We Don't Need Another Hero

I'm not quite sure how I got to Tina Turner's "We Don't Need Another Hero" on YouTube, but it may have been the result of my browsing through Songfacts, looking at titles by year.  This song is the theme to the 1985 movie Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome -- which, by the way, I never saw.  It's okay, because I was young enough in 1985 that the movie would have scared the daylights out of me.  In fact, the video did at the time, which is why it is so ironic that 28 years later, I can't stop watching it!  Anyway, Tina Turner starred in the movie with Mel Gibson, and wouldn't you know, I never realized that until now.  I just thought the song was all Tina, singing about the movie's plot.  And, might I add, that Ms. Tuner looks fierce in this video.  That's right.  With all due respect, she was fierce long before Beyoncé... 

Taking a closer look at the video and song, they are a perfect match.  The song begins with what sounds like pan flute, accompanied by simple drum and bass guitar lines.  That is really all you need.  It's quite subdued, and as the video begins, we catch a glimpse of Tina Tuner.  I should say THE Tina Tuner.  Her legendary voice begins -- so controlled, focused, and mesmerizingly soulful.  We get through the first verse and onto a chorus which explodes with the power of Ms. Tuner's voice -- but this is only the beginning.  I was sure I heard timpani between her vocal lines in the chorus, too.  The musical fireball builds, and we get to the bridge, where Tina's voice could power an entire village.  "So what do we do with our lives?  We leave only -- a mark.  Will our story shine like a light? Or end in the dark?  Give it all or nothing!"  And boom!  Our of the ruins, a tenor saxophone!!!!!  Tina brings him in, matching his first line - "Doot-do, doot-do, doot-do, doooooo-dooooooo."  One more round of the chorus, and "All the children say -- We don't need another heee-ro."  Harken, there is a chorus of angels.  I mean, it's really the King's House School Choir from South London, but WOW!  Now that is one vocal supernova between the kids and Tina.  And then, the song ends with one last word from Tina, "Thunderdome..."  Well, we don't need another hero.  Nope, it IS Tina Turner!

Everywhere

It's embarrassing that I have been away from Becky's World for so long.  I'm not sure why I took such a long hiatus, but I am back and ready to share more great music with you.

Can you hear me calling -- out your name...  I know that I'm (hum hum), and I don't know what to say...  

Well, that's pretty much how I hear the lyrics to Fleetwood Mac's "Everywhere," but it's okay.  You see, I've always been so entranced by the awesome bass guitar line that I simply didn't pay much attention to the lyrics.  I can remember when the song was released in 1988.  It was okay -- kind of catchy and upbeat, but it was that incredible bass line that always seemed to grab me.  I can't say that I remember the video, so I was a bit perplexed when I revisited it this evening.  It's a bit hard to follow, at least in terms of the song and lyrics.  "Everywhere" is a simple love song about a woman who is in love with a man and, well, she wants to be with him everywhere.  The video is kind of an odd story set in what appears to be the 18th century.  I'm not sure I follow the plot at all, but the video is supposed to follow the poem "The Highwayman" by Alfred Noyes.  Check out the poem if you haven't already.  I actually just took a look, and now it makes sense.  I still think (considering the tinkling of the chimes in the song's intro) that the video calls for more of the band and an air of mystical, magical something.  I can visualize glitter and translucent scarves -- maybe a man and woman in love, with the woman following him around.

Anyway, I found a video of the group performing this song live a few years ago.  Truly amazing!  Oddly enough, it isn't the video that held me in awe as much as the clarity of lines in the recording.  You can really hear Lindsey Buckingham's lead guitar, Steve Nicks harmonizing on back-up vocals, and even Christine McVie playing maracas.  When I watched this, I saw some "suggested videos," including a three part "Master Class" with Stevie on Oprah's Network.  I thought, "Cool!  A masterclass with Stevie Nicks!"  In the classical world, that means that several students play for an artist, and the artist coaches them through their pieces.  This was more of a video interview/retrospective, but boy was it amazing.  Check it out if you have time.  I'm still feeling moved by Stevie's experience.  Touching and incredible.  You can find the three-part video on YouTube.  It's a must-see in my opinion.

