Song Stuck In My Head This Week - 28th November '09 - Rihanna - Stupid In Love

Born in 1988 and making her musical mark with 'Pon De Replay' in 2005, Rihanna has risen to become one of the biggest music artists around.

Over the last 12 months, however, the publicity surrounding the violence she suffered at the hands of her then boyfriend, Chris Brown, have over-shadowed her musical success. However this week saw the release of her new album 'Rated R' which I have found to be fantastically edgy and, as someone who's been through a similar situation to hers, seems to be an album performed by a young woman who is reclaiming her identity, self-belief and inner strength from everyone, whether it be her ex or the media or the public at large, and then showing them that it's hers again and no one else’s.

The song that stuck in my head most from this album was 'Stupid In Love'. Possibly because it touched a nerve with me from my own personal experiences, but also because I know from my experience how honest the song is about how it feels when you're in the middle of that kind of situation. Though she didn't have any lyrical input on this track, I know how hard it is to write about these things when you've been in the situation. To talk about it is easier than writing about it as the words you stay are said and gone but written on paper makes it seem 'real' and that kind of thing is something you'd rather pretend to yourself was just a bad dream that will go away. Also, though the lyrics are written in a way that means they can suit other relationship circumstances, as someone who has an idea of where she's 'been', I can see how the words will speak volumes to anyone who's been in an abusive relationship very loudly.

So here's the song for you. Catch you all next week!


Rihanna - Stupid In Love

Stupid in love
Oh
Stupid in love

Let me tell you something
Never have I ever
Been a size 10
In my whole life
I left the engine running
I just came to see
What you would do if I
Gave you a chance
To make things right

So I made it
Even though Katy
Told me this would be nothing
But a waste of time
And she was right

Dont understand it
Blood on your hands
And still you insist
On repeatedly trying
To tell me lies
And I just dont know why

This is stupid
Im not stupid
Dont talk to me
Like Im stupid
I still love you
But I just cant do this
I may be dumb but
Im not stupid

My new nickname
Is you idiot
(Such an idiot)
Thats what my friends
Are calling me when
They see me yelling
Into my
Phone

They tell me let go
He is not the one
I thought I saw your potential
Guess thats what made me dumb
He dont want it
Not like you want it
Scheming and cheating
Oh girl, why do you
Waste your time
You know he aint right

Telling me this
I dont wanna listen
But you insist
On repeatedly trying
To tell me lies
And I just dont know why

This is stupid
Im not stupid
Dont talk to me
Like Im stupid
I still love you
But I just cant do this
I may be dumb but
Im not stupid

Trying to make this work
But you act like a jerk
Silly of me to keep
Holding on
But the dunce cap is off
You dont know what you lost
And you wont realize
Till Im gone, gone, gone
That I was the one
Which one of us
Is really done

Ooh
No
No
No
Im not stupid in love

This is stupid
Im not stupid
Dont talk to me
Like Im stupid
I still love you
But I just cant do this
I may be dumb but
Im not stupid

I may be dumb but
Im not stupid
In love

Song Stuck In My Head This Week - 21st November '09 - David Cassidy - Point Me In The Direction Of Albuquerque

David Cassidy is probably seen as totally cheesy and, in some cases, I'd agree. However, this song I've always loved a lot. It has such a nice storyline to it and you can imagine the images being described to you with such ease.

David Cassidy was first launched to fame on the tv show 'The Partridge Family' and the set-up was similar to the one on 'The Monkees' where they had songs on the show that were then released to chart success. They had some great songwriters working for them and therefore the songs certainly were, in my opinion, at the higher end of quality for that genre. They had fun pop songs that are infectious and you can't help but enjoy.

I hope you enjoy this week's little ditty!!

