bonnie “prince” billy, aka will oldham, has recorded under about a zillion different names. but, his explanation for doing so is extremely logical if you think about it. how many times has an artist released a great record, only to release a follow up record to which everyone critiques by saying, “this sounds NOTHING like their last album. i hate this. they are stupid and i dont even like their first record anymore. how could they do this to me? dont they care about what i want? how dare they release the music that they were inspired to write at this time.” in order to avoid all of that nonsense, and because he was always recording with different people, he would just record under a different name each time so that there were no expectations. makes perfect sense, doesnt it?
todays song, “cursed sleep” from the 2006 album “the letting go” is perfect for anyone who loves great melodies, strings, harmonies and lush chords. my (probably grossly inaccurate) interpretation of the lyrics are of a man who dreams of being held by the perfect woman singing perfect songs. but when he awakes, he sees himself next to the same woman years later trapped in a bad relationship that pales in comparison to his dreams (which are likely the good times they used to have). so thats why his sleep is cursed. get it? im so good (bad) at interpreting songs. besides the story it tells, this song is just so easy on the ears that its hard not to love. the little ascending then descending chords at the beginning and throughout, sometimes ending in a major chord and sometimes ending in a minor chord, are my favorite.
bonnie “prince” billy – cursed sleep
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