30-Day Song Challenge: Life!

Welcome, Dear Reader to Day 19 of this month-long Song Challenge, and today we’ll be suggesting some songs that make us think about life…

*/coughs and wheezes… I’m feelin’ as rough as fuck today, Kicky… /blows doze… I can’t belieb I’m gun back innu work tomorrow full of da lurg…*

^David Bowie – We Are The Dead (HQ Audio)^

Legs and Poppys songs that remind them of life

*Fanks, Kicky. Can you, can you? …/sneezes loudly… Ugh! You know my song choices…*

^Bob Marley – Everything’s Gonna Be Alright^

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Day 19: songs that make you think about life

Cade’s first song pick…

If you’re one of the few that has endured the challenges of reading my writing, you’ll know that one of the topics that I explore quite frequently is the act of speaking with God and/or the gods/goddesses. Its something that I think about often, but I have always gotten the impression that others don’t think about it much. And in this context I mean “speaking with”…not some inquisitional, interrogative or confrontational something. Speaking with, as in, talking to them as you would anyone else. I get the feeling that most would think this a disrespectful mode of communication for a human to engage with the Almighty(s), and perhaps even irreverent, profane, sacrilegious, or blasphemous. I find this strange considering it appears to be A-OK to pray to God and ask for forgiveness for your embezzling money for the company you work for, ask for forgiveness for fucking half of the women in your congregation, or maybe even pray to ask God to kill one of your enemies.

First heard this song only recently, and it got me to again thinking about the confrontational nature of most earthly communications directed towards the heavenly realms and the ethereal residents who occupy these otherly places. We want our independence…until the shit hits the fan anyway. It is at this point in which we request an intervention from those with the power. No one wants God nor gods/goddesses as their next door neighbor or even as a friend. Too risky. Too potentially demanding. Too much faith required. You never know when they may need a favor from you. Next thing you know, you’re in the belly of a whale, or your gf is turning into a pillar of salt, or you’re leading millions on a wandering mission to nowhere, or your deity neighbor has decided to go on a walkabout and wants you to drop everything, give up all your possessions, and aimlessly follow them around for a few years.

Needless to say, I’m a tad skeptical when someone tells me that my asking God “Sup y0! How’s things? Did you see that sky last night?” is a disrespectful act on my part.

^Highasakite – Golden Ticket [Lyrics]^

Roob’s first song pick…

*/Honks doze loudly…*

^Tears For Fears – Everybody Wants To Rule The World^

Cade’s second song pick…

This song doesn’t have a single word. Yeah, there’s some vocals, but I have no idea what they are saying, or if they are even saying anything. ‘Tis a great tune that kinda leads you away to some mystical somewhere of everything and nothing. Lets you think about life. And if you watch the video of course, it’s loaded with life. Lots to think about.

^Orbital – Halcyon On and On^

Roob’s second song pick…

*/Rattlin’ breath…*

^POGO – Wizard of Meh (Official Video)^

Cade’s third song pick…

The choice is quite simple here…A) Heaven, or B) Las Vegas.

Select your destination

Choice “A” is steeped in neither choice nor chance, and “B” is steeped in both choice and chance. A provides freedom from choice, B provides freedom to choose. A = security, B = freedom. And don’t ask me what the lyrics are because I don’t know. I only know that this song has been a staple in my musical catalogue for a very long time, and every single time she says “But is it Heaven or Las Vegas?”…I get chills…

every time

Later in the song, she says “Must be why I’m thinking of Las Vegas”, and again, chills. What in the hell is she singing about? Truth is, I don’t want to know. The song title and the theme is enough for me, and it gives me all kinds of freedom to let my mind wander and wonder what in the hell she’s singing about. What in life, could possibly inspire someone to write a song about an inability to determine if you were in Heaven or Las Vegas? OH! And speaking of Las Vegas, I watched a video the other day on the 10 most corrupt cities in the USA. Guess what? Las Vegas was indeed in the top 10, but it was not #1. That distinction fell to…

Washington D.C.

Makes me wonder why so many scramble to get to DC. Why would people climb over each other to get to the biggest cesspool in the nation? Surely not a desire to clean things up. Every wealthy and powerful motherfucker that lives there has maids, butlers and nannies, so it can’t be a desire to clean.

^Cocteau Twins- Heaven or Las Vegas WS 2013^

Roob’s third song pick…

*/Sucks on throat lozenge…*

^Frank Sinatra – That’s Life^

The final word to Roob Clicky….

*Don’t you mean ‘Beat It’, Kicky?*

*Haha… /coughs… Don’t make me laugh, Kicky…*

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Tomorrow will be Day 20 of the Song Challenge, Dear Reader, so we’ll be two thirds of the way through. The task at hand for Cade and myself will be to offer a collection of songs that have multiple meanings to us. It could get punny… Have a Song… 😉

^Weird Al Yankovic – Word Crimes^

30-Day Song Challenge: Birth Year!

For today’s challenge, Dear Reader, Cade and I will be exploring songs from the year we were born…

*/Lights up… That resonates for me, Clicky…*

*/Drags… that’s not from 1967…*

Legs and Poppy suggest songs from their birth years

*Ah, in that case, I do! …/stream smoke…*

…So let us take you back to 1967, Dear Reader. Enjoy! 😀

bttf myfly rock and roll

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Day 18: Songs from the year you were born

Cade’s first song pick…

Hey…Roob…could you be a shade more…vague? Three songs each from 1967? Am I to deduce that we are supposed to be thinking of songs from the year we were hatched? Or…conceived. Cause like…your parents musta been getting freaky in 1966 cause you were born in May of 1967. Me? I’m straight up 1967, cause I was born in November of 1967. Irrespective of the specifics, it’s not like I was listening to the radio as soon as I was born. So…what in the FUCK does music from 1967 mean to me?

