"To be loved like that makes all the difference. It does not lessen the terror of the fall, but it gives a new perspective on what that terror means. I had jumped off the edge, and then, at the very last moment, something reached out and caught me in midair. That something is what I define as love. It is the one thing that can stop a man from falling, the one thing powerful enough to negate the laws of gravity." Paul Auster (Moon Palace)

Tuesday, July 30, 2024

The Legends - the kids just wanna have fun, 2003

"The Legends are one of several indie pop projects masterminded by Swedish producer/musician Johan Angergård, whose other bands include the Acid House Kings, Eternal Death, Djustin and Club 8. Initially conceived as a fuzzy, gutsy indie pop act (something like a rougher, fierier version of the Acid House Kings), the group made its live debut in 2003 as an opening act for the Radio Dept."

Sétima Legião - por tua imensa saudade, 1989

"Morreu um salva-vidas com duas paixões"

Pet Shop Boys - postscript i believe in ecstasy, 1993

"This brief “hidden” song appears at the end of Very after more than a minute of silence following “Go West.” Nowhere is it mentioned in the original album notes, and even the name “Postscript” was conjectural until it was confirmed by the 2001 reissue. (The first words, “I Believe in Ecstasy,” had also been suggested by fans as a possible title.) It’s a highly atypical number in which a chorus of Chris Lowe’s heavily multi-tracked vocals sing about the conflicting senses of joy and sadness at remembering a close friend or lover who is now lost."

Monday, July 29, 2024

The Beatles - eight days a week, 1964

"I usually drove myself there, but the chauffeur drove me out that day and I said, 'How've you been?' – 'Oh working hard,' he said, 'working eight days a week.'" In a 2016 interview alongside Starr and Ron Howard, in preparation for the release of the documentary The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years, McCartney reiterated that he had heard it from a chauffeur who was driving him to Lennon's house while he was banned from driving."

The Chameleons - view from a hill, 1983

"Script remains a high-water mark of what can generally be called post-punk music; an hour's worth of one amazing song after another", calling it "practically a greatest-hits record on its own".

Belle And Sebastian - the stars of track and field, 1996

"If You're Feeling Sinister is the second album by the Scottish indie pop band Belle and Sebastian. It was released in 1996 on Jeepster Records in the United Kingdom and in 1997 by Matador Records in the United States. It is often ranked among the best albums of the 1990s, including being ranked #14 in Pitchfork's list of Top 100 Albums of the 1990s. Band leader Stuart Murdoch said If You're Feeling Sinister is probably his best collection of songs."

A Weather - spiders snakes, 2008

"While I am religiously neutral, I definitely get the impression that the underlying theme of the song is God. I think it tells the story of - or rather it is a dialogue between - a man and his friend. It seems the singer is watching his friend lose (or perhaps has already lost) his faith in God and he's hoping that he can help him find his way back."

The Style Council - the whole point of no return, 1984

"the most beautiful protest song ever: “The Whole Point of No Return”.

Still Corners - the trip, 2013

"Strange Pleasures is the second studio album by London-based dream pop band Still Corners. It was released 7 May 2013 by US label Sub Pop. The album reached a peak of No. 28 in the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart. It also hit No. 1 in the FMQB national radio charts."

The Pipettes - pull shapes, 2006

"Pull Shapes" is a single from The Pipettes and was released on 3 July 2006. It was available on CD, double 7" vinyl, and digital download from Memphis Industries. The expression "pull shapes" is a British English colloquialism that refers to the act of dancing."

Brendan Benson - ain't no good, 2022

"Musicians have no idea how to talk about their own stuff. It doesn’t sound like hip hop or barbershop. It sounds like Brendan Benson music. Which is great."

Sunday, July 28, 2024

The Beatles - i want to hold your hand live, 1964

"With advance orders exceeding one million copies in the UK, "I Want to Hold Your Hand" would have gone straight to the top of the British record charts on its day of release had it not been blocked by the group's first million-seller "She Loves You", their previous UK single, which was having a resurgence of popularity following intense media coverage of the group. Taking two weeks to dislodge its predecessor, "I Want to Hold Your Hand" stayed at number one for five weeks and remained in the UK top 50 for 21 weeks in total."

