Top 5 Foreign Language Songs (of Which I Know)

I lied again. 😀

Not Part III of the underrated Disney movies series. I got bored. ^^”

Anyway, apparently this is our last mandatory blog post? What?! So soon? I’m not really sure how I feel about this. It still hasn’t hit me that there’s less than a month of school left … which is absolutely terrifying.

I never wrote a lot of the blog posts I’d promised I’d write (hahahaha), nor did I blog as often I would have liked to have done. Oh well.

Maybe I’ll continue this blog even after I graduate … okay, who am I actually kidding? Sigh.

Guess I’m going to be ending this disastrous blogging experience on kind of a quiet, humdrum note, eh? Sounds like something I’d do, honestly.

Well, for what may be the last time — *gulps* — here goes nothing.

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DISCLAIMER BEFORE THE ACTUAL LIST OF SONGS SO THAT NO ONE YELLS AT ME

1. I have listened to only so many songs in only so many other languages. I’m sorry if your favorite foreign language song isn’t here; most likely it’s not because I don’t like it, but rather because I’ve never heard of it.
2. I’m not counting songs that are partly in English and partly in another language.
3. I’m not counting songs that are purely gibberish or that are in made-up languages. Sorry not sorry.

Anyway, actual post time!

5. ‘Sukiyaki‘ (or ‘Ue o Muite Arukō‘) by Kyu Sakamoto

Album cover with Kyu Sakamoto. Unfortunately, Sakamoto perished in a plane crash in 1985.

The only Japanese song to reach #1 in the U.S., this song was called ‘Sukiyaki’ — the name of a Japanese dish that has absolutely nothing to do with the song — in the Western world because it was easier for people to pronounce and to remember. The actual title, ‘Ue o Muite Arukō,’ means ‘I look up as I walk.’ This song was a hit around the world in 1963 and remains one of the best-selling singles of all time; it’s not difficult to see — or should I say, hear? — why. ‘Sukiyaki’ consists of a very light and simple melody, with very few instruments backing up the vocals. Sakamoto’s voice is pleasant, and the whistling adds an almost swing feel. Ironically, the song is about a Japanese student’s frustration at the continued American military presence in Japan, but the lyrics are purposely left extremely vague so that it can be mistaken for a song about unrequited love.

I actually first heard of this song from none other than the handbell game on Wii Music, as sad as that may sound.

4. ‘Drumurile noastre‘ by Dan Spătaru

Did you know that he holds the record for longest applause by a crowd at 16 minutes and 19 seconds? Bet you didn’t know that. Of course not, because no one ever knows anything about Romania. :’)

Okay, surprise, there’s a Romanian song on this list because GUESS WHAT I CAN UNDERSTAND IT SO YAAAAAAAAY. Anyway, my parents (and my grandparents) really like Dan Spătaru; he was one of Romania’s most popular singers, especially in the Communist era, as he wasn’t censored. He’s basically Romania’s Frank Sinatra, which may sound like a weird comparison but y’know what just go with it please. (I mean, they both have very shallow ranges, so there. That’s a close enough similarity, right? Right?!) Anyway, my dad played his Dan Spătaru CD a lot in the car when I was really young, so it’s predictable that at least one song would stick with me. Well, “Drumurile noastre” (“Our roads” is the *direct* translation given by many websites, but I personally think “Our ways” makes more sense in context) is the one that stuck. It’s a sad but mildly hopeful song about people’s paths diverging but perhaps crossing / meeting again in the future. Again, in what will undoubtedly become a trend for the rest of this post, the instrumentation is what really makes the song great. Sure, Spătaru’s voice holds up and isn’t in any way grating, but the percussive and orchestral backing instrumentals give the song its positively corny and distinguishable old-timey Romanian sound. What probably made this song really popular with Romanians is the fact that the instrumentals are just a bouncier, more orchestral version of common traditional folk melodies. Keeping it simple, eh?

3. ‘Rock Me Amadeus‘ by Falco

GO WATCH THIS MOVIE RIGHT NOW. SERIOUSLY.

Okay, I lied about not doing songs that are English + another language BECAUSE I FORGOT THAT THIS SONG HAS A RANDOM SENTENCE IN ENGLISH OKAY I’M SORRY I FORGOT.

Anyway, do my parents understand a word of German? Nope. Does anyone in my family understand German? Nope. Do my parents even like rap? Nope. Do they even know who this song is by? NOPE. But that doesn’t mean they don’t love this song and play it. A LOT. It’s somewhat ridiculous, I know. But this song was really popular when released in 1985; it was the only song by Austrian rapper Falco, who was well-known in continental Europe, to reach #1 in the U.S. and in the U.K. Falco was inspired to write the song after the success of the 1984 movie Amadeus, which is personally one of my favorite movies; Falco was banking on the song being an international success because of the international success of said movie. Well, he was right!

In any case, Falco made a lot of remixes of the song, and I prefer this longer particular remix to the original European version that my parents like. It has a faster tempo than the original version, which lends it more of a disco / funk feel to the track, which I thoroughly enjoy. There’s also some female singer overlaid on parts of the track, which I don’t mind at all. It helps to break up the rap into smaller pieces, which I find more agreeable.

2. ‘La Foule‘ by Edith Piaf

Is this 2007 movie about Edith Piaf’s really sad and drug-shortened life the best biopic musical ever made? Nah. But is this one of the best movies we’ve seen in French class all year? YES. (And Marion Cotillard REALLY deserved her Oscar for Best Actress.)