I wonder what was going on, 15 November 1967. Anything interesting? I was already aware that MJ Adams died on that day piloting an X-15 aircraft, but anything else interesting going on? Especially in no-fucking-where Oklahoma where some tubby 9 pound 11 ounce kid was born in the wee hours of the morning?

1 + 9 + 6 + 7 = 23

2 + 3 = 5

One…five

Hrm
^Happy Together – Turtles^

Roob’s first song pick…

*Ah,  the anthem of ‘The Summer of Love’, Clicky… /blows smoke rings… Incidentally, I Haight ASH and would love to see them buried… /flicks ash…*

On the 25th May 1967, Procol Harum’s ‘Whiter Shade of Pale’ entered the UK charts for the first time. It didn’t get to No.1 until it dislodged the song that was topping the charts on the day of my birth…

*And what was No.1 on Cade’s birthday, Clicky?*

^Baby Now That I’ve Found You – The Foundations -1967^

Cade’s second song pick…

Turtles, eh? Kinda weird considering that I have two “power animals”…the donkey, and the turtle. That’s some fucked up power animals for someone to have, eh? Yeah, the scorpion is also a power animal of mine, but that goes without saying because I was born in November. Which, speaking of, did you know that Scorpio is a water sign?

Me neither

Just got an urge to look up songs from 1967 that dealt with “water”, and holy smokes…one caught my eye. Mainly because I wrote a song once where the lyrics were…

Another silly question…from the mouth of babes…you point me to…
One more empty portal…on a sinking ship…not much to do…
Pull my chain…and drag me…but don’t call my name.

Wrote another song where the lyrics were…

Left hand…right hand…whadda ya gonna do…
Got an empty soul…like a hole in my shoe.

Do you think maybe that “resonance” is a thing? Portal(s)? Water(s)? Syncing(s)? As far as I know, I’ve never heard this song in my life. Not until now anyway.

^HOLE IN MY SHOE (1967) by Traffic (incredible stereo mix)^

Roob’s second song pick…

Hey Cade… ‘Hole In My Shoe’ got to No.2 of the UK charts in 1967 and again in the eighties with Neil from the ‘Young Ones’…

*If I’d been born a boy, I’d have been called Neil… /sigh…1984. Again. I swear, I’m being stalked by that year, Clicky… /thinks… I wonder if it’s ‘cos I lost my virginity during the first couple of hours of 1984. I was drunk…*

^The Supremes – The Happening^

Cade’s third song pick…

OK…um…hrm. Just blasted through the top 30 songs of 1967, and a few of them tickled my fancy. The Monkees ‘I’m A Believer‘ charted in 1967, and it grabbed me because I almost used ‘Last Train To Clarksville‘ and ‘Hey Hey We’re The Monkees‘ in the previous post. ‘Soul Man‘ by Sam & Dave also grabbed me, but primarily because of The Blues Brothers. Aretha Franklin’s “Respect‘ appears to have charted in 1967, and she had an appearance in the Blues Brothers movie singing ‘Think‘. ‘Incense And Peppermints‘ by Strawberry Alarm Clock also rang some bells, and ‘Windy‘ by The Association was another song I was quite familiar with.

All that said, this one actually means a special something to me because I listened to it on vinyl a lot as a kid. Completely perplexing song for a young mind. I didn’t “get it”. Could not understand it. Why, in the hell, would someone …EVER… jump off a bridge?

^Bobbie Gentry, 1967: Ode to Billie Joe – Original Capitol 45 rpm Disc^

Roob’s third song pick…

*Agreed, Clicky. These Song Challenge posts are a bit missive-ish… /stubs butt…*

The final word from Cade…

After I finished writing last night, it occurred to me that it had gone past midnight, and was now January 4th. The significance? My daughter was born on this day in 2000. My daughter turns 20 in 2020. Weird.

Digress

Considering the subject matter, loads of memories came flooding back. Music and movies of the time, things that were going on in the world, things that were going on in my own life, they were some strange times. The new millennium, the arguments over when the new millennium actually started, the Internet was moving into the mainstream, the Y2K Bug didn’t kill us all 4 days ago, the “DOT COM” bubble, the mortgage refinance boom was flagging, not to mention that 9/11, Freedom Fries, The Patriot Act, Homeland Security, and a shitload of war was right around the corner…although we didn’t know it yet. Or did we?

Did some digging for songs that were released on 4 January of 2000, and stumbled across an interesting footnote type of thing from that date…an album released called ‘Before The Buildings Fell‘ by Black Tape For A Blue Girl. It appears that the album was originally released in 1986, but was re-released on “enhanced CD” in 2000. Anyone remember “enhanced CDs“? Another weird curiosity from the time. And speaking of curiosities, it looks like someone uploaded the whole CD to YouTube about a month ago. Good timing, eh?

HBD Kiddo

^07-Black Tape For A Blue Girl’-Before the Buildings Fell^

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I’m back to work on Monday, Dear Reader, but tomorrow Cade and I will be presenting songs that make us think about life…

life is like a box of chocolates

*Unless you read the description enclosed, Clicky…*

… Have a Song ❤

^Severine – Un Banc, Un Arbre, Un Rue^

30-Day Song Challenge: Wedding!