Live from Daryl's House - The Remedy

So, I was on the plane back from NAMM, listening to an '80s station on Sirius radio, and this one Daryl Hall and John Oates tune came on -- "Adult Education."  I hadn't heard the song in ages, and quite frankly, I didn't really know what it was about since I didn't know the lyrics.  Anyway, long story short, I checked out the video on YouTube this afternoon and am still trying to figure it out.  I mean, I understand the song, but I didn't quite get the concept behind the video, which kind of had an Indiana Jones feel.  Meanwhile, I stumbled upon a version of the song from "Live From Daryl's House," which is a terrific show that I had no idea was on!  It's a webcast from Daryl Hall's house, which I think is a restored farmhouse out in Dutchess County, NY.  Actually, I read that there were two 18th century houses that he bought, combined, and moved there from CT.

Anyway, once I discovered this show's website, I had to poke around and look through some episodes.  Chances are, I will post more from the show in the future, because there are some terrific clips and episodes.  I watched the episode with Jason Mraz and loved this version of "The Remedy."  It's such an upbeat song to begin with, and this performance looks like they are having so much fun.  I did a bit of research, because I never knew what the song was about.  Turns out it was inspired by a friend of Jason Mraz's who had cancer.  It's definitely a positive song about living your life to the fullest and not worrying.  All I knew was that I was certainly all for a song with the lyrics "this is a dangerous liason..."  Yeah!  It's not everyday that you hear that in a popular song.  In fact, I don't think I have even heard "liason" in a song.  Two thumbs up!  This is a terrific performance, and now that I have discovered the show, I will have to check out more episodes.  I know the songs are not all "80s," but since Daryl Hall was so popular in that decade, well, I think it's alright to include here!

Gypsy

Took me a while to decide on a song this evening.  In fact,  I was watching all these videos and looking through Songfacts to see what I could find of interest.  Clock was ticking, and it was getting later, and later, and so I decided on something kind of mellow.  Plus, it's about time for another Fleetwood Mac tune.  They are one of my favorites, and I've always admired Stevie Nicks.  I hear this song more on the radio now than I did when it first came out in 1982.  I do remember seeing the video several times on MTV.  It didn't scare me, but it did make me feel a bit sad, mostly because Stevie is dancing in the rain -- just kind of spinning and twirling.  It seems o be in some kind of slow motion, too.  For some reason, I found it very saddening at the time, although now it doesn't seem so bad.  Seems kind of nostalgic, actually.

Anyway, I hadn't paid much attention to the lyrics until now.  Turns out the song is about Stevie's close friend who was dying of leukemia.  I think (after reading the lyrics) that you can almost feel the time pass through the woman's illness, death, and to the days afterward.  Still kind of sad, but the guitar, harmonies, and Stevie's vocal quality make the song feel very calming and peaceful.  I suppose that was the point.  I am glad that I've come to discover this song and that it is getting so much airplay even to this day.  It's just a nice, calming song -- and not too depressing if you don't pay attention to the lyrics ;)

I Can't Go for That

 
Well, once again I have come to a tune with a debatable release date.  "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)" by Daryl Hall and John Oates was released in 1982 according to the Songfacts website, but it was on the album Private Eyes, which was released in 1981.  So, I am going with 1981.  That seems correct to me.  I was pretty young, so I don't remember this song too well from back when it was released.  I think I probably became familiar with it later in the '80s.  It is supposedly one of the top 100 tunes of the 1980s, and I can believe it.

