rolling stones - love is strong

Starting out the concert series: I have friends bugging me to go to the Rolling Stones concert in Bucharest on July 17. Thus, I am bugging other friends to come with me and so on. Now I can't say I am a big Stones knower or liker. But it's probably my only chance to see them in concert before one of them snuffs it (yeah, that was mean) and I know that I'll probably scratch out my eyes if I don't go, so I will probably yield to temptation. This is one of my favourite Stones song, along with Anybody Seen My Baby. It is simply H.O.T.

depeche mode - walking in my shoes

Depeche Mode... hm, the first time I heard about them was from a gang of guys in my neighbourhoood when I was a little girl... maybe... dunno 6 or 7? They were in their teens and generally not well regarded by the parents. And they have been blamed for writing on the walls in the stair halls and scratching stuff into the paint. One of them was a rose with DM written underneath :)

The first song of theirs that I have heard was probably Enjoy the Silence or maybe Personal Jesus. Not knowledgeable enough to call myself a fan, but whenever I hear a song of theirs, it usually hits home. This one here is one of my faves. Great lyrics, give them a read.

matchbox twenty - if you're gone

It was only a matter of time till another MB20 would show up on the blog again. I work in a 24/7 call center, which is obviously a shift jobs. A thing which I like because there are always people willing to take on my morning shifts and leave me their afternoon ones, which is vital for a late sleeper like me :). However, my favourite shifts, of which I unfortunately don't get enough, are night shifts. I love the peace and quiet of it. No one around the building (well, except the door guards and the firemen, but they are on ground floor, I'm on the fourth). I stay awake till 4-4:30 am if I am given the chance anyway, so there's no big deal in prolonging that till 7 am. Usually no one's calling in, so I am left to fill my time.

Am on nightshift right now. I brought a stash of cd's with me to which I haven't listened in a while. It was like meeting up with dear old friends. I know them by heart, they have memories and feelings connected to them, I know I like them every time I rediscover them... and they always stir that something in me that made me like them in the first place. I absolutely love Matchbox Twenty. Everything they've ever done. I got their three albums in Barcelona a couple of years ago. Oh, the thrill of the chase, the joy of the discovery, the relief of the prey, the extasy of fitting them into my rather tight budget... :)

This one is off their second hit album, Mad Season. This is a live acoustic version.

I think Ive already lost you
I think youre already gone
I think Im finally scared now
You think Im weak - but I think youre wrong
I think youre already leaving
Feels like your hand is on the door
I thought this place was an empire
But now Im relaxed - I cant be sure

I think youre so mean - I think we should try
I think I could need - this in my life
I think Im just scared - I think too much
I know this is wrong its a problem Im dealing

If youre gone - maybe its time to go home
Theres an awful lot of breathing room
But I can hardly move
If youre gone - baby you need to come home
Cuz theres a little bit of something me
In everything in you

I bet youre hard to get over
I bet the room just wont shine
I bet my hands I can stay here
I bet you need - more than you mind

I think youre so mean - I think we should try
I think I could need - this in my life
I think Im just scared - that I know too much
I cant relate and thats a problem Im feeling

If youre gone - maybe its time to go home
Theres an awful lot of breathing room
But I can hardly move
If youre gone - baby you need to come home
Cuz theres a little bit of something me
In everything in you

I think youre so mean - I think we should try
I think I could need - this in my life
I think Im just scared - do I talk too much
I know this is wrong its a problem Im dealing

If youre gone - maybe its time to go home
Theres an awful lot of breathing room
But I can hardly move
If youre gone - baby you need to come home
Cuz theres a little bit of something me
In everything in you

ana johnson - we are

I liked this song the moment I heard it. I like rock chicks :) Not even the fact that it was on the soundtrack of Spiderman deterred me; then again, I have another film from the series posted here. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I like Spidey. It's a crap movie, of course, but that only if you insist looking at it as a movie. I don't. I continue to view it as a cartoon, with actors instead of drawings and thus am able to enjoy it despite all flaws and blunders.

