"Head On" is, of course, a cover of the song by The Jesus and Mary Chain. You may remember me posting about the JAMC version during Week Two. I remember purchasing a Pixies shirt at Fast Forward in the mall. I wore it to “field day” during Freshman year at my local Catholic high school. This Junior really wanted my Pixies shirt and was trying to convince me that as the “biggest Pixies fan that ever lived”, he should be the proud owner of my new shirt. So he decided to quiz me on my Pixies knowledge to see if I was actually worthy of wearing it. Wanna know what lame question he asked me? Okay, I'll tell you... It was: “What JAMC song did the Pixies cover?” - “Head On” - duh?!?!?! The lead singer of the Pixies, Black Francis, went on to have a solo career under the name Frank Black, and I love his song, "Los Angeles"... so I will include that one for you today too. Kim Deal, the bassist, went on to be part of The Breeders, but I already posted my favorites by them, "Cannonball" and "Safari", during Week Twenty-Five when I talked about cassingles!
This is one of those songs that I always sang along to and always enjoyed but never really knew what it was about nor did I really ever care to look it up until now... and I discovered what a morbid song it truly is thanks to Wikipedia: "Other songs explored eccentric subjects, such as in 'Wave of Mutilation', which Francis described as being about 'Japanese businessmen doing murder-suicides with their families because they'd failed in business, and they're driving off a pier into the ocean.' The song's opening phrase, 'Cease to resist', is a reference to The Beach Boys' 1968 song 'Never Learn Not to Love', their rewritten version of Charles Manson's composition 'Cease to Exist.'" Another thing that I've always noticed was that many songs by the Pixies are really, really short. That, too, was explained to me on Wikipedia: "[Gil] Norton's suggestions were not always welcome, and several instances of advice to add verses and increase track length contributed to the front man's building frustration. Eventually, Francis took Norton to a record store, where he handed him a copy of Buddy Holly's Greatest Hits, in which most of the songs are about two minutes long. He told Norton, 'If it's good enough for Buddy Holly...'" You might remember that I covered Buddy Holly during Valentine's Week this year! Today, I'll include another favorite off the Doolittle album called "Monkey Gone to Heaven"...
"Letter to Memphis" is my favorite song on the Trompe Le Monde album. There's just something about it that takes me back to a simpler time in my life. I remember owning Trompe Le Monde on cassette and driving around in my Hyundai Excel with this one blasting as loud as I could get those crappy car speakers to go. Gosh, I miss those days!!! I was always in such a rush to grow up and to get a career and to be successful. I have all those things now, and I'm definitely content; however, I would give anything to have an opportunity to travel back to just one of those days in my earlier life to tell my younger self to really appreciate every minute because it goes by so quickly. I guess all that I can do at this point is to remind my middle-aged self to appreciate these times before my body starts falling apart and my memory fails and all that other awful stuff that happens in old age... sorry if I've depressed you... it was never my intention at all to do so!!! Wikipedia has a fairly decent write-up about this one too that I will share with you today: "The song has been described as a melancholy love song about a letter lead singer Black Francis failed to write. 'Letter to Memphis' has been commended for being a song that 'sticks in your mind', specifically the lyric 'Trying to get to you.' The song is supposed to be Francis' take on Chuck Berry's song 'Memphis, Tennessee.' An instrumental version was included as a B-side to 'Alec Eiffel' and later became the closing track of their compilation Complete 'B' Sides." And since they've mentioned "Alec Eiffel" in the Wikipedia write-up and since it's another favorite of mine off the album, I'll include that one for you today, as well!
In honor of the Pixies stopping by Dallas this Friday, February 28th, I will be covering their music this week. However, I will not be attending the show because I have never been a huge fan of the Pixies. In fact, it wasn't until I was in the 9th grade that I even discovered this band. My friend, Cecilia, whom I mentioned in a few of my previous posts, went to an all-female Catholic high school, and someone there turned her on to this band. She, in turn, clued me in. At first, we were heartbroken that we would not be able to share high school experiences first-hand, but we quickly learned the benefits of being exposed to different environments.
When I finally got around to watching (500) Days of Summer, I was blown away by the soundtrack, and I was even more surprised by Joseph Gordon-Levitt's rendition of this song karaoke-style in the film. I will include a clip of that below for you. Additionally, the soundtrack includes a somewhat likable cover of the song by an artist named Meaghan Smith --- notice that I said somewhat likable --- which I will also include below. One last thing, I always like it when I can get the songwriter's take on their meaning of the lyrics, because it so rarely means the same thing to them that it means to me, and Wikipedia includes the following quote from Black Francis: "It's about winos and hobos traveling on the trains, who die in the California Earthquake. Before earthquakes, everything gets very calm — animals stop talking and birds stop chirping and there's no wind. It's very ominous."
