Sag Mir Was Du Willst (2020) – Clueso

Posted on March 3, 2025 by observationblogger — 2 Comments

For the launch of my Music Library Project on July 25, 2019, I wanted to present a single song that could encapsulate the breadth and depth of the music I planned to feature. I ultimately chose the track Wenn Du Liebst (When You Love) by the German popsinger and rapper Clueso. A friend, Tatiana, who shares a deep appreciation for German culture and language, introduced me to the song during the early days of our friendship.

Though I have yet to reach that remarkable song in my alphabetical listing, I recently stumbled upon another Clueso track that left me raptous – Sag Mir Was Du Willst (Tell Me What You Want). Just a few days ago, a video from Clueso’s 2024 summer tour appeared in my YouTube feed, and I decided to give it a watch. Calling it impressive would be an understatement – not only were the songs and sound quality outstanding, but the setting, a breathtaking amphitheater at dusk, added to the magic. More songs from this concert will undoubtedly find their way here. I can at least point this concert to my kids and say: this is what I think encapsulates excellent new-modern music.

What captivated me most about Sag Mir Was Du Willst was its infectious guitar riff, perfectly complemented by a rich, dynamic horn section. As I delved deeper into the song’s meaning, I was struck by its lyrics being an inner dialogue with himself, the writer. It alternates between euphoria and melancholy and questioning what one truly wants in life, even after achieving success. Beyond personal relationships, the song also offers a rare glimpse into the frustrations of the creative process, highlighting the struggles artists face in transforming emotions into new art.

“The song sounded pretty happy and catchy at first, so a love song was actually recommended. However, that’s exactly why I didn’t feel like making it a love song. In terms of energy and my own mood, I’m in a very good mood right now, but I definitely wanted to keep the song thoughtful because that’s just how I always am.”

– Clueso

On October 1, 2021, Sag Mir Was Du Willst was released as part of Clueso’s ninth studio album, Album, of which it is the first single. I have presented two versions of Sag Mir Was Du Willst below. The first from their marvelous concert (from 13:40) and the second the official original version.

A loose English translation is as follows:

[Intro]
Tell me what you want, tell me what you want
Tell me what you really want
Come on, spit it out, always just get it out
Come on, say what’s up (Oh, yeah)

[Verse 1]
Everyone says: “Hey, cool, what you’ve achieved”
Taking photos, handshakes, it goes on
My mood: cloudy to cheerful
It’s easier to nod with an empty head
Look in the mirror, what has changed
Apart from more appointments in the calendar?
Looking for a deeper denominator
Today July, tomorrow December again

[Pre-chorus]
Suddenly you’re standing there in front of yourself
Standing there in front of yourself
Want to talk, but remain silent
Suddenly you’re standing there as if on cue
Standing there in front of yourself
Ask yourself for your opinion

[chorus]
Tell me what you want, tell me what you want
Tell me what you really want
Come on, spit it out, always just out
Come on, say what’s up (Yeah)
Tell me what you feel, tell me what you feel
Tell me what you honestly feel
Come on, spit it out, always just out
Fuck it, come on, let’s do it (Yeah)

[Verse 2]
I don’t do much wrong, unfortunately nothing right either
I’m sarcastic and find everything funny
Clear view, but no clarity
Free time only on the way to work
Only see the same stripes as a tiger
Only among my own kind, without a feature
No new playlist, just the old songs always on repeat (Wouh)
Over and over

[Bridge]
If I think today like I did yesterday
Then I’ll lose a day
No matter what anyone says (Wouh-uh)
Because everything runs by itself
It usually goes downhill
Even if I like it right now
And I say to myself

References:
1. Sag mir was du willst – Wikipedia

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Telephone Line (1977) – Electric Light Orchestra (ELO)

Posted on March 2, 2025 by observationblogger — 4 Comments

The scenario seems innocuous doesn’t it? Even perhaps a snore fest – A man listening to the ringing on his telephone waiting and hoping for a girl to answer his call and imagining what he would say if she answers. But this full of yearning highs and aching lows melodic doo-wop song sounds anything but benign – as this irresistible pop single stirs the heartache-laden blues of love like few others can. I don’t know how many times I sat around the turntable and put the needle down on this song as a kid, but it was a lot. Telephone Line is the second song to be presented so far from the English rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) after their previous entry – Can’t Get It Out of My Head.

ELO keyboardist Richard Tandy noted that Jeff Lynne perfectly captured the sting of a painful phone call with someone you care about. In Telephone Line, Lynne’s narrator, surrounded by an American-style dial tone and dreamy synthesizers, initially seems to be making small talk with a former love. But his anguished voice reveals that the “lonely nights” he speaks of were likely one-sided – and she hasn’t even answered the phone. As ELO’s signature wall of harmonies swells like a Greek chorus of sorrow, the narrator, lost in despair, ultimately addresses the telephone line itself, summing up his limbo in one haunting phrase: “I’m living in twilight.”

