Which one is your favorite? - XXXVIII -

This week's song is another classic from the 80s that was so popular back in the days. It's a 1984 song by the Cars, the third single from the band's Heartbeat City album released in March 1984 and their biggest international hit. Written by Ric Ocasek, the track was sung by bassist Benjamin Orr and produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange with the band.

Here is the song for this week;

"Drive"

Upon its release, "Drive" became the Cars' highest-charting single in most countries. In the United States, it peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart; on the Adult Contemporary chart, the song went to No. 1. It reached No. 5 (No. 4 on re-entry in 1985) in the United Kingdom, No. 4 in West Germany, No. 6 in Canada, and No. 3 (No. 5 on re-entry in 1985) in Ireland.

The song is mostly associated with the July 1985 Live Aid event, where it was performed by Benjamin Orr during the Philadelphia event; previously, the song was used as the background music to a montage of clips depicting the contemporaneous Ethiopian famine during the London event, which was introduced by English musician David Bowie.

The Cars resisted the urge to use automotive imagery in their songs; "Drive" is a rare instance where they did.

The video was directed by a 23-year-old Timothy Hutton, who had won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the movie Ordinary People. Hutton aspired to direct, so when Ric Ocasek of The Cars suggested he do it, Hutton jumped at the chance.

Hutton cast the Czechoslovakian model Paulina Porizkova as the female lead in the clip. Auditioning for the role was the first time she met Ocasek, whom she married in 1989.

After the death of Princess Diana, the UK radio station XFM banned certain songs that might upset people. Their list of barred songs included "Drive."

Here are the 3 versions I picked for you;

• Deftones - "Drive" 

• Sixx:A.M. - "Drive"

• Aimee Mann - "Drive"

Now the floor is yours, go ahead and make your comments (here, Instagram, Facebook wherever you feel like...).

nb. Please note that I intentionally do not include the original versions of the songs as it would be a little unfair to the artists covering the songs, and I am sure that sometimes you will be surprised to see that the songs you thought were the originals are just covers.

Five Songs for the Weekend - LXXVIII -

We lost two great musicians during the week. Drummer Jimmy Cobb, the last surviving member of Miles Davis' landmark album "Kind of Blue" passed away at the age of 91 and singer/songwriter Mory Kanté who has created the first African single that sold over a million copies in my teen years also died at the age of 70.

As Tupac Shakur once said;

“The only thing that can stop me is death, 

and even then my music will live forever."

Here is the list for the weekend;

• John Coltrane Quintet feat. Jimmy Cobb - "Walkin'" 

• Mory Kanté feat. Santana - "Yeke Yeke"

• Tony Allen - "Kindness"

• Hania Rani - "F Major"

• Kaz Hawkins - "Lipstick and Cocaine"

Hope you have a great weekend.

nb. You can open the actual youtube page by clicking the name on the upper left side of each video.

Which one is your favorite? - XXXVII -

This week's song is coming from one of the greatest pop bands of all time. It is written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. It was released as a single on 1 November 1976, as the follow-up to "Dancing Queen" (both from the album Arrival). The B-side, "Crazy World", was recorded in 1974 during the sessions for the album ABBA.

Here is the song for this week;

"Money Money Money"

The song (originally titled "Gypsy Girl") is sung from the viewpoint of a woman who, despite hard work, can barely keep her finances in surplus, and therefore desires a well-off man.


ABBA perform parts of "Money, Money, Money" live in the 1977 film ABBA: The Movie. In the popular musical, Mamma Mia!, the song is sung by the character of Donna as she explains how hard she has to work to keep the taverna in order and her dreams of a better life. In the 2008 film, Meryl Streep sings the song.

The video for "Money, Money, Money" was inspired by the film Cabaret, showing Frida wearing a hat typical of the 1920s. The video varies from her determined presence in reality during the verses, to the dream sequences about money and "the good life" in the chorus. The video's director, Lasse Hallström, later acknowledged "Money, Money, Money" as the best ABBA video he ever directed.

"Money, Money, Money" was the "second worldwide hit from Arrival. The song became a number-one chart hit in Australia (ABBA's sixth consecutive chart-topper there), Belgium, France, West Germany, The Netherlands, Mexico and New Zealand, while reaching the top three in Austria, Ireland, Norway, Switzerland and the UK.

