I determined this week's song while watching the crazy events going on in USA. For me, it is the epitome of the protest songs dating back to 1939 and that was written by Abel Meeropol. It protests the lynching of Black Americans, with lyrics that compare the victims to the fruit of trees. Such lynchings had reached a peak in the Southern United States at the turn of the 20th century, and the great majority of victims were black. The song has been called "a declaration of war" and "the beginning of the civil rights movement".
Here is the song for this week;
"Strange Fruit"
This was written by a white, Jewish schoolteacher and union activist from New York City named Abel Meeropol, who was outraged after seeing a photograph of a horrific lynching in a civil-rights magazine. The photo was a shot of two black men hanging from a tree after they had been lynched in Marion, Indiana on August 7, 1930. The two men are the "Strange Fruit."
This was written by a white, Jewish schoolteacher and union activist from New York City named Abel Meeropol, who was outraged after seeing a photograph of a horrific lynching in a civil-rights magazine. The photo was a shot of two black men hanging from a tree after they had been lynched in Marion, Indiana on August 7, 1930. The two men are the "Strange Fruit."
Holiday first performed the song at Café Society in 1939. She said that singing it made her fearful of retaliation but, because its imagery reminded her of her father, she continued to sing the piece, making it a regular part of her live performances. Because of the power of the song, Josephson (owner of Café Society) drew up some rules: Holiday would close with it; the waiters would stop all service in advance; the room would be in darkness except for a spotlight on Holiday's face; and there would be no encore. During the musical introduction to the song, Holiday stood with her eyes closed, as if she were evoking a prayer.
The first recording of the song was also made by the great Billie Holiday in 1939.
Holiday approached her recording label, Columbia, about the song, but the company feared reaction by record retailers in the South, as well as negative reactions from affiliates of its co-owned radio network, CBS. When Holiday's producer John Hammond also refused to record it, she turned to her friend Milt Gabler, whose Commodore label produced alternative jazz. Holiday sang "Strange Fruit" for him a cappella, and moved him to tears. Columbia gave Holiday a one-session release from her contract so she could record it; Frankie Newton's eight-piece Cafe Society Band was used for the session. Because Gabler worried the song was too short, he asked pianist Sonny White to improvise an introduction. On the recording, Holiday starts singing after 70 seconds. It was recorded on April 20, 1939. Gabler worked out a special arrangement with Vocalion Records to record and distribute the song.
The song was highly regarded; the 1939 recording eventually sold a million copies, in time becoming Holiday's biggest-selling recording.
In 1999, Time magazine voted this the Song of the Century. When the song first came out it was denounced by the same magazine as "A piece of musical propaganda."
Here are the 6 versions I picked for you;
Beth Hart & Joe Bonamassa- "Strange Fruit"
Diana Ross - "Strange Fruit"
Siouxsie & the Banshees - "Strange Fruit"
John Martyn - "Strange Fruit"
Kandace Springs - "Strange Fruit"
Andra Day - "Strange Fruit"
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.
We are almost in the middle of summer. Time is passing by with corona and most probably we will finish this year without even noticing. What a crazy year this is and there is not much to do apart from being extra careful and trying to stay away from the virus. Numbers have started to increase as the precautions have been relaxed just a bit. So stay home and listen to music, try to discover new songs and artists.
As Maria August von Trapp once said;
“Music — what a powerful instrument, what a mighty weapon!”
Here is the list for this weekend;
Manchester Orchestra - "The Silence"
CeeLo Green - "Fuck You"
Nadja Kossinskaja - "Oblivion"
Bryan Ferry & Todd Terje - "Johnny & Mary"
John Zorn - "Zaphiel"
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.
This week's song is one of the most well-known jazz standards of all time. It is composed by Paul Desmond and originally recorded by the Dave Brubeck Quartet for their album "Time Out" at Columbia Records' 30th Street Studio in New York City on July 1, 1959. Two years later it became a surprise hit and the biggest-selling jazz single ever. Revived since in numerous movie and television soundtracks, the piece still receives significant radio airplay.
