When I was younger (so much younger than today) I thought the line from The Boxer was
"Asking only workman's wages
I go looking for a job
But I get no offers Just a 'come home from the wars on Seventh Avenue," Which I took to mean that the singer/protagonist was being told by his family to come home because life was so brutal in New York.
It's actually, I realized some time later, "just a come on from the whores on Seventh Avenue," which is less poetic I think but more sexy.
Mr Bunches loves the song "Can't Hold Us," by Macklemore:
So much so that he will watch it over and over and also, he can sing the chorus. So far, Mr Bunches has eluded by efforts to get him on tape singing the song, but someday...
...anyway, that's how I know this song exists. Today, I saw on The Chive that this exists:
That's some guy who's apparently famous for violin covers of songs.
Macklemore, by the way, ought to be an inspiration to any DIYer of the indie book/music/movie age. 30 years old, Macklemore has been releasing his music independently since 2000, never on a major label, and his song "Thrift Shop"
which is a song that I love, and Sweetie hates, has been viewed 350,000,000 times and hit #1 on the charts -- all without a major label behind it. It sold 2,200,000 copies so far.
"Can't Hold Us," which is equally if differently cool, debuted at #1. It was featured in two different commercials last year, which probably helped him keep his indie status as a recording artist because licensing your music (i.e. wanting to make money off of what you do) is how recording artists can make money and still put songs on Youtube for free.
Also, the song "My Oh My" by Macklemore was a tribute to the late sportscaster Dave Niehaus:
which got Macklemore the chance to sing it at a Mariners game, and he's donating the proceeds of the song to the Rainier Vista Boys and Girls Club.
You know him. Or you don't want to know him. Or you know him but you don't want to know him. Or you don't know him but you don't know that you don't know him. Whatever. Most certainly, you don't want him for mayor of New York City. But nobody can stop him. He's Carlos Danger, and he is unstoppable. Just look at the shirt! "Carlos Danger laughs at other dangers". Do you think that is a joke? DO YOU? It's not. Carlos Danger is above jokes. He is deadly serious, and he will be your mayor. And you will count yourself lucky for it. You will count yourself lucky, twice. Or more. Because Carlos Danger doesn't stop.
Not the song. I don't know if that's true or not. Just the story behind the song, which is:
I have always loved the song Modern Love, by David Bowie. I ave since I first heard it maintained that Modern Love is the #1 best rock and roll song ever recorded (by humans. I have no idea what aliens might have recorded).
Also: I have never actually known the lyrics to the song, as it turns out, which should not surprise anyone who is familiar with the Elefino joke.
(It says something about me that I have a post about Robbie Benson's underwear, and what it says, specifically, is that I have a wife who thinks Robbie Benson is a hunk.)
So the other day, I was reading an article, and the lyrics to Modern Love, the opening lyrics, were quoted in that article.
Here is what I always thought -- for nearly three decades-- Modern Love began saying:
I don't want to go out
Want to stay in
Get things done.
That did not exactly make sense, but it didn't exactly not make sense, either, and that was good enough for me, at the time. I never really gave any thought to what the song said or what it meant or whether it was a happy or sad song or what. I just liked it, you know?
Here is what Modern Love actually says:
I know when to go out
And when to stay in
Get things done.
So I was what, less than 1/3 right?
That changes, I think, the entire meaning of the song, from what I sort of assumed it was about (a guy who didn't want to go out but had to, probably because all this modern love made him) to what it actually appears to be about (a guy who can choose when to go out or not).
Which makes all the difference, because if you can control yourself in the face of all this modern love, then how powerful is the modern love, at all? Not very powerful, it would seem.
That revelation, that the song I loved for so long above all other songs -- yes, even above Faith, by George Michael, which has held onto #2 since it was released-- might not at all be the song I thought it was. It's as though one day you wake up and your spouse has brown hair and all along you thought it was black hair, even if it's not like that at all.
