It’s that time again, for the list of the moment, so, without any stalling and some nonsense introduction, I present the List of the Moment – what’s on my play list this week…
"Fall at Your Feet" – Crowded House – It could be read as a song about idol worship but I don’t see it that way. It seems more like someone who really wants to help a friend or a lover. I’m not an analyst so I can’t analyze the lyrics and frankly who could with the exception of the writer himself. To give a sense though, here are some lyrics. Note, before you read, I should tell you I’ve been in a bit of a funk lately so while some of these songs maybe quite dark, they are nonetheless great songs. I’ve discovered that great music is still possible, if not more so, during a depressed state and hey, it’s not like I’m listening to Ian Curtis singing (and I love it but still) “Love Will Tear Us Apart Again.” That would send me right over the edge. Here a sampling of Fall at Your Feet:
- Whenever I fall at your feet
And you let your tears rain down on me
Whenever I touch your slow turning pain
You're hiding from me now
There's something in the way that you're talking
The words don't sound right
But I hear them all moving inside you
Go, I'll be waiting when you call
Whenever I fall at your feet
And you let your tears rain down on me
Whenever I touch your slow turning pain
The finger of blame has turned upon itself
And I'm more than willing to offer myself
Do you want my presence or need my help
Who knows where that might lead…
Another great song by Crowded House, albeit very popular is "Don’t Dream It’s Over," but there are many lesser known songs that are equally good if not better.
"Moving the River" by Prefab Sprout – This group holds my heart in their hand. This song in particular is a moving one about it would seem, a father and a son, and a son who can never seem to please his father no matter what. The lyrics say that to me but they’re open to interpretation no doubt. Best line in the song….
- If it’s uphill all the way you should be used to it and say
My back is broad enough sir to take the strain
"Rise" – Public Image – I’ve heard others I know say this song isn’t “hard” enough. Rotten, born in my home town of Finsbury Park, NE London, was the lead singer for the Sex Pistols. He was, as one reviewer noted, “sarcastic and swaggering” which he was. In Rise, he shouts at us, “Anger is an energy.” Yes, the rest of the song is somewhat mellow, but it has a great guitar line that runs through it and that strings it all together and more, the song builds on itself, while Rotten sings or shouts lyrics like a mad preacher relating his sermon. And it does feel like a current of music – the tune seems to move up and down in waves, and that is one of the things that gives this song its strength, that and the running monologue work in concert to magnificent and building effect. By the end, Rotten sounds as if he’s on the floor, practically convulsing with anger, as his voice gets raspier and raspier and he shouts louder and louder, almost wailing that anger is an energy. If anger is indeed an energy, a very Platonic thought, then it should be channeled and here anyway, Rotten has clearly channeled it into his music. “Rise’ remains one of the best songs of its kind and in my view, one of the best songs Rotten ever did.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Gordon Hauptfleisch
Sadi: May the road rise with you. What are you doing, raiding my record collection! Prefab Sprout, even! One of Crowded House's best (is that also on the album with "Temptation," another moody gem? And always, always--Replacemants. Pleased to Meet Me---Gordon
2 - Mark Saleski
sadi, love the "Rise" pick. Lydon did some pretty danged interesting stuff. maybe my favorite sort of side group was the Golden Palominos. the song was "The Animal Speaks".
great stuff, as always.
3 - sadi ranson-polizzotti
Gordon - you crack me up - not many people have Prefab Sprout. Do you have Jazz Butcher??? I can't find them to download anywhere... still searching....
Mark - thanks = i've always loved that song, so it fit onthe List of the Moment....Don't know Golden Palaminos but will look up....
glad you dropped by to read...
s.
4 - Steve
Re. Crowded House, I do have their best of which includes that tune, they were a pretty good group.
Re. Prefab Sprout, I only have the quirky "The King Of Rock 'n' Roll", a UK top 10 hit from 1988, though I also enjoyed "When Love Breaks Down" (another 80's classic I don't have - yikes!).
By the way, one of the members of Prefab Sprout, Paddy McAloon, did, among other things, hook up with the British actor/singer, Jimmy Nail, on a bunch of songs, some of which ended up on "The Nail File", a best of album from 1997. Nail sure is multi talented, having written and starred in two UK TV series ("Spender" and Crocodile Shoes") and had about 8 albums over 15 years, and was featured on the soundtrack album "Evita" that starred Madonna!! Check his music out if you can (though you being English, Sadi, you may have already done so lol).
