Rainbow Brite and the Colour Kids

Erica @ LittleMummy has tagged me in a Memory Meme! I love things like this and have been racking my brains to think of something I loved many moons ago.

The first song I actually remember is Adam Ant’s Prince Charming. I still love him to bits even though he is now a near bald mental patient. Well, no one is perfect!

 The first song I actually bought was The Housemartin’s Caravan of Love.  I must have been all of 6/7 so why I didn’t go for cheesy shit I don’t know. I’ve followed Paul Heaton’s career ever since, buying all The Housemartins and later, the Beautiful South’s albums. When the Beautifiul South split a few years ago due to ‘musical similarities’ I was gutted. I think this is the best song in the world ever and I always sing my heart out to it.

When I was thinking about my favourite TV show I was torn. I loved My Little Pony, Care Bears, T-bag and T-shirt and Rod Hull and Emu. Out of the blue though it hit me, the show I watched over and over, the dolls I took to bed with me, the videos I begged my mum for – Rainbow Brite. Oh how I loved her!!! I wanted a teeny blue star on my cheekbone (possibly where my love of tattoos comes from? I still love the stars on the face idea – Kat von D looks amazing). I needed a sprite of my own (Twink), I needed my own horse (Starlite) and I definitely needed my own group of brightly coloured friends (the Colour Kids). Is it coming back to you yet? Can you remember all the names of the Colour Kids without Googling them (I didn’t!) Patty O’Green, Buddy Blue, Canary Yellow etc. Oh the memories!

While I was looking around for the names of the Colour Kids I’ve found this website which is obviously run by a mentalist  person with a deep love of all things Rainbow Brite. She/he has the details of the new series of Rainbow Bright which started last year! How did I miss that?! It must only be in the US at the moment. Looking at the new Rainbow Brite thought she looks a bit shit so I’m not over bothered.

For anyone who remembers it, here is a trip back 25 years. For those of you that don’t remember it, watch the magic unfold…

Now to tag. In the spirit of meeting new bloggers, being inclusive and highlighting new blogs I shall choose 3 people I have never tagged before but who’s blogs I love, love, love. I have no idea if they know who I am, if they’ll see this or if they do memes. But here we go anyway…

I tag: Louise at  Sew Scrumptious, Kathryn @ I know I need to stop talking and Kelly @ A place of my own

"What a good place to be/They speak a different language, but it's never really mattered to me". Superb.

To say that this post has been a long time in the making would be, I think, the understatement of the century, but I hope you’ll agree it’s been worth it. Given the material, let’s call it an early Christmas present from me (and a fairly hefty sized one, so have patience with the download).

The Housemartins have appeared here previously, as their immortal song Flag Day was their sole Festive Fifty entry in 1985. However, they recorded  four Peel sessions, which have infuriatingly turned up over the years piecemeal on different compilations, the most recent of these being Live At The BBC. What is worse, none of these did the job properly, and left out a fair chunk of material. Therefore, the fourth best band in Hull have never had all their recordings for Peel available in one place.

Until now. The zip file below contains all of them, the quality of some better than others, but all listenable. The reason why I waited so long to make this available to you was that I have only just managed to get hold of the one track that has never been released from their first session. So enjoy a healthy dose of pop (two versions of ‘Happy Hour’, thier glorious condemnation of yuppy culture) mixed with rather more than a little Christianity (‘When I First Met Jesus’. a cover of Stevie Wonder’s ‘Heaven Help Us All’, ‘Sunday Isn’t Sunday’ and so on).  The second session includes the first recording of what nearly became their Christmas number one for 1986, Caravan Of Love, and the third is entirely accapella, and is an example of their Fish City Five alter ego.

Peel repeated all of these over Christmas each year, but then when the band fragmented, showed no interest in the work of any of them save Norman Cook, who of course hit the dancefloor and had monster smashes with Beats International and as Fatboy Slim. Presumably The Beautiful South was just too commercial for him, but you can hear the roots of that style in these recordings.

Housemartins, Peel Sessions

#1 (recorded 1985-07-21)
Drop Down Dead/Flag Day/Stand At Ease/Joy Joy Joy
#2 (recorded 1986-04-06)
Happy Hour/Get Up Off Our Knees/Over There/Caravan Of Love
#3 (recorded 1986-06-03)
Pickin’ The Blues/Happy Hour/When I First Met Jesus/Heaven Help Us All/He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother
#4 (recorded 1987-11-03)
There Is Always Something There To Remind Me/Sunday Isn’t Sunday/Build

Till veckans låt

La pasada primavera se publicó -con más pena que gloria- la reedición deluxe del “London 0 Hull 4”, el disco más conocido de Housemartins y el que los catapultó a lo más alto de las listas en 1986. Con Singles como “Happy Hour”, “Flag Day” o “Think For A Minute”, a los que siguió el cover “Caravan Of Love”, que fue hit navideño de aquel año.

Y, aunque la voz de Paul Heaton hacía que su música pareciese naïve, en realidad estaba cuajada de mensajes políticos y religiosos. Pero no os voy a contar aquí la importancia que este álbum tuvo en los 80, para eso mejor chequear su página oficial.

En realidad prefiero hablar de “Happy Hour”, su mayor éxito si tenemos en cuenta que “Caravan Of Love” era de los Isley Jasper Isley. El motivo es porque el descubridor de esta canción fue John Peel, del que el pasado 25 de octubre se cumplió cinco años de su muerte.

Sirva esto como homenaje al mejor locutor de música de la historia.

Pues aquí están, 7-curiosidades-7 sobre “Happy Hour”:

-       Llegó al 3º puesto en las listas británicas (“Caravan Of Love” fue su único número 1), lo que tuvo su mérito porque venían de una disquera independiente.

-       La canción habla en clave de humor de la principal diversión de todo obrero inglés: emborracharse todas las tardes en el pub. El tema se ha convertido en el principal reclamo de estos establecimientos cuando comienza su famosa “Happy Hour”.

-       En 1988 la banda se separó y su cantante, Paul Heaton, formó Beautiful South, con un sonido parecido y por eso en los conciertos el público le seguía pidiendo “Happy Hour”. Por su parte, el bajista Norman Cook es quien más éxito obtuvo a posteriori con su alter-ego en Fatboy Slim.

-       El videoclip animado, bastante inusual para la época, ayudó a popularizar la canción.

-       Barenaked Ladies sampleó la letra del coro de “Happy Hour” para su canción “Hello City”.

-       Cuando Housemartins apareció en la escena musical, muchos les compararon a los Smiths. El guitarrista de la banda de Manchester, Johnny Marr, les acusó de haber copiado con “Happy Hour” su canción “I Want The Want That I Can’t Have”.

