Meaty, Beaty, Big & Bouncy #153: Simple Minds

[ShayLaB]

501 songs.

It's a lot but I wanted every one to be a really terrific track...all killer, no filler. No real restrictions, just a cut off date of when the chart starts and the thought that flooding the list with numerous tracks by my favourite artists would be rather tedious. I'll be bouncing across the decades and across the genres. Nobody will like it all but hopefully it'll all be interesting.

One at time. Hopefully this will make it more likely that people will click on the clips and have a quick listen.

Here goes...

[ShayLaB]

Song #: 501
Title: Free Nelson Mandela
Artist: The Special A.K.A.
Year: 1984
Available on: In the Studio
UK Chart peak: 9

Notes:
As he was released 20 years ago today it seemed appropriate to start with this classic ska track from 1984. The Special AKA name was used by Jerry Dammers after the original line-up of The Specials had fragmented.

From wikipedia:
"Free Nelson Mandela" is a song written by Jerry Dammers and performed by his Coventry-based band The Special A.K.A. released on the single Nelson Mandela / Break Down The Door in 1984 as a protest against the imprisonment of Nelson Mandela. Unlike most protest songs, the track is upbeat and celebratory, drawing on musical influences from South Africa. The song reached No.9 in the UK charts and was immensely popular in Africa.

Dammers told the Radio Times about the song: "I knew very little about Mandela until I went to an anti-apartheid concert in London in 1983, which gave me the idea for 'Nelson Mandela,' I never knew how much impact the song would have; it was a hit around the world, and it got back into South Africa and was played at sporting events and ANC rallies-it became an anthem."

Clip: Free Nelson Mandela

Free Nelson Mandela

Free free

Free free free Nelson Mandela

Free Nelson Mandela

21 years in captivity

Shoes too small to fit his feet

His body abused, but his mind is still free

You're so blind that you cannot see

Free Nelson Mandela

Visited the causes at the AMC

Only one man in a large army

You're so blind that you cannot see

You're so deaf that you cannot hear him

Free Nelson Mandela

21 tears in captivity

You're so blind that you cannot see

You're so deaf that you cannot hear him

You're so dumb that you cannot speak

Free Nelson Mandela

[irishguy28]

A very appropriate choice of song for the day that's in it!

In case you do not know the track - have a listen to this Irish Number One single from 1987 with similar lyrical content.

[ShayLaB]

Oh, that's a nice tune.

Just looked on ChartStats...it never charted in the UK at all. A bit of shame really that it is so little known.

[ShayLaB]

Song #: 500
Title: Harlem
Artist: Bill Withers
Year: 1971
Available on: Just As I Am
UK Chart peak: b-side to "Ain't No Sunshine" which got to #40

Notes: "Ain't No Sunshine" was originally released as the B-side to "Harlem." Disc jockeys played "Ain't No Sunshine" as the single instead, and it became a huge hit in the States and a rather more modest hit in the UK. It explains why "Harlem" is listed at the top on the cover of the single.

You'll like this a lot.

Clip: Harlem

Summer night in Harlem, Man it's really hot! Well it's too hot to sleep, I'm too poor to eat. I don't care if I die or not!

Winter night in Harlem, oh ho radiator won't get hot, well, the mean ole landlord he don't care if i freeze to death or not!

Saturday night in Harlem, AHH ever'ry thing's alright. You can really swing and shake your pretty thing, the parties are out of sight.

Sunday morning here in Harlem now eve'ry body's all dressed up. AH,the hip folks gettin home from the party and the good folks just got up.

Our crooked delegation wants a donation to send the preacher to the holy land hey hey lawd honey don't give your money to that lyin, cheatin man..

Ah Saturday night in Harlem, Hey, hey ever'ry thing's alright. You can really swang and shake your pretty thang, the parties are out of sight.

Sunday morning here in Harlem now eve'ry body's all dressed up. AH,the hip folks gettin home from the party and the good folks just got up.

Our crooked delegation wants a donation to send the preacher to the holy land hey hey lawd honey don't give your money to that lyin, cheatin man..

[Dalmatin]

funny fact though, "Ain't No Sunshine" only made #40 in the UK last year and never charted there before

[ShayLaB]

funny fact though, "Ain't No Sunshine" only made #40 in the UK last year and never charted there before

lol...I never even noticed the year. It appears there was a remix version in 1988 that limped #82 following a remix of "Lovely Day" being a hit.

Neither song is a patch on "Harlem" imo.

[Plym]

Bill Withers voice is fantastic.
I've never heard Harlem before! I'm going to download! Thanks!

[Marius]

Oh, great start!
Will follow this VERY closely, may give me ideas for my own chart, due sometime in the next two years.