David Cassidy - Point Me In The Direction Of Albuquerque

Window walkin' downtown,
Feelin' mighty good
And I noticed from the corner
How all alone she stood
Underneath the lamplight, an angel in disguise
Lonely little runaway with teardrops in her eyes

Crazy little ragdoll,
Her hair was wild and tossed
And I put my arm around her,
'Cause I knew that she was lost
She didn't seem to notice that anyone was near
'Till suddenly she turned to me and whispered in my ear

Point me in the direction of Albuquerque
I want to go home, and help me get home
Point me in the direction of Albuquerque
I need to get home, need to get home

Showed me a ticket for a Greyhound bus,
Her head was lost in time
She didn't know who or where she was
"And anyone that helps me is a real good friend of mine"
Real good friend of mine

Point me in the direction of Albuquerque
And help me get home, help me get home

Walked her to the station
And kissed away the tears
Knowing I'd remember
Through all the coming years
Ragdoll on that Greyhound who waved with all her might
Weeped against the window as the bus rolled out of sight

Point me in the direction of Albuquerque
I want to go home, and help me get home
Point me in the direction of Albuquerque
I need to get home, need to get home

Point me in the direction of Albuquerque
I want to go home, and help me get home
Point me in the direction of Albuquerque
I need to get home, need to get home

Song Stuck In My Head This Week - 14th November '09 - The Bee Gees - Massachusetts

When you say 'The Bee Gees' it almost inevitably will conger up thoughts of falsetto vocals and disco tunes performed by the three Gibb brothers, Robin, Barry and their late brother Maurice. You wouldn't be wrong in thinking about just that era as it was certainly one of the significant parts of their career, however their early music is always worth a listen.

Back in the late 60s they were actually a five-piece band with Vince Melouney on lead guitar and Colin Petersen on drums to help fill out the brothers sound (Barry played the rhythm guitar and Maurice played the bass in addition to backing up Robin who did the bulk of the vocals) and the band had a lot of early support from the Beatles manager, Brian Epstein.

This week's song was a track that Epstein had told Maurice Gibb would be a hit mere days before he (Epstein) died....and he wasn't wrong as it was their first UK number one single.

This song is beautiful and Robin's vocals are just great for this song. I hope you all enjoy it!!


The Bee Gees - Massachusetts

Feel I'm goin' back to Massachusetts,
Something's telling me I must go home.
And the lights all went down in Massachusetts
The day I left her standing on her own.

Tried to hitch a ride to San Francisco,
Gotta do the things I wanna do.
And the lights all went down in Massachusetts
They brought me back to see my way with you.

Talk about the life in Massachusetts,
Speak about the people I have seen,
And the lights all went down in Massachusetts
And Massachusetts is one place I have seen.

I will remember Massachusetts...

Song Stuck In My Head This Week - 07th November '09 - Tim Curry - I'm Going Home

Musicals are, generally speaking, based on high quality songs (though I'm sure there's bound to be the odd musical that bucks this notion!!). One of my favourites is 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show'. With catchy songs like 'The Timewarp' that have stuck in people's heads for almost 35 years now, It has all the essentials of a good, traditional musical but with a contemporary setting that appeals to those who may not be so keen on other musicals.

I have always loved 'I'm Going Home' above all other songs from Rocky Horror as it's a song that can mean a lot in any context and not just within the setting of Rocky Horror. It's such a beautiful song and always reminds me of where I want to be and how much I miss it.

Hope you all enjoy it (especially those of you who may not have heard it before cos I'm sure Rocky Horror must've passed someone by out there in 'net land!)

Tim Curry - I'm Going Home

On the day I went away... goodbye...
Was all I had to say... now I...
I want to come again and stay... Oh my my...
Smile, and that will mean that I may

Cause I've seen blue skies, through the tears
In my eyes
And I realise.. I'm going home.

Everywhere it's been the same... feeling...
Like I'm outside in the rain... wheeling...
Free, to try and find a game... dealing...
Cards for sorrow, cards for pain

Cause I've seen blue skies through the tears
In my eyes
And I realise.. I'm going home.

I'm going home, I'm going home.

Song Stuck In My Head This Week - 31st October '09 - Nick Drake - Fly

Nick Drake is someone whose music has played in the home I live in over the years but whose work I never really paid attention to until this January when I randomly bought the album 'Bryter Layter' (I liked the cover)and instantly fell in love with his music.

