Today, we go ahead and embrace our hippie roots....
But this song seems a little Jesus-y for that, doesn't it?
And yet, that's exactly what Norman Greenbaum did - he wrote a religious hippie song. Of course, it wasn't well-known or much of a hit in secular circles - it was legitimately a Christian song and a hit! - until Doctor and the Medics covered it in the 1980's
Really, the simple and earnest song was criminally overlooked at initial release - but it's a classic now.
14 April 2020
14 April 2020 - ABBA - Take A Chance On Me
This is a song that I am certain all of you have heard. There's not much more to say - it was the final UK #1 for ABBA (their 7th, a record), and was one of the biggest hits of their career worldwide.
Stig Anderson had assisted with the lyrics on prior ABBA singles - but on this one, it was all Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, establishing them as a strong songwriting team in their own right. This song is so sweet, and upbeat, that it endures to this day. Agnetha didn't have much of a solo career outside of Sweden (where she was a hitmaker BEFORE ABBA) but this is really her song, even though most of the lyrics are shared with Frida (real name: Anni-Frid - get it?).
By now, you should know that I like to include alternative versions when I make a simple post like this. This is the 1977 demo of the song. It speaks to the consistency of the band that it was hard to find any variation from the final studio version at all! Other than a slight key difference in the chorus, I don't hear one.
Compare this with a 1978 live recording..... in a lot of live performances, ABBA frequently lip-synced their songs - mostly because the studio recordings were so complex, and not at all an indicator . In this case - look in the background. There's a complete orchestra!!!
If you got this far - this song was famously covered by Erasure. Check out the Totally Covered post from 2012!
Stig Anderson had assisted with the lyrics on prior ABBA singles - but on this one, it was all Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, establishing them as a strong songwriting team in their own right. This song is so sweet, and upbeat, that it endures to this day. Agnetha didn't have much of a solo career outside of Sweden (where she was a hitmaker BEFORE ABBA) but this is really her song, even though most of the lyrics are shared with Frida (real name: Anni-Frid - get it?).
By now, you should know that I like to include alternative versions when I make a simple post like this. This is the 1977 demo of the song. It speaks to the consistency of the band that it was hard to find any variation from the final studio version at all! Other than a slight key difference in the chorus, I don't hear one.
Compare this with a 1978 live recording..... in a lot of live performances, ABBA frequently lip-synced their songs - mostly because the studio recordings were so complex, and not at all an indicator . In this case - look in the background. There's a complete orchestra!!!
If you got this far - this song was famously covered by Erasure. Check out the Totally Covered post from 2012!
13 April 2020
13 April 2020 - Simon & Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water
Like many of you, my parents were Simon & Garfunkel fans. I grew up listening to their Greatest Hits on repeat. So, for a lot of us, this song is like a big ol' bowl of comfort food.
Now that I'm an adult, and I know that the song was, in Paul Simon's words, inspired directly by "Mary Don't You Weep", a pre-Civil War spiritual about the Bible story of Lazarus being raised from the dead, I hear it a lot differently. Originally written for guitar, Paul Simon moved it to piano to keep the gospel feel and message.
And can we talk for a minute about Art Garfunkel's powerful voice that completely OWNS this song? It's an instrument in and of itself.
Now that I'm an adult, and I know that the song was, in Paul Simon's words, inspired directly by "Mary Don't You Weep", a pre-Civil War spiritual about the Bible story of Lazarus being raised from the dead, I hear it a lot differently. Originally written for guitar, Paul Simon moved it to piano to keep the gospel feel and message.
And can we talk for a minute about Art Garfunkel's powerful voice that completely OWNS this song? It's an instrument in and of itself.
10 April 2020
10 April 2020 - lovelytheband - broken
Lovelytheband has been around since 2016. This, their debut single from 2017, remains their only US Top 30 hit (although they get a lot of rock and alternative radio airplay with subsequent singles). If you're only going to have one hit, though, it should be a gem like this one!
The lyrics themselves aren't terribly wholesome at first - it's a late night pickup - but it gets sweeter as it goes along, as our two characters discover that they're both broken, giving them a connection and something to grow on. It's a beautiful synth-pop modern love song.
So, what if you took away the synth - does the pop-rock vibe still work for this song? Thankfully, lovelytheband gives us the answer to this question in this live performance.
It does, if you were wondering my opinion.
The lyrics themselves aren't terribly wholesome at first - it's a late night pickup - but it gets sweeter as it goes along, as our two characters discover that they're both broken, giving them a connection and something to grow on. It's a beautiful synth-pop modern love song.