LAST TIME*Oh, Clicky, I don’t fancy this wedding song challenge,  plus it’s New Year’s Eve. Will you do it for me? I’ll get you whatever you want in return…*

*Absolutely! …/pats snout… Fanks, Clicky, u da best…*

^Ho Hey The Lumineers (Lyrics HD)^
^Roy C – Shotgun wedding – 1965^

Library Wedding Song Convo

^Children Of Bodom – Oops I Did It Again!^

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Day 14: songs you would love to be played at your wedding

Cade’s first song pick…

tenorLe yikes! There were no songs played at my wedding

Clicky’s first song pick…

^Old Crow Medicine Show – Wagon Wheel^

Cade’s second song pick…

dearestserpentineenglishsetter-size_restrictedThere were no songs played at my divorce either

Clicky’s second song pick…

^New Order – Bizarre Love Triangle^

Cade’s third song pick…

tenor-1
I guess all that I can do for today is wish you a Happy New Year
^RealLive NANJANG ; Mukimukimanmansu ; Struggle with diet^

Clicky’s third song pick…

^The Ordinary Boys – Freshly Squeezed – I Luv U^

omgjgr

^MORRISSEY – The Ordinary Boys (Omitted From Viva Hate Redesigned Edition)^

The final word to Clicky…

^Shocking Blue – Venus (Official Video)^

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up there

*Top notch, Clicky, you aced it! Anyway I’ll be back for the cover songs challenge tomorrow… /looks in fridge… Will semolina pilchards do ya?*

^I Am The Walrus – Bono and Secret Machines (Lyrics)^

30-Day Song Challenge: Preteen!

*Ballpark incident? …/lights up… I’ve literally just tweeted ‘Ballpark’ out, Clicky…*

*That’s a sync… /smokes… I knew I should have included Nineteen Eighty Four…*

*Could be, Clicky…*

Poppy and Legs send Roob their preteen songs

Welcome to Day 12 of the LoL’s Song Challenge, Dear Reader. No doubt the original creator of this challenge put the task of naming a song from one’s preteens at day 12 of this endeavour on porpoise, being as 13 is the age one become’s a teenager…

*It’s funny ‘cos it’s true…*

^The Undertones – Teenage Kicks (Official Video)^

Therefore, below, are Cade fon Apollyon and mine’s preteen choices, songs from circa 1967 – 1980. Enjoy!

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Day 12: songs from preteen years

Cade’s first song pick…

We’re on the dirty dozenth day, so I guess it’s okay for me to go ahead and spring a thought that I had about this “30 Day Music Challenge” back on Day 2.

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Not suggesting that someone is reading my and Roob’s picks and shouting “AH HA!” at seeing a particular something being picked by one of us, but, they may be. You never know who is watching, nor why. Heh…heh…heh! Wait, where was I? Oh yeah, roller skating.

Um, I didn’t understand this song at all when I first heard it. I only know that it completely blew my socks off when I first heard it. How in the hell they were doing that…thing? With the voice? How are they doing that? I can do a slow and jazzy, weaving two-step to it while roller skating. Holy hell this song is the most funky song I’ve ever heard! Who in the hell is this ‘David Bowie’ person anyway?

^Fame (2016 Remaster)^

Roob’s first song pick…

Sunday mornings, when we lived high above Electric Avenue in Brixton, London, mum would let me and my sister play our records on her Hi-Fi and dance about the front room, while she made Sunday lunch. This was a fav…

^Carl Douglas Kung Fu Fighting (Original Music Video)^

Cade’s second song pick…

Preteens. I’d be remiss not to include something from “my other life”. I was already a dumpy, dorky, nerdy, sickly, ugly-assed and accident-prone kid. Why God WHY?!?!?? Why did I also have to be…a Christian?!?!?!? Go to church?!?!!? I’m already hated enough without all that additional trauma. Le sigh.

Worse yet…God…you gave me…a singing voice?!?!?!? A girl’s range in a boy’s body?!?!? That’s all I got as a gift upon being spun off into this world??????

NOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!

What in the hell is wrong with you…God??????

^Holy, Holy, Holy^

Speaking of church and religion and oppression and similar stuff, all the cool kids liked the band Kiss. To be honest, I never really “got it” with respect to their music. ‘Detroit Rock City‘ was indeed a rockin’ tune, and ‘Beth‘ I also liked, but other than that, I hadn’t heard anything from them that I liked that much. Just didn’t do anything for me, and a lot of stuff out there that I liked a helluva lot more. I never would tell the other kids that tho. All that said, I really REALLY wanted a Kiss album for Christmas just so I could say I had one, and then I’d be a cool kid too. Welp, I got an album for Christmas that year, and Kiss was on it, but it wasn’t a Kiss album. It was a compilation album put out by the record company that had one single Kiss song on it. Merry Fucking Christmas.

^Calling Dr. Love^

Roob’s second song pick…

On Sunday afternoons, we’d listen to the radio to hear a rundown of the UK’s top 40 Chart and learn what song had reached number one, and on Thursday evening’s we’d watch it on the telly on ‘Top of the Pops’. Thinking about it now, it was kinda ritual, and David Essex’s ‘Gonna Make You A Star’ is a stand out memory of that…

^David Essex • Gonna Make You A Star • TOTP 1974^

Cade’s third song pick…

If you wanna get a psychological bead on someone’s personality, I’d imagine that the music your test subject likes is as good of a metric as any to use in order to find out what makes them tick. Lotta scars in my past. Lotta bumps, bruises, breaks, and blood. Talking about them even in the most constructive of manners can still be interpreted as something bitter or hateful. Maybe even spiteful or malicious. Opening old wounds. Beating dead horses. Living in past. Not moving on. Not growing.