Re. The Cure, yes, I have that one too, along with about a dozen other songs of theirs, always interesting, once you get used to the vocals lol. I never liked them when I first heard them during their "Love Cats" days, but they have grown on me over the years.
Re. Pubilc Image Ltd. (P.I.L.), though I was never a fan of Rotten's first famous band The Sex Pistols, there was the occasional P.I.L. tune I liked, and "Rise" was one of them. One of their funniest tunes, I think, was their political diatribe (from their 1992 Greatest Hits album) called "Don't Ask Me", sounding like the B-52's musically, but with lyrics that had a somewhat more serious point, despite some hyperbole lol.
Re. your comment about 'pop-ness', though Canadian myself, I grew up mostly in Scotland, and did find that whereas rock music was predominant in N. America - due to it's fixation with the guitar I think - (at least during the 80's, though Hip Hop and R&B seems to have surpassed it in recent years) - the UK did tend to tilt more in the pop or dance music direction, due to their emphasis on the synthesizer as the fave instrument from the 80's to the present day. Indeed, I have noticed that my pop songs outnumber my rock songs by almost 2 to 1 in my own collection, as I do prefer the synthesizer over the guitar myself.
5 - Gordon Hauptfleisch
Don't have Jazz Butcher, but I do have Golden Palaminos, and will second Mark's recommendation. One group that's been on my mind lately is the Irish group That Petrol Emotion (a couple members were in another great group, the Undertones)--in fact I've used their album title "Manic Pop Thrill" (an apt summation of their sound) as shorthand in a couple recent Blogcritics reviews ("Beach Boys Love You" and Rhino
Records'"Poptopia! Power Pop Classics'--three volumes: '70s, '80s, '90).
Man, I better get a turntable again!---Gordon
6 - Mike
An interesting list again. Always good to nose through other people's playlists. I like the Replacements, could never get into The Cure though I loved (haven't listened in a while) the Jesus and Mary Chain who you mention in the same breath.
I always preferred the forerunner of Crowded House, Split Enz. I think both Flynn brothers were in Split Enz. They were a less poppy group and great visually.
I too preferred PiL to The Sex Pistols if only for their first album Metal Box...drive to the forest in a Japanese car and the cassette played poptones, poptones...etc. It's one of those albums I will always remember where I was when I first heard it (in a record shop in Bishopsgate) and knowing that I would be leaving the shop with it. The quality of Lydon's voice and delivery was better than anything he'd done before and Jah Wobble's basslines were the business. Jah Wobble went on to be more prolific than Lydon and has worked with a great range of musicians in many different disciplines.
7 - sadi ranson-polizzotti
Steve; We have a lot in common - i grew up half in Scotland, half in London before moving to the states, so we have that in common besides musical taste.
I love the Paddy of Prefab of the 80s, "When Love Breaks Down" is a great song - but the whole album is great "Appetite" is also a great songm, tho my favorite still has to be "Moving the River" just for the lyrics on that one which are pretty intense to me anyway.
Don't know the Nail File but will see what i can download to taste.
Good Cure songs you like. Friday I'm In Love is a favorite of mine, but Love Cats is good, as is "Close to Me" which i like and then there's always the (almost too popular) "In-between Days".
I always liked The Sex Pistols and, bien sur, know that Rotten had his roots there but PIL had their own sound which i rather liked. I also like This is Not a Love Song, which i think is pretty great.
Yes, being from the UK too, there is more pop, which would be why i'm inclined to it, likely. I mean, i STILL adore "West End Girls" by the Pet Shop Boys and Wang Chung "Dance Hall Days' and things of that genre and right now, Autour de Lucie, esp, Je Reviens, but you can probaby tell from previous lists if you check them out just how into pop i am... which is a lot.... and i'm proud!!!
thanks for reading.... i hope you read next week's installment as well...
8 - sadi ranson-polizzotti
Hi Mike - i totally forgot about Split Enz and didn't know they were the Fynn brothers... but weren't they also in ANOTHER group as well (the name of which eludes me... perhaps "Blue Nile"? If you think of it, let me know... But Split Enz, god that takes me back, in a great way --- thanks for that....
Gordon!!! Yes, buy a turntable again!!! - a lot of stuff is being put out again on vinyl, i noticed this at Amazon, so maybe it's coming back. I still have a lot of stuff (ugh, this is embarassing, but i still have like The Human League and i have Squeeze, whom i adore... (Squeeze that is....) I save everything.