“Happy Hour” – The Housemartins

“I Want The Want That I Can’t Have” – The Smiths

After a slight delay, the Fancy Plans Guide to Rock and Roll has returned (slightly) with a handful of bands hot off the request line, which is located in your comment threads and ignored for long periods of time right here on this blog.

They say “All good things come to those who wait.” I really wish “they” would stop saying that. Enjoy.

Calexico spy an under-tipping diner.

Calexico
As Americans channeling Mexicans and distributed by Germans, Calexico are the “domestic” auto of indie rock. While probably (perhaps even fiercely) American, Calexico are the sum of their foreign-made “domestic” parts, often raising the ire of Lou Dobbs, who normally shows no interest in recorded music, domestic or otherwise.

Following a twisted path through Giant Sand and Friends of Dean Martinez (neé Martin), Calexico gathered up its mariachi leanings and headed for the welcoming climes of Germany, where they recorded their debut album. Due to a translation error and general German good-natured obtuseness, they were listed as “Spoke.”

Having had enough of this foreign bullshit (except for the mariachi stuff), Calexico returned home and re-issued their debut under the correct name. They continued to build their reputation as an “unavoidable” live band by annoying diners throughout Arizona with their flashmob mariachi-ing, often in support of other confrontational groups like Pavement and Lambchop (the latter of which often broke building capacity codes as soon as they entered the restaurant).

They further cemented their pristine indie rep (and swelled their tip jars) by performing with such alt.rock luminaries as Lisa Germano(!), Naim Amor(?) and Nancy Sinatra(!)(indie?).

Having conquered the all-important “street cafe” scene, Calexico went on to conquer NPR’s tastemakers with their multi-cultural blend of interstitial music, which meshed well with the give-and-take of various left-wing pundits. While definitely critical successes in the US, their popularity grows exponentially overseas, which would seem to indicate it is time for Calexico to haul their big-brimmed and sequined asses across the drink and return to the glory of being “big in Germany,” which has worked for so many “fringe” artists over the years.

3rd Place - Donnie Darko Lookalike Contest

Bright Eyes
The brainchild of indie wünderkind Conor Oberst (whose parents mysteriously shorted him an “n”), Bright Eyes burst out of the Omaha scene much the way that anyone bursts out of Omaha: by stumbling badly right out of the gates.

Critics responded to his debut album (the redundantly titled A Collection of Songs Written, Recorded and then Burned onto Round “Compact Discs” and Perhaps Recorded to the Occasional Cassette to be Listened to By Listeners with Stereos and Walkmans and Whatnot, Maybe in Their Car, But This is 1998 So Possibly a Cassette: 1995-1997) with everything from abuse (allmusic.com: “…unintelligible babblings of a child”) to confusion (Omaha Star: “Supposedly music, but I’ll take the remaining members of Journey at the State Fair any day of the week, even without their original singer…”).

Two years down the road Bright Eyes release Fever and Mirrors which is heralded by Pitchfork as “an instant classic, which nobody but us have ever heard of.” Metacritic hails them as “Pending. Still waiting on 5 reviews.” Their “improved” sound is chalked up to a more mature sound due to the addition of instruments such as flute, accordion, clavichord, sousaphone and Ouija board.

Pretension now safely on board and loaded with multi-instrumentalists, Bright Eyes break into the mainstream as a much-heralded “new” artist, despite being in existence for nearly seven years (sort of like adopting a “starter” child). With this celebrated status (and sudden change in tense two paragraphs ago), Oberst and co. begin to reap the perkiest fruit of their labor. Called upon to provide support for a Springsteen tour, Bright Eyes were afforded the opportunity to play to a much larger indifferent crowd when not carrying luggage for the “Boss.”

Soldiering on, periodically releasing an EP or actual album every six weeks or so, Bright Eyes continued to refine their twin powers: bedroom electronica (as displayed on Digital Stems and Seeds on an Electric Ladyland Dust Jacket) and their slightly creepier bedroom acoustical work, which features Oberst sitting on the edge of your bed for hours at a time, alternating between chugging PBR, strumming softly on his guitar and quietly watching you sleep.

Hull's mobsters ranged from "pasty" to "nerdy."

Housemartins
Straight outta Hull, the Housemartins were an English pop group with an infectious sound and a cheery outlook that combined Christianity with Karl Marx, thus ensuring complete rejection by both of their target audiences.

Formed by Paul Heaton and Stan Cullimore who originally performed as a busking duo, (Ed. – Oh. My. God.) the two friends went on to add a few more members in an effort to attract an audience that preferred its musical ambushes came from the hi-fi rather than Tube platforms or duck ponds. Their most notable addition was superstar DJ Fatboy Slim, who agreed to put down the records and cocaine and play some unobtrusive bass under his given name, Beats Int’l Mighy Dub Katz Pizzaman Freakpower Quentin Cook the BPA Norman Cook.

Having ensured their place in history with the addition of their most famous member (added bonus: free remixes for life!), the Housemartins released their biggest (and only) single to date: Happy Hour. The single shot to the top of the charts, aided by a popular claymation promo video featuring the British counterpart to the California Raisins: the Hull Prunes, who spent the entirety of the video doing very British things like “trainspotting” and “bitching about the dole.”

Their next single, Caravan of Love, enjoyed exactly one week at the number 1 spot before being shoved rudely aside by Jackie Wilson’s Reet Petite, which shows exactly what is both very right and very wrong with British musical tastes.

The single’s a cappella styling drew the ire of their biggest fans, prompting shouts of “Judas” during their completely unplugged gig at the Newport Folk Festival. Heaton was in turn prompted to stop the show and say, “Oh, so you’ve heard of him? Let me just take a moment of your time to give you the good news about Jesus H. Marx, who will free us from the twin oppressions of capitalism and rational thought. I would also like to address our growing trade deficit.”

The band split in 1988 but the members have remained friendly, often joining each other’s bowling/busking teams and dropping by while on holiday.

Axl often announced band firings through cleverly trimmed photos.

Guns N Roses
Formed by the common-law marriage of W. Axl Rose (born W. Oral Sex) and Tracii Guns (born Tracy Gunns), Guns N Roses tore apart the hard rock scene with their hard-charging riffs and dangerous behavior, the likes of which hadn’t been seen since the Rolling Stones still had their original guitarists and hips.

Perhaps one of the most important bands of ever (and your can drop “perhaps” if you throw “self” in front of “important”), GNR hit the fucking ground running with their debut full-length Appetite for Destruction. While the album itself was a hard-rock revelation, the album cover itself was much more memorable.

