McManus: “Hope You’re Happy Now.” Blood and Chocolate is underappreciated in the EC catalog. kind of a return to the style of his early albums. nice raw sound, but very rich . I remember liking the album a lot when it came out. This song especially reminds me of mid-60s Dylan, with the keyboards and snarled vocals. “he’s acting innocent and proud / still you know what he’s after. ” the battering drums, the ringing guitar. I am indeed happy now.
Lana Del Ray: “Fucked My Way.” know her name, not her music. Lots of atmosphere on this one, reverb and such. everything is kinda buried in the mix but the drums and whispery vocals, except maybe the piano at point. Two listens, I like it, but don’t feel a great need for a third listen.
The Kinks – Strangers
This has to be mislabeled – I believe the artist here is, in fact, The Band.
I had to do a little research as Pandora was serving this song up quite a bit in my mix for a while and it sounded very familiar. Is this a deep cut? I was thinking maybe it was used in a movie or TV show (maybe Parenthood?), but it looks like it was only used in The Darjeeling Limited, a Wes Anderson film that I have not seen. It wasn’t even released as a single. There have been some cover versions, but I don’t think any of those made much of an impact.
It comes from one of their albums with which I’m least familiar – I love Face to Face through Arthur with a real soft spot for the psychedelic pop stuff (Village Green… is probably my favorite). I always kinda thought Lola Versus Powerman predated those, hmmm. The production on, and arrangement of, this track are perfect – just enough instrumentation and lumbering percussion supporting Dave Davies’ earnest vocals.
All of this makes this not only a deep cut, but a buried treasure.
Elvis Costello – Never been a fan, this is not changing my mind. I guess I’m just not a fan of that style of music. He always seems to be popular with the music heads.
The Kinks – I never really knew who the kinks were until recently. I had been familiar with their songs, just not them. I even thought Lola was a Lou Reed song. I picked up their greatest hits about a week ago. I like this song even though it wasn’t on their greatest =p. I thought the drum coming in at a minute into the song and then carrying that same beat well past the song was the best part.
Lana – I spent the weekend listening to her. My entire weekend… 105 songs of hers on my phone on random repeat while I moved 7 yards of mulch, 3 yards of stone and 4 yards of topsoil around my house. I questioned this submission more than once. It’s not her best work, it’s probably too produced with too many effects for her typical music. After the trial round I saw no women in the music being shared so I went for the female representation with the most anti #MeToo lyrics i could find. It also helped that I figured this one would have zero radio play and therefore would be a solid deep cut.
I accidentally got into her music a few years ago. I made a front end for all my video game emulators and I used this as the video that plays in my preview window when the app first opens
It took me a couple years to figure out who she was, and she is the only modern artist whose work I have bought. I have all her records.
Elvis Costello – I Hope You’re Happy Now
Elvis and I go way back. I can remember TV commercials plugging his Get Happy record (a few records before this one). I revisited some of the the tracks from this album for my own Deep Cuts list – he gets pretty raucous on Tokyo Storm Warning & Uncomplicated (the track that was in the running for my list).
This track is just classic Elvis Costello & the Attractions. Great bass from Bruce Thomas, wonderful organ from Steve Nieve, and Pete Thomas completing a stalwart rhythm section. Elvis is a clever & challenging lyricist, at least for me . His vocals and phrasing aren’t for everyone – again I’ll cite my wife, Liz – but whether he’s crooning a jazzy number or emoting some country heartache, I’m all ears (such a fanboy, if not an impersonator).
I remember that the story was that the title of this cut, combined with being the only song on the album credited to Declan McManus – his given name, was a shot at the record company not letting him switch to releasing albums under that given name. One of my most recent reads was his memoir(?), Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink, and the depth of his music appreciation and intertwining of styles is inspiring. I want to go through it again just to follow up on the mentions I hadn’t heard.
Lana Del Rey – Fucked My Way Up to the Top
Atmospheric, haunting.
I’m not getting a clear sense in the lyrics. Is it truly presenting the side of one who decides to exchange sex for material gain?
There’s “I’m a dragon, you’re a whore”, but also “need you.” I guess that’s not mutually exclusive.
