What?! Oh Hell No! Hold up. Huh? Oh Ok

(Or, what’s that song really about?)

Wake Me Up When September Ends – Green Day

So, we hear this song every year when a football team starts out 0 and 4.

We also hear it when we are seeing tributes to the September 11^th attacks.

It was used as a tribute to Hurricane Katrina

The video itself is a long sweeping love story about a young couple torn apart by the war. The sadness of waiting for a loved one to come home, and everything we feared during the Iraq war.  

Obviously none of that is what the song is about at all.

But the band never told anyone not to use it.  I think good musicians are aware that, even when their words are misconstrued, they can still help others heal.  (ok maybe not the football stuff)

The song’s real meaning came from Billie Joe Armstrong’s childhood.   They mention it in one line in particular, but at the age of ten Billie Joe lost his father in September of 1982.  So the line “Like my father's come to pass”  is the whole meaning behind the song.

The video was okayed because Billie Joe felt that it still conveyed loss, along with their disdain for the war.

Closing Time – Semisonic

20 years later, bars are still playing this song as they turn up the lights.

Seems simple enough, we all know the bar culture, “you don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here“ has been around for years, hell, it’s in the Blues Brothers

So, ok, what’s the song really about?

Childbirth.   Yep, just listen to the damn lyrics, take the bar context out of it, and realize that the bar is a womb, that  “won’t be open until your brothers or sisters come”    

It’s the baby that knows who it wants to take him or her home. 

Yep. 

Don’t believe me, Singer Dan Wilson breaks it down line by line in the video below.

Say It Ain’t So – Weezer

I don’t get to talk about this song enough, and more people should know what it’s really about.

So if you don’t understand the importance this has to me, recognize that the symbol on the bass drum head is on my arm.  Or realize that when I am talking about Rivers the next couple of lines, I am talking about the leader of Weezer; not my son, but recognize where I got my son’s name.

So I don’t know what you think the song is about, I’ve known for years, so I don’t know what people think it’s about.

Anyways Rivers’ real parents split when he was a kid, and when that happened Rivers believed it to be due to the fact that his father was an alcoholic.  I can’t confirm that he was, only that this was what Rivers believed.

Flash forward to Rivers in High School and he comes home and there is beer in the fridge, So Rivers immediately thinks of the worst.  He now thinks that his step father is going to become an alcoholic and leave his family just as his real father had done.

So, listen to the lyrics now, it’s all there,  a Heineken in the fridge,  “like father , step father”   really the words were there the whole time, so if you missed it, well yeah  I can understand.  That’s a lot of personal history to know about. 

Damn.

Semi- Charmed Life – Third Eye Blind

You didn’t realize what this was about because on the radio and video edits, they backmask  the word, and in the video, lead singer  Stephan Jenkins covers his mouth .

But if you watch the video, he also walks backwards as he says it, which, means nothing, but come on, backmasking and showing that you did it.

Fucking genius.

The radio and vide edits also take out the post bridge.  I mean, you aren’t missing much, but the lyrics make sense if you know what you are hearing.  

There are other edits that take a shit ton more out. They use those on “light” radio stations nowadays, and those edits make it impossible to understand the true meaning.

Ok fine, I’ll tell you

Crystal Meth.  The song is about  a downward spiral into a slow addiction to Crystal Meth. The original chorus was, “I want nothing else”

So, yeah, he says “Doing Crystal meth will lift you up”

Drugs man, drugs.  Has anyone ever written a straight up song about drugs and got it on the radio?  Maybe someday soon. 

So here is the official video

Here is an unofficial fan made lyric video of the whole song intact as it appears on the album 

Love Song – Sara Bareilles

So, you may think that it’s a break up song, or a fuck you to a former lover.

It’s actually a fuck you to her record label.

She was trying to make an album and she was writing song after song, and the label, Epic, was still looking for a hit.  They weren’t ready to put out an album without a radio hit.

She was running into writer’s block and just became frustrated.

So Bareilles just wrote out the way she felt about the record label’s pressure and the way that they would just offer no help other than to shoot her down.  They wanted a love song.

That’s exactly what they got.