I got no answers. Music was just about my only escape, and even that was heavily regulated. Pretty sure I’m not angry, just telling it like it was. What in the fuck does all that have to do with anything? I dunno. Supposedly, we’re all stronger at the broken spots. Does the fact that I made it to where I am without blowing my own brains out count for anything? Or am I just a waste of space burning valuable oxygen.

/me shrugs
^Almost Famous – Tiny Dancer^

Roob’s third song pick…

In 1977 my Grandad Packer died and so the family upsticks and moved in with my Nanny P in Rotherhithe, London . We’d gone from an area that was predominantly black to one that was very white. Mainly because Rotherhithe had already lost it’s docking industry and was still derelict from the efforts of the Luftwaffe some 35 years before. ‘Parallel Lines’ was the first album I bought for myself as a preteen, and now Sunday mornings were spent in my bedroom, listening to it over and over again whilst mum and nan made Sunday lunch…

^Blondie – Sunday Girl – HD^

The final word to Cade…

Five songs when only three are required? Excessive, I know. But I’m working here. May not appear that way, but yeah, lots of work going on here.

^Fixing A Hole (Remastered 2009)^

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Tomorrow’s task is to collate selection of songs from the 70s, Dear Reader, so pretty much the same as today. If you have a favourite, let us know in comments and we’ll include it in the post.

Have a song… ❤

^Ian Dury And The Blockheads – Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick^

30-Day Song Challenge: LOUD!

Today at the LoL we will be presenting songs that need to be played loud…

*Aleister Crowley claimed the number of Magik is eleven, Clicky… /flicks lighter…*

… And we’ve already received a contribution from Legs…

*It’s a little known fact that, on a scale of 1 to 10, the pain from the Underdog’s bite is 11… /lights up… True…*

… As well as from his significant other, the fragrant Viking, Poppy Sweet Pea…

*What do you mean, we haven’t had anything in from Cade yet? …/drags… Go and wake him up, Clicky! I’ll stall…*

If you, too, have a song that you think needs to be played loud, Dear Reader, then please share it with us in the comment section, below…

*He’s still not up? …/snorts smoke… Shit! I’ll have to start the challenge and hope he turns up…*

So, to find out what songs, Cade fon Apollyon and I have selected for Day 5 of this 30-Day Song Challenge, may I invite you, Dear Reader, to…

^RUN DMC – Walk This Way (Video) ft. Aerosmith^

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Day 5: A song that needs to be played loud

Roob’s first song pick…

From the movie ‘Trainspotting’,  I absolutely love listening to Underworld’s ‘Born Slippy’ played at full blast…

^Underworld – Born Slippy (Nuxx) (Creative Commission version)^

Cade brings loud songs to Roob

*He’s turned up? Brilliant! …/smokes contentedly…*

Cade’s first song pick…

I challenged this challenge that challenged me. I didn’t expect this challenge to challenge me back. Also didn’t know if this challenge would challenge me, but admit that I did have the slightest twinge of fear that I would not be able to adequately rise to the challenges this challenge may present. If day 4 was a void of nothing for me, Day 5 is suddenly a void of everything for me.

Day 4 = nothing to choose from.

Day 5 = everything to choose from.

The question is, do I let it flow? Meaning, do I choose the songs in order as they come to me? Or do I sit and stew and try to pick songs that I may have forgotten about. So far, all my picks have been whatever arrived from the memory banks first, so prolly best that I stick with that for as long as the well is producing water.

This was the first one in, and I can see myself rocking out in the home that I grew up in, black light on, AC/DC and black light posters all over the wall, and maybe me doing some air-guitar. Problem is, I could not remember the name of the song, and I was also under the impression that this song was off the album ‘Fair Warning’. Not so. It was off the album ‘Women And Children First’.

^Van Halen – Romeo Delight^

Roob’s second song pick…

My second song to be played loud is ‘I Could Be So Good For You’ by Dennis Waterman…

… and theme song from the TV series, ‘Minder’. I bought it as a single and love to sing along to it, so it’s pretty fucking essential that the song is played LOUD 😉

^Dennis Waterman – I Could Be So Good For You^

Cade’s second song pick…

Man, what a great tune. Weird as hell too. Songs like that one always intrigued me when I was young. What the authors were thinking when they wrote all that craziness? What inspires such madness? How did all that chaos come together to make some tangible and somewhat coherent something? Who in the FUCK thinks like that?!?!?!? Oh yeah…people like me. So yeah, the music made sense, but how to tame that energy, turn it into a trade, and eventually make a career out of it was a huge mystery. Anyway, whilst digging for the previous tune, I stumbled across yet another song of Van Halen’s that needs to be played at a high volume, but it’s not my next pick.

^The Prodigy – Smack My Bitch Up^

YouTube does not appear to like that song. Can’t say that blame them because I too was not particularly fond of the title and lyrics/was also taken somewhat aback when I first heard it. It was, and is, shocking. I hate violence, and more than that, I hate violent people. That said, I’d been around music and musicians long enough to know that there had to be some kind of secondary meaning. Something hidden. Some something that made The Prodigy “cross the line”, as it were. As to what the song meaning is? What the song is about? That’s for you to decide your own damn self. Digress.

