Songs I Didn't Skip (Part 2)

 Previously on "Songs I Didn't Skip"

"Thing Called Love" by Bonnie Raitt (1989)

One of those somewhat rare covers that manages to outdo the original, this version has a swing to it that the song benefits from. The John Hiatt version is no slouch, though it isn't my favorite from that album. 

"The Great Valerio" by Richard and Linda Thompson (1974)

Another song that falls last on an album. I'll get concerned if "Her Majesty" from Abbey Road shows up soon. This song really doesn't sound like something from 1974, perhaps due to its sparse instrumentation, but no matter. This song always pulls me in with is crystal clear bleakness. 

"Magic Moments" by Perry Como (1958)

Perry Como?! I would never have guessed that this was written by Burt Bacharach. Maybe that bassoon line was throwing me off. 

"Animals" by Talking Heads (1979)

It would have been funny if this had popped up back to back after the Perry Como song but alas, it didn't. I love the chord progressions and rhythm on this song and David Byrne does just enough unhinged vocal delivery. Lyrics like, 

"I know the animals...are laughing at us

They don't even know...what a joke is

"Subdivisions" by Rush (1982)

This one, which may not be considered one of their critical favorites, usually gets played when I happen upon it. It has all of the aspects I like from this band but doesn't wear out its welcome. And you have to dig those 80s synths!

"Love Won't Work" by Gene (1999)

I stopped on this one more out of curiosity. I think it came from some random CD sampler I borrowed long ago, lost in the mists of physical media time. The song is, well, fine, I guess but it is way too close for comfort to sounding like a Smiths tribute band.

"Kiss of Life" by Peter Gabriel (1982)

Another end-of-album track. This is probably the least discussed song on the "Security" album and it doesn't try too hard, thematically which makes it a great dog-walking listen. Also great:  the drum/percussion grooves by Jerry Marotta. 

"Love is Blindness" by Jack White (2011)

As a U2 non-fan, I'd probably choose this song as my favorite if asked. This version is great for the first half or so but gets a little too bombastic (duh). Lots of sledgehammer drums sound. I'd probably skip this one if it came up again soon as my favorite version of this is by Cassandra Wilson. 

"Driver's Seat" by Sniff 'n' The Tears (1978)

I'll end this entry with another one-hitter. A catchy song can make do with low-rent lyrics if the tune is like this one. I mean, what is this song even about? Who cares: it sounds great on the radio. 

    

Songs I Didn't Skip

***I have dumped this into a Spotify playlist so if you're inclined, you can listen there in order. However there are a few tracks that are not on the service. *** Spotify Link

I've had more time lately to listen to music as I am walking/exercising my dog. My usual practice is to play the bulk of my music library on shuffle mode and skip the songs I don't want to hear. Yes, I am aware of this amazing invention known as the Playlist, but I am kind of lazy and this way allows me to catch songs I might not have actively chosen to include. 

On one of our more recent subzero nights out in the backyard, I started to wonder what made me stop on a particular song? Since I never tire of blathering on about my movie/TV/music preferences, I thought it would be fun to write some notes, song by song. 

This first entry will be longer but if I don't hate the entire exercise, I'll update the list. I've been more in a frame of mind to stop on songs that are not necessarily "classics" but have something that catches my attention. The random songs are coming from my iTunes library set to exclude Classical, Soundtrack, and Jazz genres. This is ca. 11,000 tracks. At the times I am listening, I don't want to have to concentrate on anything beyond the various forms of pop music. AND, since I am an old person who rarely listens to anything very new, a lot of this stuff is going to seem pretty stale. It seems all too appropriate to write about this on an old time blog.  Here We Go.

"Dancing in the Moonlight" by King Harvest (1972)

I started this out with a one-hit wonder and this is one of the greats. Sure, the lyrics aren't exactly Dylan but it's a fun, catchy little tune with great/silly lines like, "Everybody here is out of sight / They don't bark and they don't bite". I also love the electric piano line that plays over the start of the track. 

