Category Archives: Song of the Day

Song of the Day: I Want You Back (by The Jackson 5)

Posted on by Arleigh

TheJackson5

One of the great classic R&B songs also happens to be today’s late “Song of the Day.”

The song “I Want You Back” by The Jackson 5 is not just a great song but also reminds us that, through all the scandal and absurdity which that became Michael Jackson’s adulthood, he was a great singer and performer and none more so than when he was fronting his band of brothers.

I also picked this song for another reason that seems so out of left field (which it is), but also fit in so perfectly to end two hours of an enjoyable time at the cinemas. James Gunn had personally picked the classic 70’s songs that would be part of mixtape for Guardians of the Galaxy. One such song is The Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back” and it’s use and timely appearance in the film also marks one of it’s most adoring sequences.

I know for a fact that site co-founder Lisa Marie Bowman will love not just this song but the scene it gets attached too.

I Want You Back

Let me tell you now

When I had you to myself
I didn’t want you around
Those pretty faces always made you
Stand out in a crowd

But someone picked you from the bunch
One glance was all it took
Now it’s much too late for me
To take a second look

Oh baby, give me one more chance
(To show you that I love you)
Won’t you please let me
Back in your heart

Oh darling, I was blind to let you go
(Let you go, baby)
But now since I see you in his arms
(I want you back)

Yes I do now (I want you back)
Ooh, ooh baby (I want you back)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah (I want you back)
Na na na na

Trying to live without your love
Is one long sleepless night
Let me show you, girl
That I know wrong from right

Every street you walk on
I leave tear stains on the ground
Following the girl
I didn’t even want around
Let me tell you now

Oh baby, all I need is one more chance
(To show you that I love you)
Won’t you please let me
Back in your heart

Oh darlin’, I was blind to let you go
(Let you go baby)
But now since I see you in his arms, uh huh

A buh buh buh buh
A buh buh buh buh
All I want
A buh buh buh buh
All I need
A buh buh buh buh
All I want
A buh buh buh buh
All I need

Oh, just one more chance
To show you that I love you
Baby (baby), baby (baby), baby (baby)

(I want you back)
Forget what happened then
And let me live again

Oh baby, I was blind to let you go
But now since I see you in his arms
(I want you back)
Spare me of this cause
Gimme back what I lost

Oh baby, I need one more chance, ha
I tell ya that I love you
Baby, ow, baby, baby
I want you back
I want you back

Song of the Day: Spirit in the Sky (performed by Norman Greenbaum)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

To be honest,  there is really only one reason why Spirit In The Sky is today’s song of the day and that’s that it happens to be so very stuck in my head!  I’ve seen the trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy a few dozen times and I now not only hear Spirit in the Sky when I close my eyes but I also end up picturing a surly raccoon walking down a hallway with a tree-like creature that repeatedly says, “I am Groot.”

And that’s not a bad thing at all!

Believe it or not, before I sat down to write this post, I actually did some research on the origin of the song.  And, of course, by research I mean that I looked the song up on Wikipedia and read the first half of the article.  Spirit in the Sky was written, recorded, and first released in 1969.  Norman Greenbaum mostly wrote it as a challenge to himself, to see if he, despite knowing nothing about gospel music, could write a gospel song.  As for the song’s distinctive “beep beep” fills, they were the result of a last minute improvisation by guitarist Russell Dashiell.  The end result, of course, was the world’s first psychedelic gospel song.

Finally, before Greenbaum recorded Spirit in The Sky, he apparently had a hit song called The Eggplant That Ate Chicago.

And who knows?  Maybe that song will be featured in the trailer for the sequel to Guardians of the Galaxy!

But for now, here is Norman Greenbaum’s Spirit in the Sky…

Song of the Day: Everything is AWESOME!!!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Earlier today, one of my favorite films of the first half of 2014, The Lego Movie, was released on Blu-ray.  With that in mind, how could I not pick this song for song of the day?

Why do I love Everything is Awesome?

Not only is it insanely catchy but its probably one of the most sarcastic songs ever written.  How could I not love it?

Song of the Day: Blumenkranz (by Hiroyuki Sawano feat. Paperblossom)

Posted on by Arleigh

Kill la Kill is one of the more recent anime to come out of Japan to become a major sensation both in and out of the Land of the Rising Sun. It’s a series that some have called as too much of a slave to it’s fanservice scenes while some have called the series as much deeper than it’s visual surface has shown. Whatever the case, the series sports one of the best anime soundtracks of the past year due to the work by composer Hiroyuki Sawano.

It’s from this series’ soundtrack that the latest “Song of the Day” arrives from. “Blumenkranz” is the theme song for one of the series’ integral characters. It plays as a sort of walk-up theme music and it has become a favorite of pretty much every fan of the anime.

While the original song as sung by Japanese artist Rie was still in German it was heavily accented and has even confused some German speakers. An anime fan and native German speaker, singer Paperblossom has done the best cover of the song which has all the German lyrics spoken properly. It’s this version of the song that has become my favorite version of the song. I actually think it’s the superior version with all due respect to Rie’s original performance of the song.

One thing I’m sure of that this song would make for a killer entrance music for anyone looking to enter a room with much haughty and superior attitude.

