Which one is your favorite? - LII -

This will be the second song I chose from Depeche Mode for the covers post. Released in 1989, the song reached No. 13 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 28 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2004, it was ranked No. 368 in Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

Here is the song for this week;

"Personal Jesus"

It was inspired by Priscilla Presley's book Elvis And Me, where she described their relationship. Martin Gore of Depeche Mode said: "It's a song about being a Jesus for somebody else, someone to give you hope and care. It's about how Elvis was her man and her mentor and how often that happens in love relationships - how everybody's heart is like a god in some way, and that's not a very balanced view of someone, is it?"

The video was the first by Depeche Mode to get significant airplay on MTV. Directed by Anton Corbijn, it has an Old West theme, with Dave Gahan and Martin Gore as cowboys. During the heavy breathing section of the song (around 2:20), there are some tight silhouette shots of Gore huffing, and then a shot of a horse's hindquarters. "I don't know if Anton was consciously trying to be perverted, I think it was more coincidental that it happened at that point," Gore told Uncut. "These video people see things very strangely." It was a little too much for MTV, so Corbijn made an edit eliminating some of the silhouette breathing, and that was the version the network aired.

Prior to its release, advertisements were placed in the personal columns of regional newspapers in the UK with the words "Your own personal Jesus." Later, the ads included a phone number one could dial to hear the song. The ensuing controversy helped propel the single to No. 13 on the UK charts, becoming one of Depeche Mode's biggest sellers. The single was particularly successful commercially thanks to the fact that it was released six months prior to the album it would later appear on. Up to that point, it was the best selling 12" single in Warner Bros. history...

Johnny Cash did a stripped-down version (that you will hear below) on his 2002 album American IV, The Man Comes Around. Martin Gore revealed to The London Times that the band was unaware that Cash had covered this song. When they heard about the country legend's recording, the threesome was naturally thrilled. Said Gore: "I think when you're somebody of Johnny Cash's caliber, you don't ask for permission."

Here are the 6 versions I picked for you;

• Johnny Cash - "Personal Jesus"

• Richard Cheese - "Personal Jesus"

• Def Leppard - "Personal Jesus"

• Nina Hagen - "Personal Jesus"

• Marilyn Manson - "Personal Jesus"

• KO KO MO - "Personal Jesus"

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 -XCII -

Last days of summer are near and we will again be stuck indoors very soon. This means that all of us will be more exposed to Covid-19, so please be careful and wear a mask. We can overcome this threat via paying the utmost attention. Be close to the music and not to the virus...

As Leopold Stokowski once said;

“A painter paints pictures on canvas. 

But musicians paint their pictures on silence.”

Here is the list for this weekend;

• Robert Glasper - "Packt Like Sardines In A Crushd Tin Box"

• Peter Gabriel & New Blood Orchestra - "Mercy Street"

• Kurup - "Joeira"

• Elias Rahbani - "Dance of Maria"

• Cabaret Nocturne - "Blood Walk"

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? - LI -

Here is a cool disco song from 1980. The original was a big hit for Diana Ross topping the charts all over the world. It was written and produced by Chic members Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards.

Here is the song for this week;

"Upside Down"

The upbeat song finds the singer sticking with a cheating lover because he keeps their romance exciting, turning her emotions upside down and inside out. Rodgers explained the tune was actually inspired by Ross' desire to experiment with her career and have some fun.

The song was issued as a single through the Motown label in 1980, as the lead single from her tenth studio album, Diana. "Upside Down" hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on September 6, 1980. It also hit number one on the Billboard Disco and Soul charts. The single was released a full four weeks after the album was released. It held down the number one spot for four weeks.

Ross, who felt her voice was overshadowed by the instrumentation on some of the tracks, demanded changes from the producers. Rodgers and Edwards made minor edits to appease her and told Ross if she still didn't like the songs, she'd have to remix them herself. They were shocked when Ross actually took them up on the offer. With the help of Motown producer Russ Terrana, she remixed the entire album, adding emphasis to her vocals. Rodgers was furious but ultimately relented on the condition that he and Edwards wouldn't be credited for the new mixes.

Mercedes-Benz used this in a 2013 commercial to promote the automobile manufacturer's "magic body control" stability function, which was proven by a bunch of chickens grooving to the tune while their heads remained stationary.

Here are the 5 versions I picked for you;

• The BossHoss - "Upside Down"

• Dusty Springfield & Tom Jones - "Upside Down"

• Cuban Jazz Combo - "Upside Down"

• Sonia Stein - "Upside Down"

• Joelle - "Upside Down"

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 -XCI -

Coronavirus is continuing its spread across the world, with nearly 30 million confirmed cases in 188 countries and a death toll fast approaching one million, and it looks like it will not stop very soon. So be careful, wear your masks and keep the social distance. Of course, in the meantime stay with music...

As Debasish Mridha once said;

“Music can heal the wounds which medicine cannot touch.”

Here is the list for this weekend;

• Sabina Sciubba & Antonio Forcione - "Estate"

• The Smiths - "This Charming Man"

• Boodaman - "Christical Mass"

• Julia Holter - "Feel You"

• Mary Halvorson Octet - "Away With You"

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? - L -

Here I am with the 50th "Which one is your favorite?" post. This week I will take you to the 80s with song from a band that I liked very much. Unfortunately, Mark Hollis, the writer of this song and the lead singer of the band who made it famous passed away last year.

