First, an announcement: Since Governor Cuomo has declared that New York City will begin reopening on June 8, I've decided that the end of this week will be a good stopping point for the Songs for Sheltering project. I hope you've enjoyed the music (at least some of it!) as much as I've enjoyed sharing and writing about it. And over the next five days I'll do my best to feature a last handful of great songs, and some closing thoughts.
This past week has been especially harrowing, and we must continue to hold space for grief and anger. But for those who have the headspace for it, I'd like to offer this song as a musical respite. "Facing West," from Pat Metheny's amazing contemporary jazz album Secret Story, has been a favorite of mine for many years; I must have thrown it on nearly every mixtape I made in college, and I guess I'm continuing that tradition here.
I love the bold opening strum (very reminiscent of "A Hard Day's Night"), acting like a palette cleanser for any previous songs and wiping the slate clean; the softly galloping beat; the keyboards and guitars run through filters to produce a rich texture of sounds; the strings of the London Symphony Orchestra providing soaring backup. And floating above it all is Metheny's warm-toned, ecstatic guitar solo, all air and space and light. It's the kind of song I wish I could live in forever.
BONUS: Another of my favorites from the album is "The Truth Will Always Be," a darker song built on slow tension and explosive release—much like an Al Jarreau song I featured earlier—and I highly recommend it if you have an extra nine minutes.
You can listen to the rest of the album here. And here's a live performance of "Facing West," part of an entire concert featuring all the songs from Secret Story. (Come for the exquisite music, stay for the tacky early-90s fashion.) ----- For actions you can take to support justice for Black lives, please go here and here.
Listen to the Spotify playlist here.
Watch the YouTube playlist here.
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