"Walk The Dinosaur" by Was (Not Was) (1989)

I'm on a roll with the goofy songs and this one really fits. However, there's a great groove behind the silly lyrics. I also once heard this tune done live with at least one of the track's original singers, Sweet Pea Atkinson and Lyle Lovett's backing band at a Lovett show. I'd love to hear a recording of that version as it just killed (Lee Sklar on bass!). 

"She's Hot To Go" by Lyle Lovett (1987)

By random luck, this one soon came up in rotation soon after. This is probably one of the lesser tracks from Lovett's fantastic album, "Pontiac" but beyond the impeccable musicianship that permeates Lovett's recordings, the humor often stands out. Example:  

She looked so fine to me

But when I stepped around her man

My eyes could plainly see

She was ugly from the front

She was ugly from the front

She was ugly from the front

And I said ugly-ugly-ugly-ugly-ugly

Well I could handle it behind her

And I like it on the side

But don't make me look around her man 'cause she's

Ugly-ugly-ugly-ugly-ugly

She was ugly from the front

She was ugly from the front

She was ugly from the front

(the song stops and this is spoken)

And I said this girl was so ugly

(and one of the backup singers says)

Well you're ugly too.

"Everything I Own" by Bread (1972)

If this band was an actual type of bread, what would it be? Not Wonder Bread but perhaps "Soft Honey Wheat". This is a really good, if sad, song which was written about the loss of a parent. It's great and wears its 1972 sound on its sleeve. 

"Silver Rider" by Band of Joy (2010)

Whoa, I stopped on a track less than 20 years old! This Robert Plant project is actually a great listen and I really like how this track just smolders. 

Dad's Movies: "Random Harvest"

 I've amassed such a large number of movies on my Plex server that I resorted to hitting Shuffle on the main directory to pick what to watch next. This, from the ones I haven't seen yet, came up, uh, Randomly.

Random Harvest (1942) was probably something my Dad saw when it was released, possibly in between shifts at the factory he worked at during the war building P-51 planes. OK, I don't know this for certain but why not?

This is a pretty classic old Hollywood/MGM glossy romantic melodrama or as they often called them at the time, "Women's Pictures" or "Weepies". This one certainly earns the weepy label with its generous helpings of romance and tragedy. The now-tired amnesia plot device is actually used well in this movie and the movie is paced well enough to give you a real sense of the passage of time. 

Garson and Colman are both great and play the roles with restraint which is welcome for the time. Colman seems a bit old, if I am being picky. There's also the relationship with the much younger woman but this is not out of the ordinary for the time (or now?).

I can see some people not going for this but really for what it is, I feel like it does work. And yes, it IS a tearjerker.

Dad's Movies: Desperate Journey

 This wasn't on the original list but it should have been. 

The WW2 1942 pseudo propaganda adventure movie, Desperate Journey.

I've been watching and reading about the movies that Frank Capra and others made during the war for the US Government and this seemed like a good follow up. While it isn't strictly propaganda, it has a lot of rah rah, go team Allies posturing; typical for the time certainly. 

The characters, meant to be a cross section of Allied flyers, are mostly stock with the obligatory wise cracking American and old overweight guy who's mostly there for comic relief. This comedy is mainly in the form of spitting on Germans and constantly talking about how hungry he is. At least he has a backstory. I think, for what this was meant to be, it actually does fine, even if the whole thing looks extremely silly today. Most of the action is on a slapstick level that relies on the Germans being really incompetent. I find it interesting that movies at the time went back and forth between portraying the Nazis as this super powerful force that had to be fought to a bunch of bumbling Colonel Klink-like characters. 

Flynn is actually pretty good in this and I guess Reagan is fine though I found myself wishing one of the Germans had kicked his ass a few times. Maybe I'm biased but I found him really irritating as a smug, "clever" American character. Some of the blame goes to the script of course but Reagan puts it over. However, this might be one of his best movies. Go figure.

