Matthew Sweet provides examples of the following tropes:
The Cover Changes the Meaning: “Beware My Love” by Wings is sung from the viewpoint of a jilted lover warning that his replacement will mistreat the woman he’s leaving while the narrator in Sweet’s version is an abusive lover apologizing for his misdeeds.
Cover Version: He contributed a cover of “Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?” to the tribute album Saturday Morning: Cartoons’ Greatest Hits (the same album with The Ramones‘ breakneck cover of “Spider-Man”, incidentally).
Engrish: The title of Kimi Ga Suki is an inverse of this. As Sweet explains in the album’s liner notes: “If I did it correctly, the title should seem a little strange or wrong, but still meaningful! The true definition is supposed to be a ‘love you’ life, one devoted to loving someone or something, even life itself!”
Longest Song Goes Last: At least three uses – In Reverse ends with 9:37 “Thunderstorm,” 100% Fun ends with 4:13 “Smog Moon,” and Sunshine Lies ends with 5:07 “Back of My Mind.” Inverted with Girlfriend, which put its longest track, “Divine Intervention” at 5:37, first.
Religion Rant Song: “Divine Intervention” isn’t as angry as XTC‘s “Dear God”, but it does pull a Holding Out for a Hero on God (the chorus goes We’re all counting on his/divine intervention) and voices doubts about his benevolence (Now does He love us?/I look around/And all I see is destruction).
Individual portable record players soon followed. Up until then, the record player was in the living room, in the same piece of furniture that held the TV and radio. If it wasn’t for that portable machine, Rock and Roll might never have happened. A record player in the living room meant kids needed their parents’ permission, or at least tolerance, to listen to what they wanted. Without the portable player, the first generation of Rock kids would have never gotten Little Richard, Bo Diddley, and Jerry Lee Lewis past their parents.
The older generation viewed those 1950s pioneers as an odd combination of novelty and threat. Humorous because of their onstage antics, flamboyant looks, and complete lack of talent (as parents defined it), but scary because there was an uncomfortable element of black culture connecting it all. What effect would that have on kids who already had too much time on their hands for their own good?
“Everyday Is Like Sunday” is the third track of Morrissey’s debut solo album, Viva Hate, and the second single to be released by the artist. While the lyric was written by Morrissey, the song’s composer was Stephen Street. The lyric is reportedly inspired by Nevil Shute’s novel On the Beach, about a group of people waiting for nuclear devastation in Melbourne, Australia.
MISC:
November 10th 2017 – Morrissey Day in Los Angles
LOS ANGELES DECLARES MORRISSEY DAY
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles City Council declared Friday, November 10th “Morrissey Day” in Los Angeles, California. During today’s council meeting, Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez introduced the resolution, which includes an official commemorative certificate presentation at the first of two sold-out Hollywood Bowl shows this Friday night.
Morrissey Day honors the man who put the ‘M’ in Moz Angeles, an icon whose music continues to touch and uplift countless people across the globe,” said Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez. “Morrissey uses his voice to raise awareness for many social issues while ‘in his own strange way,’ always staying true to his fans.”
“Los Angeles embraces individuality, compassion, and creativity, and Morrissey expresses those values in a way that moves Angelenos of all ages,” said Mayor Eric Garcetti. “Morrissey Day celebrates an artist whose music has captivated and inspired generations of people who may not always fit in — because they were born to stand out.”
Q: How did the hipster burn his tongue?
A: He drank his coffee before it was cool.
Grundy was the big dividing line in the Sex Pistols’ story. Before it, we were all about the music, but from then on it was all about the media. In some ways it was our finest moment, but in others it was the beginning of the end.
…
The crowds were settling into a formula, too. Instead of thinking for themselves like they used to, the people who came to the occasional gig we did actually get to play seemed to have almost a code of conduct in their minds of how they should behave. They’d read that spitting and pogoing was the thing to do, so they fucking did it.
“Walk on the Wild Side” is a song by Lou Reed from his second solo album, Transformer (1972). It was produced by David Bowie and Mick Ronson and released as a double A-side with “Perfect Day”. Known as a counterculture anthem, the song received wide radio coverage and became Reed’s biggest hit and signature song despite touching on taboo topics such as transgender people, drugs, male prostitution, and oral sex.
The song’s lyrics, describing a series of individuals and their journeys to New York City, refer to several of the regular “superstars” at Andy Warhol’s New York studio, the Factory; the song mentions Holly Woodlawn, Candy Darling, Joe Dallesandro, Jackie Curtis and Joe Campbell (referred to in the song by the nickname “Sugar Plum Fairy”).
