Nick Drake

One thing I despise is music that deliberately tries to be inspirational, I like to find joy and inspiration purely from the greatness of the song, and songs such as Cello Song, Hazey Jane II, One Of These Things First, Northern Sky, At The Chime Of A City Clock etc. just bring me great joy and happiness, regardless of whether any of them were written from "a dark place".

 

Well worth it, Dan.

 

How far is it from London?

 

I think blues music gets rid of the blues. BB King and many others have said as such. And i agree. Nick is really special. You can feel that deep groove the first time you hear him. I heard him on a car commercial and called KPFA to ask if they knew who it was and.... that started my love for Nick. Great movie about his years ago. When they played his mom singing it was like , oh , wow , i get where it came from, it was eerrie. Great movie. Nick blues away the blues all the time. Love him. But, we all like different stuff, the poppy sunny shallow stuff is your bag, sears, good for you enjoy Celine.

 

Of all the “depressive” artists I’ve listened to over the years, I’ve found that Nick Drake is the one that hasn’t ever dragged me down into the spiral with it.

Joy Division, The Smiths, or even Elvis Costello or the Replacements at times - in retrospect some of that music didn’t exactly help when I was in a bad place.

Nick Drake never acted as any kind of depressive weight for me. I get a sense of melancholy innocence and sometimes a tired resignation from his music. I also hear someone creating art from whatever it was he happened to be going through. Pink Moon is the heaviest, in those terms. But it’s still miles away from something as gloomy and fatalistic as Closer by Joy Division.

It might be different for others.

 

I didn't impose on one. I knew exactly where to go. If you're looking for other things to do within a hour or so by car, there's always Stratford-upon-Avon as well as Stonehenge.

 

Yet you despise his music ?

 

Don't know.
I hear a rich and privileged boy without strength to face life.

There's something about him that annoys me

 

Also, a couple weeks ago I was feeling the dark cloud because - guess what - this is my least favorite time of year. It’s hot, I’m not one for summer activities, and seeing people on my social media taking selfies at every food festival or concert made me want to lock the door and hide under a blanket.

So I put on some Nick Drake (and Bert Jansch and John Martyn and Fairport Convention) and reminded myself that fall is right around the corner. Make of that what you will.

 

There’s a lot about depression you apparently don’t understand. You should probably move away from this thread and let the matter drop.

 

Actually, the irony here is you don’t know what you’re talking about, because you basically called out people who enjoy his music as listening to it the same way you do, which is a completely bogus assertion to make on your part. How you feel about his music vs. how I feel, for example, are two completely unrelated things. You’d think someone who is into music as much as yourself would be able to understand this rather simple concept.

 

Always thought Nick Drake was a poet like Rupert Brooke, a romantic poet who died in WW1.

 

Oh c'mon. Financial status aside (why does that matter?), he suffered from severe depression at a time when the medication available to treat it was limited and not very safe. If he didn't have strength he would not have made those albums, as it took a massive amount of intestinal fortitude to pull himself together and record. The stories about the Pink Moon sessions are harrowing and yet it's a stunning album. I think he had a lot of strength and grace in the face of what he had to deal with.

 

I think I read that in Chinese culture, a Pink Moon represents an impending doom or troubling times ahead. Kind of makes sense given NDs situation at the time...

 

OK

 

Post was directed at you.

 

How anyone can listen to this song and think it's depressing is beyond me. Too beautiful for words.

 

The leave doesn't fall very far from the Fruit Tree.

 

One of the most beautiful songs ever written.

 

Picked up cd/ diary book last year ( HMV closing down sale) for a song.

 

Really? Really!?!

 

No! O’ Riley.

 

Tanworth is 13 miles from Stratford upon Avon so there is a ton of stuff. We got into Stratford on Thursday, explored on Friday, did Tanworth Friday evening, and then spent the entire day Saturday in Oxford and driving through the Cotswolds. Amazing country. So yeah, lots to see.

 

2-2 1/2 hours maybe. Tanworth in Arden is pretty isolated though. You probably should have a car available.