(summer playlist, #1)
Album: Love In The Time Of Science (1999)
Lyrics excerpt:
Let's get drunk on saturday
Walk on Primrose Hill
Until we lose our way
We''ll get sunburned on the grass
Playing silly buggers 'till I make a pass
And you laugh at my face
Reasons to love this song:
Do you remember how, when you were a child, summers would last forever -- a seemingly endless time without any obligations? And then, as you grow older, time starts speeding up and summers get shorter and shorter and much less carefree. But in your early twenties there is still something left of that superpower children posess: slowing down time. This song captures the feeling of a long, carefree summer perfectly.
YouTube Link:
The official video:
utorak, 19. srpnja 2011.
petak, 15. srpnja 2011.
A little postscriptum on Gypsy by Suzanne Vega
In this post I mentioned that Suzanne Vega's songs Gypsy and In Liverpool were based on the same person, her first love. I saw her in concert last week and she joked about this connection in a very charming way.
By some strange coincidence, just as she was about to play Gypsy, a man from the audience shouted: "In Liverpool!" She said "Thank you for the suggestion, but not right now," and went on to tell the story about the summer camp where she taught folk music and disco dancing, and the man who inspired Gypsy taught art. She didn't mention that this man was from Liverpool, but she suddenly asked in a dreamy voice: "Are you from Liverpool, sir? You who requested the song?" That would have been a lovely epilogue to this story, if this man from her past appeared at one of her concerts and requested a song about himself. It wasn't him, though! Or at least he didn't want to admit it...
She did play In Liverpool as an encore, and it was great.
By some strange coincidence, just as she was about to play Gypsy, a man from the audience shouted: "In Liverpool!" She said "Thank you for the suggestion, but not right now," and went on to tell the story about the summer camp where she taught folk music and disco dancing, and the man who inspired Gypsy taught art. She didn't mention that this man was from Liverpool, but she suddenly asked in a dreamy voice: "Are you from Liverpool, sir? You who requested the song?" That would have been a lovely epilogue to this story, if this man from her past appeared at one of her concerts and requested a song about himself. It wasn't him, though! Or at least he didn't want to admit it...
She did play In Liverpool as an encore, and it was great.
srijeda, 29. prosinca 2010.
#23 The Pretenders - 2000 Miles
(Winter/Christmas playlist, #2)
Album: Learning to Crawl (1983)
Lyrics excerpt:
In these frozen and silent nights
Sometimes in a dream
You appear
Outside under the purple sky
Diamonds in the snow sparkle
Our hearts were singing
It felt like Christmas time
Reasons to love this song:
For me it is one of the two best non-religious Christmas songs (the other one being The Pogues' Fairytale of New York). It perfectly captures the melancholy feeling of separation from a loved one as Christmas is approaching (regardless of whether the loved one is physically far away or even dead -- the song is said to be inspired by the 1982 death of The Pretenders' guitarist James Honeyman-Scott.
2000 Miles was used in the series Beverly Hills, 90210, in a scene in which the character Steve Sanders leaves to search for his real mother. I remember that, even though I didn't like the series very much and I thought Steve was an unsympathetic character, the song gave poignancy to the scene and almost made me cry.
Link to Amazon preview:
2000 Miles
YouTube link:
A live performance from 1995:
Album: Learning to Crawl (1983)
Lyrics excerpt:
In these frozen and silent nights
Sometimes in a dream
You appear
Outside under the purple sky
Diamonds in the snow sparkle
Our hearts were singing
It felt like Christmas time
Reasons to love this song:
For me it is one of the two best non-religious Christmas songs (the other one being The Pogues' Fairytale of New York). It perfectly captures the melancholy feeling of separation from a loved one as Christmas is approaching (regardless of whether the loved one is physically far away or even dead -- the song is said to be inspired by the 1982 death of The Pretenders' guitarist James Honeyman-Scott.
2000 Miles was used in the series Beverly Hills, 90210, in a scene in which the character Steve Sanders leaves to search for his real mother. I remember that, even though I didn't like the series very much and I thought Steve was an unsympathetic character, the song gave poignancy to the scene and almost made me cry.
Link to Amazon preview:
2000 Miles
YouTube link:
A live performance from 1995:
utorak, 21. prosinca 2010.
