There are two songs in particular that I think are superior candidates for exactly this type of twisting of expectations. One is considered among the most romantic standards of all time, as well as the very model of slow-dance doo-wop song. The Flamingos recorded the ultimate version of “I Only Have Eyes For You.” I don’t know if it’s the bass line, those shoo-bop-shoo-bop or the incessantly repetitive tinkling of the same piano keys, but something about this song gives it an unsettling, almost macabre edge to it. There is a feeling to this song of something dark and dangerous beneath its lyrics of undying love.
Category: Music
Pylon suffered from the fact their music wasn’t quite as accessible as REM’s, nor were they tempted toward going as mainstream as Stipe and the fellas. The music of Pylon had more in common with Gang of Four than the country rock that got REM played on college radio stations across the country. And the lyrical content of Pylon’s songs had to deal a subtle complexity that was even more of a hindrance than Stipe’s inability to speak coherently:
Some of them are achingly obvious while others may not even be known as concept albums. Some become classics that sell millions of records while others remain cult favorites impossible to tear away from the grip of their fans. In fact, there is but one element that is applicable to all—or at least most—concept albums: the songs are intended to be listened to in a particular order so that the full measure of the “concept” can play out in a linear fashion.
The sense of nationalism represented by Beethoven’s personal choice to deliver his next great composition as not just as a demonstration of his own creative evolution, but hope for it to be accepted as political propaganda reflect the complex nature of the concept of nationalism.
The 4th of July is about backyard barbecues and while firing up your Vogner Char-King Imperiale you’ll probably also want to fire up the stereo and remember what Independence Day really used to be about. Here are some 4th of July songs for your playlist. Word of warning, my fellow Americans, you won’t find any Lee Greenwood or Trace Adkins or even Bruce Springsteen on this list.
Gang of Four’s Marxist theory is particularly preoccupied with determination of consciousness. Although many of their songs rail against specific targets, the bulk of their message centers on the conceit of becoming aware of the political implications that inform the reception of ideas and opinions about those targets.
The politics of her husband were radical, indeed he is still quite the radical figure in Russian politics, and some elements of those politics informed her writing not just in her novels, but in many articles for French publications took equally satiric jibes at the patently phony underbelly of so much bohemian life. After their divorce, that laughing girl from the Cars album cover turned to punk music.
Civil twilight, you see, is actually a scientific definition used in navigation to define that period of the day when the center of the sun is geometrically positioned so that artificial lighting is not necessary to distinguish terrestrial objects. In other words, civil twilight is when humans are able to see things clearly and naturally.
Now, don’t you want to get to know a band that comes up with a song title like that?
Rap is not about rebellion so much as it about social mobility. The rappers may want to kill cops, but they do not want to eat the rich. No, instead they want to become the rich and seek the insulation that protects the very people they claim to be fighting against.
Before choosing any of these names for you band, it is suggested you do a…