The original controversial cover, which featured the band members hanging around a stream in some sharp suits was met with complaints from record store owners, who refused to stock the “weak-ass nature bullshit” in the appropriate “Hard Rock” section.

After a hasty redesign, GNR presented Plan B, an album cover featuring them holding various doll parts whilst standing around in a butcher’s shoppe. Again resistance from record shop (or shoppe) owners was high, leading to threats of “brown bagging” the album due to its general “WTF-ness.” Various iterations were tried and rejected (naked prepubescent girl playing with a model, Slash surrounded by naked electric chicks, a naked 15-year-old hanging out at the park, someone smelling a glove, a robot rapist) before settling on the cover we all ended up with: a heavily stylized depiction of the band as a tattoo template.

As Appetite for Destruction took off, GNR toured tirelessly, inciting riots, destroying hotel rooms and, very occasionally, playing an entire set without storming off. As the band headed back into the studio for their followup, Axl decided GNR needed a new look. He issued a kilt to himself, a top hat to Slash and whiskey bottles and pink slips to the rest of the band. (Thus began the revolving door of GNR musicians, each of which Rose would herald as the band’s savior, until finally refining the group down to its only essential member: W. Axl Rose.)

In 1991, GNR released Use Your Illusion I and II, which was described as “bloated” (as double albums often are) and “mercenary” (as double albums packaged and sold as two distinct single albums often are). Both albums were chart toppers and featured several outstanding tracks, none of which I can think of off the top of my head other than November Rain, which clocked in a 8 hours and 56 seconds, often being the only video MTV had time to play between The Real World, Real World retrospectives and The Grind.

A rare shot from Rose's ill-fated foray into "faith healing."

After the release of the now-prerequisite covers album The Spaghetti Incident?, which featured a rundown of their purported influences, none of which they sounded like, W. Axl Rose headed back into the studio with the remaining band member(s) for the next 15 years.

Although Rose appeared sporadically to announce that the album was “just around the corner” and “fucking awesome,” the LP was not released until November of 2008. Problems began when it became apparent that there were few musicians willing to work with Rose, whom the press had affectionately dubbed “an egotistical maniac.” Holing up in L.A.’s Up My Own Ass studios, Rose issued the honorable threat that he would not release any more music until there was “democracy in China.”

After a decade or so of dicking around, Chinese officials (in conjunction with the independent bottlers of Dr. Pepper) began to call his bluff, beginning with a series of trade embargoes targeted at various takeout joints and dry cleaners in the Hollywood area. As the lack of pepper steak and freshly pressed shirts began to erode Rose’s willpower, China stepped up the pressure, stating that while W. Axl Rose had a “proven track record in the music industry,” they had the “willpower of over a billion oppressed people, most of whom have been forbidden to listen to your music,” adding “not to mention a fuckload of tanks.”

To save face (and the independent bottlers of Dr. Pepper), Rose released the poorly titled Chinese Democracy to rave reviews such as “That’s hard rock, alright…” (Spin, Nov. 2008), “Sounds like Rose’s trademark vocal stylings…” (Bill’s Record Blawg, Dec. 2008) and “We’ve had this album for years…” (thepiratebay.org).

Rose announced through personal assistant Sebastian Bach that Chinese Democracy was the first in a planned trilogy, with the follow ups due to be released in 2023 (“weather permitting”) and 2038 (“…at which point I will likely be dead”).

The Pirate Bay (piratebay.org) invites you to “beat the rush” and check out these two fine albums today.

-CLT

Ayer me llamó la atención un pequeño cartel de una empresa constructora en la Gran Vía de Madrid: “la felicidad no se compra, se construye”.

En realidad este post podría terminar aquí, pues el eslogan habla por sí mismo. Desde ese punto de vista, hay que reconocer que está muy logrado. Pero algo quiero añadir.

Lo primero, cuando en los medios se habla construcción y constructores me viene a la mente la ya vieja cancioncilla de los Housemartins (menos conocida que Caravan of love o Happy hour, célebre por su video de plastilina): build.

Ese disco (cinta entonces) de 1987 lo habré escuchado miles de veces. Entonces la burbuja inmobiliaria aún no había estallado, por lo que este tema sólo era una inocente canción sobre albañiles. Hoy me parece otra cosa, llena de ironía y melancolía típicamente inglesas: “desde el mecano hasta el legoland, aquí vienen con un ladrillo en la mano, tipos con la cabeza llena de arena, hay que construir”. De alguna manera, el furor constructivo estaba ahí. Y siendo ingleses, cómo no pensar que buena parte del alicatamiento de la costa española es propiedad de jubilados ingleses (y alemanes, entre otros), así que parte del furor quizás venga de allí. Como no he encontrado referencias de qué motivó la letra de la canción en cuestión, me concedo la libertad de pensar así.

Por una parte, que un eslogan publicitario se refiera a la felicidad con ese desparpajo es el signo de los tiempos. Por otra, afirmar que la felicidad no se compra parece una obviedad. Podríamos citar a los mismísimos Beatles cuando decían Can’t buy me love (te compraré anillos de diamantes si te hacen sentir bien […] porque no me preocupo demasiado por el dinero, el dinero no puede comprarme). Pero decir que se construye se me antoja un exceso. Quizás el autor quiso decir que para ser feliz hay que esforzarse y buscar la dicha día a día. Y con la que está cayendo para ese sector quizás sería más preciso decir que la felicidad no se compra, se vende.

Por cierto, “os quiero un huevo, tíos”, que diría aquél (porque ya he visto el artículo de Marco, que ha vuelto a la bendita rutina cole-casa).

I loved Gold Bars, back when I was still wearing sparkly aquamarine batwing jumpers from C&A and listening to The Housemartins (circa 1985, roughly). They were the Caramac of the biscuit world*: creamy, caramelly chocolate without, in the symbolic bullion shape with the world “GOLD” stamped on the top, in case you were in any doubt, then a perfectly crisp and plain biscuit within. Do not, however, call this outer coating white chocolate: it has its own distinct personality which has been compared to solid custard.

At the time the political significance of the Gold Bar wasn’t considered – it was a post-tea treat to be enjoyed while sitting on the brown velour sofa watching the terrifying Chocky (anyone remember that?). But, with the benefit of hindsight, it is my thesis that the McVities Gold Bar is the emodiment of 1980s Thatcherism. Think about it: one is being asked to consume gold.

