billboard
Song Sunday: Machinehead
“Leaning on my conscience wall…”
This Sunday’s song submission, from my Samsung playlist, is Machinehead by the British alternative grunge rock band Bush, formed in London, England, in 1992. The seventh track from the album Sixteen Stone, it was the fifth and final single from their 1994 debut. Released April 9, 1996, it was written by lead singer Gavin Rossdale. It reached #1 on the Canada Rock/Alternative chart, #3 on the UK’s Rock & Metal chart and, #4 on Billboard’s Alternative Airplay & Mainstream Rock charts.
The song won the MTV Movie Award for Best Song from a Movie (1997) and was nominated for the MTV Music Video Awards Best Video from a Film (Fear 1996).
Rossdale’s dog, Wilson, makes an appearance in the video.
Media Appearances
Bush Official (Website)
Tune Tuesday: Can’t Stop The Feeling 2016
Five years ago, today, the #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 was Can’t Stop The Feeling by Justin Timberlake. Released on May 6, 2016, it is the second track from the Trolls motion picture soundtrack album. It debuted at #1 on the chart and was the best selling digital song of 2016.
Written by Timberlake, Max Martin and Shellback, Timberlake was also executive producer of the album. It was nominated for an Academy Award (Best Original Song), a Golden Globe (Best Original Song) and won a Grammy for Best Song Written for Visual Media.
The sunny song, which arrived a few minutes after midnight, has the potential to be a contender for the song of the summer. He was tapped to pen and perform new songs for the animated movie, and he will also voice the character Branch.
Jon Blistein
Rolling Stone
May 6, 2016
Can’t Stop the Feeling is a straight-up pop hit that is funky and fun, with a solid disco feel that will inspire you to get up and dance, as the lyrics instruct us all to do. The song gives off a feeling of pure joy that only a talent as great as Timberlake could bring to the table.
Jon Niles
Music Times
May 6, 2016
Song Sunday: Last Name
“I had no clue what I was getting into. So, I’ll blame it on the Cuervo. Oh, where did my manners go?”
Returning to my Samsung playlist, submitted for your approval on this first Sunday of the new year…I present Last Name by Carrie Underwood. Released in April 2008, it was written by Underwood, Luke Laird and Hillary Lindsey. It is the eighth track from the album Carnival Ride and the third release. It peaked at #1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart on June 21, 2008, was #1 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart, made it to #3 on the Canada Country Billboard chart and #19 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
I remember when she wowed the whole world on the fourth season of American Idol in 2005. It’s hard to believe that it has been over 15 years since she stormed the music world. I never watched the show but, she was all over the media. When I heard Before He Cheats on the radio, I knew she was gonna be an incredible star and, as far as I’m concerned, she could sing the phone book to me. I don’t own any of her albums/CDs as, after the 90s, everything went digital.
♦ The music video portrays the song as a prequel to her Before He Cheats song, even going so far as to hire the same actor to play the man in question.
♦ [This song] became Underwood’s fastest single to hit number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart after only 13 weeks of its official release […]. It stayed there for one week.
♦ 2009 Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance.
Other Awards
Carrie Underwood Official (Official Website)
Tune Tuesday: The Light (Disturbed) 2015
Five years ago, today, the #1 song on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart was The Light by the heavy metal band Disturbed. Released October 5, 2015, it was the fifth track from their sixth album Immortalized and the second release.
The video is full of powerful imagery. The lyrics deal with tragedy and triumph, being able to find grace in the most extreme and unnerving circumstances.
Joe DiVita
LoudWire
November 20, 2015
“Go figure. Disturbed songs with an air of positivity. Who would have ever thought?
You know, the only way that you get to appreciate the darkness is by contrasting it with light. And it’s been my experience, with people in my life, or friends that I have or have had, that sometimes those periods in our lives that are dark ones can be so daunting and you let them overwhelm you to the extent that you succumb to hopelessness and you succumb to stagnation. And the truth be told, everything is a pathway. Sometimes you have to go through dark periods in your life in order to find the answer that you need, in order to become stronger, in order to see the light… ~David Draiman
Blabbermouth.net
November 20, 2015
Tune Tuesday: The Hills 2015
Switching things up a bit…~Vic
Five years ago, today, the #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100, R&B/Hip-Hop and Canadian Hot 100 charts was The Hills by Canadian singer The Weeknd (Abel Makkonen Tesfaye). Released May 27, it was the 5th track from the album Beauty Behind the Madness and the second single released.