Here is the song for this week;
"Take Five"
Paul Desmond, who was Brubeck's alto saxophonist, wrote this song. It's called "Take Five" because it was written in an unusual 5/4 meter. It was one of the first Jazz songs with a time signature other than the standard 4/4 beat or 3/4 waltz time. Brubeck explained in a 1995 interview with Paul Zollo that he asked Desmond to try writing a song in 5/4. Said Brubeck: "I told Paul to put a melody over (drummer) Joe Morello's beat. So Paul put a couple melodies. But he didn't have a tune. He just had two melodies. He said, 'I can't write a tune in 5/4,' and he had given up. I said, 'You've got two good melodies here, let's work out a form.' So I worked out an A-A-B-A form and Paul caught on immediately."
On the album Time Out, Brubeck used a different time signature for each track, which was very unusual. In Brubeck's interview with Zollo, he said: "The album came out but the salespeople, they have formulas that are unwritten laws about what's going to work, what's going to sell. And my album couldn't have worked because it's all originals. They said you should never put out all originals, you have to put in some standards and some show tunes. Well, they were wrong. It worked. And you have to be in tempos that the public can dance to. Well, they couldn't dance to most of Time Out unless you got into some dance halls where people could dance to 5/4 and they did dance to it. So it's exposure. And also they didn't want a painting on the cover. I was breaking a whole bunch of rules."
The Dave Brubeck Quartet first played "Take Five" to a live audience at the Village Gate nightclub in New York City in July 1959.
"Take Five" is known for its distinctive two-chord, piano/bass vamp; catchy blues-scale saxophone melodies; inventive, jolting drum solo and an unorthodox quintuple (5/4) time.
The single was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1996.
Here are the 6 versions I picked for you;
Carmen McRae - "Take Five"
Trio Elf - "Take Five"
The Specials - "Take Five"
Rodrigo y Gabriela - "Take Five"
Sachal Studios Orchestra - "Take Five"
North East Ska Jazz Orchestra - "Take Five"
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.
After many months of Covid isolation, things are starting to get back to normal? Or not? Unfortunately, I witness an overdose of relaxation in society and I really hope that the virus will not strike back in the coming days. Please stay safe and don't give up the precautions at this time till this dangerous stuff goes fully away...
As Lana Del Rey once said;
“Distance sometimes lets you know who is worth keeping,
and who is worth letting go."
Here is the list for this weekend;
David Bowie - "Rock 'N' Roll Suicide"
Baxter Dury - "Miami"
John Carpenter - "Distant Dream"
Jimi Tenor & Tony Allen - "Darker Side of Night"
Rodrigo y Gabriela - "Hanuman"
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.
Here is the second post on the series I have started on the blog. I am sorry that it is going slower than I planned but nevertheless I will try to make up in the coming days.
My second guest in this series is a German band that has played a crucial role in the development of modern electronic music.
Kraftwerk, worthy of their name (meaning power plant in German), has created a powerful sound that is timeless in existence and that has impacted a vast array of genres and artists.
The original band was formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider.
The duo began as part of West Germany's experimental krautrock scene in the early 1970s before fully embracing electronic instrumentation, including synthesizers, drum machines, and vocoders. Their style and hallmark sound popularized the electro sound way before the 80s and paved the road to many artists in the new-wave, synthpop, techno, trance, IDM and EDM genres.
Florian Schneider (flutes, synthesizers, violin) and Ralf Hütter (organ, synthesizers) met as students at the Robert Schumann Hochschule in Düsseldorf in the late 1960s, participating in the German experimental music and art scene of the time. They joined a quintet known as Organisation, which released one album, Tone Float in 1969, issued on RCA Records in the UK, and split shortly thereafter.Schneider became interested in synthesizers, deciding to acquire one in 1970. While visiting an exhibition in their hometown about visual artists Gilbert and George, they saw "two men wearing suits and ties, claiming to bring art into everyday life". The same year, Hütter and Schneider started bringing everyday life into art and form Kraftwerk.
Early Kraftwerk line-ups from 1970 to 1974 fluctuated, as Hütter and Schneider worked with around a half-dozen other musicians during the preparations for and the recording of three albums and sporadic live appearances, including guitarist Michael Rother and drummer Klaus Dinger, who left to form Neu! The only constant figure in these line-ups was Schneider, whose main instrument at the time was the flute; at times he also played the violin and guitar, all processed through a varied array of electronic devices. Hütter, who left the band for eight months to focus on completing his university studies, played synthesizer and keyboards (including Farfisa organ and electric piano).