"I've been through a few earthquakes, actually, 'cause I grew up in California. I was only in one big one, in 1971. I was very young and I slept through it. I've been awake through lots of small ones at school and at home. It's very exciting actually — a very comical thing. It's like the earth is shaking, and what can you do? Nothing."
For Name-Check Week, I'll be covering artists who mentioned other bands/singers in their lyrics, also known in some social circles as "name-checking"...
(~)~(~)~(~)~(~)~(~)~(~)~(~)~(~)~(~)
This song is the penultimate name-check song, so much so that Wikipedia even has a detailed references list that I will post below:
"Detailed references:
Whitesnake and the music video for the 1987 version of 'Here I Go Again' that featured Tawny Kitaen dancing on cars
Wondering who is the lead singer of Van Halen (Bowling for Soup version only), referencing Sammy Hagar's replacement of David Lee Roth
Questioning when Mötley Crüe has become classic rock, referencing the recent addition of glam metal bands to classic rock stations to be played alongside staples like the Rolling Stones and Lynyrd Skynyrd.
A time when sitcoms and game shows were popular and reality shows were nonexistent (Bowling for Soup version only).
A reference to '...on the radio,' which resembles the timbre of the voice singing the verses in The Buggles' 'Video Killed the Radio Star,' the first video ever played on MTV when it debuted in 1981 (Bowling for Soup version only).
A time when music videos were still shown on MTV (MTV has been criticized for a lack of music videos since the sudden popularity of their reality show The Real World in 1992).
Ozzy Osbourne, before he was an actor (Bowling for Soup version only)
When Madonna and Bruce Springsteen were popular, long before Nirvana popularized grunge in the early 1990s.
They mentioned Duran Duran (Bowling for Soup version only), U2, and Blondie.
References made to The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, St. Elmo's Fire (Bowling for Soup version only) and Fast Times At Ridgemont High (SR-71 version only). However, Pretty in Pink is an anachronism, as it was not released until 1986. With the exception of Fast Times At Ridgemont High, all the movies were part of the 'Brat Pack.'
The line 'She rocked out to Wham!, not a big Limp Bizkit fan' is a reference to Wham! being popular long before Limp Bizkit started playing Nu Metal in 1995. (Limp Bizkit remade Wham! singer's George Michael's 'Faith')
The mention of a miniskirt made out of snakeskin (Bowling for Soup version only)"
If you are wondering what they mean by "Bowling For Soup version only", apparently this is a cover/re-make of an original song by a band called SR-71. Since I know that I'll eventually dedicate a week to Madonna, Nirvana, U2, Blondie, and Duran Duran, and since I already covered some Wham!, I suppose that only leaves me with Whitesnake and Bruce Springsteen to post for you today; so I will include "Here I Go Again" as well as "Dancing in the Dark" and "Born to Run"...
Woohoohoo Woohoohoo
Debbie just hit the wall She never had it all One Prozac a day Husband's a CPA Her dreams went out the door When she turned twenty-four Only been with one man What happened to her plan?
She was gonna be an actress She was gonna be a star She was gonna shake her ass On the hood of Whitesnake’s car Her yellow SUV is now the enemy Looks at her average life And nothing has been alright since
Bruce Springsteen, Madonna Way before Nirvana There was U2 and Blondie And music still on MTV Her two kids in high school They tell her that she’s uncool Cause she's still preoccupied With 19, 19, 1985
Woohoohoo (1985) Woohoohoo
She’s seen all the classics She knows every line Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink Even Saint Elmo’s Fire She rocked out to Wham Not a big Limp Bizkit fan Thought she’d get a hand On a member of Duran Duran
Where’s the mini-skirt made of snake skin And who’s the other guy that's singing in Van Halen When did reality become T.V. Whatever happened to sitcoms, game shows (on the radio was)
Springsteen, Madonna Way before Nirvana There was U2 and Blondie And music still on MTV Her two kids in high school They tell her that she’s uncool Cause she's still preoccupied With 19, 19, 1985
Woohoohoo
She hates time make it stop When did Motley Crue become classic rock? And when did Ozzy become an actor? Please make this stop Stop! And bring back
Springsteen, Madonna Way before Nirvana There was U2 and Blondie And music still on MTV Her two kids in high school They tell her that she’s uncool Cause she's still preoccupied With 1985
Woohoohoo
Bruce Springsteen, Madonna Way before Nirvana There was U2 and Blondie And music still on MTV (woohoohoo) Her two kids in high school They tell her that she’s uncool Cause she's still preoccupied With 19, 19, 1985
For Name-Check Week, I'll be covering artists who mentioned other bands/singers in their lyrics, also known in some social circles as "name-checking"...