Yes, I know that this is not one of Edith Piaf’s most famous songs (the honors for that would go to ‘La Vie en rose‘ [‘Life in pink’] and ‘Non, je ne regrette rien‘ [‘No, I regret nothing’]). But I love the backing instrumentals of ‘La Foule’ (‘The Crowd’) so much; the song, as a whole, really encompasses what one might think of when one hears the phrase ‘French music.’ I know that’s a stupid reason to like a song, but eh, so it goes. Piaf’s dramatic enunciation is also on vivid display here. The piano lead-ins are a great tempo keeper, and the orchestration is a nice, somewhat muted touch. Also, it helps that Piaf’s songs actually have lyrics that make sense!

1. ‘Felicità‘ by Al Bano and Romina Power

Romina Power and Albano Carrisi (stage name Al Bano) in 1976

Well, unlike with ‘Rock Me Amadeus,’ my parents can actually understand this song  (‘Happiness’) because Italian is fairly similar to Romanian. Anyway, when they first visited Italy about 20 years ago, they brought home a bunch of Al Bano and Romina Power CDs, including their 1982 album Felicità, arguably the duo’s most commercially successful LP. The most famous single from said album is the namesake single, ‘Felicità.’ It’s pure Europop, which is why my parents adore the song. I enjoy the song because it’s not weird Europop. Romina Power’s voice is really sweet and angelic, and the duo can harmonize very well with each other. One does not overpower the other, which is how duets are supposed to work.

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HONORABLE MENTION: ‘Moskau‘ by Dschinghis Khan

I had to, man. A German group named ‘Genghis Khan’ singing a satirical song about Russians while dressed as Mongolians? Amazing.

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…I warned you that it would be anticlimactic. Oh well.

But who knows, this blog may yet be resurrected one day. 🙂

So until next time, my friends, as always, cheers~!

Underrated Disney Movies: Part II

Wow, the third marking period is almost over, and *GASP* Sarah has yet to write her second mandatory blog post! How incredibly predicable!

Anyway, this post’s topic: part II of my previous post about underrated Disney movies, or Disney movies that I watched on repeat as a kid but would discover most other people had never even heard of.

AND YES I KNOW THAT THE GREAT MOUSE DETECTIVE IS NOT A MUSICAL I KNOW I KNOW I KNOW ALRIGHT—

*breathe*

—BUT THERE’S A FAIRLY INAPPROPRIATE SONG THAT’S PERFORMED IN AN INCREDIBLY SEEDY TAVERN PARTWAY THROUGH THE MOVIE AND HOW DID THAT SCENE MAKE IT INTO A KIDS’ MOVIE WHO KNOWS BUT IT’S THERE AND THERE’S MUSIC AND IT COUNTS OKAY.

I need help. :’)

The Aristocats

Release date: 1970

Background: What more do Americans love than cats, English / French things (see: One Hundred and One Dalmatians, released 9 years prior), and aristocracy? All of them together! Originally intended as a live-action film—how that would have worked, given that all of the animals talk, I have no idea—The Aristocats was the first Disney movie produced after Walt Disney’s death.

Plot: A very rich former French opera singer (read: crazy cat lady) is overheard by her English butler as she’s reviewing her will with her lawyer that she’s going to leave her fortune first to her cats and then to her butler. Enraged, the butler tries to get rid of the cats not by killing them—it’s a kids’ movie, man!—but by trying to ship them out of Paris. The aristocratic cats—a mother, Duchess, and her three kittens—end up with a band of stray cats led by alley cat Thomas O’Malley. Together, the cats try to thwart the butler and get back to Madame.

Why I like it: Most of the time, I get really annoyed by the ‘Anachronism Stew‘ present in Disney movies. However, for whatever reason, the combination of the late ’60s / early ’70s vibe—the color scheme and presence of a hippie English cat make this faaaaaaairly obvious—and the early 20th centuries setting somehow works in my mind. Perhaps it is my shared love of both of these eras, but I’d like to think myself as more sophisticated and attribute it instead to the very heavy bohemian atmospheres of these time periods.

Favorite song: The main attraction, ‘Ev’rybody Wants to Be a Cat,’ save for one particular portion (see below). Again, this hearkens back to the whole ‘Anachronism Stew’ thing. Somehow, the combination of trumpety swing and harp interlude somehow works. Also, the disco visuals always make me crack up. Also, I’m slightly partial to ‘Scales and Arpeggios‘ only because I managed to figure out how to play it on the piano when I was nine. (Wow, such an accomplishment, Sarah.) ^^”

Why it’s not popular: Wow, a 1970s Disney movie that includes Chinese, Italian, and Russian cats as part of its cast of characters? I wonder what could ever go wrong….

The Great Mouse Detective

Release date: 1986, re-released in 1992

Background: Disney’s animation department was in real trouble. Its most recent releases (e.g., The Black Cauldron) had been commercial and critical failures. It needed a success in order to validate its continued existence. Luckily, this book adaptation gave the worried studio just what it needed (and wanted), and set the stage for the Disney Renaissance.

Plot: A mouse version of a Sherlock Holmes caper in Victorian London. That’s literally it. Basil is the mouse version of Sherlock Holmes, Dr. David Q. Dawson is Dr. John H. Watson, Professor Ratigan is Professor Moriarty, etc. Ratigan is trying to assassinate the mouse queen and claim the throne; Basil tries to stop him.

Why I like it:

1. There’s genuinely a plot! Wow! Incredible! Okay, I’ll stop now.
2. It’s actually an amazingly credible parody of Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories, which makes it great for adults to watch, too.
3. Disney’s first use of computer animation as seen during the climax of the film, the so-called ‘Big Ben chase.’
4. Vincent Price voices Ratigan, and it’s absolutely delightful. Price actually said that this was one of his most favorite roles.
5. Henry Mancini wrote the film score and two of the movie’s three original songs! I LOVE HENRY MANCINI YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND.

