Week 25 – Think Bensonium

Day 175: New York, New York (Ryan Adams)

Roderick Benson — Fri, 11 Sep 2020 12:59:44 +0000

So I have one of Ryan Adams albums but this song wasn’t on it. The song from the album I was searching for is called “Gimme something good” but while searching for it, this song popped up. The opening credit to this song is quite something as he filmed this on the 7^th of September 2001, a few days before those two gigantic buildings (the world trade center), which feature heavily in his film clip, would come crashing down forever changing airtravel as we know it.

My own personal memories of those amazing buildings date back to 2000 when I was at a scientific conference in New York. One afternoon I went to the observation level of the World Trade Center which was always incredible because unlike the Empire State building, they had designed the roof top so there was no actual safety netting or fencing. Basically, you could walk out to an edge which had a short drop down of about 5 feet into a pit area that was probably about 20 feet wide. If you were to jump into the pit (obviously you couldn’t jump 20 feet to make it to the ultimate edge of the building), you of course you would not hurt yourself but once down in the pit area, you were protected from the ultimate building edge by a perimeter wall which I guess was about 10 feet high.

I arrived at the World Trade Center in the early afternoon and made my way up to the lower observation deck. This floor was inside and in the central part, was packed full of shops and food outlets. I bought myself an early tea (some pizza and coke) and then went up to the roof top where I spent several hours watching the sun set and the city transform itself from a day to a nightscape as literally thousands upon thousands of tiny lights began to illuminate across that incredibly vast city. It was a memory I will never forget and I am so thankful I had the opportunity to do it.

On the day the Trade Centers came down, I felt physically sick and my mind kept wondering if any of the folk who served me tea that afternoon were now lying dead in the ruins of those mighty towers. Of course I will never know but given I was only there the year before, it is sadly possible that some of the people I interacted with that day lost their lives on that cold morning of September 11^th.

Day 174: Ain’t no love, David Gray

Roderick Benson — Fri, 11 Sep 2020 12:58:32 +0000

Staying on a fairly dark theme I am afraid there are times when I can relate to this song. While intellectually I am a Christian and emotionally I shall never surrender my final hope in goodness ultimately triumphing over evil, sometimes the darkness of the world feels quite overpowering as we witnesses the suffering of millions and the constant seeming success of wickedness, in the form of mostly evil men who hold the reigns of power. As the Chinese curse says (and boy does the Chinese church suffer under President Xi) we live in interesting times.

Day 173: The final Cut, Pink Floyd

Roderick Benson — Fri, 11 Sep 2020 12:44:48 +0000

In the 80s Pink Floyd released what was then to be their last album entitled “The Final Cut”. This represent the point where Roger Waters left the band. Some years later the remaining members of Pink Floyd released another album suitably titled “A Momentary lapse of Reason”. However, “the final cut” is more Roger Waters than Pink Floyd per se and the main theme of the album’s songs is based around a strong protest against Thatcher’s Falklands war.

This song however returns to Water’s other major theme captured in their album “The Wall”. The idea of how we all hide our genuine selves from other people. In this context the final cut is full of double meaning from suicide to the cutting away of all external pretence to reveal one’s “dark side”. And yet “if I show you my dark side, will you still hold me tonight?” is the age-old question Waters considers in this heavy but moving song.

Day 172: The Gambler by Kenny Rogers

Roderick Benson — Fri, 11 Sep 2020 12:31:24 +0000

A bit of a change in genre from my last song. I really like this song. Kenny Rogers creates a really strong image in this song of a mysterious old gambler on a train to nowhere giving his advice to a guy who is “down on his aces”. A song related to this is Covid Island Discs day 318: Still The Same by Bob Seger. I sometimes imagine that the gambler of this song who comes across as a hero to others is someone who just can’t change his bad gambling habits.

Another strange but sad coincidence was that Kenny Rogers passed away on Friday the 20^th of March 2020 one day before I began Covid Island Discs. RIP Kenny

Day 171: Pacify her, Melanie Martinez

Roderick Benson — Fri, 11 Sep 2020 11:08:06 +0000

This is someone that my daughter listens to but I do find her voice and style fascinating. Her musical ideas are also interesting. She seems to have a U.S.P. of taking baby and child-like ideas and weaving them into adult themes. This song is a classic demonstration of her technique although you wouldn’t describe the story line of this song as something to emulate. The battle of the baby girls for the blue boy.

Day 170: The Establishment’s blues, Rodriguez

Roderick Benson — Fri, 11 Sep 2020 10:55:46 +0000

Yes we seem to be living in a time when most establishments are having problems. This song kind of captures the feeling of emotional overload one feels when reading a modern newspaper. The temptation is always to take Sixto’s advice in the final line of this song: “frankly I couldn’t care less”.

Day 169: Disco 2000, Pulp

Roderick Benson — Fri, 11 Sep 2020 10:44:08 +0000

“Your name is Deborah, it never suited you.” Another song about unrequited love.