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#springsteen paradise lyrics
thirst2 · 6 months
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YOU do the dry-in' i'll do the dishes WHO'll do the cry-in' when all the wishes don't come true? YOU do the wash-in' i'll do the foldin' WHOse heart is break-in' when whose arms are holding someone new?
Sittin' on a peaceful lakeside Didn't hear the roar of the waterfall coming When it's all a storybook story, When it's all so easy and nice, Here comes trouble in paradise
YOU did the dust-in' I did the sweeping YOU did the driv-in' Oh and I did the sleeping a little too long On a picnic 'neath the sky so blue We didn't see the rain and heartache coming through When it's all an old black and white movie And you're sure you've seen the ending twice Here comes trouble in paradise
You said everything was fine – I'm sorry, baby: I didn't see the signs oh, so beautifully you read your lines… In a play where the hero has no vice And love comes without a price So does trouble in paradise
DOn't matter who did the dust-in' or who did the sweeping WHO did the trust-in' or who did the cheat-in' when it's all gone Layin' in a field on a summer's day Waitin' for those gray skies to clear away Knowing all love's glory and beauty Can vanish before you think twice Leaving trouble in paradise
Now, WE share the laugh-in' we share the joking Oh, WE do the sleep-in' mmm, with one eye op-en…
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Music Tag Game 🎶
Rules Music taste is a very telling thing. Create a new post and name 1-5 your favourite songs in each category. Don't be afraid to be too obvious! Tag users you want to get to know better. Don't forget to have fun :)
Last songs you listened to: Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad - Def Leppard, The Funny Feeling - Phoebe Bridgers, Cathy Come Home - Flyte, Friday I'm In Love - The Cure
Best songs from your favourite TV show/movie: oh gosh, I put Peaky Blinders Soundtrack on a pedestal, so I'll have to narrow my choice to 3 songs: All My Tears - Ane Brun, Strange Weather - Anna Calvi, David Byrne, Abattoir Blues - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and all the other songs that remain unnamed xD
Favourite songs about love (happy or not): Lover - Taylor Swift ft. Shawn Mendes, I Can't Help Falling In Love With You - Elvis Presley, Heart Like Yours - Willamette Stone, This - Ed Sheeran and much much more
Songs that could be the soundtrack to your life: Alibi - 30 Seconds to Mars
Songs that always make you want to dance: Let's Dance - David Bowie, Real Love Baby - Father John Misty, Hips Don't Lie - Shakira (yes, guilty)
Songs that always make you want to cry: I'm Ok - Christina Aguilera, Run - Snow Patrol, Dark Paradise - Lana Del Rey
Songs with the best lyrics: The Animals Were Gone / Accidental Babies - Damien Rice (he's very eloquent about love and pain, no wonder cos' he's Irish), My Tears Ricochet / The Lakes - Taylor Swift, I guess I can just write these two names. Amazing songwriters.
Songs you want to listen to when you're alone in the car: Girlfriend (Dr. Luke Mix) - Avril Lavigne ft. Lil Mama, I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor. And it doesn't even matter I don't have a car!
Songs that bring you back to yourself when your life is a mess: Ain't No Mountain High Enough - Marvin Gaye, Tammi Terrell and almost any Taylor Swift's song
Favourite instrumental songs: Spiegel im Spiegel (Version for Violin and Piano) - Vladimir Spivakov & Sergej Bezrodny, Rise - Hans Zimmer, New Moon - Alexandre Desplat, Una Mattina - Ludovico Einaudi, Arrival Of The Birds - The Cinematic Orchestra
Songs that make you feel like you're invincible and very cool: Lose Yourself - Eminem (yes!), Woman - Harry Styles, but I think I just need to be happy to feel myself invincible
Guilty pleasure songs you're embarrassed to admit that you like: I'm too old to care about stuff like that, but let's say Famous - Kanye West
Songs that can describe your current mood: Vienna - Billy Joel or People Help The People - Birdy
If you wanted to be serenaded, what songs would you prefer: Love of My Life - Queen, Fly Me To The Moon - Frank Sinatra. God help that guy if he doesn't have an ear for music.
Songs you'd recommend everybody to listen to (you can explain why if you want):
No Light, No Light - Florence + The Machine (because Florence's voice is so ethereal, magical and she can make you feel like you're flying)
Hey Jude - The Beatles (no further explanation)
Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen (this is a very interesting and unusual song to listen to, something out of any genre. A pure masterpiece)
Butterflies and Hurricanes - Muse (I can literally name any of their songs and I won't miss, just like with Radiohead)
Happier Than Ever - Billie Eilish (for those who love beautiful vocal. Billie's soft vibrato and the second part is a powerful crescendo)
tagging: @runnning-outof-time @zablife @aranoburns @i-just-look-at-pictures @jonathancraneswife444 @filmonaut @notyourriddler @tommyxgrace-always @carlfranzen @sassyrebelrockerprincess @l1-l4 @shelundeadxxxx @doraviolet @peakysgrace @grace-werethesame @peakyv @rousie @achurni @twvstedsouls @moral-terpitude and @springsteens @violaobanion (hello, my tumblr superstars, i just live in hope :)) and anyone else who wants to do it. No obligation, go to it if you’re keen! 
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sexypinkon · 5 months
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SEXYPINK Reviews: I went for a drive and Never Came Back - Tracey Johnson
(Solo show) LOFTT Gallery Roselino Street Woodbrook
October 6 -20th 2023
…………………..
A ditty of Bruce Springsteen and the title of a recently completed Solo show by the prolific Tracey Johnson at Loftt in Woodbrook discusses a restless spirit. Springsteen croons ‘ride, and never went back, Johnson, ‘drive, and Never Came Back’.
Whatever the lyrics Miss Johnson has single handedly shown why going to Art shows matter. Her Hyper Realistic, Expressionistic Abstractions are thought provoking masterful works. 
Her technical skills are so on point that as you stand next to her girl smiling or red devil, it takes a few seconds for ones thoughts to wrap around the fact that these ARE NOT photographs.
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Even more so, her decision to deliberately toy with reality by blurring, marking and splattering heightens the delightful drama on the canvases.
For example her egg drop sun and black drizzle over the La Basse image could be gimmicky in any other hands.
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Miss Johnson triumphs here by instinctively being in synch with every single brush stroke she renders. She gives just enough shift from Realism to Fantasy as can be seen in Maracas beach where her sun is a child’s playful scrawl.
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What I appreciate most about I went for a drive and Never Came Back is its unexpected candor on life in the tropical paradise that is Trinidad and Tobago.
Overlaying frenetic markings on captured moments, defining the happenstance of one’s input like a diary or a witness to the mundane (beauty) likened to the simplicity of  driving on a dark night - is all done with an ease, an exceptional understanding of painting. It is a comprehension fraught with the discipline of getting out of the way and letting the energy come forward as she does - not simple or easy at all.
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Everybody has a hungry heart, Springsteen sings and Miss Johnson’s heart beats for us in her work. One of the most impactful shows of 2023 so far. 
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Random Assorted Artists with songs in the showdown Pt. 1
This is the first list of random artists that have been submitted. This is pretty much anyone that didn’t get many submissions. If you see a song and are like hey this should be somewhere else the answer is no. Unless there is a repeat of a song somewhere or the artist shows up on another list they are meant to be here. Check out the other lists here.
Sail - AWOLNATION
Sinners - Barns Courtney
My Frankenstein - Kody Kavitha
An Alien’s I Love You - Utsu-P
Beneath the Brine - The Family Crest
Gladiator - Jann
Light - Next to Normal
Gut Punch/Don’t Meet Your Idols - Everybody’s Worried About Owen
Us - Chxrlotte
It’s the end of the world as we know it - R.E.M.
