"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.
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
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,
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
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.
this is such a good song, i love that one guitar piece in the middle
Three Lefts you are retarded. God Save the Queen is the British National Anthem, not a Sex Pistols song - even though they may have covered it. Good call.
Sex Pistols have a song called God Save the Queen which is completly unrelated to this song which is a cover, as Sukai rightly points out of the British National Anthem.
I doubt that Queen were fans of the Sex Pistols but I could be wrong simply because they don't display (m)any punk tendencies in their music.
I'm guessing they probably got the idea from Hendrix's rendition of the U.S. National Anthem and wanted to do a British equivalant of it and lets face it, Queen (due to the name) were the perfect band to do the cover.
Also you have to consider which Queen the title refers too. Is it the British Monarch, or the band themselves?
Queen performed God Save The Queen (the british national anthem) at the end of all their concerts from very early on, as a tribute to the queen (not themselves), and so they put it on the end of this album, as it was a night at the opera it clearly had to finish with their trademark bang.
Sex Pistols did do a version of God Save The Queen (which was banned in England), and that was basically a satire. Although, I don't know about Sid Vicious but Jonny Rotten was definitely a Queen fan, I once heard a story about how he snuck in while Queen was recording, crawled up to Freddie's piano, said "Hello Freddie" and crawled back out again.
If they had the idea from Hendrix, then they would have probably placed it on a previous album. It works very well with the storyline of 'A Night at the Opera'.
Patriotism all the way, and the song definitely sounds better being done by Queen than being done with an orchestra. Otherwise I find it moderately boring, and I'm british myself.
We need a national anthem more like Italy's. :)
I think this is kinda cool...Sid Vicious, from the Sex Pistols, which is what this song is a cover of, I'm assuming, was a Queen fan...so, this is kinda cool. Seems like Queen is saying that they're a fan of the sex Pistols, or something. I could be looking too much into it, though. I like this song, and I love the CD "A Night At the Opera"