Now just you go figure what a weird person I am. Here were, four or five people wanting to go to the movies to see Spiderman. Frist, someone's late for the meeting point. Then, I insist we pass an ATM so I can withdraw money to get my ticket and a coke. They don't want to take that route, cause they'll pay and I'll repay afterwards. I hate having people pay in my stead, even if it's just a loan. They rush like mad, I tell them to calm down, as all we are bound to lose are the ten minutes of commercials at the beginning of every flick. Then someone starts bickering. I have my ticket bought and get myself a bottle of coke. Finally we enter the theatre, but hey, one guy's missing cause he went to the loo. It's dark already inside, commercials showing, so we have to wait for him as to not get split up. There are some free seats there that are just perfect - nothing hindering the view, first row of a bunch of them, so we don't even bother anyone. No, someone insists we go farther to the front. The movie is about to start, we grope our way. By this time I am not pissed, I am fuming. They have watched me grow increasingly mad and kept making fun, by now I don't even talk to them, they find the whole situation very amusing and keep giggling. They finally decide they are up front enough and sit down on three seats at the margin. I sit myself in the row behind them. Am not in the mood for more giggling and teasing on their part. I just want to enjoy watching this cartoon (by the above definition) and relax, wind down. By know, one guy probably senses I'm serious about it, so he gets up and sits beside me cause it's not nice to watch a movie alone... errrrm. Hm. Approximately the same group of people wanted to watch Garfield in the 8pm show. I went to the 6pm one, alone, rather enjoying it.

Anyways, looking back these are the two things I remember about the film. Ana Johnson's song and that movie-going experience. Am not going to the movies alone anymore, but I darn sure pick my company.

goo goo dolls - here is gone

When I first heard Iris, I instantly fell in love with the song. It... touched something. Much later did I see the movie City of Angels of which it was part of the soundtrack and made the connection to the lyrics. For a long, long time, it was the only song I knew from the band. Slowly, I discovered more and Goo Goo Dolls are definitely in my top ten bands now with Here Is Gone being one of the faves. I remember either reading or hearing a piece of trivia at some point. I guess 12 years waiting for international success (they were formed in 1986, Iris was released in 1998) can do that to you: before Iris made it big, singer/songwriter John Rzeznik had serious self-esteem problems regarding his songwriting skills. I think his songwriting skills are fucking amazing, but judge for yourselves.

nelly furtado - powerless

I like Nelly. I had mixed feelings about her first single Like A Bird, sometimes liking it, sometimes being bored by it. The album title Whoaaa... Nelly was kind of cute though an I liked other songs of it, like (Shit) on the Radio and Turn off the Lights, not to mention Forca. Her comeback now after a baby break is really amazing, with more great songs. She manages to be good looking, to be hot'n'sultry if she wishes without becoming cheap, which is a pretty rare thing in my view. One of my favourite tracks of hers is Powerless (Say What You Want), dealing with her ethnic background and the way ethnicity is treated by majoritarian cultures. A serious issue to a lighthearted tune. Listening to this on my mp3 player while making my way through rain to work puts a smile on my face, regardless of how many reckless drivers manage to soak me in puddle water. Cuz this life is too short to live it just for you...

metallica - enter sandman

Well, in this post I am not going to tell you how I've finally discovered Metallica. That's another story and another song. The only Metallica song I thought I liked at that time (and now you know it, huh?). Hey, I was in denial. I knew a song with the title Enter Sandman existed but wasn't even curious about it as there couldn't have possibly been another song of the band I might like.

So why am I posting this instead of taking it nice, from the beginning? Well, because lately I am in a Metallica / Guns'n'Roses mood to the extent of downloading three albums each last night. This was further fueled by precisely this song coming up on MTV - I was heavily impressed :) And... the song still rocks when a Bolivian guy sings it in English in an Irish pub in Germany top the delight of three Romanian fellows. Hey dude... you should've won! Well, if this song can withstand globalization, it can withstand anything! Now turn up your volume and take my hand... we're off to Never Neverland.

röyksopp - what else is there?