“When a song takes its hook from a horror film, Wes Craven’s 1977 cult classic The Hills Have Eyes, you know there’s bound to be trouble.
Brian Mansfield
USA Today
June 2, 2015
♦ Certified Diamond (RIAA 2019)
♦ The song was featured in an Yves Saint Laurent Black Opium commercial featuring Zoe Kravitz.
♦ The song was used in the TV show Life in Pieces, Season One, Episode 21.
Song Sunday: Jamie’s Cryin’
**Edward Lodewijk Van Halen (January 26, 1955 – October 6, 2020)**
“She saw the look in his eyes, and she knew better…”
This Sunday’s playlist submission is Jamie’s Cryin’ by American rock band Van Halen, formed in 1972 in Pasadena, California. The sixth track from their debut album Van Halen, it was released as a single on May 16, 1978 but, it never charted. Credit for songwriting is the whole band and the album peaked at #19 on the Billboard 200 on May 20, 1978 after its February 10 release. It was certified RIAA Diamond (10x Platinum) in sales on August 7, 1996.
After their 2015 North American Tour, they appear to be on indefinite hiatus. Eddie Van Halen has had some serious health problems.
American rapper Tone Lōc used the opening tom-tom and bass riff from this song on his 1989 hit Wild Thing and wound up settling out of court with Van Halen. He and Eddie Van Halen crossed paths some time afterwards and it wasn’t friendly.
I was in sixth grade when this song came out and I had no clue. I was all into disco back then. I didn’t know who they were until Dance the Night Away came out the following year. I didn’t buy an album of theirs until Diver Down. I have never been to a concert. ~Vic
Tone Lōc Talks About Debut Album & Eddie Van Halen (Billboard January 25, 2019)
America’s Songs III: Rock! Rock! (Google Books)
Van-Halen (Official Site)
Van Halen News Desk (Unofficial Site)
Gene Simmons Talks Lost Seventies Van Halen Demos (Rolling Stone March 22, 2016)
Eddie Van Halen’s Wife’s Positivity (Survivor Net September 8, 2020)
Song Sunday: Hands Tied
“She may be one good reason to leave but, I’m a hundred reasons to stay…”
This Sunday’s playlist submission is Hands Tied by American pop rock band Scandal, formed in 1981 in New York City by guitarist Zack Smith…and not to be confused with the Japanese band or the Australian band. Written by Holly Knight and Mike Chapman, it was the third track from the album Warrior (featuring Patty Smyth). I can’t find a release date but, it entered the Billboard Hot 100 on October 20, 1984, and peaked at #41 on December 1st. It also peaked at #21 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks on the same day.
This album was the very first CD I ever owned. It was a gift and, up until that point, I only had vinyl, 45s and cassettes. I wore this one out, too. The band called it quits in 1985 but, reformed in 2004 and are still active. The song Love’s Got A Line On You from their debut EP Scandal was on the soundtrack to the 1983 movie Easy Money and Smyth was a solo artist on soundtracks for Caddyshack II & Armageddon. Other songs have appeared in additional movies and TV.
Patty Smyth & Scandal (Official Site)
Song Sunday: Gates of the Country
June 1998
Wikipedia
“Somehow I see, there are ships in her eyes…”
This Sunday’s playlist submission was never released as a single and it never charted…anywhere. It’s the last track, number 12, on the original 1997 debut release of Your Body Above Me by Black Lab. An alternative rock band founded in San Franciso, CA, in 1995 by Paul Durham, the band’s name is an amalgam of band names Black Sabbath and Stereolab. The album did have two hits, one of which peaked at #6 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart.
There is not a bad song on this album and I nearly wore out my CD. I took notice of them when an alternative rock station showcased their first track (the #6 hit). I love Paul Durham‘s voice and, the band has had many songs used in movies and television, most notably Spider-Man (2002), Blade: Trinity and Transformers.