Trouble - Valerie Broussard
A Meadow - Open Book
Serenade - Kamelot
The Bard’s Song: In the Forest - Blind Guardian
The Weekend Whip - The Fold
Achilles Come Down - Gang of Youths (Four different lyric submissions)
Farewell Kabarista - Vagabond Opera
Tango Dancer - Dave Malloy
Cold Day in Hell - Delta Rae
Still… - Sophia James
Mirrorball - Elbow
Waltz #2 (XO) - Elliott Smith
One More Try - Mariam-Teak Lee & Jordan Luke Gage
Marie - Townes van Zandt
City of Lights - The Music Tapes
Bloody Motherfucking Asshole - Martha Wainwright
On Melancholy Hill - Gorillaz
Don’t Let’s Start - They Might Be Giants
Touch - Daft Punk ft. Paul Williams
The Hounds - The Protomen
Infinite Lives - Mega Ran ft. D&D Sluggers
Nights Like These - Bears in Trees
Slumber - Slløtface
gum v6.4 - Devon Again
head - Devon Again
Dissociate - Atlas
Introduction to the Snow - Miracle Music
Wait for It - Hamilton Musical
Ice To Never - The Black Queen
Progress - The Dear Hunter
Warrior - Paradise Fears
Windowpane - Opeth
Voodoo Dust - Urfaust
Yen - Slipknot
Order - Heaven Pierce Her / Hakita
VI: Sons of Fate - The Protomen
Charlie’s Inferno - That Handsome Devil
Paradox - Survive Said the Prophet
This Too Shall Pass - Danny Schmidt
Light - Chonny Jash
Mad IQs - I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME
Worms - AlicebanD
The Mighty Echo - The Family Crest
Ride - Bligh
Jesus Christ - Brand New
Your Heart is a Muscle the Size of Your Fist - Ramshackle Glory
The Summoning - Sleep Token
In The End - Black Veil Brides
Don’t Break Me - Milo Murphy’s Law Soundtrack
For You - Barenaked Ladies
Sober - Tool
Bullets - Archive
Relay - Fiona Apple
Let Me Stay - Heather Maloney
New Radio - Bikini Kill
The Marriage of Bigfoot and Mothman - The Forgetmenauts
What’s With You Lately - Car Seat Headrest
Armarillo - Gorillaz
Dark Lover: A Love Song To A Vampire - Tempest
Smile Like You Mean It - Tally Hall
Fine, I’m Fine - Chonny Jash
Rightfully - Mili
Give It to Me - The Northern Boys
We’re All Leaving - Karine Polwart
Matches - SIFU HOTMAN
Unbroken - Man on the Internet
Hell’s Comin’ With Me - Poor Man’s Poison
Necromancin Dancin - Bear Ghost
I Got No Time - The Living Tombstone
Labyrinth - Miracle Musical
Hello and Goodbye - JT Music
A Poem - AJJ
People 2: The Reckoning - AJJ
Your Voice, As I Remember It - AJJ
The River - Bruce Springsteen
Jungleland - Bruce Springsteen
You Only Know - PhemieC
Girls in Love - PhemieC
Evidence - DaisyxDaisy
Portrait of a Woman on a Couch With Cats - Michael Cera Palin
The Moss - Cosmo Sheldrake
Found (Forever) - Caamp
4 Morant (Better Luck Next Time) - Doja Cat, Com Truise
Box Fort Baby - Papa Jake
Flowers - Eva Noblezada (Hadestown)
You - Keaton Henson
rock + roll - EDEN
Tourniquet - Leanna Firestone
Close to Home - Vienna Teng
Spring and a Storm - Tally Hall
You’re the Reason I Don’t Want the World to End - The Wonder Years
I Earn My Life - Lemon Demon
Twisted - Team Starkid
Time, As A Symptom - Joanna Newson
The Party - Regina Spektor
I’m Just Your Problem - Rebecca Sugar (in Adventure Time)
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demolitonlover · 3 years
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songs to make me cry
Paradise // Bruce Springsteen
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elevatorersatz · 2 years
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“Tell Me I’m Your National Anthem”: Lana Del Rey’s Political Subversion
       When Lana Del Rey first hit the scene in 2012, critics immediately heralded her unique sound and retro influences. Her look, too, was as notable as her music and performance—promo images depicting the young singer began circulating on social media and became a fixture on sites such as Tumblr and Pinterest. Many of these photos featured Del Rey juxtaposed against imagery evoking patriotism and themes of Americana. One photoshoot in particular sees Del Rey draped in an American flag, and indeed, token symbols of America became key visuals in the construction of her brand. Del Rey aligns herself with a nostalgic Americana aesthetic, but the trope transcends mere visual positioning. References to and exaltations of thematic Americana permeate Del Rey’s lyrics, music videos, and aural aesthetic. Despite the political undertones that might be extrapolated from her continual employment of such patriotic aesthetics, Del Rey’s potential as political commentator was largely discounted from the start of her career—perhaps because of her gender, genre, or celebrity. Throughout the seven years that Del Rey’s career has existed in the mainstream, her visuals have evolved, but her fascination with Americana ideology clearly remains.
After Born to Die and the subsequent EP Paradise, Del Rey distanced herself from Americana aesthetics and relied on a neo-Californian look and sound reminiscent of the Beach Boys and other classic West Coast acts. Del Rey’s most recent album, though—Lust for Life—represents a return to form and resurrection of classic Americana themes. This album, too, marked the first time Del Rey made her implicit political leanings explicit. The persistence of these themes indicate Del Rey has always been politically agentive, but the barrier of entry to understand her intent has seemingly been lowered. Although not a single, “God Bless America — and All the Beautiful Women in It” was one of the most talked-about tracks. This song, along with her debut album Born to Die’s “National Anthem” and its accompanying video, indicate a deliberately political—and subversively so—subtext present throughout Del Rey’s music, videos, and aesthetics. Through subversions of Americana and patriotism, she creates a subtextual commentary indicative of feminist and liberal ideologies.
           The musical mantle of Americana, as a genre, is charged with the obligations of tradition, though. The genre’s conventions are associated with folk and country stylings as much as any particular subject matter or look, so Del Rey’s musical style causes her to fall short of the criteria for full classification within the genre. It is certainly a consistent influence on her image, content, and performance, though—so much so that one critic dubbed her “Pop’s Princess of Americana” (Turner, par. 1). Still, for traditionalists, Lana’s name is unlikely to come to mind—artists such as Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, and Johnny Cash are instead among the most commonly cited exemplars of the genre. Modern figures in the genre such as The Avett Brothers, The Decemberists, Brandi Carlile, and Jason Isbell reinforce the significance of sound as a defining hallmark. Despite common themes, Del Rey’s indie pop sound and style fairly preclude her from inclusion among these greats of the Americana tradition.
           Perhaps it is more than just these qualities which separate her from the genre, though. The sound of the music is not the only defining factor in the Americana genre—who’s making it matters, too. Music critic Giovanni Russonello draws attention to the parameters of Americana as he asks plainly: “Why Is a Music Genre Called ‘Americana’ So Overwhelmingly White and Male?” Indeed, although some women and minorities have found success in the genre, the most famous of its gatekeepers remain homogenous. Russonello elaborates: “the genre defines itself by its progenitors more than its present [ . . . ] [and] a handful of artistic traditions founded in rebellion (blues, Appalachian folk, outlaw country) got elided into a relatively conservative format” (pars. 4-6). What was once considered the genre of revolutionaries is at risk of becoming a storehouse for reliably orthodox ideas—if nothing else because of the exclusive nature reflected in the artists typically seen at its forefront. A genre that once urged listeners to revolt against the greater powers has lagged in matching the progress—in lyric or action—that other genres have exhibited in responding to the country’s most urgent political oppressions. Some artists who have taken liberal political stances, such as the aforementioned Jason Isbell, have done so against warnings of alienating audiences: “when some people first heard this record,” he told one interviewer, “they said that I was gonna alienate half my audience” (Doyle, par. 6). Indeed, even amongst those artists who voice such liberal politics, there is an assumption that such ideas are at odds with their genre and fans.
           The conservatism and exclusivity of the Americana musical genre has not prohibited Del Rey from utilizing its ideas and aesthetics throughout her work. She has succeeded in using its conventions to develop political conversations about feminism, gun violence, and race that are absent or secondary in most Americana musical content. Unlike Americana artists, though, Del Rey’s political expressions are likely already aligned with the young, semi-counterculture audience she courts. Defining Del Rey’s relationship with Americana remains a difficult task. She has, at different points, engaged with most its various facets—aesthetics, themes, imagery, and narratives. Indeed, one of the most important aspects of both Americana and Del Rey’s body of work is a focus on the narratives of so-called everyday Americans. In the tradition of working-class tomes such as Dylan’s “Maggie’s Farm” or Springsteen’s “Working on the Highway,” Del Rey’s texts have often employed the everyday stories of people living and working in America.
A fascination with Americana-inspired narratives is most evident, perhaps, in her 2012 music video for “Ride,” which sees Del Rey inhabiting the role of an aspiring singer but actual prostitute. Although the music video is not a particularly political moment in Del Rey’s career, it reveals her connection to the narratives and imagery at the heart of Americana. The video’s story is not about her character so much as it is “the men [she] met along the road,” as she reveals in an opening monlogue (“Ride (Official Music Video),” 00:01:29). These ordinary American men—bikers travelling the west coast—are the center of attention in the narrative. When Del Rey is the focus of the shot, she alternates between several outfits, one of which sees her familiarly draped in an American flag and wearing a shirt that appears to feature the Budweiser logo. Further inspection, though, reveals that it, in fact, says Buttweiser—a detail that declares intention. Replacement of the iconic Budweiser logo with an ersatz emblem constructs a layer of irony. The shirt’s visual subversion introduces the possibility that there may also be irony in Del Rey’s depiction of this particular narrative mode of Americana themes. At the video’s close, Del Rey returns to her monologue, and says “I believe in the country America used to be” (00:08:52). Although the video’s consideration of biker culture and sex work appear sincere, Del Rey’s reverence for American symbols and ideals, such as the flag or Budweiser logo, does not. Del Rey succeeds, then, in treating the visual elements of Americana with irony without discounting its narratives.
Any sentiment with sustainable longevity eventually may become a ripe subject for irony or satire, and Americana is no exception. Fervent wartime nationalism that defined the 20th century spilled into sincere early-aughts mantras demanding we support the troops, but these oft-repeated phrases eventually became hollow. After the ambiguous outcome of the Iraq war, patriotic impulses represented little more than virtue signaling to young people, and the arrival of the internet gifted millennials with access to information and ideas that, understandably, birthed a sense of disillusionment with the government and the sacredness of the country. The rise of ironic patriotism seeped into popular culture as a seemingly inevitable response. As essayist Conor Friedersdorf explains, when "confronted with displays of patriotism, many Americans react with ironic distance as a defense mechanism. They are wary that cynical actors are exploiting patriotic impulses and symbols as tools of manipulation because cynical actors frequently do just that" (par. 3). This impulse to counter the predominate narrative of patriotism is evident throughout Del Rey’s work—particularly in her first few albums’ use of irony in handling imagery associated with Americana.
Americana music and aesthetic, by contrast, are concerned with honoring the narratives and imagery of everyday American life—the pretense at the foundation of the “Ride” music video, for example. This interest in the lives and humanity of Americans is seemingly incompatible with the early-aughts intersection of irony and patriotism, but these sentiments have proved not to be incongruous at all. Millennials' general sense of national distrust effectively bred the ironic Americana that would be branded by Lana Del Rey. While she employs various facets of Americana ideology and iconography, she has focused most consistently on a satirical handling of patriotism; playing off of traditional images of patriotism and American history, Del Rey constructs a conscientious subversion of this aspect of Americana and uses it to deliver a political critique.
