Sad Boy Radio: Fate Up Against Your Will

It’s been a few days since I’ve said anything, seems I spent some of my free time reliving the angsty bullshit lifestyle from the later stages of my adolescence. Can’t say I missed it that much but it’s a nice place to visit if you can make the trip.

In that vein let’s talk about more of that mopey eighties music.

First appearing in 1978 as an opening act for a band that singer Ian McCulloch had been fired from, Echo and the Bunnymen started seeing some success with their 1982 album Porcupine. The Killing Moon is from their 1984 album Ocean Rain and, is probably their best known song (though I suppose one could make the argument for Lips Like Sugar holding that distinction).  The song has great guitar and bass work and moody lyrics and an overall despondent tone to it. The single marks their addition to the american teen listlessness of the nineteen eighties, or as Stewart Mason from All Music puts it;

“The Killing Moon” is the point at which Echo & the Bunnymen turned from second-string post-punkers into members of the pantheon of heroes to the mildly alienated suburban teens of the mid-’80s,

For what it’s worth, I’m glad they turned that imaginary corner. I’d hate to imagine a world with out my Sad Boy music.

That’ll do for this week. I’m still looking for more entries into this genre. If you’d like to contribute leave me a note, either here or using any of the options on my contact page.

Sad Boy Radio Mix Tape Thingy

I was born in the seventies, when punk was new and vital. This means by the time I was actually listening to music, punk was going through its teenage years, started wearing his mom’s make-up and hissed when it saw the sun.  Yes, amid the garden of bubblegum new wave pop artists that I spent most of my time in, until most of my friends discovered metal, grew the sad little weeds that was goth music.

Their infectious spore managed to get into my head and hide until my adult years. Now, deprived of peer pressure and top forty radio, when I think about the music I really enjoyed during my formative years I drift towards Joy Division, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and The Cure. I have begun to lovingly refer to it as “Sad Boy” rock.

We may have gotten a lot of things wrong in the eighties but at leased we did gloomy right, even managed to put a glamorous and romantic spin on it.

This is all to say that I’ve been obsessing on this for a bit, spending evenings crawling around YouTube and even started a Pandora station, which is a work in progress. I started it off on one song, a latter entry by one of the founders of the genre. One that I couldn’t get out of my head several weeks.

Peter Murphy was the front man for the iconic post-punk band Bauhaus (I’m sure I’ll be posting about them sooner or later) before they split up in 1983. Cuts You Up from 1989 was a single released off his third solo album Deep. The song is Murphy’s largest hit with mainstream america reaching number one on Billboard’s Modern Rock Tracks and number ten on Mainstream Rock Tracks. The haunting violin sound and the singers dark styling make for a somber, yet celebratory love song.

Anyway like I said I am working on a station on my Pandora. In the spirit of the eighties tradition of creating  and sharing mix tapes I’ll keep you posted on how it’s going and what other artists and songs I add. I am looking for input as well.

Given this as a starting point who or what would you add to the play list?

Let me know in the comments, on this blog’s Facebook page, via Twitter, or in your own blog post. Leave me some details about the song/ artist and a link to the song if it’s available on YouTube (maybe we can put together a playlist there) or other easy to access internet venue.

My Stalker

I don’t want to alarm anyone or, freak you out but I am fairly certain that I have a stalker.

Well stalkers really, maybe.

See there’s two of them, sort of. I wasn’t sure at first but, every where I go they are there. I’ve noticed them at the supermarket, at department stores, sometimes at restaurants. I’ve even caught them hovering around at work once or twice. They obviously have been watching me for sometime, they know my schedule and my preferred travel routes. Sometimes, when I go places, instead of simply following me they are already there, just waiting for me when I arrive.

I’m not paranoid. It’s not just a coincidence. Frankly readers, I am starting to get more than a bit worried.

I know it sounds crazy.

Seriously, I think I am being followed by Seals and Crofts.

You’d be a little creeped out too if you knew these guys were watching you.

Why would this seventies soft rock duo and smooth music pioneers go to such lengths to shadow my every move? Well… to be honest I am not sure.

I can, however be sure that everywhere I go I will be haunted by the gentle melodies of their 1972 pop hit Summer Breeze.

 

Has anyone else noticed themselves being mysteriously followed by some song or artist?

Image of Seals and Crofts from Wikimedia Commons
 and is in the public domain.

RE: How big a deal is 500 anyway?

 

 

I don’t have any commentary on this, I’ve just been very sick recently and could use a good laugh. Besides I really love that scene, and I will say I think that My Blue Heaven is a hilarious movie with a great cast. The fact that it is not on Netflix instant play is a constant source of mild disappointment to me.

Another piece of good news…

Over the weekend this blog reached five hundred followers, not bad for just over five months of erratic writing attempts. Five hundred, that’s a big number (or is it? I never really thought about it before) and, come to think on it I can’t be sure I’ve ever been associated with that many people in my life, at least not that I am consciously aware of. It almost makes one wonder about the nature of human relations and how we’re all somehow connected, perhaps maybe even wax philosophic about the possibilities of a collective unconscious and speak about how we are all just really one perfect being.

Fortunately I am not one to waste my time on that type of bollocks.

Instead I’ll take the opportunity to once again thank anyone and everyone who has ever read, liked or followed me or my works. I thought I might take a few moments to highlight a few of my posts I am most proud of.

Fortunately I am not that type of self aggrandizing ass.

I am the type of self aggrandizing ass that will ask you to do it. I can not help but wonder how it is my readers have come across this blog. So, if you don’t mind, I would appreciate if you let me know what was it that got you reading? Are you a regular reader? What type of writing interests you?

I’ve mentioned before that self expression requires an audience, and I would like to get to know that audience a bit better.

Besides looking at analytics is less interesting than hearing from real people.

My plans from here is to push myself to publish more content on a regular basis, so I might be trying to write about a few new topics and stretching my style a bit, I look forward to your input .

Happy Monday.