Black Lab World (Official Site)
Paul Durham (Official Site)
Song Sunday: Fade Into You
“I think it’s strange you never knew…”
Sunday evening’s playlist submission is Fade Into You by alternative band Mazzy Star. Released April 12, 1994, it is the first track on the album So Tonight That I Might See. Written by Hope Sandoval and David Roback, it was a surprise hit, peaking at #44 on Billboard’s Hot 100, #19 on the Mainstream Top 40 chart, #3 on the Modern Rock Tracks (Alternative Songs, now) chart and #48 on the UK Singles chart. It was Mazzy Star‘s only single to make to make the Billboard Hot 100. It has been used, frequently, in movies, most notably Starship Troopers, Lord of War, Burlesque and Thank You For Your Service plus several TV shows.
I’d never heard of Mazzy Star or heard this song when it originally came out. I am late to the party finding this, just discovering them a few years ago. Sadly, David Roback passed away February 24, 2020, from cancer.
Mazzy Star Official (Facebook Page)
MTV Version
Monochrome Version
Song Sunday: Desperate But Not Serious
“If you don’t stop, you will go blind…”
Rolling down the Samsung playlist for a Sunday evening submission, we come to Adam Ant or, Stuart Leslie Goddard and Desperate But Not Serious. The fourth track from the album Friend or Foe, it was co-written by Goddard and Marco Pirroni and, released November 19, 1982, the third single from his solo debut. This is the album that brought us Goody Two Shoes that went to number #1 in Australia and the UK. Desperate didn’t fare as well peaking at #33 in the UK and #66 on Billboard’s Hot 100.
I bought the album as a cassette and nearly wore it out. This is what I term as eclectic music. It’s different, it’s catchy, Goddard has a crazy voice that he plays to the hilt and the writing is very coy and, tongue-in-cheek. He will be at The Paramount Theatre in Austin, Texas, April 28, 2021. I’ve been to that venue many times. I would love to see him there. ~Vic
Song Sunday: Call Me (Blondie)
Returning to my phone playlist, I submit for your approval on this chilly Sunday night, Blondie‘s Call Me, the theme from the 1980 movie American Gigolo. I was 13 when this film came out and, with its “R” rating, I wasn’t allowed to see it (I caught it on HBO, later, tho…). The drum beat opens the movie as Richard Gere cruises in a black Mercedes. This movie was so bad-ass (to a teenager) and Siskel & Ebert gave it a decent rating but, the rest of the critics panned it. Oh, well. This was the movie that put Gere on my radar (I hadn’t seen Looking For Mr. Goodbar).
Produced and co-written by Giorgio Moroder, he originally approached Stevie Nicks to assist in composing and performing a song for the soundtrack but, she was prevented by contract to another company. Moroder then asked Debbie Harry and she fashioned lyrics, and the melody, in a few hours.
The song made it to the #1 spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 and stayed there for six weeks. It also made it to #1 in Canada, the UK and in Record World magazine. There are 20 covers of this song with Blondie re-recording it in 2014 and, a live cover done in 2002.
Movie Opening
Single
Extended Version
Song Sunday: Africa (Toto)
Update:
The blog continues to evolve and Song Saturday has changed to Song Sunday. ~Vic
“It’s gonna take a lot to drag me away from you…”
Changing things a bit. I’ve got Music Mondays and I’ve had Tune Tuesdays (I may return to that) that showcase music by release date, in five year increments (if I can). Early on, I listed number ones, only. There was also my jump into the 30-Day Song Challenge back in December 2018. Now, I’m stretching Saturday out a bit for some music, too…an idea I got from the Nostalgic Italian. I might even stretch it to Sunday, if I take a notion to. It just depends upon my mood. All blogs evolve and, I’m always looking for new and different things.
This is a song on my playlist on my phone. I have a lot of music on my phone…things that I love to hear when I go out for my afternoon and evening walks or, just sitting in my Adirondack chair, watching the sunset. ~Vic
This song came out in the US in October 1982 and is the tenth track from the album Toto IV. Written by David Paich and Jeff Porcaro, it made it to number one for one week in February 1983.
From Mix Online:
Paich recalls writing Africa on his living room piano.
“Over many years, I had been taken by the UNICEF ads with the pictures of Africa and the starving children. I had always wanted to do something to connect with that and bring more attention to the continent. I wanted to go there, too, so, I sort of invented a song that put me in Africa. I was hearing the melody in my head and, I sat down and played the music in about 10 minutes. And, then, the chorus came out. I sang the chorus out as you hear it. It was like God channeling it. I thought, ‘I’m talented but, I’m not that talented. Something just happened here!'”
Paich, then, proceeded to work on the lyrics for another six months. He brought the skeleton to drummer Jeff Porcaro with the idea of having percussion being an integral part of the composition.