I became aware of Röyksopp back from Poor Leno, though right now I remember the video rather than the song, though I remember liking it. Poor Leno really made me sad :(. I absolutely love this track and the video is... well... let's call it freakish. And I am proud to say that I recognised the voice as belonging to the chick singing in The Knife, from what brief but intensive exposure I've had to the band from a friend (cheer!) - hey, I'm a fast learner. Come to think of it, I need to dig deeper on The Knife... Another band added on the 'check out list'. The girl's name is Karin Dreijer Andersson. I don't know it, I've looked it up. Shame on me. And I call myself a person who has taken Swedish lessons and wants to take them up again.

madonna - rain

It's the third day in a row that the rain just keeps pouring here, so on my way to work (while I was getting myself soaked), I thought a rain-themed song would be in order. Don't get me wrong, I like rain. If only drivers paid more attention... It was really hard to choose something to post, as several songs came to my mind. I googled a bit and found a themed website, they had indexed over 770 songs about rain. But I've stuck to this one, as I've been humming it today at the office. If Madonna is to appear in my blog, it has to be with Rain, as it's one of my favourites of hers. Captures my rainy days mood perfectly. :) And the other folks singing about rain... well, they'll just have to wait. I ain't running nowhere.

red hot chili peppers - under the bridge

I have no problems calling this song a classic. I used to have problems liking it because my brother said it was good and then, in my mind, it wasn't supposed to be. But now, years later... hey, he was right. Not even All Saints managed to ruin it completely >:) I am glad the Peppers have emerged from the nineties and are still going strong. So, ladies and gentlemen, presenting you with probably the best love song for a city ever written: Under the Bridge.

firma - important

Firma are probably one of my favourite Romanian bands. Their first video was La Orbire (Of Blindness), I have seen it once, liked it and forgotten all about it. Then they got a record contract and along came the single Nimeni (Nobody). I loved it instantly, in fact so much that I just went out and bought the album. It is very well worked, especially for a music album produced in Romania, with attention to every detail from sound and lyrics to album cover and design - all aspects in which the band members were heavily involved. And then came this video for the single Important. First time I saw it, I thought it belonged to a foreign artist. Really well done and I recommend it in a quality higher than the one youtube can provide.

There is also another version of this video, subtitled Rocca's Nightmare (Rocca being the lead singer and songwriter); then the band kind of vanished. There was a collaboration of Rocca with N-eatgroove (much like the Brian Molko - Timo Maas song First Day) and that's about that. Yesterday I read in a cheap grab-it-for-free local newspaper that the band is working on a second album. I didn't quite know what to make of it, since they only mentioned three members. I've check the band's homepage and... guess what, the newspaper was right for once. Apparently Lix, the guitarist and other songwriter has left the country; don't know what has happened to the other dude, but they are down to three members now and about to release an album. Am curious about that one.

u2 - beautiful day

Back by public request... and not really. I've thought and thought what to post today, seeing as it is my birthday. Since nothing smarter than this came up, since I love u2, since... hey, it is a beautiful day (actually, it rained heavily, but then again I love rain)... I am going to spare you another mile long entry and just let you enjoy the song and charge yourself with some energy. :)

the doors - not to touch the earth

Posting a Doors song here is an act of courage for me. There are several bands that I just do not dare to approach. I am intimidated by the aura surrounding them. It's not a thing that I can explain rationally. No one is forcing me to listen or ignore, to like or dislike, but somehow I can't bring myself to give them some attention and get my own opinion. I have only recently dared listen to some Pink Floyd albums. I still haven't stuck my teeth into the Doors. I know "the hits" and that's about that. I've promised myself to remedy this situation as soon as possible. Why I have posted this particular song and not some I'm a bit more familiar with... well, because of the story.

So, the first time I came across The Doors... I didn't know I had come across them. :) I was in the... seventh grade maybe. The last hour on Wednesday was religion, we always held that one in another classroom. I was (they say) a Catholic, there were relatively few of us, so we had a really old classroom, with old wooden writing desks. These desks have been the witness to many generations of students of various grades and as such were bearing the marks of time. From maths formulas to drawings in boring hours, in pencil, in ball-point pen, etchings, declaration of love and... lyrics.