From 1976’s New World Record, Telephone Line was ELO’s breakthrough ballad, busting into the Top 10 on both sides of the pond. It topped the charts of Canada and New Zealand and entering the top 10 in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.  It was ranked by Billboard as the No. 15 song of 1977. In 2022 Jeff Lynne listed it as one of his nine favourite ELO songs.  

[Verse 1]
Hello, how are you?
Have you been alright
Through all those lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely nights?
That’s what I’d say
I’d tell you everything
If you’d pick up that telephone
Yeah, yeah, yeah

[Verse 2]
Hey, how you feelin’?
Are you still the same?
Don’t you realise the things we did, we did
Were all for real, not a dream?
I just can’t believe
They’ve all faded out of view
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Ooh-ooh

[Pre-Chorus]
Doo-wop, doo-be-doo-doo-wop, doo-wah, doo-lang
Blue days, black nights, doo-wah, doo-lang
I look into the sky
(The love you need ain’t gonna see you through)
And I wonder why
(The little things you planned ain’t coming true)

[Chorus]
Oh, oh, telephone line, give me some time
I’m living in twilight
Oh, oh, telephone line, give me some time
I’m living in twilight

[Verse 3]
Okay, so no one’s answering
Well, can’t you just let it ring a little longer, longer, longer? Oh
I’ll just sit tight
Through shadows of the night
Let it ring forevermore, oh
Yeah, yeah, yeah

The following was extracted from the 3rd Wikipedia reference below:
The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) were formed in Birmingham in 1970 by multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood and drummer Bev Bevan. Jeff Lynne, of course has featured here multiple times with his involvement in the 80’s super group The Traveling Wilburys. After Wood’s departure in 1972, Lynne became the band’s sole leader, arranging and producing every album while writing nearly all of their original material. During their first run from 1970 to 1986, Lynne and Bevan were the group’s only consistent members.

The group’s name is a pun that references both electric light and “light orchestral music”, a popular style featured in places such as the BBC Light Programme between the 1940s and 1960s. ELO was formed out of Lynne’s and Wood’s desire to create modern rock and pop songs with classical influences. 

References:
1. Electric Light Orchestra, “Telephone Line” – American Songwriter
2. Telephone Line (song) – Wikipedia
3. Electric Light Orchestra – WIkipedia

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Take One Last Look (2015) – Tom Waits

Posted on March 1, 2025 by observationblogger — 4 Comments

It’s amazing how nice folks are to you when they know you are going away.

– Tom Waits interview on the Late Show with David Letterman

Take One Last Look is the 22nd song from Tom Waits to appear here after his previous entry – Step Right Up. Over the years, Waits made six appearances on the Late Show with David Letterman, and on May 14, 2015, sang Take One Last Look on the show’s fifth to last broadcast. It marked one of his rare television performances in later years. He was accompanied by Larry Taylor on upright bass and Gabriel Donohue on piano accordion, with the horn section of the CBS Orchestra.

The performance was particularly emotional, with both Waits and Letterman appearing moved by the sentiment of the song. The song carries an air of resignation and nostalgia, as if saying goodbye to a place. His gravelly voice gives the song a heartbreaking sincerity with the slow and melancholic melody, making it feel like a final wave to something cherished yet irretrievably lost.

Tom was also interviewed by Letterman (seen at the end of this post), discussing various topics including salad lines and antiperspirant.

Tom Waits´ work was influenced by his voracious reading of writers like Jack Kerouac and Charles Bukowski and by conversations that he overheard in diners. You can see in another post –Tom Waits reading Charles Bukowski’s – Nirvana. Tom Waits once said about the distinction between words and music: “I’m still a word guy. I’m drawn to people who use a certain vernacular and communicate with words. Words are music, really. I mean, people ask me, ‘Do you write music or do you write words?’ But you don’t really, it’s all one thing at its best“. Waits also said that “for a songwriter, Dylan is as essential as a hammer and nails and saw are to a carpenter.” He is an opera lover, and recalls hearing Puccini’s Nessun dorma “in the kitchen at Coppola’s with Raul Julia one night, and it changed my life, that particular Aria… It was like giving a cigar to a five-year old.“

[Verse 1]
Let’s watch the sun come up in another town
Try our luck a little further down
Leave the cards on the table
Leave the bread on the plate
Put your hand on the gearshift
Put your foot off the break

[Chorus]
And take one last look
At the place that you are leaving
Take one last look
Oh, take one last look
At the place that you are leaving
Take one last look

[Verse 2]
Our bed was something that the wind couldn’t carry
The arrow points away across the waiting prairie
This car looks like it could give us a good run
Our choice to leave was a good one