So, this song is pretty much about a man and a woman in a relationship.  She uses her body tand now she wants his soul, but he won't think about it -- say no go.  I'm sitting here wondering what "that" is that he can't go for.  I am thinking it might be cheating and coming back.  That seems to be a hot topic in many '80s songs.  Some people take the cheater back, and some can't go for that, no can do.  I can't be 100% sure that he is talking about cheating, but it seems from the song that she might be the type of woman to go out and cheat and then come back and still want to have a relationship.  Not sure.  In fact, I wasn't even sure that there was an alto sax solo in this, because when I listened to it, it sure sounded like tenor to me.  In the video, there is an alto, but in many live performances, it's tenor.  I, personally, prefer tenor because it has a richer, darker tone.  Meanwhile, this song is supposedly the first to use a drum machine, which I think really gives it it's groove.  I also happen to like the mystical, tinkly synthesized part in the beginning.  You can hear that throughout the song as well.  In fact, this tune has so many musical layers -- it is amazing.  Now, I can go for that!

Rock Me Amadeus

There's some debate as to whether Falco's "Rock Me Amadeus" was released in 1985 or 1986, but I seem to remember it being when I was young, so I'm guessing 1985.  Not that there is a big difference, but for me the difference was between age 10 and 11, and this video and song scared the daylights out of me.  For that very reason, I'm guessing I was only 10 when it came out.  At that age, I was just on the cusp of being scared or not scared of things like freaky synthesized pop.  That plus the crazy rainbow wig in the video just threw me over the edge in terms of fright.  Listening to the song today, I think the synthesized ostinato may have contributed subconsciously as well.

It's kind of ironic that I would be afraid of something that would become such an integral part of my life.  At that age, I had just started playing clarinet.  Who would have thought that I would grow-up to become a professional musician, playing Mozart K.191 and 622 over and over and over...  I love Mozart's music, don't get me wrong -- all of it.  His chamber wind music, wind concertos, operas, symphonies -- they are all the foundation from which we learn much of what we need to know as classical musicians.  Anyway, back to the tune.  So, my older brother loved this song and could recite the spoken part verbatim.  He said that was how he remembered all the important dates in Mozart's life.  As for me, well, I had those dates ingrained in my head after many years of music schooling.  Now that I listen to the song again, I realize that that may be the only part we could recite, because the rest of the lyrics are kind of an English-German hybrid.  Of course, we get the gist of it all, and we can certainly understand the chorus and other repeated lines -- "Baby, baby do it to me, rock me, baby, baby do it to me, rock me..."  "Ooooh -- rock me, Amedeus..."  Kind of silly and tongue-in-cheek for sure.  Oddly enough, I never saw the movie, but I will put that on my to-do list!  There are two videos that I found rather interesting -- the movie version and the extended American mix.  They are very different, so I am including them both.  The extended one is certainly, well, you'll see.  Good thing I was so young when this came out and completely unaware of any of the stuff in the extended mix video.  Wow.  Enjoy!

We Didn't Start the Fire

Well, since I wrote about Marconi in my last post, I was inspired to look at another 80s tune with historical names -- lots of historical names.  "We Didn't Start the Fire" was written by Billy Joel in 1989, which is much later than I originally thought.  I guess it works out well since it is a historical retrospective montage, so it makes sense to have it end in the last year of a decade.  Hard to believe that 24 years have gone by since it was written!  Wow.  Anyway, this is not the kind of tune you can easily sing in your car or at karaoke, but nevertheless, it would be a challenge in both cases (especially karaoke).  Have you ever sung karaoke, finding yourself scrambling to get all the words in as they go by the screen?  I admit that I have.  It's pretty fun.

I think we all know that this song is kind of a giant poem with some accompaniment rather than a song in the melodic sense.  Does it have a melody?  Well, only if you count the chorus.  Meanwhile, the video for this tune is awesome.  I was blown away by the quality of the video in terms of direction, acting, etc.  It seems to have a plot as well, since we follow a family through all these decades.  I watched it and thought, "Hey, isn't that Marlee Matlin in there?"  Come to find out, it is!  She was the one burning her bra in the '60s/70s part and thumbing her nose to her family.  I think she may also have been the girl on the table getting her prom dress hemmed just before the bra burning scene, but I can't really confirm this.  Rewinding just a but further, I have to say that I was just a bit bugged that the mom in the 50s/60s part is popping pills because of her child playing violin.  That's not fair!  I guess I never noticed that when I was younger, because back in '89, I had never even seen stringed instruments up close and personal.  It's alright, though.  We'll let that one slide in the name of art.  As for Mr. Joel, well, we know he is a musical genius, and this song is just kind of a neat little anomaly in his catalog.  I'll probably write about more of his songs later, but for now, we can all challenge ourselves to sing along with this!

