Killing Me Softly...

I have always been a fan of good songwriting.

I remember being a big fan of Ebiet G Ade during my primary school years, singing to the words from the Camellia trilogy many years before I understood the depth of Ebiet's heartbreak.

I also remember sitting in front of the tape player in my room, replaying M Nasir's groundbreaking "Solo" album over and over again, the hit "Mustika" and the underrated "Yang Bertakhta Akhirnya" being my personal favourites.

I was (and to a large extent, still am) also a big fan of George Michael, in the days before he went totally bonkers. I thought "Careless Whispers" was a work of genius, and I felt he was singing my life with his words in "Listen Without Prejudice"'s "Mother's Pride". And when Older came out during my A-Level days, I came to savour "Older" and "You Have Been Loved" as instant classics.

Of course, the blog title is also a giveaway of my ensuring fascination with Don McLean. Everyone knows "American Pie" and "Vincent", but I still believe that "Empty Chairs" and "And I Love You So" are his greatest classics.

One artist that continues to surprise me with his great songwriting craft and deeply-felt lyrics is John Mayer. I put him down as just another young pop star when he burst onto the scene with "Your Body is a Wonderland", but when I heard "St Patrick's Day" for the first time, I knew that I has found another songwriter worth watching out for.

And to my surprise, he kept getting better. "Heavier Things" blew me away with "Come Back to Bed", and of course, "Daughters". Along the way, I discovered a number of other Mayer gems, especially "Comfortable". And when "Continuum" came out, I fell in love instantly with "Gravity", while "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room", "I'm Gonna Find Another You" and "Dreaming with a Broken Heart" also made great impressions.

I felt compelled to write tonight, because I just heard "In Your Atmosphere" from his new live album, "Where the Light Is". To say it is a song about heartbreak, is being grossly simplistic. At its core, "In Your Atmosphere" is a song about the deepest loss: when we love someone deeply and truly, and yet know in our heart of hearts that that love could never be. And so the heart yearns to be near, and yet knowing that proximity would only make the heart "burn in her atmosphere".

I suppose Ramadhan puts souls in a melancholic and reflective mood... so here are the words to "In Your Atmosphere" for me to share with anyone out there that is reading this:


In Your Atmosphere
by John Mayer

I don't think I'm gonna go to LA anymore
I don't think I'm gonna go to LA anymore
I don't know what it's like to land
and not race to your door
I don't think I'm gonna go to LA anymore

I don't think I'm gonna go to LA anymore
I'm not sure that I really ever could
Hold on to your hotel key in your
Bedroom neighborhood
I'd be sleep-walking in Hollywood

I'm gonna steer clear
I'd burn up in your atmosphere
I'm gonna steer clear
Cause I'd die if I saw you
I'd die if I didn't see you there
So I don't think I'm gonna go to LA anymore

I don't think I'm gonna go to LA anymore
I'd get lost on the boulevard at night
Without your voice to tell me
"I love you, take a right"
the ten and the two is the loneliest sight

I'm gonna steer clear
I'd burn up in your atmosphere
I'm gonna steer clear
Cause I'd die if I saw you
I'd die if I didn't see you

I'm gonna steer clear, oh yeah
I'd burn up in your atmosphere here
I'm gonna steer clear
Cause I'd die if I saw you
I'd die if I didn't see you there
see you there

I think I'm gonna stay gonna stay in the gray
I think I'm gonna stay
And all the street lights say nevermind nevermind
All the canyon lines say nevermind
Sunset says we see this all the time
Nevermind, never you mind

Wherever I go
Whatever I do
I wonder where I am
In my relationship to you

Wherever you go
Wherever you are
I watch your life play out in pictures from afar

Wherever I go
Whatever I do
I wonder where I am
In my relationship to you

Wherever you go
Wherever you are
I watch that pretty life play out in pictures from afar

Testing out E-Mail Blogging

I thought e-mail blogging wud be pretty nifty, especially with a Blackberry in hand; so here we go....

ZR

Sent via BlackBerry from Maxis