“Jeff got out African sticks with bottle caps that his dad (Joe Porcaro) and Emil Richards (both percussionists) used on National Geographic films. He brought in a marimba and a wooden xylophone kind of thing. This was pre-synthesizer. We didn’t have samples back then. You’re hearing bass marimba, that other instrument and you’re hearing, probably, one of the first loops that was ever done.”
Sadly, Jeff Porcaro passed away nearly ten years later.
Music Monday: Ancient Music & Thoughts
I’ve been digging around, looking for something interesting. Back in September 2019, I posted about Billboard locking down/wiping out their online charts behind a paywall. I don’t know if this is a fluke or if they got a lot of blow-back for what they did but, the charts have reappeared (their Hot 100 era). Ok. Good. Time will tell if they stay. And, I hope they did get some blow-back. Assholes.
Photo Credit: National Museum of Denmark
Wikipedia & Wikimedia
Now that I got that off my chest, on to other stuff.
Wikipedia has a timeline of musical events (Yeah. I know. Wikipedia is hardly a bastion of truth but, seems to be a bit less haphazard with music, plants, animals, cars and finding a U.S. town.) I stumbled across the Seikilos Epitaph, a short, little marble tombstone with poetry/lyrics/text, with musical notation, written in Greek. It is unusual and unique because it is the oldest, intact musical composition in the world. It was found in Tralles, Turkey, an ancient, Hellenistic town where Aydin exists, now. The lyrics:
Ὅσον ζῇς φαίνου
μηδὲν ὅλως σὺ λυποῦ
πρὸς ὀλίγον ἔστι[2] τὸ ζῆν
τὸ τέλος ὁ χρόνος ἀπαιτεῖ.
hóson zêis, phaínou
mēdèn hólōs sù lupoû
pròs olígon ésti tò zên
tò télos ho khrónos apaiteî.
While you live, shine
have no grief at all
life exists only for a short while
and time demands his due.
Lennart Larsen
Wikipedia & Wikimedia
The dedication was partially destroyed and could read:
Σεικίλος Εὐτέρ[πῃ]
Seikílos Eutér[pēi]
“Seikilos to Euterpe”, possibly his wife (also the name of the Muse of Music)
OR
Σεικίλος Εὐτέρ[που]
Seikílos Eutér[pou]
“Seikilos, son of Euterpes”
The inscription reads:
Εἰκὼν ἤ λίθος εἰμί. τίθησί με Σεικίλος ἔνθα μνήμης ἀθανάτου σῆμα πολυχρόνιον.
eikṑn ḗ líthos eimí. títhēsí me Seikílos éntha mnḗmēs athanátou sêma polukhrónion.
“I am a tombstone, an image. Seikilos placed me here as a long-lasting sign of deathless remembrance.”
The dating of the tombstone has proven elusive. The range is from the first century B.C to the first or second century A.D. based upon paleography.
Take a listen:
Here is another version, based upon the inscription being dedicated to a wife:
Song of Seikilos (Classic FM website)
Music Monday: Bang & Blame 1994
Twenty-five years ago, this week (November 26/December 2, 1994) the song Bang and Blame by R.E.M. debuted on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart (Page 119/called Modern Rock Tracks in 1994), entering at #8, making it to #1 on December 17. Released October 31, it was the second single from the album Monster, their ninth studio album. Co-produced by the band and Scott Litt, all song writing credits are the band members. The song also made it to #1 in Canada on February 20, 1995, and peaked in the top ten in the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart (Album Rock Tracks in 1994), Billboard Mainstream Top 40 chart and, in Finland, Iceland and Poland.
Rain Phoenix (sister of River & Joaquin) and Lynda Stipe (Michael’s sister) sang backing vocals. Recordings were difficult with Mike Mills and Bill Berry‘s illnesses and, the deaths of Kurt Cobain and River Phoenix. The album is dedicated to Phoenix.