Dying in 1974 aged only 26, Nick Drake only produces 3 studio albums - all of which sold no more than 5,000 each on original release. However, over the years his influence and popularity has grown and, after the title track of his final album 'Pink Moon' was used in a Volkswagen advert in 2000, he sold more copies of his albums in that year than he had sold in total over the previous thirty years!!

Though his career and life were brief, his influence is still felt by musicians today and he certainly deserves his place in any list of the most influential artists of all time.

If you haven't heard his stuff before I truly recommend you check him out!

Enjoy!

Nick Drake - Fly

Please give me a second grace
Please give me a second face
I’ve fallen far down the first time around
Now I just sit on the ground in your way

Now if it’s time for recompense for what’s done
Come, come sit down on the fence in the sun
And the clouds will roll by
And we’ll never deny
It’s really too hard
For to fly

Please tell me your second name
Please play me your second game
I’ve fallen so far for the people you are
I just need your star for a day

So come, come ride in my street-car by the bay
For now I must know how fine you are in your way
And the sea sure as I
But she won’t need to cry
For it’s really too hard
For to fly

Song Stuck In My Head This Week - 24th October '09 - The Doors - The Soft Parade

The Doors are, without a doubt, one of my favourite bands of all time. From a young age their music enticed me with its almost magical presence. The songs all have great melodies - whether they be standard pop ones or more intriguing flights of musical fancy - and they lyrics often paint pictures beyond the standard ones found in most songs.

Thanks to the near mythical status achieved by their charismatic lead singer Jim Morrison as well as the catchy Robby Kreiger song 'Light My Fire', The Doors were propelled into the spotlight in which they shone for a mere 54 months before Morrison's untimely passing in 1971.

Last weekend, as part of the British Film Festival, I went to see a new documentary about The Doors called 'When You're Strange'. It is a fantastically put together documentary and features footage from 'Feast Of Friends' and 'HWY', both previously unreleased, in full and glorious technicolour. The footage from 'HWY', in particular, is so breath-taking with Jim looking so 'real' and 'alive' that you feel like you could just reach out and touch him. Having seen 'HWY' in its entirety online, but only in the form of scrappy pre-production footage, it's just wonderful to see it as a 'final cut' and I only hope that the Morrison-Courson estate see sense and give this the proper release it, in my opinion, deserves.

Though I love all their music, the album 'The Soft Parade' has always been my favourite and the title track of this album is certainly my favourite Doors song. With its many sections it's like the 'mini rock-opera' style that was developed around that time by Pete Townshend of The Who and shows, in musical form, The Doors’ theatricality that was as much part of the music as it was the performance.

I hope you all enjoy it!!!

The Doors - The Soft Parade

When I was back there in seminary school
There was a person there
Who put forth the proposition
That you can petition the Lord with prayer…
Petition the Lord with prayer…
Petition the Lord with prayer…
You cannot petition the Lord with prayer!

Can you give me sanctuary?
I must find a place to hide,
A place for me to hide.

Can you find me soft asylum?
I can't make it anymore
The Man is at the door.

Peppermint, miniskirts, chocolate candy,
Champion sax and a girl named Sandy
There's only four ways to get unraveled —
One is to sleep and the other is travel at dawn.
One is a bandit up in the hills,
One is to love your neighbor till
His wife gets home.

Catacombs,
Nursery bones,
Winter women
Growing stones,
Carrying babies to the river
Streets and shoes,
Avenues,
Leather riders
Selling news,
The monk
Bought
Lunch.

He he he, he bought a little.
Yes, he did
Woo!

This is the best part of the trip.
This is the trip, the best part
I really like.

What'd he say?
Yeah!
Yeah, right!
Pretty good, huh
Huh!
Yeah, I'm proud to be a part of this number!

Successful hills are here to stay,
Everything must be this way.
Gentle streets where people play,
Welcome to the Soft Parade.
All our lives we sweat and save,
Building for a shallow grave.
“Must be something else”, we say
“Somehow to defend this place.”
Everything must be this way,
Everything must be this way, yeah. Aah, yeah!

The Soft Parade has now begun
Listen to the engines hum.
People out to have some fun,
Cobra on my left,
Leopard on my right, yeah.