The band released two free-form experimental rock albums, Kraftwerk (1970) and Kraftwerk 2. The albums were mostly exploratory musical improvisations played on a variety of traditional instruments including guitar, bass, drums, organ, flute, and violin. Post-production modifications to these recordings were used to distort the sound of the instruments, particularly audio-tape manipulation and multiple dubbings of one instrument on the same track. Both albums are purely instrumental. Live performances from 1972 to 1973 were made as a duo, using a simple beat-box-type electronic drum machine, with preset rhythms taken from an electric organ. These shows were mainly in Germany, with occasional shows in France. Later in 1973, Wolfgang Flür joined the group for rehearsals, and the unit performed as a trio on the television show Aspekte for German television network ZDF.
With Ralf und Florian, released in 1973, Kraftwerk began to rely more heavily on synthesizers and drum machines. Although almost entirely instrumental, the album marks Kraftwerk's first use of the vocoder, which became one of its musical signatures. According to English music journalist Simon Reynolds, Kraftwerk were influenced by what he called the "adrenalized insurgency" of Detroit artists of the late '60s MC5 and the Stooges.
The input, expertise, and influence of producer and engineer Konrad "Conny" Plank was highly significant in the early years of Kraftwerk. Plank also worked with many of the other leading German electronic acts of that time, including members of Can, Neu!, Cluster, and Harmonia. As a result of his work with Kraftwerk, Plank's studio near Cologne became one of the most sought-after studios in the late 1970s. Plank coproduced the first four Kraftwerk albums.
Here is a live recording from the very early days;
The real breakthrough for the band came with the album of "Autobahn" in 1974. This was a sound shift for them that eventually brought huge commercial success. Hütter and Schneider had invested in newer technology such as the Minimoog and the EMS Synthi AKS, helping give Kraftwerk a newer, "disciplined" sound. After the commercial success of Autobahn in the US, where it peaked at number 5 in the Billboard Top LPs & Tapes, Hütter and Schneider invested in updating their studio, thus lessening their reliance on outside producers.
Their world tour in 1975 helped them to reach new audiences and played a major role in the development of their current line up of 4 member stage. Hütter and Schneider continued playing keyboard synthesizers such as the Minimoog and ARP Odyssey, with Schneider's use of flute diminishing. The two men started singing live for the first time, and Schneider processing his voice with a vocoder live. Wolfgang Flür and new recruit Karl Bartos performed on home-made electronic percussion instruments.
The Hütter-Schneider-Bartos-Flür formation remained in place until the late 1980s and is now regarded as the classic live line-up of Kraftwerk.
Here is another live video that is similar to today's Kraftwerk formation (with some other members).
After the 1975 Autobahn tour, Kraftwerk began work on a follow-up album, Radio-Activity (German title: Radio-Aktivität). After further investment in new equipment, the Kling Klang Studio became a fully working recording studio. The group used the central theme in radio communication, which had become enhanced on their last tour of the United States. With Emil Schult working on artwork and lyrics, Kraftwerk began to compose music for the new record. Even though Radio-Activity was less commercially successful than Autobahn in the UK and United States, the album served to open up the European market for Kraftwerk, earning them a gold disc in France. Kraftwerk made videos and performed several European live dates to promote the album. With the release of Autobahn and Radio-Activity, Kraftwerk left behind avant-garde experimentation and moved towards the electronic pop tunes for which they are best known today.
In 1976, Kraftwerk toured in support of the Radio-Activity album. David Bowie was among the fans of the record and invited the band to support him on his Station to Station tour, an offer the group declined. Despite some innovations in touring, Kraftwerk took a break from live performances after the Radio-Activity tour of 1976.
After having finished the Radio-Activity tour Kraftwerk began recording Trans-Europe Express (German: Trans-Europa Express) at the Kling Klang Studio. In May 1978 Kraftwerk released The Man-Machine (German: Die Mensch-Maschine). Due to the complexity of the recording, the album was mixed at Studio Rudas in Düsseldorf. The band hired a sound engineer from Detroit to work with Joschko Rudas on the final mix. The Man-Machine was the first Kraftwerk album where Karl Bartos was co-credited as a songwriter. The cover, produced in black, white and red, was inspired by Russian artist El Lissitzky and the Suprematism movement. Gunther Frohling photographed the group for the cover, a now-iconic image which featured the quartet dressed in red shirts and black ties. After it was released Kraftwerk did not release another album for three years.