Anyway, that got me to thinking about Modern Love and how other people might have interpreted it over the years. And henceforth, here they are!
The Grey's Anatomy Cover:
Is Grey's Anatomy still on? The only funny thing that comedian Whitney ever said was a joke about how silly it is for guys to wear football jerseys when they watch the game; she compared it to women wearing scrubs while they watched Grey's Anatomy.
I was struck by how sad that cover of the song was, given how electrifying the original is.
The Israeli Rock Star (?) Cover Version:
I don't know who that guy is. But he made the song sad, too. Is it possible I have been misconstruing this song my entire life? Is it really a sad song?
I catch a paper boy
But things don't really change
I'm standing in the wind
But I never wave bye-bye
But I try
I try
There's no sign of life
It's just the power to charm
I'm lying in the rain
But I never wave bye-bye
That could go either way. Sure, the singer/protagonist is standing alone in a barren postapocalyptic world where paper is blowing around in the neverending wind and rain, but he's not giving up (i.e., he's not waving bye-bye)
The Cover Band Version Of The Song:
They got that beginning part right, didn't they? I used to be somewhat skeptical of people who played in cover bands and bar bands and never made it big. Why do they keep trying? I wondered, one time. Then I remembered that I blog and self-publish my books, and I shut my mouth forever. You keep going, cover bands. Never wave bye-bye.
Let's keep this party going.
The version by that one band that made the song "Blue", I think?
That guy sounds like Boris Grebenshikov. I hope I'm not the only person who remembers who Boris Grebenshikov is. But I feel like I am.
Also: Turns out there is more than one band named "Eiffel," and this particular one is not the "Blue" one but the one that was "born from the Ashes of Oobik & The Pucks." The next time I have to do a bio, I am going to say I was born from the ashes of Oobik & The Pucks. That is too cool of a phrase to die away.
But I did like that version.
The version by a guy who did a whole week of David Bowie covers, apparently:
He says that's a different take but it seems that everybody thinks this song is sad.
Or maybe not everyone.
The "isn't Cursive one of those hipster bands I feel like I should know about but then I don't care to know about them" version:
That started out great, and stayed pretty great. In fairness, it's hard to stay as cool as a drumline beginning promises.
This next one promised to be the best. Why? Because it was by a band called Pizza!, and if there is anything that has remained more constant in my life than my love for the song Modern Love, it is my love for Pizza, and exclamation points. Let's listen:
The FingersCrossedThatThisLivesUpToThePromise Version:
That was beautiful. I am crying tears of joy.*
*And I want some pizza.
Want to celebrate the weirdly optimistic-feeling sentiment that this post sets up? Do it via t-shirt:
I can play, or could play, Pachabel's Canon In D on piano, by the time I was about 12 or so. I never knew it was a big deal song for weddings or anything like that; I just knew it was superhard to play but a very nice song. Playing it gave me a sense of accomplishment, because it was so long and had such tough chords. It's one thing to play a song like Music Box Dancer (which I can still do, by heart) but another entirely to play Pachabel's Canon.
So I've always liked that song, and never thought it could be improved on until I heard Rockelbel's Canon:
I'm not crazy about the "wedding party doing the silly/cool dancing." Once that was done once, it was over forever and nobody should ever do it again. But the song itself is truly an awesome cover of an already awesome song, and that guy sure looks like he's having fun playing the cello, doesn't he?
The only Michael Jackson song I've ever liked was Will You Be There, which I think of as the Free Willy song:
I've always been uncomfortable liking that song, because I'm never sure where to draw the line when someone I should disapprove of does something that I approve of. I mean, pobody's nerfect, right?
Oh, my God, I'm sorry I wrote that. But it felt so good.Anyway, where do you decide you can't like someone anymore? It seems pretty obvious that I shouldn't (and don't) root for Michael Vick, but, then, he did his time and Tony Dungy, who's practically a saint, likes him, so what do I do about that?