Highway 61.... by Dylan is well-worth hearing on vinyl if you can find a copy, which you can by searching the internet... so scope around... You can find a reasonably good "suitcase" turntable for not a lot of cash.... so see what you can find...
Do you know JazzButcher? God i can't believe another kindred spirit, it's hard to find too many people who know them.... of them.... sad sad... oh, that makes me think of Tears for Fears "Mad World" and China Crisis (great group) "Fire and Steel" ...
remember that?
thanks as ever for tuning in....
s.
9 - Rodney Welch
I'm familiar with most of the songs you list, but they generally don't make me feel anything. However I would not worry about outgrowing the Cure, as I'm well into my late 40s and I've only just started really listening to them. I find them intriguing and consistently listenable.
10 - J. P. Spencer
WOW, your lists keep getting better and better.
I saw Crowded House on the Woodface tour. Richard Thompson opened up for them solo acoustic. It's one of the best shows I ever saw. For their first encore, they did "Six Months In A Leaky Boat", revisiting the Split Enz catalog for a brief moment. On the way off the stage, Nick Seymour yelled, "See you all on the bus!". What a night!
The Replacements were great, but maddeningly inconsistent. One night you saw the best band ever created, the next night you saw four drunks doing Black Sabbath covers at the top of their lungs. Tommy Stinson in the current bass player for what's left of Guns 'N Roses.
What happened to the world?
11 - Mike
Should have said the Finn brothers (Neil and Tim) though there was a Flynn in Crowded House. Sadly their drummer committed suicide about a year ago.
Split Enz are touring again
I can't personally stand James Blunt's song You're Beautiful, but you may know that Fall at your Feet is included on the CD of it.
I think Blue Nile are/were a UK band.
12 - DJRadiohead
I didn't recognize as many songs this week. "Waiting on a Friend" is such a classic and was the one glaring, obvious omission from "40 Licks." There is that certain vibe to it. So many Stones' songs were oversexed and lacking in subtlety (and I say this as a serious Stones fan) but this one is not like that. It's a great one.
I do like The Cure, too. "Friday I'm in Love" is a fun song. Not their best but fun.
13 - sadi ranson-polizzotti
HI rodney The Cure are/were a great band, so i'm glad you've discovered them.. For me, i've known them so long that it's sort of funny to be listening to them now as i was when i was in high school (oops, dating myself here).
DJ really? Highly recommend you check some of them out, esp. "Lamb" by Gorecki, which you might like and anything by PreFab Sprout. This week's list was more diverse to be sure ... i went a bit out there but next week i'll reign myself back in a bit...
"Waiting On a Friend is one of my all-time favorite songs. I can't imagine anyone not liking it, but hey, we all have different taste. Yes a glaring omission from 40 LIcks. I agree w/ what you say - that so many were or are lacking in subtlety... (and yes, i'm a serious Stones fan as well....) I'm glad we agree on this one... :)
Friday I'm In Love may not be the best, but it's the Song of the Moment (remember that,... it's jsut a weekly thing, so it's so variable and changable, which is really the point... Next week's will be different, tho i can't say what yet... we'll see what the tide brings in, which is really half the fun.
cheers
s.
14 - sadi ranson-polizzotti
JP - thanks - i think the more obscure stuff on this list appeals to some and not to others, tho seems to most, which is good... which rather rocks...
:)
The Replacements were as you say, "maddeningly inconsistent" because they were so drunk half the time, which was part of the problem.... I mean, every time i saw them, they were different. When Westerberg cleaned up and went out on his own, i felt it was sad in some ways but he seemed cleaned up and put out (puts out) some great stuff and things that i have i think pretty much all (like i have the replacements stuff as well as XTC, another great band, which may make next week's list....
AS to the world -- it's a "mad world' as Tears for Fears would tell you... it's sad to see such music disappear, but then, maybe we're just not tuned into it? or maybe it's changed, i think, to a different style. Pray our type returns, tho really, it was an era.... Hey, i even miss early Oasis....
Hey Mike: James Blunt is somehow connected with Blue Nile and the Finn Brothers by singing Fall at Your Feet? How weird is that..... I find "You're Beautiful" pretty but a bit like a stalker's song... he sounds like he's stalking this girl...which is kinda creepy; really listen to the lyrics... spoookkkkyyyyy.
Sad to hear their drummer committed suicided. Just read a great article, speaking of suicide, about Ian Curtis of Joy Division and his epilepsy and suicide etc (as a fellow epileptic i could speak to or relate to many of the issues) I think it was UnCut but it may have been MoJo...
rock on,
s.
