And As We Sit Here Alone

“Since Yesterday,” Strawberry Switchblade

It is rumored that when Jill Bryson and Rose McDowall formed as a duo, they called themselves Strawberry Switchblade after a song that their friend, James Kirk of Orange Juice, may have written.  This ambiguity feeds nicely into the flourishing mythos of rock music—details aren’t often exciting, but they can be when they’re not quite true.  Either way, Strawberry Switchblade is a killer name, and such a great identity for a girl group.

“Since Yesterday” was included on 1985’s Strawberry Switchblade, the only album the group ever released.  The single charted well in the UK, but was really the only big hit for the duo.  The song starts off with heavy horns (a Sibelius sample), but quickly settles into a new wave groove with a prominent band machine playing along to Bryson and McDowall’s very young-sounding voices.

Despite the generally upbeat accompaniment, there is something off-kilter about the melodic lines.  The lyrics tell of an almost static existence; yesterday is depicted with tempered fondness, but today is flat: “And as we sit here alone | Looking for a reason to go on | It’s so clear that all we have now | Are our thoughts of yesterday.”  Nothing really happens in the course of the track; it is a tribute to the mundane.  Stagnancy is the rule, but the lyrics do not explore this as a burden.  Rather, being stuck in this state is not something to rail against, for it provides the impetus to write a pop song about relishing those moments, because, “When tomorrow comes you’ll wish | You had today.”

A couple of days ago, my sister told me to turn on BBC Radio 6 because Jim Reid, front man for The Jesus and Mary Chain, was hosting 6 Music Playlist.  The programme is a forum for artists to share the music they enjoy and find inspiring.  One of Reid’s picks came from a fellow Glaswegian band of the early 1980s, Strawberry Switchblade.  Recalling how he used to teasingly be referred to as a “Strawberry Switchblade groupie” because he was such an avid fan, Reid proudly declared that, even after all these years, “I love their music.”  Me too.

Question: “Since Yesterday” feels a bit like a daydream—a pleasant departure from the present.  What other songs do you think capture the fleeting quality of day-to-day life?

All Things Pass Into the Night

“Goodbye Horses,” Q Lazzarus

This track is often referred to as “The Buffalo Bill Song,” as it was featured in The Silence of the Lambs during the infamous “butterfly scene.”  Despite its association with the film, it also ranks well as a stand-alone song.  Listening to it induces a trance-like state.  The vocals beckon one to fall under the song’s siren spell.

Although Q Lazzarus is a woman, her voice is so throaty and deep that it would be easy to mistake her singing for a performance by a man.  This ambiguity serves the song well, for it widens its outlook from one that is gendered to one that is less finite in addressing its universal themes.

The lyrics of “Goodbye Horses” are extremely descriptive.  Like the best poetry, what’s not said is just as important as what is, and this recording’s real power exists in the allusions it conveys.  Longing and loss, acceptance and redemption are all thematically present, but not in the usual way.  Here, the struggle is internal rather than external.  Although there are two voices in conflict in the lyrics, the “He” and “I” are really two parts of the same person, connecting the stagnant past and its disappointments to the fluid present’s hope for the future.  With the lyric, “I must disagree, oh no sir, I must say you’re wrong | Won’t you listen to me?” the genderless present responds to the past’s omniscient claim that he has “seen it all before.”

The song is not joyous or uplifting, but it is not particularly brooding, either.  Rather, it is meditative.  The track examines the changes that occur when problems and worries cease to be constraints when viewed from another perspective.  Deeply-held beliefs can be just as helpful as they can be stifling, and searching the self for how these beliefs actually function can be both comforting and liberating.  Letting go of one’s mental and emotional chains is transformative in the song’s closing line: “Goodbye horses, I’m flying over you.”  Repeated multiple times, it is almost as if the repetition is out of disbelief and awe that this transcendent feat has finally been achieved.

Question: “Goobye Horses” is interesting because it depicts the conflict between two parts of the self, rather than between two people.  What other good songs are there that address this problem of being of two minds about an issue?

I’m in Distress, I Need a Caress

“What Do I Get?,” The Buzzcocks

After last week’s idealistic stroll down lover’s lane, it seems appropriate—particularly today—to present the exasperating side of romance.  “What Do I Get?” is strikingly upbeat for a track that is a depiction of failure.  This about someone who is down, but not out.  Instead of feeling hopeless, the voice of this song is more bewildered by a lack of romantic success.  The tone is almost playfully self-deprecating rather than resolutely bitter.

“What Do I Get?” can be found on the Buzzcocks’ must-have compilation, Singles Going Steady.  The sparse melodic line feels spontaneous and lends an authenticity to the confessional quality of the track.  The guitars are kinetic—a heart that is racing, but has no one to make it pound.  The energy of the record drives straight to the end, with a final cadence that is a punky, du-wop surprise. This song is an influential part of English punk, and presents a refreshing take on the dilemma of a lover with no one to love.

Question: This song is critical of love, but doesn’t dismiss it.  What are your favourite tracks about unsatisfied desire?

A Love for All My Life to Have and to Hold

“A Sunday Kind Of Love,” Etta James

On January 20^th we lost one of the best friends a song ever had.  Etta James had an unmistakable capacity for expression that made the songs she sang her own.  Although “A Sunday Kind Of Love” is considered a standard, the 1961 James recording represents the pinnacle of its possibility.

The opening line of this song is bewitching.  The way James’ voice draws you in is captivating—you can’t not listen to the rest of the story.  The sweeping string accompaniment provides a romantic setting that James matches with enthralling conviction.  James’ instrument has a richness that is befitting such a beautiful piece of music—the composition itself gives her a lot to work with, but she really makes everything come together.  There is something that is just so warm and comforting about her voice; it’s like an intimate embrace.