So, what if you took away the synth - does the pop-rock vibe still work for this song? Thankfully, lovelytheband gives us the answer to this question in this live performance.
It does, if you were wondering my opinion.
09 April 2020
9 April 2020 - Daddy Yankee & Snow - Con Calma | Daddy Yankee & Snow feat. Katy Perry - Con Calma
I bet you all thought my first Daddy Yankee post would be "Despacito", didn't you?
No.
This re-imagination of Snow's "Informer" is somewhat spectacular, and Daddy Yankee had the presence of mind, as well as the respect for those who came before him in reggaeton to INCLUDE Snow in this. It would become a minor hit in its own right.... and the biggest selling Spanish-language single for the first half of 2019.
....but a Katy Perry remix shot this into the top 40, making Snow a THREE hit wonder..... and this a Hall of Fame post. See if you can catch all the callbacks to Teenage Dream.
The Katy Perry version received some bad reviews - one writer implied that the person who suggested it might be trying to sabotage her career (Pitbull, for the record, and he isn't) , but a largely Spanish-language song reached the top 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 - so I think there's some credibility to the collaboration.
I mean, it can't be worse for her career than her decision to a an American Idol judge....
No.
This re-imagination of Snow's "Informer" is somewhat spectacular, and Daddy Yankee had the presence of mind, as well as the respect for those who came before him in reggaeton to INCLUDE Snow in this. It would become a minor hit in its own right.... and the biggest selling Spanish-language single for the first half of 2019.
....but a Katy Perry remix shot this into the top 40, making Snow a THREE hit wonder..... and this a Hall of Fame post. See if you can catch all the callbacks to Teenage Dream.
The Katy Perry version received some bad reviews - one writer implied that the person who suggested it might be trying to sabotage her career (Pitbull, for the record, and he isn't) , but a largely Spanish-language song reached the top 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 - so I think there's some credibility to the collaboration.
I mean, it can't be worse for her career than her decision to a an American Idol judge....
08 April 2020
8 April 2020 - Collective Soul - Shine
Of course we're all looking for a sign. We're all in this crazy quarantine, and we all want out. Collective Soul spoke to this long before all our worlds changed. And they wrote a song about Heaven letting light shine down.
That doesn't mean they're a Christian hand. This is a label they fought for years - but the chorus is "basically a prayer". That's not me saying that. That's Dean Roland, who is in the band - and the brother of the guy (Ed Roland) who sang and wrote the song. At any rate, it's an uplifting song from a period when the dark angst of grunge ruled the day.
That doesn't mean they're a Christian hand. This is a label they fought for years - but the chorus is "basically a prayer". That's not me saying that. That's Dean Roland, who is in the band - and the brother of the guy (Ed Roland) who sang and wrote the song. At any rate, it's an uplifting song from a period when the dark angst of grunge ruled the day.
07 April 2020
7 April 2020 - Crash Test Dummies - Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm
It isn't often that a huge hit song features a deep baritone on lead vocal. This one, the only American hit by Canadian band Crash Test Dummies, is the only one I can think of. However, for this band that had six Top Ten hits in Canada, it stalled at #14 in their home country.... so it was a disappointment.
It is widely considered to be a bad song - frequently featured on bad song lists - but I disagree. All three verses speak to various reasons for isolation - and the chorus is a sad resignation. It's a deeper song than it gets credit for.
Plus, it's nice to hear a popular song that I can actually sing along with.
The third verse does get a little flack for being anti-church - and it's always been my belief that it is specifically directed at one Christian denomination, and not church in general. Vocalist Brad Roberts seems to clarify in this 2010 live performance..... when he whispers the name of a specific denomination during that verse...
Clearly, they cared about not offending fans, especially when they were big hitmakers - so they did have an alternative third verse about a kid whose mom threw out his tonsils in a jar. Check it out below.
It is widely considered to be a bad song - frequently featured on bad song lists - but I disagree. All three verses speak to various reasons for isolation - and the chorus is a sad resignation. It's a deeper song than it gets credit for.
Plus, it's nice to hear a popular song that I can actually sing along with.
The third verse does get a little flack for being anti-church - and it's always been my belief that it is specifically directed at one Christian denomination, and not church in general. Vocalist Brad Roberts seems to clarify in this 2010 live performance..... when he whispers the name of a specific denomination during that verse...
Clearly, they cared about not offending fans, especially when they were big hitmakers - so they did have an alternative third verse about a kid whose mom threw out his tonsils in a jar. Check it out below.
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