Day 227: I have always had a thing for cool lyrics. A good tune can get stuck in your head or can invoke certain emotions, but for me is a really the lyrics that often stick with me the longest. I have been know to write out lists of interesting lyrics, and as I have mentioned a few months ago, I spent an entire semester at MSU sending out song lyrics to a select group of friends. One of those lyrics that I sent 20 years ago was from today's song, the beautiful "Coal" from Michael Penn's brilliant 1992 album "Free-for-All." The lyric is, "So run your fingers down my back; you'd make such a cool distraction." There is just something about the way that lyric sits on the song that seems to be about hard-luck frontier miners. I suppose that you could consider it dismissive, but I think that within the context of the song, it is actually kind of sweet. It just gives that feel of a connection between two people set against the backdrop of hardship. It *is* cool, and it is just another reason why Michael Penn is perhaps my favorite singer/songwriter.
05/16/2015
Day 228: Well, if I were forced to pick my favorite singer/songwriter from the other side of the ocean, I think that I would have to vote for England's Billy Bragg. Back in the fall I introduced him and his fantastic 1991 album "Don't Try This Home." The whole album is full of great little numbers with great lyrics, but today I would like to highlight the very clever opening track "Accident Waiting To Happen." It is one of those super high energy, yet acoustic numbers that is just jammed packed with cool lyrics. I could almost quote the entire song, but here is just a sample: "Your life has lost its dignity, its beauty and its passion. You're an accident waiting to happen," and perhaps even better "My sins are so unoriginal. I have all the self loathing of a wolf in sheep's clothing. In this carnival of carnivores, heaven help me." Heaven help us all.
05/17/2015
Day 229: In the pre-Google era, I once I saw a book of commonly misheard song lyrics, and today's song, "Games Without Frontiers" by Peter Gabriel was on it. The lyric in question was the opening phrase, and it makes sense that a lot of people could not make it out, because it happens to be in French. The opening line is, "Jeux sans frontiers," which I believe is simply the song title. Fortunately, the rest of the song is in English and the chorus just happens to be one of my favorite lyrics: "If looks could kill, they probably will in games without frontiers-war without tears." I suppose the song itself is a satire of war in general, which Gabriel compares the to games played by children, which is a really cool analogy in a Lord of the Flies sort of way. For me, I just really like the turn of phrase to describe any out-of-control situation, i.e. a "Game Without Frontiers." If looks could kill, indeed.
05/18/2015
Day 230: When it comes down to it, I think that singer/songwriters have a bit of a corner on the market when it comes to great song lyrics, especially some of the more "folksy" of the artists. That is certainly the case with today's song and artist, "What Do You Hear In These Sounds," by Dar Williams. The subject matter is a bit unusual as the song itself is a beautiful description of the singer's experience in going through therapy. I am personally of the opinion that we all could benefit from some therapy from time to time, whether it comes in the form of a trained professional, bar tender, barber, or simply a good friend. We ALL need someone to talk to every once in a while. This song is chalked full of both wit, "When I hit a rut, she says to try the other parent," or the reference to the session as a "fifty minute hour." The song also contains some very profound insights such as, "oh, how I loved everybody else when I finally got to talk so much about myself." But, the tremendous, profound lyrical climax of self realization near the end of the song really just says it all, "And I wake up and I ask myself what state I'm in, and I say well I'm lucky, 'cause I am like East Berlin. I had this wall and what I knew of the free world was that I could see their fireworks and I could hear their radio. And I thought that if we met, I would only start confessing. And they'd know that I was scared, they would know that I was guessing. But the wall came down and there they stood before me with their stumbling and their mumbling and their calling out just like me." Wow. That's it. That is all the needs to be said.
05/19/2015
Day 231: If my count is correct, this is the 7th day out of 231 where I feature a song from The Smiths, so it is no secret that they are one of my favorite bands, and Morrissey's fantastic lyrics are a big part of the reason why. I have already presented some of their best unrequited love songs, but today's song "Reel Around the Fountain" is a little different. It has that same melancholy Smiths feel, but the subject a little different... or maybe it's not. It is really kind of hard to tell, actually. In any event, this song contains another beautiful turn of phrase that has always stuck with me, "I dreamt about you last night. And I fell out of bed twice. You can pin and mount me like a butterfly. But take me to the haven of your bed. Was something that you never said. Two lumps, please. You're the bee's knees. But so am I." It still seems like Morrissey is not getting his love in the end, but he seems to feel a little better about it in this case. In any event, I just think this song is the bee's knees as well.
