ABC Music Monday
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The Zombies ~ She’s Not There
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5IRI4oHKNU[/youtube] Z already? The end of the alphabet? That means I’ve been doing this A – Z thing for 26 weeks, 1/2 a year. Crazy, huh? I don’t know a lot of Z bands. There are the Zombies, and ZZ Top. I know there are plenty of others, but these are the only ones I’m familiar with. And I’m not very familiar with either, really. Anyway, enjoy the Zombies, (appropriate for Halloween week, no?), and I hope you enjoyed ‘ABC Music Monday’, which was influenced by Gina’s ‘Music Monday’, and then was picked up by my friend Simon as well. Simon lives in Belgium, and I don’t think we’ve ever…
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Yaz(oo) ~ Only You
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9DOmlfICGw[/youtube] Yaz in the U.S., Yazoo in the U.K.. Either way, I really liked both of their albums, Upstairs at Eric’s and You and Me Both. When they broke up and Vince (who was previously with Depeche Mode) went on to Erasure, I loved that, too. Funny how he found a guy to sing that sounded so much like Alison Moyet. I guess I was just a big fan of the synth pop sound of the 80s, huh? There wasn’t an official video for Only You, just this, which sounds kind of….muddy. If you care about such things and want better sound, listen here. Want more? How about Didn’t I…
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XTC ~ Dear God
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hk41Gbjljfo[/youtube] One of my favorite songs ever, and one that sums up a lot for me. A lot about atheism. A lot about not being able to make the leap of faith to understand how the tragedies that affect so many people: earth quakes, tsunamis, sick asshats who kidnap kids and keep them in the basement, etc.. How can these things be explained in a world with a loving God, who at the same time, is involved in our lives and answers our prayers. I can’t make that leap. I know that many people can, and that a big part of it is being able to say, faith. Faith. …
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The Wallflowers ~ One Headlight
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEeqDk7203U[/youtube] I remember being really impressed by Bringing Down the Horse, by The Wallflowers. Loved all of it. My favorite three songs were probably this one, One Headlight, along with Three Marlinas, and 6th Avenue Heartache. The pop hook is great in all of them, but I particularly think that Jakob Dylan got some pretty decent lyric writing chops from his old man. Here are the lyrics to 6th Avenue Heartache, which I think I like even more than One Headlight, but I couldn’t find a copy that would embed on YouTube. Click the link above, to listen to 6th Avenue Heartache. Written for a homeless man in New York…
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Violent Femmes
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocQeP1UOwss[/youtube] Here we are at V already, coming mighty close to the end of this mostly ignored experiment called, The ABC’s of Music, which I copied and morphed from Gina, and was then copied (yay!) from me by Simon. I thought of Veruca Salt, who I do enjoy from time to time, but I’ve mentioned them before already. Thought of the Verve, but then I remembered The Violent Femmes! Oh my, does this take me back to a particular time and place, that being my sophomore year of college, in Stockton, CA. We didn’t get much ‘good’ music in Stockton, or at least it didn’t feel like it at the…
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Until December ~ Free Again
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biSbmPYbwzo[/youtube] There’s no video for this song. As a matter of fact, it’s not a very easy song to find anywhere, probably because it wasn’t their most popular song, and Until December wasn’t ever big as a group. But I loved this song, love the very 80s sound of it all. Love the bitter lyrics, which while I don’t agree with them, there are certainly times in our lives when they feel very real. Maybe right after a break up, for example. Enjoy the crackles at the end of the song, proving that the person who posted this on YouTube ripped it from their LP.
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Translator ~ Everywhere That I’m Not
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxdriKRoabA[/youtube] There’s no way that I was cool enough to have heard this song when it came out in 1982. I was just graduating from Hall & Oats and deciding that I was into heavy metal. And the radio stations that we got in the San Joaquin Valley in the early 80s sucked, so there wasn’t much chance of hearing it there, either. Anyway, finally I met Ted, and he was cool enough to have heard this song, cool enough to actually own it, and he put it on a mix tape for me. See why I married him? Enjoy. Back to the early 80s.