Here is the song for this week;

"Life's What You Make It"

This is a song by the English band Talk Talk. It was released as a single in 1985, the first from the band's album The Colour of Spring. The single was a hit in the UK, peaking at No. 16, and charted in numerous other countries, often reaching the Top 20.

The song was one of the last to be conceived for The Colour of Spring, following concern from the band's management at the lack of an obvious single among accumulated work. Initially unwilling, Mark Hollis and Tim Friese-Greene, the principal source of original material for the band, accepted the task as a challenge.

The track appeared in the 2002 video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, where it plays on the fictional in-game pop radio station Flash FM.

Here are the 5 versions I picked for you;

• Duncan Sheik - "Life's What You Make It"

• Weezer - "Life's What You Make It"

• Zinoba - "Life's What You Make It"

• Placebo - "Life's What You Make It"

• Joan as a Police Woman - "Life's What You Make It"

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 -XC -

It has been more than 90 weeks that I have started the "Five Songs" post and I really hope you are liking it. I am quite excited that very soon I will be co-hosting a jazz program on the radio. Further details to be announced in the coming weeks...

As Sun Ra once said;

“Where human eyes have never seen, 
where human beings have never been,
 I build a world of abstract dreams, and I wait for you."

Here is the list for this weekend;

• Tom Misch & Yussef Dayes - "Tidal Wave"

• Gevende - "Nayu"

• Blick Bassy - "Woñi"

• Guy Davis - "Loneliest Road That I Know"

• Dire Straits - "Your Latest Trick"

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.

R.I.P: Gary Peacock

The legendary jazz bassist who has performed alongside with the greatest musicians of the 20th century has died at the age of 85.
Over a career that spanned seven decades, he played on recordings with Albert Ayler, Paul Bley, Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett, among many others.

He was a jazz musician with a deep philosophical stance and he was continously seeking ways for being ahead of his time.

Here is a classic piece from the Keith Jarrett Trio (Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette)...

"I Fall In Love Too Easily"

Which one is your favorite? - XLIX -

This week we go back to the late 40s. The song I chose for you is a popular rhythm and blues standard, composed in 1946 by American songwriter Bobby Troup. It is a song that has been covered many times almost in all musical styles.

Here is the song for this week;

"Route 66"

The song uses a twelve-bar blues arrangement and the lyrics follow the path of U.S. Route 66 (US 66), which traversed the western two-thirds of the U.S. from Chicago, Illinois, to Los Angeles, California. 

Nat King Cole, with the King Cole Trio, first recorded the song the same year, and it became a hit, appearing on Billboard magazine's R&B and pop charts.

Bobby Troup got the idea for the song on a cross-country drive from Pennsylvania to California. Troup wanted to try his hand as a Hollywood songwriter, so he and his wife, Cynthia, packed up their 1941 Buick and headed west. The trip began on US 40 and continued along US 66 to the California coast. Troup initially considered writing a tune about US 40, but Cynthia suggested the title "Get Your Kicks on Route 66". The song was composed on the ten-day journey and completed by referring to maps when the couple arrived in Los Angeles.

The lyrics read as a mini-travelogue about the major stops along the route, listing several cities and towns through which Route 66 passes: St. Louis; Joplin, Missouri; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Amarillo, Texas; Gallup, New Mexico; Flagstaff, Arizona; Winona, Arizona; Kingman, Arizona; Barstow, California; and San Bernardino, California. Winona is the only town out of sequence: it was a very small settlement east of Flagstaff and might indeed have been forgotten if not for the lyric "Don't forget Winona", written to rhyme with "Flagstaff, Arizona". Many artists who have covered the tune over the years have changed the initial lyrics, usually to "It goes to St. Louis, down through Missouri..." then continuing with Oklahoma City and so on. Of the eight states through which the actual route passes, only Kansas and its cities—US 66 spends just eleven miles (18 km) inside the state's southeast corner—are not mentioned by the song. Chuck Berry famously mispronounces Barstow to rhyme with "cow" instead of correctly pronouncing it to rhyme with "go".

Here are the 7 versions I picked for you;

• Chuck Berry - "Route 66"

• Dr. Feelgood - "Route 66"

• Depeche Mode - "Route 66"

• Natalie Cole & Diana Krall - "Route 66"

• Rolling Stones - "Route 66"

• Glenn Frey - "Route 66"

• Manhattan Transfer - "Route 66"

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 - LXXXIX -

The end of summer is approaching, but who can say that the summer of 2020 was a good summer? I, for one, did not really understand when it's already summer and when it's over. This was definitely a different summer...Let's hope everything will be better in 2021.

As John Mayer once said;

“A little bit of summer is what the whole year is all about."

Here is the list for this weekend;

• Nick Cave - "Cosmic Dancer"

• Baxter Dury - "I'm Not Your Dog"

• Aldous Harding - "Imagining My Man"

• Solomun - "Kackvogel"

• The Jazz Passengers & Debbie Harry - "The Tide Is High"

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.