05/20/2015
Day 232: I have a kind of weird love-hate relationship with the 10,000 Maniacs. In general, I like them, but there are just certain things about them that drive me a little batty. On some level, I don't think that Natalie Merchant's lyrics are always that strong. She has a tendency of writing songs about fairly obvious social issues and doing it in a way that is a bit too straightforward (racism is wrong!). The result is that her songs often sound a bit preachy. A prime example of this is the 1987 album "In My Tribe." The whole album is great, but the problem is, only one song ever gets played off the album, the anti-child abuse 'anthem' "What's the Matter Here" In my opinion, this is BY FAR the worst song on the whole album for the reasons that I outlined above (obvious and preachy). Now, I certainly don't advocate child abuse, but if you are going to write a song on the topic, have it not suck. (As an example of a GOOD song on the subject, listen to Susannah Vega's "Luka", which is 10,000 times better). So, in protest, I would like to feature today the 2nd track of that under appreciated album, "Hey Jack Kerouac." As an ironic counterpoint for my criticism above, this song has a bit more depth to the lyrics, including one of my favorite lines from the 10,000 Maniacs, "Hey Jack, now for the tricky part. When you were the brightest star, who were the shadows?" It is an interesting criticism of the beat generation folk hero or any hero for that matter to question who or what move have been lost along the path to fame. This song is a pleasant reminder that Natalie Merchant can write thought-provoking lyrics when she wants to. So, how about it Jack? It sounds like you got some 'splaning to do.
05/21/2015
Day 233: Back in 2002 when I defended my Ph.D. thesis at Purdue, I ended my presentation with a photo from the conference in Hawaii that I was able to attend in 2000 and two song quotes, one of which was from today's song, "Oceanside" from The Verve Pipe. The quote was, "Keep your chin up, keep your back straight. Rescue is on the way." As someone that had essentially made it through the sometimes grueling Ph.D. process, I felt that it was my duty to try to give some encouragement to some of the younger students in attendance. I have always believed that if you stay positive and work hard, good things will happen to you, so this quote has always resonated with me. But, I must admit that I was also briefly led astray by these lyrics. The job market was not exactly lively in the 12 months following 9/11 and my graduation timing from Purdue was somewhat precipitated by Jochen's departure to Delaware, so I kind of unemployed for a few months before the Toyota job came up. But, during that final academic year, I was starting to get a little desperate with the job search when I heard this song in the car on the way to campus, "Can I take you to an Oceanside." I was convinced for a few days that it was a sign that I was destined to get an interview and job to work for Intel in Portland, OR (that being the only potential opportunity near an ocean). Clearly, that was not to be. Fortunately, I kept my chin up and eventually, rescue did arrive.
05/22/2015
Day 234: The second song that I used during my Ph.D. thesis also happens to be my favorite song quote of all time, and it comes from today's song, "Rhythm Section Want Ad," the final track on the self-titled 1986 debut album from They Might Be Giants. The whole song seems to be 2 minutes and 12 seconds of zany pseudo one-liners like, "say your cup of tea is a wall of trombones" (and whose isn't?), but my favorite is the following: "speak softly, drive a Sherman tank. Laugh hard, it's a long way to the bank." I guess when it comes down to it, the message pretty similar to yesterday: keep our mouth shut, but be ready to act if needed, and be prepared for the long journey. It is pretty much my personal mantra.
So with that, I will bring this chapter on my favorite song quotes to a close. On the occasion that I saw TMBG in concert, they sadly did not play today's song, but that gives me an idea my next chapter. I am not the kind of person that has seen a whole ton of bands live, but I have seen my share, and there are a lot of good stories to be told there as well. So, starting tomorrow, let's go live.
No comments:
Post a Comment