The Record Shelf

Song: Holland, 1945

Artist: Neutral Milk Hotel

Album: In The Aeroplane Over the Sea (1998)

Lively, fuzzy song from contextual album In The Aeroplane Over the Sea. It contains lots of references to Anne Frank, war oppression and Pepito Arriola.

Song: Landslide (1975)

Artist: Fleetwood Mac

Album: Fleetwood Mac

A beautiful song written by Stevie Nicks, she wrote the song whilst in Aspen, "looking out at the Rocky Mountains pondering the avalanche of everything that had come crashing down on us ... at that moment, my life truly felt like a landslide in many ways". Very sad and makes me cry everytime.

Song: A Whiter Shade of Pale (1967)

Artist: Procol Harum

Album: Procol Harum

This song is the debut of classic British rock band Procol Harum. It's very melancholic, despite being in C major, characteristic of a lot of counterculture music. The lyrics are elusive, but Reid said 'it's about a relationship' with characters, a location, and a journey.

Song: White Rabbit (1967)

Artist: Jefferson Airplane

Album: Surrealistic Pillow

White Rabbit is inspired by imagery from C. S. Lewis' Alice In Wonderland. Part of the psychedelic rock movement, this song is pretty much all about drugs and their effects. This whole song is one building crescendo which quite clearly mirrors getting high. It's interesting to take a peek into 1960s psychedelia with White Rabbit.

Song: Sleep (2006)

Artist: My Chemical Romance

Album: The Black Parade

Every song on this rock opera album is amazing, but this one, although never released as a single, is less dramatic and more honest to me.

Song: Thimbles (2014)

Artist: Beuys Toys

Album: Thimbles

Lovely song by Beuys Toys. The glockenspiel sound gives it a warm, innocent sound. Combines an electronic sound with simple vocals and a calm harmonic arrangement. 

Song: Ice Dance (1990)

Artist: Danny Elfman

Album: Edward Scissorhands

This is one of my favourite songs ever, from one of my favourite movies ever. I love Tim Burton and his partnership with Danny Elfman to produce some of the best movie scores of all time. This song is so so so beautiful and sad and moving. It's such a bittersweet piece of music and helps to remind me that even the worst scenarios can have positive outcomes. 

Song: Thoughts and Clouds (2006)

Artist: Lullatone

Album: Plays Pajama Pop Pour Vous

This song has such a sweet and calm sound. It's perfect for relaxing or nodding off into sleep. The sound is almost muffled which gives off this cool dreamlike vibe, and the way it fades in and out reminds me of an ocean too. Although it's super calming, the beat isn't dismal, it's upbeat and happy. The whispery vocal makes it dreamy and charming.

Song: Roll Over Beethoven (1956)

Artist: Chuck Berry

Album: After School Session

Chuck Berry was one of the pioneers of rock ‘n’ roll. Roll Over Beethoven is one of my favourite Berry tracks because the clash between classical and modern gives off a vibe that is so blithe.

Although it is a definite rock and roll track, he calls for classical music to be taken over by rhythm and blues. Chuck hails from Missouri, a state which was very important in the development of blues music. 

A middle class kid, most speculation for the inspiration of Roll Over Beethoven is that his sister used the family piano to play classical music and Berry wanted to play popular music. The inspiration seems a bit disappointing to be Rolling Stone’s #97 out of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, but nonetheless, this song helped pave the way to the rock and roll movement.