Artist of the Day: Iron and Wine
Iron and Wine is the recording name of Samuel Beam, who, in my opinion, is clearly one of the most gifted musicians who ever existed. So far, the singer/songwriter has four albums, the first of which he completely wrote, performed, recorded, and produced. His music, which is a combination of folk and indie, consists mainly of a blend of acoustic guitar, banjo, and slide guitar - very Simon and Garfunkel.
Although the band is most popularly known, at least in the mainstream music scene, for his song “Flightless Bird, American Mouth” (because of its being featured in Twilight), Beam actually has a lot of other great songs. I came across Iron and Wine through Grey’s Anatomy and House M.D. One of Iron and Wine’s most profound songs, “Passing Afternoon,” was played during Amber’s (Wilson’s girlfriend) death scene. It was a perfectly sad scene, to say the least.
There are times that walk from you like some passing afternoon
There are things that drift away like our endless, numbered days
And these lines always bring very sad images to my head:
Sometimes, with the windows closed, she’ll sit and think of me
But she’ll mend his tattered clothes and they’ll kiss as if they know
A baby sleeps in all our bones, so scared to be alone
Iron and Wine’s songs have also been featured in the movies In Good Company and, of course (not surprisingly), Garden State. But my most favorite song from Beam is definitely the one featured in In Good Company, which is “The Trapeze Swinger”. Reminds me, ever so subtly, that the most wonderful things in life are never meant to last. It’s a sad thought, yes, but the song also makes me think of a time when we’d look back on all these wonderful things and “remember them fondly,” as the song says.
You turn from me
And said ‘The trapeze act was wonderful
But never meant to last’
And there’s “Naked As We Came”, a song about two lovers dying, one before the other - it’s quite bittersweet how happy endings still end sad, and this song captures that perfectly:
One of us will die inside these arms
Eyes wide open, naked as we came
One will spread our ashes ‘round the yard
If you’re new to Iron and Wine, please do listen to:
- Fever Dream
- Each Coming Night
- Love and Some Verses
- Prison on Route 41
- Sodom, South Georgia
- On Your Wings
- Faded from the Winter
Samuel Beam also collaborated with Calexico in “He Lays in the Reins” and “History of Lovers”, and also did a cover of The Postal Service’s “Such Great Heights”. Three more must-listen-to songs.
So that’s a pretty long list, but it’ll come in handy (and might even give you some answers - Iron and Wine does that for me sometimes :D) when you’re feeling angry, sad, or confused about life in general. Iron and Wine music just has that calming effect on me, it’s quite meditative.