The Freshmen – The Verve Pipe

Depending on who you ask, the song means a lot of things. 

Only two of them are acceptable answers. 

The song is usually referred to as a song about suicide, and lyrically that’s what it’s about, the lead singer’s ex committing suicide.

Except that it never actually happened. 

The girl in question did have an abortion, and that’s what the song is really about.  There’s only 1 line that truly refers to it, but it’s there and you probably never  noticed it. 

“Stop a baby's breath and a shoe full of rice”

I don’t know what the rice part means.  But yeah, it’s a really deep dark song.

And here’s the darkest version out there.

And here’s the brightest:

Total Eclipse of the Heart – Bonnie Tyler

So the song was written by Jim Steinman, the man who wrote and produced Meat Loaf’s Bat out of Hell.

So right off the bat (no pun intended) you know it’s going to be some crazy shit.  The song was originally longer, I mean you’ve heard Paradise by the Dashboard Light, Jim Steinman writes some long ass crazy songs. 

The video is crazy as fuck too, and if you haven’t seen the Literal version, you owe it to yourself to see it. Click Here.   Watch other literal videos too.

So anyways, the song is a love song, but it’s not just any love song, it’s a vampire love song.

I would’ve watched more of Twilight had they used it.

So yeah, it’s a god damned Vampire love song.  So it’s about literally living in the dark all the time and that will be the only time for love or anything. 

Obviously the eclipse represents that moment of darkness in the middle of day. A brief moment where you can be totally out and free.

Summer of 69 – Bryan Adams

Seriously?

Bryan Adams was 10 in the summer of 69, you really think he had a band then?

And that one of the members would have left the band to get married?

Sex.   As in the sexual position of 69ing.

There’s some nostalgia in there and you can say it’s about young love, but 69 is there on purpose.

So that’s it for today.

 I’m sorry if I ruined your ideas as to what this music was really about, I know that you probably won’t look or hear the songs in the same way again.

But hey at least you know the truth right?

One last fun story,  Randy Bachman of Bachman Turner Overdrive has a brother named Gary.   Gary had a stutter. 

So when BTO was making the Not Fragile album the guys were playing around with a fun song, it was a nod to The Who, with the chorus progression being the same as Baba O’Riley. 

The song was not supposed to be a part of the album and Randy Bachman stuttered through the chorus as a joke to his brother, Gary was supposed to get the only copy of this song.   

Well, the rep from their label was still looking for a hit, and this was proposed, Randy re-recorded the lyrics without the stutter, but no one liked it, so they used the original with the stutter, and they had a number 1 song. 

Ok, Bye Now, 

See you later.

Woops??!?

Ok, bye now,  see you next week or something .

Protest

Here we go-

You still here?

Thank You  for sticking with me

**********You may notice the absence of a few songs. I blogged about them on my History Through Music post.  Click on it to see a few more. *********

Music can be a powerful tool.

It can bring people together.

Don’t believe me?  Go meet someone new, ask them about music,  you’ll probably be best friends in 20 minutes

Unless they’re only into some weird avant-garde shit that only 3 people like.  Or Tegan and Sara

That being said, music can unite people over issues. It can make us love one another. It can make us come together against ideas, against people, against anything.  It can even just make us realize that things are ok.

Enter the protest song.  And there are many.  Personally, I think the people of the 60s really knew how to protest, but Hip Hop has also had its great protest songs.

So today, I’m going to give you some of the good ones.   

******Please know that I only support peaceful protest. Violence may be fantasized, but to actually resort to it, is never the answer ******

Today is not a day for being sensitive, you may see something you don’t believe in, you may see something that you don’t like, but don’t get angry. Realize that some people have a different view of life than you.  And that’s ok, we  can have different points of view and still be peaceful.

However, you also have to understand some of these songs are going to come from an angry point of view.  They may say things angrily and they may incite violence, anger, and fear .  That may upset you, but don’t let it consume you. Just try to understand them.

Just try.

Swing Low Sweet Chariot

So, I can’t give you the greatest  info about this song, It’s considered a Negro Spiritual.  So basically it was passed on and on.  But the genre is known for bringing Christian valued songs to the plantation workers.

