Saturday, 20 May 2017

One song – The Chain [Fleetwood Mac]

Track 7 ‘The Rumours’ By The Chain
Released 1977

Songs have a way of bringing back memories or feelings. Parts of games I’ve played are tied to the songs that I were listing to at the time. I still can't listen to some Iron Maiden without being brought back to the back off the school bus. 30 song MP3 player in my ears then sharing a bud with my mate when he got on.

The chain is a song where this happens to me, but not just one memory. It hits upon three distinct parts of my life. Story time...





F1
The solo at the end was for a very long time the F1 theme for me. I remember first watching F1 on Sunday afternoons in the 90s with my Granddad and loved it. The cars, the commentary and the drivers all bookended by this great piece of music.

I got older and the F1 rights changes hands a bunch but I kept an interest and when it came back to the BBC I was excited to watch a whole season. I got up at about half 4 in the morning to watch the race. The TV was on low and I was excited for the show to start. The heavy base guitar track came in cars raced across the screen and the theme played out. I got goose bumps.

Waves of nostalgia and excitement came at me and I was in my element. I watched all the races that year glued to the news and reports from the paddock and enjoying every moment of it. I was back 5 again learning from my Granddad about how the rules went and how the cars worked. Sometimes the things you love are complex and here is no exception. My Granddad, the sport, my excitement all packaged up into a great slice of music.


Listen to the wind blow
Watch the sun rise
Run in the shadows
Damn your love
Damn your lies

Halcyon
I listen to radio 2 at home and I enjoy the oldies section in the afternoons. The was this time I was on a trip for the weekend it was Friday afternoon and the weather was nice. I was in the passenger seat of a mini bus some people in the back doing their own thing but the driver was a nice guy and we relaxed and enjoyed the drive. Then the oldies came on and they were all perfect. A few in we were in full voice singing along and probably annoying the youngsters in the back.

One of the tracks was the Chain. Something hit me at the time that I can’t put into words. It was one of the best times. This song brings that feeling back.

While not many people would call it a feel good song it is for me. The feeling I get from hearing parts are nice and soften any feelings. But to sit down and listen to the song brings it all back. And I will sit and listen it is not a background song fore me, it grabs my attention and I am glad it dose.


And if you don't love me now
You will never love me again
I can still hear you saying
You would never break the chain.

GotG
Mixing two great things can more often than not make a mess. Vibrant blue, red and green can make a dull brown. Having the artistic skill to use two mediums and work them together can make a masterpiece. Guardians of the Galaxy by this metric is a masterpiece.

To me the shining example of pop music from the films is its use of the Chain. It gets two plays and though in very different parts they both fit the mood (or even set the mood). The first time it is played is impactful but compared to the next it is more of an overture. To go into the ins and out is to mess in the domain of spoilers but I will say them themes come through.

Working with nostalgia has become a thing over the last few years and it can impact greatly how something is perceived. The main issues are that it can be seen a cheep way to control emotion and inject something not present into the scene. The other and greater one is that a song can mean different thing to other people.


Break the silence
Damn the dark
Damn the light


I was going to go on and on about the lyrics and song composition, but no. I Think I have said all that I need to. Good songs effect people, great songs effects lives over and over again.


Chain, keep us together
Running in the shadows

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