Songs For New Year’s Day

Posted on by

 

That’s my approach – I think they’re pointless, but whatever floats your boat, I guess. Yesterday I promised you a second set of tunes to mark the New Year, and here they are. As before, these are all songs that I have played before, which have become a regular part of my New Year music, so I reiterate yesterday’s apology for repetition. But they are all great, so why not?

I’ve led with this one before, so it seems like a plan to do that again:

ABBA released Happy New Year on the album Super Trouper in November 1980, just in time for me to buy it for my now ex-wife for Christmas. I wouldn’t have claimed to be an ABBA fan – that was her job – but I have to admit that they made some fine records. The album reached #1 in the UK, Sweden, and three other countries, and made the top ten in another seven. It got as high as #17 in the US where, for some reason, the band were never as successful as elsewhere, though chart placings like that still meant massive sales. It was eventually released as a single, but not until 1999 as a trailer for a compilation album, and only reached #34 in their native Sweden. This lyric video is relatively new, though: it was released in late 2022 and included an enhanced version of the original video. Some find this a depressing song, but I disagree: I think that the two people involved are looking ahead and not wanting to make the same mistakes again: a good place from which to begin a new year.

I’m following the same pattern as the past couple of years, when I played a song written by Gretchen Peters in my first selection and felt it right to include one that she both wrote and performed in my second set. I should probably have played this yesterday, but oh well, here goes anyway:

That is an achingly beautiful song about love, loss, and the promises that we make as New Year resolutions, but rarely keep. Like everything Gretchen does it matches a lovely tune to intelligent words, and that is why I’m such a fan of hers. This was one of two tracks on a September 2019 single release called The Need To Know Vinyl Session, which was obviously such a big deal that her Wikipedia entry has no mention of it. It’s a safe bet that it wasn’t a chart hit, I think.

Up next is an obvious choice for today, but that isn’t stopping me, even though I know that one of you hates it! Another return visitor:

I was trying to think of what to say about U2 and this one. I looked back to the first time I played it, and I think I said it all then: “That was the lead single from U2’s third album, War. It was released in January 1983, a month ahead of the album: the single reached #10 in the UK and #53 in the US, the album was #1 in the UK and #12 in the US, and has to date sold more than 11m copies. The power of this song, which refers to the Solidarity movement in Poland, still gets me whenever I listen to it. Maybe it is just me, but I thought U2 were far better in their earlier days, before Bono began to believe his own publicity and disappeared up his own fundament.” I still stand by that!

Anyone who has seen my posts before will know that I love the music of several female singer-songwriters. I’ve already played one, and here’s another regular visitor for today:

For several years I had given you the ‘official’ video of this from her record company, which has slightly clearer audio than this live version. But this video of Mary Chapin Carpenter performing the song includes her explanation of its background, and I decided to go with it a couple of years ago and to play it again now: the track is based on a dream about a meeting with a friend, which she noted down and turned into the most beautiful song. As she says, “We dwell on possibility on New Year’s Day.”  The song originally featured on her album Ashes And Roses, released in June 2012, which reached #26 in the UK and #72 in the US. Like everything she does, it is a beautiful record, and comes highly recommended by me.

This is another I really should have played yesterday, but for ‘next year’ please now substitute ‘this year!’ I’ve played this one a couple of times before, but not recently, so I think it is due another airing:

The Foo Fighters are another long-time favourite band of mine. This is very much a stylised ‘looking ahead’ song, and I love its video. They may be one of the loudest rock bands on the planet but when they go into softer mode I think they really excel. This one reached #17 in the US Alternative chart and crept up to #42 in the UK: criminally underrated, in my view. It was also a track on their third album, There Is Nothing Left To Lose, released in November 1999, which peaked at #10 in both the UK and the US. If you never thought you’d see a rock band on the Moon, this is your chance.

As I have done several times in the past I’m closing the regular set with this one. This is a standard traditional New Year song, and I have played my favourite recording of it on several occasions, so with absolutely no apologies for playing the same version again, here it is:

You may well remember Mindy Smith from my Advent Countdown. I can never get enough of her beautiful voice, though, and this is so lovely. For the video to accompany her version of the song she asked fans to send her photos of those they loved or had lost, or maybe both. The resulting collage is absolutely wonderful, and is made even better if you watch it on YouTube and see the heartfelt comments from people whose photos were featured. This really does capture the end of year reflective mood so very well.