Here is a newer version of "The Man Machine" (missing Florian Schneider who passed away this year);
In May 1981 Kraftwerk released Computer World (German: Computerwelt) on EMI Records. It was recorded at Kling Klang Studio between 1978 and 1981. Much of this time was spent modifying the studio to make it portable so the band could take it on tour. Some of the electronic vocals on Computer World were generated using a Texas Instruments language translator.
In 1982 Kraftwerk began to work on a new album that initially had the working title "Technicolor" but due to trademark issues was changed to "Techno Pop". One of the songs from these recording sessions was "Tour de France", which EMI released as a single in 1983. This song was a reflection of the band's new-found obsession for cycling. After the physically demanding Computer World tour, Ralf Hütter had been looking for forms of exercise that fitted in with the image of Kraftwerk; subsequently he encouraged the group to become vegetarians and take up cycling. "Tour de France" included sounds that followed this theme including bicycle chains, gear mechanisms and the breathing of the cyclist.
During the recording of "Tour de France", Ralf Hütter was involved in a serious cycling accident and suffered head injuries and remained in a coma for several days.
"Tour de France"
During the 90s, the band mostly made mix albums and some live shows that have been tremendously fun to watch.
In August 2003 the band released Tour de France Soundtracks, its first album of new material since 1986's Electric Café. In January and February 2003, before the release of the album, the band started the extensive Minimum-Maximum world tour, using four customised Sony VAIO laptop computers, effectively leaving the entire Kling Klang studio at home in Germany. The group also obtained a new set of transparent video panels to replace its four large projection screens. This greatly streamlined the running of all of the group's sequencing, sound-generating, and visual-display software. From this point, the band's equipment increasingly reduced manual playing, replacing it with interactive control of sequencing equipment. Hütter retained the most manual performance, still playing musical lines by hand on a controller keyboard and singing live vocals and having a repeating ostinato. Schneider's live vocoding had been replaced by software-controlled speech-synthesis techniques.
The touring quartet consisted of Ralf Hütter, Henning Schmitz, Fritz Hilpert, and video technician Stefan Pfaffe, who became an official member in 2008.Original member Florian Schneider was absent from the lineup. Hütter stated that he was working on other projects. On 21 November, Kraftwerk officially confirmed Florian Schneider's departure from the band. On 21 April 2020, Florian Schneider died at age 73 after a brief battle with cancer.
I can easily say that style wise Kraftwerk is one of the leading bands of electronic music. They were initially connected to the German krautrock scene. In the mid-1970s, they transitioned to an electronic sound which they described as "robot pop". Kraftwerk's lyrics dealt with post-war European urban life and technology—traveling by car on the Autobahn, traveling by train, using home computers, and the like. They were influenced by the modernist Bauhaus aesthetic, seeing art as inseparable from everyday function. Usually, the lyrics are very minimal but reveal both an innocent celebration of, and a knowing caution about, the modern world, as well as playing an integral role in the rhythmic structure of the songs. Many of Kraftwerk's songs express the paradoxical nature of modern urban life: a strong sense of alienation existing side-by-side with a celebration of the joys of modern technology.
"Autobahn"
Starting with the release of Autobahn, Kraftwerk began to release a series of concept albums (Radio-Activity, Trans-Europe Express, The Man-Machine, Computer World, Tour de France Soundtracks).All of Kraftwerk's albums from Trans Europe Express onwards, except Tour de France Soundtracks have been released in separate versions: one with German vocals for sale in Germany, Switzerland and Austria and one with English vocals for the rest of the world, with occasional variations in other languages when conceptually appropriate.
Live performances have always played an important part in Kraftwerk's activities. Also, despite its live shows generally being based around formal songs and compositions, live improvisation often plays a noticeable role in its performances. This trait can be traced back to the group's roots in the first experimental Krautrock scene of the late 1960s, but, significantly, it has continued to be a part of its playing even as it makes ever greater use of digital and computer-controlled sequencing in its performances. Some of the band's familiar compositions have been observed to have developed from live improvisations at its concerts or sound-checks.
They have also played a significant role in musical technology and innovation and constantly have pushed the limits of their instruments.