Not a bad track, but she doesn’t do a lot here to distinguish herself from others in the genre.
Lana Del Ray- Whenever we take long car trips as a family, I go out and buy a couple of recently minted CDs so that we can listen to the whole thing and soak it in. This was one of the disks I bought when it first came out. Boy, it did not go over well. In re-listening to this song, I kept hearing flashes of Portishead and Liz Phair but only so briefly as a temptation. I didn’t find her voice particularly compelling and the mix, instrumentation left me a little flat. I’m sure she is a very nice lady and I’m sure she did not fuck her way to the top.
Kinks- Loved this one. Is that Dave (Davies, not Husted) on vocals? Really like the meandering strum of the guitar, the occasional chorus effect, and the great harmonies. And then there comes that twinkling of the piano keys which, yes, does conjure up The Band. And then, as if he felt left out, the drummer adds his two cents near the end with an unexpected, simple yet tasteful epilogue. Thanks Bill.
I Hope Your Happy Now: Angry-ish break-up song?; the song has a pop drive that just works; for some reason my brain keyed on the bass on this one.
Fucked My Way Up to the Top: Some of my kids like Lana Del Rey and I have tried to let the “mood”/quality of some of her songs seep in but in general it doesn’t seem to have the same magic for me (a bit to staged…like a directors handing her the lyrics and mood). I listened to this one and had no complaints but left feeling a bit flaccid.
Strangers: I imagine it would have been great to listen to this one Live in a local pub. Heads nodding and swaying in the smokey half light. I liked the song mucho.
Elvis:
I rarely have a bad word to say about Mr MacManus, and i won’t have any here. Another pop gem from the original Napoleon Dynamite.
Lana:
Don’t dislike Lana, just not sure what the fuss is. Sounds like a dozen others in this genre. Owes way too much to the like of Julie Cruise, Hope Sandoval, and other Dream Pop acts that preceded her.
McManus: “Hope You’re Happy Now.” Blood and Chocolate is underappreciated in the EC catalog. kind of a return to the style of his early albums. nice raw sound, but very rich . I remember liking the album a lot when it came out. This song especially reminds me of mid-60s Dylan, with the keyboards and snarled vocals. “he’s acting innocent and proud / still you know what he’s after. ” the battering drums, the ringing guitar. I am indeed happy now.
Lana Del Ray: “Fucked My Way.” know her name, not her music. Lots of atmosphere on this one, reverb and such. everything is kinda buried in the mix but the drums and whispery vocals, except maybe the piano at point. Two listens, I like it, but don’t feel a great need for a third listen.
The Kinks – Strangers
This has to be mislabeled – I believe the artist here is, in fact, The Band.
I had to do a little research as Pandora was serving this song up quite a bit in my mix for a while and it sounded very familiar. Is this a deep cut? I was thinking maybe it was used in a movie or TV show (maybe Parenthood?), but it looks like it was only used in The Darjeeling Limited, a Wes Anderson film that I have not seen. It wasn’t even released as a single. There have been some cover versions, but I don’t think any of those made much of an impact.
It comes from one of their albums with which I’m least familiar – I love Face to Face through Arthur with a real soft spot for the psychedelic pop stuff (Village Green… is probably my favorite). I always kinda thought Lola Versus Powerman predated those, hmmm. The production on, and arrangement of, this track are perfect – just enough instrumentation and lumbering percussion supporting Dave Davies’ earnest vocals.
All of this makes this not only a deep cut, but a buried treasure.
Elvis Costello – Never been a fan, this is not changing my mind. I guess I’m just not a fan of that style of music. He always seems to be popular with the music heads.
The Kinks – I never really knew who the kinks were until recently. I had been familiar with their songs, just not them. I even thought Lola was a Lou Reed song. I picked up their greatest hits about a week ago. I like this song even though it wasn’t on their greatest =p. I thought the drum coming in at a minute into the song and then carrying that same beat well past the song was the best part.