Favorite song: ‘The World’s Greatest Criminal Mind,’ one of two songs written by Henry Mancini especially for Vincent Price. I think it’s a self-evident truth that villain songs are always the best (see: ‘Be Prepared‘). ‘The World’s Greatest Criminal Mind’ continues that tradition. To be honest, I don’t think Melissa Manchester’s ‘Let Me Be Good to You‘ is a bad song, but its lyrics and accompanying visuals still make me feel very uncomfortable—it’s a kids’ movie, for Pete’s sake!

Why it’s not popular: I’m not entirely sure, though I think part of the reason is that the computer animation during the Big Ben chase scene hasn’t aged particularly well, and that the film is one of Disney’s darkest (again, we’re faced with the ‘Hunchback’ problem). Additionally, the tavern scene is a bit much for young children….

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Part III is upcoming. ^^”

Then again, I’m a professional liar-blogger, so who knows!

Until next time, as always, cheers~!

Underrated Disney Movies: Part I

Am I the only one who misses this old logo? No?

Welcome to another edition of Sarah-needs-to-write-a-blog-post-the-night-before-the-deadline-but-she-has-no-idea-what’s-she-doing. This post’s topic: underrated Disney movies; i.e., Disney movies that I watched on repeat as a kid but would discover most other people had never even heard of.

“Next post will be about La La Land! (I think. Maybe. ^^”)”

-Sarah Vicol, professional liar-blogger

And yes, before my nonexistent riots over the fact that this post is about movies and not directly about music—the horror!—well, most of the following Disney movies are musicals, and the one that isn’t—Saludos Amigos—has a couple of songs, so there. Movie soundtracks are important. (Expect a rant about that eventually.) :<

Anyway, I’m going to split this particular topic into two or three parts because I don’t want one super-long blog post; scrolling is annoying.

(I did not just say that, did I? Oh God.)

Anyway, each part will cover two to three movies. In this one, I’m going to be covering two of my most favorite but unfortunately underrated Disney films.

Saludos Amigos

Release date: 1942-3

Background: The sixth animated feature film made by Disney, Saludos Amigos was a sort of ‘goodwill’ film meant to strengthen North American-Latin American ties. Disney and some of his employees were actually sent by FDR and the State Department to South America on a goodwill tour to promote the Good Neighbor Policy. The U.S. government also thought that by promoting American ties to the region, the governments of South American countries, somewhat partial to the Nazi regime, would instead ally themselves with the U.S.

Plot: Donald Duck is an American tourist visiting Brazil. Pedro the Chilean airplane battles a huge storm and tries to get the mail he’s carrying to the correct destination on time. Goofy learns to be a gaucho.

Why I like it: Since it’s a goodwill film, it’s all happy. Pedro survives his ordeals. There’s a hilariously stubborn llama. Documentary footage of South Americans going about their daily business in cities and the countryside are mixed in with the animation. One of my favorite parts is when we see a South American artist draw a dancing couple using charcoal. Overall, the movie has a very artsy aesthetic to it; look at the introduction footage linked to below to see what I mean.

Favorite song: The intro one, ‘Aquarela do Brasil,’ more commonly known in English as ‘Brazil.’ This song was actually written in 1939, but was a commercial flop in Brazil. It became a hit in the Americas after Saludos Amigos premiered, becoming the first Brazilian song to clock more than 1 million plays on American airwaves. I also really like the ‘painting’ visuals that accompany the song; this has got to be one of my favorite beginnings to an animated film.

Why it’s not popular: Because it’s a ‘fluffy’ goodwill film, so it obviously isn’t art of the highest caliber. *snorts*

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Release date: 1996

Background: Disney likes to make kids’ versions of famous works; to be honest, it’s probably what the company does best. This movie is a bit of an exception, given how dark it turned out to be. Disney did have to cut out a bit of Victor Hugo’s story, particularly softening Hugo’s criticism of the Catholic Church—for example, Claude Frollo, the Archdeacon in Hugo’s novel, is now the Minister of Justice of Paris; the Archdeacon is now a separate character who is a model Catholic—in order to get a G rating from the MPAA, but I’m still fairly surprised that the movie was even awarded a G rating. There’s some extremely heavy and adult themes featured in this movie…

Plot: Judge Claude Frollo versus literally everyone else (Quasimodo, the titular hunchback; Esmeralda, a very pretty gypsy that Frollo lusts for; Captain Phoebus, Esmeralda’s love interest; the Archdeacon; Clopin, leader of the gypsies; etc.).

Why I like it:

1. Given its dark subject matter, the film provides a good number of important lessons for adults, too.
2. Children are introduced to good and bad religious people, and the movie takes great care into making that distinction very clear. Also, the movie thumbs its nose at selfishness in prayer.
3. Its message of tolerance and kindness towards the poor, disabled, misfits, and outcasts of society.
4. Pretty action-packed.

Favorite song: Again, the intro one, ‘The Bells of Notre Dame.’ (‘Hellfire‘ creeps me out too much.) In general, I really like that a lot of typical Latin prayers and chants are used as counterpoint melodies to different songs in the movie; e.g., in the background of ‘Bells,’ you can hear ‘Kyrie eleison’ sung by the choir. The utilization of a choir is something that I found well done; it hits home the every religious under- and overtones of the film. In terms of accompanying visuals, I especially like the transitions between the past and present sequences using Clopin’s props and cape; my favorite transition is the one from Clopin to the Archdeacon.

