“Fade into You” – Mazzy Star
(Words/music: David Rorbach and Hope Sandoval, available on So Tonight That I Might See, Capitol 1993)
At least three times over the past week, in three entirely different settings, Mazzy Star came up. This doesn’t surprise me – I’m used to hearing colleagues reminisce about warm summer nights listening to So Tonight That I Might See, discussing how stoic Hope Sandoval looked when singing “Sometimes Always” with the Jesus and Mary Chain, or how “Fade Into You” sounds like it could be from 2003, let alone 1993. People love “Fade into You” for its atmosphere and mood rather than any other specific element of the songwriting – it doesn’t overwhelm melodically, most people would be pressed to recite an entire line other than the title, and there’s very little in the way of traditional song structure – no verse, hook, bridge, etc. Still, listeners flock to it and savor its subdued psychedelia a decade and a half later. It provides affirmation that songs don’t always need to take a journey; sometimes, songs work when they plant their feet in one place and revel in their surroundings, at least when they’re this beautiful.
Perhaps we like “Fade into You” because it’s a sort of blank canvas. While Sandoval sings beautifully, she’s suited for these understated and mellow songs rather than something loud and boisterous. While other singers infuse their personality into their songs, Sandoval stands as a musical introvert by projecting as little of herself as possible into her song. To be clear, this doesn’t make her songs “bland” but rather egoless – these songs are less about her than they are anyone else. Without a specific narrative thread from Sandoval’s end, we’re free to project our own thoughts into the song, using it as a vehicle to remember specific memories or achieve a specific state of mind. Ask someone why he or she likes “Fade into You” and you’ll likely receive a two part answer. First, you’ll get a comment about the sound (or the “mood” or the like), and second you’ll almost always get some kind of memory – “I haven’t heard this in ages,” “this reminds me of…,” or “I have a friend who used to love this song…” Sure, we all have our own songs with our own personal attachments, but “Fade into You” lends itself well to these recollections.
More on Mazzy Star: Allmusic | Amazon MP3 | Emusic | Last.fm
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