Cassettes & Chocolate Milk

"Tonight you'll see how love can stay here forever, when all you want is just the one last time..."

I remember how I felt when I first realised that the Hurricanes' Only One Night beared a lyrical similarity to Hot Chip's I Feel Bonnie (House Mix). I realised there was something in these songs that could be made into something, a podcast discussing parallel lyrical themes: two songs that were musically unrelated, but they used the ephemeral nature of music to enhance the meaning of the lyrics.

Both songs look at the concept pleading for "one more night", using it as an anthem for temporary lovers: "I only want one night together, in our arms, this is the only night, we're meeting arms to arms..." The lines would loop over and over again and the repetition of it echoed its madness, suggesting that despite its insistent lyrics, that one night would never be enough.

Daydreams for such projects ring out while on walks, but they're rarely meaty enough to materialise into anything real. They faintly echo the preoccupations of Consequential Lyrics, a project I did actually complete in August 2013. It involved playfully pasting up lyrics and gushing about personal meanings in episodes about Queen, The Beatles, Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys, The Smiths, Erasure and Roxette. There was also a fan episode, made up of contributions from musicians, writers, broadcasters, and fans.

It had to constantly remind myself that there had to be some value or even charm in recording the way people find these poetic dimensions in pop lyrics. These stories would become a precursor to the life I would lead at the hostel, sharing songs and lyrical associations with guests, late into the night. I sometimes wonder whether these lyrics were meaningful because we didn't read enough poetry, or whether we were just incapable of admitting how we truly felt.

As the hostel life moves further away from me, I wonder about those daydreams for projects that ring out. It's much like child tugging on my leather jacket, pitching ideas in vain. I'm left asking whether it's really my responsibility to do all this, to reveal personal stories with nauseating levels of vulnerability. My confidence wavers. Did I faithfully remember those lines that stung? Did I just make it all up?

Consequential Lyrics artwork by Antonio Sanciolo

Cassettes & Chocolate Milk: Consequential Lyrics Podcast #74
Fleetwood Mac - Isn't it Midnight
England Dan & John Ford Coley - I'd Really Love to See You Tonight
Sam Cooke - Desire Me
Sohn - Artifice
Nils Bech - Glimpse of Hope
Alexandra Savior - Crying All the Time
Boy Jr - Are They Actually Attractive?
Emma Pollock - If Silence Means that Much to You
Jim Croce - A Long Time Ago

Download (81.5 MB)

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Submit your voice recording of your Consequential Lyrics - quote its lyrics and expand on its meaning - for a future fan episode of C&CM. Please include the song title, personal story and relevant lyrics in your voice recording: consequentiallyrics@gmail.com