Aight so,
What’s up with the hate for slowww music? I give a song suggestion . . .
BAM! Shot down faster than the tempo of the songs they listen to.
I’m all about being open-minded. After all, life is just an adventure. To try new things. Experience new things. Those are just the rules I live by and I’m always welcoming of people who want to hop on the ride with me.
But that’s kinda hard when people just abhor any of my preferences and are all closed up.
Few days back, I get passed the AUX. Full ride in the Toyota CRV, I had to show them the real deal. So what do I do? First open up Spotify (No spons by the way). Click on the search icon. Search for “Wonderful Tonight” by Eric Clapton.
Simple.
I knew I would get them with this but when the music started playing they started shouting . . .
“C’mon what’s up with the Elvis?” Wrong artist there bud.
“Thanks I needed to sleep anyways” I guess I corroborate.
“Is this what you listen to in your free time?” Oh heck yeah!
Then my man. My best friend who’s always got my back says, “I guess I like it” when I could see straight through his head absolutely brutalizing it.
I just didn’t get it.
I’m a very logical person. To me, this song is pure perfection in terms of mechanics.
Romantic, full step glissandos. Triplet eight rest triplet bass pattern . Ingeniously beautiful descending melody. And of course the singing electric guitar as the icy on the darn cake. It ain’t get any better than this. Also steel string guitar version isn’t all that bad either.
But I’m also pretty emotional (I don’t show it often) and emotionally speaking, this song is the mother of them all. The heartwarming lyrics blending in with the tropical-sunset-esque backdrop creates for an extremely relaxing, romantic, rejuvenating record. It makes you imagine something like this:
I guess I am a little biased as I pretty much grew up listening to the 60s and 70s. And what’s the common denominator between them? They are melodic and slow.
Isn’t to say I don’t like fast music either. I just feel as though music becomes more enjoyable the slower it is. And to be completely honest–though Wonderful Tonight is the end all be all song for me now–I actually didn’t like it the first hearing. I much preferred his other hit song “Tears in Heaven” but the more I listened to it, the more I started to pick up on the genius of it.
And that song alone single-handedly convinced me to start playing the guitar again after having to put it down in my earlier years. Now I’m so attached to my guitar I have to limit myself to 10 minutes of guitar for every 50 minutes of studying.
So I suggest yall take a few listens to it with the link below. For me I would say my life has changed pretty drastically after listening to this, so hey! As I said before, life is an adventure. There’s no real harm in it and I’d say it’s 100% worthwhile.
For those who decide to try it out or have known of it before, please comment!
Click here to listen to Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton.
Wow I agree, Wonderful Tonight is probably one of the best songs ever written, and a great overall RECORD. Eric Clapton, without a doubt, is one of the best guitarists, and his unprecedented accolades serve as evidence. I think that his entire MTV Unplugged set is amazing, and yes, “Tears in Heaven” included. I think Eric Clapton is a significant trailblazer for more current guitarists/artists like John Mayer, who I’m also a big fan of. If you haven’t already, you should listen to his Continuum album, it’s great. Less slow, but still has great records, especially Gravity and Slow Dancing in a Burning Room. Don’t worry, there definitely are fans of ’60s and ’70s music still out there!
Wow. After reading your post, I truly cannot stop listening Wonderful Tonight on repeat as I drive around in my Toyota R͟A͟V͟4. The iconic glissandi you mentioned are game changing. They allow the song to be instantly recognizable, and they quell my worries, bringing my mind to a state of relaxation within the first few seconds.
That said, have you listened to Heifetz’s rendition? He goes completely overboard with the tempo, but I feel like he still manages to convey relaxation, romance, and rejuvenation. I’m interested to hear your opinion, though, because you seem to hold great value towards it being a “slowww” song.
You know, when I first read this post, I was kind of iffy on whether I agreed with you or not, but after seeing people’s reactions to the new League of Legends worlds song, I fully agree with you. I saw comments like “this song has no hype” or “the previous worlds songs were 10x better”, when the lyrics and visuals were actually really good together. It seems like a lot of people don’t appreciate emotional lyrics and themes as much as they should. Listening to older music is really cool, and I definitely respect your choice in music. I’ll take a look, and if you have other music recommendations, I”d be willing to listen.
Wow, Alex, wow. You have such an interesting perspective on the purpose of life and I totally agree with you. Life is meant to be lived and in the end we are all just a collection of memories and experiences. Additionally, I dig your music choice and I totally think we should hang out some time. Studying has gone so much better for me with the addition of slow upbeat songs. Thank you so much for writing such an inspiring blog!