           Del Rey’s coupling of the genre’s themes and symbolism with progressively political subject matter is, in fact, almost necessarily subversive. Although she certainly is not the first to draw on Americana for its aesthetic appeal, Del Rey takes the trope a step further by integrating the patriotic ideals of Americana into her lyrical content, too. Such moves are never clearer than on “National Anthem,” a song that has little in common with its namesake. Rather than heralding the flag, Del Rey sings of a predatory relationship between an older man and a younger woman. He uses her for sex and her looks, and she uses him for his money, gifts, and access to parties. This transaction is conflated with American values as Lana sings the chorus:
                       Tell me I’m your national anthem
                       Tell me I’m your national anthem
                       Red, white, blue is in the sky
                       Summer’s in the air
                       And baby heaven’s in your eyes
                       I’m your national anthem
Far from a convenient rhyme or meaningless phrase, Del Rey repeatedly sings of the national anthem to communicate a specifically political idea: America is not defined by patriotism, history, heritage, or promise. Instead, our country relies on patriarchal systems and capitalistic exchanges to maintain the pretense of the American dream.
           Although the couple in the song seems mutually aware of the nature of their relationship, the exploitation described is a stark contrast to the traditional tropes of Americana that are invoked as Del Rey repeats the phrase "national anthem." When the song was released as a single, its cover featured Del Rey approaching a podium, styled to be reminiscent of Marilyn Monroe, with an American flag in the background (fig. 1). Across her eyes, though, is a black bar and the title of the record—indicating that her anonymity need be protected. The visual contrast between the seemingly wholesome environment of a political event and the bar eschewing her face reinforces the subversive text present in the song’s lyrics—all is not as it seems. While the podium, Del Rey’s formal attire, and the flag construct a sense of propriety, Del Rey’s obscured face counters this and implies less wholesome events might transpire than we would initially assume.
If these qualities were not sufficient evidence of Del Rey’s political intentions, the music video for the song should be. In it, Del Rey constructs yet another conflation between patriotism and subversive tropes—this time, she uses the story of JFK to present visuals of racialized violence. The video shows her again donning the character of Marilyn Monroe—and in other scenes, Jackie O—to recreate scenes from the Camelot presidency. The video ultimately includes JFK’s assassination, and Del Rey’s choice of actor to inhabit this role creates yet another layer of politicization beyond that which is already contained in the song. Although they would not collaborate on music together until several albums later, Del Rey chose to cast black rapper A$AP Rocky in the role of JFK.
           To place a black man in JFK’s iconic image subverts the political assumptions of whiteness associated with power and the presidency. When he was later interviewed about the video, A$AP Rocky made it clear that the move was both deliberate and directed by Del Rey:
Lana wrote the treatment with me in mind. She wanted me to be the lead guy. Shit is like, everybody knows we got a thing for each other and we wanted to show that on screen. She wanted me to be the main guy and she wrote the treatment herself and came up with all the ideas. [ . . . ] And so I got in character like, “Fuck that like, I’m gonna be the black, trill JFK.” (qtd. in Capper pars. 6-8)
Indeed, A$AP replaces the imagery of JFK that is so ingrained in American consciousness with images of racial equality. His role in the video specifically elevates depictions of interracial love and Black power to the highest possible validation in an American context: the presidency. Director Anthony Mandler further confirmed Del Rey’s agenda by saying “we used the Kennedy framework to kind of implement this new Camelot, this racially diverse Camelot, this maybe socially diverse Camelot [ . . . ] There's a kind of micro-commentary of 'this is the new royalty,'” (qtd. in Montgomery par. 6). Whereas the song’s lyrics create a commentary through contrast, the video sincerely suggests a new nationalism—one in which diversity is not just taken for granted—it is present in our country’s most prestigious position.
           Although the imagery is certainly subversive and political, Obama was in office at the time of its release, and the dream of a Black president had been finally realized. Simply placing A$AP in JFK’s role was not as revolutionary as it might have been prior to Obama’s election. The truly subversive value of the video is thus found in its nuanced depiction of A$AP’s JFK. He does not just play president; he also inhabits JFK’s role as a father (fig. 2), friend, and partner over the course of the video. In doing so, A$AP counters the stereotypical imagery so often projected on Black men in pop culture. A fully-realized portrait is painted in the video’s 7:48 timespan—not just of the JFK character, but of A$AP’s own persona, and the intersection of the two. In constructing this character, Del Rey explicates the separation between Black culture and American prestige that has typically sustained racial marginalization.
Del Rey constructs a representation of blackness, though, that counters this separation. In Lockstep and Dance: Images of Black Men in Popular Culture, Linda Tucker explains the stereotypes that African-American men are so often reduced to “representational practices in popular culture perpetuate the image of black men as a group predisposed to criminal behavior” (5). Tucker goes on to say that when black men are not explicitly depicted as criminal, they are often characterized in pop culture as lazy, disrespectful, or unintelligent. The “National Anthem” video’s resists stereotypes by maintaining A$AP's trademark hip-hop aesthetic even as he takes on the presidency—this positioning makes its ending all the more devastating. Del Rey stays true to history and recreates JFK’s assassination—its meaning is upended, though, as it is now a young black man who is shot and killed. If the video suggests that racial harmony be synonymous with patriotism, it also suggests that racial violence is, too. Just as the lyrics implicate the American dream’s reliance on patriarchy and exploitative capitalism, the video implicates the inescapable prevalence of racism in the country. Del Rey carefully scratches the surface of patriotic tropes to reveal the unsavory realities that are arguably just as American as the flag itself.
The aforementioned stereotypes are the ones commonly employed to indict young black men who have been victims of police brutality. One such victim, Trayvon Martin, was 17-years-old when he was killed on February 26, 2012. His death and the surrounding events brought awareness to police brutality and preceded a string of high-profile cases in which black men were shot by law enforcement. In many of these, the target was reported to be unarmed or otherwise unthreatening—but assumptions of criminality were made by both police and the media. These events ultimately led to the formation of Black Lives Matter, an activist group which aims to “intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes” (Black Lives Matter, par. 1). Its official date of formation—July 13, 2013—occurred approximately a year and a half after Martin’s death. The video’s release mere months after the Trayvon case and about a year before Black Lives Matters’ formation places it in a unique sociopolitical moment—one in which images of a black man being shot take on a particularly potent meaning. Utilizing this imagery while contextualizing it in a narrative of power confronts and dismantles the aforementioned stereotypes of blackness, and Del Rey succeeds in channeling the historical moment of her art.
           Despite the clear potential for political reading in her visual and lyrical rhetoric alike, Del Rey has long been disregarded as a serious contributor to political discourse. Her exclusion from pop culture’s political discourse is not without reason, though. In the early days of her career, she stumbled through softball questions and infamously declared that “feminism is just not an interesting concept” (qtd. in Finger, par. 3). She explained the statement later, saying "it’s not to say that there’s not more to do in that area. I’ve gotten to witness through history the evolution of so many movements and now I’m standing at the forefront of new technological movements" (Spanos, par. 4). Still, her resistance towards any explicitly feminist stance solidified her reputation as a reliably apolitical figure on the pop landscape—and she still has avoided comment on other sociopolitical issues such as race.
           As critic Kelsey McKinney describes, “while artists like Beyoncé and St. Vincent have confronted the American political landscape, Lana has just floated through it. Her work has existed in a nonexistent otherworld where America is a flag that waves behind her” (McKinney par. 2). Although Del Rey has indeed taken a my-art-speaks-for-itself approach to politicization, her music has been denied the same legitimacy afforded to male artists who similarly skirt political statement. It is worth questioning whether male artists face demands of politicization as often as their female counterparts. While Del Rey is derided for failing to declare a political stance, comparable male celebrities—including collaborators such as The Weeknd, Børns, and the aforementioned A$AP Rocky—are rarely subjected to such demands.
           Despite consistently political lyrical content, Del Rey successfully avoided any verbal declaration of politics for about five years before markedly shifting her stance and returning to the Americana tropes that defined her earlier work. Both of these changes are evident in “God Bless America—and All the Beautiful Women in It,” the tenth track off Lust for Life. As the title suggests, Del Rey deliberately invokes the purest elements of Americana—faith, patriotism, and appreciation of women—in her return to familiar subject matter. If the political content of songs such as “National Anthem” is left at subtext, though, “God Bless America” may finally make patriotic themes as manifest as Del Rey’s style permits. At its onset, Del Rey sings the following:
                       Take me as I am
                       Take me, baby, in stride
                       There’s nowhere to run, nowhere to hide
The opening’s major key and melodic sound contrast the ominous lyrics it leads into: “there’s nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.” The implication of looming danger, of course, makes listeners wonder what Del Rey may want to run and hide from. The effect reveals that despite pleasant appearances (or sounds), there is something seriously amiss in the situation Del Rey sings of—there is a threat to the safety of the woman in question.
           The dissonance is ultimately indicative of the message the song delivers. As she does in “National Anthem,” Del Rey uses the nostalgic Americana associated with the phrase "God Bless America" to deliver a specific political commentary. In this case, she comments on the various threats women face and the reality of often being unsafe in daily situations. The chorus seems innocuous enough, though, if one listens only to the lyrics Del Rey sings:
                       God bless America, and all the beautiful women in it
God bless America, and all the beautiful women in it
May you stand proud and strong like Lady Liberty shinin’ all night long
God bless America
The chorus reads like a modernized ode to America, but the exaltation is interrupted by the sound of a gun firing, twice, after Del Rey sings the words “God bless America.” It is clear that Del Rey is constructing an alignment between America and violence—specifically violence that is targeted towards women.
           The verses and chorus of the song both invoke imagery constructing commentary that is socially incisive—if not clearly political. Here, Del Rey further alludes to the ambiguous threat referenced throughout. She describes the following scene:
                       Even walkin’ alone, I’m not worried
                       I feel your arms around me
                       In the air on the streets of the city
                       Feels like I am free
Del Rey at once references being alone and feeling an embrace. The arms she feels are “in the air, on the streets”—thus, it is implied that the latter is the result of her imagination. The threat referenced in the prior verses, on the other hand, recurs as Del Rey asserts she is not worried about walking alone—as though this action would make her vulnerable were it not for the imaginary arms’ embrace. The lyrics thus construct a narrative illustrating the imaginary exercises a woman must indulge to feel safe in the face of danger. The verses and chorus implicate the dangers women face even in a country supposedly as safe and progressive as America as the dramatic sound of gunshots punctuating the chorus further reinforces the song's subversive meaning.
