"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
Cool, moving cool, moving cool
Cool, moving cool
Movin cool, moving cool, yeah
Hey, hey
Hey, hey
I can make a stone cold blind man see a better way
But when I'm around, you don't have to much to say
La, la, la, la, la, whoo, whoo
You see there will always be someone, taller, darker
Maybe wit a little of cheese than I got
But really, shawty you don't need nobody else
[Chorus]
Cause baby I am (I am) the opening act (the opening act)
The headliner (the headliner) and the after party
After party, after party, after party, after party
I am all that you'll ever need
I trip on how everybody see's what I am but you
I thought you'd be brave enough to taste my bitch's brew
Well I thought I was dealing with a man, but you're a boy
You're a boy, you're a boy
I can give you everything you want, but I can't be your toy
Oh no, oh no!
[Chorus:Repeat x2]
Hey shawty, look here for a minute, shawt, shawt
Oh, my bad, my bad execuse me
You corporate America, you corporate America
I meant to say lil' lady, you look so lovely lying in wait
Like a lemon licorice, lollipop
Waiting to be licked, we don't play
But you think the shit
Was that too harsh for you lobes
Too heavy for your mentrality I suppose
Got nerves like kryptonite
Superman couldn't bend those
Kindness kills callous
Like a D-Boy movin' fifty p's of that work
From A-Town to Dallas movin' cool
[Chorus]
Cause baby I am (I am) the opening act (the opening act)
The headliner (the headliner)
Cool, moving cool
Movin cool, moving cool, yeah
Hey, hey
Hey, hey
I can make a stone cold blind man see a better way
But when I'm around, you don't have to much to say
La, la, la, la, la, whoo, whoo
You see there will always be someone, taller, darker
Maybe wit a little of cheese than I got
But really, shawty you don't need nobody else
[Chorus]
Cause baby I am (I am) the opening act (the opening act)
The headliner (the headliner) and the after party
After party, after party, after party, after party
I am all that you'll ever need
I trip on how everybody see's what I am but you
I thought you'd be brave enough to taste my bitch's brew
Well I thought I was dealing with a man, but you're a boy
You're a boy, you're a boy
I can give you everything you want, but I can't be your toy
Oh no, oh no!
[Chorus:Repeat x2]
Hey shawty, look here for a minute, shawt, shawt
Oh, my bad, my bad execuse me
You corporate America, you corporate America
I meant to say lil' lady, you look so lovely lying in wait
Like a lemon licorice, lollipop
Waiting to be licked, we don't play
But you think the shit
Was that too harsh for you lobes
Too heavy for your mentrality I suppose
Got nerves like kryptonite
Superman couldn't bend those
Kindness kills callous
Like a D-Boy movin' fifty p's of that work
From A-Town to Dallas movin' cool
[Chorus]
Cause baby I am (I am) the opening act (the opening act)
The headliner (the headliner)
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
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Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
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Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
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This song kicked ass in Idlewild. I never realized how good it was until I saw that film. A great, great song.