Television Episodes (song used)
Lyrics (from LyricFind):
If you could see yourself now, baby
It’s not my fault, you used to be so in control
You’re going to roll right over this one
Just roll me over, let me go
You’re laying blame
Take this as no, no, no, no, no
You bang, bang, bang, bang, bang
Then blame, blame, blame
You bang, bang, bang, bang, bang
It’s not my thing, so let it go
If you could see yourself now, baby
The tables have turned, the whole world hinges on your swings
Your secret life of indiscreet discretions
I’d turn the screw and leave the screen
Don’t point your finger
You know that’s not my thing
You came to bang, bang, bang, bang, bang
To blame, blame, blame
Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang
It’s not my thing, so let it go now
You’ve got a little worry
I know it all too well
I’ve got your number
But so does every kiss and tell
Who dares to cross your threshold
Happens on you way
Stop laying blame
You know that’s not my thing
You know that’s not my thing
You came to bang, bang, bang, bang, bang
Then blame, blame, blame
Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang
It’s not my thing so let it go, you
Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang
Then blame, blame, blame
Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang
It’s not my thing so let it go
You kiss on me
Tug on me
Rub on me
Jump on me
You bang on me
Beat on me
Hit on me
Let go on me
You let go on me
Music Monday: TLC 1994
Twenty-five years ago, this week, the song Creep by TLC debuted on the Billboard Hot 100, entering the chart at #71. Written and produced by Dallas Austin, it was the first single released from their second studio album CrazySexyCool. It is based on member Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins‘s experience with infidelity. The lyrics portray the singers as women who cheat on their unfaithful lovers for attention.
You’re with a guy and he’s not showing you attention, so another guy comes along and you’re like, “Hey, if you were where you were supposed to be, he couldn’t be showing me attention right now!” I was in the middle of this drama, because the other guy was [my boyfriend’s] friend and my boyfriend was just not getting it together.
[From T-Boz]
The idea was controversial. [M]ember Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes was opposed to it. She threatened to wear black tape over her mouth in the song’s music video to express her disagreement with its message, and its selection as CrazySexyCool’s lead single, [in] part because of the group’s history of advocating for safe sex.
The women sing about infidelity, revenge, status and power plays, not as victims but as contenders. [W]hen they’re cheated on, they cheat, too.
[From Jon Parales @ The New York Times, advocating for the concept.]
The song made it to #1 and remained for four weeks. It also made it to #1 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop chart and the Billboard Rhythmic chart.
Lisa Lopes passed away April 25, 2002, from injuries in a car crash. She was 30 years old.
[I have to confess that I have never heard this song. The middle 90s was the time I stopped listening to Top 40 and moved to Alternative Rock stations. ~Vic]
Accolades
Legacy
Cover Versions
Lyrics via LyricFind:
(Creep) oh ah, oh ah, oh ah yeah,
(Creep) oh ah, oh ah, oh ah yeah,
(Creep) oh ah, oh ah, oh ah yeah,
(Creep) oh ah, oh ah, oh ah yeah,
The twenty second of loneliness
And we’ve been through so many things.
I love my man with all honesty,
But I know he’s cheating on me.
Look him in the eyes,
But all he tells me is lies to keep me near.
I’ll never leave him down though I might mess around.
It’s only ’cause I need some affection, oh.
So I creep, yeah, just creepin’ on,
On the down low, ‘cept nobody is supposed to know.
So I creep yeah, ’cause he doesn’t know what I do
And no attention goes to show oh.
So I creep.
The twenty third of loneliness
And we don’t talk, like we used to do.
Now this is pretty strange,
But I’m not buggin’ ’cause I still feel the same.
I Keep giving loving till the day he pushes me away.
Never go a stray.
If he knew the things I did, he couldn’t handle me.
And I choose to keep him protected, oh.
So I creep, yeah, just creepin’ on,
But I’ll know. ‘cept nobody is supposed to know.
So I creep, yeah, ’cause he doesn’t know what I do,
And no attention goes to show oh.
So I creep, yeah, just creepin’ on,
But I’ll know. ‘cept nobody is supposed to know.
So I creep, yeah, ’cause he doesn’t know what I do,
And no attention goes to show.
So I creep, oh ah, oh ah, oh ah yeah
So I creep, oh ah, oh ah, oh ah yeah
So I creep, oh ah, oh ah, oh ah yeah
Baby, oh ah, oh ah, oh ah yeah
So I creep, yeah, just creepin’ on,
But I’ll know.
So I creep, yeah, ’cause he doesn’t know what I do,
And no attention goes to show.
So I creep, yeah, just creepin’ on,
But I’ll know.
So I creep, yeah, ’cause he doesn’t know what I do,
So I creep, ‘cept nobody is supposed to know.
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