We Built This City

So, the other night I was listening to Pandora radio on my computer, and "We Built This City" came on.  It's not surprising since I listen to "80s Radio" on there 100 percent of the time.  I have to say that I believe my perspective has changed over the years, and I guess I hadn't noticed until I heard this song again.  It was a HUGE hit in the '80s, specifically in 1985 when it was released.  I remember thinking it was so cool because it had a radio announcer in it.  Turns out that was an MTV exec playing a radio announcer, but nevertheless, it was awesome.  The song seemed to be a rock anthem in many respects -- not really like a hard rock song that is so popular it becomes an anthem, but rather a song supporting rock music.  It's upbeat, and kind of a "hey, we're not going anywhere" type of song.

The lyrics are pretty interesting, and not really complicated or elaborate, but just very thorough for a rock tune.  I guess it's more of a pop tune.  Well, maybe it's best classified as "Top 40" for the day.  Anyway, I thought for years they were singing "My Coney plays the mamba..."  My Coney?  Like Coney Island?  I wasn't sure, and I certainly couldn't understand why those would be the lyrics, but that's what I thought!  Much later, I discovered simply from listening, that it was "Marconi plays the mamba...."  AHA!  Okay, that makes much more sense.  Marconi, father/inventor of the radio.  Yup.  Got it.  There are a couple of other lines I misheard, but that was the funniest.  I did hear "corporation games," though, which makes me say "right on!" especially since I can understand that now.  "Someone's always playing corporation games...who cares they're always changing corporation names."  I can certainly hear and relate to those lyrics very well today.

This tune does make me smile, and it is pretty "fun," but I've discovered "Somebody to Love" by listening to Nights with Alice Cooper.  I think I probably heard it a few times in my youth (I seem to remember my parents having that record), but now I can really appreciate it from a musical and lyrical standpoint.  I think it's a better representation of the root of Starship -- Jefferson Airplane.  I'm not sure of the whole evolution, but I do like this one so much more now.  So, I've included them both.  Hope you enjoy the retrospective.

Reason to Believe

While scrolling through some Facebook posts today, I discovered that it is Rod Stewart's birthday.  Yes -- January 10, 1945.  That makes Mr. Stewart 68 years young ;) As cheesy as that may sound, he certainly does seem to have a young spirit and a true zest for life.  I hope he is having a wonderful celebration surrounded by friends and family.

Meanwhile, I had to pick a Rod Stewart song to honor the occasion.  I looked through a couple of titles, and I know that I've already posted about some of my favorites.  So, well, um -- I chose a tune he didn't write.  "Reason to Believe" was written by Tim Hardin in 1965, and Rod recorded it in 1971.  He then recorded it again in 1993 for MTV Unplugged.  I guess it didn't surprise me too much when I discovered that he hadn't written the song, because it's all about heartbreak.  I can't imagine Rod ever being heartbroken, but perhaps he was.  I think he recounted one woman who broke his heart before he proposed to her, but I lost track.  I should read his memoir.  Anyway, he does have some songs about heartbreak -- sort of.  I posted about "My Heart Can't Tell You No," which is more of an unrequited love tune.  Nevertheless, the video of "Reason to Believe" from MTV Unplugged was very touching and an excellent performance, so I thought I'd post it here.  He and Ron Wood have a couple of laughs beforehand, and it's all very relaxed.  I think this may have been one of the best recordings I've heard of his music.  On that note, Happy Birthday, Mr. Stewart -- and all the best wishes for many more!

Let's Groove

We're turning the time capsule way back to 1981 with Earth, Wind and Fire's "Let's Groove."  I feel a bit conflicted about this one, because it was written in 1981, but it sounds as if it could have been written sometime in the mid to later '70s.  No problem there -- it's all good as they say.  The video for the song seems pretty standard for the day with it's kind of "space aged" feel and visual effects, but the costumes are still feeling pretty '70s to me.  I'm not complaining, though.  The '70s were a terrific decade -- at least from what I remember from being quite young back then.

