Saturday, January 31, 2015

The best song about Belfast?



Last week, The Guardian ran a piece titled "the best songs about cities." "Madame George" was included—and was the first song featured. "Morrison is an exquisite painter of cities," writes Guardian staffer Laura Barton. (As a side note, I would like to be reminded of the other cities Morrison has painted as exquisitely as he did Belfast.) "Much of the joy of Astral Weeks," Barton continues, "lies in the way he captures the sensory impact of Belfast. Here on 'Madame George' he's mingling past and present, stirring memory with a bombardment of sights and scents and sounds."

Personally, I wonder if "Madame George" is the best song ever written about Belfast. I imagine the pool of candidates isn't that large. For those interested in answering such a question, check out this piece I did for Stylus way back in 2006. I included a few ditties about Belfast. (Notice how I went with "Cyprus Avenue" over "Madame George." I was clearly having an off day.)

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