Ensnared Melodies

English: Original oil painting by Pappi, 2008. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Introduction

As with poetry, aspects of a romantic relationship are regular topics in songs. From longing to heartbreak to the joyfully unique feelings a person experiences when they are with a loving companion, popular music has it all covered. Relationships are very complicated self-imposed institutions and no one knows how they will turn out. Worse still, the majority of the stories we have told each other throughout time present too much of the “happily ever after” ideal that never happens. It little prepares us for the many twists and turns that lie ahead both in our partners and in ourselves. Sometimes those twists lead to a bizarre perversion of what was a loving romance. The following songs I have selected reflect on this perversion. Words like “trap” and “abuse” are used to describe something that other songwriters, more often than not, beautify and society, driven by our instinctive impulse to breed, venerates as our ultimate purpose. “Love” and “heart” are in there too, but they take the form of vulnerabilities that are being used as instruments of torture.   

My 10 Favourite Movie Soundtracks

Image via Wikipedia

The soundtrack can maketh the movie! Music and the absence of music in a film do more than set the tone, they shape how we feel about the picture. If we look at the controversial end of filmmaking "Scum" doesn't have a soundtrack and this helps bring the realism of the picture to life. However, a film like "Irreversible", which is arguably more shocking and certainly not low on realism uses tricks with their soundtrack that purposefully unnerves its audience. Below are several examples of soundtracks that either not only "made the movie", but even took on a life of their own.