Why it’s not popular: A lot of Catholic groups got pretty upset with the film. A bunch of family organizations also got angry about the inclusion of things like infanticide and lust in a kids’ movie. Additionally, Disney has been criticized in recent years in trying to soften the content by shoehorning in the three annoying gargoyles for comic relief. The gargoyles feel really out of place; Hunchback would have been a better film without them.

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Part II is upcoming. ^^”

Until next time, cheers~!

Top 5 Songs from My Top 5 Rock Bands

Procrastinating on doing homework because I’m now officially a second-semester senior?

Check.

Procrastinating on starting this blog post because I decided to re-read my blog post about Chicago because I saw the Kellyanne Conway SNL parody of the song “Roxie” and oH GOD ALL OF THOSE TYPOS IN MY POST ARGHHHHHH.

Double check.

Procrastinating on actually writing this blog post because Stephen Colbert’s Late Show redid the Arthur theme song and now I’m stuck in a loop of listening to the theme songs of old PBS shows I used to watch as a kid?

TRIPLE CHECK.

Moving on.

A few disclaimers before I continue:

1. The Beatles won’t be appearing on this list because frankly that’s a bit clichéd. Also, I couldn’t possibly pick my 5 favorite songs from the Beatles, try as I might. I’ll just give them the title of Supreme Band of the Universe of something just to make y’all put your pitchforks down.
2. No honorable mentions this time. Believe me, I tried at first, but what basically resulted was me listing down every other song that the bands had ever written. It’s hard enough to pick my 5 favorite songs from each of the following bands without have to pick another 5 or so as honorable mentions. >.> *grumble grumble*
3. YES I KNOW THAT THERE AREN’T ANY AMERICAN BANDS I KNOW I KNOW I KNOW. Sheesh. =.=” I’ll make another post with only American bands if you like! o_e

BRITISH = BETTER! (At least in the case of rock music. ^^)

Here goes nothing!

THE ROLLING STONES

1. Paint It Black: The drum beat is what makes it for me. It’s an incredibly grim song about the death of the narrator’s / singer’s girlfriend, the implication being that it was a suicide. “Paint It Black” has come to be associated with the Vietnam War due to the hopelessness it conveys.
2. Gimme Shelter: Another Stones song that has come to be associated with the Vietnam War, except this one actually references said war. I love the song’s provocative chorus, particularly the power with which it’s sung. (Unfortunately, Merry Clayton actually suffered a miscarriage after recording the chorus.)
3. Miss You: The Stones read the scene in ’78 and saw that disco wasn’t going anywhere for the time being, hence this very groovy tune.
4. Mother’s Little Helper: This song sounds pretty light and very Beatles-like (which is partially why I like it), but it’s actually about the abuse of Valium by ’60s housewives, particularly in the UK. o___o Man, why are so many good songs so dark? >_>
5. Jumpin’ Jack Flash: This song probably isn’t about Keith Richards, but should be. Seriously. World War III could happen and all that would be left would be cockroaches and Keith Richards.

LED ZEPPELIN

1. Stairway to Heaven: Yes yes yes I know that this is obvious and clichéd as heck and wow you’re disappointed that I chose it as my #1 but IT’S JUST SO GOOD. THE WHOLE SONG. NOT JUST THE BEGINNING OR END. BUT EVERY PART. SO. GOOD. Okay I’ll stop now (but the buildup is so good). ^^”
2. Babe I’m Gonna Leave You: This song almost never gets airplay, and that makes me sad. :c It’s depressing in tone, yes, and its production quality is perhaps not as high as that of the band’s later works, but it’s still one of my favorites because of how extremely heavy and raw the sound gets about two and a half minutes in at the first repetition of the chorus.
3. When the Levee Breaks: Very bluesy sound, and probably the only song where I actually like the incorporation of a harmonica.
4. Ramble On: One of Led Zeppelin’s shorter songs, and also one of the only ones that starts right off the bat with a fast tempo. It’s genuinely a cheery song, too.
5. What Is and What Should Never Be: Again, another one of Led Zeppelin’s shorter songs. Led Zeppelin is extremely fond of the slow intro / really fast chorus combination, and I don’t think there’s another song that better showcases that than this one.

PINK FLOYD

1. Time: Yes, those are actually clock alarms. (They recorded the beginning in a clock store.) Pink Floyd is a great band because of the instrumentation, production quality, and lyrics. This song nails all three of them.
2. Happiest Days of Our Lives / Another Brick in the Wall: One cannot be played without the other. This may be Pink Floyd’s most famous and most played song combo as well as every English teacher’s worst nightmare in terms of lyrical grammar (sorry, Mrs. Gross ^^”). It also isn’t too kind toward teachers general (sorry again, Mrs. Gross ;__;). I haven’t linked to the video because it is exceedingly disturbing, but you can look it up yourself. (It involves kids wearing weird masks and getting ground up and other kids burning their school down and it’s implied that they burn their teacher, too. o__o)
3. Brain Damage / Eclipse: Like the entry above, one cannot be played without the other. The creepy laughs are kind of hard to get over at first, but you learn to not mind them. The soaring ending is quite fitting and satisfying.
4. Hey You: I feel like all of the Pink Floyd songs I like are depressing. Maybe Pink Floyd is just depressing. Maybe I’m just depressing. Who know?! (It’s definitely the latter.)
5. Money: Pink Floyd’s sound effects and solos are the best. ‘Nuff said.