Lana – I spent the weekend listening to her. My entire weekend… 105 songs of hers on my phone on random repeat while I moved 7 yards of mulch, 3 yards of stone and 4 yards of topsoil around my house. I questioned this submission more than once. It’s not her best work, it’s probably too produced with too many effects for her typical music. After the trial round I saw no women in the music being shared so I went for the female representation with the most anti #MeToo lyrics i could find. It also helped that I figured this one would have zero radio play and therefore would be a solid deep cut.
I accidentally got into her music a few years ago. I made a front end for all my video game emulators and I used this as the video that plays in my preview window when the app first opens
It took me a couple years to figure out who she was, and she is the only modern artist whose work I have bought. I have all her records.
“… it wasn’t on their greatest =p.”
Kinda the point of the “Deep Cut,” yes?
Elvis Costello – I Hope You’re Happy Now
Elvis and I go way back. I can remember TV commercials plugging his Get Happy record (a few records before this one). I revisited some of the the tracks from this album for my own Deep Cuts list – he gets pretty raucous on Tokyo Storm Warning & Uncomplicated (the track that was in the running for my list).
This track is just classic Elvis Costello & the Attractions. Great bass from Bruce Thomas, wonderful organ from Steve Nieve, and Pete Thomas completing a stalwart rhythm section. Elvis is a clever & challenging lyricist, at least for me . His vocals and phrasing aren’t for everyone – again I’ll cite my wife, Liz – but whether he’s crooning a jazzy number or emoting some country heartache, I’m all ears (such a fanboy, if not an impersonator).
I remember that the story was that the title of this cut, combined with being the only song on the album credited to Declan McManus – his given name, was a shot at the record company not letting him switch to releasing albums under that given name. One of my most recent reads was his memoir(?), Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink, and the depth of his music appreciation and intertwining of styles is inspiring. I want to go through it again just to follow up on the mentions I hadn’t heard.
Lana Del Rey – Fucked My Way Up to the Top
Atmospheric, haunting.
I’m not getting a clear sense in the lyrics. Is it truly presenting the side of one who decides to exchange sex for material gain?
There’s “I’m a dragon, you’re a whore”, but also “need you.” I guess that’s not mutually exclusive.
Not a bad track, but she doesn’t do a lot here to distinguish herself from others in the genre.
I think that song was written as a middle finger to the people who had been accusing her of that.
Ah, always helps to have context.
Lana Del Ray- Whenever we take long car trips as a family, I go out and buy a couple of recently minted CDs so that we can listen to the whole thing and soak it in. This was one of the disks I bought when it first came out. Boy, it did not go over well. In re-listening to this song, I kept hearing flashes of Portishead and Liz Phair but only so briefly as a temptation. I didn’t find her voice particularly compelling and the mix, instrumentation left me a little flat. I’m sure she is a very nice lady and I’m sure she did not fuck her way to the top.
Kinks- Loved this one. Is that Dave (Davies, not Husted) on vocals? Really like the meandering strum of the guitar, the occasional chorus effect, and the great harmonies. And then there comes that twinkling of the piano keys which, yes, does conjure up The Band. And then, as if he felt left out, the drummer adds his two cents near the end with an unexpected, simple yet tasteful epilogue. Thanks Bill.
I Hope Your Happy Now: Angry-ish break-up song?; the song has a pop drive that just works; for some reason my brain keyed on the bass on this one.
Fucked My Way Up to the Top: Some of my kids like Lana Del Rey and I have tried to let the “mood”/quality of some of her songs seep in but in general it doesn’t seem to have the same magic for me (a bit to staged…like a directors handing her the lyrics and mood). I listened to this one and had no complaints but left feeling a bit flaccid.
Strangers: I imagine it would have been great to listen to this one Live in a local pub. Heads nodding and swaying in the smokey half light. I liked the song mucho.
Loved your comments – especially on the Lana Del Rey. (Don’t worry, you’ll Get-Up soon.)
Elvis:
I rarely have a bad word to say about Mr MacManus, and i won’t have any here. Another pop gem from the original Napoleon Dynamite.
Lana:
Don’t dislike Lana, just not sure what the fuss is. Sounds like a dozen others in this genre. Owes way too much to the like of Julie Cruise, Hope Sandoval, and other Dream Pop acts that preceded her.
The Kinks:
Come hear Uncle Dave’s band…