On the desk I was seated at, I found the following: 'Not to touch the Earth, not to see the sun, nothing left to do but run, run, run...'. I had no idea what it was or whose it was, but I loved it. I loved it so much that I wrote it on the huge sheet of paper I had glued on my dresser, where I gathered sayings and lyrics from songs (these sheets will come up again in my posts). Just the quote and in my mind filed it under 'author unknown', attributing it to the one who had written it on the desk. Only many years later have I found out that those lyrics belonged to none other than Jim Morrison, being the beginning of this present song.

korn feat. amy lee - freak on a leash (unplugged)

To set a thing straight: I am not a Korn fan, though one particular song will appear here at some time. I like their lyrics but they're a bit too rough for my taste. I like Evanescence and I think Amy Lee has a great voice. I caught a glimpse of this on T.V. on Sunday and immediately looked it up on youtube. I can't say I particularly like the original version, though I enjoy the video very much. But unplugged... I just love it. I think this is a real test for a song. Strip it to just the core of its tune and the lyrics and see if it still sounds good. I find this one does.

the beatles - yellow submarine

Again, not my song of choice but fitting for the day. So, as you might have guessed, after the previous hectic days, I was dead tired. Did I manage to get some rest on Saturday? Noooo. I was on morning shift and then in the afternoon I went to a march of supporters of my hometown football team. Long story, I won't bother you with insignificant details. However the atmosphere was incredible. I have managed to take some really great pics (false modesty aside: especially compared to those posted on some official sports sites) and had a great time singing along with the crowd. And one of the songs was the official supporters hymn of the team, which is to the tune of Yellow Submarine. So there you go, the post is perfectly justified. :)

queen - we are the champions

Queen are another long overdue band. And another one that will feature several times, because this is not the track I first intended to post :) But it is related to the continuation of the story from the previous post. In Thursday's hectic we managed not to get the diplomas for the kids printed on time and we also only had enough t-shirts for the volunteers who coordinated the various kid groups. So on Friday we went to their school with the diplomas, chocolate and t-shirts for the kids in the winning group - the one whose project was finally voted as being the best one. So We Are the Champions seems only fitting for the occasion.

No song related story, but a band related one. When I was in the tenth grade, I had a classmate / schoolfriend who was a big Queen fan. Her dad was into music, I think he owned tons of magnetophone tapes :). She then told me of an acquaintance who used to be a huuuuge Queen fan. The guy had original disks, limited edition ones, anything you could desire and that was no easy feat in Communist Romania when he began collecting. And the guy hears Freddie is gay. So he goes into his garden, piles up all his Queen stuff and sets it on fire. Is this crazy or what?

alice cooper - school's out

Ok, retroactive blog. And now, as promised, I'm going to tell you a bit about what I have been doing the past few days. I have acted as a volunteer for an NGO and as such have coordinated a project that involved taking around fifty 7th graders to the city hall; during one exhausting day, they learnt the ins and outs of life as a local councilor; they identified issued in the field of "safety" that they would like to see solved, came up for solutions in groups and then had to vote for the best solution. All in all, I think they had loads of fun and I think it was also a good experience for them. For the coordinators on the other hand... well, you can imagine. We get to see the mess behind the curtains :)

So, I thought that School's Out would be a fitting track. The day was a day off from school for the kids... and it was a good cry of relief for me when it was all over. :) Now, a funny incident I remember involving another Alice Cooper song, Hey Stoopid, was several years ago. I was maybe 14 or so. Someone kept on calling on the phone, obviously in a prank. I got tired repeating over and over that it was the wrong number, so I pulled my cassette player next to the phone, set a tape to the start of this song and waited for the phone to ring. I picked up the receiver, put it next to the loudspeakers and pushed play with maxed volume. I think it created quite a microphony. Anyways, they didn't call again :D

And now, back to present... Alice Cooper (by the way, seen him on VH-1's Behind the Music, he's a totally sweet guy) is one of the artists who will be performing at the B'estival, a three day festival to be held in Bucharest this year. The line-up kind of sounds worth taking the long train ride in stride :)

dire straits - brothers in arms

If you were the sole survivor of World War Three... what would you sing in farewell over the graves? I'd go for this one. It's a morbid thought, I know. But the message that this songs conveys to me - the lyrics, the vocal, the guitars - it's just a desperate, disappointed headshake at someone who just can't grasp the obvious: the futility of violence. I was shocked years ago when I first heard the song, for I knew Dire Straits only from merrier songs like Money for Nothing and Sultans of Swing. The imagery this song always evoked was that of burnt fields, smoke still rising and clouding the vision, ruins in the distance and an overwhelming feeling of loneliness and hopelessness in front of the way the tides are rolling. I have only seen the video once before looking it up on youtube and honestly, I couldn't imagine it otherwise than black and white. There's so many different worlds, and so many different suns... And we have just one world but we live in different ones...