I have always found the band quite eccentric and German (I am saying this in a very positive way). At a time when nearly all European bands had English names and sang English lyrics, the choice of Kraftwerk as a name was a statement. For many years, Hütter and Schneider used German song titles; they would also play with stereotypes of a German genius for order and efficiency. There is an interesting story that goes like this: "anyone trying to contact the band for collaboration would be told the studio telephone did not have a ringer. Instead, callers were instructed to phone the studio precisely at a certain time, whereupon the phone would be answered by Ralf Hütter, despite never hearing the phone ring".
According to music journalist Neil McCormick, Kraftwerk might be "the most influential group in pop history". NME wrote: "'The Beatles and Kraftwerk' may not have the ring of 'the Beatles and the Stones', but nonetheless, these are the two most important bands in music history". AllMusic wrote that their music "resonates in virtually every new development to impact the contemporary pop scene of the late 20th century".
Kraftwerk's musical style and image can be heard and seen in 1980s synth-pop groups such as Gary Numan, Ultravox, John Foxx, OMD, The Human League, Depeche Mode, Visage, and Soft Cell. They influenced other forms of music such as hip hop, house, and drum and bass, and they are also regarded as pioneers of the electro genre. Most notably, "Trans Europe Express" and "Numbers" were interpolated into "Planet Rock" by Afrika Bambaataa & the Soul Sonic Force, one of the earliest hip-hop/electro hits. Kraftwerk helped ignite the New York electro-movement. Techno was created by three musicians from Detroit, often referred to as the 'Belleville three' (Juan Atkins, Kevin Saunderson & Derrick May), who fused the repetitive melodies of Kraftwerk with funk rhythms. The Belleville three were heavily influenced by Kraftwerk and their sounds because Kraftwerk's sounds appealed to the middle-class blacks residing in Detroit at this time. Depeche Mode's composer Martin Gore emphasized: "For anyone of our generation involved in electronic music, Kraftwerk were the godfathers". Vince Clarke of Erasure, Yazoo and Depeche Mode, is also a notable disco and Kraftwerk fan. Daniel Miller, founder of Mute Records, purchased the vocoder used by Kraftwerk in their early albums, comparing it to owning "the guitar Jimi Hendrix used on 'Purple Haze'". Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys, founding members of OMD, have stated that Kraftwerk was a major reference on their early work, and covered "Neon Lights" on the 1991 album, Sugar Tax. The electronic band Ladytron were inspired by Kraftwerk's song "The Model" when they composed their debut single "He Took Her to a Movie". Aphex Twin noted Kraftwerk as one of his biggest influences and called Computer World as a very influential album towards his music and sound. Björk has cited the band as one of her main musical influences. Electronic musician Kompressor has cited Kraftwerk as an influence. The band was also mentioned in the song "Rappers We Crush" by Kompressor and MC Frontalot ("I hurry away, get in my Chrysler. Oh, the dismay!/Someone's replaced all of my Backstreet Boys with Kraftwerk tapes!"). Dr. Alex Paterson of the Orb listed The Man-Machine as one of his 13 most favourite albums of all time. According to NME, Kraftwerk's pioneering "robot pop" also spawned groups like Prodigy and Daft Punk.
As you can see, Kraftwerk was and still is a true pioneer of a genre that has shaped the modern music world. Let's hope they continue to make music and go on tours, so that younger generations can also appreciate their genius...
This week I have another song for you that is well known not with the original but more by its cover version. The song is a Rastafari song written and recorded by Brent Dowe and Trevor McNaughton of the Jamaican reggae group The Melodians in 1970. However, almost everyone knows the cover version that was released in 1978.
Here is the song for this week;
"Rivers of Babylon"
The song became an anthem of the Rastafarian movement after its initial release. This version appeared in the soundtrack to the 1972 movie The Harder They Come.
The song is based on a Biblical Psalm, a hymn expressing the lamentations of the Jewish people in exile following the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem in 586 BC: Previously the Kingdom of Judah, after being united under Kings David and Solomon, had been split in two, with the Kingdom of Israel in the north, conquered by the Assyrians in 722 BC which caused the dispersion of 10 of the 12 tribes of Israel. The southern Kingdom of Judah (hence the name Jews), home of the tribe of Judah and part of the tribe of Levi, was free from foreign domination until the Babylonian conquest to which Rivers of Babylon refers.
The namesake rivers of Babylon are the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
It is one of a few pop songs whose lyrics come directly from the Bible (See also "Turn! Turn! Turn!" by Pete Seeger, "40" by U2, and "The Lord's Prayer" by Sister Janet Mead).
