Everybody lies

posted on Wednesday, June, 13th, 2007 in Thursday Thirteen

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This week I finally was motivated to put a little more work into this post again. So I decided to list my 13 current favorite songs. I’ll try to find them all on YouTube and post the part of the lyrics that I like most. I know for other people it’s different, but I most often fall in love with a song because of the lyrics, not so much the melody. Which is why I don’t much care for songs in other languages than english (german ones don’t count, because german is just not a language to be sung). Of course there are exceptions to this rule (as to all my rules) and, of course, if the melody is crap I don’t like the song even if it has the most meaningful lyrics either.
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1. Placebo – Post Blue

I only “found” Placebo a short while back, because they used to play “The bitter end” and “Song to say Good-bye” in the radio all the time. Because I liked those, I checked out the rest of their oevre and by now this one is my favorite.

It’s in the water baby,
It’s in the pills that pick you up,
It’s in the water baby,
It’s in the special way we fuck,
It’s in the water baby,
It’s between you and me.

(Is it bad that I always think of Jayne when I hear that one line in the middle? LOL)
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2. Alabama 3 – U don’t dans 2 tekno anymore (no, it’s not a typo, they actually spell it that way, god knows why)

Alabama 3, or A3 as they are known in America, are a discovery I owe to a great scottish girl I met in New Zealand. We got into an argument over “Woke up this morning” (the Sopranos theme song), which I thought was sung by Leonard Cohen and she was certain it was from these guys she was a fan of, so she gave me her copy of one of their albums (“La Peste”), which I never really found the time to listen to properly. Quite a while later I found another one of their albums (“Exile on Coldharbour Lane”) in the trash (long story!). And suddenly, while listening to this second CD, something finally clicked and I got it. These guys are just fantastic. Their lyrics are strange and twisted and a little disturbing sometimes, but a whole lotta fun the whole time. And you can (well, I can) actually dance to these songs – which is by far not to be taken for granted these days. So, Kathy: thanks for introducing me to a band that is gonna be a favorite of mine for the next decades, I can just tell. ;o)
Oh, and the title of this post refers to their music, by the way.

Unfortunately I couldn’t find a good version of this particular song on YouTube, nor anywhere else. (I just found a horrific one, that you don’t really wanna see, believe me.) But you can at least listen to the first 30 seconds of it on Amazon.com. Just scroll down the page to the songlist. And believe me, it gets a whole lot catchier later in the song. ;o)

Bein’ a lover man and a DJ
Lotsa girlz come down to front when I’m on the 1’s and 2’s
There was this one particular girl though, she was so beautiful, she used to knock my eyes out every damn time
One night, she took this funny little heart-shaped pill and just died, right there in front of me
Now she don’t dans to tekno, anymore
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3. Alabama 3 – Peace in the valley

I promise I didn’t do that on purpose! I mean, the Firefly fanvid. But it was the only decent version of the song I found on YouTube. I can’t help it that apparently other Firefly-fans do have a good taste in music as well. LOL

She spends too much time with herself every night
Just fooling around with her fears.
In the morning she mourns the decline of her mind
Drowning in a bottle of beer.
It’s too dangerous just to think about what she might have been
If she’d sung for salvation, if she’d danced on her dreams.

But there’s gonna be peace in the valley tomorrow
‘Cos tonight she’s gonna blow it all away
Lord, she feels so twisted, She ain’t ever gonna fix it,
She’s just waiting for the light to shine on a brand new day.
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4. Will Smith – Nod ya head

Well, it’s not hard to guess where this comes from. I loved the movie and I love Will Smith. Just like with the Eminem-songs it took me ages to be able to sing along to this one, but nowadays it is one of my favorite songs while I am driving in my car.

Black suit, the black shades, the black shoes
Black tie with the black attitude
New style, black Raybans, I’m stunnin’, man
New hotness, pitch black, 600, man
Don’t you understand, what you thought I wouldn’t come again
Leave you hangin’ without bringin’ you the fun again
Tanglin’ with the alien scum again
Mind your manners or the black suits runnin’ in
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5. Live – Lightning crashes

Another song, and another band I heard about first in New Zealand. In one of the hostels there was this english guy who used to play guitar and sing every night when we were all sitting together. He was brilliant at it, too. And this was his favorite song. To this day I’d still prefer his version over the original, but unfortunately I haven’t seen him in a while.
I admit the lyrics are a bit out there, but I love the song particularly because of that.

lightning crashes, a new mother cries
this moment she’s been waiting for
the angel opens her eyes
pale blue colored iris,
presents the circle
and puts the glory out to hide, hide
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6. Metallica – So what