#22 Thea Gilmore: Sol Invictus
(Winter/Christmas playlist, #1)
Album: Strange Communion (2009)
Lyrics excerpt:
Come the dawn, come the call
Come, the beating air
Chill the night, soldier light
We'll be dancing there
And rise up, rise up
Day stretching weary wings
Reasons to love this song:
Sol Invictus is the opening song of The Gilmore's excellent Christmas album. In contrast to most of the other songs, which are much more upbeat, Sol Invictus is an a capella choral prayer to the sun and the day. Sol Invictus was the late Roman sun god, celebrated on December 25th; while listening to this song, I can easily imagine Thea Gilmore as his priestess, leading the believers in prayer while waiting for the sun to rise after the coldest night of the year. This is a truly heartfelt, spiritual song about longing for light.
Link to Amazon preview:
Sol Invictus
Album: Strange Communion (2009)
Lyrics excerpt:
Come the dawn, come the call
Come, the beating air
Chill the night, soldier light
We'll be dancing there
And rise up, rise up
Day stretching weary wings
Reasons to love this song:
Sol Invictus is the opening song of The Gilmore's excellent Christmas album. In contrast to most of the other songs, which are much more upbeat, Sol Invictus is an a capella choral prayer to the sun and the day. Sol Invictus was the late Roman sun god, celebrated on December 25th; while listening to this song, I can easily imagine Thea Gilmore as his priestess, leading the believers in prayer while waiting for the sun to rise after the coldest night of the year. This is a truly heartfelt, spiritual song about longing for light.
Link to Amazon preview:
Sol Invictus
srijeda, 17. studenoga 2010.
#21 Nico - Afraid
Album: Desertshore (1970)
Lyrics excerpt:
Cease to know or to tell
Or to see or to be your own
Have someone else's will as your own
Have someone else's will as your own
You are beautiful and you are alone
Reasons to love this song:
A few times I've come across music critics saying something along the lines of "The Velvet Underground were a great band, too bad Andy Warhol forced them to perform with Nico". I would take it as a sure sign that I need not pay any attention to any of their reviews. Yes, Nico was a beautiful woman, but she was far from "just a pretty face"; she had a unique, warm and deep voice coloured by her German accent, a way of singing I've seen compared to a priestess chanting, and she developed a songwriting style that sounded timeless and didn't fit into any existing genre.
I've always understood Afraid to be similar to Tori Amos's Girl -- the artist addressing and comforting her younger and more insecure self. Nico's chant-like way of singing gives the impression of a prophetess or deity comforting a mortal.
Link to Amazon preview:
The album version by Nico: Afraid
A lovely cover by Espers from The Weed Tree (2005): Afraid
YouTube link:
Nico performing Afraid live in Manchester in 1980:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG2JNv5r6yE
Lyrics excerpt:
Cease to know or to tell
Or to see or to be your own
Have someone else's will as your own
Have someone else's will as your own
You are beautiful and you are alone
Reasons to love this song:
A few times I've come across music critics saying something along the lines of "The Velvet Underground were a great band, too bad Andy Warhol forced them to perform with Nico". I would take it as a sure sign that I need not pay any attention to any of their reviews. Yes, Nico was a beautiful woman, but she was far from "just a pretty face"; she had a unique, warm and deep voice coloured by her German accent, a way of singing I've seen compared to a priestess chanting, and she developed a songwriting style that sounded timeless and didn't fit into any existing genre.
I've always understood Afraid to be similar to Tori Amos's Girl -- the artist addressing and comforting her younger and more insecure self. Nico's chant-like way of singing gives the impression of a prophetess or deity comforting a mortal.
Link to Amazon preview:
The album version by Nico: Afraid
A lovely cover by Espers from The Weed Tree (2005): Afraid
YouTube link:
Nico performing Afraid live in Manchester in 1980:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG2JNv5r6yE
četvrtak, 4. studenoga 2010.