There are also supposed underground railroad references in the song.  I hear that in it.

But I also just hear the idea that, maybe the only way out of slavery is death, and that hey maybe not in the best way, but at least it was over, and you could believe that the afterlife was the best life. 

That’s completely fucking sad. But it may be true. 

Anyways, I chose this version, because for me, it’s the best, I know Clapton did it and I know the hippies stole it too.  But Paul Robeson’s voice really paints the picture.

Cop Killer

So I thought, do we go chronological?  Do we go movement to movement,  how do we do this? 

I’m not looking for shock value, I am not looking to piss you off right away,

Contrast, there is some serious contrast that’s going to happen , so why not get it out of the way as quick as possible.

So, first off, this song is 24 years old, and yet just yesterday, Police Officer Jeronimo Yanez was charged with manslaughter for the death of Philando Castile.

I am not saying we kill anybody, and I don’t condone violence, but understand the sentiment and the anger that people have had for years over the unwarranted deaths and beatings and abuse by the police. 

I know, I know, not all police officers are bad people, but some of them are, and if you’ve ever heard, said, thought, or read the statement that One bad apple spoils the whole bunch, then you understand why Ice T would make a  blanket statement like that.

Now he stars in Geico commercials and ironically as a Cop on Law and Order SVU.

So look, like I said, you have to understand the anger, but look at it this way, if someone made a song about how much McDonald’s fucks up your order, you’d blast that shit every time you went through the drive thru.

 And don’t act like you’ve never seen anyone get mad about that shit and agreed with it.  So if it helps, during the part of the song when they say “Fuck the Police”, think of “Fuck Mickey D’s” and just think that the only cop they want to kill is Officer Big Mac.

You could say this is the same message too…

This Land is Your Land

First off, if you’ve ignored Woody Guthrie your whole life, you’ve missed out.  Especially on original versions of songs that other people made famous.

Woody lived through the Great Depression, and the Dust Bowl.  He lived through some horrible times.

Was he a communist, maybe, but more likely a socialist who was against facism.

So the song, is about the fact that we are always told that we live in a free country, but sometimes it doesn’t feel so free.  

This version includes lyrics about a wall, that he had to jump over. 

There’s other versions, there’s other lyrics.  

It’s weird because I, like many of you was taught this song in elementary school, only to learn in college that this land was sold to the highest bidder and then they used it to tax you and me.  But isn’t it weird that we learned this socialist view of the world at age 7.  (Maybe the whole Bernie thing makes more sense now)

But really, it has been used as a protest song for years.  Ironically, in 2010 an anti gay group was using the Peter Paul and Mary version of the song, until Peter and Paul told them to knock it the fuck off.

So the video is longer than the song, there’s no cool eater egg at the end, so when the song is over , move on. 

Give Peace a Chance

All we are saying is “Give Peace a Chance”

Do I need say more?

 It was the Vietnam era, people were against war, we still are. 

John Lennon got a bunch of people together and put this song together. 

This song pops in and out of relevance monthly. Really if you know the truth about the world we live in, there hasn’t been peace since this was written and recorded.

So, maybe we should try it, once, just to see what happens.

No? You don’t want to try it?   How about this then?

How about this concept then?

Ok, so you don’t think those last 2 were protest songs?  Certainly, this next one is.

The man really wanted to spread a message.  Can you blame him?

Like I said, we’re still waiting for the utopian world of Imagine, or just the Peace to finally get a chance. 

And Instant Karma, ha, people don’t care about Karma any more than they do Jesus’s message.

Blowin’ in the Wind

So Bob Dylan wrote this, but.

As for now, I give you the Peter Paul and Mary version, because that is the one that I have heard so many times.

This is what my mother played, and every Christmas we would watch  the Christmas special, and that, was when I learned about life, and kindness. It’s also when I realized my mother was a hippie and still longed for world peace.

My dad always made a joke of it, but I think it was to ease the tension.  You see, my mom, to this date, still can’t hear Blowin’ in the Wind without crying.

I can’t blame her.

Blowin’ in the Wind is a take of a negro spiritual song,  Dylan admits it himself.  And really the song speaks for everyone and anyone who has been disenfranchised.