THE WHO

Look at this crappy picture I took when I saw Roger Daltrey and Pete Townsend in concert last March at the Prudential Center. :’)

1. Eminence Front: This song is truly underrated, especially since it’s one of the Who’s only songs that are on the slower, quieter sides. Also, two-minute instrumental intros are AWESOME.
2. My Generation: There are so many times I feel like screaming this only to remember that the people who wrote and sang this are part of the (many) generations currently complaining about my generation soooooooooooooooooooo. But hey, it’s a universally applicable song, I guess?
3. Who Are You: The setting of the video in the recording studio is great; Keith Moon looks high as usual.
4. Baba O’Riley: “It’s only teenage wasteland” is an apt description of both the present state of my bedroom and my present state of mind.
5. You Better You Bet: One of the Who’s lighter songs with fairly repetitive lyrics—a great “pop” song.

QUEEN

1. We Will Rock You / We Are the Champions: GASP SARAH DIDN’T PUT BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY AS NUMBER ONE SACRILEGE I TELL YOU SACRILEGE. (This is payback for putting “Stairway to Heaven” as #1 for Led Zeppelin. JK not really. ^^”) Anyway, is this song overplayed? Heck yes. Is it annoying because it’s overplayed? HECK NO AND WHOEVER SAYS OTHERWISE CAN LEAVE BYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. (I need more sleep.) And yes, it is technically one song only! It’s separated into two parts that can each be played separately as two different singles, but you’re supposed to play the parts one right after the other. (The music station that I listen to in the car always does this. :D)
2. Bohemian Rhapsody: I’ll admit that when I first heard this song, I wasn’t too into it. I found it very strange and a little unsettling. But it’s definitely grown on me. I totally don’t try to sing / hum all of the parts when it plays on the radio. Totally. Not.
3. Don’t Stop Me Now: I just love how the slower, chirpy intro segues into the faster main melody. A few years ago, in honor of what would have been Freddie Mercury’s 65th birthday, Google had a really nice doodle on its homepage involving this song.
4. The Show Must Go On: This is one of the last songs that Freddie Mercury recorded before he died of AIDS-related complications; that gives a whole new and somewhat frightening meaning to the lyrics. >.> But in the end, the song is relatively hopeful. :3
5. Another One Bites the Dust: Is this song dark? Yup. Does it involve a jilted lover killing his former partner? Yup again. Is is amazing? YES. (That beat!) (Also, this song is very handy to know, because the rate at which you’re supposed to do chest compressions in CPR is the same as this song’s tempo. True fact.)

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Next post will be about La La Land! (I think. Maybe. ^^”)

Until next time, cheers!

Mamma Mia! (An ABBA Blog Post)

So first up I’m going to apologize to anyone who hates ABBA.

I mean, you’re wrong, but that’s okay.

You can stop reading now.

*everyone leaves*

Alrighty then. ^^”

(If there’s one thing that I’ve learned over winter break, it’s that my general insanity is not due to a lack of sleep. I’m just insane. Yay!!)

Moving on.

The members of ABBA in 1974 (left to right: Benny Andersson, Anni-Frid “Frida” Lyngstad, Agnetha Fältskog, and Björn Ulvaeus).

ABBA was a Swedish pop group that was active from 1972 to 1982. The group consisted of four members: Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad (known as Frida).

(If you couldn’t tell by my bolding, the group’s name came from their first initials. Very creative.)

They won the famous (or infamous?) Eurovision Song Contest in 1974 with their song “Waterloo”, securing Sweden’s first ever win. To this day, ABBA remains the most successful act to have won Eurovision. (To be honest, that’s kind of sad.)

Anyway, the band is one of the most commercially successful in history, probably due to the fact that ABBA was basically the only Western act whose music was not banned behind the Iron Curtain in the 1970s and ’80s.

(I’m not kidding about this. For some reason, the Communist parties in the Soviet Union and its satellite states decided not to censor or ban ABBA, even though many of the group’s songs featured very loosely veiled references to *ahem*. I don’t know, man. Communists are weird.)

“Communists are weird.”

-Sarah Vicol, 12/30/16

Should have been my senior quote.

This was literally the only thing that played in my house when I was in elementary school. My dad bought a first-generation iPod just so he could load it with ABBA and Tom Jones. =.=”

But seriously. My parents and grandparents love ABBA. People in Romania even send virtual holiday cards that feature instrumental renditions of ABBA songs.

(Speaking of instrumental renditions of ABBA, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra recorded some amazing covers. My personal favorite would be “Money, Money, Money“.)

ABBA ended up breaking up in 1982 because everyone got divorced!! (Björn and Agnetha divorced in 1979, and Benny and Frida divorced in 1981. Let this be a lesson to you, kids: Never marry your work colleague! You’re going to end up hating each other! Yay!!)

I need help. :’)

After the group broke up, their popularity suffered. (Because cheesy lyrics and instrumentation, y’know? Also, those music videos have not aged well. At all.) It wasn’t until the ABBA Gold album was released in 1992 that interest in the group was revitalized. Since then, ABBA has enjoyed a sort of cultural mainstay, due to use of the group’s music in several films in the ’90s, including Muriel’s Wedding and The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, and in the internationally successful musical Mamma Mia!, which first premiered in London’s West End in 1999, where it’s still running to this day. The Broadway version ran for 14 years and closed in September 2015. A 2008 movie version of the musical was also extremely successful.

Reasons #1, 2, and 3 as to why you really, really, really shouldn’t watch the Mamma Mia! movie: Pierce Brosnan singing. Oh God, my poor ears.