[ShayLaB]

Removed by author after request by D.O.D.A.S.

[ShayLaB]

Song #: 499
Title: Shot By Both Sides
Artist: Magazine
Year: 1978
Available on: Real Life
UK Chart peak: 41

Notes: I came across this on a magazine cover CD many years ago and bought a compilation off the back of it. They were a splendid band and another of their tracks will appear later.

From wikipedia:
"Shot by Both Sides" is a song written by Howard Devoto and Pete Shelley and performed by the English post punk band Magazine, which appeared on their debut album Real Life in 1978 and was released as a single in the same year, reaching #41 on the UK charts.

The name of the song comes from a political argument between Howard Devoto and his girlfriend, in which his girlfriend said to him, "Oh, you'll end up shot by both sides."

The single version of "Shot by Both Sides" (like the b-side "My Mind Ain't So Open") is more guitar-bass-drums oriented. By this time, Magazine consisted of only four members due to the original keyboardist Bob Dickinson leaving the band the previous year due to musical differences and an assumption/decision on the part of the other band members that his music doctorate studies would prevent him touring.

Clip: Shot By Both Sides

This and that, they must be the same
what is legal is just what's real
what I'm given to understand
is exactly what I steal
I wormed my way into the heart of the crowd
I wormed my way into the heart of the crowd
I was shocked to find what was allowed
I didn't lose myself in the crowd

Shot by both sides
on the run to the outside of everything
shot by both sides
they must have come to a secret understanding

New offences always in my nerves
they're taking my time by force
They all sound the same when they scream
they have to rewrite all the books again
as a matter of course

I wormed my way ...
Shot by both sides ...

'Why are you so edgy, Kid ?'
asks the man with the voice
one thing follows another
you live and learn, you have no choice

I wormed my way ...
Shot by both sides
I don't ask who's doing the shooting
shot by both sides
we must have come to a secret understanding

we must have come to a secret understanding

[ShayLaB]

Song #: 498
Title: Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)
Artist: Beyonce
Year: 2008
Available on: I Am... Sasha Fierce
UK Chart peak: 7

Notes: Of all the 'Divas' Beyonce is the only one that releases music that I find interesting.Her albums may be padded out with a lot of below par filler but many of her singles are stellar...and this is one of the best. The stuttering hand-clap backing track is what makes this track so effective and different from the usual fare. Good stuff.

Clip: Single Ladies

All the single ladies (7x)

Now put your hands up
Up in the club, we just broke up
I’m doing my own little thing
you Decided to dip but now you wanna trip
Cuz another brother noticed me
I’m up on him, he up on me
dont pay him any attention
cuz i cried my tears, GAVE three good years
Ya can’t be mad at me

[Chorus]
Cuz if you liked it then you should have put a ring on it
If you liked it then you shoulda put a ring on it
Don’t be mad once you see that he want it
If you liked it then you shoulda put a ring on it

wo oh ooh oh oh ooh oh oh ooh oh oh oh x2

(Chorus)Cuz if you liked it then you should have put a ring on it
If you liked it then you shoulda put a ring on it
Don’t be mad once you see that he want it
If you liked it then you shoulda put a ring on it

I got gloss on my lips, a man on my hips
hold me tighter than my Dereon jeans
acting up, drink in my cup
I couldnt care less what you think
I need no permission, did I mention
Dont pay him any attention
Cuz you had your turn
But now you gonna learn
What it really feels like to miss me

(Chorus)

Cuz if you liked it then you should have put a ring on it
If you liked it then you shoulda put a ring on it
Don’t be mad once you see that he want it
If you liked it then you shoulda put a ring on it

woo oh ooh oh oh ooh oh oh ooh oh oh oh 2x

Don’t treat me to the things of this world
I’m not that kind of girl
Your love is what I prefer, what I deserve
Is a man that makes me, then takes me
And delivers me to a destiny, to infinity and beyond
Pull me into your arms
Say I’m the one you WANT
If you don’t, you’ll be alone
And like a ghost I’ll be gone

All the single ladies (7x)
Now put your hands up
woo oh ooh oh oh ooh oh oh ooh
oh oh oh 2x

Cuz if you liked it then you should have put a ring on it
If you liked it then you shoulda put a ring on it
Don’t be mad once you see that he want it
If you liked it then you shoulda put a ring on it woo oh ooh 2x

[Dalmatin]

Beyonce? bah

[Marius]

I reckon this entry is what "bouncy" relates to?

[ShayLaB]

I nicked the title from here...

[ShayLaB]

Beyonce? bah

I would never listen to a whole album of hers...there is just too much saccharine filler and r'n'b nonsense to stomach. However there is the odd splendid effort and this is one of them.

[Tiger]

Song #: 498
Title: Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)
Artist: Beyonce

Yeah a good song.