The whole thing seemed overlong and the cartoon-like action wore out its welcome about 90 minutes in but really, for what this movie was setting out to do, not so bad.

Dad's Movies: The Counterfeit Traitor

 Today, we have The Counterfeit Traitor (1962)

This movie, based at least partially on a true story, is a refreshing counter to most WW2 movies of the time which tended to be more action-adventure escape crowd-pleasers that didn't exactly shine in the realism department. I enjoy these as much as anyone, but "The Guns of Navarone" doesn't really shine a light into the seriousness of the war. The story, an American ex-pat businessman who is drawn into an espionage plot, is one of those less glamorous under the surface stories that has a lot going for it. Unfortunately, it's let down by some droning William Holden narration that seems to have to explain everything that's going on and the pacing/directing that really needs a different approach as this story isn't going to just jump out. 

Once the movie gets going, it improves and the cast does well though Holden seems kind of bored at times. Lili Palmer is good as the German who helps on the plot and the love interest and there's even a brief appearance by Klaus Kinski! 

I don't normally advocate for remakes of old movies but I think a modern version of this story could be really good. In different hands, this could benefit from a contemporary style with more realism which would suit the seriousness of the screenplay. And better costumes:  most of the cast looks very 1962.

I'd guess that Dad saw this one when it came out and wanted to see it again. It may very well have played better at the time and on a big screen; lots of good location work.

Dad's Movies: The Conspirators

 Did you ever think, while watching "Casablanca" that you wanted to see more of the Victor Laszlo character? Well, 1944's The Conspirators is the movie for you!

This was obviously another attempt, among others, to repeat the success of "Casablanca" with some of the same cast and similar looking locations. While Paul Henreid's lead character has a lot more action and sneaking around here, the love story lacks chemistry.  Sidney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre are pretty much playing the same characters they were in the earlier film. The whole thing has a plot that is too complicated for its own good and feels too long with too many scenes of people sitting around explaining the plot details. So no, it's not "Casablanca 2" but they were never going to repeat what they did in that movie.

I suspect Dad watched this one when it came out and likely sought it out when it came to DVD. It has become obscure enough to day that it wouldn't surprise me if it hadn't been on video before then. It's another one I would have loved to discuss with him, mostly how it held up, watching it again decades later.

Dad's Movies: "Decision Before Dawn"

It's been slow going getting through this admittedly long list but here's another one.

Decision Before Dawn (1951)

This was a really interesting WW2 film about espionage in the waning days of the war in Europe that provides a a bridge, stylistically at least, between the older war/spy genres and the Cold War hard-edged movies that would follow. The show opens with what would have been at the time, a fairly conventional setup with German POWs and their American captors who need intelligence on the German military what has not yet been defeated. You almost expect the movie to lead in a "Dirty Dozen" direction with the commander putting together a team of German prisoners willing to basically betray their own nation but the focus becomes one of the Germans' motivations.

The movie is a little slow to get going with narration doing some of the heavy lifting exposition work but once the scene changes to German soil, the movie gets a lot more interesting. The scenes where the team goes behind enemy lines, which were actually filmed in German cities, look very real with a quality you don't usually see in WW2 movies of that era. The main focus of the movie really is Oskar Werner's young German medic who completely overshadows the top billed star, Richard Basehart. I find Werner, who was really underused in his overall career, great in anything I've seen him in. This was his First American film. 

By modern standards, this film is a mixed bag. The voice overs seem creaky now and the Germans, who were as far as I can tell, really Germans (not Brits playing Nazis as a lot of other movies seemed to do) all speak English, even when the scenes are ostensibly in Germany. However, it's unrealistic to expect a Hollywood production to have extended scenes with subtitles in 1951. However, the photography and editing pace, combined with the realism of the bombed-out locations in Germany, make the movie look ahead of its time.

I'll be revisiting this one for sure.