Somewhere Over The Rainbow

...and this, darlings, is a musical rainbow.


1. Kumm, Red Coffee
Angels & Clowns (2003)

One of the best songs written by a Romanian band. It has a wonderful instrumental: the violin, the keyboards, the drums and the guitars blend together just perfectly. But the main beauty of it is actually given by lyrics (an example: "turn off the light and fill me up with coffee, let me undo your skin from my hands"). It is the kind of song you have to listen with somebody else at your side, at least at a live concert. That is if you don't want to sink into a never-ending sadness.


2. R.E.M., Orange Crush
Green (1988)

According to Michael Stipe, Orange Crush is the story of a young American football player, who leaves his home for the war in Vietnam. The song's title is a reference to a chemical defoliant used in the Vietnam War (Agent Orange). It is a catchy tune, and its lyrics are really ironical at some points ("we are agents of the free, I've had my fun and now it's time to serve your conscience overseas").


3. The Raconteurs, Yellow Sun
Broken Boy Soldiers (2006)

This is a love story, another one of those stories where he is a shy guy who is in love with her, and she is just a bitch with a cold heart. However, the song is not a lament (it would have become really annoying otherwise). It actually keeps a very light tone, due to instrumental, but also due to the vocals.


4. Pink Floyd, Green Is the Colour
More (1969)

This is one of the Pink Floyd songs that appear on the soundtrack of More (a 1969 film, which is about a young student who tries to forget about his conservative life and ends up tragically). It is a gentle acoustic ballad and it gives a very peaceful feeling. Roger Waters stated in a concert that the song is about Ibiza (which is the main location of the movie).


5. Placebo, Post Blue
Meds (2006)

The title represents a metaphor for "deep helplessness". It is the story of a person who is so much in love that forgives every mistake the partner does, because he or she is the sole reason for living. It has also references to drugs ("bag of golden brown", which means heroin). As singer Brian Molko said, "Our lyrics are more twisted. We talk about impossible love, complicated love, destructive love. As destructive as drugs."


6. Duke Ellington, Mood Indigo
(1930)

A very well known jazz composition, this song has been sang by many artists, including Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone and Nat "King" Cole. On the original recordings, Ellington turned upside down the traditional jazz arrangement, putting the trombone right at the top of the instrument's register, and the clarinet at the lowest. The song is performed both as an instrumental and as a vocal (the verse "I'm just a soul who's bluer than blue can be" makes me shiver).


7. Coldplay, Violet Hill
Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends (2008)

This was the long expected comeback of the band, back in 2008, and it is the first anti-war song written by them. It starts with a piano line performed by Chris Martin, with the rest of the band joining him short after. The lyrics are not just a protest against the war, but also a story of a man in love with a woman who does not love him back ("If you love me, why'd you let me go?")