In 2013, The New York Times described “Walk on the Wild Side” as a “ballad of misfits and oddballs” that “became an unlikely cultural anthem, a siren song luring generations of people…to a New York so long forgotten as to seem imaginary”. In 2010, Rolling Stone ranked “Walk on the Wild Side” at number 223 in its list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.
Warren Zevon from 1990, on Letterman, playing a Prince Song that was featured on his new album, entitled Hindu Love Gods (which was also the name of his new band, formed with REM minus Michael Stipe).
I never saw Zevon in concert, alas, but I did see him at the Free Lisl rally at the Denver Capitol. This was a random thing. I just happened to be in the neighborhood when they were having the rally and I stopped to check it out.
Free Lisl: Fear & Loathing in Denver explores the most significant achievement of Hunter S. Thompson’s last years-the freeing of Lisl Auman who was sentenced to life without parole at the age of 21 for the murder of a Denver police officer by someone she had just met while she was handcuffed in the back of a police car. After receiving a letter from Lisl while she was in prison in 2001, Thompson enlisted the support of the nation’s top criminal defense lawyers, held a rally on the steps of the Colorado State Capitol and co-wrote an article for Vanity Fair subtitled “Lynching in Denver”-all in an attempt to free Lisl from a life sentence in prison. In March 2005, two weeks after Thompson committed suicide, the Colorado Supreme Court effectively set her free by reversing her conviction and ordering a retrial. A plea bargain leaves her on parole for many years to come, but Lisl is out of prison and appears for the first time in Free Lisl, not to argue her case, but to thank Hunter Thompson. Also appearing in Free Lisl are Warren Zevon who sings “Lawyers, Guns, and Money” from the Capitol steps, presidential historian Douglas Brinkley and Denver journalists, including Jeff Kass of the Rocky Mountain News, Diane Carmen of the Denver Post and Juliet Whitman of Westword, who examine the role the Denver press played in first indicting Lisl and then helping to free her.
From the mountain tops down to the sunny street
A different drum is playing a different kind of beat
It’s like a mystery that never ends
I see you crying and I want to kill your friends
I hear your footsteps in the street
It won’t be long before we meet
It’s obvious
Just count me in and count me out and
I’ll be waiting for the shout
Oblivious
Met Mo and she’s okay, said no one really changed
Got different badges but they wear them just the same
Down by the ballroom I recognized
That flaming fountain in those kindred caring eyes.
I hear your footsteps in the street
It won’t be long before we meet
It’s obvious
Just count me in and count me out and
I’ll be waiting for the shout
Oblivious
Aztec Camera were a Scottish pop/new wave band formed by Roddy Frame, the group’s singer, songwriter, and only consistent member. Formed in 1980, Aztec Camera released a total of six albums: High Land, Hard Rain (1983), Knife (1984), Love (1987), Stray (1990), Dreamland (1993) and Frestonia (1995). The band garnered popular success for the songs “Oblivious”, “Somewhere in My Heart” and “Good Morning Britain” (a duet with former Clash guitarist Mick Jones).
“Wicked Game” is a song by American rock musician Chris Isaak, released from his third studio album Heart Shaped World (1989). Despite being released as a single in 1989, it did not become a hit until it was featured in the 1990 David Lynch film Wild at Heart. Lee Chesnut, an Atlanta radio station music director who loved David Lynch films, began playing the song, and it quickly became an American top-ten hit in January 1991, reaching number six on the Billboard Hot 100, making it the first hit song of Isaak’s career. Additionally, the single became a number-one hit in Belgium and reached the top 10 in several other nations.
What would you have liked to have been, if you hadn’t been a professional musician?
I’ve worked in a funeral home, did roofing jobs, drove delivery and spent time working the docks of Stockton, California, unloading ships. None of it was near as much fun and I didn’t get to wear a sequined suit…
Have you learned anything new about songwriting, interviewing your guests for the show?
Glen Campbell told me “stay out of the way of a good song.” I think it’s true. If a song’s good, don’t overdo it.
He formed several groups with musicians in duets and trios, and in 1962 formed the band that would become The Chieftains Sean Potts and Michael Tubridy.
The Chieftains went on to become one of the best-known Irish traditional groups in the world, winning six Grammys as well as many other awards.