…So in no particular order, here are my top 5 ABBA songs. (And no, “Dancing Queen” is not on my list. I don’t particularly like “Dancing Queen”. I don’t understand why people like “Dancing Queen” so much. I mean, for Christ’s sake, it’s John McCain’s favorite song. Also, no “Mamma Mia” either. Nope nope nope. Not after that godforsaken movie.)

“Money, Money, Money“

It’s the quintessential gold digger’s anthem that my dad hums all of the time and then claims to not have been humming when I point it out. What’s not to love?

Okay, maybe that video. I don’t understand ’70s things. I really don’t.

“Waterloo“

When your first hit song may actually be your best… Also, that constant zooming-in at the beginning. What. Even.

*don’t question it Sarah just don’t question it it was the ’70s things were really weird back then and everyone was on LSD*

“Knowing Me, Knowing You“

A video that’s much less weird? Check. A catchy chorus and beat? Double check. Lots of reverb? TRIPLE CHECK.

This has got to be the one break-up song that I actually genuinely like.

“Voulez-Vous“

“La question, c’est ‘Voulez-vous?'” was the first French phrase I knew. And I repeated it often. And my parents never stopped me.

…Which is incredibly disturbing after I found out what the song’s actually about.

Ehehehehehe. ^^”

Oops?

Also, I’d like to imagine that being on hallucinogens is similar to what this video is like.

“Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)“

So I can’t find the original video because apparently it was taken down. 😥

Anyway, this song exudes pure disco. It is pure disco. And it is awesome.

It’s also one of ABBA’s only songs (other than “Does Your Mother Know“) where Benny and Björn aren’t completely dubbed over, so that’s a plus.

Honorable Mentions (because Sarah “forgot” that she likes more than 5 ABBA songs but really actually didn’t want to admit that she likes more than 5 ABBA songs): SOS (for its use of acoustic and electric guitars), The Name of the Game (for being one of ABBA’s only songs that have a slower tempo), and The Winner Takes It All (for being such a powerful but awfully depressing song, and especially for Agnetha’s soaring vocals).

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Anyway, thanks for joining me for my last post of 2016!!

Happy New Year to all!!

Let’s hope that 2017 is a much, much, much better year. 🙂

(And I promise, the next post will be about rock music. I’m sorry.)

Until next time, cheers!

Top 5 Cover Songs

I have returned!

…From a college-essay-writing-and-crying reprieve that will begin again at the end of this month.

Sigh.

Anyway, this post was going to be about disco because we’re reading The Martian and all, but doing some preliminary research into what actually counts as disco has revealed the shocking fact that 1. I do not really listen to disco, and 2. I do not really like disco.

Yay.

Besides, there’s only so much I can write about Donna Summers, the Bee Gees, and KC and The Sunshine Band…

…is what I tell myself.

Come on, Matt Damon, disco isn’t that bad!

Whatever.

(Speaking of The Martian, I’m kind of terrified that a great deal of Andy Weir’s humor is rubbing off on me, and I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. Argh.)

This post is actually going to be about cover songs. And yes, while I spent a good portion of my last post complaining about remakes of movies, I have a much better opinion about song covers, for the most part. It’s really interesting to hear different interpretations of the same lyrics, and how much a song can change depending upon the way it’s sung or performed. In doing a little bit of research on this topic, I was also surprised to find out that many songs I love to listen to and get a lot of airplay on the radio are actually cover versions and not the originals.

In any case, here is a list of five songs, in no particular order, whose cover versions I enjoy more (sometimes by a lot) than their original renditions.

“Tainted Love” by Soft Cell (original by Gloria Jones)

Gloria Jones’ Motown song was the B-side of her single “My Bad Boy’s Comin’ Home,” which was a commercial flop domestically and abroad. That’s probably why her version didn’t get very much airplay. To be honest, though, I don’t very much like Jones’ version. Given the lyrics and content matter, she’s singing it in a much too-cheery fashion. I’m not a fan of the extremely fast tempo, either.

However, the song became a sort of cult hit in the UK “Northern Soul” underground scene, which is where the English vocal-and-synth duo Soft Cell first heard of it. In 1981, they recorded a new arrangement of “Tainted Love,” featuring a slower tempo and transposed into the key of G (the original was in C). Instead of horns, drums, and rhythmic guitars providing the instrumentals, the new version utilized only synthesizers and rhythm machines. The result is a darker, more sinister-sounding song which I like a lot more.

“You Keep Me Hangin’ On” by Kim Wilde (original by The Supremes)

Again, I’m sorry Motown. I’m really sorry. I like you sometimes, I really do. The Supremes’ 1966 version is a good song, but again, it’s way too cheery in my opinion. The fast tempo, however, does fit the song a lot better than it does “Tainted Love.” But it does have an overall rushed feel, for lack of a better term. The funky guitar doesn’t help, either.

Flash forward to 1986, when British singer Kim Wilde and her brother decide to rework the song. Not being regular listeners of the original version, the sibling duo took many liberties with their new arrangement, including changing some lyrics here and there. Their greatest change, however, was in the actual music genre they recorded the song in. Kim Wilde made her name in Britpop and pop rock, so of course her rendition of “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” would include synthpop and EDM elements. While the tempo is just about the same, the song has a much more defined climax, so to speak. The heavier drum beat also gives Wilde’s rendition a more driven feel than the Motown version without it feeling rushed. It’s weird; I can’t really explain it any better. Yay! ^^”

(Side note: In 1967, a year after the Supremes released their recording, Vanilla Fudge recorded a psychedelic rock version that also topped the charts. However, IT IS ABSOLUTELY ATROCIOUS. LISTEN AT YOUR OWN RISK. DON’T SAY I DIDN’T WARN YOU. SERIOUSLY, IT’S REALLY BAD.)