Blumenkranz

Ich möchte stärker werden,
weil unsere Welt sehr grausam ist
Es ist ratsam, welke Blumen zu entfernen

Du fragst mich, ob ich mit dir komm
Du flüsterst mir in mein Ohr
Du fragst mich, ob ich deine Hand nehm
Ich hab keinen Grund, dich abzulehnen

Du fragst mich, ob ich mit dir komm
Du flüsterst mir in mein Ohr
Du fragst mich, ob ich deine Hand nehm

(Du flüsterst mir)

Ja, ich bin viel stärker, als ich je gedacht hab
Fliege höher!
Laufe viel schneller!
Vergiss die Wahrheit nicht!
Ja, ich bin viel stärker, als ich je gedacht hab
Ich entferne welke Blumen
Wieso siehst du so traurig aus?

Diese Welt ist grausam
Es ist traurig aber wahr
Diese Welt ist seltsam
Es ist fraglich aber wahr
Ist der Blumengarten echt oder falsch?

Ich möchte stärker werden,
weil unsere Welt sehr grausam ist
Es ist ratsam, welke Blumen zu entfernen

Ja, ich bin viel stärker, als ich je gedacht hab
Fliege höher!
Laufe viel schneller!
Vergiss die Wahrheit nicht!
Ja, ich bin viel stärker, als ich je gedacht hab
Ich entferne welke Blumen
Wieso siehst du so traurig aus?

Was willst du von mir?
Ich mag wollen oder nicht, ich muss den Feind verfolgen
Ich bin nicht frei von dieser Welt

Was willst du von mir?
Ich mag wollen oder nicht, ich muss den Feind verfolgen
Ich bin nicht frei von dieser Welt

Egal wie hart du auch bist
Fliege höher!
Laufe viel schneller!
Du bist sehr stark
Du bindest einen Blumenkranz
Wieso siehst du so traurig aus?

Song of the Day: Godzilla’s Theme from Godzilla Vs. King Ghidorah (by Akira Ifubuki)

Posted on by Arleigh

GodzillavKingGhidorah

So, just got back from watching the latest incarnation of the King of Monsters and while I gather my thoughts on what I liked and didn’t like about Godzilla (2014) I thought to share one of the best themes to come out of the 30 different films to come out of this six decade-long franchise.

It comes courtesy of the original film composer for the very first Godzilla which came out in 1954. Akira Ifukubi has become synonymous with the franchise’s musical score. While the score he composed for the very first film was a classic in it’s own right, the one he composed for 1991’s Godzilla Vs. King Ghidorah continues to be my favorite of the bunch.

The funny thing is that many people who follow hip-hop of the last 20 years probably like the Godzilla theme from this film not because they’ve heard it play during the film, but because one particular rapper decided to sample a particular bass-line sequence from the theme (it’s the blast of horns early on that signalled the arrival of the Big Guy).

Song of the Day: Crawl (performed by the Virgin Wolves)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Virgin Wolves is one of the best bands to come out of the Denton, Texas music scene and, as someone who spent some of the best years of her life in Denton, I’m happy to see them get some recognition.  This is the video for one of their best songs, “Crawl.”  The video was filmed in Denton, as should be obvious to any former student at the University of North Texas who has ever dealt with the pressure of finals by going out at midnight and getting high in a stranger’s living room.

What can I say?

The Virgin Wolves bring back a lot of memories.

Song of the Day: Seioh Gakuen Kouka (by Yui Horie)

Posted on by Arleigh

ManabiStraight

I was told today that one of my favorite anime series of all-time was going to get a new manga adaptation. I am talking about Manabi Straight. It’s from this series that today’s latest song of the day comes from: “Seioh Gakuen Kouka”.

The song was first introduced in the series by it’s main character Manami Amamiya who also goes by the name Manabi. The character’s voice actress is the very talented and popular seiyuu and singer Yui Horie. The song is pretty much the school anthem of the fictitious Seioh High School where Manabi and her high school friends attend. The series goes through the girls’ ups and downs of being high school kids who bond through their love of each other and of their school.

“Seioh Gakuen Kouka” is the school’s anthem and Manabi sings it in front of the entire school during her first day as a transfer student. It’s definitely one of my favorite songs of any genre and type. It brings back my own memories of being a high school student and all the friendships made during those four years.

Seioh Gakuen Kouka

Ima wo ikiru deai no kisetsu yo
Mabushii hikari yume wo atsumete
Onaji seishun ayumu kiseki
Sakura iro no mirai tachi sora wo mau

Aah Seioh yorokobi doko he yo
Aah Seioh manabi no sono ni hibike
Kagayaku toki nakama to tomo ni aru

Ima wo ikiru yorokobi no naka de
Mabushii hikari kaze wo atsumete
Koi to kanashi jounetsu ni
Kibou iro no musume tachi chuu wo mau

Aah Seioh ai no hibi yo
Aah Seioh manabi no sono ni sodate
Kagayaku toki nakama to tomo ni aru

Aah miageta ao wa haruka
Aah tsukau toki kitto kitto
Kagayaku toki nakama to tomo ni aru

Seioh Gakuen Kouka (ver. English)

Live the present moment, the season of encounters.
The bright sunlight, the gathering of dreams.
The miracle where people walk through the same youth.
Cherry-blossom colored futures fly into the sky.

Ah, the cheerful sounds of Seioh!
Ah, let it resonate through Seioh’s garden!
When we shine, we shine with our friends.

Live the present moment, inside this happiness.
The bright sunlight, the gathering of the wind.
The burning love passion with
the hope-colored girls fly into the sky.

Ah, the days of love at Seioh!
Ah, grow up inside Seioh’s garden!
When we shine, we shine with our friends.

Ah, the blue sky we look up to is far away.
Ah, when we get a hold of it, for sure, for sure,
when we shine, we shine with our friends.