And Michael Jackson? He was crazy, sure, and I tend to believe the rumors about him, but then, he was acquitted, right, so shouldn't we credit that? Of course, then you also have to believe Casey Anthony walk using her white trash powers to trick the jury (flashing her bra at them, I assume. Seems to work, down south.)
So here I am, in a moral limbo: love the song, hate the sinner, as Jesus would've said if He had an iPod, which He probably does. I mean, it's Heaven, after all. They've probably got the latest technology. Wouldn't they? Why wouldn't they?
What do you suppose Jesus would have on his iPod? I bet not a lot of country. Maybe Billy Ray Cyrus, but that's it.
Where was I?
Oh, yeah: Moral dilemma solved: I get to like Will You Be There a/k/a The Free Willy Song and still hate people, thanks to Ida Jo and the Show's cover:
I love me some fiddle, especially fiddle without ethical complications.
P.S.: if you click this link you'll see a clip that demonstrates the obvious way to improve not just the ending to Free Willy, but any movie. I'd have embedded it here but for some reason, the person who made the clip won't let me do that. Ordinarily, that would make me not even mention the video because what's the point of being stupid like that? Videos are on Youtube to share, but I have to go to your youtube channel to watch them? This is AMERICA, for Pete's sake. Why did I even bother voting in the last election?
Anyway, it was good enough that I broke my rule and linked to it. So go watch it.
I only like two CSN& Sometimes Y songs: "American Dream," and "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes."
Here's an homage to the latter. After listening to many, many versions, I can tell you: hitting that high note on the first verse, at the word "point" is pretty tough.
The Two Teenage Girls Get It Right Version:
The "Holy Crap, This Is Done By Kids Now Attending My Old High School" Version:
The "It Took Me A Moment To Realize They're All The Same Guy" Version:
I could probably have put that one first, because it's pretty cool.
So's this one:
The a capella version:
The "Remember How I Said Hitting That Note on Point Is Tough? Not For The Ladies" version:
The "This is not technically a cover, but it seemed a little sacrilegious, so it got included" version:
And, in the not-so-awesome category are these guys, who are a little flat but I like that they tried:
And I like, too, that the middle guy appeared to be playing the Thermos.
Awesome Covers of Already Awesome Songs used to be a feature on Thinking The Lions (find it here), but I've decided it fits better on this blog (because really the idea started with this), so now it's here. Enjoy!
The other night, Sweetie and I watched Battle: Los Angeles on our Date At Home. While it wasn't a bad movie, it also wasn't a great movie, either, and after the fact, there were three things that stood out to me:
1. The part where the Marine leader says to Harvey Dent that the word about how Dent's team brought down the command and control center has gone out to all the armies around the world; Harvey brought down the control center by targeting it with missiles. That hadn't occurred to the rest of the military? A staff sergeant is our world's top military mind?
2. The part where Harvey decides to leave the helicopter, and rescue, because only he could go back and find the command and control center, as he was much more qualified than, say, a full platoon of Marines who hadn't been up all night and who did have weapons. All I could think, as Harvey went down the rope was "You leave that tractor beam to me."*
3. I keep calling him Harvey Dent; that's because that's all I can think of Aaron Eckhart as. Sweetie, too; during slow parts in the movie, we'd say "Rachel!" and laugh.
4. There was a Marine in Harvey Dent's squad who Sweetie said looked like a young Freddie Mercury, which is what made me think of these Awesome Covers:
The Best Possible Cover of Killer Queen, Ever:
Some Guys at A Piano Do a Passable MTV Unplugged version:
The version that makes me think "I should get my acoustic guitar out and try to play this"
only then I remember that Mr Bunches broke two of the strings, so I can't.
The requisite ukulele cover. Got to have one of those:
The version by a guy who somehow, except for the wispy moustache, startingly resembles a 19-year-old me, right down to the awkward piano playing:
The "I think I heard this over the closing credits of Burlesque" version:
The "Actually, I almost like this one better than that first one which I said was really the best..." version:
And then there's the one that's played by Ghost Robots!
