It has been exactly one year (for my country) since the Covid-19 came into our lives. It was again my birthday, just like today, we were going home from the office for an unpredictable time. What an interesting year it has been :( I hope music has helped you better survive this tough period.
As Jane Swan once said;
"How is it that music can, without words, evoke our
laughter, our fears, our highest aspirations?”
Here is the list for this weekend;
Esperanza Spalding - "Endangered Species"
Rufus Du Sol - "Underwater"
The Weather Station - "Robber"
Ben Harper - "Diamonds On The Inside"
Leon Redbone- "Your Cheatin' Heart"
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.
Let's continue with another great song from the 80s. This is a 1986 song by the English rock band the Smiths from their third album The Queen Is Dead, written by Johnny Marr and Morrissey. The song features self-deprecating lyrics that reflected Morrissey's frustrations with the music industry and the merciless media. Frontman, Morrissey, describes being hounded by the press and even compares himself to the French martyr, Joan of Arc.
Here is the song for this week;
"Bigmouth Strikes Again"
It was released the lead single from the album, bypassing Rough Trade's preferred choice, "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out". The single reached number 26 in the UK Singles Chart and has since seen critical acclaim.
Bigmouth Strikes Again" began as a lyric written by Morrissey in the summer of 1985. The lyric was the final one of three written about Morrissey's frustration with the music industry, the previous two being "The Boy with the Thorn in His Side" and "Rubber Ring." "Bigmouth Strikes Again" specifically reflects Morrissey's negative experiences with the music press. When asked by the NME about the song, Morrissey replied, "I can't think of one sentence [I regret saying]. We're still at that stage where if I rescued a kitten from drowning, they'd say: 'Morrissey Mauls Kitten's Body'. So what can you do?"
Morrissey intended the lyrics of the song to be humorous; he explained, "I would call it a parody if that sounded less like self-celebration, which it definitely wasn't. It was just a really funny song." Drummer Mike Joyce commented, "What a fantastic title – one of Mozzer's better ones. And with this song, you can see why he made journalists cream their pants. Listen to the lyrical content. He was a one-off."
Johnny Marr based the song's music on a guitar riff he had written during a soundcheck of the band's 1985 tour. Marr later claimed that he had been inspired by the Rolling Stones' "Jumpin' Jack Flash", stating, "I wanted something that was a rush all the way through, without a distinct middle eight as such. I thought the guitar breaks should be percussive, not too pretty or cordial." Marr described the song as being "as close as getting to the sound of my heroes as we came."
During the song, the protagonist compares himself to Joan of Arc as "the flames rose to her Roman nose" and also says "now I know how Joan of Arc felt". In recent solo performances, Morrissey has changed the lyric "and her Walkman started to melt", to the more technologically current "and her iPod started to melt". Morrissey included the lyric "and her hearing aid started to melt" as a tribute to the band's hearing-impaired fans.
Kirsty MacColl sang backing vocals on this. Sometime later, Johnny Marr briefly became MacColl's London tenant and the pair began writing together. The working relationship resulted in several memorable songs, including MacColl's hit single "Walking Down Madison."
Here are the 7 versions I picked for you;
Placebo - "Bigmouth Strikes Again"
Treepeople - "Bigmouth Strikes Again"
Among The Oak & Ash - "Bigmouth Strikes Again"
The Snowdrops - "Bigmouth Strikes Again"
MIAMI TIGER - "Bigmouth Strikes Again"
Eva O & DJ Eric Ill - "Bigmouth Strikes Again"
Heidemann - "Bigmouth Strikes Again"
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.
It appears to be even "back to half normal" is bringing along a lot of risks in the Covid-19 situation. Therefore we really need to be careful to the maximum extent if we want to stay away from the virus. Please do not let go of the precautions at least till the summer so that we can all enjoy a good holiday season.
As Mahatma Gandhi once said;
"It is health that is real wealth and
not pieces of gold and silver."
Here is the list for this weekend;
Lusine - "Just A Cloud"
Princess Chelsea - "Monkey Eats Bananas"
Still Corners - "The Trip"
Ebo Taylor - "Atwer Abroba"
Juju & The Space Rangers - "Plastic"
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 a great song from the 80s with equally great lyrics. It is a song by the English singer-songwriter Kate Bush. It was the first single from her 1985 album Hounds of Love, released in the United Kingdom on 5 August 1985. It was her first 12-inch single. It was the most successful of Bush's 1980s releases, entering the UK chart at number 9 and eventually peaking at number 3, her second-highest single peak.
Here is the song for this week;
"Running Up That Hill"
Thie song is about making a deal with God to swap lives with another person. Bush explained in a 1985 interview: "It's about a relationship between a man and a woman. They love each other very much, and the power of the relationship is something that gets in the way. It creates insecurities. It's saying if the man could be the woman and the woman the man, if they could make a deal with God, to change places, that they'd understand what it's like to be the other person and perhaps it would clear up misunderstandings. You know, all the little problems; there would be no problem."
Bush's record company wanted to release "Cloudbusting" as the first single, but Kate convinced them to release this instead. Since they had already renamed her song, it was considered a compromise.
This was Bush's biggest hit in the US. She is very popular in the UK, but remains mostly unknown in America.
The song was originally written using a Fairlight synthesizer.
The music video featured Bush performing an interpretive dance with dancer Michael Hervieu. The video was directed by David Garfath while the dance routines were choreographed by Diane Grey. Bush and Hervieu are shown wearing grey Japanese hakamas. Bush wanted the dancing in "Running Up That Hill" to be more of a classical performance as she he felt the art was being cheapened by the newer crop of talent on MTV.
Here are the 7 versions I picked for you;
Theo Bleckmann - "Running Up That Hill"
First Aid Kit - "Running Up That Hill"
Placebo - "Running Up That Hill"
Within Temptation - "Running Up That Hill"
Ellevator - "Running Up That Hill"
Georgia - "Running Up That Hill"
Mozartine - "Running Up That Hill"
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.
It appears to be that the Covid restrictions are being reviewed all around the world and easing is on the way. Obviously, everyone will agree that it was about time but still need to be careful especially before the vaccination. On the other hand, this seems to be a fair decision for the businesses and people trying to make a living in the most affected sectors. Please support your local businesses and help them to overcome this terrible situation with relatively minimal impact.
As Toba Beta once said;
“Being cautious ain't merely look after myself,
but also keep me away from others' carelessness..."
Here is the list for this weekend;
Andra Day - "Strange Fruit/Tigress & Tweed Medley"
The Be Good Tanyas - "Waiting Around to Die"
Erykah Badu - "On & On"
AKKU Quintet - "Deep Sea"
Mammal Hands - "Black Sails"
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.