In discussing the song, Del Rey shed the aversion to politics she had maintained for years and confirmed the inspiration behind the lyrics she’d written. Interviewer Alex Frank goes so far as to say Lust for Life is comprised of “protest songs” and asks what changed. Del Rey answers plainly: “women started to feel less safe under this administration instantly. What if they take away Planned Parenthood? What if we can’t get birth control?” (qtd. in Frank par. 32). She goes on to fully explicate the meaning of “God Bless America”:
[It’s] a little shoutout to the women and anyone else who doesn’t always feel safe walking down the street late at night. That’s what I was thinking of when I wrote, “Even when I’m alone I’m not lonely/I feel your arms around me.” It’s not always how I feel when I’m walking down the street, but sometimes in my music I try to write about a place that I’m going to get to [ . . . ] I feel less safe than I did when Obama was president. (qtd. in Frank pars. 33-34)
This acknowledgement of a decidedly political issue—and a stance on it, no less—positions the song’s patriotic reference in the spirit of subversion originally intended. As she has done throughout her career, Del Rey uses the phrases and visuals of Americana to uncover the less-than-appealing dangers some of the country’s residents face.
Del Rey certainly is not the only artist who has found a political voice in the wake of Trump’s administration, but perhaps due to her prior comments—and the implicit nature of the political commentary in her earlier content—she has faced an inordinate wave of backlash from critics and fans alike. Aforementioned critic McKinney wrote off Del Rey’s “problematic political awakening” (par. 1) based on presumptions of prior political apathy, and many others echoed similar sentiments. In defense of such doubters, deliberate politicization is seemingly irreconcilable with Del Rey’s notoriously aloof persona. Detachment is perhaps one of her defining characteristics, as audiences became aware of during her first televised performance on Saturday Night Live on January 14, 2012. She was described as "emotionless" (Semigran, par. 2) and perhaps the "worst 'SNL' musical guest of all time" (Semigran) by one critic—thoughts that most critics agreed with. Indeed, her apparent apathy baffled audiences, but cast member Kristen Wiig illuminated the intent behind Del Rey's persona in a parody included in the show's next airing. Mimicking the performance's half-hearted swaying, she addressed critiques of Del Rey's mannerisms by saying "I am stiff, distant and weird. It's my thing" (NBC.com).
           This detachment may have served Del Rey well when she avoided deliberate politicization. As she has made her implicit leanings more explicit, though, she has adapted her persona to accommodate. The separation between Del Rey’s divested persona and passionate lyrics may have served her well in constructing the irony that characterized her earlier work, but in the post-Trump Lust for Life era, ironic distance is less useful to communicating her political ideas. The subtle political subversion suggested by a Buttweiser shirt is no longer sufficient. Del Rey has escalated her political commentary accordingly, and the dissonance between explicit political statement and Del Rey’s aloof persona might have ultimately been resolved on February 24, 2017—at the stroke of midnight—when she urged her fans and followers to take action on four specified dates. The request was posited via Twitter (fig. 3) but was still characteristically mysterious. Before the tweet was deleted, the internet decoded the message: Lana was joining a community of witches—and inviting her fans to do the same—to cast a spell that would hex Donald Trump.
           Many questioned whether the move should be taken seriously—and whether Del Rey meant it seriously—but any follower of Lana would recognize the move as her own unique brand of politics. When asked whether she was indeed attempting to use a spell against the president, she answered unambiguously: “Yeah, I did it. Why not? Look, I do a lot of shit” (DiMeglio 1). After this, she also announced that she would no longer employ American flag visuals while Trump was in office (Stutz). This shift from vague aesthetic homages to America towards explicit political calls to action surprised many, but perhaps it is indicative of the intent Del Rey has always had. If the aforementioned Lust for Life-era interviews are an accurate barometer, this shift is resultant of a sincere political impulse. Subtlety might have been appropriate in an Obama-era world, but a Trump-era America demands explicit and deliberate art—and Del Rey has responded accordingly.
           While Trump’s election seems to be the clear impetus for Del Rey’s shift to a more explicit political expression, an indictment of socioeconomic problems in America has always been present in her lyrics and videos. If fans and critics are slow to recognize her newfound political agency, it is no longer due to any ambiguity or conflicting statements. Those who still deny her legitimacy as a subversive artist and commentator may be guilty of prejudice against Del Rey on the basis of her gender, genre, or status as a celebrity. Listeners no longer need to read into subtext to find the political meaning present in Del Rey’s work, but it has been there all along. Critique of patriarchy, racial violence, and violence against women can all be read in texts such as “National Anthem,” the accompanying music video, and “God Bless America—and All the Beautiful Women in It.”
Just as she weathered attacks on her authenticity and style, though, Del Rey will likely ignore those who discount her political agency. Perhaps this progress marks the arrival of a new patriotic impulses derived from Americana music and ideology—ones concerned with acknowledging oppression within our country rather than simply upholding a façade of patriotic aesthetics and rhetoric. While her music's pop inclinations deviate from the typical genre conventions of Americana, Del Rey's attention paid to political subversion makes her a prime candidate for ushering in the change she indicts in her lyrics, imagery, and videos. Although it has been consistently overlooked, Del Rey’s legitimate role as a political commentator makes her an important figure in the pop culture landscape, and her progression from ironic treatment of patriotism to sincere indictment of social issues solidifies her ability to represent her work’s unique historical context. By using tropes of Americana, she claims her place in an artistic political tradition—a place that comes with much responsibility. Del Rey’s lyrics and imagery indicate she intends to live up to her political predecessors, though—and in doing so, affect the sociopolitical change she calls for in her most recent work.
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pennylane85 · 3 years
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Sob Rock Album Review
Happy Album Release Day, John Mayer! Thank you for your love letter to the ‘80s, it’s a phenomenal album and I love it! 
Sob Rock Review
The album is growing on me and each time I listen to it I fall in love with it even more. I can’t wait to take it for a drive. When Mayer said “It’s time to love an album again,” I had no idea how right he’d be. Columbia has been advertising the crap out of it, which made me a little skeptical. Listening to Mayer talk about “Once Upon A Time in Hollywood” hitting him harder than he thought put a smile on my face. I loved that movie, I loved how it was Quentin Tarantino’s love letter to the late 60’s/early 70’s era, I saw it twice in theaters and it easily became one of my favorite Top 5 Movies.
“Sob Rock” sounds like an album you would have bought in the ‘80s, like if Mayer had a time machine, went back 1985 and put this record out, it would have been a hit and it sounds like that time period. While listening to it, I feel like I was a teen then which I wasn’t, I wasn’t born until 1985, but I feel like I should have been like 16, probably a little older for me to have seen The Beatles, but that’s another story/time plot in my before life that I won’t get into so for now I’m a 16 year-old kid giddy over her favorite musician’s new album.    
“The idea of Sob Rock is that it might have been something that already happened, but when you go looking it’s not. The idea of Sob Rock is to implant false memories into your brain, that’s what it did for me” said Mayer in an interview with Zane Lowe. “Can you have memories of things that never happened to you? Can you go back in time to and synthesize a piece of work that’s so true to the era that when you hear it your brain goes ‘no, no, this exists, no, no, I’m going to find it and you can’t.”
So here’s how I feel about each song, I’m not good at describing music.  
Last Train Home – This song gives me major Toto vibes and it should as Greg Phillinganes plays keys on it. Fave lyric: “I’m not a fallen angel, I just fell behind, I’m out of luck and I’m out of time.”
Shouldn’t Matter but It Does – This is my favorite song off the album and one of my favorite songs he’s written. There’s pain, there’s hurt, there’s regret. “You shoulda been sad instead of being so fucking mean.”  Using “fucking” in this line gives it the same depth of “bitch” in SDIABR. I just love it. Fave lyrics: “Now the road keeps rolling on forever, and the years keep pulling us apart, we lost something, I still wonder what it was” and “I shouldn’t leave you messages in every little song.”
New Light – The song fits the album and at first I wasn’t sure if it would b/c it was kind of out there back in 2018. It lightens the mood coming after SMBID.  
Why You No Love Me – I like the music on this one. I think it’s going to be one that has to grow on me though, lyrically. It’s also been stuck in my head all morning.
Wild Blue – Good transition from “Why You No Love Me,” dig the music, like a late 70’s vibe, loving the guitar solo. On the Clubhouse chat last night Mayer said he had the music for this song before he had the lyrics and that he called it “August 6th” b/c he didn’t know what to call it. I jumped off my couch and said “That’s my birthday.” So this song has just moved up to the top, lol. I know it has nothing to do w/my birthday, but August 6th is like a regular date even for someone w/a b-day on it so I was like “Whoa.” Fave lyrics: “I’m walking through wilderness, and living off the loneliness.” “All the tears I meant to cry, dance across the evening sky.” “I found myself when I lost you.” And you’ll never know, the unlikely beauty in letting you go.”
Shot in the Dark – This one is light and airy in a fun way, loving the keys, the beginning sounds like it’s the start of an ‘80s John Hughes film. I’m not going to comment on the cheesy video he released since it’s the next single. Fave lyrics: “And I wonder what it all means, strange conversation with you in my dreams, and I don’t know what I’m gonna do, I’ve loved seven other women and they all were you.”
Guess I Just Feel Like – Another song we’ve had since 2018 and it goes w/this album so well. I also think in this pandemic after life we’re living in this one says how we all felt in 2020 and still even feel in 2021 It means more now than it did in 2018/2019, you know?