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Suzanne Vega ~ Men in a War
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BR2o54X61No[/youtube] Funny how things change in life, right? This song isn’t even my favorite Suzanne Vega song, and before I lost my mom last year, it never would have made me think of her. But now. Now, any time I hear it, it makes me think of that horrible adjustment period after she died. Of how confusing the world suddenly was around me. Of how, though I still had (have) so many things and people in my life that were (are) so very important to me, things would never be the same again, would never be right again. I know how it is When something is gone A piece of…
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Rush ~ Time Stand Still
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QfvFy2Qy-M[/youtube] Ted loves Rush. If he could, he would marry Rush. Really, he loves them. Totally. Me? I loved Rush in 9th grade (this is me in grade 9), totally into 2112 (both sides, I know, I’m a dork), and that was about the end of it. But Ted is a true fan, has loved them from the beginning. Still loves them. Has seen them in concert many times. Maya and I finally went with them last year, and they were totally great. I was really impressed with their stage presence, their skill, the fun that they had, and the connection with the audience. Really great. I think my favorite…
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Queen ~ One Vision
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJvNvBYTsGw[/youtube] I remember the day I heard on the radio that Freddy Mercury had died from complications of AIDS. I wasn’t the biggest Queen fan in the world, but still, the news broke my heart, and I knew the world was worse off without his exuberant spirit in it. I think the DJ played Bohemian Rhapsody, and these lyrics never rang more true: Too late, my time has come Sends shivers down my spine Body’s aching all the time Goodbye, everybody I’ve got to go Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth Mama, ooh I don’t want to die I sometimes wish I’d never been born at all……
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Police ~ Message in a Bottle
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5G2LtPvPemw[/youtube] What is it about being a teenager that makes you feel so in tune with the ideas of alienation and loneliness? I swear, I had so many wonderful, caring friends, not to mention a very warm and loving family, and yet songs, poems, and stories that dealt with these issues just SPOKE to me. Resonated like no other subject. So “Message in a Bottle” was a favorite for me, from the very first time I heard it. Back in 1983, The Police went on tour. They played at Day on the Green, which was an amazing all day concert in the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, California. The Police headlined,…
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Outfield ~ Mystery Man
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tOFnTHXbQU[/youtube] This isn’t really a video, just a picture of the album cover. Sorry. Back in the 80s, I was a big fan of The Outfield. I had a little rag top VW bug, which was foolish to put a stereo in, because it was ridiculously easy to break into (unsnap the homemade rag top, take what you want. Done. For faster access, slash the rag top, so J has to go have a new one custom made.) So, I had a little boom box that I took in the car with me, and I listened to cassettes that way. Play Deep was on seriously heavy rotation, and now that…
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Natalie Merchant ~ What’s the Matter Here
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47Wm_IAu_yM[/youtube] I totally forgot to do a ‘music Monday’ last week, but no one seemed to mind. It’s the getting back into the swing of work, worrying about my dog, all of that, I guess. Anyway, I’ve always liked this song, originally performed by 10,000 Maniacs, but here by Natalie Merchant, their lyricist and vocalist. The only version I could find that I could embed was this live version with just Merchant. If you want to see the original video, you can find it here: 10,000 Maniacs – What’s The Matter Here.
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Mark Knopfler ~ Brothers in Arms
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvE97zz5loc[/youtube] Mark Knopfler is such a distinctive musician. There’s no one else with his voice, or his guitar work. I know some people don’t like his voice, but I adore it. This video is about the British soldiers & the Falklands war.
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Leonard Cohen ~ Everybody Knows
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yG5e1oaen-M[/youtube] It’s getting harder and harder to find you tube videos of songs for this, due to copyright infringement, etc. So here we have Leonard Cohen’s Everybody Knows, which is a great song, but the video is to a TV series, The Man from Uncle. I first heard it in the wonderful and underrated Adam Egoyan film, Exotica. Actually, it was also in Pump Up The Volume, but I didn’t like that movie at all, so I guess I missed the song. I also really like this L song, Liz Phair, Johnny Feelgood. Couldn’t find a decent video that was embeddable. So click and enjoy. There is certainly a less…