[ShayLaB]

Song #: 497
Title: Tomorrow Is a Long Time
Artist: Elvis Presley
Year: 1966
Available on: Spinout O.S.T. (also Tomorrow Is a Long Time compilation)
UK Chart peak: n/a

Notes: It was a close thing as to which version of this Dylan penned song I like more. The Rod Stewart version appears on his famous Every Picture Tells a Story album and it is thoroughly fab. The county flavoured Elvis version is better though and Dylan himself said it was the best cover version of any of his songs. The Elvis version is buried on one of his 60's soundtrack albums but recycled on a compilation that collected the best songs from this period.

Clips:
Elvis Presley
Rod Stewart
Bob Dylan

If today was not an endless highway,
If tonight was not a crooked trail,
If tomorrow wasn't such a long time,
Then lonesome would mean nothing to you at all.
Yes, and only if my own true love was waitin',
Yes, and if I could hear her heart a-softly poundin',
Only if she was lyin' by me,
Then I'd lie in my bed once again.

I can't see my reflection in the waters,
I can't speak the sounds that show no pain,
I can't hear the echo of my footsteps,
Or can't remember the sound of my own name.
Yes, and only if my own true love was waitin',
Yes, and if I could hear her heart a-softly poundin',
Only if she was lyin' by me,
Then I'd lie in my bed once again.

There's beauty in the silver, singin' river,
There's beauty in the sunrise in the sky,
But none of these and nothing else can touch the beauty
That I remember in my true love's eyes.
Yes, and only if my own true love was waitin',
Yes, and if I could hear her heart a-softly poundin',
Only if she was lyin' by me,
Then I'd lie in my bed once again.

[ShayLaB]

Song #: 496
Title: Mr. Zebra
Artist: Tori Amos
Year: 1996
Available on: Boys for Pele
UK Chart peak: n/a

Notes: Short, sweet and probably about drugs.

Clip: Mr. Zebra live on Jools Holland

hello mr zebra
can i have your sweater
cause it's cold cold cold
in my hole hole hole
ratatouille strychnine
sometimes she's a friend of mine
with a gigantic whirlpool
that will blow your mind

hello mr zebra
ran into some confusion with a mrs crocodile
furry mussels marching on
she think's she's kaiser wilheim
or a civilised syllabub
to blow your mind
figure it out
she's a goodtime fella
she got a little fund to fight for moneypenny's rights
figure it out
she's a goodtime fella
too bad the burial was premature she said
and smiled

[ShayLaB]

Song #: 495
Title: My Rifle, My Pony and Me
Artist: Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson
Year: 1959
Available on: The Very Best of Dean Martin Vol 2
UK Chart peak: n/a

Notes: This little ditty features in Rio Bravo, one of my favourite movies. It stars John Wayne, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson, Walter Brennan and Angie Dickinson. As a song, it's probably nothing out of the norm but it fits so perfectly in the context of the movie that I always remember it fondly.

Clip: My Rifle, My Pony and Me
Clip: Cindy Cindy

The sun is sinkin' in the west
The cattle go down to the stream
The redwing settles in her nest
It's time for a cowboy to dream

Purple light in the canyon
That's where I long to be
With my three good companions
Just my rifle, pony, and me

Gonna hang my sombrero
On the limb of a tree
Comin' home sweetheart darlin'
Just my rifle, pony and me

(Whippoorwill in the willow
Sings a sweet melody)
Ridin' to (Ridin' to) Amarillo (Amarillo)
Just my rifle, pony, and me
No more cows (no more cows) to be ropin' (to be ropin')
No more (strain)STRAYS will I see
Round the bend (round the bend) she'll be waitin' (she'll be waitin')
For my rifle, pony, and me
For my rifle, my pony, and me

[NothingFails]

Nice list so far, perhaps the first list I've seen with both Dean Martin AND Beyonce.

I like that it's only one song at a time, so we can all take the time to listen to each song. I've only heard the Tori and Beyonce tracks so I'm gonna listen to the others

[NothingFails]

"Free Nelson Mandela" is about what I expected with a very catchy hookline.

"Harlem" is surprisingly good. I like the songs I heard from Bill Withers but I've never heard a song of his with this much soul, as "Ain't No Sunshine" and "Lean On Me" were more pop-oriented. I like how the song continually builds up with each verse.

You didn't have a clip for "Shot By Both Sides" so here is one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybUqM8jf3mU. The guitar riffs on it are great.

"Single Ladies" is certainly one of Beyonce's most iconic singles but I won't lie that I'm not sick of it and think (:::prepares for a stan assassination::: ) that she needs to take a break from overexposure.