(~)~(~)~(~)~(~)~(~)~(~)~(~)~(~)~(~)
You may recall that I already posted about Men Without Hats during Week Twenty: Wacky 80s; however, today, I am going to give you some more Men Without Hats in the form of their song, "Moonbeam".
This one references Lou Reed, who, of course, was part of The Velvet Underground. I never really got much into The Velvet Underground or even Lou Reed's solo work, but I had a few friends that did. Therefore, I heard "Walk on the Wild Side" a time or two, and that's what I'll also post for you today.
One two three four (Love-Love-Love-Love) You, you were on a moon- MOON-BEAM Me, I was on a star Gee everything was blue, BLUE-GREEN Be cause everything was far Me, I was in a mo- MO-VIE You, you were in a song Gee everything was groo, GRO-OVY We everything was wrong And no matter where you are I can always see that far You were on a MO-ON-BEAM of love A pretty little moonbeam It's you I'm thinking of HEY! I was only trying to say You're a million miles away I can feel you dancin' anyway You, you were on a moonbeam And me I was in a cloud And everything was Lou Reed And everything was loud No matter where you were Well I could always see that fer You were on a MO-ON-BEAM of love A pretty little moonbeam Moonbeam of love A pretty little moonbeam Shining from above A pretty little moonbeam It's you I'm thinking of A pretty little moonbeam
For Name-Check Week, I'll be covering artists who mentioned other bands/singers in their lyrics, also known in some social circles as "name-checking"...
(~)~(~)~(~)~(~)~(~)~(~)~(~)~(~)~(~)
I'll come right out and tell you that I really, really don't like this song much at all. I seriously don't understand why so many notable artists gave it such accolades. The reason I selected it though is because this band name-checks Beck, Hanson, Courtney Love, and Marilyn Manson.
Okay, New Radicals, I've got a bit of a bone to pick with you... See, I don't mind you calling out Beck, Courtney Love, or Marilyn Manson... because they've all been a bit of a train wreck at various times in their careers... but don't mess with my boys from Hanson. Those young ones never caused trouble to anyone, and they brought me such joy at one of the lowest periods in my life with that ridiculously happy song called "MMMBop". How can anyone be sad when they listen to "MMMBop"? Annoyed...maybe??? Sad...never!!! I'll include that one below the lyrics for you today...
***WARNING: "You Get What You Give" has language that may not suitable for work and/or young children***
Wake up kids
we got the dreamers disease
Age 14 they got you down on your knees
Souls polite, we're busy still saying please
Friendnemies, who, when you're down ain't your friend
For Name-Check Week, I'll be covering artists who mentioned other bands/singers in their lyrics, also known in some social circles as "name-checking"...
(~)~(~)~(~)~(~)~(~)~(~)~(~)~(~)~(~)
I'm going to start this week off with a song called "Superspazz" by my friend, Darlington. You may remember me mentioning him in my posts about the band, Sunglasses & Sugar, which I covered during Week Seven: Various DFW Artists and Week Thirty-One: Holiday Tunes. The first time I ever heard "Superspazz" was on the Sunglasses & Sugar album, Vuvuzuelas, but if you browse through the information posted on the YouTube video, you'll see the other albums on which it was released, as well as some fun facts about the song. One thing that really stood out to me when I listened to it was the Dr. Frank/MTX reference. MTX, of course, is just a shortened form of the band name, Mr. T Experience. As I've already mentioned a time or two, I was a dedicated listener to The Adventure Club, which was a radio program that started out on The EDGE, when it was still located at 94.5 on the dial. One of the hosts, Josh, was an avid MTX fan, and he would play at least one of their songs every week, which is the only way I would have even caught the reference in the first place. So, in addition to "Superspazz", I'm going to include the MTX song that I remember Josh playing all the time called "I Just Wanna Do It With You", and I have to also include their cover of "Crash" by The Primitives (you may remember me mentioning this song during Week Fourteen: Mixed-Tape Madness, when I talked about Echobelly and the Dumb and Dumber Soundtrack) Additionally, Darlington hosts a podcast, which is called The Moron-a-thon, and he so graciously invited me to co-host an episode with him, on which I spoke about my blog and The Psychedelic Furs. If you are accessing this post from a computer, you can see a link for the podcast in the upper right corner of your screen, but if you're reading this from a cellular device, your view is a little different; so I'll include a link to the podcast below:
We could watch Professor Julius Sumner-Miller
but the chances of us together are one in a million
I could make eyes at you
and you could make like you really like me too
I wish I could quit saying the words "dude" and "man", dude
I'm so, spastic, you're so, spastic
I got a heartache this big,
you're written all over it
You said I looked like Wyatt from the movie Weird Science
We could hold hands
and bop and slop to Dr. Frank
'cause MTX is one of my favourite bands
And I want to stare into your starry eyes forever and ever
And I want to hold you in my arms forever and ever and ever
I find it interesting that when I want to listen to really phenomenal love songs, my natural inclination is never to go looking at the latest hits or even to my beloved Retro/New Wave tunes... I like to take it way, way back to the 1950s and 1960s when musicians could really write meaningful love songs. You may remember that, at this time last year, I covered Classic Country tunes; this year, I'm going to celebrate the week of love with some Golden Oldies!!! And if you thought I gave you a ton of music to explore last week, then you're in for a real treat this week!!!
