Lend an ear—makeover inspiration is only a beat away.

I delve into color daily. I contemplate palettes to flesh out decorative schemes for rooms and shape shots for photography, and I review the tones we use for magazine layouts. I can safely say I’m a color person. But I’m also very much a music person—one tune or another is always cycling through my head, and I’m forever humming or singing.

Since both music and color inform the spaces I move through, I thought I’d share some color-driven songs to inspire your decor and fill your rooms with rhythm. The following lists cut across a wide range of genres and time periods. The selections range from riotous to subdued, but whether you’re listening pre-, post-, or during your design process, they’re sure to help define your sense of place and make you focus on the energy exuded by a particular hue.

Give a quick listen on your favorite music site and then download one or more before taking your next decorative step. —Room Whisperer

BLACK
The essential outlines of every room; small doses’ll do…
• “Black Is the Color of My True Love’s Hair”—Nina Simone, Nina Simone at Town Hall
• “Black Water”—The Doobie Brothers, The Doobie Brothers: Best of the Doobies
• “Black”—Sarah McLachlan, Solace
• “Black Diamond”—Kiss, Kiss (Remastered)
• “Black Coffee”—k.d. lang, Shadowland
• “Blackbird”—by Carly Simon, Into White
• “Song of the Black Lizard”—Pink Martini, Sympathique

PINK
Girly, gleeful, fun; the color of bubblegum, sunrise, and sunset; a great accent color…
• “Pink Chandelier”—Nellie McKay, Pretty Little Head
• “Pink Bullets”—The Shins, Shoots Too Narrow
• “Pink Moon”—Nick Drake, Pink Moon (Remastered)
• “Pink Cadillac”—Bruce Springsteen, 18 Tracks
• “Pink Houses”—John Cougar Mellencamp, Uh-Huh! (Remastered)
• “Pink”—Aerosmith, Nine Lives

BROWN
Earthy and solid; rooms with touches of brown will make you feel well-grounded.
• “Brown Ballad”—Quincy Jones & His Orchestra & Toots Thielemans, Smackwater Jack
• “Brown Eyed Girl”—Van Morrison, Van Morrison New York Sessions ’67
• “John Brown”—Bob Dylan, MTV Unplugged: Bob Dylan
• “Brown Sugar”—The Rolling Stones, Live Licks
• “Golden Brown”—The Stranglers, Peaches: The Very Best of the Stranglers
• “Jackie Brown” (Acoustic Version)—John Cougar Mellencamp, Big Daddy
• “Mrs. Brown You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter”—Herman’s Hermits, All the Hits Plus More, vol.4

PURPLE
Regal, lush, and sexy; goes well with gold; too much of this and you’ll have the room of a four-year-old girl.
• “Purple People” (Live)—Tori Amos, To Venus and Back
• “Purple Haze”—The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Are You Experienced (Remastered)
• “Purple Rain”—Prince & the Revolution, Purple Rain (Soundtrack)
• “The Color Purple” (Main Title Song)—Itzhak Perlman, Cinema Serenade
• “Deep Purple”—Artie Shaw & Helen Forrest, Greatest Hits: Artie Shaw
• “Pale Purple”—Ani DiFranco, Ani DiFranco
• “Violet”—Miles Davis Sextet, Aura

YELLOW
Sunshiny, bright, and happy, rich and warm; pair it with blue and you’re so very Matisse.
• “Yellow”—Coldplay, Parachutes
• “Yellow Ledbetter”—Pearl Jam, Rearview Mirror (Greatest Hits 1991–2003)
• “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”—Elton John, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
• “Yellow Submarine”—Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band, Tour 2003 (Live)
• “Big Yellow Taxi”—Joni Mitchell, Ladies of the Canyon
• “Yellow Beach Umbrella”—Bette Midler, Broken Blossom (Remastered)

WHITE
Searing, pure, and squeaky clean; it makes things look open, airy, and ever so cool.
• “White Room”—Cream, The Very Best of Cream
• “White Lightning”—Hank Williams, Jr., Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound—Original Classic Hits, vol. 4
• “White Sail”—Cowboy Junkies, Pink Sun Crescent Moon
• “White Ladder”—David Grey, White Ladder (Extra Tracks)
• “White Flag”—Dido, Life for Rent
• “White Light/White Heat”—David Bowie, Bowie at the Beeb: The Best of the BBC Radio Sessions ’68–72
• “White Rabbit”—Grace Slick & the Great Society, Grace Slick & the Great Society

BLUE
Mysterious, moody, deep; of the sea, sky, and baby boys, it brings things inward and home.
• “Blue”—Lucinda Williams, Live at the Fillmore
• “Blues”—Keith Jarrett, Paris Concert
• “Blue Moon”—Ella Fitzgerald, Jazz ’Round Midnight: Ella Fitzgerald
• “Once in a Very Blue Moon”—Nanci Griffith, Once in a Very Blue Moon
• “Famous Blue Raincoat”—Leonard Cohen, The Essential Leonard Cohen
• “M’bife Blues”—Amadou & Miriam, Dimanche a Bamako
• “Note Bleu”—Medeski, Martin & Wood, Note Bleu: The Best of the Blue Note Years 1998–2005
• “I Am the Blues”—Laura Nyro, Smile
• “Gone Woman Blues”—Rory Block, Rory Block: Gone Woman Blues—The Country Blues Collection

GREEN
Sprawling lawns and emeralds; it’s about growth and freshness and nature and tending to our true home—the planet; this color will give any room a view.
• “Green Green”—Tom Waits, Real Gone
• “Velvet Green”—Jethro Tull, Songs From the Wood
• “Green River”—John Fogerty, Premonition
• “Bein’ Green”—Audra McDonald, Build a Bridge
• “Green River”—Creedence Clearwater, 20th Century Masters—The Millennium Collection: The Best of Creedence Clearwater Remastered

RED
Love and heat; a hue that’s exciting, embracing, full of heart and life.
• “The Life Is a Red Wagon”—Jane Siberry, Bound by the Beauty
• “Red Red Red”—Fiona Apple, Extraordinary Machine
• “Red House”—The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Are You Experienced (Remastered)
• “Red Light”—Jonny Lang (Single)
• “Red Dust”—Calexico/Iron & Wine, In the Reins

GOLD & SILVER
Luxe and lavish. Put on the ritz with a hue that’s all glam and glitter, shine and shimmer.
• “Fields of Gold”—Sting, Fields of Gold—The Best of Sting
• “Heart of Gold”—Neil Young, Harvest
• “Stay Gold”—Stevie Wonder, The Complete Stevie Wonder
• “Halo of Gold”—Beck, More Oar: A Tribute to the Skip Spence Album
• “Silver Lining”—Cheryl Wheeler, Driving Home
• “Silver Thunderbird”—Marc Cohn, Marc Cohn

Comments

[celpjefscycle]

Thanks for information.
many interesting things
Celpjefscylc