Why XTC’s “Skylarking” is the Perfect Summer Soundtrack

Because in these times it’s needed

Cover image from Louder Sound.com

When I first heard the glorious XTC “Skylarking” back in the day, I absolutely and totally fell in love with it. The sounds evoked summer, love and lust in equal measure. It was (is) brilliant. I plan on listening to it A LOT this summer

It somehow manages to capture the elusive essence of summer with it songs and yet, at the same time, it also engages in controversy (Ex: the song “Dear God” which I remember being played on MTV when MTV actually…played music videos). But, it’s also SO very much more than that, too, I think.

For me, it is THE quintessential “English” work meaning: it’s quirky, it’s erotic, and it’s just downright lovely to listen to all the way through. It’s witty, sometimes serious, but always joyful. And right now, with everything happening in our current culture and society, don’t we all need something of beauty, something of pleasure, something of value that espouses a love, respect and regard for nature? I think so. In the coming months of summer, with all the uncertainty abounding, please do yourself a favor: listen to this.

Preferably while on a walk in nature, a jaunt through the forest, a hike in the woods. Listen to it and marvel at the sounds you’ll hear, the immersion in another world, but also a world that is expressing love, however distant it may be. It’s still there, just waiting for us to hear it. This is my fave track from it:

“Over and over, we flatten the clover”…YES :)