Til the Right One Comes – The music is different on this one, this is one of the songs where I feel like I’ve heard it before, even though I haven’t and it’s driving me crazy! It gives me old school country vibes and seems like it could have been on “Paradise Valley.” Mayer said he wrote this song about his reason why he’s not married yet and had other people “I feel that too” and he said “I though it was just me.”  I relate to some of these lyrics, my Mom turns 60 next year and is wanting grandkids and thinks my brother is her only hope at that. She wants him to meet someone and to her I’m a loss cause at this point. So when someone asks why I’m single I’m just going to go tell them to listen to this song. Fave lyrics: “Some people ’round here been calling me, “Crazy”, some people say I’ll never love someone, that’s alright, give it time and maybe, I prove you wrong when the right one comes.”
Carry Me Away – I loved this song when it was released in 2019, loved the video and the carefree simple lyrics. I think in a time of the pandemic and now getting back to living this new normal life, this song is very much relatable. Mayer said he after he released this in 2019 he felt like there wasn’t enough music so he went back and tidied it up. Fave lyrics: “I want someone, to make some trouble, been way too safe, inside my bubble, take me out and keep me up all night, let me live on the wilder side of the light.”
All I Want Is To Be With You – Total Springsteen vibes and tone. Like in another life, this one belongs to Springsteen, which I think is a huge compliment to Mayer. Another song I feel like I’ve heard before even though I haven’t. Good job at creating these false memories, Mayer. Fave lyrics: “Dancing alone to déjà vu.”
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tragedygroupie · 4 years
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all of the references Lana Del Rey has made in her songs
1. Tomorrow Never Came- the line “lay lady lay on this side of paradise in the tropic of cancer” is a double literary reference to This Side of Paradise by F Scott Key Fitzgerald & Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller as well as a reference to the Bob Dylan track Lay Lady Lay. the lyric “you would always stay & be my tiny dancer” references the Elton John track Tiny Dancer. “you said you’d meet me up there tomorrow” is a reference to the Beatles track Tomorrow Never Knows. 
2. Burnt Norton- first poem of T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets
3. Lust for Life- the line “we’re the masters of our own fate/ we’re the captains of our own soul” is paraphrasing the last two lines of Invictus by William Ernest Henley. “my boyfriend’s back & he’s cooler than ever” is a direct reference to the Angels track My Boyfriend’s Back. “they say only the good die young” is another direct reference, this time to Only the Good Die Young by Billy Joel. “blue skies forever” is actually the title of a track by Frankie Miller. the title “lust for life” is a reference to the Iggy Pop album of the same name. 
4. Body Electric- the line “I sing the body electric” is a Walt Whitman poem & an episode of the Twilight Zone
5. Ride monologue- the line “relying on the kindness of strangers” is a reference to the character Blanche DuBois from A Streetcar Named Desire. "when the people I used to know found out what i had been doing, how i had been living, they asked me why" echoes a line from Wuthering Heights, where Catherine is referencing Heathcliff 
6. Religion- the lyric “ypu’re my religion” is a quote from Catherine in Hemingway’s Farewell to Arms
7. Lolita- the whole song is paying homage to the book by Vladimir Nabakov 
8. Off to the Races- the line “light of my life, fire of my loins” is a direct quote from the intro to Lolita
9. Music To Watch Boys To-  the lyric “nothing gold can stay” is a line from Robert Frost’s poem Nothing Gold Can Stay
10. Gods & Monsters- the line “life imitates art” paraphrases a line line from the Decay of Lying by Oscar Wilde
11. Born to Die- the lyric “take a walk on the wild side” references Walk on the Wild Side by Lou Reed. the line “lost but now i am found, i can see once i was blind” paraphrases lyrics from Amazing Grace
12. Million Dollar Man- the line “one for the money, two for the show” is a line from Elvis Presley’s Blue Suede Shoes
13. Summertime Sadness- the lyric “I'm on fire baby” is a reference to the Springsteen track I’m On Fire
14. Carmen- the title is also a song featured in Lolita; the line “relying on the kindness of strangers” is a reference to Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Called Desire 
15. This is What Makes Us Girls- “drinking cherry schnapps in the velvet night” is a reference to Lolita, velvet night is when Humbert’s journey with Lo begins
16. American- “my my my, oh hell yes, honey put on that party dress” is a reference to the Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers track Last Dance with Mary Jane
17. Cola- the line “Harvey’s in the sky with diamonds & he’s making me crazy” is an allusion to the Beatles song Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
18. Ultraviolence- the line “he hit me & it felt like a kiss” is a direct reference to the Crystals’ track He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss)
19. Sad Girl- the line “he’s got the fire & he walks with it” references Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me
20. West Coast- the line “you’ve got the music in you, don’t you” references the New Radicals track You Give What You Give
21. Terrence Loves You- the line “ground control to major Tom”, is a reference to the Bowie track Space Oddity
22. The Blackest Day- the line “got you where I want you, I got, I got you where I want you now” references The Flys track Got You Where I Want You from the soundtrack of Disturbing Behavior. 
23. God Knows I Tried- the line “drink it like tequila sunrise” is a direct reference to the Eagles track Tequila Sunrise
24. Love- the line “don't worry baby” is a direct reference to The Beach Boys track of the same name
25. Coachella (Woodstock On My Mind)- the line “I'd trade it all for a stairway to heaven” is a direct reference to the Led Zeppelin song Stairway to Heaven. 
26. Cherry- the line “I fall to pieces when I’m with you” is a direct reference to the Patsy Cline track Fall To Pieces. the lyric “my cherries & wine, rosemary & thyme” references a line from Nancy Sinatra’s Summer Wine. the line “parsley sage rosemary thyme” references Simon & Garfunkel. 
27. Get Free- the line “I want to move out of the black into the blue” is a reference to the title of Neil Young’s track Out of the Blue. 
28. In My Feelings- the line “I’m smoking while I’m running, on my treadmill but I'm coming up roses” is a reference to the title of the Elliot Smith track Coming Up Roses.  
29. Black Beauty- the song shares its’ title with the Anna Sewell classic. 
30. 13 Beaches- 13 Beaches opens with dialogue from Carnival of Souls. 
31. Hope is a Dangerous Thing for a Woman Like Me To Have But I Have It- the line “hope is a dangerous thing” is a quote from Shawshank Redemption.
these are all the references i can find !! please update if you can
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ultranos · 3 years
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1, 18 and 8
1. A song that reminds you of your childhood
“Buffalo Soldier” - Bob Marley
(“Born to Run” by Bruce Springsteen is also very tied to childhood in my brain. But that’s because of the story my dad tells of how that song was what the local radio station played every week to start the weekend, and that just happened to be the time when my parents brought me home the first time.)
8. A song that you liked when you where 10 that still slaps
Oh hell, I was 10 in the era of “Ironic” by Alannis Morsette, “Gangsta’s Paradise” by Coolio, and “Wonderwall” by Oasis.
My god, it’s full of memes
18. A song that you like that the lyrics are just so beautiful they’re practically poetry 
Pretty much anything by Julien Baker, but to pick one: “Claws in Your Back”
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hitchfender · 4 years
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fine line easter eggs
harry styles, professional ruiner of lives, once divulged that there are twelve easter eggs hidden on fine line. he might have been referring to the twelve songs on the album. i set out to find them anyway!
golden: the intro sounds like the bruce springsteen version of santa claus is comin’ to town in a different key. i’m not even joking.
watermelon sugar: bit meta this one, and possibly old news, but the title refers to richard brautigan’s novel in watermelon sugar, one of camille rowe’s favourite books.
adore you: y’all ever heard of eroda?
lights up: this single was released on 11th october, which is national coming out day in both the us and britain.
cherry: the echo effect on “et maintenant” in camille’s voice note highlights harry’s own uncertainty, confusion, and sense of loss. this is my opinion but also i am correct
falling: literally this article, in particular its references to the beachwood café
to be so lonely: the little match-striking sound! and then he blows it out! adorable! also jealous guy teas
she: intro borrowed from pink floyd, lyrics borrowed from every beatles song (with a hint of meandering paul simon). also “he takes a boat out, imagines just sailing away”... y’all ever heard of eroda?
sunflower, vol. 6: 1) this melody is also found in paradise by coldplay 2) note the title’s similarity to paul simon’s “crazy love, vol. ii”
canyon moon: paul simon again but this time he really means it! these are the me and julio chords, on god.
tpwk: MY ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE AND THE REASON I CREATED THIS LIST
fine line: sorry to be boring, but this one’s all harry - sunflower has two so fine line could stand on its own. i’m infatuated enough with this song that it would be cheapening it to pick it apart line by line. do yourself a favour and go listen to it again. i love you.
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whatiwillsay · 4 years
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submission:
thanks eggs! im gonna add in some more dates of early swiftgron
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Speak Now tour arm lyrics:
Swiftgron meet cute day: “Tell me everything you want to hear – like that was your favorite year.” – Dixie Chicks, Favorite Year. Power Balance Pavilion in Sacramento, California on September 3, 2011.
“You’re just somewhere that I’ve been and I won’t go back again.” – Selena Gomez, Ghost Of You. Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon on September 6, 2011.
“You are the ever-living ghost of what once was.” – Band of Horses, No One’s Gonna Love You. Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington on September 7, 2011.
“There was always something that meant more to you than me.” – Jessica Andrews, There’s More To Me Than You. Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on September 10, 2011.
“Where were you when the world stopped turning.” – Alan Jackson, Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning). Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on September 11, 2011.
“Be a best friend. Tell the truth. Overuse ‘I love you.'” – Lee Brice, Love Like Crazy. Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee on September 16, 2011.
“This one’s for the girls who love without holding back.” – Martina McBride. This One’s For The Girls. Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee on September 17, 2011.
“Love, save the empty and save me.” – Erin McCarley’s Love, Save The Empty. CenturyTel Center in Bossier City, Louisiana on September 20, 2011.