Here are the 3 versions I picked for you;

• Madness - "Money, Money, Money"

• Nils Landgren -  "Money, Money, Money"

• Meryl Streep, Julie Walters & Christine Baranski - "Money, Money, Money"

Now the floor is yours, go ahead and make your comments (here, Instagram, Facebook wherever you feel like...).

nb. Please note that I intentionally do not include the original versions of the songs as it would be a little unfair to the artists covering the songs, and I am sure that sometimes you will be surprised to see that the songs you thought were the originals are just covers.

Five Songs for the Weekend - LXXVII -

Literally, it is summer outside with more than 30 degrees. When we first began the lockdown it was winter and now it's summer already. It seems that people are relaxing a little bit but still need to be careful for another short period of time until it all fades away...In the meantime, stay at home with lots of music...

As Maya Angelou once said;

“Everything in the universe has a rhythm, 
everything dances."

Here is the list for the weekend;

• The Trio of Oz - "King of Pain"

• A Tribe Called Quest - "The Space Program"

• Tarkovsky Quartet - "Le temps scellé: Mychkine"

• Kiasmos - "Blurred"

• Arthur Russell - "This Is How We Walk On The Moon"

Hope you have a great weekend.

nb. You can open the actual youtube page by clicking the name on the upper left side of each video.

Which one is your favorite? - XXXVI -

We continue our post again with a 60s song. This week's song is a song written by British musician Peter Green, which first appeared as a Fleetwood Mac single in various countries in 1968, subsequently appearing on the 1969 Fleetwood Mac compilation albums English Rose (US) and The Pious Bird of Good Omen (UK), as well as Vintage Years.
However, the song became really famous in 1970 and most people think that this version (the first song below) is the original...

Here is the song for this week;

"Black Magic Woman"

In various interviews, Peter Green has acknowledged that "Black Magic Woman" was influenced by "All Your Love", an Otis Rush song that had been recorded two years earlier by Green's former band, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers (albeit with Eric Clapton, Green's predecessor, on lead guitar).

Although not as popular as Santana's arrangement two years later, "Black Magic Woman" nevertheless became a fairly popular blues rock hit peaking at No. 37 in the UK Singles Chart. 

The royalties generated by Santana's cover of this song helped sustain the song's writer, Peter Green, after he left Fleetwood Mac. Green gave most of his money away when he left the band, and would have found himself destitute later in the '70s if he didn't get checks from his old hits.

Here are the 3 versions I picked for you;

• Santana - "Black Magic Woman" 

• Patricia Barber - "Black Magic Woman"

• Lila Downs - "Black Magic Woman" 

Now the floor is yours, go ahead and make your comments (here, Instagram, Facebook wherever you feel like...).

nb. Please note that I intentionally do not include the original versions of the songs as it would be a little unfair to the artists covering the songs, and I am sure that sometimes you will be surprised to see that the songs you thought were the originals are just covers.

Five Songs for the Weekend - LXXVI -

It seems that many things are starting to get back to normal but unfortunately I see an easing on the measures and I really hope that this will not cause a comeback of the virus as many scientists suggest. Let's all be prudent and get over with this thing with minimal damage.

As Little Richard once said;

“I am the innovator. I am the originator. 
I am the emancipator. I am the architect of rock 'n' roll.”

Here is the list for the weekend;

• Little Richard - "Good Golly Miss Molly"

• Placebo - "Where Is My Mind"

• Exotourisme - "Des Ombres"

• Zombies - "Time Of The Season"

• Shigeru Suzuki - "Lady Pink Panther"

Hope you have a great weekend.

nb. You can open the actual youtube page by clicking the name on the upper left side of each video.

Which one is your favorite? - XXXV -

This week's song is coming from the warm and sunny beaches of Brazil. It is one of the great and fine examples of Bossanova that was written in 1962, with music by Antônio Carlos Jobim and Portuguese lyrics by Vinícius de Moraes.

Here is the song for this week;

"The Girl From Ipanema"

The first commercial recording of "Garota de Ipanema" ("The Girl from Ipanema") was in 1962, by Pery Ribeiro. The Stan Getz recording featuring the vocal debut of Astrud Gilberto became an international hit. This version had been shortened from the version on the album Getz/Gilberto (recorded in March 1963, released in March 1964) which had also included the Portuguese lyrics sung by Astrud's then-husband João Gilberto.

