So I wasn't originally going to do a 'Song of the Week' this week because I just couldn't think of anything but then a song just popped into my head: 'The Misty Mountains Cold' from The Hobbit soundtrack.
I haven't even watched the film in a while to recall it in an instant but I'm sitting here listening to a documentary narrated/presented by James Nesbitt who plays Bofur in the trilogy (I did have to look that up, getting the Dwarves' names straight is almost an impossibility for me) and thinking that he has a good storytelling voice (hence the whole actor thing I guess) and then the song floated it's merry way into my mind and I thought that'll do for this week's post 😄 it's a beautiful song and it fits the film perfectly, honestly all the Middle Earth films have had fantastic soundtracks.
Oh if you're curious the documentary is about British (I think) disasters, this one is the Paddington train crash in 1999, commonly known as the Ladbroke Grove rail crash which killed 31 and injured more than 500.
Welcome to another song of the week. I really need to start planning these out or something because I was a little stuck today but then 'Badman' by Newton Faulkner popped into my head and I thought "that'll do" so here we are.
I don't think there's an official video, the caption on Blogger's YouTube finder made it seem like this one is fan-made. The thumbnail is a little odd though, I must admit, a floating head with shoes LOL! It'll probably also get a few scowls because Newton Faulkner is a white guy with dreadlocks, and a ginger one at that. But dreadlocks and my thought (irrelevant as they may be) are another post.
As for the song, I think it has a good rhythm and flow and has a nice simple feel but with a strong message: "Cities built on battlefields and shopping malls from meadows, Rivers redirected there's no red greens blues or yellows, Take a little time to find a better place away from all the noise and the drinking, We could run away and find a better day not watching while the ship is sinking." It's talking about deforestation and the ripping down of nature and destruction of green spaces for development. It's hard to strike that balance. People need homes but so do animals. And some of the people that need homes the most are constantly ignored yet there are already so many empty office buildings and shops that could be used as temporary shelters but people won't agree because it would cost them money but with no profit. And big bosses are all about the profit.
Well this got more serious than expected... Back soon with either a book review or the next 'Song of the Week', whichever comes first.
This is my tenth Song of the Week so it's time for another album special. I fully admit I haven't really thought that far ahead with either songs or albums but there was at least one other album I wanted to feature: The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance!
First up is the song that spoke to my depressed, bullied teenage heart. Before this I was still mostly into pop music: Britney Spears, Steps, S Club 7 and oddly Shania Twain were my usual fare but in the early to mid 2000's things were bad at school and getting worse and I had no one to hang out with outside school (the few friends I had didn't live local and the one that did I couldn't trust by this point) so I would spend a lot of time at home watching the music channels. Most of the time it was the usual pop with a bit of dance and R&B but around 2005/6 the 'emo' movement started to become popular which meant more alternative songs being shown and 'Welcome to the Black Parade' spoke to my soul instantly. The music grabbed me and I found the video a complete feast for the eyes. Soon after I bought the album. I believe it was around this time I bought my Maroon 5, Green Day and Coldplay CDs so My Chemical Romance were really my true introduction into rock and alternative music.
My other big favourite on the album was 'Famous Last Words'. It was another one that spoke to my suicidal teenage self, I wanted to die. I didn't think things were going to get better but I was scared. The line: "I am not afraid to keep on living, I am not afraid to walk this world alone" really resonated with me (so much so that even all these years later I want to get it tattooed) almost because I felt the opposite, I was afraid of the future - still am sometimes at 27 - and I didn't want to do it alone. The only reason I didn't kill myself then was because I didn't want to hurt my mum and leave her alone, and with one almost moment because I hadn't left her a note.
Things did eventually get better, then they got worse and the thoughts re-surfaced, I fought back against those thoughts and things slowly started to improve again and now I haven't had any solid suicidal thoughts for a few years. That's not to say there aren't some moments in time that I think maybe things would be better if I weren't here but there's no action to them.
Thinking back it looks like I've probably had depression but I hate going to the doctors so it has obviously never been diagnosed, same with the likely anxiety I have that makes things like phone calls absolutely crippling and makes me hate confrontations of any kind.
So yeah, a bit of emotional outpouring there... The Black Parade supported and saved me through some of my toughest teenage years and for that I am incredibly thankful, I'm just sad that the band themselves are no more. :(
Time for another song of the week and this week it's another double video feature with the tear jerker 'How to Save a Life' by The Fray.
It's one of those songs that I'm sure we can all relate to. The angst of losing a friend or a relationship, we may not want to but sometimes it can't be avoided. The 'best' exits are the quiet ones, this is talking about the other kind:
"As he begins to raise his voice
You lower yours and grant him one last choice Drive until you lose the road Or break with the ones you've followed He will do one of two things He will admit to everything Or he'll say he's just not the same And you'll begin to wonder why you came"
It's a scene fraught with tension and emotion and it just gets to me and I can really visualise it happening.