“Do you realize that you have the most beautiful face?” – The Flaming Lips, Do You Realize. Bank of Oklahoma Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma on September 21, 2011.
*Dianna Agron and Naya Rivera kiss as their Glee castmates cheer them on at the Governors Ball. - September 21*
“I hope you know that even if I don’t, I wanted to.” – Rachael Yamagata, Even If I Don’t. Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri on September 24, 2011.
“But it flew away from her reach so she ran away in her sleep and dreamed of paradise.” – Coldplay, Paradise. Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado on September 27, 2011.
“Little girl, you’re in the middle of the ride.” – Jimmy Eat World, The Middle. Energy Solutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah on September 28, 2011.
“Just as free, free as we’ll ever be.” – Zac Brown Band, Free. Phillips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia on October 1, 2011.
“No telling where it will take you, just live your life.” – T.I. [feat. Rihanna], Live Your Life. Phillips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia on October 2, 2011.
“It’s easy saying nothing when there’s nothing to say.” – KT Tunstall, Fade Like A Shadow. Verizon Arena in Little Rock, Arkansas on October 4, 2011.
“She’s out there on her own and she’s alright.” – Shawn Colvin, Sunny Come Home. New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana on October 5, 2011.
“A little voice in my head said don’t look back, you can never look back.” – Don Henley, Boys Of Summer. Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, Texas on October 8, 2011.
“Through autumn’s advancing we’ll stay young, go dancing.” – Death Cab for Cutie, Stay Young, Go Dancing. KYC Yum Center in Louisville, Kentucky on October 11, 2011.
“Can you still feel the butterflies? Can you still hear the last goodnight?” – Jimmy Eat World, For Me This Is Heaven. United Spirit Arena in Lubbock, Texas on October 14, 2011.
“I hope to God I would’ve done something good with my life.” – Ronnie Milsap, My Life. Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on October 15, 2011.
“Memories fade, like looking through a fogged mirror.” – MGMT, Kids. Valley View Casino Center in San Diego, California on October 20, 2011.
“May angels lead you in. Hear you me my friends.” – Jimmy Eat World, Hear You Me. Jobing.com Arena in Phoenix, Arizona on October 21, 2011.
“Where love is just a lyric in a children’s rhyme, a soundbite” – Keane, Is It Any Wonder? AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas on October 25, 2011.
“And I never saw blue like that before. Across the sky. Around the world.” – Shawn Colvin, Never Saw Blue Like That Before. Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas on October 26, 2011.
“Cause happiness throws a shower of sparks” – The Fray, Happiness. Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky on October 29, 2011.
“But darling, I wish you well on your way to the wishing well” – Patty Griffin, Nobody’s Crying. FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tennessee on October 30, 2011.
“It’s love’s illusions I recall. I really don’t know love at all.” – Joni Mitchell, Both Sides Now. Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas on November 5, 2011.
“Birds flying high you know how I feel.” – Nina Simone, Feeling Good. Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida on November 11, 2011.
“I could rest my head knowing that you were mine.” – Guns N’ Roses, November Rain. St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Florida on November 12, 2011.
“Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly.” – Anonymous. American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida on November 13, 2011.
“I feel lost again but this time for the best.” – Gregory & the Hawks, For the Best. Time Warner Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina on November 16, 2011.
“We learned more from a 3 minute record than we ever learned in school.” – Bruce Springsteen, No Surrender. RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina on November 17, 2011.
“Where would we be today, if I never drove that car away.” – Darius Rucker, Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It. Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina on November 18, 2011.
“May these memories break our fall.” – Taylor Swift, Long Live. Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York on November 21, 2011.
“Bring all the pretenders, one day. We will be remembered.” – Taylor Swift, Long Live. Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York on November 22, 2011.
*Dianna (and Karlie) tweet in response to Taylor’s vogue shoot* - January 17 2012
“I am on a lonely road and I am traveling, traveling, traveling.” – Joni Mitchell, All I Want. Burswood Dome in Perth, Australia on March 2, 2012.
“We sleep underneath the same big sky at night. And dream the same dream we can fly.” – Chantal Kreviazuk, In This Life. Adelaide Entertainment Center in Adelaide, Australia on March 4, 2012.
“She said watch your back, I’m nobody’s girlfriend” – Matt Nathanson, Modern Love. Brisbaine Entertainment Center in Brisbane, Australia on March 6, 2012.
“The war outside your door keeps raging on. STOP KONY 2012” – Taylor Swift, the Civil Wars and T. Bone Burnett, Safe And Sound. Brisbaine Entertainment Center in Brisbane, Australia on March 7, 2012.
“Go cut through the noise so you can know what love sounds like.” – Natasha Bedingfield, Neon Lights. Allphones Arena in Sydney, Australia on March 9, 2012.
“If things go right we can frame it and put you on a wall.” – Ed Sheeran, Lego House. Allphones Arena in Sydney, Australia on March 10, 2012.
“We Love our lovin’ but not like we love our freedom” – Joni Mitchell, Help Me. Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia on March 12, 2012.
“Last time I talked to you, you were lonely and out of place.” – Our Lady Peace, Somewhere Out There. Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia on March 13, 2012.
“All romantics meet the same fate somehow.” – Joni Mitchell, The Last Time I Saw Richard. Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia on March 14, 2012.
“Keep your feet ready, heart beat steady, keep your eyes open” – Taylor Swift, Eyes Open. Vector Arena in Auckland, New Zealand on March 16, 2012.
“Every lesson forms a new scar” – Taylor Swift, Eyes Open. Vector Arena in Auckland, New Zealand on March 17, 2012.
“You know wherever I am, I’ll come running to see you again” – James Taylor, You’ve Got A Friend. Vector Arena in Auckland, New Zealand on March 18, 2012.
**Taylor goes home (running to see someone again?) and The Swiftgron spring kicks off and all these two girls do is hang out all spring and summer**
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1ddiscourseoftheday · 4 years
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Wed the second to last odd numbered day of Nov
The Erodan weather channel isn't live but the tourism board gave us some trippy homilies talking about finding your Home and informed us that it's perpetually cloudy, the site is back up but everything is still 'peculiar,' outbound transportation is grounded in observance of the odd numbered day, and we're eyeing those empty links that have been added to the site (Weather Channel and Movie Schedule). The tourism board clarified that fanmade merch wasn't official then posted official merch... that link, yes you guessed it, not 'real.' For a given value of reality, I suppose.
Second Fine Line listening party today in Paris and finally some spoilers but they're confusing and contradictory so we still don't really know anything new about the sound. But we got a few lyrics including "rainbow paradise," nice, and everyone cried during Falling, oh no. Harry was interviewed for radio at the event then joined fans to listen to one song. We got to see a ridiculously good cartoon of a cat he drew at SNL, I'm angry that he can draw too, and he denied ever having heard of Eroda, oBviOUsly; might wanna tone it down a bit there H pretty sure you'd have heard of it at this point even if you weren't masterminding. SNL did a skit with a knock off Harry in the very expensive not at all knock off sheep sweater and got ice cream on it, I cringed, so I don't guess we'll be seeing that one again. RIP sheepies we hardly knew ye. And in HSLOT ticket fuckery of the day, Live Nation claimed the MSG garden shows were sold out so people better hop on the new date that was added and buy buy buy! There are in fact plenty of tickets left for all the dates.
Walls listening parties are coming so soon but today was the DLIBYH streaming party with much hype from LTHQ and a little Louis video tucked in the fan pack and a picture, omg, from when he was on Children in Need in that turtleneck. You know the one. Also today, Louis coming through with almost Niall-like question answering- DLIBYH video "soon" (okay that one's a pretty Louis answer), Always You is on the album but maybe not the tour set, and Defenceless is on the album after all BEST NEWS ALL WEEK!! Not too sure about LTHQ asking what we think is going to happen next in the video series directly after Louis told us this part was the last one though, like are we just pretending we don't know what happens in the one we've seen storyboarded or...?? And Louis says we just think he's good at football cause he was in a band with people who were bad at it, burn.
Niall says he's very much a Virgo and that he experimented with writing songs from not his own perspective for the new album, just like he was recently talking about loving Bruce Springsteen for, and talks about the new album having a storyline.
Liam has a piece with photos in the French magazine Tetu ("media on a mission to make the world gayer!") Marketing Liam to gay men is absolutely the cleverest thing they could do... so naturally this interview is completely unmentioned by his team, not posted online, and mysteriously difficult to find. He also has a cute 'answers the Internet' segment and yes! He is the best in those! Today's is cute and only mildly concerning.
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roadtohell · 4 years
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@mynamesdrstuff​ thank you ur brain is so big, i had like 10 moments of revelation while writing this
A Labour of Love- or, How to Write a Song That Makes Me Want to Lie Facedown On The Floor
Four decades separates the respective rises of singer-songwriters Hozier and Bruce Springsteen, nearly as large as the gap between the worlds in which their public images reside. According to popular myth, the former is the tall, near-ethereal Bog Man, half in this life and half in the next, who rose from a fae-inhabited woodland after 1000 years of slumber to find he was able only to mourn his lost love through song; the other is the Boss, a hardy yet compassionate working-class hero permanently streaked with the blood and sweat of a marathon shift, toiling endlessly alongside the heart-stopping, pants-dropping, hard-rocking, earth-quaking, booty-shaking, Viagra-taking*, love-making, legendary E Street Band. The domains of fen and factory may appear to be irreconcilable, but in reality the musicians have many things in common:
Broadly speaking, they both create wildly variable mixes of folk and rock, often with particularly strong Irish and African-American influences.
Their lyrics are poetic and commonly reflect on social issues with a progressive voice.
Songs about romantic relationships typically portray them as complex and difficult but remain respectful, sometimes near worshipful, of women.
Their characters yearn, long, pine and crave more often than not.
They both really like to use religious imagery.
They enjoy and return notable amounts of wlw love.