<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3
So you may remember that I already mentioned Frankie Valli during Candy Songs Week and that I mentioned today's song when I posted about the Pet Shop Boys tune, "Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You)", which is a mash-up of U2's song and Frankie Valli's song. However, "I Can't Take My Eyes Off You" has always been one of my all-time favorite Golden Oldies, and it definitely deserves its own individual post!
I'm not going to go into a lot of the history of the band because they achieved great amounts of fame, and you can easily locate anything your heart so desires about this band. I will tell you that it is a goal of mine to see the musical, Jersey Boys, which is based on The Four Seasons, the next time it passes through on the Dallas Summer Musicals rotation.
In addition to today's song, I'm also including: "Working My Way Back to You"; "Who Loves You"; "Let's Hang On"; "Save It For Me"; "My Eyes Adored You"
And in keeping with tradition, if you are lacking your very own special Valentine tomorrow, I once again grant you permission to consider yourself my Honorary Valentine, and I have included your Valentine gift in the form of a playlist at the end of this post --- with 15 tracks for you this year!!! XOXOXOXO
I find it interesting that when I want to listen to really phenomenal love songs, my natural inclination is never to go looking at the latest hits or even to my beloved Retro/New Wave tunes... I like to take it way, way back to the 1950s and 1960s when musicians could really write meaningful love songs. You may remember that, at this time last year, I covered Classic Country tunes; this year, I'm going to celebrate the week of love with some Golden Oldies!!! And if you thought I gave you a ton of music to explore last week, then you're in for a real treat this week!!!
<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3
Roy Orbison is another homegrown boy, but he was born and bred in Vernon, Texas! Another neat-o fact about Roy Orbison is that he attended my alma mater, University of North Texas, (which, at that time, was called North Texas State College):
"After graduating from Wink High School, he enrolled at North Texas State College in Denton, planning to study geology so that he could secure work in the oil fields if music did not pay."
Roy Orbison fell out of the public eye for many years after his initial success, but once he made his comeback, he was well-received by many fellow musicians like Bono and The Edge from U2:
"Orbison was in high demand for concerts and interviews once again, and was thrilled about it. He began writing songs and collaborating with many musicians from his past and newer fans to develop a solo album titled Mystery Girl. U2's lead singer Bono had become aware of Orbison when he saw Blue Velvet and, with The Edge wrote 'She's a Mystery to Me' for him."
"Bono witnessed the recording of the song and recalled:
I stood beside him and sang with him. He didn't seem to be singing. So I thought, 'He'll sing it the next take. He's just reading the words.' And then we went in to listen to the take, and there was this voice, which was the loudest whisper I've ever heard. He had been singing it. But he hardly moved his lips. And the voice was louder than the band in its own way. I don't know how he did that. It was like sleight of hand."
Something else you may or may not know is that Kat Von D from LA Ink dated one of Roy Orbison's sons, Alex, and he appears in a few of the episodes and goes by the name, Orbi.
In addition to "You Got It", I'm also including the following, but don't limit yourself: "Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream)"; "I Drove All Night" --- made famous by Cyndi Lauper, but originally recorded by Roy Orbison; "In Dreams"; "Oh, Pretty Woman"; "Only the Lonely (Know the Way I Feel)"; "She's A Mystery to Me"
