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ASK HUBSKI: Three emotive songs?

by bgood79 · #askhubski
posted 360 days ago · shared by: 12
Y'ever hear a song and you either want to laugh, cry, or go on a killing spree? This one's pretty wide open but I'll start by giving a song that always puts me in tears, makes me instantly happy, and one that is a wildcard and you never know whats gonna happen. I Shall Be Released - (any version of this one can make me weep but mainly the JGB one) Sukie in the Graveyard - (Belle and Sebastian, usually instant happiness) Thunderkiss 65 - (White Zombie - Best to stay at least 500 ft away from me if this song is within earshot) What are yours?


by stevesmusichub 360 days ago  ·  link
one more Beatles only and from my "music account" I forgot I set up a while back:

tears: For No One

Happy: Ferris Style

Wildcard: Revolution

by bgood79 360 days ago  ·  link
Tears: She's leaving home Happy: I'll follow the sun Wildcard: Im so tired/Helter Skelter

2Lazy2Link should be my new screen name.

by thenewgreen 360 days ago  ·  link
Good calls, especially I'll Follow The Sun -I often forget about that one. It was a toss up between Helter Skelter and Revolution for me.

It's funny that you chose "She's Leaving Home" because as a kid I always thought of this as an exciting and liberating song. -Escaping. Now as a father, I definitely find it sad. But as a kid I couldn't wait to get the hell out.

by pizzaparty 360 days ago  ·  link
sad -He Aint Heavy He's My Brother -The Hollies (Alan Parson engineering) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oT57tjz9py8

fun- Mr. Blue Sky -ELO http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjPqsDU0j2I

badass- Everlong -Foo Fighters http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crOZk88eCcg

by bgood79 359 days ago  ·  link
Mr Blue Sky is downright timeless!
by pizzaparty 312 days ago  ·  link
Yes it is. Puts me in a good mood every time.
by mk 360 days ago  ·  link
Tears: Benny Goodman: Goodbye

Happiness: Talking Heads: This Must Be the Place

Wildcard: New Order: Face Up

by bgood79 360 days ago  ·  link
TMBTP is my favorite Talking Heads song. Great Pull!
by bgood79 360 days ago  ·  link
I love I Robot! Dude, Satch! Nice!
by thenewgreen 360 days ago  ·  link
Thanks for introducing me to the song "Day After Day". It's very Floyd-ish.

The lyrics are definitely sad and full of regret:

  Gaze at the sky
  And picture a memory
  Of days in your life
  You knew what it meant to be happy and free
  With time on your side

  Remember your daddy
  When no one was wiser
  Your ma used to say
  That you would go further than he ever could
  With time on your side

  Think of a boy with the stars in his eye
  Longing to reach them but frightened to try
  Sadly, you'd say, someday, someday

  But day after day
  The show must go on
  And time slipped away
  Before you could build any castles in spain
  The chance had gone by

  With nothing to say
  And no one to say it to

  Nothing has changed
  You've still got it all to do
  Surely you know
  The chance has gone by

  Think of a boy with the stars in his eye
  Longing to reach them but frightened to try
  Sadly, you'd say, someday, someday

  But, day after day
  The show must go on
  And you gaze at the sky
  And picture a memory of days in your life
  With time on your side

  With time on your side
  (day after day the show must go on)
  With time on your side
  (day after day the show must go on)
by briandmyers 360 days ago  ·  link
Seeing the lyrics here reminds me of something I've thought about a few times before - if you have heard this song a few times, you can no longer see these words as poetry only - there is no way to suppress the melody inside your head. Since at least some of the emotive power comes from the music, you can no longer really judge the emotive power of those words as a poem. No real point, just some random thoughts.

I'm going to paste in some lyrics that I'll bet few of you have ever heard - I would be interested to know if you think it stands on its own as a poem - I can no longer read it without hearing the song.

Circus Of Heaven (Jon Anderson)

The day the Circus of Heaven came in to town

Local folks lined the streets in a Midwestern town

Waiting anxiously for the parade to begin all around

On the very last day

A unicorn headed the mystical way

Surrounded by what seemed a thousand golden angels at play

Behind were Centaurs, elves, bright fairies all in colours of jade

On the very final day

For what seemed only just a moment in time

Seven solemn flying silvered regal horses rode by

Seven golden chariots in tow, a wonder to behold

The Seven Lords of the Mountains of Time

There then arose where nothing really stood there before

A giant tent rising one thousand feet high frofrom the floor

Towns people flocked inside with their eyes all amazed

To greet the Seventh Lord of the seventh age

A fanfare rang out in an incredible sound

Bringing out the strangest visions perfect harmony round

Any dreams he asked would they like to have seen

From historical or mythical scenes

Then there above their heads just as vivid as life

Each vision transported multitudes inventing light

Grecian galleons, the sack of Troy, to the Gardens of Babylon

A play of millions roared along

The gigantic dreams of Alexander the Great

Civil wars where fbrothers fought and killed their friendship with hate

All seen by Zeus performing scenes in the magical way

The day the circus came to town

Outside great animals as tame as the trees

Angels high in starlight dancing streets

Turning their colours with indigo and gold

Dropping violet, red and emerald snow

As the circus finally changed its invisible course

A new world to be found

On the dreamy ground we walked upon

I turned to my son and said

"Was that something beautiful, amazing, wonderful, extraordinary beautiful?"