# 20 Madonna - Mer Girl
(Halloween playlist, #5)
Album: Ray Of Light (1998)
Lyrics excerpt:
I ran past the churches and the crooked old mailbox
Past the apple orchards and the lady that never talks
Up into the hills, I ran to the cemetery
And held my breath, and thought about your death
I ran to the lake, up into the hills
I ran and I ran, I'm looking there still
And I saw the crumbling tombstones
All forgotten names
Link to Amazon preview:
Mer Girl
Reasons to love this song:
A rather simple, bleak and poignant song about death that concludes Ray Of Light. I've noticed that, when I play this song to friends unfamiliar with Ray Of Light or quote a part of the lyrics, they often seem surprised it's a Madonna song -- and yet, it's probably one of the most personal songs Madonna ever made.
I've seen some conspiracy theories about an alleged deep occult meaning to this song (an example can be seen in the comments to the YouTube video linked below), but I firmly believe they are rubbish. There is no need to look for hidden meanings if there is an obvious meaning -- the singer's thoughts about her mother's death and about her own mortality.
YouTube link:
A fragment of the song with the (beautiful and disturbing) backdrop video made for the Drowned World Tour:
Album: Ray Of Light (1998)
Lyrics excerpt:
I ran past the churches and the crooked old mailbox
Past the apple orchards and the lady that never talks
Up into the hills, I ran to the cemetery
And held my breath, and thought about your death
I ran to the lake, up into the hills
I ran and I ran, I'm looking there still
And I saw the crumbling tombstones
All forgotten names
Link to Amazon preview:
Mer Girl
Reasons to love this song:
A rather simple, bleak and poignant song about death that concludes Ray Of Light. I've noticed that, when I play this song to friends unfamiliar with Ray Of Light or quote a part of the lyrics, they often seem surprised it's a Madonna song -- and yet, it's probably one of the most personal songs Madonna ever made.
I've seen some conspiracy theories about an alleged deep occult meaning to this song (an example can be seen in the comments to the YouTube video linked below), but I firmly believe they are rubbish. There is no need to look for hidden meanings if there is an obvious meaning -- the singer's thoughts about her mother's death and about her own mortality.
YouTube link:
A fragment of the song with the (beautiful and disturbing) backdrop video made for the Drowned World Tour:
utorak, 2. studenoga 2010.
#19 Emilie Autumn - Miss Lucy Had Some Leeches
(Halloween playlist, #4)
Album: Opheliac (Deluxe edition, Disc 2) (2010)
Lyrics excerpt:
Lunatics are dangerous
And doctors are obeyed
They also go together just like toast and marma-
Ladies are like children
With brains the size of squirrels
Lets give clitoridectomies to all the little ...
Girls are helpless trasures
That daddies must protect
So lie upon the table for the doctors to in-
Reasons to love this song:
I can't imagine a song with more dark humour than this one. It's a parody of a children's clapping song with many variations (Miss Lucy Had a Baby/Miss Suzy Had a Baby/Miss Lucy Had a Steamboat), describing the mistreatment of women in 19th century medicine and psychiatry. As in some versions of the children's song, the last word or syllable of each stanza is missing, but it is implied by the rhyme and by the first word in the next one. The simplicity of the tune and Autumn's cheerful voice make the subject matter even more terrible -- and yet, you can't help laughing. I wasn't able to get this song out of my head for days after I first heard it.
Link to Amazon preview:
Miss Lucy Had Some Leeches
Miss Lucy Had Some Leeches (Live)
YouTube link:
Album: Opheliac (Deluxe edition, Disc 2) (2010)
Lyrics excerpt:
Lunatics are dangerous
And doctors are obeyed
They also go together just like toast and marma-
Ladies are like children
With brains the size of squirrels
Lets give clitoridectomies to all the little ...
Girls are helpless trasures
That daddies must protect
So lie upon the table for the doctors to in-
Reasons to love this song:
I can't imagine a song with more dark humour than this one. It's a parody of a children's clapping song with many variations (Miss Lucy Had a Baby/Miss Suzy Had a Baby/Miss Lucy Had a Steamboat), describing the mistreatment of women in 19th century medicine and psychiatry. As in some versions of the children's song, the last word or syllable of each stanza is missing, but it is implied by the rhyme and by the first word in the next one. The simplicity of the tune and Autumn's cheerful voice make the subject matter even more terrible -- and yet, you can't help laughing. I wasn't able to get this song out of my head for days after I first heard it.
Link to Amazon preview:
Miss Lucy Had Some Leeches
Miss Lucy Had Some Leeches (Live)
YouTube link:
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