The Style Council - my ever changing moods extended version, 1984

"The album version features vocals by Weller only accompanied by acoustic piano. This version is 3:37 long. There are two versions of the song with full band accompaniment. The 7" single version is 4:02 minutes long, while the 12" single version is 5:44 minutes long. Weller released a new version of "My Ever Changing Moods" on his album An Orchestrated Songbook in 2021."

Tobasco Boy - sunbleach, 2023

"This is such a good song! Love it and just love the sound!"

Saturday, July 27, 2024

The Beatles - two of us, 1970

"The song was originally titled "On Our Way Home". Ian MacDonald suggested that the lyrics (e.g.: "you and I have memories/longer than the road that stretches out ahead" or "you and me chasing paper/getting nowhere") sounded like McCartney was probably addressing Lennon and contractual troubles."

Pink Floyd - another brick in the wall part three, 1979

"During "Part 1", the protagonist, Pink, begins building a metaphorical wall around himself following the death of his father. In "Part 2", traumas involving his overprotective mother and abusive schoolteachers become bricks in the wall. Following a violent breakdown in "Part 3", Pink dismisses everyone he knows as "just bricks in the wall."

Fleet Foxes - can i believe you live in church with the resistance revival chorus, 2020

"Fleet Foxes’ Robin Pecknold brought the Shore song “Can I Believe You” to The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Thursday night (December 10). He was joined at the St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church in Brooklyn by the Resistance Revival Chorus. Check it out below. After releasing Crack-Up in 2017, Robin Pecknold returned with the fourth Fleet Foxes record Shore on September 22 — the autumnal equinox. The band has since shared videos for album tracks “Sunblind” and “Can I Believe You.” On December 21 (the winter solstice), Pecknold will perform a solo acoustic set from Brooklyn’s St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church for A Very Lonely Solstice Livestream."

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - anne with an e, 2011

"We came out with an EP in 2009 after the record and we also did a stand alone single last summer. I mean, there were times when we thought, ‘Oh, this is great’, and it wasn’t, but the basic songs that we really, really like ended up being on the record; like ‘Belong’ and ‘Strange’, ‘Even in Dreams’, ‘The Body’. But some stuff turned out better than we thought and other stuff wasn’t as good. Songs like ‘Anne with an E’ and ‘Girl with a Thousand Dreams’, I initially thought those weren’t right for the record, but then we recorded them and they just made sense with the other songs; offered a balance and dynamic."

Mike Oldfield - part four north star platinum finale, 1979

"North Star/Platinum Finale" includes an excerpt from the 1977 Philip Glass composition "North Star". The lead melody is not borrowed from Glass but the choir's part is. The constant bass drum beat and octave-jumping bass line start the section and guitar enters with the melody later. A funky guitar riff and chorus appear, and the lead guitar continues to play the melody over them. Engineer Kurt Munkacsi was a frequent collaborator with Glass."

The Style Council - long hot summer extended version, 1983

"Long Hot Summer" is a song by the English band The Style Council which was their third single to be released. It was composed by lead singer Paul Weller, recorded between 12 and 17 June 1983 in the Grande Armée Studios in Paris, and released on 8 August 1983. In the UK "Long Hot Summer" was the lead track of an EP titled À Paris, which also contained the song "The Paris Match" (a different version of which, featuring Tracey Thorn from Everything But The Girl on lead vocal, was included on the band's first album Café Bleu) plus two keyboard instrumentals, "Party Chambers" and "Le Depart". In other countries it was a conventional single with "Long Hot Summer" as the A-side. It was also included on the 1983 mini-album Introducing The Style Council. The promotional video for "Long Hot Summer" was filmed on the River Cam in Cambridge. The song reached the position of number three in the UK singles chart making it the Style Council's biggest hit, and it remains a staple of Paul Weller's live concerts. By coincidence the British summer heat wave of 1983, most notably July, turned out to be one of the hottest on record – something that would not have been known at the time the song was written and recorded."