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!
I was inspired to look at more music from the late '80s after I wrote my last post, so I did a bit of browsing. Looked at songs from 1987 and 1988 and came across this Eddie Money classic. I'm not sure what it is about his songs, but I really like all of them. His voice is kind of raspy, but I think that is what makes him distinctive. He also had this kind of rock and roll, working man look. Not too edgy, just a guy who looks like someone you'd know--someone you'd go to sports games with or something. I like the whole jeans and blazer look. Still works for folks today! It is cool, chic, stylish, and relaxed. Nothing crazy or pretentious. I love that his whole band is wearing jeans in the video--or at least I think they are. The keyboard player and guitar player next to him look like they are both wearing black jeans. Yup, I remember those.
Anyway.....The video is interesting. Gotta love "Night Tracks," too. Does anyone else remember that show? I used to watch it religiously on my little 13 inch television. As for this video, I just love watching the band perform and sing together--- "na na, na-na, na, na-na-na-na..." Perfect! The harmony is really refreshing, and I admit that I could just sit and watch videos of bands performing all day. But, alas, there is another character in the video. It is a woman--a scorned woman. She is angry with someone--someone we never see. But, it is pretty clear from the lyrics. A man is singing to a woman who feels cheated, hurt, and upset. He screwed up a few times--it's alright. Does he have to walk on water? Find some way to prove? If he could walk on water, would she believe in him? His love is so true.... Well, maybe he does. The woman in the video is pretty upset. Not sure why she is always in a swimsuit. Guess it has to do with the whole water thing. I'm not a fan of the skirted, ruffly swimsuit, but that was very '80s. I'm surely not a fan of the white shorts in the video that kind of look like a diaper. Not certain what's going on there. She just is yelling and angry through most of the video, which is sad in my opinion. They should have just let the cameras roll on the band. Yup, that would be perfect. Lyrics, bah--you don't have to follow them for the video, really. It's alright... Just show the band :)
So, I'm not sure if they just announced this, but Heart posted their summer tour dates on their website. You can see them at http://www.heart-music.com/tourdates.html. I was SO excited to see this, and I am wishing that I still lived in Indiana so that I could see them in Hammond. Oh well... Maybe I will make a special trip out there this summer, because I would absolutely love to see them live. Pat Benatar will be playing somewhat nearby where I am now on April 21st -- so I will have to decide if I can get out to that show (Rhode Island is kind of closeby). Anyway, in honor of Heart, I wanted to share "Barracuda." This is one of my all-time favorite Heart tunes. It is just so terrific. I love the cranking guitar line and Ann Wilson's unbelievably powerful voice. If you read the history behind the song, you'll find out that it is about a man--well, sort of. It's not about some cheating ex-boyfriend or anything like that. No, it's about the dirty, sleazy press and how they tried to make people think that Ann and her sister Nancy were "lovers." Oh please...that is sad, low, pathetic. Yeah, just like a barracuda. Nevertheless, this song could really be about anything. I am SURE that they could put any lyrics to the music and it would be a virtual rock and roll explosion. I've included two versions of the video here--one from 1977 and one from 2002 (live in Seattle). I know the original was from the '70s and not the '80s, but that is alright because Heart has been rockin' through many decades, and I am sure they will for many more. Hope you enjoy "Barracuda."
