“Careless Whisper” by Wham came out in 1984. I vividly remember being on Okinawa, accompanied by the wife, and all these women being quite taken with this song. So sexy…yes, a wonderful slow-dance song, one that invited warm belly rubbing.
Dance forward several decades. I’m in the car on an errand, chasing music via satellite radio, when a song sort of familiar but also different caused a pause to listen more. Then, seriously, I giggled, because I was hearing a metal version of “Careless Whisper”. Modern tech in the car’s infotainment system identified the group as Seether.
I wasn’t familiar with Seether. Later, at home, I hunted more info on them from the web. Today, a little word and sound association, and here I am, playing Seether’s cover in my head.
Thought I’d share it. Emotional with a different nuance than the original, it’s an interesting cover of an old song, good theme music for interesting times..
Looked out the window and saw a sun-drenched landscape showing evidence of spring under a powerful blue sky. “I Gotta Feeling” (Black Eyed Peas, 2009) roared into the stream.
Yeah, I gotta feeling that today’s gonna be a good day. Sure, more folks are worrying about the coronavirus and the U.S. response to it. Of course the DOW doesn’t like what the virus is doing to supply chains and profits. That’s sinking stocks and pension plans.
Naturally, many are worrying about the upcoming elections in the U.S. Or they’re fuming about Trump attacking a juror or his attacks on Supreme Court justices.
Others are worried about climate change, rising sea waters, stripped environmental protections, and safe drinking water. Ongoing hostilities in other countries will sober you up with a sigh, too, as you peruse the news of death, destruction, and displacement.
More locally, racism and sexism flare up in numbers as disturbing as the coronavirus spread.
Yes, I worry about these things. But strip it all down to the bare metal of my existence, and the tiny piece of me that I can do much about, and my life, and I gotta feeling, today’s gonna be a good day, despite news to the contrary.
Weep for yourself, my man,
You’ll never be what is in your heart
Weep, little lion man,
You’re not as brave as you were at the start
Rate yourself and rake yourself
Take all the courage you have left
And waste it on fixing all the problems that you made in your own head
But it was not your fault but mine
And it was your heart on the line
I really fucked it up this time
Didn’t I, my dear?
Didn’t I, my…
h/t to AZLyrics cuz cut and paste is easier than typing.
So it was that “Little Lion Man” by Mumford & Sons (2009) was going through my head this morning. Writing, a dream, and cats share almost equal weight in bringing the song into my stream.
The dream was about jigsaw puzzles, parties, hockey, and drunk celebrities in a brightly lit and strangely joyful montage that also seemed a bit fucked up, and left me to, well, puzzle it out. The cat was the little ginger lion that I was talking to this morning (you’re not as brave as you were at the start). Writing…well, writing is all about fixing the problems in my head. Not exactly a dark place, but not a clean, well-lighted place for enjoying life, either.
So, now, after singing the song to myself yesterday after writing, it returned to me after thinking about my dreams this morning, and gained strength when I was talking with the cat. Thus, it must be outed from my stream before it gains too much steam and stays too long.
For the record, I enjoy Mumford & Sons’ style, and its infusion of unique sounds in rock music. This video, with its intensity, and the sense of isolation and alienation that I find in it, keeps me watching. It’s like a confession that he’s making to himself but also a dialogue in his head that he imagines having, as the others play and listen. Then, they all join in, as though it was universal to the band members. Through it all flows introspection, a simmering sense of regret, and a realization.