u2 - van diemen's land

Actually, this song wasn't requested by anyone. It's just a way of saying thank you. On to the explanation: I love U2. They are one of the top three bands I want to see in concerts. They have songs that touch me in a way... There is probably more to come from them on this blog, there is no way around that. I have the U2 discography and yet I have always avoided this song for a pretty silly reason: its name. It reminded me of Vin Diesel who, at the time I got the discography was mega in-vogue because of the triple X, which was pretty enough for me not to like him. Due to that association, I usually skipped the song. So, my thank you goes out to the one who's opened my eyes (or rather my ears) to it, as I've come to appreciate it as a jewel among many other jewels bearing the U2 trademark. Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for... The Edge.

Hold me now, oh hold me now
'til this hour has gone around
And I'm gone on the rising tide
For to face Van Diemen's land

It's a bitter pill I swallow here
To be rent from one so dear
We fought for justice and not for gain
But the magistrate sent me away

Now kings will rule and the poor will toil
And tear their hands as they tear the soil
But a day will come in this dawning age
When an honest man sees an honest wage

Hold me now, oh hold me now
'til this hour has gone around
And I'm gone on the rising tide
For to face Van Diemen's land

paula cole - i don't want to wait

Ok, back-posting again. One day, I might share with you what is keeping me busy. Maybe I'll even find a song to say it with. Am just replacing "Say it with flowers" with "Say it with songs" :). Anyways, in the past few days I have caught myself on several occasions humming the chorus of this song. With my voice, it's all I really can do. I haven't heard the song in ages, so finally giving it a listen was a nice thing to do. And it would hopefully get it out of my head. It's an interesting video too, with Paula's immortal character falling in love and having to part with lovers through various ages. It was one of my favourites when VH1's pop up videos was still running - that was a good show. The first song I've ever heard of her though, was Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?, you can check it out here. It's another great song, though I've always supported the Indians myself :)

take that - shine

Ok, this one really wasn't planned (I have thirty something songs written on a piece of paper that I mean to post here at one time or another...). But I was talking to a friend yesterday and he told me he had just listened to Take That's new single five times in a row. And that reminded me how I dropped my jaw a couple of days ago when I heard a song I really liked on TV, went into the room to see who it was... and discovered Shine. I had already liked Patience, but I think I was still skeptical about the guys making a real comeback. Woo-hoo, I suddenly feel so young again. I mean... Take That were in my top three bands twelve years ago! Like with many others, I've started liking them when they were already falling apart as a band. I still think Robbie can pocket the entire band as a songwriter and entertainer, but... this song rocks. I think it will be for March what Mika's Grace Kelly was for February - feel good song of the month.

simon & garfunkel - the sound of silence

I love this song. It must be one of the best songs ever written. I've just listened to it in constant loop for about an hour, it has an amazingly soothing effect on me. The lyrics are urban poetry and the tune is so simple and quiet - it goes straight to my heart. And the video shows what it all was about: MUSIC. Two guys and a guitar and yet a masterpiece. It is one of the tracks that makes me wish dearly I were old enough to have witnessed those times as a teen :( And I guess it rings truer now than it did back when it was written. If you enjoy it only half as much as I did, you'll love it.

Hello darkness, my old friend
I've come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence

In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone
'Neath the halo of a street lamp
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence

And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more
People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one dared
Disturb the sound of silence

"Fools", said I, "You do not know
Silence like a cancer grows
Hear my words that I might teach you
Take my arms that I might reach you"
But my words, like silent raindrops fell
And echoed
In the wells of silence