It was also one of the best performances in the Grey's Anatomy musical episode 'Song Beneath a Song', their voices all just blended really well in this scene and I thought it was beautiful. A must watch in my opinion.
So today's song of the week is one that isn't even on my iTunes playlist but has been stuck in my head for a few weeks after a TV performance I'll add further down. The song is 'Proud Mary' by Tina Turner.
It's one of those feel good songs that makes you want to get up and dance yet the lyrics are real and serious, about going to work and making a living even if the work is crap. Apparently it was originally envisioned as the story of a woman who would get a bus to work as a maid for rich people, but then that changed and it became about a boat. I guess like all songs it's down to interpretation.
This is the reason it's been in my head lately, BBC show All Together Now getting it's first score of 100 with a quiet unassuming lad called Michael's rousing performance of this song, it's an epic moment and you really want to join in.
A quick one this week in between work and stuff, another busy week. Here is Sara Bareilles with 'King of Anything'
This wasn't my original pick for this week but it came up on my phone on the way home from work today and I just felt a little inspired.
"Who cares if you disagree, you are not me, who made you king of anything?" This line just speaks to me and I find it really powerful especially at the moment with all of the scary political stuff in America.
Anyway that's it for today (told you it'd be quick!) but I'll be back soon.
This week's song of the week is a little late and I do apologise. Normally I'd post it Wednesday but I've been busy and this is the first time I've gotten on the computer in days.
So this week's song is one that never fails to make me cry: 'I See the Light' from the Disney film Tangled.
For me it's the combination of everything in the song. The town's collective hope and sadness, Rapunzel and Flynn getting closer, Flynn finally shedding his thieving past for love, the knowledge that Rapunzel is so close to her true self yet so far and knowing that she'll be dragged even further away before realising and being able to go back. It's just a beautiful song and I love it.
Short and sweet today, I'll be back in a moment (tomorrow via scheduled post LOL) with another book review or two. I'm trying to get into the habit of reviewing every book I read and no doubt they'll all end up on here.
So one idea I had for this song of the week thing is if every 5 songs I do an entire album I love. Hmm, maybe every 10 would be better so theoretically the next one after this would be week 15, that might work better.
So the album I am choosing this week is 'The Greatest Showman' soundtrack!
The Greatest Show
Ever since seeing the film I have been obsessed with this soundtrack! So much so that I couldn't pick a single favourite to showcase.
This Is Me
These two are probably my top favourites but every single song is amazing! If I had to pick a least favourite it would possibly be either 'Tightrope' because I'm not as big a fan of Michelle Williams' voice or 'Never Enough' because that whole plot point is supposed to be about Jenny Lind, the world's most talented opera singer or something along those lines yet 'Never Enough' is definitely not opera, it's a lovely song but it misses the mark genre-wise. It kind of cheapens the moment slightly in my opinion. That's really my only criticism of the whole album though.
After another listen of the album I have done an order of my most to least favourites:
The Greatest Show
This Is Me
From Now On
Come Alive
The Other Side
A Million Dreams + Reprise
Rewrite The Stars
Tightrope
Never Enough + Reprise
I just noticed that on the default graphic for these YouTube videos Keala Settle's name is omitted from the header and I think that does a great disservice to her and her fantastic voice, seriously people she is epic!
Anyway I must fly for now, I will be back soon with another book review (just got to finish the book first) and I might do another little life update thing.
So it's time for another song of the week and it's the turn of the song that was meant to be up last week. 'Fox on the Run' by The Sweet.
Originally released in 1975 it actually did pretty well charting in the top 10 in multiple countries and number 1 in Australia, Denmark and Germany, however like many songs from the era it has been largely forgotten, failing to capture people as much as bands such as Queen from a similar time period. However some genius decided to use the song for the trailer of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and later the official soundtrack causing the track to go to number 1 on the iTunes Rock Chart in late 2016. Unfortunately the song isn't in the film itself, instead we get about three clips of 'Brandy (You're a Fine Girl' by Looking Glass. A great song and it does fit the theme of the film well but they could have trimmed it a little for 'Fox on the Run' surely?
Anyway it's a fantastic, uplifting song that never fails to put me in a good mood. It's a particularly good one for walking home from work, it gets me in a good rhythm and I find I'm a bit faster while listening to it. I think I marginally prefer Vol. 2's soundtrack to Vol. 1's although Vol. 1 did have the gems that are 'Hooked on a Feeling' by Blue Swede and 'I'm Not in Love' by 10CC, it's generally slighter more light-hearted and sometimes you want a little more darkness (so she says while listening to the Beauty and the Beast soundtrack).
