Fading into Obscurity

Probably the last post for 2011, making it an even 100 for the year. A self-aware song about a welter-weight pop star rapidly becoming a has-been. One of my all-time faves from Sloan, the boys still topping the charts in my head.

Artist: Sloan
Year: 2006
Rating: Hot!

I'm Into Something Good, Redux

After a happy day of friends, food, and booze. Happy Xmas/Chanukah, all!

Last in my head on February 13, 2009.

Artist: Herman's Hermits
Year: 1964
Rating: Warm

Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)

Fitting song on the morning Amber goes home for Xmas with her family, and I stay here. Goddamn, my unconscious mind is hokey.

Artist: Journey
Year: 1983
Rating: Luke Hot

Note: Most unnecessary parenthetical in a song title ever.

Workin' in the Coalmine/We Work the Black Seam

Straight-up random, as far as songs in my head go.

Artist: Devo
Year: 1981
Rating: Luke Hot

But then this song from Sting's first solo record came to me a couple days later, which seemed very much linked to "Workin' in the Coalmine."



It's less random to appear in my head, both because of the association with the previous song, and also because Dream of the Blue Turtles was one of the first albums I owned and listened to over and over again when I was a wee teen. Both songs' themes are timely, given the economic disparities they address. Virtual anthems for the current Occupy movement.

Artist: Sting
Year: 1985
Rating: Luke Hot

White Christmas

The first holiday tune to enter my brain this season. Even being Jewish, I couldn't avoid Christmas music growing up, and I don't think anyone in the U.S. could avoid hearing this particular song, given it's the best selling single of all time. I don't much care for the usual onslaught of holiday music on the radio and piped into every last hardware store and corner market, but I will admit that I'm fond of this song. In particular, the rising notes in the line "May your days be merry and bright" and the complementary descent of notes in "And may all your Christ--mases be white" is one of the most sublime melodies in pop music, delivered perfectly in that Bing baritone.

Artist: Bing Crosby and Martha Mears, written by Irving Berlin
Year: 1942
Rating: Warm as hot cocoa sprinkled with nutmeg

Golden Years

Two songs for the price of one today, lookathat! And, interestingly enough, both have a color and a measure of time in the title. The song I woke with yesterday, which I posted a few minutes ago was Blue Morning, Blue Day by Foreigner. Today's official tune is Bowie's Golden Years. I wonder if there's an internal juxtaposition here about my potential for healing over time, where once I was blue, now things are golden. Or somethin' like that.

Unfortunately, this amazing clip of Bowie performing the song on Soul Train was not embeddable, so you should view it at the YouTube.

Artist: David Bowie
Year: 1975
Rating: Luke Hot

Blue Morning, Blue Day

Unbelievable! This is the first Foreigner song to hit the blog. And it's way down the list of songs I'd think I'd think of.

Artist: Foreigner
Year: 1978
Rating: Lukewarm

Movin' Right Along

Saw the new Muppet flick (so fun, and moving! I actually teared up a couple times). Predictably, a song from the original 1979 movie popped into my head the next morning.

Artist: Kermit & Fozzie (performed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz, music by Paul Williams)
Year: 1979
Rating: Luke Hot

Within You Without You

And to see you're really only very small and
Life flows on within you and without you.

Artist: The Beatles
Year: 1967
Rating: Warm

Untouchable Face

I presume that Ms. DiFranco came to mind because I was discussing her music with Scott the other day. This particular song seems suited to some mental tangents of late as well. The song is not analogous to what has happened between me and my recent ex-girlfriend, but certainly I've had some of that "Fuck you, and your untouchable face" feeling lately.

Also, I was at a post-Thanksgiving feast with a bunch of poly friends last night, and finding the company worthy of stirring several mild but burgeoning crushes. This song exemplifies the conflict in monogamy, in which someone is "taken" and therefore, "untouchable." This is not the case in my scene of choice. However, the combined factors of 1. a close-knit circle of friends wanting to maintain good boundaries with each other and 2. most folks in the circle seeming to have fairly full dance cards right now, leads me to assume that any number of those faces may very well continue to be untouchable. For now.

Artist: Ani DiFranco
Year: 1996
Rating: Luke Hot

Note: The main guitar line leads me right into The Who's Baba O'Riley. Funnily enough this is the second entry in which a song has strongly mingled in my mind with Baba O. The last time this happened was with REM's Supernatural Superserious. I guess this happens when your band is palpably influential over the course of decades.