Roob’s third song pick…

I’m going to cheat a little for my third choice, because it’s difficult to choose a single track from the Human League’ ‘Love and Dancing’ album. So here’s side A to pound and tickle your eardrums at the same time 😀

^League Unlimited Orchestra – Love and Dancing (Side A)^

Cade’s third song pick…

Two songs are tangling for my third pick. I could likely go on ad-infinitum with songs that need to be play loud, but I’ve no desire to create a ridiculous amount of work for Roob. Really am torn as to which of the two songs I am currently thinking about to use here, but I’ll stick with the one that arrived first. No idea how I originally stumbled onto this song, but glad that I did. It fucking rocks.

^Showtek – We Like To Party (Original Mix)^

The final word from Roob

*Oh go on then, Clicky. What do you want to say?*

*Charming! …/stubs butt…*

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Tomorrow we’ll have songs that ‘make you want to dance’, Dear Reader, so be sure to bring appropriate footwear with you. Enjoy the rest of Sunday and have a Song… 😉

30-Day Song Challenge: Forget!

Day 4 dawns on the LoL’s 30 Day Song Challenge and I freely admit, Dear Reader, that I am struggling with this one…

*Oh well done, Clicky! …/lights up… Seriously… /drags… I can only fink… /streams smoke… of one person I’d rather forget…*

Cade and Roob lament Day 4

*/flicks ash… You’re so right, Clicky… /smokes… Let’s do it…*

^Demi Lovato – Really Don’t Care (Official Video) ft. Cher Lloyd^

… So with some help of a song suggestion from Poppy Sweet Pea, above, and her beau, Leggy, below, I’m gonna let Cade take up the slack on this particular challenge, before revealing my one and only song choice at the end. Enjoy!

😀

^In The End (Official Video) – Linkin Park^

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Day 4: A song that reminds you of someone you’d rather forget

Cade’s pet peeve song picks…

Ewwww…seriously? I am being completely honest in saying that I am not reading ahead in the “30 Day Challenge”, and was completely unaware of what Day 4 had in store until Roob mentioned it in the Day 3 post.

Songs that remind us of people we’d rather forget

rofl…um, how to explain this without sounding like a self-centered and condescending prick. Let’s see here…my life is, interesting. Stormy. A completely normal life surrounded by the surreal and serendipitous bordering on the completely unbelievable by incredulous onlookers. A travesty. As a result, “abnormal” and “aberrant” are the norm, so its difficult for me to associate a single something with a single someone. I can associate songs with a particular time, and there may be a particular someone within that time that I can loosely associate with a song, but I usually cannot attribute a song to that person and that person alone. Perhaps its my love of music + my knowledge that associating a particular song with a particular someone is extremely dangerous. Good songs that mean a lot to us don’t come along that often, and for me, to associate a single song with a single someone or even a single something is a sure-fire way to ensure that you are going to hate that song at some point…all because of a someone that has little to nothing to do with that song.

All that said, I’m now thinking of a certain someone, and a certain song that served to break some of the tension as I drove her to the bus station.

^Pixies “Dig for Fire”^

Dig For Fire by the Pixies doesn’t make me think about that someone. Or at least, not just and only that certain someone. Does it bring back memories of that unfortunate situation and the events that led up to it? Sure. But wow, what a song. What an exclamation point on a situation. Someone had needs, I could not provide for those needs on the timeline in which they needed them, they decided to move on. Keep digging. Keep searching for the fire they need. This is just me, but its almost as if there was a certain providence to all of the goings on at the time, and those players who were represented as events transpired. Yeah, I’m talking 3rd parties of all kinds, even those that may reside in the more ethereal types of realms.

Was I hurt? You bet. Was I angry? Indeed I was. Do I still feel that pain even today? Yep. Am I still confused even after all these years? Absolutely. But no need to transfer that weight onto The Pixies, nor their album Bossanova, nor their song Dig For Fire. Plus, had all that not happened, you would not be here today reading what I am here today writing. There are reasons for everything. I don’t pretend to know what those are, but yeah, prolly some reasons that things happen in the way and ways that they do. Digress.

I guess some people feel that if you “don’t have a song”, there’s something missing in a relationship. A certain song that has a certain meaning to only you and your partner. Welp, I’m a musician. If I want a song that means something to me and you, and only me and you, I’ll write it myself. Needless to say, this next one kinda got grabbed by a certain someone, they attached some meaning to it, but I always felt that it meant more to them than it did to me. Sounds cold, I know. But again, I have an avenue to express my fire for someone. I don’t need someone else to do it for me. Regardless of all that, someone that I used to know latched onto this song, and I never had the courage to tell them that of all of the music Cocteau Twins have ever produced, this is probably one of my least favorite songs…only because of the additional meaning attached to it via a relationship.

😦

^Cocteau Twins – I wear your ring^

Sucks, because that is a fucking fantastic song. The ending sounds like how God got the idea to hang the morning sun in the sky after an eternal night of darkness.

Beautiful hands us no way lies a means of love
On sounds and guard the stone, and bed had a law
Answers written and I reason
In the reign of sex, blown more than it’s pleased to be
He’s a beauty affection, oooh

Men are so nice
He pleases me fine
He pleases me fine, fine, fine, fine
Fine, fine, fine, fine, fine

The music, the lyrics, the arrangement, the performance(s)…fucking genius. How in the hell can I hijack a song like that and attach my own personal meaning(s) to it as if it were somehow mine?

