I have to admit that watching and reviewing all of those Planet of the Apes films got me into a revolutionary state of mind. Taking that into consideration, here is today’s song of the day — The Revolution Will Not Be Televised by the late Gil Scott Heron.
Tag Archives: song
Song of the Day: Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood (performed by Santa Esmeralda)
Okay, two quick confessions. First off, I really wanted to write this post in Spanish because it’s Cinco De Mayo but unfortunately, other than a few phrases I picked up from my mom, I don’t speak Spanish. Secondly, I’ve done some research and I’ve discovered that the band featured here (Santa Esmeralda) is actually a French group. So, despite the fact that Santa Esmeralda’s cover of Don’t Let Me Misunderstood is obviously influenced by Latin music, it’s still not exactly ideal for Cinco De Mayo.
But you know what? When I first heard this song on the soundtrack for Kill Bill Volume One, I immediately fell in love with it and I forced my mom to listen to all 10 minutes of it and she loved it too. And unlike me, my mom grew up speaking Spanish and actually had a very pretty singing voice. She was also very proud of her heritage. So, if this song was good enough for her, it’s good enough for me.
I have to admit, as well, that when I first heard Santa Esmeralda’s version, I assumed that the cover had been recorded specifically for the Kill Bill soundtrack. Well, turns out I was not only wrong, I was way wrong. This cover version was actually recorded way back in 1977.
I also thought, before I started writing this post, that the song was originally performed by the Animals. Wrong again. The song was first written in 1964 by Bennie Benjamin, Gloria Caldwell, and Sol Marcus and it was originally performed by Nina Simone. Then, in 1965, the Animals did their famous cover. The Animals’ version of the song is the one that got stuck in my head when I was dating this guy who worked at Mervyn’s because, oh my God, it was playing all the freaking time in that store!
But the Santa Esmeralda version is my favorite and it is today’s song of the day.
Song of the Day: High Roller (performed by the Crystal Method)
A few days ago, I used to the song of the day feature to highlight the Crystal Method’s Trip Like I Do. And in that post, I mentioned that Trip Like I Do makes me drive too fast. Well, there’s another song off of the Crystal Method’s Vegas CD that I always make it a point to listen to while driving and that is High Roller. If Trip Like I Do makes me slam down on the accelerator, High Roller makes me slow down and watch the world collapse around me.
(Clicking on the video below will redirect you to YouTube and the acual song. I apologize for that — usually, I hate elitist, communistic bullshit like that but I really like this song.)
Song of the Day: When Your Mind’s Made UP (performed by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova)
It’s St. Patrick Day! Now, I can’t speak for everyone but for me, this is the only holiday that matters. For one thing, it gives me a convenient excuse to show off some of my Irish Folk Dance moves. For another, it gives me an excuse to say things like, “I’m just a good Irish girl,” in the closest I can come to an Irish accent. (Admittedly, that’s not very close. My own accent tends to be kinda twangy and country.)
Oh! And there’s another great thing about St. Patrick’s Day. It gives me an excuse to wear green and I look really good in green. Today, I’m green from my eyeshadow to my underwear.
Anyway, with all that mind, it was pretty easy to pick today’s song of the day. One of my favorite films of 2007 was a wonderfully romantic and charmingly low-key Irish film called Once. The film’s soundtrack, which I’ve been listening to all day today, is one of my all-time favorites.
One of my favorite songs on that soundtrack — and my pick for song of the day — is When Your Mind’s Made Up, performed by the film’s stars Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova. As actors, performers, and as a real-life couple (awwwwwww!)*, Hansard and Irglova have this amazing chemistry and it’s on display in the video posted below.
(By the way, can I be like really, really sappy here without everyone rolling their eyes and getting all “Gaggggggg!” on me? Sometimes, if I’m feeling really sentimental and silly, I think about how Jeff is like Glen Hansard and I’m like Marketa Irglova. And then I start singing another song from the movie — the Oscar-winning Falling Slowly. Or at least I sing a version of it because I have a hard time remembering lyrics.)
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
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*According to Wikipedia, Hansard and Irglova are apparently no longer a couple. 😦
Song the Day: Trip Like I Do (performed by the Crystal Method)
Today’s song of the day is the original version of the Crystal Method’s Trip Like I Do. I love driving to this song even though it’s been responsible for me getting pulled over a few times for speeding. (Luckily, I’m a girl and I know how to make myself cry.) This is also the song that, over the past few hours, has inspired me to leave a dozen or so “Oh my god, this is the best…” messages on my friend Evelyn’s voicemail.
A Quickie With Lisa Marie: These Boots Are Made For Walkin’ (performed by Nancy Sinatra)
These Boots Are Made For Walkin’ is one of my favorite songs, one of those that is perfect for making either an entrance or an exit. There’s probably not a day that passes without this song playing somewhere in the back of my head.
Written by Lee Hazelwood, this song has been recorded by everyone from Jessica Simpson to Megadeth but I prefer the version that made it famous, Nancy Sinatra’s.
Plus, the video for Nancy’s version cracks me up because, if you look real closely, one the dancers has got a run in her hose. *
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*Actually, as I sit here typing this on my lunch break, so do I.
A Quickie From Lisa Marie: Running Out Of Empty (by The Spaceship Martini)
One of my favorite songs from 2009 was the Spaceship Martini’s Running Out Of Empty. The song was written for Lymelife, a flawed but still oddly effective little movie that featured excellent performances from Rory Culkin, Emma Roberts, Alec Baldwin, and especially Timothy Hutton.
Running Out Of Empty is used to score the film’s final scenes and it brings the perfect melancholy touch to the entire movie. I could devote a lot of space to everything that didn’t work in Lymelife but it does have an absolutely perfect ending and this song and its use in the film has a lot to do with that perfection.
Through the Shattered Lens 