That's it for today. I've got another book review coming up at the end of the week and then it'll probably be another song of the week.
So this week's song of the week is a little late. Despite having a week off work (yay!) I haven't been on the computer much. Also I had ideas of doing a different song - a much happier, lively one, but it doesn't exactly fit my mood this week. Stupid accusations at work - somehow a semi-private conversation becomes bullying if your colleague/supervisor happens to overhear, what? It's just become shit lately. Also the tumble dryer and washing machine both decided to break at the same time... Yeah. Also my dog was attacked by the snarly terrier down the road today. Luckily she only got away with fur - he's got enough of it.
Anyway onto the song: Disturbed's cover of 'The Sound of Silence'. While the original is kind of fantasy, spooky carnival in the dark the cover wouldn't be out of place in a horror film in my opinion. Great if you're having a bad mental health day: "Hello darkness, my old friend, I've come to talk with you again..." It's a song that really draws me in and let me feel, it feels real.
Sorry it's a short one today. I'll hopefully be back in a day or two with a book review and then another song of the week next week, hopefully on the right day this time. LOL.
Hello and welcome to another round of Song of the Week... Not sure why I'm trying to sound like a radio host here... I have a crap voice for radio, too lispy. I have a YouTube thing/account so sometime I might do a little video, that Accent Challenge that goes around or something like that. Maybe. Then you can hear my lispy Southern English accent. Heck it's probably a more authentic Bristolian accent than Sarah Lancashire's appears to be in those radio adverts for her new drama Kiri, and I don't even live in Bristol, just next to it.
Today's song is...
'Sing' by My Chemical Romance. It's my ultimate power song and I just love the lyrics, especially the chorus:
"Sing it for the boys
Sing it for the girls Every time that you lose it sing it for the world Sing it from the heart Sing it till you're nuts Sing it out for the ones that'll hate your guts Sing it for the deaf Sing it for the blind Sing about everyone that you left behind Sing it for the world Sing it for the world"
If I'm having a bad day I put this on, crank up the volume and it instantly makes me feel better. To me it's about embracing the underdog and basically fuck the system, it's crap and we know it but if we stick together we can power through and good will win. A recent example is Australia's same sex marriage vote. After so many years and lagging behind traditionally less progressive countries (*cough*USA*cough*) love won through popularity and that is awesome!
Anyway that's it for this Song of the Week. I will be back soon with a book review, well series review anyway.
So it may be an ambitious plan that will surely fail but I had the idea of this year doing a song of the week feature on this here blog to hypothetically go up on a Wednesday, technically I'm writing this one on Tuesday and will schedule it. I didn't want to bombard people too much, although this will end up being posts three days in a row. A good start to the year I'd say, now if only I could get around to updating my real life journal - I keep forgetting about it for enough time that my fountain pen dries up and needs swishing in water before I can use it again. Ha ha!
Anyway today's song of the week is the second song in one of my current favourite films, and the first one on the soundtrack. It is: 'Mr Blue Sky' by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO)!
This is a really complex and interesting songs in terms of lyrics and musical flow. It starts off kind of rock and roll, then you bring in some electronic stuff and then you have this random almost operatic section and it's just such a feast for the ears and I love it.
At work they get a music license for the month of December so they can play Christmas music (normally it's a silent environment) and then once everyone is back at work Boxing Day (oh yeah, where I work Christmas Day and Easter Sunday are the only two days of the entire year that we are closed) they play a random selection of pop music. A lot of it is crap, too repetitive and loud or with annoying long notes but one of the few decent ones they played is 'Mr Blue Sky', it didn't seem to come up in the rotation much though. One shift I heard multiple songs more than once yet you're lucky if 'Mr Blue Sky' plays at all.
Of course a brief mention to the awesome film it's part of: 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2'! It feels like an opening scene sort of song but it's technically not. You get an opening prequel of sorts with Peter's parents which as cute as a seen as it is it kind of takes away the guesswork later in the film. Grey the hair and add a beard and mystery dude isn't really a mystery because you've already introduced him at the beginning. I personally feel like it should have been more of a surprise, although saying that I think the actor and his role had already been revealed before the film's release so it was always out there I guess. 'Mr Blue Sky' is the opening scene for the main characters though and you get a great sequence of Baby Groot dancing around the battlefield among the other characters and it perfectly matches the group's collective personalities.
So that was 'Song of the Week #1'. I'll be back in a few days with a book review maybe and next week for 'Song of the Week #2' which is as yet undecided. I have a few in mind though and they will surely all get covered at some point.