Mr Moloney and The Chieftains worked with a vast range of artists over their long career, making guest appearances with and contributing to albums by Ry Cooder, Marianne Faithful, Mick Jagger, Elvis Costello, and Sinead O’Connor. In 1987 they recorded the acclaimed 1987 album Irish Heartbeat album with Van Morrison.
Keening out a special Kaddish like a proper banshee for Paddy Moloney, who has left us. I can’t number the times a Chieftains tune or performance made this boy from County Minsk feel perfectly Irish.
MONTAGNE: Talking about roots, what were you thinking when you collaborated with some of Nashville’s top artists: Lyle Lovett, Rosanne Cash, Ricky Skaggs?
MALONEY: Yeah. For us and for me to go to Nashville was almost going to another part of Ireland and meeting up with all your country cousins and just go for it. Because you didn’t have to duck and dash with these people, they knew the music. And if you played it once or twice, naturally they’d just pick it up and play it.
“Shattered” is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones from their 1978 album Some Girls. The song is a reflection of American lifestyles and life in 1970s-era New York City, but also influences from the English punk rock movement can be heard.
Uh huh shattered, uh huh shattered
Love and hope and sex and dreams
Are still surviving on the street
Look at me, I’m in tatters!
I’m a shattered
Shattered
Friends are so alarming
My lover’s never charming
Life’s just a cocktail party on the street
Big Apple
People dressed in plastic bags
Directing traffic
Some kind of fashion
Shattered
Laughter, joy, and loneliness and sex and sex and sex and sex
Look at me, I’m in tatters
I’m a shattered
Shattered
All this chitter-chatter, chitter-chatter, chitter-chatter ’bout
Shmatta, shmatta, shmatta, I can’t give it away on 7th Avenue
This town’s been wearing tatters (shattered, sha ooobie shattered)
Location, location, location. If there’s an element of luck to my story, it’s that the Stones—Mick, Keith, and Woody—lived in the same place as me. If Picasso had a “blue period” and Orson Welles a “film noir period,” then this was the Stones’ “New York period.” They wrote songs about the city—their new album gave a shout-out to 8th Street—and became part of its fabric. When Mick sang about walkin’ Central Park and about schmattas on Seventh Avenue, he was drawing from experience. I mean, how many non-New Yorkers even know what a schmatta is? (Yiddish for “rag.”)
Crack that whip
Give the past a slip
Step on a crack
Break your mama’s back
When a problem comes along
You must whip it
Before the cream sits out too long
You must whip it
When something’s going wrong
You must whip it
Now whip it
Into shape
Shape it up
Get straight
Go forward
Move ahead
Try to detect it
It’s not too late
To whip it
Whip it good
When a good time turns around
You must whip it
You will never live it down
Unless you whip it
No one gets away
Until they whip it
I say whip it
Whip it good
I say whip it
Whip it good
Crack that whip
Give the past a slip
Step on a crack
Break your mama’s back
When a problem comes along
You must whip it
Before the cream sits out too long
You must whip it
When something’s going wrong
You must whip it
Now whip it
Into shape
Shape it up
Get straight
Go forward
Move ahead
Try to detect it
It’s not too late
To whip it
Into shape
Shape it up
Get straight
Go forward
Move ahead
Try to detect it
It’s not too late
To whip it
Whip it good
“Whip It” is a song by American rock band Devo from their third album Freedom of Choice (1980). It is a new wave and synth-pop song that features a synthesizer, electric guitar, bass guitar, and drums in its instrumentation. The apparently nonsensical lyrics have a common theme revolving around the ability to deal with one’s problems by “whipping it”. Co-written by bassist Gerald Casale and singer Mark Mothersbaugh, Devo recorded “Whip It” with producer Robert Margouleff at the Record Plant in Los Angeles.
Although “Whip It” was released as the second single from Freedom of Choice, Warner Bros. Records did not expect it to be a hit, due to its nonstandard tempo and strange lyrics. The disc jockey Kal Rudman took an interest in the song and it was soon being played on several radio stations in the Southeastern United States. Peaking at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100, “Whip It” became a hit single and found chart success in several countries. Mothersbaugh believes the song sold well because some people assumed the lyrics are about masturbation or sadomasochism.
