The List of the Moment, Volume No. 21
Published March 19, 2007
Here is the List of the Moment, volume number 21, and it’s about time again! Some terrific new and old stuff this time. I found all sorts of inspiration from many varied corners and I hope you’ll like what you see here and give it a shot if you don’t know it by giving it a whirl on The Tant Mieux Project where you can take a listen.
Apologies to fans again, for we had a death in the family and so for this reason, I would like to dedicate every song on this list to Lenny Sacchetti, Lenny Jr., and Randy. Uncle Lenny, this one’s for you.
Thanks all for waiting.
"Wild World" by Cat Stevens – It’s been years since I heard this song, that is, until I found it on a collection of hits from the '70s the other day at, of all places, a gas station off the highway, and I just had to buy the disc. Other songs included “Sweet Home Alabama,” “Maggie Mae,” “I Shot the Sheriff,” and “Midnight Train to Georgia” (which I have to tell you, is the first record, a 78 RPM that I ever bought for 50 pence in Finsbury Park (UK) when I was growing up).
"Wild World" – wow – is still a terrific song. A break-up song, of course, and if you must go, then go, and he may even mean it with good will, (although that line, “It’s hard to get by, just upon a smile…” sounds a bit like it may have some teeth, as if this woman has no brains, but then, this was the '70s, so it wasn’t exactly unheard of to call a full grown woman a girl, or baby, etc.) I’m not a politically correct person, I have to tell you. It’s not that I take pride in it. I say it only to make the point that I’m not after Cat Stevens in any aggressive way. It’s just lines like “I’ll always remember you like a child, girl” may have been meant sweetly as he doles out his advice about the wild world, but would this pass muster today?
I wonder. If someone I were breaking up with said this shit to me, I’d probably tell him to, well... use your imagination here and fill in the blanks in your mind. I’m no child. I know the world is “wild” — yes, oooh, the big, bad, world — I think we all know this. The 11 o’clock news makes that abundantly clear every day, as does the general current state of affairs in the world. No shit it’s a wild world. I’d have to have blinders on and be protected by ‘daddy’ to not see this, or was Cat Stevens ‘daddy’? More likely, he saw himself as pretty much every woman’s daddy; was the future telling? Well, no matter; once he accepted Mohammed and Islam, Stevens withdrew from music and changed his name to Yusuf Islam. He is currently on a government watch-list from the Department of Defense and is not allowed to enter the United States.
- The List of the Moment, Volume No. 21
- Published: March 19, 2007
- Type: Opinion
- Section: Music
- Filed Under: Music: Indie Rock, Music: Lists, Music: Rock
- Part of a feature: List of the Moment
- Writer: Sadi Ranson-Polizzotti
- Sadi Ranson-Polizzotti's BC Writer page
- Sadi Ranson-Polizzotti's personal site
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Comments on this articleComments
I have that Snow Patrol song, it's pretty good, though the guitar indie-rock band formula used so much everywhere these days is getting a little boring to these ears, most are lacking in the originality department IMHO. "Chasing Cars", which I also have and like, is their biggest selling to date in the UK I believe.
I thought it curious, the biggest album of 2005 in the UK was James Blunt's "Back To Bedlam", going platinum 10 times, while Snow Patrol's "Eyes Open" was the #1 album for 2006 there but...only went platinum five times!! Not that I'm suggesting Blunt is a beacon of originality, he seems like a throwback to Cat Stevens to me, but anyway...
I'm always ambivalent about The Cure, some of their songs I really like, and some I can't stand!! "Close To Me" is one I like, the 1990 remix is good too. "Love Cats" and "Boys Don't Cry" on the other hand, have never been faves of mine. I forget what the other two songs you mentioned sound like at the moment.
The Freur song I'm vaguely aware of but don't have in my collection, sort of makes me think of that other mostly instrumental tune from 1994, the UK#1 hit "Doop" by Doop. A much more energetic song, reminiscent of the 'flapper' music of the 1920's.
Anyway, the Freur song was fairly typical of the Euro synth pop of the time played on Radio Luxembourg as I recall (due to the geographical distances involved, we could only receive it in Scotland when the weather was good, which was usually only in the summertime, and only after midnight when some of the Scottish stations went off the air!). "Words" by F.R. David, a dreamy sort of synth pop song (with more lyrics though!) was played alot by them then (1983), and was a big hit in the UK and Europe.
Re. Crowded House, I have their 'best of' album "Recurring Dream". I also have a Paul Young version of that song featured on his "From Time To Time: The Singles" from 1991.
Cat Stevens was in the USA (NYC) in December 2006 and gave interviews on various radio stations and gave a concert at "Jazz at Lincoln Center" that was recorded and aired on the radio. He was interviewed by the host of "The Hour" (Canadian) and that can be seen by going to "The Hour" website. He performed at the "Nobel Peace Prize Concert" in Norway in December also. He gave a concert at Porchester Hall in London March 1st which was filmed by BBC1 and will be shown May 1st, 2007. His new album "An Other Cup" is excellent.
re: Sadi's comments on Cat Stevens' "Wild World" (March 19)... Agreed - it has to be read in the context of the times. It's generally seen, through a 21st century lens, as a bit patronizing... but a classic song, nevertheless.