I haven’t eaten a Gold Bar since circa 1990 and I don’t intend to. It’s not just the jarring undertones of consumerism gone mad that it imparts, it’s the fear that it won’t live up to my memories. I tried a Wagon Wheel recently and the scales fell from my eyes: the giant, delicious biscuit of my youth had been transformed into a sickly circle of hell. So I’ll stick with my happy thoughts of gnawing off the outside of a Gold Bar then nibbling on its innards. Heaven.

*Don’t start arguing about whether it is or isn’t a biscuit. It clearly is, along with Penguins and Clubs. See this discussion for more confirmation

Jane Perrone

….. pero por el movimiento que veo en el blog ……… alguien más se ha tomado unos días de descanso …. mmmmmm

No veo fotos medievales, ni fotos de alguna playa de Tarragona, pongo por caso, …… esto es un desparrame.

Ash, xDDDD, deja ya la granja y dinos algoooooooo… Mira, te voy a dedicar una canción, a continuación  ….

Diablillo ¿y tú? ¿qué escusa tienes? ………….

Ahhhhh, ya sé …………. estais con el diseño de los bolsos y no os queda tiempo para estas vanalidades, pues nada, seguid, que ya me veo en el mercadillo de los jueves………

With the Housemartins Happy Hour…and let’s check out Fatboy Slim in his early days.

Et comme souvent, elle provient de Mojo. A la demande de cet excellent  magazine, les Housemartins se sont réunis.

Pour l’instant, le terme “réunis” semble plus approprié que “reformés”. Wait & see …

The Housemartins 2009 pour le magazine Mojo

Paul Heaton, Norman Cook (“Fat Boy Slim”), Hugh Whitaker & Stan Cullimore réunis pour Mojo.

L’article de Mojo ici.

Et là, un article précédent que j’avais consacré aux Housemartins.

Roll On Summertime (19 pop songs 1981-85).  Home made compilation CD.

1. Primal Scream – It Happens
2. The Chesterfields – Nose Out Of Joint (flexi version)
3. The Pastels – Million Tears
4. The Shop Assistants – All That Ever Mattered
5. The Jasmine Minks – What’s Happening
6. The Wedding Present – Go Out And Get ‘em Boy
7. The Laughing Apple – Participate!
8. The Nightingales – What A Carry On
9. Vic Godard & The Subway Sect – Stop That Girl
10. Border Boys – Sorry
11. The Mighty Lemon Drops – Something Happens
12. The Passmore Sisters – Shatter
13. The June Brides – We Belong
14. The Housemartins – Drop Down Dead
15. Everything But The Girl – Laugh You Out The House
16. Grab Grab The Haddock – Last Fond Goodbye
17. del Amitri – This King Is Poor
18. The Daintees – Roll On Summertime
19. Hurrah! – Hip Hip

In this instalment in the series of the lesser known originals, we look at Killing Me Softly With His Song, He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother, Evil Ways, (Ghost) Riders In The Sky, and I Wanna Be Loved, an obscure ’70s soul song covered a decade later by Elvis Costello. A vote of thanks to my friends Walter, RH and Mark for feeding me some of the music featured here (the latter a very long time ago).

* * *

Kelly Gordon – He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother (1969).mp3
The Hollies – He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother (1969).mp3
The Persuasions – He Ain’t Heavy/You’ve Got A Friend (1971).mp3
Donny Hathaway – He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother (1972).mp3
The Housemartins – He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother (1986).mp3
The Hollies’ guitarist Tony Hicks, desperately looking for a song to record when he was played a demo of He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother. The band decided to record it without great expectations, with Reg Dwight (who would become Elton John) on piano. Of course, it became a mega-hit and pop classic. But the Hollies were not the first to record it. The song had already been released by Kelly Gordon in April 1969 — five months before the Hollies’ version — as a single and on his Defunked album (the single’s b-side was That’s Life, a song Gordon had co-written five years earlier, but had been recorded before and made famous by Frank Sinatra). The original of He Ain’t Heavy by Gordon, more active as a producer than a singer, is slower and more mournful. Based on his interpretation, the publishers thought it would be a good song for Joe Cocker to record. And it would have been, but Cocker turned the song down.

He Ain’t Heavy was written by Bobby Scott (who wrote A Taste Of Honey) and the older veteran lyricist Bob Russell (Little Green Apples), who was already ailing with cancer and died at 55 in February 1970, just after the song had become a worldwide hit. There is much speculation as to the origin of the title; most commonly it is believed that the line was inspired by Father Edward Flannagan, the founder of Boys Town, who had adopted it as the organisation’s motto, reputedly after spotting a cartoon of a boy carrying another in a corporate publication named Louis Allis Messenger, that was captioned “He ain’t heavy Mister – he’s m’ brother!” It was not a new line; it had been used in literature and magazine articles before, and supposedly provided the punchline for a Native American folk story.

There have been many covers of the song. I have several favourites. Donny Hathaway’s soul interpretation tops the Hollies’ pop version. Then there are two fine a cappella versions. There are three such recordings by the Housemartins are in circulation: on the compilation Now That’s What I Call Quite Good, as a bonus track on the London 0 Hull 4 CD, and unofficially on the 1986 BBC Saturday Live sessions. It is the latter featured here. It might very well have been inspired by the magnificent version released in 1971 by the a cappella band The Persuasions, who recorded it as part of a medley with You’ve Got A Friend — which the Housemartins also recorded a cappella. (Edit: See the message by former Persuasions frontman Jerry Lawson in the comments section.)

Also recorded by: Neil Diamond (1970), I Ribelli (as Il vento non sa leggere, 1970), The Ruffin Brothers (1970), The Osmonds (1971 & 1975), Glen Campbell (1971), Ramsey Lewis (1971), Cher (1971), Donny Hathaway (1971), Gladys Knight & The Pips (1971), Melba Moore (1971), Johnny Mathis (1972), Brotherhood of Man (1974), Olivia Newton-John (1975), The Housemartins (1985/86), Al Green (1987), Bill Medley (1988), Gotthard (1996), Rufus Wainwright (2001), Helmut Lotti (2003), Pentti Hietanen (2005), Barry Manilow (2007) a.o.

.

Lori Lieberman – Killing Me Softly With His Song (1972).mp3
Roberta Flack – Killing Me Softly With His Song (1973).mp3
(Text has been edited since it was first posted)

There are two stories describing the genesis of Killing Me Softly With HIs Song. The more widely-spread story has folk-singer Lori Lieberman so moved by Don McLean’s live performance of the song Empty Chairs that she wrote a poem about, calling it Killing Me Softly With His Blues. The composers Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel, who were taking time out from their impressive TV theme production line (Happy Days!) to write songs for Lieberman’s self-titled debut album, used her poem as the basis for the song which she would be the first to record in 1971, releasing it the following year.