It’s as if I was supposed to melt every time the song came on. Difficult for me to melt even more when you are already a melted and gooey puddle that is completely and totally lovestruck. How do you top, what cannot be topped? I’m already head over heels, so where in the fuck am I supposed to go? Backwards? Back to where this song first became the anthem of my eternal an undying love? Sorry, can’t do it. You were already the sole object of my affection long before you knew that song even existed.

It means something special to you? Great. Seriously, I think that is wonderful. Just don’t expect it to mean the same thing for me that it means for you.

^Love And Rockets – No Big Deal^

Its sometimes tough to know how to feel about certain things. You’re likely going to encounter things you personally have never experienced yourself, and you may even encounter and experience shit you’ve never even heard of. That said, if relationships can come together, makes sense that they can also come apart. Some things come apart so goddamn fast, that you begin to wonder if the other party was ever actually working to make things work. But such is life sometimes. Some things require the hammer. The harsh stress test(s) to see if this certain something is going to stand the test of time according to your own liking. One drawback of the hammer test tho, is that nothing lasts for long, and certainly not under the hammer. All breaks, all fails, everything crumbles. Just does so a helluva lot faster than it would have otherwise.

So what is it you ultimately seek to achieve. What is this something you wish to obtain, and why is it you choose the hammer to obtain it. While its true that wielding the hammer can teach you a great deal about whatever it is that you are placing on the anvil, at some point you’ll likely need to reflect on what all of this is doing to you. What it is doing to others is obvious, but what it is doing to you? Not so much. In the right hands, a hammer can produce some amazing things. You’re likely to go through a shitload of material during the learning process tho. Might wanna make sure you’ve adequate supplies left available to create your masterpiece once you’ve mastered your craft.

^deadmau5 – Snowcone^

Five songs seems excessive, and much of what I’ve written thusfar may be interpreted by some as being bitter. You may even surmise that I am repressing. Avoiding the subject. Nope. I’m fortunate to have my own outlets. My own pathways for expressing myself and my feelings on a particular subject. Music, song lyrics, poetry, writing, I feel blessed that I have these avenues. Helps me to get on. Helps me to keep going. Experience enough sunrises, and you’ll know that the sun is sure to set. Experience enough sunsets, and you’ll know that the sun is sure to rise.

Doc Holliday: What do you want?
Wyatt Earp: Just to live a normal life.
Doc Holliday: There is no normal life Wyatt…there’s just life. Get on with it.

Movie = Tombstone

Normal normalcy is temporary, and all that is normal, is also fleeting.
Not to mention, I don’t like forgetting.
Forgetting makes me forget.
Makes me prone to repeating previous mistakes.
Makes me forget who I was.
That may even lead to my never being who I can be and/or never being who I could have been.
You’ll get my all for as long as you want it.
It’s all I have.

Forgetting? Thanks, but I think I’ll pass.

Keep going…
Keep going…
Keep going…

Get the fuck over it, and get on with it.
Not like I have a lot of choice.

😉

^Kill The Dead, Feed The Poor^

Roob’s first song pick and final word…

There is only one person I’d rather forget: I really don’t care for Tony Blair and this is the song that reminds me of him…

*In your D:Reams, Gordon! …/stubs butt… You utter Charlie…*

*******

Tomorrow we’ll be tackling songs that need to be played loud, Dear Reader, and you won’t want to miss that. To get you in the mood, have a Song…

 

30-Day Song Challenge: Summertime!

*Let’s catch up? Good idea, Clicky…*

Previously at the LoL

*Ooh you’ve gone for one of the garden chairs, I see. How appropriate, Clicky…*

Welcome to Day 3 of the 30 day song challenge that Cade fon Apollyon and myself have recklessly embarked upon. Today, Dear Reader, we will be selecting songs that remind us each of ‘summertime’. These may or may not coincide with your own choice of quintessential summertime song, and if not, please feel free to let us know what does in the comment section at the bottom of the post 😀

*******

Day 3: A song that reminds you of summertime

Cade’s first song pick…

This one is strange all around. Stormy like North Texas in Spring. The text of the request is “a song that reminds you of summertime”. My knee-jerk reaction is ‘Summertime Rolls’ by Jane’s Addiction, but the version that I am thinking of is not the original. In fact, the version I am thinking of is actually a remix, of a cover, of the original. But even the original version of ‘Summertime Rolls’ doesn’t remind me of summertime. It reminds me of Fall.

Sterling Virginia, I’m in my car, headed northeast on N. Sterling Blvd, destined for Route 7, all while listening to ‘Nothing’s Shocking’ by Jane’s Addiction on my car’s cassette player. The year, is 1990, and it is likely either a Tuesday or a Wednesday. Evening. The sun is setting behind me. This is not the song I was listening to just over 29 years ago…or was it?

<Losers – Summertime Rolls (Hybrid Remix)>

Roob’s first song pick…

We have LoL regular, Joe Public, to thank for my first song choice. He was rather quick off the mark on Wednesday…

JP steals Roobs first summertime pick

*Well he did, Clicky… /lights up… Oh, I know! …/smokes…*

‘In 1995, Jamaican-American rapper Shaggy covered the song, and released it as the lead single from his third studio album, Boombastic. Aside from the addition of rap lyrics, Shaggy’s version also substitutes other lyrics for the song’s original line containing “have a drink, have a drive.” Shaggy also performed the song on an episode of Baywatch. A year after its release, the song was re-recorded and released specifically for the film Flipper under the title “In the Summertime” (’96 Version).’