God damn, it still resonates today, and none of the questions asked have yet to be answered. 

Peter Yarrow introduces the song to us here, and it’s worthwhile to pay attention.

There’s also this…

Mosh

Remember 2004? George Bush won re-election, we were all surprised as fuck.   (Boy, we should have seen 2016 coming)

Anyways, We were at war, another war like Vietnam, where we were there, but we didn’t  want to be.

Remember “Support the Troops” 

So we fired back with “We support the troops, just not the war”

At the same time, we were headed to the recession, it was expensive as fuck to be an American,.

Oh, and again, W was our president and he wasn’t that good at it, he lied to us, he mumbled and stumbled through important speeches. 

Don’t act like you are proud of George W Bush, no one has ever said that.

Honestly, the only reason this didn’t have enough effect was that it came out a bit too late. The election was like 2 weeks away.

Maybe it got people interested in politics, maybe it helped in 2008.

Ok, so the video and song tell the tale, just watch…

They Don’t Care About Us

The song was about prejudice and got misinterpreted, so the lyrics got changed a little.

But it’s the same sentiment that black people had been saying for years, it was what Kanye said about Bush in 2005.

The song  got more attention, because  Michael said “Jew me” and “Kike me”  But come on, Michael was already being scrutinized, and was angry, but those words were in solidarity.  You mean to tell me you really think Michael hated Jews?

I mean, how many times does it need to be said?

This is the reason behind Black Lives Matter, whether you agree it or not, that’s all black people have been trying to say for 250 years.  They matter and they feel like you don’t think they do. 

Sorta the same message here…

We Shall Overcome

This needs no explaining, except for the fact that it is as relevant now as it was in the 60s

I’m giving you Joan Baez’s version, because in 63 she did it with 300,000 people.

Fortunate Son

When I think of Vietnam, and how scary and unwanted it was, come on, what other song comes to mind.

You know how rich kids didn’t get drafted, or they got out of serving their country by saying their feet hurt.

This is about them, this is about how the kids we were sending to war were already the less fortunate kids. 

It seemed like the draft cards were only being called upon on one side of the tracks. 

John Fogerty said this song was also the response to seeing  the grandson of Eisenhower marrying the daughter of Nixon,  like there was this elitist social club who could do what they want, while the rest of the world had to go war.

For What It’s Worth

So this became a protest song about so much, people used it against the war and the Kent State shootings and basically anything else they could think of

But it was actually about some riots on Sunset Strip, as a result of a curfew. 

Basically, Hippies, and counterculture started to happen, and LA decided to have a 10pm curfew.

So they had a protest, and that’s actually what this song is about.

So, The protest song hasn’t died, it’s still alive and well…

 Keep protesting, keep letting your voice be heard, but be peaceful about it.

Muppet Madness

So, I guess today would be a great day just to have some fun. 

What’s in the past is in the past.

If you don’t follow the Muppets on YouTube, you are missing out.  It’s that simple.  It’s the Muppets for God’s sake, who in their right mind doesn’t like a Muppet?

So, today will be just a fun day of free advertising for the Muppets. 

I don’t think I have to say much about the videos as they all sort of speak for themselves.  But I will say a little

Jungle Boogie

So, this is a hell of a take on the original Kool and the Gang song.

This, like most of the others features The Electric Mayhem, who are the Muppets house band really.   The band consists of Dr. Teeth on vocals and keyboards, Animal on drums, Floyd Pepper on bass guitar, Janice on guitar, Zoot on saxophone, and lips on Trumpet ,

What makes this video great is Sam the Eagle who is a very conservative and patriotic dude. 

But the whole thing works out well, with a little twist.

Get Down

Mahna Mahna

I mean, how can you expect me to do a post on the Muppets and not include this?

Are you aware that this was a song from the 60s by a guy named Piero Umillani?(god bless you)

This was the muppets 3^rd or 4^th take, and became the definitive version.  So much that the main singer’s name is Mahna Mahna.  Of course his backup singers are the Snowths, originally Snouths as a combination of snout and mouth, as their nose is also their mouth.

So without further ado

Check the original  HERE

Bohemian Rhapsody

So, what can I say, you know the damn song. I need not tell you how great Queen is.