Just an update: Cat Stevens/ Yusuf Islam has had a visa to enter the US for quite some time now but has not chosen to exercise that right until very recently. Therefore, it is not really correct to say that he is still on a watchlist; that was cleared up some time ago.
re: Steve's comment ... I'm not surprised he found "Morning Has Broken" to be 'as old as the hills'.... it nearly is. It was originally a poem by Eleanor Farjeon, commonly used and freely available in school hymn books. The young Cat Stevens/Steve Georgiou would have been familiar with it (as I was) in his catholic school. He set it to music and made a hit from it in 1971-72. The only other non-original song he recorded (I believe) was "Another Saturday Night"
Re. The Freur song, the most interesting thing about Freur is that half of them went on to form Underworld, a group which went far beyond the "one-hit-wonder tag" - I love how you can hear elements of that later material in the music of Freuer or Underworld Mk 1 ('Underneath The Radar' etc.)
Re. the Crowded House song, not sure if it was only released in Aus, but there's a brilliant album from last year called "She Will Have Her Way" with (mostly) Australian female singers covering the songs of the Finns (Crowded House and Split Enz) - a little hit and miss, but the hits are worth it - Little Birdy doing 'Six Months In A Leaky Boat' or Missy Higgins doing 'Stuff & Nonsense', especially!
Yusuf Islam/Cat Stevens is NOT on a government watch list anymore....That was a case of mistaken identity...someone with the same name as him but spelled differently. He has cleared his name and he is able to enter the U.S. again. He was here in the United States recently. He has a new album out called "An Other Cup" It's a Pop Album. :) :)
Thanks, Rubylove, I did not research who wrote the song, as I don't have it, nice to learn something new.
Sadi, I never did buy any vinyl singles or albums myself, my first album purchase was a cassette - "No Jacket Required" by Phil Collins in the summer or fall of 1985 when I was 16. I was a little ticked when the CD came out with an excellent track which I still don't have to this day...I think it was called "We Said Hello, Goodbye"...
My favorites of some of the artists you mentioned:
New Order song - "True Faith"
The Cure - "Lovesong"
Crowded House - "Better Be Home Soon"
hey all:
i want to thank anyone (everyone) who set me straight on the Cat Stevens / Yusef Islam thing - that's news to me but it's interesting... thanks for the update. someone should correct this in the proper channels... i will, actually, since i did the proper research and it wasn't mentioned anywhere i could find, so thanks!
will get to other comments later since right now have to do something... more tomorrow or later...
but thanks!
s.
Hey, Sadi,
Have you heard the new Bryan Ferry album "Dylanesque" yet?? Went top 5 in the UK this month!
Sadi, I love "You're All I Have." That should be a follow up single to "Chasing Cars." I think it's my favorite on that new album.
DJ - Hi (and Hi all ) i've been away and been busy, so sorry !!!
i don't really know the song... so i'll have to have a listen and see... i really like the other song here on the list a lot... so likely i would like the one you suggest.... thanks!
Sadi, just wondering if you noticed my comment #10 above??..
Steve, hi....
no, i don't have the new Dylanesque CD yet (can you believe!!!) i'm in the middle of moving and honestly, i'm not big on others covering Dylan althouh it sometimes works.... i'm pretty pure in this sense, which i know sounds weird. I really like covers of a lot of songs - most songs, but not Dylan. Dylan is hard to cover, i think, but Ferry might full it off. Maria Maldaur is pretty great, and was amazingly, i think, beautiful when she was young and in the Village performing back when...hard to find a good photo and i couldn't get one to plug in, alas....
sorry i'v been negligent with column... reading all comments, but lots of family stuff.... you understand, i'm sure....
be well... and next column soon im sure.
sade and more hre too....
I don't have any Maria Muldaur, except for a cover of one of her hits from 1974, "Midnight At The Oasis" by the Brand New Heavies, who took the song to UK#13 in 1994.
Well, Sadi, hope your move goes well. Let us know when you get the next List up next month.
Hey, Sadi,
Hope you have a wonderful Easter weekend.
hi guys, just testing my html from a macintosh... i'm buying a mac, so wanted to test... silly me... duh, it works... duh duh duh duh...
next list v. soon soon soon
but, has anyone taken a listen lately? steve?
hey DJ - how's tricks?
sade
tantmieux, list of the moment
I'm familiar with all those tunes on your website, Sadi, I like all of them except for Dylan and Adams basically.