<Shaggy In The Summertime – Feat. Rayvon – Flipper Movie Version (1996)>

Cade’s second song pick…

If you’ve not yet guessed, we’re going backwards. The song above is the remix of the cover, and now, we can get to the cover. None of this of course, has anything to do with a song that reminds me personally of summertime. Only a song with “summertime” in the title.

<Losers feat. Brian Molko – Summertime Rolls (full version)>

Roob’s second song pick…

I have to go back to 1984 (again!) and a sultry summer night, grooving in a sweaty disco in Magaluf, Majorca for my next summertime song. Believe me, it was hotter than July 😉

<Stevie Wonder – Do I Do (2 Inch Version)>

Cade’s third song pick…

To play catch-up, Jane’s Addiction released an album in August of 1988. That album had a song on it called ‘Summertime Rolls’. I personally am remembering listening to that song while driving sometime during the fall of 1990. In the fall of 2010, the band “Losers” releases a cover of ‘Summertime Rolls’. In the late-winter/early-spring of 2011, the band “Hybrid” releases a remix of Losers’ cover of ‘Summertime Rolls’. Pretty sure that I did not hear that remix until sometime in either 2016 or 2017.

We all on the same page? I hope so, because we are three deep into revisions, and we’re about to hear the original. We’ve covered a lot of time and covered a lot of times, and we’ve also covered a lot of distance…but we are no nearer to a song that makes me personally think about summer.

<Summertime Rolls>

Roob’s third song pick…

Early June 1990 and my third song choice is fucking everywhere. I wanted to stay in and watch England’s opening game of Italia ’90. My best friend, Verity, has other ideas…

*No, Clicky, that’s not it. Verity always played that tune before going out on the pull…*

We go out and I meet Thoughtful Man. Apparently our match turned out a hell of a lot better than England and Holland’s insipid 0-0 draw 😉

*You can say that again, Clicky…*

My third song, one that reminds me of a particular summertime is New Order’s ‘World in Motion’…

<New Order – World In Motion (Official Music Video)>

The final word from Cade…

Other songs that made me kinda think about summer included ‘Summerhead‘ by Cocteau Twins, ‘Saturday In The Park‘ by Chicago, ‘Joy To The World‘ by Three Dog Night,  ‘American Pie‘ by Don McClean, “Jamaica Ska‘ by Annette Funicello, and even ‘1812 Overture‘ by Pyotr Tchaikovsky…but those really don’t make me think about summertime nearly as much as any song from the album ‘Twitch’ by Ministry. And I do mean any song.

For two summers in a row, this album (in audio cassette form) accompanied me to the lake any time I would go, and I’m quite sure I spent a lot of time at the lake during the summers of 1986 and 1987. Water skiing, beer, fishing, swimming, camping, sunshine, and the album ‘Twitch’ by Ministry. Summer 1986 to Summer 1987…I met the love of my life during that period of time. How about a run-on sentence kind of song to represent Twitch, and how an entire album can actually somewhat qualify as a single song that makes me personally think of summertime.

<Ministry – Where you at now + crash and burn + twitch (version II)>

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Tomorrow Cade and I will be exploring songs that remind us of people we’d rather forget. A somewhat cruel challenge, if you ask me, especially if you’ve already forgotten the person you’d rather forget…

ron perlman

*Certain knot, Clicky! Now go and get Legs’ summertime song… /stub butt… We started this post with Poppy Sweet Pea’s choice…*

Dear Reader, have a Song ❤

<Blue Oyster Cult: O.D.’d On Life Itself>

30-Day Song Challenge: Numbers!

LAST TIME AT THE LOL

Day 2 of the 30-day song challenge, Dear Reader…

… and this time Cade and I are looking at songs with numbers in their titles…

*Exactly. Like the one Joe Public left in comments yesterday. That was very sweet of him, Clicky…*

…And as with yesterday’s post, we’re gonna start with Cade’s first pick. Enjoy! ❤

*******

Day 2: A song you like with a number in the title

Cade’s first song pick…

Today, I had a tie for first place. Really not sure which one jumped in there first, but for the purposes of this writing, I’ll start with number 9, then move on to 49.

Engine, engine, number nine,
Going down Chicago line.
If the train jumps off the track,
Do you want your money back?

Can’t recall when nor where I originally heard this song (probably my younger sister) but it wandered back into my life about 7 years ago whilst I was having my evening walk at the local park. Amazing the random and long forgotten stuff one stumbles across when rummaging through the storage closets of your own soul.

<Midnight Star – Engine No.9>

Roob’s first song pick…

My first song is a very easy pick for me. ‘Four to the Floor’ by Starsailor was the very first song Thing 1, Looby Lou, sang along to and requested over and over again, whilst being driven about town by Thoughtful Man. He was nearly 3… Ahhh 😀

<Starsailor – Four to the Floor>

Cade’s second song pick…

And now, onward from 9 to 49. What can you not say about this song? It’s funky, it’s bluesy, its slightly sleazy, some swing, some grind, its rock and fucking roll you can bang your head to…all with a dash of Joe Walsh weirdness. It is highly likely that I first heard this song at the local skating rink.

<James Gang – Funk #49>

Roob’s second song pick…

Five is my number – my birth day, divided by my birth month equals 5. The year I was born, when the digits are added together, comes to 5. Both 5 and 55 are Fibonacci numbers and that just so spirally 😀 I have to include a song with 5 in the title, but which to choose?