So if you don’t mind the liberties taken with the lyrics for comical value, then this is really worth a peek.

I’d like to tell you that I know the names of all the Muppets in this video, but there are way too many.   Seriously like every Muppet is in this.

Rowlf plays most of the song, but obviously Electric Mayhem shows up to tear up the loud stuff.

Enjoy

The Barber Shop

Just a quick short part of the 2011 movie, which if you haven’t seen, go see it.

Popcorn

If you don’t love The Swedish Chef, you are a silly head.

This is an instrumental song, so the fact that the Muppets made it work is phenomenal. 

It was originally recorded by Gershon Kingsley but you know the version by Hot Butter.

The phone call bit, gets me every time.

Ode to Joy

I know very little about classical music, I mean I know about it, but all the sweet details, I don’t know.

I know this has something to do with Beethoven’s 9^th symphony, but that’s like an hour and a half piece of music. I think

Anyways, The Muppets call on Beaker to get the job done here, and boy does he ever.

Habanera

Q.  What do you get when you combine the last two videos and add some Animal to it.

A. This

And check the always hilarious Statler and Waldorf at the end. 

Carol of the Bells

So, let’s get in the Christmas spirit.

I mean, why not right? 

Literally the same cast of characters as in the last video.  They seem to work together well.

Lime in the Coconut

I mean,  The Harry Nilsson  original is an odd masterpiece of it’s own.

This just sort of capitalizes on that.

If you don’t know the song, that’s cool. 

Ha you thought I was going to make fun of you.  Nope I fooled you. 

Stupid idiot.

Anyways check this out.

Poor Beaker

He just wants to sing his songs and be appreciated.  Poor guy

Rainbow Connection

Every now and then, the Muppets do their own thing.  This is one of those times, and it is brilliant and beautiful.

Whenever the Muppets need to reach an audience, they dust this one off, and we are all taken back to childhood.  This still means something to me. 

I think the best part of being a parent is when they enjoy something you liked as a child.

 Even more than that, my parents liked the Muppets,  you’ve gotta remember the Muppet Show was a sketch comedy show like SNL ot SCTV or those wacky British guys.  

So, they appealed in a way to our parents, so I’ve got 3 generations of Muppet lovers in my life, and I hope that continues. 

And Now for something completely different-

I hope I’ve brightened your day.

TV Soundtracks

If you haven’t seen this yet , this is where it starts.

I’ve had to watch this at least 50 times by now.  Just so that I could do it without crying.  I’m not going to get political, but I know I am not the only person that was moved to tears by this(as I’m writing this… here we go again) 

So, there’s the whole political side, it’s clear that Kate McKinnon is playing this as Hillary Clinton.  At the same time, she’s gotta be dealing with real fears. Being openly gay, being so inspired by Clinton.  I mean we are talking about a woman who doesn’t participate in social media out of fear.

Then there’s the fact that sadly Leonard Cohen had passed on Monday.  So from a musical side, it was another loss in the musical community, in a year where so many great ones are leaving us. Not again.

Now on top of it all, the Cohen family waited until Thursday to announce Leonard’s passing.  So here we were, a nation in somewhat of a crisis, a nation in fear, a nation in mourning, and now we lose someone who could put words together more beautifully than most.

So I have decided that I will take this time to get back to writing, and I want to highlight moments in television that had a perfect soundtrack moment. You know, those moments in tv where the music just fits perfectly and it affects the scene that much more.  So let’s do that. 

(Yes I know that the SNL moment isn’t really soundtrack, it was the inspiration.)

*********SPOILERS*********

It should be noted that since this is about tv shows, you may see scenes of a tv show that you are watching or getting caught up on, so know that there could be spoilers ahead.

We Used to be Friends – The Dandy Warhols – From the OC

So we go from one Cohen family to another, if you didn’t watch the OC, fine.  But I loved the show, I only missed 1 episode live and that was due to the birth of my child. 

So the show was about the hip Orange County scene, and a family who took in a teen with a long rap sheet . The dad was a lawyer the at risk youth had nowhere to go.  Watch it.