Or so Lieberman says. Norman Gimbel’s recollection is very different, though much less known. In an e-mail to this blog (which will go up fully reproduced on Sunday), he explained how it was a book he was referred to years earlier by composer Lalo Shifre that featured the line “Killing Me Softly With His Blues” (the title of the poem Lieberman says she wrote). He like the idea and stored it away for a few years until he needed lyrics for the Lieberman album which he and Fox were writing, changing the word “blues” to “song”.

Although Lieberman didn’t score a big hit with the song, Flack stumbled upon it in 1972 while in air. After reading about Lieberman in the TWA airline magazine and her interest piqued by the title of the song, she tuned into the song on the in-flight radio, and decided to record it herself. Over a period of three months, Flack experimented with and rearranged the song, changing the chord structure, adding the soaring ad libs and ending the song on a major chord where Lieberman did with a minor. Her remake made an immediate impression, topping the US charts for four weeks and reaching #6 in Britain. Her version won Grammys for Song of the Year, Record of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance.

Almost a quarter of a century later, in 1996, Killing Me Softly – its full title by now routinely castrated – made an unwelcome return to the album charts in the form of the Fugees’ cover (it wasn’t released as a single so as to boost album sales). Lauryn Hill’s vocals are fine, though the hip hop arrangement negates the confessional intimacy of Flack’s, or indeed Lieberman’s, version. And that would be adequate; the mood of a lyric often is disengaged from a song’s sound to little detriment (think of all the great upbeat numbers with morose lyrics). Besides, the Fugees had conceived of the song as an anti-drug anthem with the revised title Killing Him Softly, a plan that was abandoned when they were denied permission for such modification. The whole exercise becomes something of a prank thanks to Wyclef Jean’s repeated intonation of “one time” and “two time”, as though he was auditioning for the role of parody DJ on Sesame Street. No matter how affecting Hill’s vocals, Wycount von Count’s antics render the Fugees’ version one of the most deplorable covers in pop.

Also recorded by: Johnny Mathis (1973), Rusty Bryant (1973), Tim Weisberg (1973), Perry Como (1973), Bobby Goldsboro (1973), John Holt (1973), Anne Murray (1973), The Ventures (1973), Shirley Bassey (1973), Woody Herman (1973), Katja Ebstein (as Das Lied meines Lebens, 1973), Vikki Carr (1973), Lynn Anderson (1973), Rune Gustafsson (1973), Lill Lindfors (as Sången han sjöng var min egen, 1973), Marcella Bella, Lara Saint Paul, Ornella Vanoni (all as Mi fa morire cantando, 1973), Andy Williams (1974), Mike Auldridge (1974), Charlie Byrd (1974), Petula Clark (1974), Engelbert Humperdinck (1974), Ferrante & Teicher (1974), George Shearing Quintet (1974), Charles Fox (1975), Hampton Hawes (1976), Cleo Laine & John Williams (1976), Mina (1985), Lance Hayward (1987), Al B. Sure! (1988), Donald Brown (1989), Casal (as Tal como soy, 1989), Linda Imperial (1991), Yta Farrow (1991), Joanna (as Morrendo de amo, 1991), Luther Vandross (1994), Ron Sanfilippo (1994), Michael Chapdelaine (1995), Mahogany (1996), The Fugees (1996), Victoria Abril (1998), Joe Augustine (1998), Kermit Ruffins and the Barbecue Swingers (1998), The BB Band (1999), Anthony Arizaga (2000), Hank Marvin (2002), Eric Hansen (2002), Kimberly Caldwell (2003), Raymond Jones (2004), Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass (2005), Omara Portuondo (as Matándome suavemente, 2006), Helge Schneider (2007), a.o.

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Burl Ives – Riders In The Sky (1949).mp3
Vaughn Monroe – Riders In The Sky (1949).mp3
Peggy Lee – Riders In The Sky (A Cowboy Legend) (1949).mp3
The Ventures – Ghost Riders In The Sky (1961).mp3
Deborah Harry – Riders In The Sky (1998).mp3
Riders In The Sky, sometimes known as Ghost Riders In The Sky, is one of those standards which is famous mostly for being famous. It has been recorded many times, and most people know at least its melody (I knew it first in the The Ventures’ 1961 guitar-driven instrumental version), but there seems to be no artist to whom the song is universally and specifically attached.

The song was written in 1948 by Stan Jones, a California forest ranger by trade who wrote western music as a sideline, also contributing music to film classics such as The Searchers and Rio Bravo. Riders In The Sky was first recorded in February 1949 by Burl Ives, still to be outed as a supposed communist fellow traveller and a few years from becoming friends with the McCarthyist defenders of freedom. Two months after Ives, Vaughn Monroe recorded it with his orchestra, and scored an international hit with it. The same year, Gene Autry sang it in a film, also titled Riders In The Sky, and Peggy Lee did a version, adding the parenthetical “A Cowboy Legend” to the title. The song made a comeback in the British charts in 1980 with the instrumental take by The Shadows, covering ground previously traversed by The Ventures and Dick Dale. And in 1998, Deborah Harry, formerly of Blondie, issued her electronica version.

Also recorded by: Bing Crosby (1949), Peggy Lee (1949), Gene Autry (1949), Spike Jones (1949), Eddy Arnold (1959), The Ramrods (1961), The Ventures (1961), Dick Dale (1963), Frank Ifield (1963), Frankie Laine (1963), Lorne Greene (1964), Duane Eddy (1966), The Englishmen (1967), Tom Jones (1967), Elvis Presley (live, 1970), Dennis Stoner (1971), Mary McCaslin (1975), Riders in the Sky 91979), Johnny Cash (1979), The Shadows (1979), Outlaws (1980), Fred Penner (1980), Milton Nascimento (1981), Marty Robbins (1984), The Trashmen (1990), R.E.M. (as Ghost Reindeer in the Sky, 1990), Michael Martin Murphey (1993), Johnny Cash & Willie Nelson (1998), Deborah Harry (1998), Dan Aykroyd, John Goodman and The Blues Brothers Band (1998), Ned Sublette (1999), Concrete Blonde (2004), Peter Pan Speedrock (2006), Me First and the Gimme Gimmes (2006), Die Apokalyptischen Reiter (2006), Spiderbait (2007), Dezperadoz (2008), Children of Bodom (2008) a.o.