"Oh! It was OK!! But there were no clowns, no tigers, lions or bears, no candi-floss, toffee apples, no clowns."

by thenewgreen 360 days ago  ·  link
Sure, it stands on it's own as a poem. It's pretty fantastical and not necessarily the type of poem I would choose to read but it definitely stands. It reads very lyrically, which makes sense.

Now I want to hear the song!

I know what you mean though, I have had to type out my own lyrics for various reasons in the past and I'm never sure how they read because I can never separate them from melody. It's impossible.

by briandmyers 360 days ago  ·  link
The song affects me emotionally more than I would expect the lyrics alone to do. Poignant I think is the word I'm looking for.

The final line is delivered by Jon Anderson's son.

by thenewgreen 360 days ago  ·  link
This song is fantastic, so much more so with the music.
by briandmyers 360 days ago  ·  link
Cheers. Did you know that Alan Parsons was the sound engineer on "Dark Side of the Moon" ? You could also say that album is 'Parsonish'...
by bgood79 360 days ago  ·  link
Had a hand in Abbey Road as well
by thenewgreen 360 days ago  ·  link
Nice, no I didn't know that. You can definitely hear the influences... not sure what came first the chicken or the parson?
by steve 359 days ago  ·  link
I had the incredible fortune to sit down and chat with Alan Parsons. That is one down to earth, wickedly brilliant audio engineer. So many cool stories about "the good old days" in the studio.
by thenewgreen 359 days ago  ·  link
Very cool. How did you get that opportunity? Did it have to do with your video work?
by steve 359 days ago  ·  link
I wish - no, he came and lectured at a local university where a friend is a professor. I got the heads up that following the big lecture, there would be a more intimate setting with just Alan, some faculty and a few students. He just chatted us all up. He told stories, even took the time to listen to some of the students recordings and give them critiques. We asked questions, he gave thoughtful answers... it was really, really cool. I'm not even a huge Alan Parsons Project fan, but I am a big fan of the dude, and a lot of his studio work.
by b_b 359 days ago  ·  link
Cameo has a song besides "Word Up"? I did not know that.
by JakobVirgil 359 days ago  ·  link
and what a song it is.
by thenewgreen 360 days ago  ·  link
Nice, I like the question. I'll stick with your format for the answer:

Tears: Chris Bathgate- Serpantine ignore the video. This song came on when my wife and I were having a very, very "emotive" time. I can't hear it and not think of this. I know she can't either.

Happiness: I'm not trying to steal your thunder but I'm going to take your Sukie and raise you a Your Covers Blown -point is, Belle and Sebastian make people "happy".

Wildcard: Hmm.. I'm going to go with Helmet-Unsung though it was a tough call between that and Waiting Room -Fugazi -gonna call it a tie...

Nah, fuck that... Waiting Room definitely wins. -This song makes me want to break something.

by bgood79 360 days ago  ·  link
Great wildcards! I rocked out to Waiting Room in High School and was convinced that I was apart of the teenage angst revolution!....then I realized I had cool parents that loved me and I could pretty much do what I wanted, so that didn't last.
by thenewgreen 360 days ago  ·  link
I've met your parents. They never loved you. Let the angst resume!
by scrimetime 359 days ago  ·  link
Tears-Remember The Mountain Bed-Billy Bragg & Wilco Happy-Constructive Summer-The Hold Steady Wildcard-Sink Hole-Drive-By Truckers *must include whiskey&cigarettes
by sounds_sound 360 days ago  ·  link
Happy: Bowie 'A New Career in a New Town'

Sad: almost anything on Selma Songs. I'm not even going to link to it because it will make you sad.

Wildcard? I can't even begin to know how to start thinking about that one. How'bout another Happy?

by bgood79 359 days ago  ·  link
Bowie - Width of a Circle is also an excellent wildcard. Bowie goes all sabbath
by b_b 359 days ago  ·  link
Here's my all Beatles version (subject to change):

Sad: Eleanor Rigby

Happy: Happiness is a Warm Gun

Wild Card: Dr. Robert

by thenewgreen 358 days ago  ·  link
Good picks. I've always liked Happiness is a Warm Gun too, how can you not like the background vox "bang-bang shoot-shoot"? Plus it's a great gravely John vocal performance.
by smoorman1024 358 days ago  ·  link
I have to disagree with your Happy song. What about Lucy in The Sky With Diamonds or I am the Walrus for a Happy Beatles song. They don't necessarily have lyrical content that emotes happiness but their melody is in line with it.
by b_b 358 days ago  ·  link
I don't mean that "Happiness" is the happiest song; its just makes me really happy to hear it. I love it perhaps more than any other song I've ever heard.

    They don't necessarily have lyrical content that emotes happiness but their melody is in line with it.

Yeah, "Run for Your Life" is my favorite example of this.

by b_b 359 days ago  ·  link
Sad: Somebody that I used to Know--Elliott Smith

Happy: O My Soul--Big Star

Wild Card: If You Want Me to Stay--Sly and the Family Stone

by speeding_snail 359 days ago  ·  link
sadness and hope: Ramses Shaffy -Zing, vecht, huil, bid, lach, werk en bewonder: This song played on my grandfathers funeral, so next to being a beautiful dutch song, it also has a emotional charge for me.

Sadistic: Voltaire - When you're evil: Just a lovely evil song :P

Happy: Lily Allen - Fuck you: I know, really bad...



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