I am a great believer in the superpower of music.
Great songs are a force to be reckoned with. They can make you feel giddily exuberant, fiercely confident (oh, hi Beyonce's Run the World (Girls), or fighting the urge to head-nod on the tube, headphones attached, among a sea of staid commuters.
Some tunes instantly make you want to go out-out when you most definitely should be in-in as you have that great big important meeting tomorrow that you have only kind of prepared for.
Others have the potency to leave you suddenly blubbing without any prior warning; or stopped dead in your tracks as the opening bars remind you of someone or something and you quickly switch off /reshuffle to assuage that punched-in-the-gut feeling that music can elicit.
There are those with the potential to hurtle you back to a time or event once been with a whoosh of sentimentality; and as if by the power of time travel suddenly there you are on that girls' holiday (drinking something blue, sun-burnt) dancing to Re-Rewind by Craig David or the like.
There are some songs though that on first listen immediately cast you under their spell. 'WHAT WAS THAT?' you ask yourself, 'and who the heck sings it?!' You frantically bash random words you've managed to grasp into Google; hoping that it will magically piece them all together, reveal the song and artist and set the words free from fluttering around in your head. (Thank goodness for Google; back in the day you had to hope it was in the Smash Hits! Magazine for the lyrics section). This is the true super power of music - instant gratification.
For me, this song was The World is Watching by Two Door Cinema Club.
When I heard this song the first time I had been playing their debut album, Tourist History, on repeat and so had neglected their second offering Beacon. TWIW was lost in a sea of songs on my Spotify account, not yet emerged as a stand-out favourite, and after the first accidental listen it disappeared into the Spotify black hole. The wistful melodies and haunting lyrics clattered around in my head though so I fumbled around my fit-to-bursting account. I tried unsuccessfully to croon it to my husband to see if he could name that tune in one. So when I finally realised what it was, there was no stopping me. Favourite, played-to-death song.
I adore The World is Watching, featuring London based singer Valentina Pappalardo's angelic layered vocals. It has the power to block out everything and everyone around me. To me, its hazy, dreamy sound evokes kaleidoscopic images, sun soaked days and holding hands with the person you love but reportedly it's about being alone and not fitting in. Alex Trimble, Two Door Cinema Club's singer / guitarist describes it as 'a love song to no one'. Haunting as it is, my favourite lyric is 'And with your hand in mine we will run to a place that knows no one'. Lovely.
It is with a very, very heavy heart that I learned today that Two Door Cinema Club have had to cancel their Latitude Festival appearance this Friday due to Alex Trimble's chronic illness. They were one of the main reasons I was going and I wish him and the band well.
If I am lucky enough to catch them live in the future and The World is Watching features in the set, you may just spot me nestled contentedly in the crowd, with my eyes closed and breathing in this song.
Feeling the power.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1DF7tGal_Q]