Jobim and Moraes were inspired by Helo Pinheiro, a young Brazilian girl who wore a bikini and regularly walked "Like a samba" past the "Veloso" bar that they frequented. In a 2008 feature in The Seattle Times, Pinheiro revealed she would walk by the songwriters on her way to buy cigarettes for her mother. She claims to be the first person on the beach to wear a two-piece bathing suit. We also learn that she had four children, posed for Brazilian Playboy twice (the second time with her daughter), and opened a boutique in Sao Paulo called "Garota de Ipanema" (Girl from Ipanema).

In 2001, the song's copyright owners (heirs of their composer fathers) sued Pinheiro for using the title of the song as the name of her boutique (Garota de Ipanema). In their complaint, they stated that her status as The Girl from Ipanema (Garota de Ipanema) did not entitle her to use a name that legally belonged to them. Public support was strongly in favor of Pinheiro. A press release by Jobim and Moraes, the composers, in which they had named Pinheiro as the real Girl from Ipanema (Garota de Ipanema) was used as evidence that they had intended to bestow this title on her. The court ruled in favor of Pinheiro.

Ipanema is a fashionable district in Rio de Janeiro. It was a fairly obscure stretch of beach until this song made it famous. The street where the songwriters used to sit and watch the girls go by has been re-named Vinicius de Moraes Street after the lyricist.

When sung by female artists the song has often been rendered as "The Boy from Ipanema", such as by Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald and The Supremes, Shirley Bassey and Eartha Kitt. Petula Clark sang it on The Muppet Show. Crystal Waters recorded her version for the various artists Red Hot + Rio compilation and was later included on her greatest hits set. Diana Krall recorded another version on her album Quiet Nights.

Here are the 5 versions I picked for you;

• Amy Winehouse - "The Girl From Ipanema"

• Diana Krall - "The Girl From Ipanema"

• Oscar Peterson Trio - "The Girl From Ipanema"

• Cher - "The Girl From Ipanema"

• Lio - "The Girl From Ipanema"

Now the floor is yours, go ahead and make your comments (here, Instagram, Facebook wherever you feel like...).

nb. Please note that I intentionally do not include the original versions of the songs as it would be a little unfair to the artists covering the songs, and I am sure that sometimes you will be surprised to see that the songs you thought were the originals are just covers.

Five Songs for the Weekend - LXXV -

This week, I am saddened to learn the demises of two great musicians. Florian Schneider, the co-founder of the German electronic band Kraftwerk and Millie Small, Jamaican singer-songwriter passed away during this week. I have included songs from both in order to pay a tribute to these great artists.

As Langston Hughes once wrote;

“Life is for the living. Death is for the dead. 
Let life be like music. And death a note unsaid.”

Here is the list for the weekend;

• Kraftwerk - "The Man Machine" (from Florian's last live performance)

• Millie Small - "My Boy Lollipop"

• Placebo - "Meds"

• Tom Misch & Yussef Dayes - "Lift Off "

• Will Butler - "Anna"

Hope you have a great weekend.

nb. You can open the actual youtube page by clicking the name on the upper left side of each video.

Which one is your favorite? - XXXIV -

This week we lost a great drummer, a true pioneer of Afrobeat sound, Tonny Allen passed away in Paris. Therefore I would like to dedicate this post to him. He was the drummer and musical director of Fela Kuti's band Africa '70 from 1968 to 1979. He was described by Brian Eno as "perhaps the greatest drummer who has ever lived."

The piece I chose for this week is a musical composition by Bobby Timmons, first recorded by Art Blakey's band on the 1958 album of the same title.

Here is the song for this week;

"Moanin'"

The piece has a call and response melody. One account of its creation was given by Benny Golson, the tenor saxophonist in Blakey's band: Timmons had the opening eight bars, which he often played between tunes, but formed the complete song only after Golson encouraged him to add a bridge. It is played in F minor.

"Moanin'" has been recorded numerous times and has become a jazz standard.

Here are the 3 versions I picked for you;

• Tony Allen - "Moanin"

• José James - "Moanin"

• Sarah Vaughan - "Moanin"

Now the floor is yours, go ahead and make your comments (here, Instagram, Facebook wherever you feel like...).

nb. Please note that I intentionally do not include the original versions of the songs as it would be a little unfair to the artists covering the songs, and I am sure that sometimes you will be surprised to see that the songs you thought were the originals are just covers.