“All Along the Watchtower” by The Jimi Hendrix Experience (original by Bob Dylan)

Is Bob Dylan an amazing songwriter? Yes.

Did he deserve the Nobel Prize in Literature? I’d like to think so.

Have I ever been able to understand a word he’s sung? Oh my God, never.

His 1967 rendition of “All Along the Watchtower” is by no means terrible, but I’ve always been distracted by what amounts to him mumbling his lyrics. I can’t understand a darn thing, which is a shame.

Jimi Hendrix’s version, recorded a year later in 1968, is a lot heavier, which is a plus for me (wow no surprise there). He’s also the greatest guitarist to have ever lived—AND DON’T ANYONE SAY OTHERWISE BECAUSE YOU ARE DEAD WRONG—so the instrumentals are truly awesome.

This is probably one of the most famous examples of a cover being a lot more popular than the original song; hey, it’s Hendrix’s version that appears in every fricking movie that has some 1960s scene and / or involves the Vietnam War. Or both. *glares at Forrest Gump*

“Blinded by the Light” by Manfred Mann’s Earth Band (original by Bruce Springsteen)

And here we have Bruce Springsteen doing his best Bob Dylan impression.

No, but really. I can’t understand what the heck he is saying at all. Not a fan of the country-ish, funk-ish, jazz-ish backing instrumentation, either. Also, was Springsteen even trying to sing on beat?!

Okay, I shouldn’t be too hard on him; this was from his 1973 debut album.

But still.

Anyway, English prog rock group Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, led by South African musician Manfred Mann, covered a lot of Bruce Springsteen’s early songs, including “Blinded by the Light.” They recorded and released their softer pop rendition in 1977, and it became a hit. It’s a lot more bouncy, and Manfred Mann can actually sing on beat (the thought!). Unfortunately, this version is also well-known for Mann’s, um, interesting, way of saying “deuce” (as in, Deuce coupe, a slang term for a 1932 Ford coupe), a coveted hot rod model in the 1940s).

“Mony Mony” by Billy Idol (original by Tommy James and the Shondells)

Bubblegum ’60s pop is the absolute worst. There, I said it.

Also, I don’t know if this is just because of the general quality of sound-recording technology, systems, and devices in the 1960s, but why is everything so high-pitched in Tommy James’ version?! It’s very irritating. I also generally dislike songs with really stripped-down or minimal instrumentals; James’ version basically falls into this category. However, I do like the original’s ending; the guitar riff really does it for me.

British punk rocker Billy Idol’s 1981 rendition is a lot heavier (yay!) with more instruments (yay!) and a more powerful singer (yay!). Don’t really like the fade-out ending, but ehhhh, you can’t always get what you want.

Hahahaha see what I did there hahahaha so clever right right right?!

Moving on.

I guess the real reason I prefer Idol’s version is because I thoroughly enjoy new wave and power pop (as if you couldn’t tell that by now). I probably love those genres more than they merit, but whatever. Strong melodies and relatively fast tempos are my thing. ^^”

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Anyway, thanks for joining me again! Next post will either be about rock music or ABBA. Take your pick, because I’m indecisive as heck.

Oops?

Until next time, cheers!

All That Jazz

Do you ever wonder why Hollywood keeps churning out movie versions of Broadway musicals, year after year? Why actors and actresses are so willing to prance and dance around on sets, lip syncing and generally making fools of themselves? Why audiences have been forced to suffer through whatever noise Russell Crowe was making during the entirety of Les Misérables?

I’m guessing that this is the point in production where the CGI budget ran out. Also, I don’t think a film has ever made me wish for a character to commit suicide like 2012’s Les Mis. At least on Broadway the actor who plays Inspector Javert makes you pity the character rather than loathe him entirely. Oh, and he can actually sing. That’s important. Very important.

The answer is money. Duh, right?

Well, you’d be wrong.

Maybe money and Hollywood’s undying obsession with rebooting just about anything and everything that came out before 1990?

Nope, still wrong.

The complete answer would be money, Hollywood’s over-exuberant embrace of nostalgia, and Chicago.

No, not the city, but the 2002 movie musical.

Starring the poster that hangs on one of the walls at the AMC Loews Freehold Metroplex 14. Just kidding — starring Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere, and Renée Zellweger before she did God knows what to her face.

Yes, it was the success of this movie, based on a 1975 failed cynical stage musical that reopened in 1996 as a successful cynical Broadway show that itself was based on a 1926 satirical play based on real events that also spawned a 1927 comedy-drama silent film and a 1942 comedy film — *takes a deep breath* —, as well as that of 2001’s Moulin Rouge!, that truly prompted the change in Hollywood’s attitude toward musicals. Prior to these two groundbreaking adaptations, Hollywood basically viewed musicals as a way to fill the family entertainment quota for the year. Musicals were cheesy and full of bad acting and accents.

Looking right at you, Dick van Dyke. Right. At. You.

But, I mean, a whole lot has changed since then, right?

*cough* Ahem. *cough*

And that’s what made Moulin Rouge! and Chicago so different. They weren’t that campy or funny. They weren’t meant to be campy or funny. They were cynical, satirical, and often visceral portrayals of the worst parts of European and American culture. Chicago, in particularly, unabashedly criticized the American press, Americans’ longstanding infatuation with celebrity culture, and our country’s sick fascination with murder and other salacious topics. That’s actually why the first Chicago Broadway show, which premiered in 1975, didn’t do so well; audiences found the cynicism (and the many fourth wall breaks) to be too uncomfortable.