And yet again, a song I heard first in NZ. Strange, how many of them have remained favorites of mine for so long…
This one I was introduced to by another english guy in another hostel. He was a bit of a loner and one night when a party was going on in the rest of the hostel we got to talking in his room and he played me his favorite music – which consisted mainly of Metallica songs. This one was probably intended to shock me, but unfortunately for him it is not possible to shock me simply by saying the f-word. LOL Indeed I more or less adopted this song as my own and used to play it all the time myself (preferably in the communal kitchen after returning from the pub at 2 a.m.).
I’m still not the biggest Metallica-fan, but some of their songs have grown on me. Hands up, who is not surprised that I chose this one over “Nothing else matters” for this list! ;o)

Well, I’ve been to Hastings and I’ve been to Brighton,
I’ve been to Eastbourne too.
So what, so what.
And I’ve been here, I’ve been there,
I’ve been every fucking where.
So what, so what.
So what, so what, you boring little cunt.
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7. Jeff Buckley – Hallelujah

This song I heard first on House. Now usually I am not particularly fond of religious music, since (as I am sure every regular reader will have gathered by now) I am not very fond of religion as such – to put it very mildly. But this song, and Jeff’s voice, just fit so well in the particular scene that I couldn’t get it out of my head for days. And when I later found out it had been sung by Leonard Cohen once as well (I have no clue who actually wrote it, judging from the weird lyrics my guess would be Leonard), I just fell in love with it. This time not for the lyrics per se, but for the way it is sung.

Well your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew ya
And she tied you to her kitchen chair
She broke your throne and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah
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8. Nickelback – If everyone cared

No idea where I heard this one first. I just like it. I don’t particularly look forward to “the day when nobody died”, but hey, I won’t be picky.

If everyone cared and nobody cried
If everyone loved and nobody lied
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride
Then we’d see the day when nobody died
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9. CCR – Midnight Special

Ah, CCR. I used to like their music a lot when I was a child. But then I kinda lost them. They never got played on the radio anymore and I more or less forgot they ever existed.
Until I stumbled upon Nathan Fillion’s MySpace page. He had this song on his profile at the time and even though I didn’t know this particular one, the general sound of CCR is of course unmistakable. I have meanwhile aquired almost all their CDs and am having a great time listening to them for hours. Just like with Alabama 3 these songs just make me wanna get up and dance. Am I old or what? LOL

If you’re ever in Houston, well, you better do the right
You better not gamble, there, you better not fight, at all
Or the sheriff will grab ya and the boys will bring you down
The next thing you know, boy, Oh! You’re prison bound
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10. Snow Patrol – Chasing Cars

This is really a lovely song. And I didn’t hear it first on Grey’s Anatomy. They used to play it up and down on the radio, about 20 times a day. Unfortunately it’s the only one I like by Snow Patrol. The rest is just meh. I’m just as glad I didn’t actually buy their CDs…

If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?
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11. Slightly Stoopid – Officer

Another find on Nathan Fillion’s MySpace page. This guy really has the most interesting taste in music. I would just love to go through his personal CD collection one day. The song he’s got now is by a guy named Bob Schneider, the song is called “Getting Better” – I have heard of neither one before, but it sounds awesome as well, so I will have to check this guy out sooner rather than later…

Hey mista coppa said now why’d you stoppa me? na na
I wasn’t driving the car badly
I said don’t go lock me up because me smoke sensi
Yes, this is the ghetto but i live ‘cross the sea
Say now mr.officer come charge me all the time
You got me for possession but i’ll swear that its not mine
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12. Eminem – The way I am

What can I say? I just love the boy. Love most of his songs, so this one is pretty much just a random selection. He is a majorly disturbed piece of white trash, but he is honest and that makes him loveable in a way. Which, I guess, makes me kinda disturbed, too. But that’s ok. ;o)

I’m tired of arguin’ (of arguin’)..
I don’t mean to be mean but that’s all I can be is just me
And I am, whatever you say I am
If I wasn’t, then why would I say I am?
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13. Four Star Mary – Pain (Slayer Mix)

This is one of the long list of songs I got to know through watching Buffy. That show has done more for my musical education than any other. The official video for the song is also on YouTube, but of course I had to choose a Buffy fanvid for this one. ;o)

Loaded, loaded up this gun
There’s a killer in me
Hoping, hope that you’re the one
But you always run away
When I come around
I don’t mind
The day I’ll track you down

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You know what I just realized: there is not one song by Leonard Cohen on this list. This is of course unbearable, because I have had a major crush on Leonard for years now. I love, without exception, each and every one of his songs. Actually, he’d deserve a list of his own. But since I don’t think I can find most of his songs on YouTube either, I will just leave you for today with one of his most lovely songs:

“Dance me to the end of love”

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Links to other Thursday Thirteens!
Fence ~ Christine d’Abo ~ Ed ~ Wylie ~ Gabrielle ~ Christine ~ Michelle ~ Raven ~ Lauren Dane ~ Crimson Wife ~ Janet ~ PJ ~ Julia ~ Mymsie ~ Domestic Geek

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