Ponytail Picks #67 - Wind

Here’s what’s blown across our consciousnesses this week.

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LISTEN

Songs for wind travel

Wind travel isn’t just for Mary Poppins (see below). Plenty of pop and folk troubadors use it to carry themselves and their song along wherever the breeze may choose to blow. Here are a few favourites of mine:

“Western Wind” - Carly Rae Jepsen

We were pressed into the breeze up on the mountain
I was by your side…

Comin’ in like a western wind

“Whistle Down the Wind” - Tom Waits

I’ve yelled and I’ve cursed
If I stay here I’ll rust
I’m stuck like a shipwreck
Out here in the dust…

There are places where they never sleep
And the circus never ends
So I will take the Marley Bone Coach
And whistle down the wind

“The Wind” - Cat Stevens

I listen to the wind, to the wind of my soul
Where I’ll end up, well, I think only God really knows

“Caught a Long Wind” - Feist

I caught a long wind
A long life wind
I got to know the sky
But it didn’t know me

“Eyes to the Wind” - The War on Drugs

I was sailin’ down here on the wind
When I met you and I fell away again

-JB

Don’t fall away—stick around and let us know of your favourite tracks in the comments.

WATCH

Wind effects

Wind for travel.

Wind for laughs.

Wind for beauty.

Wind to bother.

Wind for danger.

Wind for death.

-AK

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READ

Anticipating wind in The Old Man and the Sea

If you’ve been following along, you may have noticed that I’ve been checking some missed classics off my to-read list this year. It started with The Bell Jar, then I read Animal Farm, and now I’ve just finished Hemingway’s classic, The Old Man and the Sea.

People make it out like this is Hemingway’s best work. It’s the one that won him the Nobel Prize. I don’t know if I agree¹, but I will admit that it works, and works well.

Why? The first answer that springs to mind is anticipation. Having known the basic, one-liner synopsis of what happens before I even started, the reason it still rapt my attention was Hemingway’s balance of fulfilling and dodging expectations.

His use of wind—or more specifically lack thereof—is a perfect example. Santiago is left in the sun for nearly the entire story. And then Hemingway paints a storm on the horizon. He’s put his character through everything else you could imagine, so why not a storm?

But that’s the kicker—the storm never comes. It feels like Hemingway showing off, saying he doesn’t need that level of drama to keep you entertained. He can stick to the essentials. It’s what gives the story that clock-work impression.

-AK

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The breeze died down and we’re unlatching the hatches. Get your egos ready for next week as we celebrate the full spectrum of

pride.

1. For Whom the Bell Tolls is still my favourite.