LANA DEL REY, BILLIE EILISH SINGING "VIDEO GAMES" & "OCEAN EYES" at COACHELLA, 2024.
Music lovers always have to anticipate and manifest a moment like this one. So that when it actually transpires, the results are monumental.
At Coachella 2024, two singing pioneers joined their collective talents on stage to honour their breakout cultural moments in the post 2010s era, cementing the power of musical legacies that stemmed from youth and authentic artistic standards.
It was also not lost on us how Lana's individual benchmark eventually paved the way for Billie to run towards greater success with her sedate, patient body of work. That moment where the latter sang the second verse to "Video Games" with grace and restraint here gave us cultural iconography to remember.
GOING HOME(LIVE AT WEMBLEY, 1985) by DIRE STRAITS & HANK MARVIN
The "Theme from Local Hero" is a cultural benchmark for guitarists and connoisseurs of the classic rock pantheon. Just recently, Mark Knopfler resurrected its eternal musical imprint with a celebrated roster of "guitar heroes" like Buddy Guy, Joan Jett, Slash, Eric Clapton, Joan Armatrading etc.
So this live arc from Wembley in the mid-'80s with Hank Marvin and an ensemble of gifted musicians is further proof of its omnipotence in the canon. There's obviously a valid sense of joy when the theme hits its stride and becomes infectious.
All those qualities are here, with the gradual build-up leading to euphoric moments.
LEANN RIMES COVERING MARTY ROBBINS' "DON'T WORRY" AT JUST EIGHT YEARS OF AGE, 1991
Handling a country standard such as Marty Robbins' "Don't Worry" with utter confidence and vocal expertise at just eight years of age, LeAnn Rimes has done us a great service by sharing this clip in its original form from way back in 1991.
If there was further evidence of her status as a prodigy who created Grammys history at just twelve and a half and is still in a league of her own with that golden voice, this is as sweet as it gets.
ALAN JACKSON SINGING "HE STOPPED LOVING HER TODAY" AT GEORGE JONES' FUNERAL, 2022.
A country legend honours not just the memory of one of its many torchbearers' signatures of singing and songwriting but also a life's story tinged with wistful hope, melancholy and a profuse sense of love.
Hence, this classic tune is given all the existential and narrative meaning the original made us privy to with poignancy.
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QUAKER OATS "YOU'VE GOT THIS" ADVERTISEMENT, 2024.
Directed by Charlotte Wells, the acclaimed director of the short TUESDAY (2015) and modern classic AFTERSUN(2022), this commercial for iconic brand Quaker Oats plays to her strengths of basing the content around fathers and children in one pithy capsule.
Full of empathy, the cycle of familial bonds affixed with the ritual of eating oats for breakfast covers lifetimes and generations, set to a rhythmic soundtrack.
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YOU ARE READING
A LETTERED SOUL, BOOK 2- MUSINGS ON ART AND CULTURE
Non-FictionI continue this journey of bringing the best from the realms of music, cinema, encapsulating a world of culture, with this reprise of A LETTERED SOUL. Let this journey begin with a melody of words and the constancy of thoughts.
