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.