Playlist 3

[stoutfellow]

As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted:

• The Heart of the Matter, Don Henley. My other favorite Henley song.
• Beyond You, Crystal Gayle. Another very pretty breakup song.
• Message to Michael, Dionne Warwick. This is the reverse of a breakup song, a "come back home" song. There don't seem to be as many of those...
• People Get Ready, the Walker Brothers. There's something about trains as a vehicle of salvation; I can think of a number of songs which use that metaphor - Peace Train (Cat Stevens), This Train (Peter, Paul and Mary), ... I know there's at least one other, but I can't come up with it. Anyway, this is a good song.
• Don't Don't Tell Me No, Sophie B. Hawkins. A lively love song; I especially like the use of bells in the later choruses.
• Carey, Joni Mitchell. A very nice if somewhat conflicted love song ("You're a mean ol' daddy but I like you").
• Faithfully, Journey. One of their signature songs, strong and solemn.
• (The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance, Gene Pitney. I'll admit it, I like this mostly because of the movie, but the last verse is cleverly constructed (if you know the story).
• It Ain't Me Babe, the Turtles. There are quite a few songs of this commitment-phobic type, but I think this is the best of them.
• Good Morning Heartache, Billie Holiday. Nobody does pain like Lady Day.

Comments

[sunlizzard.livejournal.com]

Re trains and salvation: There's a Johnny Cash song called "Down There by the Train" that is simply breathtaking. I've only heard Shannon sing it, as I'm not enough of a Cash fan to buy a whole album just for one song... but this one is darn close to worth that!

[stoutfellow.livejournal.com]

I don't have any Cash in my collection at the moment, but I've been considering adding him. I'll keep an eye out for that song.

Still can't remember what that other song was.

[hornedhopper.livejournal.com]

I don't know why, but I always get teary whenever I hear The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. There's jsut something about the melody.

"It Ain't Me Babe, the Turtles. There are quite a few songs of this commitment-phobic type, but I think this is the best of them."

I hadn't thought of it as a commitment aversion song, but it started running loudly through my head as I read your entry. Yup, you're right.

[stoutfellow.livejournal.com]

On Liberty Valance: musically, I especially like the way the bottom drops out of Pitney's voice in the middle of the lines "When two men go out to face each other / Only one returns".

As for It Ain't Me Babe: one thing I enjoy doing is locating a recurring theme (as with commitment-phobia) and then identifying songs which are on the flip side - in this case, songs by the pursuer instead of the pursued. Back when she was with the Stone Poneys, Linda Ronstadt actually hit both sides, with Long Long Time (pursuer) and Different Drum (pursued).

[hornedhopper.livejournal.com]

Interesting. I just realized that your mathematical mind seeks patterns and structure in lyrics set to music. Sets, and subsets, and opposites. Possibly you get more enjoyment out of the offerings of the musical field than most people do.

[stoutfellow.livejournal.com]

Not necessarily more enjoyment, just different. (There are certainly aspects of the appreciation of music I haven't mastered, despite intermittent and desultory attempts to learn them.)

[hornedhopper.livejournal.com]

The fact that you can enjoy music on so many different levels, not necessarily in a formal sense, must make for a fuller experience, I'd imagine. Nice.

[filkferengi]

Hey, you're no slouch in the "enjoyment of a wide variety of music" department yourself!

[hornedhopper.livejournal.com]

Well, it is true that anyone who can love "Istanbul Not Constantinople," Tuvan throat singing, 16th century madrigals, and The Clash qualifies for "wide" tastes in music!

But, I was referring to the additional enjoyment that the StoutFellow must get in the *depth* department.

[filkferengi]

Yeah, those "still water" guys are all about the depth thing. ;)