There is a light .....

This is the end
Beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend, the end
It hurts to set you free
But youll never follow me
The end of laughter and soft lies
The end of nights we tried to die
This is the end

The Doors - The End

The Smiths - There is a Light that Never Goes Out

The mood I was in in between my 17th and 21th probably shaped my taste for music, and the Smiths' sound definitely was one I could totally relate to. Nostalgic, moody, tragic, complex...... some would call it depressing..... I don't. The combination of Johnny Marr's and Morrissey's talents resulted in one of alternative rock's greatest musical collaborations. Rarely heard any guitar sound that could rival Marr's talents and Morrissey's lyrics are just out of this world......

When looking at the picture sleeves of their albums, you could immediately notice there was something different about them.

Picking a favorite Smiths song is an almost impossible task. It depends on the moment, the mood, the place you're at,...... I defintely always have How Soon is Now, The Boy with the Thorn in his Side, Cemetry Gates, Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now and What Difference Does it Make? at the top of my list. But There is a Light that Never Goes Out is just one of those songs that got it all for me.

I only recently learned that Suffer Little Children was actually based on the Moors Murders. The song created a lot of uproar in the UK when the grandfather of one of the victims heard it on the radio. The fact that Morrissey subsequently talked in person to the families and convinced them of his sincerity (he even became friends with some of the family members) is, once again, one of those stories that just increases the special atmosphere surrounding The Smiths' frontman http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suffer_Little_Children

The Smiths were only together for a year or 5, so it's really incredible they were able to put such a mark on the music scene. I'm not going to expand on the group, what happenend between Marr and Morrissey, the trial which opposed Joyce against Marr/Morrissey. Just have a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Smiths if you want a quick tour.

I stil can't believe Marr joined Oasis though..... And I'm convinced Morrissey would like to reunite with Marr if he ever got the opportunity......

Morrissey - Every Day Is Like Sunday

When Morrisey went solo, a lot of the "magic" created through his collaboration with Marr disappeared. But even solo, the guy's got incredible talent. Don't know if a lot of the things being said about him (and stuff he claims himself (eg. his asexuality)) are true, but who cares. If someone can make music the way he does, I couldn't care less about his view on society, politics and culture. The guy is a genius, nuff' said......

Commotions.......

It was a cold and dark December night
When I opened up the bedroom door
To find her lying still and cold upon the bed
A love letter lying on the bedroom floor

It read:
Darling, I love you
But I just can't keep on living on dreams no more
I tried so very hard not to leave you alone
I just can't keep on tryin' no more

Hot Chocolate - Emma Emily

The Cars - Drive

One of my all time favorite video-clips.......
The combination of the music, words and the clip makes this one of my all time favorite songs. I probably saw it for the first time when I was about 13 years old, and it just doesn't get out of fashion. The distress in the girl's eyes, the melancholic atmosphere, the great Black & White video.

I can't really understand how someone can't be touched by this vid.

Lloyd Cole & The Commotions - Rattlesnakes

Probably one of his best known songs, Rattlesnakes was released somewhere in the first half of the '80s. But I didn't get to know this song until beginning of the '90s. I was in a second hand shop and saw his album "Don't get weird on me, Babe":

I bought the CD because of this cover and subsequently bought his other albums a couple of weeks later. Have you ever seen a guy looking any cooler? A style icon and a great singer at that. You can't go wrong with Lloyd......
Have a look at his site and weblog: http://www.lloydcole.com/lobby.html

Pictures, Words & Sounds

I wont believe in heaven and hell. No saints, no sinners, No devil as
well. No pearly gates, no thorny crown. You're always letting us humans down.
The wars you bring, the babes you drown.Those lost at sea and never found, And
its the same the whole world round.
The hurt I see helps to compound, That
the father, son and holy ghost, Is just somebodys unholy hoax, And if youre up
there you'll perceive, That my hearts here upon my sleeve. If theres one thing I
dont believe in...
Its you........ Dear God.
XTC - Dear God

Pictures, Words & Sounds .... that probably sums up my main interests.....

As a kid, I loved looking at pictures, be it television, magazines, comics, paintings,.......
Once I got to reading, I got especially fond of comics. Reading them became a passion that lasts to this day. The medum is unique in the way that an artist is capable of creating an imaginary world, using nothing more than pen & ink on a blank sheet of paper. No special effects, no famous actors, ... just a guy sitting at a desk and drawing......

When I was around 16-17 (which was pretty late) I began according a lot of importance to the lyrics of songs. That's more or less when I started listening to The Doors, The Smiths, ...... Before that, I guess I was only interested in the rhytmic of the songs.

I could go on and on talking about songs, paintings, music, ...... Instead, I'll try to make at least one post a day, more often than not a very short one, where I'll include a link to a clip of at least one song I like. I probably could keep that up a couple of years ):
Occasionnally I'll try to describe what I like abount an artist/painting, a comic, a picture, a movie, a television series, ......

You'll find that my music preferences are quite eclectic: from The Sisters of Mercy (and New Wave in general), The Pixies, The Smiths, Paolo Conté, Billy Idol (can't help liking his music), Norah Jones, Serge Gainsbourg, The Stranglers, Jeff Buckley, Pearl Jam, Gary Numan, Indochine, Joy Division, The Killing Joke, The Ramones, Ennio Morricone, Simon & Garfunkel, Iggy Pop ..... to one hit wonders from the '70s and '80s like Stan Ridgeway, Andreas Johnson, The Korgis, The Sundays, Visage, ... and a myriad of others.

The song on top of this post is The Sisters of Mercy's 1959. Love that song, always have, always will. It gives my girlfirend the creeps, but it reminds me of so many moments of my youth. Not necessarily only happy ones, but it makes me me think back to how I felt when I was just an adolescent kid, it reminds me of people I cared for, moments long gone by, ..... There are a lot of great Sisters songs, but this one is the most gripping for me. I'll come back on The Sisters later on in my blog.

When it comes to music, I really, really like the Pop & Wave moment from the '80s. The two examples below are classics in their genre.

I'm sure everyone will know the Safety Dance (Men Without Hats), but Wishful Thinking (China Crisis) is one of those songs a lot of people remember, without realising they knew it or who sung it.

The Men Without Hats have had a couple of other really great songs (Jenny Wore Black, Hey Men, ...) but I remeber the first time I saw the clip of The Safety Dance on MTV and it always stuck with me...... When I was 17, I tried to find the single or CD but it took me 2 years (it was way before the Net) to finally find an '80s compilation with this song. I think I played it 30 times in a row...... They're Canadian and realeased their last album in 2003.

Wishful thinking is one of those songs which can be listened to in all occasions. Whether you're happy or sad, you can listen to this song and dream away..... Don't know a lot about the band, but this song is a classic.