And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made
And the sign flashed out its warning
In the words that it was forming
And the sign said, "The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls"
And whispered in the sounds of silence

dido - sand in my shoes

Dido is the second artist that has provided me with a soundtrack while I was working on my BA paper. She has a really pleasant voice and I've quite liked all of her songs. So during that time it was two albums by Moby, two albums by Dido, load in winamp and... here I go typing like mad or spreading sheets of paper all over the floor :) Maybe it sounds weird to some, but this is a nice memory. I think writing my final paper was the best thing about going to uni. Best thing out of four years was that thing I felt was all mine, and I've done it to this soundtrack. First I thought of going with a more mellow song, but it is such a nice quiet warm day today, that I've finally decided for Sand in My Shoes.

poets of the fall - carnival of rust

Rainy winter afternoon (yeah, winters are rainy round here...). I was on afternoon shift and rather bored. Then an online acquiaintance asked whether I had heard of Poets of the Fall. Well, I hadn't. She wanted to send me some songs through messenger, since she thought I might like them, but that feature doesn't work at my office, so she sent a song per e-mail instead. Well... I've got the entire album in the meantime :) so I guess she was pretty much right about me liking the song. This is the one I got from her and still one of my faves from the band. There's some really nice imagery in the lyrics and a nice creepy fairground video to match them.

moby - in this world

Mmmmh, Moby... Again, I don't think this seems an obvious choice for me. However, I like most of the things he's done. What I don't quite digest are songs with beats like Honey, Find My Baby or the likes. I like these mellow ones, though some of the others too. And I love his videos. Almost all of them have a very powerful message, I find. Moby is one of the two artists that will forever and ever be linked in my mind with the time when I was writing my final paper for my B.A. I work well with music, but that really needed concentration and I was in need of music that would both provide a nice background and not distract me at the same time. Moby was one of my two choices. Again... Hard time chosing just one song to mention and just one video to share. But the cute little green aliens did it. Don't you just want to hug them? :)

die toten hosen - ich bin die sehnsucht in dir

Well, tough choice again. Die Toten Hosen are a German punk rock band. I first "met" them in high school (it was a german one i attended). They had a couple of songs I knew and loved. So when a colleague announced she had a tape with one of their albums, I was overjoyed. I borrowed the tape from her and made a copy. When I listened to the album, I was a bit disappointed, as I didn't particularly like what I heard (I was still under the impression mentioned before... rock is a loud noise-violence) and I deleted the entire tape, not only the songs that bothered me. I can't even remember which album it was, though it might have been Opium für's Volk.

Anyways... I rediscovered the band a couple of years ago, through a song sung in English, called Pushed Again (still one of my faves) and also remembered my other likings. I downloaded songs again and... hey, guess what, I like them again :) Again, I had no idea which particular song to choose. At one point, I wanted to go with the English one, but that isn't really what Die Toten Hosen is about. Lastly, when I was down to a choice of three, I based my choice on what youtube had to offer, so here is Ich bin die Sehnsucht in Dir (I Am the Longing in You).

Wir kennen uns ein Leben lang (We've known each other for a lifetime)
ich hab dich schon als Kind umarmt. (I've even hugged you as a child)
Ich hab mit dir die Jahre gezählt, (I've counted the years with you)
mit deinen Träumen habe ich gespielt. (With your dreams I have played)

Ich hab dir deine Wege gesucht, (I have looked up your ways for you)
ich bin dein Glück und ich bin dein Fluch, (I am your blessing and I am your curse)
hab dir fast den Verstand geraubt, (I have almost taken your minds)
du hast trotzdem an mich geglaubt. (Still you have believed in me)

Ich bin die Sehnsucht in dir. (I am the longing in you)

Immer wenn ich bei dir war, (Whenever I was with you)
hast du alles nur für mich getan. (You have done everything only for me)
Ich hab dich in die Irre geführt, (I have led you astray)
meine Versprechen waren so oft leer. (My promises were so often hollow)

Wegen mir hast du vor Wut geweint, (Because of me, you've cried in rage)
wegen mir hast du dich selbst zum Feind. (Because of me, you're your own enemy)
Es ist meine Schuld, du kannst nichts dafür. (It is my fault, nothing you can do)
Ich bin die Hoffnung und du stirbst mit mir. (I am the hope and you die with me)

Ich bin die Sehnsucht in dir. (I am the longing in you)
Ich bin die Sehnsucht und du stirbst mit mir. (I am the longing and you die with me)

