Communards • For A Friend

To mark World AIDS Day, I thought I would bring back a favorite of mine from twenty-five years ago. In 1987, The Communards released their second and final studio album, 'Red'. Their music was beautiful and a bit exotic, using world influences in distinct yet subtle ways. The sound was in part made recognizable by the voice of Jimmy Somerville, the voice of the Bronski Beat before. He was joined by the very talented Richard Coles, a fantastic musician. The duo wrote a some amazing stuff together, including a song that is dedicated to those battling AIDS, as well as those who had lost that fight. AIDS was the big issue of the 1980s, yet for the first 8 years, American President Ronald Reagan never mentioned the word AIDS nor the health issue taking countless lives in the country, instead fighting a 'War on Drugs' what showed little evidence of working outside of the rhetoric of those pushing it. The President and his administration remained silent, nearly 21,000 people died of AIDS-related illnesses. Finally, just months from the end of his two terms in office, he spoke at the Third International Conference on AIDS in Washington. That was far later than a President would have spoken had the disease affected a group of people other than gay men and drug users.

The song appeared on the album 'Red', which also included the Dance hits "Never Can Say Goodbye" and "Tommorrow". Both those songs made it to #2 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs. But this song was very different, a soulful and dark ballad looking to remember those whose lives were touched by AIDS. It has the quality of a elegy, a classic Greek word meaning a lament. There is a mournful quality, yet the song still has a beauty and simplicity that is hard to match. And Jimmy's vocal is just perfection.

You can purchase 'Red' on iTunes and Amazon. You can purchase 'The Very Best of Jimmy Somerville, Bronski Beat, and the Communards' on iTunes and Amazon. After this album, the Communards broke up, and Jimmy went on to a solo career, while Richard pursued a career in the clergy. For more about Jimmy Somerville, visit his official website or 'like' him on Facebook. To catch up with Richard Coles, you can 'follow' him on Twitter.

A Day of Remembrance

Every year, December 1st is World AIDS day, focusing the attentions of the world to the pandemic that has still exists worldwide. It is also a time to remember those that have been lost to the disease. It is something I do more than once a year, I can tell you that. There were many friends that have been affected.

Last year, I spoke of the time I went to see the Names Project Quilt, and the effect it had on me. You can see it here. This year, I would like to do something different, more simple. As I remember my friends, I will listen to The Communards, with lead singer Jimmy Somerville, as they perform the gorgeous song For A Friend.



Remember.

Mood Music - A Musical Bender

OK, I am just really distracted this week, my mind is drifting. For starters, my allergies are going nuts. It is insane, but as I get older, they seem to be getting worse. Isn't that the opposite way it is supposed to happen? My sinuses are like some crazed, phlegm-making machine, causing me to wake up with crusty eyes every morning. It is putting me on quite an odd [non]sleep pattern. This needs to stop. So I am identifying with Jackson Browne, singing Doctor My Eyes.



Yesterday afternoon, heard some rather big news from a friend. He came out of the closet, and announced he recently learned he was HIV Positive. Now, when a man of my age hears that news, it just ain't pretty for a bit. I moved to NYC in the Spring of 1983, when coverage of the condition was garnering attention. I had several friends during my time in the city who were diagnosed, and in those days, it was, in many ways, a death sentence. Thankfully, that is no longer the case, but my mind instantly flashes back to the far too many funerals I attended for a man in his 20s. I think of Kevin, Derry, Terry, Roseanne, Patrick, and really, far too many to start listing. The first reaction, almost involuntary, is to panic. It reminds me of putting on The Communards album and playing For A Friend far too often, crying way too much. It just really touched me so much. It is still my 'go-to' song, at least in this situation.



Another friend is having trouble in her relationship, and while I am glad to be a shoulder to cry on, there are just so many times I just want to tell her that Linda Ronstadt said it best when she sang to that man, You're No Good.



How all these things seem to be hitting for me at the moment, I can't say. To be fair, two of the three events aren't about me, save for the emotional baggage I bring to the process of listening. No man is being an jerk, and my health, save the allergies, is good. But just as the above brought out my emotions and made me express them through songs, the culmination of all this brought me to another place, the one where I go all hippie-commune on my own ass, and start channeling Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians, hearing Mrs. Paul Simon singing What I Am, with that Boho-chic style that was prevalent in 1988.



So, if you made it all the way to here, I hope you figured out I am good, happy with my life, and hoping to be able to be there for my friends. And it reminds me that indeed, the iPod in my head keeps feeding songs into my ears. You see, what I post on hear is really the Soundtrack to my Day.