Representative of many of these are Hozier’s “Work Song” and Springsteen’s “Maria’s Bed”, two songs with close thematic parallels. Each is ostensibly told from the perspective of an exhausted labourer who dreams of returning to his lover. In a twist, however, “Work Song” is a melancholic love story, while the upbeat “Maria’s Bed” is a subtle tale of death; the opposing moods are complex reflections of these underlying narratives. These songs have Hozier and Springsteen skilfully intertwine the concepts of love, death, freedom and spirituality, creating two deeply moving portrayals of desire** that never fail to eviscerate the listener after 10pm.
Though the songs differ in overall lyrical structure, the similarities in narrative are evident from the first few lines:
Boys, workin' on empty / Is that the kinda way to face the burning heat? / I just think about my baby / I'm so full of love I could barely eat
Been on a barbed wire highway forty days and nights / I ain’t complaining, it’s my job and it suits me right / I got a sweet soul fever rushing round my head / I’m gonna sleep tonight in Maria’s bed
The audience can gather that each character works in a harsh environment where they are exposed to the elements. Their work is likely in manual labour, but the details are skimmed over because the narrators don’t particularly want to think about the details. Pushed to their limits, each instead copes by preoccupying himself with thoughts of his lover, though it makes him literally lovesick.
I’d never want once from the cherry tree / ‘Cause my baby’s sweet as can be / She gives me toothaches just from kissing me
She gives me candy-stick kisses ‘neath a wolf-dog moon / A sweet breath and she’ll take you, mister, to the upper room
The worker recalls his lover’s kisses as being vibrantly sweet, sweeter than nature. So, too, is her company- in contrast to the grim situation he is currently in, she is something to be savoured. Sugar cravings, an innate biological compulsion, come to mind; his hankering for her is likewise deep-seated and out of his control.
The reason for such devotion, the narrator reveals, is that she saved his life at a time when he had already resigned himself to death. He believes he was undeserving of such a deed; Hozier describes “three days on a drunken sin… she never asked me once about the wrong I did,” while Springsteen’s character recounts being “burned by angels, sold wings of lead / then I fell in the roses and sweet salvation of Maria’s bed”. In other words, his state of ruin was at least partially self-made, and her care seemed completely inexplicable. He eagerly returns her love, perhaps feeling that it’s the least he owes- but he still doesn’t quite understand where it came from.
True to both songwriters’ styles, these lines are direct allusions to the idea of redemption in Christianity: God sheltering a faithful person from the literally hellish consequences of their wrongdoing, through no merit of their own. However, the worker is notably dismissive of traditional doctrine:
My babe would never fret none / About what my hands and my body done / If the Lord don’t forgive me / I’d still have my baby and my babe would have me
I’ve been out in the desert, yeah, doing my time / Searching through the dust for fool’s gold, looking for a sign / Holy man says “hold on, brother, there’s a light up ahead” / Ain’t nothing like the light that shines on me in Maria’s bed
His faith rests not in God but on his lover; she is his religion now. Her act of grace already gave him a new, better life- he doesn’t need biblical promises when her love is tantamount to anything heaven might offer. This implication conveys a staggering depth of feeling, particularly to a religiously raised listener. Spirituality is, at its core, emotional; combined with the values and customs of religion, it is a force that can exert incredible influence over a person. The worker doesn’t reject spirituality itself- it’s an intrinsic part of him- but he has put all that power in the hands of the one he adores. It may make him vulnerable to her (that’s love!), but he is certain that she will give him the strength he needs.
Theological redemption also has close ties with death, as its benefits aren’t meant to be reaped on earth. Instead, the love, glory and freedom that are promised are relegated to the afterlife. Historically, the presumed ecstasy of achieving this gave death a sexual connotation; after all, if a lover could take the spiritual place of God, then perhaps sex could take the role of death as a gateway to paradise, far away from a life of pain. Work Song embraces this analogy, explicitly linking spiritual fulfilment to the pleasure of sexual intimacy:
When I was kissing on my baby / And she put her love down, soft and sweet / In the low lamplight, I was free / Heaven and hell were words to me
The equally suggestive Maria’s Bed allows the audience to draw similar conclusions, but it accomplishes this using a far less serious method: regular mentions of the titular bed, wink-wink-nudge-nudge. Yet this light-hearted sauciness is something of a misdirection. It’s easy to gloss over the song’s references to water, but they are strong hints that support an alternative reading: Maria is not a woman, but a river***. The story, from this perspective, then becomes much more sombre- the worker is a dying or suicidal man who wishes to have his body laid at the bottom of a river that provided for him in life, and whose real desire is for the peace he hopes to find there in death.
Got on my dead man’s suit and smiling skull ring / Lucky graveyard boots and a song to sing / I keep my heart in my work, my troubles in my head / And I keep my soul in Maria’s bed
This darker interpretation arguably makes more sense than the face-value love story, as it resolves some figures of speech that otherwise seem out of place. Even so, the more obvious reading is no less meaningful****; in fact, the coexistence of these narratives is what makes Maria’s Bed an almost perfect thematic inverse to Work Song.
When my time comes around / Lay me gently in the cold dark earth / No grave can hold my body down / I’ll crawl home to her
Hozier uses the finality of death to illustrate the strength of a man’s desire for love- his narrator embraces his own passing as he is certain not even the most permanent of barriers can keep him from his lover. Springsteen, through the personification of the river, uses the language of romance to demonstrate how fervently a man might desire death- his narrator embraces his demise because it offers a reprieve from life, just like a lover would.
All that said, no amount of lyrical analysis will reveal the clearest point of contrast the songs have: their music.
Work Song primarily draws from blues and folk music, both of which have roots in historical work songs used to coordinate physical tasks as well as boost morale. Reflecting this musical heritage, instrumentation is fairly simple, with the steady rhythm of claps and piano chords punctuating hard. It is slow and heartfelt, almost mournful; though there’s no mention of time frame, the audience has the sense that the worker still has a long way to go before he can return to his lover.  This notion comes largely from the song’s circular structure. By ending with the same music it opened with, its story is also implied to finish at its beginning: with the men hard at work in the “burning heat”, and no true relief in sight. This is furthered by having little development over the course of the song- though iterations of the chorus are more intense than the verses, the arrangements underlying both sections barely change. The worker, it seems, is never quite far enough from his reality of hard labour, and never close enough to home.
On the other hand, Maria’s Bed is relentlessly optimistic, driven by a strong forward momentum. Where most modern songs have their choruses as their most powerful feature, here the wordless refrain (“hey hey, la la la li li li li”) acts more like a transition between verses, keeping the story moving. The jaunty fiddles that fade out are quite different to the introductory guitar and organ, suggesting the worker’s situation has developed for the better. In addition, the orchestration builds continually, only briefly pulling back before the music culminates in an extended musical outro. Many of the instruments work in counterpoint, each additional layer contributing to an air of an unrestrained joy that is further spurred on by Springsteen’s high hums and whoops. The linear musical direction and overall impression of good cowboy fun results in the feeling that, unlike the singer of Work Song, the narrator is already on his way to his heart’s desire- though, in light of the lyrics, what this actually means is somewhat ambiguous. Are those final echoes him moving out of earshot… or his ghost ascending to the “upper room” of heaven?
We may not know for sure how either of these stories end, but we can feel the aching hope for something better. This longing is an emotional line that runs all the way through both Springsteen and Hozier’s work, though it never seems to get old. Combined with explorations of love, faith, life, death- that’s why we return to their music again and again; they are experts at playing on old motifs and universal themes in new and creative ways, their crafted melodies and narratives touching wild and industrial hearts alike.
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* I am legally obligated to include all these adjectives.
** Maria’s Bed seems to be sadly obscure even among fans; the one and only online forum discussion I have seen about the song refers to it as “not that deep”. Having written this whole essay- if Springsteen himself said that to me, I’d laugh in his face.
*** A random internet comment I can’t find anymore backs me up on this. It even specified that it was about the Santa Maria River in California, as quoted “from Bruce”. Obviously an infallible source 😊
**** It’s important that “[drinking] the cool clear waters” can totally be the description of oral sex you thought it was.
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concerthopperblog · 4 years
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Review: 'Willie Nile Uncovered' Taps a Wide Array of Artists to Pay Tribute to an Underheralded New York Treasure
Every so often you'll hear a musician described as “your favorite artist's favorite artist.” This usually denotes a musician who, despite being lauded by some of the industry's titans, has inexplicably remained a cult favorite without breaking fully into the mainstream. It's hard to think of any artist who fits that description more than Willie Nile. The man who is sometimes described as the Poet Laureate of Greenwich Village counts among his fans and admirers the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Bono, Little Steven Van Zandt, Lucinda Williams, and Richard Thompson. So, when a two-disc tribute album was announced for Nile, titled Willie Nile Uncovered, many probably expected an all-star cavalcade of Hall of Famers whose purpose was to raise Nile's notoriety in the community at large. Instead, Willie Nile Uncovered is a mix of well-known, if hardly household, names, but moreso a group of either fellow long-time club troubadours or young and hungry artists.
The formula works well for the album, with many of the highlights coming from the lesser known artists. One example is “Hell Yeah.” Opening the album's more rock-oriented first disc, it features Emily Duff. It's no surprise to anyone who is familiar with Duff's work that she's a highlight of the project. If there is any artist on the disc who compares most closely to Nile, it's Duff. A fellow New Yorker, both Duff and Nile embody a kind of punk-meets-folk style of blue collar roots rock that perfectly meshes with the grittier side of New York City. Duff brings a touch of Muscle Shoals and just a bit of Memphis to “Hell Yeah,” but at its core, she sounds like a mix of Nile, the punk-rock snarl of Joan Jett, and the devil-may-care free spiritedness of Wanda Jackson.