Not a fan of Dylan the singer (cannot get past his voice) but the lyrics of "Tomorrow Is A Long Time" are brilliant like much of his best work. Elvis' version was really good and it was a bit of an anomaly seeing him do something "hip" considering he famously resented a lot of the 60's and 70's acts that came to eclipse him. 5:39 is too long though.

With "Mr. Zebra", I also always thought a lot of her shortest songs were her most effective. The arrangement of it kinda sounds like something The Beatles would've done circa Sgt. Pepper.

"My Rifle, Pony And Me" is pleasant but honestly it's more something my mom would've liked. That is odd seeing Ricky Nelson in a movie with John Wayne and Dean Martin, I suppose it was to draw in teenage girls?

[ShayLaB]

Aghh...I had the link for Shot By Both Sides by I forgot to add the text so nothing was appearing. Thanks for pointing that out.

I knew My Rifle, My Pony and Me wouldn't mean that much to anyone else...it just reminds me of watching Westerns with my dad as a kid and the crush I had on (the stunningly gorgeous) Angie Dickinson. Also, it works really well in the context of the movie.

Every time I turn on a music radio station I am reminded why I don't bother...last week I heard Keisha's 'Blah Blah Blah' and it's been talk radio ever since. I didn't really hear Single Ladies very often when it came out so never really got bored with it. I didn't even hear Irreplaceable until after I noticed it had been #1 in America for months.

I know you like Hot Chip - I was standing in a magazine shop a while back and they had a little Q&A with one of them. He mentioned that Bill Withers track...I had never heard it before and I none of his best known songs comes close imho.

[Tiger]

Song #: 496
Title: Mr. Zebra
Artist: Tori Amos

Cause it's cold cold cold in my hoooome! LOVE TORI.

[ShayLaB]

Song #: 494
Title: Blind
Artist: Talking Heads
Year: 1988
Available on: Naked
UK Chart peak: 59

Notes: Latin rhythms, manic vocals and a slightly disturbing video. Blind was the first single from their eighth and final studio album. No chance of a ninth album...singer David Byrne and the rest of the band seem to *despise* each other now.

From wikipedia:
Wanting to try something different after their use of regional American music and the pop song format on their previous two albums, Little Creatures and True Stories, Talking Heads decided to record their final album in Paris with a group of international musicians. Prior to leaving for France, the band recorded about 40 improvisational tracks that would serve as the foundation for the sessions in Paris.

Once in Paris, the band, along with producer Steve Lillywhite were joined by a number of other musicians in the recording studio where they would rehearse and play for the entire day. At the end of each day, one take was selected as being the ideal version of a particular tune.

In the interest of freedom for the musicians, it was decided that lyrics and melodies would be left until later. The lyrics were not overdubbed until the band returned to New York. Many of David Byrne's lyrics were improvisations sung along with the prerecorded tracks until he found something that he felt worked. In this way, the melodies and lyrics evolved in a similar fashion as the songs themselves.

Clip: Blind

Signs
Signs are lost
Signs disappeared
Turn invisible
Got no sign
Somebody got busted
Got a face of stone
And a ghostwritten biography
Dogs start to run in,
Hungry for some food
Dogs start a-twitching
And they're looking at you
It was light
By five
Torn all apart
All in the name of democracy
He's hurt
He's dying
Claimed he was a terrorist
Claimed to avert a catastrophe
Someone should'a told him
That the buck stops here
No one ever said
That he was involved with thieves
And they're blind, blind
blind, blind, blind, blind, blind
blind, blind
blind, blind, blind, blind, blind

No sense of harmony, No sense of
time, Don't mention harmony, Say:
What is it? What is it? What is it? Give
a little shock, and he raises his hand
Somebody shouts out, says: What is
it? What is it? What is it?
He was shot down in the night! Peop-
ple ride by but his body's still alive
The girl in the window what has she
done? She looks down at me ...
says: "I don't want to die!"

And I'm blind, blind
blind, blind, blind, blind, blind
blind, blind
blind, blind, blind, blind, blind
Somebody could have told us where they go
Crawling all around looking for foot, foot, footprints
Now tell me what the Hell have we become?
Some dirty little bastards What the Hell is going on?
No sense of harmony, No sense of
time, Don't mention harmony, Say:
What is it? What is it? What is it? Give
a little shock, and he raises his hand
Somebody shouts out, says: What is
it? What is it? What is it?
He was shot down in the night! Peop-
ple ride by but his body's still alive
The girl in the window what has she
done? She looks down at me ...
says: "I don't want to die!"

They're blind and they're blind
blind, blind, blind, blind, blind
blind, blind
blind, blind, blind, blind, blind
blind, blind
blind, blind, blind, blind, blind
blind, blind
blind, blind, blind, blind, blind