1. Bruce Springsteen: Born in the U.S.A. (Columbia)
2. Prince and the Revolution: Purple Rain (Warner Bros.)
3. Los Lobos: How Will the Wolf Survive? (Slash)
4. The Replacements: Let It Be (Twin/Tone)
5. Tina Turner: Private Dancer (Capitol)
6. R.E.M.: Reckoning (I.R.S.)
7. The Pretenders: Learning to Crawl (Sire)
8. Hüsker Dü: Zen Arcade (SST)
9. Lou Reed: New Sensations (RCA Victor)
10. Run-D.M.C.: Run-D.M.C. (Profile)
11. Cyndi Lauper: She’s So Unusual (Portrait ’83)
12. Bangles: All Over the Place (Columbia)
13. Ramones: Too Tough to Die (Sire)
14. Minutemen: Double Nickels on the Dime (SST)
15. The dB’s: Like This (Bearsville)
16. Womack & Womack: Love Wars (Elektra ’83)
17. Laurie Anderson: Mister Heartbreak (Warner Bros.)
18. Rubén Blades y Seis del Solar: Buscando America (Elektra)
19. Laurie Anderson: United States Live (Warner Bros.)
20. Meat Puppets: Meat Puppets II (SST)
21. Neville Brothers: Neville-ization (Black Top)
22. The Smiths: The Smiths (Sire)
23. Let’s Active: Cypress (I.R.S.)
24. Tom Verlaine: Cover (Warner Bros.)
25. Van Halen: 1984 (Warner Bros.)
26. Del-Lords: Frontier Days (EMI America)
27. Linton Kwesi Johnson: Making History (Island)
28. George Clinton: You Shouldn’t-Nuf Bit Fish (Capitol ’83)
29. U2: The Unforgettable Fire (Island)
30. King Sunny Ade and His African Beats: Aura (Island)
31. Talking Heads: Stop Making Sense (Sire)
32. ZZ Top: Eliminator (Warner Bros.)
33. Peter Wolf: Lights Out (EMI America)
34. The Gospel at Colonus (Warner Bros.)
35. Lyres: On Fyre (Ace of Hearts)
36. The Everly Brothers: EB 84 (Mercury)
37. P. Funk All-Stars: Urban Dancefloor Guerillas (CBS Associated/Uncle Jam ’83)
38. Del Fuegos: The Longest Day (Slash)
39. The Special AKA: In the Studio (Chrysalis)
40. Rickie Lee Jones: The Magazine (Warner Bros.)
*Includes 1983 votes: Lauper 83 (7); Womack & Womack 36 (4); Clinton 83 (8); ZZ Top 90 (9); P. Funk All-Stars 57 (6).
This poll compiles ballots from 240 critics, each of whom divided 100 points among 10 1984 LP’s. Maximum points per album: 30. Minimum: 5. Points determined placement, with total mentions (indicated in parentheses) used to break ties.
Missing Persons is an American rock band founded in 1980 in Los Angeles by guitarist Warren Cuccurullo, vocalist Dale Bozzio, and drummer Terry Bozzio. They later added bassist Patrick O’Hearn and keyboardist Chuck Wild. Dale’s quirky voice and heavy makeup made the band a favorite on MTV in the early 1980s.
Roy Head & The Traits–Treat Her Right
The Bob Seger System*–Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man
No Artist–Boss Radio
Featuring – Humble Harve*
Deep Purple–Hush
No Artist–Mug Root Beer Advertisement
The Village Callers–Hector
Buchanan Brothers (2)–Son Of A Lovin’ Man
Chad & Jeremy–Paxton Quigley’s Had The Course
No Artist–Tanya’s Tanning Butter Advertisement
Paul Revere & The Raiders–Good Thing
Paul Revere & The Raiders–Hungry
Box Tops–Choo Choo Train
Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels–Jenny Take A Ride
Deep Purple–Kentucky Woman
Buffy Sainte-Marie–The Circle Game
No Artist–Boss Radio
Featuring – The Real Don Steele*
Simon & Garfunkel–Mrs. Robinson
No Artist–Numero Uno Advertisement
Los Bravos–Bring A Little Lovin’
No Artist–Suddenly / Heaven Sent Advertisement
No Artist–Vagabond High School Reunion
No Artist–KHJ Los Angeles Weather Report
No Artist–The Illustrated Man Advertisement / Ready For Action
Dee Clark–Hey Little Girl
No Artist–Summer Blonde Advertisement
Neil Diamond–Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show
Robert Corff–Don’t Chase Me Around
Paul Revere & The Raiders–Mr. Sun, Mr. Moon
José Feliciano–California Dreamin’
I Cantori Moderni di Alessandroni–Dynamite Jim (English Version)
Vanilla Fudge–You Keep Me Hangin’ On (Quentin Tarantino Edit)
Maurice Jarre–Miss Lilly Langtry
No Artist–KHJ Batman Promotion