The evidence is in. My "mixed from the radio" cassettes reveal the truth: my electronic lovin' phase started as soon as I got my hands on a boombox in 1992. I was raised on Oldies, but couldn't resist the lure of early 90s dance music. I was obsessed with Haddaway's "What is Love?" (before Night at the Roxbury!!), Pet Shop Boy's "Go West," Real McCoy, "Rhythm is a Dancer," La Bouche, Ace of Base, Culture Beat, etc. At the time, I had no idea what those songs were actually called, or who they were by; written in sloppy kid-cursive on the tapes' white paper inserts are names for them that made sense to me at the time.
I LOVE Google images! My boombox looked almost exactly like this one.
Most of these songs aren't as embarrassing to listen to as I thought they might be. However, the videos are generally horrible; if you need a good laugh, a serious dose of weird, and a refresher on early 90s fashion, check out the video for "What is Love?" I refuse to provide a link to it, but I admit that I just watched it.
While I loved many dance-electro-rock songs, there are two in particular that I loved with the passion only a 13-year-old girl can muster.
"The Promise" by When in Rome
I'm not sure why I heard this on the radio so much when I was a kid because it came out in the late 80s. In any case, it had a featured position on one of my radio cassettes, and I'm sure the tape runs thin in that spot.
This song has a great melody, a killer chorus, a lovely, plunkety piano. The electronic bass line threatens to date the song, but the energy of the vocal keeps it fresh. The lyrics are romantic, and as an adult I find them realistically sweet:
If you need a friend,
don't look to a stranger,
You know in the end,
I'll always be there.
I still think "The Promise" is awesome.
"Always" by Erasure
This one came out in 1994, and remains my favorite Erasure song.
I find the idea of not being understood terrifying, and there is a longing for connection and understanding in "Always" that really resonated with teenage Colleen. Through no fault of their own, adolescents wear a lot of masks; I wanted so badly to be who I felt I was, but was aware of the incredible pressure to conform. Andy's croon was irresistible...he knew what it was like.
Wear no disguise for me
Come into the open
There's also an underlying sexual tension, and a bit of desperation, that I find appealing.
Vince Clark backs up Andy by filling "Always" with lush synths, touches of string sounds (I first saw the video yesterday, and the Eastern influence on the music is overt), and warm beats. Irresistible.
A song to celebrate Passover and Easter, the end of enslavement. Somehow this video manages to be as joyous and moving as the song itself.
The shackles are undone
The bullet's quit the gun
The heat that's in the sun
Will keep us when there's none
The rule has been disproved
The stone it has been moved
The grain is now a groove
All debts are removed
"Window in the Skies" from the single, by U2
...And now if we have been freed by Love,
does our love free others?...
P.S.
These songs are also totally awesome. Check out the live TV performance by Al Green. (I'm sorry Prince refuses to let his stuff be on Youtube, because there are some awesome videos out there of Prince singing "The Cross".)
I have a journal dedicated to mixes I make...it gets misplaced periodically then pops up again somewhere like a lost sock. I am rededicating myself to efforts to keep its location consistent by posting a mix from 3/21/02 entitled "Night Music"
While I fail miserably at keeping a journal with any regularity, I have done a good job of keeping my mixes. Music lovers know what this means; hit the play button on a mix and emotions, places, people, and events come rushing.
I'm gonna try something new (for me) and embed a playlist of these songs below. You can play it in the background of your activities if you feel so inclined. Brief descriptions/song details included further down the page. Some of these songs are ubiquitous to the music community, but some deserve special attention.
1. "Mojo Pin" from Grace, by Jeff Buckley. This is one of my "big four" albums. I wrote about it here.
2. "Time After Time (Annelise)" from Reckoning, by R.E.M.
This jangly number reminds me of songs from the 60s...maybe it's the bongos.
3. "Damage" from I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One, by Yo La Tengo.
As simple bass lines go, there are not many as bewitching as this one.
4. "30" from the single Good Fortune, by PJ Harvey.
PJ has some of the best b-sides ever...a mysterious song full of hazard. Her guitar playing bespeaks her blues background.
5. "Blue Dress" from Violator, by Depeche Mode.
I think DM is probably one of the few testosterone-filled, male-gaze oriented bands I passionately love. Nice Martin Gore vocal. Sense of ownership over woman...weird.
6. "Ava Adore" from Adore, by The Smashing Pumpkins.
Me encanta la canción y es un video fabuloso.
7. "Sometimes" from Loveless, by My Bloody Valentine.
This is the album I listened to after my childhood dog passed away, and I found it very comforting. I'm a lyric fan from the word go, but I almost don't care what the lyrics are to MBV songs because the music is SO GREAT! Cool line from "Sometimes" that sort of sums up this album for me:
Turn my head
Into sound
Thanks, Kevin and MBV. It totally worked.
8. "Exit Music" from OK Computer, by Radiohead.
Another well known gem...I remember seeing grinning-Radiohead-bear patches on people's backpacks in high school and wondering who they were. Is it good or bad that I found out about them during Kid A? I think loving Kid A has prepared me well for King of Limbs. More about that later?
PS Enjoy the crescendo...I know I do.
9. "Mysterons" from Dummy, by Portishead.
I am shocked to realize that this album came out in 1994...
10. "It's Not Up to You" from Vespertine, by Bjork.
A song about being in love...a song about living in the present moment with joy:
I can decide
What I give
But it's not up to me
What I get given
Unthinkable surprises
About to happen
But what they are
It's not up to you
Well it never really was
11. "Bethlehem Steel" from Copperopolis, by Grant Lee Buffalo.
Imagine the drum/bass of this song as the rhythm of a steel factory. This is American history mingled with the religion of industrial revolution...the lyrics are heady stuff. LYRICS
12. "Grateful" from Gung Ho, by Patti Smith.
A gentle song about death from a wise woman who's experienced the deaths of many loved ones. This is a song that cuts through pretense and straight to the heart; a close listening often results in heartache, tears, and joy:
Die little sparrow
And awake
Singing
13. "Beside You" from Astral Weeks, by Van Morrison
Enthralling.
14. "We Never Change" from Parachutes, by Coldplay
One of the sweetest albums around. Gimme heart over facade-of-cool any day.
I wanna live life and never be cruel.
I wanna live life and be good to you.
15. "Keep Your Dreams" from XTRMNTR, by Primal Scream
This song helped me move past some bad relationships:
I believe in forgiveness
Hate will eat you whole
Bad blood, a lifelong curse,
You've got to let it go
It kept me going towards the end of college...and helped me develop some soul-attitude.
Keep your dreams, don't sell your soul
Be careful
And still, nothing is gonna stop me from having heart, cause
I'm going down to the underground
As deep as I can go
16. "Here Comes a Regular" from Tim, by The Replacments
Oh man, that piano...this song's a killer from the start to finish...a classic.The vocal is an everyman's, raw, on the verge.
These lines are a bumper sticker I'd like to own (they might be two different stickers):
All I know is I'm sick of everything that my money can buy
The fool who wastes his life, God rest his guts