There are so many tired or trite ways to approach the subject of love, but calling it “a Sunday kind of love” is such an effective metaphor to communicate the elation of a settled match.  The song speaks of longing, but the tone is optimistic: “I’m hoping to discover | A certain kind of lover | Who will show me the way!”  This song is about all of your life finally coming together around that one person—that Sunday kind of love.

Question: This song has been recorded by many different artists.  What other standards are your favourites?

Every Way Love’s a Little Stronger

“Everyday,” Buddy Holly

This week marks the anniversary of The Day the Music Died.  On 03 February 1959, the plane carrying Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper crashed into the cold Iowa night.  With this one twist of fate, half a generation’s musical promise was lost, and it seems futile to fathom what might’ve been, and even more difficult, still, to assess the extent to which we’ve suffered because these talents were barred from continuing to advance.  However, we are fortunate to have the recordings these greats left behind.

In so many ways, Holly defies categorization.  We know he belongs somewhere under the rock umbrella, but his experimental nature makes him hard to pin down.  His songs are humble and often lyrically simple.  But, that sound!  It changes you.  Tracks like “Rave On” and “Peggy Sue” continue to shape our expectations of what the best rock and roll can achieve.  

It is stunning how much impact “Everyday” achieves with such simple devices.  Everything is pared down: the lyrics are of a plaintive love ballad, and Holly’s singular vocal line is primarily accompanied by subdued hand slaps and a tinkling celesta.  This doesn’t really sound like a rock and roll song, but it doesn’t really sound like anything else, either.  The overall effect is almost like a music box playing, quiet and sweet—slow, but sure.  It’s remarkable how with a minimum of sound, it doesn’t feel like something is lacking.

“Everyday” was released as the B-side to 1957’s “Peggy Sue,” but it possesses a sound that is timeless.  This stripped down recording feels like it could have just as easily been recorded today as sixty years ago.  Holly sings about a tender love to last, and the barn-burner fireworks of many of his other tunes would have been an overstatement of such a gentle sentiment.  The track stands the test of time because it doesn’t feel as though it belongs to a time.  Even Holly’s signature glottal flourishes don’t date this song, because the best music just does not fade away.

Question:  Despite having such a brief career, Buddy Holly’s remarkable influence is enduring.  What other musicians do you think we were fortunate to have for a good time, if not a long time?

I'll Make You Cry Those Tears of Joy

“Two Kinds Of Teardrops,” Del Shannon

Two of the most persistent themes in classic rock are cars and love.  Del Shannon incorporates both of these touchstones into his identity because he is rumoured to have chosen his stage name after his favourite car, Cadillac’s Coupe de Ville, and he most always sang about romance.  Released in 1963, “Two Kinds Of Teardrops” wasn’t much of a hit outside of the UK.  However, this song is so much fun to listen to that it deserves a place alongside Shannon’s signature tune, “Runaway.”

Shannon sings lead, and a few sing-songy, child-like girls provide back-up vocals.  Instead of being overly cloying, though, the harmonic dissonance they provide is just jarring enough to complement Shannon’s rough-around-the-edges growl.  The light-heartedness of this counterpoint keeps the song moving and the sound fresh.  Shannon's phrasing transitions quickly between lines and makes the song really move.

The “two kinds of teardrops” represent relationships of the past and future.  Failed relationships produce “lonely tears,” but going steady with Shannon means things are going to change.  This song could be one-note, but the vocal stylings tone down the sugar and add dimension that wouldn’t be there with a lesser voice.  When Shannon sings, “I’m going to make you cry | Those happy teardrops,” he is at once playful, yet in control.  This hopeful promise is one Shannon makes you believe he’ll keep.

Question: Regardless of subject matter, what other songs do you think are “fun” listens?

It’s Been So Lonely Without You Here

“Nothing Compares 2 U,” Prince feat. Rosie Gaines

Although Prince wrote this track, it is most closely associated with Sinéad O’Connor because of her famous release of the single, “Nothing Compares 2 U.”  Three years after that cover version topped the charts, Prince’s 1993 compilation, The Hits 1, included this live performance of his song.  The O’Connor recording of this lament is well known, and it should be; the flight of her lilting vocals is chilly elegance.  However, it is a delight to discover how well the song translates as a duet, with Prince and Rosie Gaines trading verses and bringing the heat.

The beginning of this performance features soothing keyboards and an understated guitar riffing on the familiar “Nothing Compares 2 U” hook.  This quiet scene betrays none of the chaotic despair to come when the singers take their turn.  Prince displays his impressive vocal range, with extensive improvisational ornamentation that sustains interest with its delicacy, side-stepping the trap of becoming tiresome.  However, it is Gaines’ soulful blasts that are the real reason to come to this show; she is a woman on the verge of collapse, and one is left rattled by the sound of her heart breaking.

This tune is absolute catharsis.  Presented as an ambling, blues-y lament, every word becomes poignant; each syllable breaks with the emotional destruction of love lost.  This particular rendition is so powerful because conceiving of it as a duet transforms its character.  The two voices are in the same song, but they are somehow not speaking to each other, they are speaking about each other.  The lack of communication is frustrating, but it deepens the emotional release necessary when confronting a profound loss.  Each line reveals a new dimension of sorrow, effecting devastation.

Question: Performing this song as a duet adds impact to its already weighty subject matter.  What are some songs that you think are better for being duets rather than solos?