Saturday 25 May 2013

Shameless Self Promotion 2: Toronto Tim Says: Desert Island Discs: Number 5: Hopeland

It's nice to hear when your music has resonated, connected; become a part of someone's life.
Here's Toronto Tim writing about 'Hopeland'.
I've lifted this from the 'Cathedrals of Sound' Blog.
I hope that David doesn't mind.
You can buy 'Hopeland' here...


#5 - JONES - "HOPELAND" (2009)

To every prayer an answer
For every crow a dove
To every life a promise
To every child, love.
I just want to give you something to remember me by 
I just want to give you... give you love.


I've already touched on this during the MM/Jones Top 5 series. Warning: heavy stuff ahead... 'Hopeland' was released amidst a most harrowing period of my life. My wife had just been diagnosed with rapidly spreading stage 4 incurable cancer & was suffering through ravaging surgery/chemo treatments. Doctors were brutally honest about chances of survival... very low. Devastated, overwhelmed, I was barely hanging on. Previous anchors of religion & philosophy offered cold comfort.

'Hopeland'... a little history. March 2010 - Looking for distraction from turmoil and painful reality, I decided to surf the Net and check out the Miracle Mile site. To my surprise Max had completely revamped the whole thing. Trev's mug welcoming the home page accompanied by absolutely enchanting new music - "Bluer Skies Than This". Wow! Proceeding to the main site, greeted by the heavenly strains of "Hopeland"... The comfort of song, healing for the hopeless and broken soul. The timing couldn't have been better...

So there's a lot of emotional baggage that accompanies my #5 pick. The words & music connect very deeply. I'm certain my take on the lyrics do not reflect the original inspiration or intention, but that's the magic of music, isn't it? We can adopt our own interpretations, and make them our own. Regardless, it's simply a stunning piece of art. The union of music and poetry makes for a perfect late night listen, but I must confess that I created an edited version (lacking verse) for the car. It's a truly beautiful collection on it's own. Every song has special meaning for me, and my wife loves Hopeland and MM/Jones music as much as I do. I won't dissect the album, as I'm sure all here know it by heart.

Footnote: 3 years on and my wife Myrna continues to thrive, defying all odds. We're still kinda living in limbo, but we're squeezing every moment out of life. I still have the lyrics of 'Hopeland' posted on my bulletin board, a potent reminder... to hope.

Thanks Trev...

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