You might be wondering where the latest update with progress
on my in-development film script is; if you do, bless you, you’re very
kind. Work has taken a temporary pause
due to everyday life getting so busy I’ve had little time to do anything. However, better news is that I have been
working on an outline (or, in my case, literally describing everything that
happens in every scene of the film), which is between two-thirds to three-quarters
complete. When I have finished that I
will post details on my Blog.
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| What 'pressure' looks like, apparently... |
In the meantime, as I have suggested, things have been very
hectic of late, and there’s been all sorts of work and real life related
stresses. And it looks to continue for
the next two months at least – but hey, that’s the light at the end of the
tunnel, and though it seems a way off, it’s still there. Until I (and my family) are out the other
end, it’s full pelt at the moment, and I rarely feel like I’ve time to come up
for any air.
During this time I’ve noticed that I keep being drawn to the
music of two particular bands, and I think that during times of particular
duress, music is one of a handful of things which basically keeps me sane. So I just wanted to highlight the music of
the two particular bands that have been keeping me sane in recent months.
Firstly, towards the end of last year and around March of
this year, during some times where there were a few pressures in my life, I
found myself compulsively listening to two albums by a band called
Hammock. The first is an epic piece of
work entitled ‘Departure Songs’ – almost two hours of mostly instrumental post
rock/ambient hybrid music. The song
titles would leave you to believe that it’s a pretty bleak album – ‘10,000
Years Won’t Save Your Life’, ‘Let’s Kiss While All the Stars are Falling Down’ –
but it’s a beautifully life affirming piece of work, which seems to have an
underlying message that every moment of life should be embraced, every
opportunity should be grabbed. I found
myself listening to the latter track over and over again – the way it sounds to
me is how I imagine jumping out of a plane at great height must feel.
Their other album which I listened to almost as much is
their most recent release, ‘Oblivion Hymns’.
Much more ambient than their previous album, it features no percussion,
and strings and choirs are brought to the fore.
It contains a particularly striking piece called ‘Then the Quiet Explosion’,
which I found myself listening to over and over.
And right now is another time of stress and pressures, and I’ve
been listening to the music of Explosions in the Sky almost compulsively. If you’re a film fan you’ll have heard their
work at one time or another, perhaps without even realising – their tracks have
been used in various films and trailers, most prominently on the ‘Friday Night Lights’ soundtrack. They rightly have a
tremendous fan base and reputation amongst music fans, as their instrumental
post-rock has symphonic qualities, and their guitar riffs an almost lyrical,
very expressive quality. They have
several albums behind them, they’re probably best known for ‘The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place’, and it is a wonderful album.
My favourite piece from it is this one, ‘The Only Moment We Were Alone’,
which feels like it walks a tightrope between euphoria and heartbreak. Perhaps I keep listening to it so much of
late because I’m feeling I could go either way at any moment…
I’ll leave you with this track of theirs, form their most
recent album ‘Take Care, Take Care, Take Care’.
Like the last track, it shares a similar sentiment of simultaneous joy
and sorrow, but is in its own right a gorgeous piece of music. This music has given me a bit of solace and
comfort in recent months; I suppose it connects with unspoken feelings and
thoughts, acknowledging the hopes and fears that are always at the back of my
mind during times of pressure. It might
not affect other people in the same way, but I am certain that at some point or
other, everyone has felt there has been a favourite band whose music has helped
them through a difficult time. Right now
these bands have been doing this for me, and I’m very grateful.