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Teacher’s Edition – I Wanna Be Loved (1973).mp3
Elvis Costello – I Wanna Be Loved (1984).mp3
For a prolific songwriter, Elvis Costello has covered songs widely. His best known cover perhaps is George Jones’ A Good Year For The Roses, itself a country classic. I Wanna Be Loved, a Costello single in 1984 which appeared on the otherwise underwhelming Goodbye Cruel World album (and features Scritti Politti’s Green Gartside on backing vocals), was plucked from obscurity. That’s what Costello said, and he was not exaggerating. I have been able to find nothing about Teacher’s Edition or about Farnell Jenkins, who wrote the song, except that it was released in on the Memphis-based Hi Records (which counted Al Green, Ann Peebles and O.V. Wright among its roster) in1973 as a b-side to a song titled It Helps To Make You Strong, and enjoyed popularity in the Northern Soul set. Jenkins, now 67, now seems to be a Chicago-based writer of Gospel songs.
Also recorded by: nobody else, it seems

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Willie Bobo – Evil Ways (1967).mp3
Santana – Evil Ways (1969).mp3
This month, you may hear it incidentally mentioned, marks the 40th anniversary of Woodstock. For Santana, the festival was the great break-out moment. Within a few months of Woodstock, the group had a hit with Evil Ways, the first of a string of covers by Carlos and his shifting band of chums. Evil Ways was recorded first by Latin jazz percussionist Willie Bobo, who would later collaborate with Santana. It was written by Bobo’s guitarist Sonny Henry, who is also doing vocal duty. Bobo died young, in 1983 at 49 of cancer. His son, Eric Bobo (the family name is actually Correa), also became a percussionist, with Cypress Hill.

The vocals (and the organ solo) on the Santana version are by the band’s co-founder Gregg Rolie, whose keyboards and vocals were also so integral to Santana’s version of Black Magic Woman (featured in Vol. 1). Rolie proceeded to co-found Journey with former Santana bandmate Neal Schon. In Journey, Rolie was initially lead vocalist, but ceded frontman duties when Steve Perry joined.

Also recorded by: Johnny Mathis (1970), Cal Tjader (1971), Carlos Santana & Buddy Miles (1972)

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In The Originals Vol. 22 we looked at The House Of The Rising Sun. In the interim, our friend Walter has sent me the first known recording of the song, by Clarence “Tom” Ashley and Gwen Foster, recorded in 1933. I have added it to the original article, and post it below:

Ashley and Foster – Rising Sun Blues.mp3

Those interested in more versions of the song will be well served by this post on the fascinating Merlin in Rags blog, which specialises in old folk and blues.

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More Originals

Ochentas & noventas, una época donde los raros peinados nuevos era una carrera en donde ganaba el que mas loco dejaba su pelo con sprays y fijadores. Yo no me salve de esa época, veía a los Duran Duran, Soda Stereo, George Michael, Billy Idol, todos con un look original. Uno era loco y muy largo, otros mas sofisticados… Creo que fue una época donde los ¨Cuafers¨ganaron mucha plata, ja ja.

Yo moría por un peinado de esos y aunque mi pelo era una mezcla de los remolinos de G.Michael y el afro de Michael Jackson (en la época de Jacksons Five), mi ídolo era Robert Smith. Que loco ese tipo, era la imagen que yo quería a mis dieciocho años… Con un mar de nubes de nada en mi cabeza… que otro ídolo creen que podía tener.

Conocí su banda en el 82 mas o menos con el tema Another Day de su primer LP Three Imaginary Boys (1979), lo siguió Boys Don´t Cry (1980) y su single del mismo nombre que fue el tema con el que la banda llega al publico de forma masiva. Luego A Forest, Let´s Go To Bed, The Lovecats, etc, etc, etc.

The Cure apareció en un momento conocido como Post-Punk. Y si bien podemos ¨encajar¨ a esta banda en rock, punk, electrónica y varios estilos más, la continua aparición de sus integrantes con atuendos color negro, rostros pálidos, algún lápiz labial corrido y letras tenebrosas e introspectivas, hicieron que la banda de comenzara toda una movida llamada Dark, y su música asociada al genero rock gótico aunque R.Smith rechace esta categorización y se niegue a enmarcar a la banda dentro de un único género.

The Cure ha logrado vender, desde el año de su formación (1976), alrededor de 50 millones de discos en todo el mundo. Al pelo no lo use nunca como R.Smith, pero muchas de las letras de sus canciones me han marcado hasta el dia de hoy. La de abajo es una de mis tantas favoritas.

I don’t care if Monday’s blue
Tuesday’s grey and Wednesday too
Thursday I don’t care about you
It’s Friday, I’m in love

Para los que no la saben en español…
Los Chicos no lloran (Boys Don´t Cry)
Yo diría que lo siento
si supiera que eso cambiaría lo que piensas
pero se que a estas alturas
ya he dicho demasiado
he sido demasiado de mi tipo

Intento reírme de esto
engañarme con mentiras
lo intento y
me río de esto
escondiendo las lagrimas de mis ojos

Porque los chicos no lloran
los chicos no lloran..
(completa en LETRAS)

Fara glamour, fara mister, fara fite de hipster. Just nice and cheerful songs. Let’s singalong with me:)

1. Acid House Kings – This Is A Heart Is A Stone (2005)

Cea mai tare trupa suedeza de la ABBA incoace. Canta din 91, cand cei trei fondatori, fratii Odlund si Johan Angergard, aveau in jur de 15 ani si erau mari fani ai scenei indie pop britanice (care era infinit mai misto si mai creativa decat acum). Primul album le-a aparut in 92 si de atunci si-au propus sa scoata mai scoata inca doua la o distanta de 5 ani fiecare. Si asa au facut. Bineinteles, intre timp le-au crescut flocii cei blonzi, s-au dezvirginat, li s-a ingrosat vocea, si-au luat o gagica in formatie. Ciclul de trei albume s-a incheiat in 2002, asa ca apoi au putut sa scoata unul nou ceva mai devreme. Sing Along with Acid House Kings se cheama el si este insotit de un DVD ptr karaoke. Din fericire piesele de pe DVD se gasesc pe youtube, asa ca atunci cand ma nimeresc singur acasa sau in birou mai cant si eu cu AHK (asta din cauza ca am voce groaznica si nu tin sa ma auda si altii).

2. The Beach Boys – Wouldn’t It Be Nice (1966)

Daca mi-ai pune iataganul la gat si mi-ai cere sa spun care-i cel mai tare album din istoria muzicii pop/rock, cu spaima as pronunta: Beach Boys – Pet Sounds (1966). Asta desigur spre uimirea prietenilor mei rochisti. Melodii si sunete incredibile. Se aud si mai grozav cu o iarba (am probat). Chiar daca nu-s hippiot si cred ca Tim Leary a fost un asshole, cate odata zic si eu ca amicu’ Thom Yorke: “I wish it was the sixties”. Wouldn’t it be nice?:)

3. The Beatles – Getting Better (1967)

Un cantec fabulos de pe un album fabulos, Sgt. Pepper… Asta as vrea sa mi-l cante la inmormantare. Cand s-ar auzi Paul: “A little better all the time”, cu John, din spate: “It can’t get no worse”, as invia pur si simplu . Better, better, better…

4. Big Star – September Gurls (1974)

Varianta de studio e aici.