15 - DJRadiohead
"Friday I'm in Love" always makes me smile so when it comes on the radio or pops up when I am listening on random to my iPod I can get into it. "Of the moment" and "in the moment" is all the explanation one needs.
I did a nostalgia bit. I listened to Sublime's self-titled CD today for the first time in hell... ten years? It can't have been that long. Took me back in time and place. Amazing. Not the greatest album either. Good album. Just tied to a time and place in my life.
16 - sadi ranson-polizzotti
hey dj agreed; it's just a fun song, and hey, i'm in love so what can i do...and yes, all the explanation one needs is correct...
i don't know Sublime? Damn, baby, i'm going to have to look them up.... the time thing is a bitch, isn't it.... and yes, music is very much tied to a time and place - to a woman, like perfume. once it's associated, you can't disassociate it... i find music the same way... once i associate with a person, that's it...
-- as ever --- sade
17 - J. P. Spencer
I love XTC as well, Sadi. I understand that Andy Partridge and Robyn Hitchcock have plans to co-write some material as soon as Robyn comes off the road. THAT should be interesting....
18 - zingzing
blue nile was a great band in its own right sadi. they didnt have anything to do with split enz, but, if you like prefab sprout, you should definitely check them out for some extremely well done, emotional adult pop. they just have a new album out... but the one to get remains "hats" from 1989. it took them 5 years to make it.
mike, metal box (or second edition, as it is in north america), is not PIL's first, as that would be first edition. first edition kind of splits the difference between the sex pistols and PIL, but in no uncertain terms. half the songs sound like second edition, half sound like nevermind the bollocks. interesting stuff. also, check out "flowers of romance." it's difficult, but it is well worth it. other than that... album/tape/compact disc is their only other album worth listening to.
oh yeah, sadi, jesus and mary chain are one of the greatest pop bands of all time and also one of the noisiest, mother fucking feedback festival monsters of modern day. i love them to no end. nothing even slightly negative should ever be said of them, on pain of being whipped with piano wires.
19 - sadi ranson-polizzotti
zing zing Didn't Blue Nile have something to do with Crowded House though? That was my understanding that it was the Finn Bros, but i could be wrong - but what i heard i love, but i can't seem to find any to download, alas... will keep searching.
jp Nice to meet another XTC fan -- interesting news you have. Do you remember The Dukes of the Stratosphere?? Nobody i've met seems to know except for me and one other person i know... but they were great....
20 - sadi ranson-polizzotti
hey -- it's been years; could someone name a few Blue Nile songs for me so i can download the right stuff???? please si'l tu plaits... that would be great... i'd really be grateful... who knows. maybe they'll make next week's List of the Moment...
cheers and thanks,
sade
21 - J. P. Spencer
Sadi, I have "Chips From The Chocolate Fireball" in my CD collection. The Dukes were great. I love "Vanishing Girl" and "Pale And Precious". They really got the '60's sounds down to a science.
My favorite XTC record is "The Big Express". I've never been to England, but that album really gave me a feel for living in an English railroad town. I love "I Remember The Sun".
22 - DJRadiohead
S--- you are so right about songs being also associated with people. The reason for the association doesn't matter... once its there it is always there for good, bad and indifferent.
Sublime is tied to a person, place, and time for me. The self-titled album, specifically. It's their best. It is a little uneven as albums go but there are some good and catchy moments. Sublime was a punk/ska/alternative/dub sort of mishmash. Worth a listen.
23 - sadi ranson-polizzotti
I have "Chips from the Chocolate Fireball" also and am totally into "Your'e my Drug" which i have totally strong associations with dj -- my You're My Drug reminds me totally of my ex, which is a good hting since we are still really good friends....
Don't know Sublime but will try to download. I 'm really into Ska, which i like a lot... so that should be interesting though i like some more obscure stuff... speaking of more obscure....
does anybody here know
Dean & the Weanies or
Bongwater
????
i can't seem to find them anywhere... and Dean & the Weanies has a great song called "F*ck YOu" which is hilarious... worth a listen to be sure...
So, ever heard of either group? Help!!!
24 - Mike
Zingzing, thanks yes you're right though the first album, (here in the UK anyway), was called First Issue. The Second Edition title was a later reference to a re-release of Metal Box in a different format to the original UK 3 disc 45 rpm round metal box release.
25 - J. P. Spencer
I remember Bongwater. One of their members was in a TV show over here. Geez, that takes me back....