Sunday Songs

Album covers from featured artists, clockwise: Blondie; Morrissey; Billy Porter; and Sinéad O'Connor.

In picking the songs which feature the work "Sunday" in the title, I simply went to my iTunes, typed in 'sunday' and wondered what would come up. To my surprise, 48 entries appeared, so some thought needed to get put into it. I decided to go with four songs, each from different decades. And while I was tempted to toss in Etta James' "Sunday Kind of Love" or Julie London's "Sunday Blues", I opted to go with other songs from other times. And I will start with the earliest selection, a favorite of mine. In 1978, a bunch of amazing things happened. I graduated from Smyrna High School, and went off to college in Reading, PA. And a Punk band released an album that changed the way some heard music, and what people thought about women rockers. It was, of course, Blondie, who released their breakthrough album, 'Parallel Lines'. The album was still churning out hits in 1979, like "Heart of Glass" and "One Way Or Another". Sandwiched in between those two singles was the delicate and beautiful "Sunday Girl".

You can purchase 'Parallel Lines' from iTunes and Amazon.

To leap into the next decade, it feels like I have little choice but to go with a song that the 'Mo' in Emo, the always blue Morrissey. Through his time with the Smith's and on to his solo career, Morrissey cornered the market on teenage angst, and put it into so many great songs. Here he sings "Every Day Is Like Sunday" from the 1988 album 'Viva Hate'.

You can purchase 'Viva Hate' from iTunes and Amazon.

Is there anyone out that who doesn't love Sinéad O'Connor? I mean, come on, really? Her voice is just so very special, and she has an amazing way to communicate the common struggle we all face. And wow, that voice. In 1992, Sinéad released the album 'Am I Not Your Girl?", with some great songs. Here she sings "Gloomy Sunday" off that album.

You can purchase 'Am I Not Your Girl?' from iTunes and Amazon.

I have had a wonderful crush on Billy Porter for a while now. And when I was trying to decide on the entries for this post and saw his name, I knew I would regret not including him. His voice is brilliant - soaring and glorious, carrying so much depth as it does. For the last entry, here is Billy Porter singing "Sunday" from Stephen Sondheim's great 'Sunday In The Park With George'. It is off Porter's 2005 album 'At The Corner of Broadway & Soul'.

You can purchase 'The Corner of Broadway & Soul' from iTunes and Amazon.

Hope your week is special!

Worth Another Listen - The Smiths Pt 2

Last night, I offered up the first half of my thoughts on The Smiths, an incredibly influential band of the 80s, whose music had a great impact on many of the rock bands to come. Morrissey, Johnny Marr, Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce were making music together for about 5 years, yet changed the way people played and listened to music for decades to come. I am sure I have left off the favorites of many, and could easily expand the list to include more, but instead decided for once I would err on the side of the minimal, and rather than give a history lesson, I would suggest if you don't know who The Smiths or Morrissey are, you have homework to do - start with Google.




The Queen Is Dead was released in 1986, and while I came close to highlighting the title track, I decided to go with Panic instead. Again, it has the sound of The Smiths, with the forlorn discussion of 'panic on the streets of London', the music and the ease of Morrissey's voice belying the true tone of the song.



In 1987, they released Strangeways, Here We Come, which turned out to be their final studio album. From this record came Girlfriend In A Coma, a biting song very much imbued with the with the vital life force that surrounded both the band and the singer. Here is the video for the song.



By the end of 1987, the band decided it was time to move in different directions. Morrissey started working on his solo debut, and Johnny Marr joined a few different bands, including The The, which had several hits in the 90s. By 1992, the record company decided to release 2 'Best Of' albums, and with the second, they released the song There Is A Light That Never Goes Out, which originally could be found of The Queen Is Dead album. It did well on the UK charts, hitting #25, not bad for a band that had come apart almost 5 years earlier.



This song became and interesting one, as it held allure certainly for the teens, who were discovering the band for the first time, and to young gays, who identified with the torment inherent to the Smiths' pathos. I have, in fact, posted a cover of this song by Daniel J. Cartier some months ago. This is interesting, as Morrissey's exploration of his own sexuality never became a matter of definitive answers, but the says certainly bought into his laconic stylings.

Well, that is my our tour of the Smith's catalog, and I hope you enjoyed it. I hope you have some Smiths' in your collection - if not, guy buy them now!

Worth Another Listen - The Smiths

In 1982, a band came together in the town of Manchester, England, that helped change the musical landscape in the 80s. The final line up of Morrissey, Johnny Marr, Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce were together only until 1987, yet The Smiths' alternative sound and style took the 50s/60s hipster feel to a new level, with Morrissey in particular adding a Kerouac-on-steroids aspect hard to miss. The band combined near-record levels of melancholia with rock beats and became darlings of the college campuses, building up a strong fanbase that rose to almost cult levels. To many, both the band and Morrissey became a God.



I figured it was about time I tackled The Smiths, as I have wanted to for some time, yet never figured out how I was going to do it. So I decided I would just compile a list of some of my favorites, combine it with some of my sister Kim's favorites, and see what I could find on YouTube to make it happen. I ended up with a list of seven songs, and decided to offer up a 2-part series, tonight and tomorrow night. Enjoy my attempt at remembering The Smiths.



In 1983, there were two singles before the release of the first album. The second was This Charming Man, which later became part of the eponymous debut album release. I look at this video, and I can't help but notice how young Morrissey looks! And I really like the song.



Hatful of Hollow was released in 1984, a compilation of various live performances, interviews, and some studio singles. This included Handsome Devil, part of a Peel Session recordings.



In 1984, The Smiths released a couple of non=album singles, the first of which was Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now. In typical Smiths/Morrissey fashion, it was a dark message of the miserable life of the working class, brightened by Marr's interesting and amazing guitar work. In the following clip, you see some old live footage of the band, and Morrissey's easy sensuality on the stage.



In 1985, the band release Meat Is Murder, stepping up the rhetoric a bit, being more politically charged than the debut. I Want The One I Can't Have could be found on the album, and it amuses me to no end. This song has been analyzed to no end, as Morrissey has been evasive at time about his own sexuality. There have been times he claims to be asexual, absent of a sexual bent in his life, and other times when he has claimed to fit the description of hetero, homo, and bi-sexuality. But the sound is classic Smiths, and the emotions - the haunting feeling of deprivation - certainly come to the forefront.