SOTD #108
Today’s song is The Monster Mash by Bobby ‘Boris’ Pickett & The Cryptkickers
The scene was rockin’, all were digging the sounds
Igor on chains, backed by his baying hounds
The coffin-bangers were about to arrive
With their vocal group, “The Crypt-Kicker Five”
They played the mash
They played the monster mash
The monster mash
It was a graveyard smash
They played the mash
It caught on in a flash
They played the mash
They played the monster mash
Out from his coffin, Drac’s voice did ring
Seems he was troubled by just one thing
He opened the lid and shook his fist
And said, “Whatever happened to my Transylvania twist?”
Heard this on the way home today and just had to post it, because I haven’t heard it for so long. A perfect Hallowe’en song, and a classic from the vaults.
SOTD #107
Today’s song is Sunset Blvd by Lynn Miles
There’s lithium in the sunsets, there’s rats in the trees
The temperature is always seventy six degrees
When the mighty fall here, they fall real hard
And the Marlboro Man just watches them
On Sunset Blvd
I cannot get a breath, I cannot get a break
I can taste the desperation cause the deal is at stake
For every nick and tuck, there’s a vicious little scar
And the Marlboro Man is peering down
On Sunset Blvd
I don’t remember where I first heard this song - possibly while I was browsing in a record store (remember those?) - but I was hooked immediately. It must have been a record store, actually, because I’m fairly sure I bought the album there and then.
I like the feel of this track - you can feel the sun beating down, you can feel the choking smog, you can feel the Marlboro Man’s eyes burning down from the billboards over the freeway. I’d never heard of Lynn Miles before then, and I know nothing about her now but that doesn’t matter. What matters is the way this song makes you feel.
SOTD #106
Today’s song is Famous Blue Raincoat by Jennifer Warnes
It’s four in the morning, the end of December
I’m writing you now just to see if you’re better
New York is cold, but I like where I’m living
There’s music on Clinton Street all through the evening.
I hear that you’re building your little house deep in the desert
You’re living for nothing now, I hope you’re keeping some kind of record.
Yes, and Jane came by with a lock of your hair
She said that you gave it to her
That night that you planned to go clear
Did you ever go clear?
This is the title track from Warnes’ classic 1986 album of Leonard Cohen covers. While an album of Laughing Len’s Music to Slash Wrists By might not sound like the most joyful of listening experiences, this actually is a great album. Cohen’s songs are musically and lyrically very good - it’s just that most people find his voice too much to bear. So, take the songs and marry them with Warnes lovely voice and you have a winning combination.
Unfortunately, I can’t find this version on either iTunes or YouTube.
[iTunes link to Cohen's version]
SOTD #105
Today’s song is The Diary Of Horace Wimp by Electric Light Orchestra
Friday. Horace, this is it.
He asks the girl if maybe they could marry
When she says “Gladly”, Horace cries.
Sunday. Everybody’s at the church
When Horace rushes in and says
“Here comes my wife, for the rest of my life”
And she did.
Don’t be afraid, just knock on the door
Well, he just stood there mumbling and fumbling
Then a voice from above said
“Horace Wimp, this is your wife
Go out and find yourself a life
Make a stand and be a man
And you will have a great life plan”
Never what might be called the most fashionable of bands, ELO were sort of rock, sort of pop, sort of prog. But for all that they produced some classic tunes like Mr Blue Sky, Sweet Talking Woman, Last Train To London. This little gem (my personal favourite from the band) comes from 1979’s Discovery album and is a story song about one man’s attempts to get a little happiness.
SOTD #104
Today’s song is Silvertown Blues by Mark Knopfler
On Silvertown Blues the cranes stand high
Quiet and gray against the still of the sky
They won’t quit and lay down though the action has died
They watch the new game in town on the Blackwall side
From the poisonous drains a vision appears
A new circle of cranes, a new reason to be here
A big silver dome rising up into the dawn
Above the church and the homes where all the silver is gone
If I’d a bucket of gold, what would I do
I’d leave the story untold Silvertown Blues
Going down in Silvertown
Down in Silvertown
Quite possibly the only song I’ve ever heard that tells the story of the Silvertown area of London (down in Docklands, where the Millennium Dome is) and the changes it has gone through over the years. And it tells it with a backing that starts off slow and simple and builds into an intricate, exhilarating crescendo.
Wolfs Stuff
Wolfs Helpers
