"Forgot Love" by Public Radio from the album Sweetchild. 2009.
For those of you who just click the link and disregard my commentary, you'll be puzzled by today's redirect. Normally I would post a YouTube link or something, but none of my sources picked up the studio recording of this gem. There's a live version up on the YT, and they've got the studio bit on their MySpace page; I figured that a link to Amazon would be the best though, for at the time of writing, this song is offered for the gratuitous price of FREE there. A magnificent deal for such a magnificent song! You'll want to grab it.
Coming around full circle, I found it off of Amazon during one of the massive free song hunts I've been partaking in as of late. That little encircled triangle met my mouse click innumerable times these past weeks, and yet the one song that continues to stand out now rests before you here. "Forgot Love" is pure. Truthful. If you're anything like the writers of this blog, you've found yourself.. disenchanted, to say the least, about the concept of love. We've all got our experiences with it, but one of the most common phrase uttered by those in spite runs along the lines of "I don't believe in love". I've grappled with the thought, going so far as rejecting its existence to describing it through layers and varying intensities until I over-complicated the most over-complicated emotion. This song, though.. it slams home the answer with the remarkably simple line "you can't sing of love without knowing it". You can choose to not believe in gravity, but that doesn't make it unreal. Same goes for love. One day, no matter how bitter Cupid has left you bleeding in that ditch, the apple will fall from the tree. What you were once blind to will suddenly appear inexplicably permanent to you. And if you can't stand the wait, I ask you this: Would you be so hurt if love did not exist?
Essentially, my point comes to this: the track needs to get spun at the lonely heart's club. It smacked me with a realization, and hopefully my fellow shipmates in the fleet of same boats can take one away too. It almost speaks directly to those of us dragging our feet in the hellfire of l'amour. Exhibit A, a clipping of lyrics: "And all you thought that you once knew- you’ve lost your way your sense of truth. Take off your coat and wipe your shoes. I’m calling you, no more excuses. Your heart’s been crushed. You forgot love." I wouldn't normally quote such a chunk and let you discover it yourself, but it really displays the core of the song. Lyrically, at least. The greatest seller I can give for this song is the magic thread blending together well-done wording with exceptional melodies. The style works exceptionally, with the two musical halves sitting squarely even across the tug-o-war knot.
If you're the lazy type who only checked the 30-second sample on Amazon, you've heard the song's hook- a hook where even the barbs have barbs to keep one strung along, mouth agape. That simple-but-powerful uplift of three tones somehow tells both pain and triumph- a melancholy, jolly rise that only something the caliber of love could embellish. Afterward, you're gently eased into the afterglow. Unlike many time-killer choruses you hear in songs these days, it doesn't get repeated until dulled to the point of a Vaseline cap. There's balance. From that stability comes power. And when it comes to love, I'd hope for nothing less.
I can't say I know anything else of the band. They've released the EP Sweetchild, and while I've only heard bits and pieces, nothing quite caught my hear the way of "Forgot Love". Hailing from Charlotte, NC, small-time Public Radio has been described as "Emotronic", riding on the coattails of post-emo bands so big in the mid 00s. I can't say one way or another, but I really hope this number gets them some attention. For this song alone they deserve it.
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