Deer woman in a silk dress,
Girls with beads around their necks,
Kiss the hunter of the green vest
Who has wrestled before
With lions in the night.
Out of sight!

The lights are getting brighter,
The radio is moaning,
Calling to the dogs.
There are still a few animals
Left out in the yard,

But it's getting harder
To describe sailors
To the underfed.

Tropic corridor,
Tropic treasure,
What got us this far,
To this mild equator?
We need someone or something new,
Something else to get us through, yeah. C'mon!

Callin' on the dogs,
Callin' on the dogs,
But it's gettin' harder
Callin' on the dogs,
Callin' in the dogs,
Callin' on the dogs,
Callin' on the gods.

You gotta
Meet me Too late, baby!
Shoot a few animals аt the crossroads Too late!
Left out in the yard.
But it's getting harder Whoa!
Gotta meet me You’ve done great, hey!
At the edge of town, Having a good time.
You’d better come along
Outskirts of the city Let’s fun!
Just you and I
And the evening sky. We are so alone.
Better bring your gun You’d better come along.
You’d better bring your gun.
We’re gonna have some fun!
Tropic corridor
Tropic treasure.

When all else fails,
We can whip the horse's
Eyes and make them sleep
And cry

Song Stuck In My Head This Week - 17th October '09 - Sex Pistols - Pretty Vacant

As a kid I knew who the Sex Pistols were and their music from an early age, but my first real memory of seeing any of them in action was at the Rock Circus which used to be at the London Pavilion (part of the Trocadero center) when I was about 9 or 10. They had there, as part of their exhibit, an auditorium where you'd sit down and then the seated area would rotate around the auditorium so you would see several animatronic figures of famous bands and performers. One of these, the closing 'performer', was Sid Vicious and in addition to the animatronic figure there was a large screen behind him showing footage of the video for his cover of the song 'My Way'. At the end of it he 'shoots' the audience....I was, from then on, fascinated.

Roll forward a few years to 1996. Finsbury Park on a gloriously sunny Sunday in late June. With an abundance of fantastic acts on the bill, including Iggy Pop, Skunk Anansie & The Wildhearts to name but a few, I went with my cousin Claire to see the Sex Pistols. I'd already been listening to their music for a long, long time but to see them live was just amazing. John Lydon is one of the funniest and most entertaining people I've had the privilege of witnessing live. That day, for me, was one of the highlights of 1996 - a year which is still, for me, the best year of my life to date.

That night I truly fell in love with 'Pretty Vacant'. The song is so much fun and brings back great memories of jumping around in a huge crowd of people just having a really good time.

The importance of this band and it's effects on music going forward from punk cannot be underestimated, both for bands around and shortly after that time who saw them perform and were inspired to for bands as a result (notably Joy Division & The Fall) and then bands such as Oasis, Nirvana, Green Day & Guns 'N' Roses who acknowledged the inspiration that the Sex Pistols had on them.

If you've not given them your full attention before I think you should do. This week's accompanying video is from that very first time I saw them in 1996.

Sex Pistols - Pretty Vacant

There's no point in asking
You'll get no reply
I just remembered, I'm terribly sorry
I've got no reason, there is no "Why?"
Say "No future!" and that's just fine

Oh we're so pretty
Oh so pretty we're vacant
Oh we're so pretty
Oh so pretty
A vacant

Don't ask us to attend
'Cos we're not all there
Oh don't pretend 'cos i don't care
I don't belive illusions
'Cos too much is real
So stop you'r cheap comment
'Cos we know what we feel

Oh we're so pretty
Oh so pretty we're vacant
Oh we're so pretty
Oh so pretty we're vacant
Ah but now and we don't care

There's no piont in asking
You'll get no reply
Oh just remember a don't decide
I got no reason it's all too much
You'll always find me out to lunch
We're out on lunch

Oh we're so pretty
Oh so pretty we're vacant
Oh we're so pretty
Oh so pretty we're vacant
Oh we're so pretty
Oh so pretty ah
But now and we don't care

We're pretty
A pretty vacant
We're pretty
A pretty vacant
We're pretty
A pretty vacant
We're pretty
A pretty vacant
And we don't care