Ich hab die Welt um dich gedreht, (I have turned the world around you)
stehl dir die Zeit, bin dein Tagedieb, (I steal your time, am the thief of your days)
war oft genug dein Alibi, (Was often enough your alibi)
was auch passiert, ich verlass dich nie. (Whatever happens, I'll never leave you)

pink floyd - wish you were here

An overtrodden path? Perhaps. But this is one of those occasions when an overtrodden path just goes to show that the one who first stroke it did one hell of a job and that many others have appreciated their work and followed in their footsteps. This is one of the songs I can't help being touched by. The partly wise, partly bitter, partly condescendingly amused beginning gets me every time... and then the fishbowl part... I can't help but close my eyes, bite my lower lip and nod in approval. Not much else to say to that. To add something would be to spoil it. Such a simple track, saying so much and touching so many...

foo fighters - walking after you

Honestly, when Kurt Cobain died, it was darn clear Nirvana died also. There are certain bands that just don't exist with their emblem gone. But I would've never expected any of 'the other guys in Nirvana' to achieve something musically. And who would've thought of the drummer being the one who actually does. I mean... how many Phil Collins-es can there be? Well, apparently this drummer also made it. Only that instead of going solo, Dave Grohl formed a band that proved quite successful, namely the Foo Fighters. This is probably my favourite of their songs. It's really mellow and I like both the almost-but-never-there feel of the video and Dave's vocals on the track.

frank sinatra - my way

Shocking, I know. I don't even like the dude :-s. However, I've always had a weakness for this song. Errrrrm, I'll skip a certain night attending a karaoke show, where a bloke insisted on doing an entire Sinatra impersonation, friends know why. So I'll just forward to today, when I was writing an entry for my personal blog. And as the writing progressed, this song came to my mind and it fitted the entire blog post so well, that I finished it off by quoting the last lines of the song. So fucking true... and so makes me grit my teeth and just move on, pulling my cross after me, just to spite the crowd.

For what is a man? What has he got?
If not himself - Then he has naught.
To say the things he truly feels
And not the words of one who kneels.
The record shows I took the blows
And did it my way.

bon jovi - always

Ok... there are several reasons why this band hasn't made an appearance earlier on. First I thought I'd post them under the label 'un-famous songs of famous bands' with the track Let's Make It, Baby. Thought I wouldn't find anything featuring the song on youtube. Eventually, I did but it was a distorted version. And amazingly enough it was nothing x-rated about it. Then I thought of posting Living in Sin, since it's a little known fave of mine. But then again... nope.

It just had to be Always. Because ultimately, this is the song that started everything for me. And by everything i mean... everything. Before this, the only songs I ever knew were the Lambada and Wind of Change (which I loved, and just goes to prove I'm the power-ballad-chick type).

It was in the winter of '94. I hated MTV (and mind you, back then it was good) and I hated rock, not because I had listened to anything, but because my brother did, too much, too loud and never allowing me near. Guess he wanted a private experience listening to his stuff, which I now understand but which at that time frustrated me. Then, a schoolfriend of mine asked me whether I had seen this particular video and 'what happens in the end? does she die?'. Errrr... I dunno. I have no idea what you are talking about. But I promised to look into it. So i did. I turned on the tv, and I turned on MTV and just waited for the song. This was a huge hit in Europe so I didn't have to wait long. Errrrrr... yup. Instant crush. On the song, on the band, on the singer... I did it all. I got the tape with the album, I got the posters, I got the band history, I got everything related... and I got started on a path of no return :) So, this is my homage then. Oh, today is Jon's birthday. What a happy coincidence :)

mika - grace kelly

This I have declared at the begging of February my feel-good song of the month and I must say it did a good job out of it. When I first heard the song I went in the room to see who was singing. I kept humming it all day and I've even had "Why don't you like me, why don't you like me, why don't you walk out the door?" as a messenger status that day. It's a really playful satire with a colourful laid back video, nothing fancy. The dude has in interesting voice, he really 'tries a little Freddie' at times. Apparently, he wrote the song in frustration after being turned down by several record companies for not fitting the trend, hence the 'I could be brown, I could be blue, I could be violet sky, I could be hurtful, I could be purple, I could be anything you like' part.