Nirvana - Something In the Way (song of the day)

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By MJ

20 Years ago today Kurt Cobain shuffled himself off this mortal coil.  It just seemed right to play a Nirvana song today.  The problem was which one.  The obvious choice would Smells like Teen Spirit or one of the "hits".  I thought I would go the other way and pick a song that sounded more personal to him.  So I choose Something in the way off the Nevermind album.  

I've seen a few interviews with Butch Vig the producer of Nevermind describing the recording of the album and specifically this song.  So if your interested see the video below


Save the Last Dance For Me by The Drifters

in ,
By Bug

Todays song of the day is Save the Last Dance For Me, written by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman. The song was made famous by The Drifters, back in 1960. Now here is why this is the song of the day.  The song was written at Doc Pomus wedding.  His wife was a famous Broadway singer and dancer. When they were married, Doc Pomus had Polio, and used a wheel chair to get around. The story has it, as Doc Pomus watched his new wife dance with person after person, he wrote down the lyrics that would become the song Save the Last Dance for Me. Knowing that it did not matter how many people she danced with, at the end of it all, she would be with him. 

Nude by Radiohead (song of the day)

in ,
By Bug

Todays song of the day is Nude by Radiohead.  This is one of my favorite Radiohead songs.  It was released in March 2008, on the album In Rainbows.  This album was the first album to be released by a major artist, with a pay what you want model.  Radiohead set up a website, and let their fans decide how much to pay for the album.  It was extremely successful.  However, that is not the cool thing about this song.  The song has actually been floating around since 1997, it was written during the OK Computer days. It however never made it on the album. Instead it was played live, and was called Big Idea, because the band really did not have a name for it. It was taken from the opening line of the song “Don’t get any big ideas” You can also hear the song on the video Meeting People is Easy, which documents the bands OK Computer Tour.

Here is an early version of the song. (on a side note, if you are like MJ, you may not want to watch this.)

In April of 2008, this single became the second biggest hit in Radioheads career, after Creep.

Another fun fact: Radiohead has several other songs that have never been officially recorded or released, but played live often, including True Love Waits, which does make an appearance on the live album I Might Be Wrong. 

Time Jesum Transeuntum Et Non Riverentum by Nick Cave and the Dirty Three (song of the day)

in ,
By Bug

Todays song of the day is 'Time Jesum Transeuntum Et Non Riverentum' by Nick Cave and the Dirty Three.  Here is the thing about this song that I love. I owned the CD it was released on, The X-Files: The Songs in the Key of X, but did not know this song existed until a month later when I was reading an issue of AP. But before we get into that, I should also like to point out that, in the liner notes, "Nick Cave and the Dirty Three would like you to know that "0" is also a number".  I had read this but had no idea what it meant, if it meant anything at all.

As I read the issue of AP, it talked about Nick Cave, and the Dirty Three having secret songs. I was thinking they were crazy; I checked the end of the CD (where secret songs where usually hiding) and there was nothing there.  According to the article, the secret songs could only be found on certain CD players, CD players that allowed you to “rewind” CD’s.  So this is how it worked.  You put the CD in, and then you held the back button. On my CD player, you could actually see the minute button going into the negative.  You could also here the garbled sound of a song, then a brief silent part, then garbled sound. Now here is the kicker that always frustrated me. If you held the button down too long, the CD would go back to track 1, and you would have to start the whole process over again.  Eventually I got to where I could rewind the CD without issue.

The first garbled sound (sounds a lot different when played normally) was a remix of the X-files theme

Which now brings us to the song of the day

Besides having 2 secret songs on this CD, Nick Cave and the Seeds song, Red Right Hand, also appeared on the album. It was also the first mainstream song to appear on the X-files. But we will save that for another day.  

Girls Just Want to Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper (Song of the Day)

in ,
By Bug

 

Todays song of the day is Girls Just Want to Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper. I know, you are thinking Cyndi Lauper? I am not a fan myself, but my 7 year old daughter is and I am also a child of the 80’s. This shows you the staying power of this song that was released in late 1983. It was the first hit for Cyndi Lauper. It reached number 2 on the Billboard charts. But did you know that this was a cover? The song was written, and recorded by Robert Hazard in 1979, 4 years before Cyndi Laupers version.

The original song was written from a male’s perspective, but Cyndi Lauper changed the lyrics, to make it from a female perspective.

   The video for the Cyndi Laupers version of the song also stared her real mother (playing her mother) and Louis Vincent "Captain Lou" Albano as her father. Louis Vincent "Captain Lou" Albano was a famous wrestler at the time, but I personally remember him from the stupid rubber bands he would wear in his check, and from The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! 

This is why todays song of the day goes to Cyndi Laupes version of Girls just want to have fun. 

Elvis Presley - One Night With You (song of the day)

in ,
By Bug

"One Night" is a song written by Dave Bartholomew, Pearl King, and Anita Steiman. The song was originally written and recorded under the title "One Night (Of Sin)," and had been a hit for Smiley Lewis.

 Elvis recorded a version of the song in its original form on January 18, 1957. The record company and Elvis’ manger had some concern about the lyrics of the song. This version would finally get released in 1983. 

Elvis loved the song and did not give up on it. He played with the song in his spare time on the set of Loving You, and he rewrote the lyrics that he felt were holding the song captive.  

Elvis went to Radio Recorders in Los Angeles, on February 23, 1957, with the new lyrics in hand, he knew neither the record company nor his manager could say anything.

Released as a single in October 1958 and peaked at No. 4 on Billboard's singles chart.  

Weezer - I Just Threw Out the Love of My Dreams

in ,
By Bug

 

I Just Threw Out the Love of My Dreams is a B-side to The Good Life, by Weezer. It was released in the fall of 1996. It was original part of a space opera called Songs from the Black Hole, the band was working on, but the concept fail apart before being completed.  Rivers wanted the album to flow, like Pink Floyds- Dark Side of the Moon. A few of the songs remained, and made it to B-sides of songs off the Pinkerton album.