I promised you a bonus video, didn’t I. Over the years it has become my custom to give you an encore which is a reminder of my childhood. One of my earliest memories of New Year’s Day is the televised concert of Strauss family music from Vienna, which my late Mum loved and we watched with her and Dad, along with the ski jumping from Garmisch-Partenkirchen which followed it. These were both rare treats in the late 1950s/early 1960s, when daytime TV was still a novelty and before wall to wall TV took over. The closing delight of the concert was always the final encore, the Radetzky March, during which the conductor would turn to the audience and conduct their hand-clapping. This has always seemed to me to be the epitome of the joy and hopefulness that the start of a new year can bring, and I think it is a suitable way to bring my compilations of New Year music to a close.This is the performance from New Year’s Day 2018, conducted by the great Riccardo Muti: he has taken this role six times previously, and is scheduled to be doing so again today for the 200th anniversary of Johann Strauss’ birthday. Enjoy a little touch of class to close today’s selections:

Time for me to take my leave of you for today. Now that the BBC is televising the whole concert from Vienna, rather than just the second half, as they used to do, I now have two whole hours and more of it! This always brings back so many happy childhood memories for me of lovely times with my parents: Mum, who passed in May 2008, and Dad, who sadly left us in January 2023. My joy in the music is tinged with sadness but with those lovely memories to sustain me. All that remains is for me to be

 

 

 

 

47 thoughts on “Songs For New Year’s Day”

  1. Pingback: One Month Done | Take It Easy

  3. Happy New Year, Clive, and thank you for the concert! I enjoyed most of it, but am no fan of ABBA or U2. I love Mary Chapin Carpenter’s voice and Mindy Smith’s rendition of Auld Lang Syne (which I’d never heard before). Lovely memories of your mum and dad too! And happy 200th birthday to Johann Strauss.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Happy New Year to you too, Debbie. I’m glad you enjoyed most of these, especially the Mindy Smith one, which I think is lovely.

      The Vienna concert always brings back those happy memories 😊

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  6. Happy New Year, Clive as always great choices it was lovely to hear Auld Lang Syne not something played here…Wishing you a peaceful and healthy 2025 and beyond, Clive and much more music for my enjoyment xx

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • And Happy New Year to you too (no singing here, though, as my voice is terrible!) I’m glad you enjoyed the set, and that final one is a great way to end the Vienna concert, so I stole the idea 🤣

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  8. Great collection of songs for the New Year, Clive. I agree that Mindy has a beautiful voice, as do MCC and Gretchen. And what a wonderful bonus video. Muti was the conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra for several years, and for that reason alone I just assumed he was not well known internationally (you know, that thing about never being a prophet in your home town). So once again I learn something from your post.

    Happy New Year to you!

    By the way, you might be happy to know I just created a playlist a couple of days ago on Spotify named “Clive”. Here are the songs I’ve got in the playlist so far:

    Spirit of Dust (Oysterband)
    New York Girls (Bellowhead)
    Fairy Tale of New York (the Pogues, Kirsty)
    River (Joni Mitchell)
    Galway Girl (Steve Earle and Sharon Shannon)

    All songs I learned about from you! Thank you!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Thanks, Jim, I’m pleased you enjoyed them. I didn’t intend it to be a selection of my favourite female singer-songwriters but it began to go that way! Muti is now 83 but you wouldn’t have guessed that from his performance this morning. He has a worldwide reputation as being one of the great conductors, and is very well known far beyond the Philly city limits 🤣

      Thank you for the honour of your playlist – a good set of tunes with which to start it 👍

      Happy New Year to you too. Hope all is well with you.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  11. Mindy Smith does have a lovely voice and the video is poignant! Thank you for another great selection. I knew you had to play ABBA again. Can’t forget them. 🙂 I just watched Mama Mia for the ??? time with my son’s girlfriend about 2 weeks ago. She had never seen it so I couldn’t have her be deprived any longer. LOL!

    Happy New Year! Enjoy watching your concert. I am glad you can do something that holds special meaning for you and memories of your parents. (((Hugs)))

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  13. Exceptional choices today, Clive, especially Gretchen Peters, Mary Chapin Carpenter and Mindy Smith. The ladies rule the day!
    I was quite moved by the closing video and your personal comments about your Mum & Dad. That was a lovely tribute.
    Thank you for all the work you put into each one of your posts; they’re always chock full of information and very entertaining.
    Best wishes to you for a healthy and happy New Year!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Thank you, Nancy, I’m pleased you enjoyed them. I did wonder if having three of my favourite female singer-songwriters as well as ABBA was overkill, but went with them anyway! The Mindy Smith one is especially beautiful, isn’t it.

      Thank you for your lovely words. I just do my best, which is all any of us can do, really. I’m glad you appreciated my thoughts on Mum and Dad: I watched the concert this morning and it was two and a half hours of bliss.

      Your best wishes are reciprocated 😊

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  14. I don’t know how you manage to find all your choices and videos Clive, it can’t always be easy but you manage to do it and surprise me every time I tune in – the Foo Fighters track a good example of that, the first I’ve heard of it! Have a healthy and satisfying New Year.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Thank you, Paul. I guess it comes from far too many years spent listening to music! I’ve always liked that Foos one and the video is typically superb. Happy New Year to you too 😊

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

Please leave a reply, I'd like to know what you think