Is "Don't Dream It's Over" the greatest record of all time? Possibly. Is it the best ballad that John Lennon never wrote? I vote YES.
hey Steve... then i need to upload to other stuff for you!!! i'll do that asap and post here... and get to workin' on a new list, since i have a new playlist up... too bad you don't like the Adams... was rather hoping i could turn you onto something different... *sigh*... one tries! we'll see what's next... ; )
cheers, babe... sade
Al, your vote is always welcome.... if you say Yes, then Yes it must be... ; )
New list up soon.... look for take a listen on Tant Mieux as well, because there you can listen to what you don't know... cool cool
over/out...more later...
sade
Well, Sadi, always fun chatting with you about music. I guess my thing with Ryan is, he's not really all that different musically from other singer-songwriters, though he may write good songs. Did you mean different, as in, 21st century?? I could list some of those artists that I enjoy if you like, if you are getting tired of 80's stuff. Just let me know.
hey Steve ~
not tired of 80s stuff or after that... obviously, and like current stuff a lot, but i think you carried the 80s forward (if that makes sense?) more than i did, so we sort of went in two different directions in this regard - so i'd be really interested in what groups and songs you specifically recommend so i can check them out for sure... you basically know what i like from the List so you have a good sense, i think, so yup,, that would be great ~ i'm really into euro-pop, but that's just me... i'm still into "Autour de Lucie" who i love -- but i don't think, surprisingly, that you liked them so much. Let me upload some of their stuff when i get back. I'm out of commission for the holiday but back after that...
so around Sunday night...
cool cool... no internet access from where i'll be... or some, but v. limited, alas... strange how i get the DTs if i can't even go WiFi for a day or two. My husband calls this a 'break' as if this is a good thing whereas to me it's unthinkable...realize i'm not alone in this, but also, i think in my case, it must be excessive. ugh... oh well... not something i consider an "issue"
there are worse things in life...
love,
sade
Europop, Sadi? I have about 38 acts with that designation, however, do you mean simply European acts (e.g. Abba, A-ha, Ace Of Base, Roxette, etc.) or those acts that do not use English in their lyrics?? Though I'm not quite sure how to determine exactly how many foreign language songs I have, I would be surprised if they number more than...12?..15??...something like that I think.
Can you clarify??
Re. my own list, here are some faves from the last 10 years -
"All You Good Good People" by Embrace (UK#8/1997).
A favourite band of Coldplay, they wrote their 2004 tune "Gravity".
"See The Day" by Girls Aloud (UK#6/2006).
This was a UK#3/1985 hit by Dee C. Lee originally, who I believe guested on a few songs during the early days of the Style Council if I'm not mistaken.
"Last Request" by Paolo Nutini (UK#5/2006). A singer-songwriter from Scotland.
"You Give Me Something" by James Morrison (UK#5/2006). A 19 year old singer-songwriter whose debut album made #1 in the UK.
"A Song For the Lovers" by Richard Ashcroft (UK#3/2000). Formerly of The Verve, remember "Bitter Sweet Symphony"?? They were a fave of Coldplay's too.
"Please Forgive Me" by David Gray (UK#18/2000). His album "White Ladder" has a neat video of this song live in concert.
"In My Arms Again" by Michael W. Smith (1998). Submitted to be included in the movie "Titanic", but rejected in favour of the Celine Dion tune. Wise choice, but this is still a good tune.
The next three are dance tunes -
"World Hold On" by Bob Sinclair (UK#9/2006). Looks like his "Western Dream" album would be a great dance album.
"Ride A White Horse" by Goldfrapp (UK#15/2006). Almost reminds me of Blondie a bit.
"Say Hello" by Deep Dish (UK#14/2005).
"So Good" by Rachel Stevens (UK#10/2005). Formerly of S Club 7.
Hey, Sadi,
Any idea when the next List will be?? By the way, did you notice my comments (#24 & #25) above??
Add your comment, speak your mind
(Or ping: http://blogcritics.org/mt/tb/61252)
Great to see you 'listing' again, Sadi!!
"Wild World" is played on the soft rock stations here in Canada all the time, though it's usually the Maxi Priest version from 1988. Never been a fan of Cat Stevens myself, I recall they used to make us sing his song "Morning Has Broken" at elementary school in Scotland growing up in the mid/late 70's...I didn't know at the time, but have since discovered Cat had a hit with the latter around 1972, much to my surprise as the song had always sounded as old as the hills to me!!
Re. the Cowboy Junkies, can't recall that song off the top of my head but I may know it. That's one of only three hit singles listed of theirs in their home country of Canada, though it seems to me more of their songs were played on the radio than that (radio stations had [still have?] a 30-40% Canadian content rule here, so that's likely why). Though Canadian, I must confess most of my fave bands are British, having grown up in Scotland for the most part.
Boy, "Blue Monday", this was played alot in the 80's in the UK, as it charted 3 times in the 80's from 1983-1988 making the top 20 each time (I believe it also charted again in the mid 90's there). Definitely reminiscent of my time in Scotland, though it was played so often over the years, I can't relate it to a specific memory of anything.
I will add more shortly about the other songs shortly...