*/nods… Beethoven’s Fifth would be a good choice, Clicky, but I fancy sumfin more upbeat. Sumfin to dance and sing along to…*

*Perfect!*

Cade’s third song pick…

Was weird that the first two songs that popped into my head, have actual numbers in the title. Me and Roob are doing three songs each for this particular post, so it’d be kinda neato if all three of my songs had actual numbers in the title. However, the next song to pop into my head was Two Time Grime by Skinny Puppy. FUCK! I love that song, but no actual number in the title. What to do?

‘Gymnopedie No. 1’ by Erik Satie just popped into my head…it has an actual number in the title. Now ‘Piano Concerto No. 21’ by Wolfgang Mozart has popped into my head…it has two actual numbers in the title. After thinking even further, ‘8:15 To Nowhere’ by Vicious Pink has floated into my brain on a breeze…it has three actual numbers and a colon in the title.

Holy SHIT!!! A spoiler just appeared on my radar. On top of all that number crunching, I stumbled  across a song in my head with a really weird kind of number in the title. I think I’ll save the spoiler song for the comments section, you can look up those above three works if you so desire, and I’m gonna stick with the original #3. Quick question before we get there tho…

Q: Are these songs supposed to be “rock”?

A: ??? 

The individual from the original tweet was called “Rock God”, so I’m wondering if some of this stuff I’m picking would pass muster as “rock”, or even “songs”. Prolly some people reading this that wouldn’t even classify some of the stuff I pick as “music”. Uncultured swine the lot of you 😉

<Skinny Puppy – Two Time Grime>

Roob’s third song pick…

As I’m gonna have the final word on this post, choosing my third song is really easy; I’ve only listened to it, like, a squillion trillion times in my life. It has 4 digits only, five if you include Cade’s ‘gut’ feeling, above 😉 I give you Blondie’s ’11:59’…

<Blondie – 11:59 – Parallel Lines [1978]>

The final word by Roob

Poppy and Leggy suggest songs with number titles

*Hey, I thought I was having the final word, Clicky…*

*Woo Who, Song too… /squints… Interesting…*

*******

And that, Dear Reader, is Cade and mine’s choices on day 2 of this 30 day challenge. Tomorrow will be ‘summertime’ songs, so do come back for that. And if you have a favourite song with a number in its title, please feel free to let us know via the comments section, below. We’d love to hear them 😀

Have a Song...
<Queen – Seven Seas Of Rhye (Official Lyric Video)>

Adventures in Remote Viewing: Politics and the Pitts

For this past week, Dear Reader, my good buddy, Cade, and I have indulged ourselves in a spot of remote viewing. Three Brad Pitt movies on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and a thoroughly entertaining dose of ‘Dredd’ on Thursday…

Dredd smoking.gif

*Don’t mind if I do, Clicky… /slides fag from pack… I was feeling dread right up to the Exit Poll, I can tell you… /flicks lighter…*

… There was also the General Election on Thursday, and we remote viewed the results, as they came in through the night, via Yoot Oob…

‘In last week’s Mail on Sunday, after a month and a half travelling from Bolsover to Canterbury, St Ives to Chingford, Wrexham to County Durham, I predicted that Labour’s vaunted Red Wall was on the brink of collapse. I was wrong.

‘It didn’t collapse. It was smashed into a billion pieces. Atomised by the arrogance, ideological blindness, self-righteousness and viciousness of Jeremy Corbyn and his cultish followers.

‘When first elected in 2015, they inherited a battered but proud and functioning party. By the time The Absolute Boy made his graceless resignation speech in the early hours of Friday morning, all that was left was the political equivalent of the Manson clan.’

*Did you know that Dan Hodges… /lights up… can only see out of one eye? …/drags… Son of a double Oscar winning star… /plumes smokes… Great flick, Click. Surprised the fuck out of me…*

*Ha! I loved the credits on that too… /smokes… There’s been no Red Apols! from Labour either, Clicky, for their wankish policies or spiteful attitude toward voters for rejecting them…*

*You’d think! Government needs a strong and credible opposition to keep them straight, Clicky… /flicks ash… A thorn in their side, but this rump Labour lot…*

*/shakes head… I’m not optimistic…*

On Monday evening, we remote viewed Brad Pitt in ‘Seven Years in Tibet’. It was much better than I thought it would be…

*You know what they say about people in glasshouses, Clicky? …/thinks… There was also a full moon on Thursday… /drags… An’ then there’s de bussy… /blows smoke rings…*

… And on Tuesday evening, we partook of Brad Pitt’s new space flick, ‘Ad Astra’. That was more of a curate’s egg of a movie…

Roob and Cade discuss Ad Astra 1Roob and Cade discuss Ad Astra 2Roob and Cade discuss Ad Astra 3Roob and Cade discuss Ad Astra 4Roob and Cade discuss Ad Astra 5Roob and Cade discuss Ad Astra 6Roob and Cade discuss Ad Astra 7

*/final drag… Corbyn’s willful blindness. Check… /cough… Dan Hodges is a one eyed son…*

*Yeah, there was a definite touché of class about the election result, Clicky… /stubs butt… *

…I can, however, highly recommend ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ to you, Dear Reader. Cade and I remote viewed that on Wednesday evening and it is possibly the most loving crafted ‘Fuck You!’ movie from Quentin Tarantino yet. Seriously good…

*Nice try, Clicky, but that wasn’t in the movie soundtrack. Go get one that is for us to end this shambles on… /pats snout… Off you pop…*

And that, Dear Reader, was the remote viewing week that was for Cade Fon Apollyon and myself. It was a lot of fun and the Labour party got an immense kick in the butt. Perfecto! 😀

Have a Song… ❤