killer opening song couldn't have chosen a better song than this Brand New Day !

    ps. i guess Sarkozy exercises every day.Courageux, n'est-ce pas ?

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  2. Oh, my! Your prose is stimulating....

    I have no idea if my obsession is a K.O.S, but it was coincidently sung by Sting (but while with Police):
    "Every Step You Take."

    It came out during a complicated period of my life and it still haunts me.

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  3. Yes! And then it haunts me for the rest of my life. Or at least a thousand years.

    Thanks for the smiles. Excellent post.

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  4. I love your choice my friend!

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  5. Provocative prose!

    I've been a Sting fan for years... (80's music-The Police) Excellent KOS (and post).

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  6. Forgot to mention your new header...I like it!

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  7. yes I am a big fan of Sting as well...my favourite is Englishman in NY..

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  8. Thank you all for your kind comments.

    Greetings from London.

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  9. This is also one of my favorite's of his as well, and I like the album as a whole. Being where you are, you may not know but Sting played for Obama's Neighborhood Ball. He and Stevie Wonder along with several other lesser lights sang Wonder's Signed Sealed Delivered. I did not recognize Sting (until he opened his mouth) as he had a full unkempt beard on.

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  10. Thanks, Les. No, I did not know that he had played at the ball. Will look it up on youtube.

    Greetings from London.

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  11. Great choice... y las coristas, que hermosas, no? Funny, I was thinking about Sting this morning, turn the computer on and... there he is!

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  12. Gracias, Susana, por tu comentario.

    Saludos desde Londres.

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  13. London, estas apretando. Que bien esribes!

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  14. Now, there is food for thought. Great post, your word imagery is magical. Fields of Gold is my KOS...

    You'll remember me when the west wind moves
    Upon the fields of barley
    Youll forget the sun in his jealous sky
    As we walk in the fields of gold

    So she took her love
    For to gaze awhile
    Upon the fields of barley
    In his arms she fell as her hair came down
    Among the fields of gold

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  15. Gracias, liset.

    Tessa, you're so right. I love 'Fields of Gold'. As I mentioned in the post, this guy has come up with some pretty impressive K.O.S.

    Greetings from London.

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  16. I'm blushing, Cuban!

    I'm with Tess; Fields of Gold is my favorite.

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  17. No, I haven't but I'll do anything once. Well, not anything.

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  18. Sting logra muchas veces, darnos ese empujocito hacia lo atemporal.
    En todo caso la música cuando es buena, tiene el poder de desafiar las leyes del espacio y del tiempo.

    saludos mi herma, tony .

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  19. Love Sting. I haven't heard him in a long time. Wonderful!

    I really love your header. Yes. A smile can be another language.

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  20. Thank you all for you kind comments.

    Greetings from London.

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  21. Beautifully written man...I donno about opening songs but yaeah I've fallen in love with many songs at various times and listened to 'em over and over...nd yeah as soon as I get back...that's the 1st thing I do!

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  22. Thanks, Akshaya, for your kind comment.

    Greetings from London.

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  23. ooolala- quite the killer opening song and so well accompanied by your descriptive scenario- and as Les mentioned below,Sting was there at the ball in full beard and dark hair, though I did not see him sing. One of my favorite Sting songs is Lithium Highway bec/ it evokes his efforts to make peace with his own psychic challenges, and ok, perhaps is my medical bent which intrigues me--this song is not well known.
    ps Where did you find that gorgeous new header???love it! and the sentiment too. salut !

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  24. I adore this album, especially "Desert Rose". This is another wonderful post!

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  25. Thanks, dancing doc. I have close to 1,000 dance photos in my screen saver so I will be changing my blog decor every now and then ;-)!

    Plane, 'Desert Rose IS my favourite track from that album, too.

    Greetings from London.

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  26. niiiiice....

    as to that question, hmmmm....

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  27. Thanks, fly, as to that question, I look forward to your answer ;-)!

    Greetings from London.

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