"Brooklyn Sun" - Salem Al Fakir.
This song first made an appearance at the beginning of 2009, but didn't make the 2009-50 as it wasn't commercially released until this year. The standout track on "Ignore This" (apart from one certain other song...), "Brooklyn Sun" is a very simple and straightforward song played on guitar with minimal musical backing, although in my opinion the song is completely at its best when played on piano and backed by an orchestra. It is one of Salem's most emotional songs, filled with so much longing, and it's just heartbreakingly beautiful.
The song was co-written by Salem and (appropriately) Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter Nate Campany. (By the way, did you know that Nate also co-wrote the brilliant "Colliding" sung by Nicholas Carlie, which was one of my favourite songs in the Norwegian MGP 2008).
Anyway, how can I sum up "Brooklyn Sun"? Well, I'll refer to what I said in a previous blog post at Planet Salem: "...everytime I hear him sing this song live, it completely rips my heart to shreds". If you want to know why I reached that conclusion, listen to his solo live version on this clip from "Good Morning Norge" when he was over in Norway, back in May 2010: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQwEone_FS8
Studio version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OG_iLKGn3-U
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