Which brings us to, what exactly is Chicago about?

Chicago takes place in Chicago (wow Sarah great job who would have thought?!?!) during the 1920s. The Jazz Age is in full swing, as is Prohibition. Roxie Hart (Renée Zellweger) is a housewife who wants nothing more than to be famous, like her vaudeville idol Velma Kelly (Catherine Zeta-Jones). Hart is also cheating on her dumb mechanic husband (wow just as I was starting to like her darn it). However, when her paramour tells her one night that he’s leaving her, Roxie shoots him in a fit of rage. She’s arrested by the police and is sent to jail to await her murder trial. While in jail, she meets who else but the vaudevillian Velma, who also happened to have committed murder (I think I’m starting to sense a pattern here). Velma killed her husband and her sister after catching them in bed together.

Roxie ends up hiring Velma’s lawyer, Billy Flynn (Richard Gere). Flynn’s tactic of getting his clients (all women) off easy is by creating sob stories for them (usually by exaggerating actual facts), thus making these women darlings of the press and celebrities in their own right. The more he keeps them in the press, the more likely they’ll not be found guilty and hanged.

Can you see why 1970s audiences were kind of horrified by all of this?

But yeah, Chicago basically plays out like a really glamorous, really realistic, and really murder-y version of The Great Gatsby.

If it were actually made into a good movie. CURSE YOU, BAZ LUHRMANN. CURSE YOU!

Here are my three favorite songs from the soundtrack (I’ll be linking to the movie versions of the recordings):

“All That Jazz”

• Background: Sung by Catherine Zeta-Jones as Velma Kelly at the very beginning of the movie, this song truly showcases not only the whole try-everything-what-could-possibly-go-wrong attitude of the 1920s, but also Zeta-Jones’ amazing vocal skills and accent. Can you believe she’s actually Welsh?!
• Favorite part: The minute-and-a-half instrumental part at the beginning, with all of the blaring horns, is probably my favorite part, along with the ending (about 5:37 onward). Zeta-Jones’ voice just soars with rich, full tones.
• Context: Velma sings this song right after murdering her husband and sister. Brings a whole new meaning to the final lines of “No, I’m no one’s wife, but / Oh, I love my life!”

“Cell Block Tango”

• Background: This is sung by six members of the ensemble cast, most notably Catherine Zeta-Jones. The six actresses play six different characters on Murderer’s Row, each in prison for killing (or in the case of the Hungarian ballerina, accused of killing) their boyfriend or husband.
• Favorite part: “And then he ran into my knife. He ran into my knife ten times.”
• Context: Like all of the musical numbers in Chicago, save for those at the beginning and end of the movie, this takes place entirely in Roxie Hart’s head. It is implied that these songs are figments of Roxie’s imagination; this is how Roxie, hell-bent on being a famous vaudevillian, daydreams to pass time in jail and to process the whirlwind of events occurring around her. In the movie, Roxie’s dream of the six women singing and cavorting in skimpy outfits by their jail cells is spliced with scenes of these women in “real life” telling Roxie — over cards, during lunch, and while walking back to their cells — the reasons they killed their partners. “Cell Block Tango” is simply the result of piecing together the six women’s different stories into a song.

“We Both Reached for the Gun”

• Background: Sung mainly Richard Gere as lawyer Billy Flynn, this song is about the press conference where Flynn concocts Roxie’s sob story (she comes from a respectable Southern family, her parents died, she was a nun before her husband lured her away, she shot her lover in self-defense because he got violent after she told him she was leaving him) and has her dole it out to the press. The press eats it up and believes that Roxie had actually acted in self-defense, and so begins disseminating this version of events to the general public.
• Favorite part: Musically, from 2:52 onward (“Oh yes, oh yes, oh yes, they both / Oh yes, they both / Oh yes, they both reached for / The gun, the gun, the gun, the gun / Oh yes, they both reaced for the gun / For the gun”). In terms of acting, I genuinely love any part Zellweger plays the part of Flynn’s ventriloquist dummy. The first time I saw that, I was absolutely convinced that they were using a life-size doll!
• Context: Like “Cell Block Tango,” this song is a combination of scenes happening in “real life” (i.e., the actual press conference) and Roxie’s imagined scenario of her being her lawyer’s ventriloquist dummy and the press being Flynn’s marionettes. It is such an unusual but fitting — and extremely well executed! — concept that really separates Chicago from other stage and movie musicals. This song is also a perfect example of the at-times extreme cynicism present in the musical.

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In all honesty, the movie Chicago deserved to be the critical darling that it was in 2002 (it ended up winning six Academy Awards the following year). Do I partially hate it for starting the fairly recent but seemingly never-ending trend of movie musical adaptions, especially adaptions of dark musicals (e.g., The Phantom of the Opera, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Into the Woods)? Yup, of course; would you really expect more (or less) of me? But do I love the film for bringing jazz music back into the mainstream and for proving that musicals can be cool and remain an important part of pop culture, even in the 21st century? Definitely!

Though I think someone may want to have a word with the people behind Chicago…

We’re counting on you, Lin-Manuel Miranda, to make the Hamilton movie just as amazing (or even more so) than the stage musical. WE’RE COUNTING ON YOU.

Cheers!

Welcome to my new blog!

Continuing my musical theme from freshman year (*cringes at thought of ever having to use Kidblog again*), I’ll be talking about my favorite singer-songwriters and bands. However, unlike my freshman blog, which mostly focused on classical music, this one will center mainly around rock and roll. And an occasional — okay, maybe more frequent — rant about pop music today.

And Broadway. Lots of Broadway.

Enjoy!