Au cantat in prima jumatate a anilor 70 cand au scos trei albume fara de succes. Oarecum normal intr-o epoca in care lumea era coplesita sub maretia trupelor de hard rock sau prog. Big Star luasera rochenrolu’ de acolo de unde il lasasera pe la jumatatea decadei precedente Beatles, Who sau Byrds. Melodii simple, guitar-based, aparent moi, dar totusi cu coi. Dupa desfiintare, notorietatea trupei avea sa creasca, inclusiv datorita unora ca R.E.M., care au declarat Big Star drept una dintre influentele lor majore.  La fel au facut apoi multe alte trupe de new wave, alternativ sau indie, astfel ca allmusic.com ii numeste cea mai importanta formatie cult dupa Velvet Underground. Big Star s-a reunit in 1993, fara unul dintre membrii fondatori, Chris Bell, absent pe motiv de deces. Pe youtube se mai gasesc doar versiuni live recente la “September Gurls”, fara exagerare, o capodopera a muzicii pop/rock. Am fost surprins sa gasesc piesa pe trilulilu, unde, previzibil, are mai putine comment-uri decat Nicolae Guta.

5. The Clash – Train In Vain (1979)

As merita sa iau bataie de la punkisti ca i-am bagat pe The Clash la cantecele de fredonat. Dar “Train In Vain” este de fredonat, cu toate ca ramane un punk cu coaie mari (da, da, punk). Fucking timeless! (Important de stiut, voce la piesa asta este Mick Jones, nu Joe Strummer).

6. Donovan – Jennifer Juniper (1968)

Initial scotianul Donovan Leitch suna ca un Bob Dylan wannabe, which is bad. In scurt timp insa, omul si-a gasit un stil propriu, un fel de pop-folk psihedelic, very charming. Probabil hipsterii zic ca e un hippiot obsolete, dar nu-si dau seama cat de mult a influentat indie pop-ul recent, incepand cu regii absoluti ai genului si compatriotii sai, Belle & Sebastian (numai asculta cu atentie vocea lui Stuart Murdoch). Jennifer Juniper e un cantecel tare simpatic despre gagica lui de atunci, Jennifer Boyd (sora lui Patty Boyd, nevasta, pe rand, a lui George Harrison si Eric Clapton).

7. The Housemartins – Happy Hour (1986)

Sunt considerati cea mai importanta trupa indie pop britanica din anii 80, dupa The Smiths of course. Mie imi suna ca un adevarat antidot pentru poponarelile smiorcaite ale lui Morrisey. Housemartins au cantat doar vreo 5 ani, suficient pentru a ramane in istorie. Paul Heaton (solist vocal) va fonda apoi Beautiful South (alta trupa delicioasa), impreuna cu un alt coleg de la Housemartins, Dave Hemingway (tobar si deasemenea vocalist). Fostul basist de la Housemartins, Norman Cook, avea sa cunoasca si el o mare glorie, sub aliasul Fatboy Slim…

8. I’m From Barcelona – Oversleeping (2006)

I’m From Barcelona sunt de fapt din Suedia. Cica formatia are 29 de membrii, dar de fapt unul singur conteaza, Emanuel Lundgren, omul care e lead vocal si face cantecele. IT-ist de meserie, in concediul sau din 2005, s-a gandit sa inregistreze niste cantece si a chemat niste prieteni sa bage si ei la refrene. Si asa s-au strans aia 29 de care ziceam. Emanuel spunea intr-un interviu ca un alt nume care li s-ar potrivi foarte bine ar fi Happy Amateurs. Amatorii au deja doua albume (la Mute Records if you know what I mean) si au cantat inclusiv in America, la Lollapalooza, unde au facut ravagii dupa cum se vede pe youtube. Despre “Oversleeping” ce sa zic? E povestea vietii mele de zi cu zi:)

Dupa partea I va urma partea a II-a, cu restu’ de sase melodii. Cand ma trezesc, desigur. Si daca o sa mai am chef:d

Wow! What fantastic weather yesterday, can’t believe it’s a Bank Holiday weekend. Got up early to start attacking the weed that was covering the front lawn. Not sure what it’s called (at least in polite society), but it has little yellow flowers and spreads like crazy. 2 hours with the electric lawn rake, and it was one full brown wheelie bin and no more weed, quick once over with the mower, and whilst not Wimbledon, at last it’s now grass that you can see.
Barbie for lunch (no, not the impossibly shaped plastic doll, the traditional British food sacrifice ceremony). It’s a really good gas one, light it and you’re cooking in 10 minutes. Whilst I know the BBQ purists will criticise, the thought of going back to ‘proper’ brickets, having to wait for an hour until it decides to heat up, and then to have the coals burn out just before the food is properly cremated does not appeal at all. I’ve got the burgers off to a T now, perfectly cooked and v. tasty, sausages are pretty much sorted, and even the bacon is edible, so yesterday the household authorities raised the stakes (no pun intended) and introduced pork kebabs to the mix. Diced pork, intermixed with peppers, onion and cherry tomatos, basted with honey and mustard. So, the challenge, ensure pork is fully cooked whilst trying to keep the vegetables from turning to charcoal. The result? Well I’m typing this this morning with no obvious signs of food poisoning, no-one else is up yet though!
The afternoon was meant to be for the back garden, but the temperature must have been pushing 30 degrees, so I thought I’d better make sure the hammock had survived the winter, took two hours to test it properly, downside was I forgot the sunblock and finished up with bright red face, arms and legs, I’ll pay for that today.
Great to see the Housemartins are back, hearing them sing “Happy Hour” whilst wheeling in the air chasing flies tells you summer is here. They’re checking out the eaves again so hopefully they’ll be nesting soon. Whilst I love to watch them, and a couple of years back one nest was right outside the window so you could see them feed the babies, the amount of mess they make has to be seen to be believed. It’s an absolute bugger to clean off as well, but I guess it’s a small price to pay.
Finally got round to mending the puncture on number one son’s bike (it’s only taken 6 months, so that’s not too bad), usual pathetic male feeling of pride at having completed a mechanical task that any 10 year old could do. But still, I had to use a spanner, and those neat things for getting the tyres off, and I even had to use two differently sized Allen keys, which feels like proper fixing. I’m sure I’m almost ready for Scrapheap Challenge.
So, day was over, and with the prospect of sitting down and watching Britain’s Got Talent, or going onto Twitter (DaveJohnWard if you are interested) and Facebook, the computer won. This was when I started wondering about this blogging lark, Googled in “how do I create a Blog”, and two hours later this beasty was in existence.
No idea where it’s going, not much real idea where it came from, but I do have a few thoughts about things I’d like to blog on, some opinions to share and questions to pose. We’ll see how it goes and whether this is a 5 minute wonder or becomes the greatest collection of musings since Plato.

all the best

NorfolknGood

One year, a long time ago, I had a housemartins nest in the corner of my bedroom window.