In some cases, the less-known artists benefit greatly from getting some of Nile's best songs. One of these is another album standout, Iridesense's Cheap Trick-esque interpretation of “History 101.” It's my personal favorite Willie Nile song, lyrically the one that tips its hand most fully to the satirical absurdism of John Prine's “Jesus, The Missing Years” (not coincidentally a favorite of mine among the Prine catalogue). Full of historical references melded with literary, folk story, and rock and roll cats, leading Abraham Lincoln and Long Tall Sally to invent rock and roll, only for Joan of Arc to serenade God with an electric guitar before being burned at the stake.
XL Kings also make the most of a Nile favorite, “That's the Reason.” The song in its original form was a tribute to early rock and roll, both in its 45 friendly brevity (2:30) and its jangly guitars and sing-along chorus. XL Kings push this tribute to 11, going into full Buddy Holly cover band mode, bringing fun-loving pop in heaping helpings. Fellow New York road warriors Leland Sundries bring a bit of, no surprise, Bo Diddly blues to the B.B. King meets The Band fan favorite “The Day I Saw Bo Diddly in Washington Square.”
That isn't to say the veterans don't get their moment. The album's lone Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, E Street Band guitarist Nils Lofgren, reminds everyone just how timeless Nile's social commentary songs are as, while written across a wide swath of Nile's 40 year career, they all work well as a commentary on the current inhabitant of the White House. “All God's Children” is a rock and roll gospel anthem, made even bigger here with a full choir backing up Lofgren's signature drawl and guitar licks. In this case, it came from Nile's sublime 2018 album Children of Paradise, so very well could have been about our current Commode in Chief. But beyond that, it's a touching tribute to the poor and forgotten minors, the voiceless victims of political infighting. Lofgren throws all he has to give into lines like “sing for the the nameless ones, hungry and downhearted. Sing for the peacemakers to finish what they've started.”
There are too many highlights on this album to feature them all without this becoming a 2000 word album review, so I'll keep it short by pointing out some other standouts. Jazz-folk artist Jen Chapin brings a serenity to “The Crossing.” Veteran rocker Elliott Murphy puts an arthouse film soundtrack spin on “Les Champs Elysses.” Bongos frontman Richard Barone actually sounds a lot like Nile on his cover of Nile's love letter to his home, “Streets of New York.” And that just cracks the surface.
Would Willie Nile Uncovered have been a better album if these songs featured the all-star cast it probably could have pulled with little effort? It's impossible to know. It certainly would have been an album with a lot more publicity. But from interviews with Nile I've read and from my own few brief e-mail interactions with him myself, I think this might be the album he'd like more. What better way to pay tribute to one of rock and roll's great unheralded poets than with a set of songs by some of the nation's other unheralded poets? If Nile's career has been built on a small, but cultishly loyal, fanbase, why not try to build up a cult fanbase for others who have taken his songs to heart? The album is, after all, called Willie Nile Uncovered. In one interpretation, that could be ripping away the veil that hides Nile's 40 year history of whip-smart lyrical genius. In another, it could be interpreted as uncovering some artists who deserve more recognition, using the songs of Willie Nile as a gateway. In either interpretation, this album will be a delight for Willie Nile fans, and a decent primer for those who don't know him but are curious, although with the double album price tag, the browsers may want to utilize Spotify first. That's not something I ever recommend due to their terrible payout to artists. I do so here because I am that confident that a couple of spins of this album will lead to buys of Nile's catalogue, as well as a few from the featured artists.
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mercuria1 · 5 years
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lyrics about people who made me feel things
1. cigarette, marika hackman
2. not my baby, alvvays
3. mistake, fiona apple
4. honey and the moon, joseph arthur
5. paradise, bruce springsteen
6. truth, alex ebert
7. moth & the flame, les deux love orchestra
8. the suburbs, arcade fire
9. wicked game, chris isaak
10. navesink banks, gaslight anthem
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andyblackveil · 5 years
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ANDY BLACK and The Ghost of Ohio (interview)
IN THIS EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW, WE CAUGHT UP WITH ANDY BIERSACK A.K.A. ANDY BLACK ABOUT HIS NEW SOPHOMORE ALBUM CALLED THE GHOST OF OHIO, HIS MUSIC CAREER, HIS DIVERSE POOL OF INFLUENCES AND HIS UPCOMING SHOW PARADISE CITY.
A LOT OF PEOPLE DON’T KNOW THAT THE BLACK VEIL BRIDES FRONTMAN IS ACTUALLY LOWKEY HUMOROUS AND BENEATH HIS CALM TOUGH EXTERIOR IS A POSITIVE GUY WHO LOVES SPORTS. READ THE FULL INTERVIEW AND GET TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE TALENTED SINGER, SONGWRITER AND ACTOR.
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What’s your story? Who is Andy Biersack?
I am a person who is a person from Cincinnati, Ohio. I moved to Los Angeles when I just turned 18 and wanted to become a Rock musician and lived in my car and did all this stuff to try to make it and have been fortunate enough to be able to play rock music for my entire adult life both in my band Black Veil Brides and as a solo artist. But apart from that I’m married, I’m anxiety ridden, I try to be funny. I try to be a good person. I don’t drink, I don’t smoke cigarettes and I don’t like going out.
How and when did music start for you? Have you always been musically inclined?
It was synonymous with everything else for me when I was a kid. I started finding a through line from comic books and stuff to music so the first bands I got into were probably for aesthetic reasons honestly because I was 3-4 years old. I loved KISS, and Alice Cooper and that kind of stuff. But I also loved musicals like family opera and Sweeney Todd for similar reasons. And then as I got older, I started to fall in love more with singer/songwriters and the craft of writing songs and it kind of just all coalesced and was my entire life at the time. I was very young so I supposed I was always musically inclined but I was also heavily interested in kind of the whole package so to speak.
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How would you describe your style?
I guess all of it is hard to describe. It’s like asking what does rain sounds like. I think for everybody it’s a little different but I would say for mine, I wear my influences on my sleeve and it’s a combination of all the things that I loved growing up aesthetically. I’ve always liked darker imagery and more “gothic” things so it’s a little bit of that. I love sports too so there’s a little bit of athletic thing in there and a little bit of all of that.
Who are your music idols?
I’ve always been a huge fan of Bruce Springsteen, and like I said before I love KISS. My favorite band growing up was Alkaline Trio. I loved The Misfits, New York Dolls, kind of all over the place I guess. Generally speaking in the Rock world but you know I also like Hip Hop when I was kid like Outkast and stuff like that.
Can you walk us through your process as an artist? How do you usually come up with songs?
Every song is different. Sometimes it starts with an idea and then it’ll be a lyric and sometimes it’s the melody and I write something around that. I’m not someone who has a constant creative process, it’s kind of always depending on the song or where it’s coming from. Some of the time, I’ll come up with a concept and then write lyrics around it and try to figure out a melody and other times it starts with a melody or a piece of music.
If you could collaborate with an artist dead or alive who would it be and why?
I mentioned Springsteen before. I would love to be able to work with him just because he’s such an influence on my writing style.
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What’s the story behind your new album, The Ghost of Ohio?
I grew up in southern Ohio and I was deathly afraid of everything growing up. I couldn’t sleep in my room by myself. Sometimes I’d sleep in the hallway outside my parent’s bedroom when I was a little kid on the floor. I would set booby traps for ghosts in my room. I was obsessed with the idea that something was out to get me and as I got older I didn’t really have that as much anymore but I still had an interest in what was so frightening and so I started doing research into my hometown and found all these crazy ass ghost stories and stuff and so I just decided that I kind of wanted to write my own folklore. It was influenced both by my childhood and a podcast called, “Lore” with a guy named Aaron Mahnke, who is a wonderful storyteller, and that was hugely influential in kind of the writing for the bible so to speak for this story and just kind of taking actual parts of folklore and applying it to this new story.
What inspired you to create the tracks in it?
Every track has a different inspiration. This album in particular is really speaking about my upbringing and growing up kind of being a loner and feeling like I didn’t have a lot of place to belong so finding my own fun and ways to navigate life.
Is there a specific track that’s closest to your heart?
There’s a song called, “Heaven” that I wrote about my relationship with my wife and how much she means to me. For me it’s very difficult because, day to day, I have 3 or 4 emotional freak outs and I’ve always had her there to talk me off the ledge and be my rock and I try to be there for her as well on the same capacity so we’ve gone through a lot in our life and it was just kind of a song about how much I appreciate her.
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Top 3 music in your playlist right now.
I’ll pull up my spotify and see what I listen to.
David Bowie - Let’s Dance
The entire Alkaline Trio Crimson record
Our Lady Peace - Burned
Foxy Shazam Self Titled Record
Tell us about your upcoming show, Paradise City and your character, Johnny Faust.
There’s a film, American Satan, that came out in 2017 and I play a character who wants to be a rockstar but unfortunately things go awry and he makes a deal with this devil like character that makes him ultra famous but also becomes a drug addict. His whole life blows up. The series takes place after the film and it’s not about the supernatural element but more about what it would be like to follow this guy who risked everything to become ultra famous but now that he’s so incredibly famous, has to pick up the pieces of all the lives he’s’ affected in a negative way.
What’s something that people don’t usually know about you?
Sometimes people don’t necessarily know that I played a lot of sports growing up and I was a hockey player from my adolescence. It was a big part of my life.
If you’re not creating music, performing or acting, what usually keeps you busy?
I follow sports particularly Cincinnati sports, so that’s kind of a hobby of mine. I collect sneakers. When I’m on tour, we just play sports video games all day and then just sitting alone (laughs)
If you’re a book, what kind of book would you be and why?
IKEA instruction manual. Impossible book.
Any advice that you can give to any aspiring artists/musicians/singers/songwriters out there?
Don’t be afraid to suck and don’t be afraid to have people tell you that you suck. When people start, the hardest thing to do with is deal with criticism and I feel like if you’re able to build a kind of teflon suit around yourself and let criticism bounce off you, you’ll have a much larger likelihood of being able to succeed because you won’t be inhibited by the negativity.
source: A BOOK OF Magazine
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