Day 116 - Living Colour - Open Letter (To A Landlord)
Nice rock song with a message. This should be played loud in the Alkmaar town house, the people there are making plans to demolishing everything.
Day 112 - Terence Trent d’Arby - Dance Little Sister
Compiling a mixtape I remembered this track by Terence Trent d’Arby, nowadays called Sananda Maitreya. Even in changing his name he acts like he is Prince. But we have to conclude he has a little less genius.
Day 99 - Nena - 99 Luftballons
Day 99, so a song with 99 in the title. Simple, still good, eighties song.
YouTube: 99 Luftballons, videoclip
YouTube: 99 Red Balloons (English version), videoclip
YouTube: 99 Luftballons (2002 version), videoclip
Day 97 - Peter Gabriel - Not One Of Us
You may look like we do
Talk like we do
But you know how it isYou’re not one of us
Not one of us
No you’re not one of us
I like open-minded people, but sometimes you meet people who isolate themselves into groups and exclude others. I’ve met some of those people the last weeks. This song is for them.
Day 87 - Iron Maiden – Rime of the Ancient Mariner
Not only is Steve Harris one the best bass players in the world, he also is a very good songwriter, finding his inspiration in movies, books or even poetry. Like this song where he used an 18th century poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Thanks to Iron Maiden is this the only English poem I can recite, at least a bit.
One after one, by the star-dogged moon,
Too quick for groan or sigh,
Each turned his face with a ghastly pang,
And cursed me with his eye.Four times fifty living men
(and I heard nor sigh nor groan),
With heavy thump, a lifeless lump,
They dropped down one by one.
This song can also be found on my desert island album. Then down in falls comes the rain.
YouTube: Rime of the Ancient Mariner, live Rock in Rio 1985 pt. 1
YouTube: Rime of the Ancient Mariner, live Rock in Rio 1985 pt. 2
YouTube: Rime of the Ancient Mariner, live Rock in Rio 1985 pt. 3
Day 86 - Barbara Gaskin & Dave Stewart - It’s My Party
I thought that It’s My Party was a little younger then dating from 1963, but I guess I was more familiar with the 1981 cover version by Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin. Another thing I didn’t knew was that Dave Stewart is not the same as that guy with the same name who’s playing in the Eurythmics.
But man, what does this cover version sounds dated with all these synthesizers! It’s so eighties, check the videoclip, that I’m even surprised that Marilyn Manson hasn’t done a cover yet. And watch the Top of the Pops performance, with hilarious comment during the song, that one guy is only hitting some electronic pads, that ain’t drumming.
YouTube: It’s My Party, videoclip
YouTube: It’s My Party, live(?) at Top of the Pops
Day 83 - The Brat - Chalk Dust (The Umpire Strikes Back)
Playing tennis on the Wii brings back memories of an early eighties popsong called Chalk Dust. Well, actualy I had to google for that, I only remebered the line “the ball is in”.
Chalk Dust is a parody song on tennis player John McEnroe’s behaviour during matches, made by comedian Roger Kitter and Kaplan Kaye, who’s running a managment agency these days.
YouTube: Chalk Dust (The Umpire Strikes Back), fan made video
Day 77 - Iron Maiden - Revelations
If there is any album I would take with me to a desert island it would be Iron Maiden’s Live After Death. Would be cool to shout at the seagulls “Scream for me Long Beach”. Revelations is originaly from the Piece Of Mind album.
Day 75 - Ryuichi Sakamoto & Iggy Pop - Risky
Great song by Japanese keyboard player Ryuichi Sakamoto and American rock singer Iggy Pop. The music video for “Risky”, written and directed by Meiert Avis, won the first ever MTV “Breakthrough Video Award”. The ground breaking video explores transhumanist philosopher FM-2030’s (Persian: فریدون اسفندیاری) ideas of “Nostalgia for the Future”, in the form of an imagined love affair between a robot and one of Man Ray’s models in Paris in the late 1930s. Additional inspiration was drawn from Jean Baudrillard, Edvard Munch’s 1894 painting “Puberty”, and Roland Barthes ” Death of the Author”. The surrealist black and white video uses stop motion, light painting, and other retro in-camera effects techniques. Meiert Avis shot Sakamoto while at work on the score for “The Last Emperor” in London. Sakamoto also appears in the video painting words and messages to an open shutter camera. Iggy Pop, who performs the vocals on “Risky”, chose not appear to in the video, allowing his performance space to be occupied by the surrealist era robot.
Day 73 - Frank Zappa - Stevie’s Spanking
Frank Zappa in his own words (in: The Real Frank Zappa Book):
In 1981, on one of Steve Vai’s early tours, we were playing at Notre Dame University, and Laurel fishman showed up. By some twist of fate, Steve wound up with Laurel in his motel room. They engaged in a variety of practices involving a hairbrush, and Steve drooling on his own dork while she jerked him off. (I got the whole catalogue of events the next morning during ‘Breakfast Report.’)
YouTube: Stevie’s Spanking, live 1981
YouTube: Stevie’s Spanking, Frank Zappa & Steve Vai guitar duel
About this/me
About this:
Inspired by Tuuur, who was inspired by Glenn Case, I will be posting some song of the day posts over here. This blog is written in (poor) English, but since I’m from the Netherlands there will be some Dutch songs and/or lyrics passing by.
About me:
I live in Alkmaar, the Netherlands, a short train ride from Amsterdam. I like open source software, open-minded people and bars open all night.