I watched those birds every single day, build their home from start to finish. I could stand on my windowsill and look in and I knew that they had laid eggs. I knew when the eggs hatched and I could see the chicks looking out.  One day a young one flew into my bedroom.

I watched them come and go and in the autumn of that year I watched as the housemartins lined up on the telephone wires and flew away.

I think about how lucky I was to see that.

Mon client précise que s’il a bien l’habitude de s’attarder sous les douches avec des sportifs, ce sont ceux du club de volley-ball de la cité des bords de Loire, ces derniers étant autrement mieux équipés que les laborieux bouffeurs de pelouse du Stade la Vallée du Cher.

S’étonnant de telles insinuations dans un titre de presse par ailleurs en tous points remarquable, mon client fait remarquer à ce monsieur Beauvallet de triste réputation que jamais, au grand jamais, lui-même ne se permettrait de révéler tout ce qu’il sait du passé de monsieur Beauvallet.

Sur son MySpace, le producteur dit je viens de finir le nouvel album de Temposhark et je peux à nouveau me plonger dans ma collaboration avec Richard Oakes, un génie de la guitare et un super mec.

Clint Boom, l’homme à frange des Inspiral Carpets qui ressemblait à Shaggy dans Scoubidou, est devenu le leader de The Clint Boon Experience, a sorti plusiers albums, dirige son label Booney Tunes et a même tâté du cinéma, dans le classique 24 Hour Party People ou en faisant les voix off de dessins animés (décidément&).

Source:

http://www.lesinrocks.com/musique/commentaires/?tx_obladycomments_pi1%5Btable%5D=tt_news&tx_obladycomments_pi1%5Buid%5D=37983&tx_obladycomments_pi1%5Baction%5D=view

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Avui no et podre veure, ho se, avui serà dia d’agafar records i intentar de reviure situacions. Suposo que podria ser pitjor, suposo que hauria d’estar acostumat. M’he fet gran per d’altres coses, no pas per a aquesta; no madurem com volem o pot ser no ens dona la gana, per a que ens notin que trobem a faltar algú.

Puc posar-te un video graciòs…

… o ensenyar-te fotos de llunes somrients…

Foto de Pepe Alcaide

…o també puc posar-te més música animada.

Puc volar amb la imaginació i puc intentar fondre’m amb el corrent d’aire, o mirar les fotos secretes, o escoltar música amb auriculars i anar a correr una horeta llarga, puc fer tantes coses i més i no podré oblidar-te, no se si voldré tampoc i crec que algun comentari d’aquest estil té la culpa:

“no vui q em facis res material.. et vui a TU…”

Fins ara

The Beautiful South hails from England, where they were very successful and much beloved.  This is another fantastic band that we didn’t get to hear much in the United States.  Yet another reason to seek out music in other countries/regions, knowing how much we’re missing.

I absolutely love this band.  Their music is beautiful and inventive, but the cheery nature of the music supports some really biting lyrics about dark subjects.  It can be unsettling to realize you’re tapping your foot and whistling along to a song about domestic violence, for example.  But it works.

Take this song, a sweet, crooning ballad:

“If, if you choose that we will always lose
Well then I’ll sail this ship alone
And if, if you decide to give him another try
Well then I’ll sail this ship alone”

Sounds nice, as if the singer has resigned himself to his new fate, life will move on, and all will be well.  But the words get more desperate and panicky, with the track ending abruptly after the last line:

“Well they said if I burnt myself alive
That you’d come running back”

Wow!  See what I mean?

Jag minns inte riktigt vad jag googlade efter från början, men jag hamnade på en hemsida för en tidning som heter “Kyrkans Tidning” och den här artikeln som handlar om politiker som gått ur Svenska Kyrkan. Jag tycker det var väldigt intressant att Reinfeldt sagt, apropå sitt utträde, att:  “Jag har stört mig på att kyrkan i grunden har accepterat vänsterns förhållningssätt och syn på världen…”

Frågan är väl vad som är hönan och vad som är ägget här egentligen? Om Kyrkan blir mer och mer “Vänster” betyder det ju bara att man återgår till sina grundläggande budskap om kärlek, gemenskap, bekämpande av fattigdom, allas lika värde och så vidare? Det är roligt att se någon som är höger sura över att någon tar Bibelns budskap om kärlek, rättvisa och jämlikhet på allvar. Särskilt efter att så många högljudda konservativa världen över har lyckats med den otroliga tankekullerbyttan att få Kristendomen att framstå som höger genom att förknippa den med etablissemanget och en massa bakåtsträvande budskap. Om man tar en filosofiskt och allegoriskt väldigt vacker skrift med några tusen år på nacken och läser allt i den bokstavligt och dessutom vill applicera detta på nuet bokstavligen, så är det klart att det blir bakåtsträvande.

Jag kommer aldrig förstå hur man kan ta Jesu budskap i Nya Testamentet och pressa in den runda klossen i det fyrkantiga hålet “högerpolitik”. Det måste vara tidernas bluff som den kristna högern lyckats med. Låt mig citera lite från Facebook-gruppen Christian Communism:

“Capitalism by it’s very nature “capitalizes” on the weak. How can one love their neighbor with one hand and steal their dignity with the other?
Christ lived communally; The early church was communal.
The Christian Right is ignoring the ONLY TWO COMMANDMENTS – love God and LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR with ALL your heart”

Så, har Svenska Kyrkan “accepterat vänsterns förhållningssätt” eller är förhållningssättet i Bibeln redan vänster från början?

Som Housemartins sa: “Take Jesus, take Marx, take hope!”

Ojojoj, så trött!
Det kostar att ligga på topp

Fredag och klockan är snart 17. Och jag är kvar på jobbet. Inte direkt happy hour på det sättet, fast… (Ser ut i tomma luften och börjar le) Åh! Housemartins!