Anyway, I am not sure how this groove could not get you to move, because it is kind of infectious in a good way -- like the groove bug or something.  So stand up!  You're looking good, you're out of sight.  How come we don't say that anymore?  Kind of reminds me of J.J. Evans from "Good Times" -- dynomite!  If this tune does not get you up off your feet with a spontaneous urge to boogie down, then I am not sure anything would!  And the horn section on this tune really is outta site!  I'd write more, but I think I'll just let this groove get me to move :)

Something Happened on the Way to Heaven

I have to admit that I wasn't a huge Phil Collins/Genesis fan in the 80s, but there were a couple of songs that sparked my attention back then.  Now that I am older, I can certainly appreciate his music and unyielding talent.  He is a true master of the musical craft.

So, something happened on the way to heaven, and the story unfolds through the lyrics.  Actually, it's quite simple -- he had a love, lost her, and now he wants her back.  How many times can he say he's sorry?!  Well, just a couple, and we hear it in the chorus -- which is also where Phil Collins is supported by the harmonies of his back-up singers.  Ah yes, the back-up singers...  Back in the day, many stars broke onto the scene via that route.  There certainly was no shame in that gig, because it either led to a solo career or the simple joy of joining forces with great singers day after day.  In addition to the supporting vocalists in this song, there is an amazing brass section that I just could not miss as an instrumentalist myself.  Wow.  That is some terrific trumpet and a really tight section.  Blows my mind that they make it seem so easy...  And speaking of easy, the intro of this song sounds quite similar to "Easy Lover," giving you the feeling that something of epic proportions is about to happen.  Will it be Phil Collins flying in on a plane with Phillip Bailey like in the "Easy Lover" video?  No, but it is something better -- song writing of epic proportions with a dynamite instrumental and vocal ensemble to support Mr. Collins.  Kudos big time here.   I don't quite get the whole dog thing in the video, although s/he is pretty cute.  I think the live performance element in the video would have been just fine by itself, but maybe something happened on the way to production, and the dog's role was born.  I'm not sure, but I certainly am curious...

Couldn't help thinking of Rowlf when the dog played the piano in this video.

Armageddon It

Well, I am long, long overdue for a post here at Becky's World.  I took a bit of a hiatus over the holidays and will try to get back into the swing of daily posts.  Meanwhile, since we all made it to 2013, I thought it would be the perfect chance to talk about one of my favorite Def Leppard tunes, "Armageddon It."  Yes, it is a play on words (Are you gettin' it?  Yes, Armageddon it).  Pretty cool, and with this awesomely guitar-saturated rock anthem, "Armageddon It" is the perfect phrase to have fun with in this tune.  In fact, it seems pretty clear as to what the song references (in terms of "gettin' it), so why not take charge of the opportunity to play around with words?  If you read the lyrics, it seems to be an overture to someone who seems all fired up and ready but then hesitates to "trigger the gun."  So, nothing left to do at this point but cut to the chase:

Gimme all of your lovin', ev'ry little bit
Gimme all that you got, ev'ry bit of it
Ev'ry bit of your lovin', oh, c'mon live a bit
Never want it to stop

Pretty '80s looking jacks here

Makes perfect sense to me!  And you just have to love a song that uses the term "lovin'."  Yeah, only in rock lyrics can one be so creative.  I mean, I don't think that would be realistic in casual conversation...  So, it's great to hear it in this tune.  I must admit that I never realized that "jumpin' jack" was part of the lyrics, though.  Kind of reminds me of playing jacks back in the '80s.  Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy this tune and video as much as I do.  Gotta love the big bear slippers on Joe Elliott at the end of the video, too.  I think I may have bought those for my dad or brother back in the day.  I'm definitely gettin' every bit of the nostalgia from this video...  Thank you, Def Leppard -- rock on!