Anyway this is juat a brief moment where you see a kid happy because he’s gotten not 1 but 2 girls.  Then he realizes that he has to face them. 

This was my first encounter with the Dandy Warhols, and I’ve been hooked since.

Overkill- Colin Hay – From Scrubs

If you’ve never watched Scrubs, Fucking shame on you

What makes this great is that Colin Hay was there to play his song

This is from the beginning of the second season . At the end of the first season it was realized that there was a bizarre love hexagram happening  

This is just a great song and a great sequence. 

The video that you see shows the opening sequence which was the best part, but then the reprise at the end of the episode, plus another Colin Hay appearance

Nico Stai – One October Song – From Chuck

If you are anything like my wife, you haven’t seen much of Chuck.  Or any.  Another great show. There was always good music on the show, I mean it was a McG produced show, just like the OC, so music was always it’s own part of the show.

I mean, I don’t think I have time to explain the show, much less get you caught up to almost the end of season 3

In fact, I don’t think I even need to explain the scene, the dialogue and tone of the music sets the scene. 

Mr Sandman – Dorothy, Rose and Blanche – from the Golden Girls

If you don’t know The Golden Girls, then you don’t know shit. 

So I am waiting for Christmas to be over  so that the Girls are back on television.  Or maybe someone will get me thebox set, either way.

So, I don’t remember how, I think this is when the girls watched kids during a race or something and then this child got left behind, or maybe that’s a different episode, plus they did a lot of montage episodes, maybe this is it.

Either way, just like the girls, this scene is Golden

Born to be Wild – Steppenwolf – From Supernatural

If you are anything like my wife, you have seen every episode of Supernatural, like 27 times.

Like The OC, and Chuck, Supernatural is a McG show, so again there is emphasis on using the right music.  (Is there anything on tv that McG is not involved in?)

So this is Season 7 episode 23, the last of the season.  Throughout most of the season Sam and Dean, (the heroes of the show for you newbs) have been in hiding due to leviathans that look like them committing crimes.

Of course there was all the cry baby sam, macho dean bullshit you get every season, and they split up a few times. 

They also had to use different hideouts and modes of transportation due to their normal car “baby”  being easily recognizable to the Leviathans that are monitoring them and trying to kill them.

So we arrive at this point, like the end of every season, where one or both of the brothers may die, and the future of the world is uncertain. (If only the British Men of letters would intervene LOL!!) 

So Baby comes out of retirement.

(Headphone this one, it’s that good)

Hallelujah – Jeff Buckley – The West Wing

I hate to put you through this song again, but it has been featured in so many movies, tv shows, that it was bound to make the list.

So, The West Wing was a great show about well, the president, and the West Wing of the White House. I am sure you knew that or at least figured it out.

There are a few things going on, but the main thing to note was that Allison Janney’s character CJ had been receiving death threats and was assigned a secret service agent of her own, played by Mark Harmon  there was a flirtatious sort of feeling between them, and it seemed like a good thing. 

The other thing going on is Josh and Amy (Bradley Whitfield and Mary Louise Parker respectively) had a relationship happening while at the same time were political opponents over a bill being put through, Josh’s win meant that Amy had no job, and thus  ended their relationship.

There’s the stuff with the president, but really for me the focus is on CJ and Agent Donovan

I know, rough, I’m sorry. 

Let’s switch up the mood

The Right Time – Ray Charles – The Cosby Show

This was just such a great surprise  It became a recurring thing that the Huxtables did for the anniversary of Cliff’s parents.

But this one was just so exciting, and hilarious, Rudy, really steals the show.

Then Cosby himself comes in and shows what he can do with just a few funny faces. 

I’ll keep it short and sweet so you can just go enjoy it.

At This Moment – Billy Vera and the Beaters- From Family Ties

Family Ties was just one of those really good 80s shows  that connected people together, I sort of miss it. 

They used the song a few times on the show.  I mean, it speaks for itself as a love song  from a broken heart perspective, but it was clearly Alex and Ellen’s song. 

I’d like to think that the real life couple of Michael J Fox and Tracy Pollan still dance to this song. 

I also like to think that they pull this video up on YouTube and watch themselves fall in love.

And just to end on a high note