24th April 2006
Hi all,
One week ago in the midst of my successful introduction to the game "Buzz" (see last week's thought for more on that) Jo Whiley was counting down the nation's favourite lyrics on VH1.
Having seen a snippet of that during my dinner when both Blur's "Parklife" and Outkast's "Hey ya" were featured I could have stayed in and watched it all night. Of course VH1 is one of those channels who repeat things to death, so there really isn't urgent need to see programmes when they are first shown there. Plus the nitty gritty (i.e. the songs and the lyrics selected) could easily be found on the internet.
When I got a moment to take a look at the list the usual suspects were well in evidence. Morrissey (not my cup of tea) and Radiohead (too depressing) had multiple entries, while some songs were there because they were relatively new. Would they be there if VH1 ran this again in ten years? I doubt it. Anyway, it inspired me to list a few possible replacements that didn't make the list.
"Heart of the Matter" - Eagles
"And the more I know, the less I understand."
Introduced on the "Hell Freezes Over" DVD as a track from Don Henley's solo album, this is a great song, sadly absent from the CD of the same concert (but thankfully available on the internet!).
It is actually a struggle to pick just one lyric from this song, especially when you consider alternatives like this:
"I'm learning to live without you now, but I miss you sometimes."
"But I think it's about forgiveness, Forgiveness, Even if, even if you don't love me anymore."
Anyway, I've picked this particular lyric as it shows very well just how complicated life can continue to be, regardless of how old we are or how wise we think we are.
"Born To Try" - Delta Goodrem
"But you've got to make choices, be wrong or right,
Sometimes you've got to sacrifice the things you like."
Yes, I'm including a Delta Goodrem song. The reasons for this are threefold. 1) I really like the song, and this lyric in particular. 2) The sentiment behind it is true. Personally I'd like to spend all my spare time watching NASN, but unfortunately that just isn't practical. 3) I'm hoping it will provoke lots of funny e-mails along the lines of "Do you think there's any chance she'll literally sacrifice Bryan McFadden?" (not that I would advocate that, of course).
"Kiss Kiss" - Holly Valance
"When I look at you, I wannabe, I wannabe,
Somewhere close to heaven with neanderthal man."
Included for two reasons. 1) The thought of the video will amuse men and horrify my wife. I might even get a dead arm in return for mentioning it. 2) The incredible inclusion of the word "neanderthal". It was like someone had set a challenge to get the word into a song somewhere. In fact I'd like confirmation that this wasn't written in a Big Brother house somewhere around the world.
"The Reason" - Hoobastank
I'm taking the easy way out on this song, not picking any one lyric. Why? Because I honestly think the song is lyrically perfect. It flows seamlessly and fits in all the right places. No signs of dogs itchin' in the kitchen once again in this song. Plus it was played about every twenty minutes by Atlanta radio stations when Lorraine and I were there in 2004.
"Yeah!" - Usher
"Peace up, A-Town down!"
It also makes me think of Atlanta. Allow me the one indulgence. Bonus marks for being my ringtone at present.
"White Flag" - Dido
"And when we meet, which I'm sure we will,
All that was there, will be there still.
I'll let it pass, and hold my tongue,
And you will think, that I've moved on."
When I was 19 I went to visit an old friend one afternoon. The old friend happened to be female, beautiful and someone I had felt a great deal of affection toward for a considerable amount of time, even though geography kept us apart. However at the time life was good, I really liked someone new in my life and so I didn't think this would be anything less than an enjoyable afternoon's time spent together.
Wrong. For the next two weeks I couldn't stop thinking about this girl. Why? Because I'd falsely told myself that she wasn't that special and that she really didn't mean anything to me any longer. Wrong, wrong, wrong!
Since that experience I've never pretended that old flames don't mean anything. Yes, I'm happily married now, and no ex has ever made me regret being with Lorraine in any way. But unless someone rips your heart out and stomps all over it you don't forget certain things, and that's why I think you always need to be a little guarded around people you've held feelings for. And Dido summed that up perfectly.
(I'm actually angry that this song didn't feature in the favourite lyrics countdown. Can someone call the people at VH1 up right now? Can we get a recount? I'll even speak about it in one of those five second video clips with the caption "Internet Nobody" underneath my name if I have to.)
"Promise Me" - Beverley Craven
"You light up another cigarette and I pour the wine,
It's four o'clock in the morning and it's starting to get light."
Not for the reasons you would think. Yes, this lyric makes me think of someone, but it is a man, not a woman. The drink involved was actually lager. It was probably closer to five o'clock in the morning, and the only place anyone was putting their hands was around my neck.
Somehow it is a good memory. And I wonder why people think I'm strange.
So there are seven suggestions. With any luck at all I'll be able to pool together some more from our other writers for next week (which will of course be edited if they mention something I've clearly overlooked...).
Have a good week!
Tony
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