Monday 28 May 2012

Welcome to this strange land...

“Baby I’m not scared of this world when you’re here"
(From ‘Silenced by the night’ by Keane)
Dear friends of RA, today we have exactly 200 days to get through before the release of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey on 14 December 2012. Also, we've got 86 days to prepare for the next Armitage Day on 22 August 2012 when our favourite man celebrates his 41st birthday (or maybe he'll just sleep through it like he did last year!)
To mark this milestone, I have decided to take my blogging efforts to a next level, and I will (hopefully) be blogging much more often than I have over the last couple of weeks.
The 13 dwarves from The Hobbit, with RA as Thorin Oakenshield
Picture kindly borrowed from http://www.theonering.net/
A very long time ago, Richard mentioned in a message to his friends (as of this moment, I refuse to be called a ‘fan’, I’m going to use the word ‘friend’ instead) that he was very much enjoying the music on the album Under the Iron Sea (2006) by English band Keane. He listed ‘Hamburg Song’ as his favourite song on the band’s second studio album and I can certainly see why…
“I don't wanna be adored
Don't wanna be first in line
Or make myself heard
I'd like to bring a little light
To shine a light on your life
To make you feel loved”
(From ‘Hamburg Song’ by Keane)

Keane have been off my radar for a few years, but they have recently released a new album. Their fourth album (not counting EPs and recordings of live performances) entitled Strangeland has catapulted them right back to the centre of my attention. I am captivated by the richness of the music, the simple ad genuine lyrics and the hint of mystery and melancholy that tends to linger in the background of every single song.

“Well it's OK to be scared whenYou're stuck behind a door that won't openThe shadows in your dreams that are chasing youThey're not true”
(From ‘It’s not true’ by Keane)
Tim Rice-Oxley has once again written some incredibly beautiful melodies and I think Tom Chaplin’s voice has finally matured enough for me to be able to thoroughly enjoy every single song on this album. My favourites? The first single ‘Silenced by the night’ takes my breath away although it’s one of those songs that I love to sing myself and it always manages to lift my spirits and put a smile on my face.
Keane performs 'Silenced by the Night' live
‘Sovereign Light Café’, ‘Starting line’ and title track 'Strangeland' will also be spending quite some time on my iPod thanks to their complexity in striking contrast with the genuine simplicity and honesty of their lyrics.

“ You drove across the border as the winter rains ran dry
And only fitful birdsong filled the sky
You threw your head back, screaming
As we raced across wet sand
And leapt into the waters of the Strangeland”
(From ‘Strangeland’ by Keane)

I wonder if RA still likes Keane and if he’s enjoying their new music as much as I am?
For more information about Keane, visit their website: http://www.keanemusic.com/

5 comments:

  1. Hi Inge,
    Thanks for sharing this song, Silenced by the Night. It was liltingly lovely--perhaps melancholy, but ultimately hopeful.
    Cheers! Grati ;->

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is a great question, and one I have asked myself as well. Rather than deposit everything I thought about it in your comments, I'll do my own post eventually. However, I never would even have noticed Keane w/o Richard Armitage, so I was grateful that he mentioned it! And I haven't bought the fourth album yet but I will soon.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow, Keane, they are one of my favourites. They already mattered for years, when I encountered Richard the first time in Oct 2010. While perusing his old messages, I found his hint about Keane, and was mostly rapturous to obviously share my enthusiasm for this band with him. I loved him even more. I bought their new album the very day when it was released, and have actually wondered, whether RA knows about it's arrival and if he prob likes it as much as I do.
    Many thanks IngeD3 for bringing this question up. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Lovely post! I had heard of Keane but it wasn't until the RA fanvid world I became aware of them: Atlantic has been used for several but this one was a special colaboration for a fanfiction:

    ReplyDelete
  5. Http://youtu.be/4r9uj8k4y74. She has no time was used for another Thornton vid alas it's no longer on YT though someone else used as well. I'll be checking out the new album ASAP

    ReplyDelete