In the Rastafarian faith, the term "Babylon" is used for any governmental system which is either oppressive or unjust. In Jamaica, Rastafarians also use "Babylon" to refer to the police, often seen as a source of oppression because they arrest members for the use of marijuana (which is sacramental for Rastafarians). Therefore, "By the rivers of Babylon" refers to living in a repressive society and the longing for freedom, just like the Israelites in captivity. Rastafarians also identify themselves as belonging to the Twelve Tribes of Israel. The original version specifically refers to Rastafarian belief in Haile Selassie, by changing references to "the Lord" in the Biblical text to "Far-I" and "King Alpha".
Here are the 3 versions I picked for you;
Boney M. - "Rivers of Babylon"
Steve Earle - "Rivers of Babylon"
Linda Ronstadt - "Rivers of Babylon"
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.
I sadly hear that a lot of live events are being canceled and as you know summer is a great season to host many artists in festivals and open-air concerts. Looks like this year we will also have to give up such amusements due to Covid-19. For the renowned artists, this period can maybe be not so devastating but for some younger ones or ones trying to be a part of that world, I am sure things are a bit tough. So please support the young artists, support those who are trying to do their art and also do not forget to support your local music shop.
As Bob Dylan once said;
“Some people feel the rain.
Others just get wet."
Here is the list for this weekend;
Arlo Parks - "Super Sad Generation"
Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah - "West of the West"
Etherwood X The Pharcyde - "Fading Me By"
Abi Ocia - "Running"
Polo & Pan - "Coeur Croisé"
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.
For everyone, there are some songs that cannot be covered because the originals have so many memories and life experiences that the cover versions can never fulfill. This song is one of them...
However, I really tried hard to find some good ones, that at least to a certain extent do not lack the feeling of the original.
Here is the song for this week;
"Africa"
It's a song recorded by the American rock band Toto in 1981, for their fourth studio album Toto IV, and released as the album's third single on September 30, 1982, through Columbia Records. The song was written by band members David Paich and Jeff Porcaro.
The song reached number one on the United States' Billboard Hot 100 chart and is the band's only Billboard number one. The song remained at the top for a single week (February 5, 1983). "Africa" also peaked in the top ten in the United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, and Switzerland.
This song tells the story of a man who comes to Africa and must make a decision about the girl who comes to see him. He is enamored with the country, but must leave if he is going to be with her.
With introspective lyrics like, "I seek to cure what's deep inside, frightened of this thing that I've become," we wondered if this song involved a bit of personal reflection. Turned out, it did. In our interview with David Paich, he explained: "There's a little metaphor involved here, because I was at the age where I was so immersed in my work, 24/7, that at times I felt like I was becoming just a victim of my work. There was a little bit of autobiographical information in there: being consumed by my work, not having time to go out and pursue getting married and raising a family and doing all the things that other people do that were my age at the time."
The video was directed by Steve Barron, who also did "Rosanna" and many other early MTV favorites. Toto was one of the few American bands that was making videos even before MTV, and after the network launched in 1981, their Barron-directed clips earned them lots of exposure.
"Africa" is a very stylized, conceptual video with memorable imagery and an abstract storyline. It finds David Paich in an African library trying to find the book that matches a torn clipping he carries. There is a cute librarian, taxidermy, a burning spear and a globe. What's going on is clearly open to interpretation.
Here are the 3 versions I picked for you;
Weezer - "Africa"
The Lounge Kittens - "Africa"
Eric Benét - "Africa"
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.
So sad to witness the recent events taking place in the USA especially in a country that claims to be founded on equality. And all ll of this is happening during a COVID-19 pandemic. The US has suffered more than 100,000 deaths, the largest number in the world, with black people dying disproportionately. A social distancing advisory is still in place, but the sense of injustice and revulsion against the May 25 killing of George Floyd, a black man, by Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is so great that thousands, taking the risk of perilous infections, have come out on the streets for protests. I guess these injustices will never end with these imprudent politicians that are in power all around the world...
As Bob Marley once said;
“I believe that racism, hatred and evil
can be healed with music."
Here is the list for this weekend;
Bob Marley - "Zimbabwe"
Lenny Kravitz - "Here To Love"
Andra Day - "Strange Fruit"
Sam Cooke - "A Change Is Gonna Come
Maureen Aku Disu - "One Human Race"
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.
