By Maki
My eyes are a subject close to my heart – no, anatomy was never my strong suit – and despite the topic having had an outing in the earliest days of Readers Recommend, I still felt it was a topic that would deliver rich pickings. A mammoth blog and nominations ensued and there was no way I could do it justice, so I just picked twelve songs I liked. Here they are.
Spirit get things going with The Girl in Your Eye, a fine chunk of 60s raga that I hadn’t heard in a million years.
Angélique Kidjo is the first of a few who warn or plead with us to open our eyes. Or at least get our heads out of the sand.
From the sand to the ocean with Billie Eilish and her Ocean Eyes. And from one attention-seeking young genius to another: Rosalía has caught the eye not only with her music but also with a bit of posing here and bit of winding up the more conservative elements of the Spanish establishment there, and more power to her. The music here is enough in itself to get her noticed. “Her eyes flashed like the blade of a knife when he gave her the ring” she sings in Que No Salga La Luna.
Eyes, sacais, ojos and what’s that you say, swawilg? Un œil, deux yeux … yes French is weird but Angèle’s great and so is her Je Veux Tes Yeux.
Magazine take over with everything where it ought to be in the Definitive Gaze. With Johny Lamb (Thirty Pounds of Bone) things are very, very rarely where they ought to be and there is often a painful fragility in his music. That is very much the case here in The Glass of an Iris.
What a great group the Comsat Angels were – I only saw them once at the Locarno in Bristol – I was shocked to see they had never been listed. Well, that’s that sorted: in you go, Eye Of The Lens!
Lykke Li’s So Sad, So Sexy is another of those songs asking us to open our eyes although I’m not sure we’re really going to want to watch as she walks out on us for the last time.
Erykah Badu’s was my favourite reference to the Shakespearean green-eyed monster this week. The way the song switches styles, registers and tone and she works through her feelings is pure brilliance.
Mike Brooks calls out to those Who Have Eyes to See. Loved this.
And we head back to sixties to close the list, but this time for a good, old, full-on rant. It’s no fun being the speccy kid in class and The Lovin’ Spoonful tell it like it is in 4 Eyes.
Aperture Opening Optics A-List Playlist:
Spirit – Girl in Your Eye
Angélique Kidjo – Open Your Eyes
Billie Eilish – Ocean Eyes
Rosalía – Que No Salga La Luna
Angèle – Je Veux Tes Yeux
Magazine – Definitive Gaze
Thirty Pounds of Bone – The Glass of an Iris
Comsat Angels – Eye of the Lens
Lykke Li – So Sad, So Sexy
Erykah Badu – Green Eyes
Mike Brooks – Who Have Eyes to See
The Lovin’ Spoonful – 4 Eyes
Now Behold The B-List Playlist:
Velvet Underground – Pale Blue Eyes
Kate Bush – The Man With The Child in His Eyes
Jackson Browne – Doctor My Eyes
Talking Heads – Cross-eyed and Painless
Eagles – Lyin’ Eyes
Half Man Half Biscuit – Dickie Davies’ Eyes
Dusty Springfield – The Look of Love
Soft Cell – Torch
Mavis Staples – Eyes on The Prize
Altered Images – See Those Eyes
Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons – Can’t Take My Eyes Off You
Peter Gabriel – In Your Eyes
Guru’s Wildcard Pick:
The Naxalites – Eye Mind
These playlists were inspired by readers' song nominations from last week's topic: Sound and vision: songs about eyes. The next topic will launch on Thursday at 1pm UK time.
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