[Chorus]

[Verse 3]
Let’s look forward to the lights that are new
The world is a ribbon of road for you
All towns have churches and tire shops
They put up speed limit signs and they hire cops
I love to see the wind in your hair
All we ever need we can get anywhere

References:
1. Tom Waits – Wikipedia

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Ainda Estou Aqui (I’m Still Here) 2024 – Walter Salles (Friday’s Finest)

Posted on February 28, 2025 by observationblogger — Leave a comment
Brazilian theatrical release poster

Not since the Mexican masterpiece Roma (2018) and Colombia’s El Olvido Que Seremos (Forgotten We’ll Be) (2020) have I seen a Latin American film so deeply imbued with naturalism and grace. Ainda Estou Aqui (I’m Still Here) is exquisitely photographed, instantly transporting me to its 1970s setting and immersing me fully in the family’s world. As in Roma and El Olvido Que Seremos, the children feel remarkably authentic, a testament to the filmmakers’ delicate yet skillful direction. Their natural performances add a layer of emotional depth, making their joys, fears, and everyday interactions feel profoundly real, as if we are witnessing memories rather than scripted moments. All the characters are so vividly drawn that, by the end, we are reluctant to part with them.

Paiva family in the 1970s

I’m Still Here is political biographical based drama set mostly in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It stars Fernanda Torres and Fernanda Montenegro as Eunice Paiva, a mother and activist coping with the forced disappearance of her husband, the dissident politician Rubens Paiva (Selton Mello), during the military dictatorship in Brazil. When the father of the family is sequestered by the military forces, I felt as a viewer fully invested in the family’s plight and despairing and sorrowful over this horrifying event. The way the police go about it is truly sinister, keeping the family jailed in its own house, not allowing the wife to see the husband, not disclosing any info relating to the abductee’s whereabouts, taking even one of the children for interrogation.

Fernanda Torres is more than deserving of her best actress nod for her performance here. She gives an unforgettable portrayal, showing Eunice’s strength and vulnerability in such a real and powerful way. She’s persuasive and moving without ever being melodramatic, in a masterful work making you feel every moment of the story. She battles not only to find and get her husband released, but is the rock that keeps the family together. I’m Still Here is a strong drama which Salles and his team make both palpable and universal beyond Brazil’s borders.

On 23 January 2025, I’m Still Here was nominated for Best International Feature Film, Best Actress (Torres), and Best Picture at the 97th Academy Awards. Grossing $27.3 million on a $1.5 million production budget, it became the highest-grossing Brazilian film since the COVID-19 pandemic. On the website Rotten Tomatoes, 97% of 166 critics’ reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.3/10 and at IMDB possesses a staggeringly high score of 8.7/10.

References:
1. I’m Still Here (2024 film) – Wikipedia
2. I’m Still Here (2024) – IMDB

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Strawberry Fields Forever (Demo Sequence Anthology 2 Version) 1966 – The Beatles

Posted on February 27, 2025 by observationblogger — 5 Comments

“There was something about the place that always fascinated John. He could see it from his window … He used to hear the Salvation Army band [playing at the garden party], and he would pull me along, saying, ‘Hurry up, Mimi – we’re going to be late.'”

– John Lennon’s Aunt Mimi Smith

The words “nothing to get hung about” were inspired by Aunt Mimi’s strict order not to play in the grounds of Strawberry Field, to which Lennon replied, “They can’t hang you for it.“

My friend Nancy at The Elephant’s Trunk recently posted a song by the Beatles – Free As A Bird a reworked version of a home demo by John Lennon. It reminded me of today’s featured track also a demo by John Lennon of the Strawberry Fields Forever classic. I love hearing this simplistically beautiful melodic version. John Lennon alone with his guitar….Just him and a junk string instrument and it has all of the charm of the record. As my son said it sounds like Buddy Holly just fooling about. Lennon viewed Strawberry Fields Forever as his finest work with the Beatles. I would buy an album of just the Beatles demos. On another matter, the tune at the start sounds to me just like Dylan’s It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue.

Most of the following was extracted from the Wikipedia reference below:
Strawberry Fields Forever was released on 13 February 1967 as a double A-side single with Penny Lane. It represented a departure from the group’s previous singles and a novel listening experience for the contemporary pop audience. While the song initially divided and confused music critics and the group’s fans, it proved highly influential on the emerging psychedelic genre. Its accompanying promotional film (at the bottom of this post) is similarly recognised as a pioneering work in the medium of music video.

Lennon based the song on his childhood memories of playing in the garden of Strawberry Field, a Salvation Army children’s home in Liverpool. Starting in November 1966, the band spent 45 hours in the studio, spread over five weeks, creating three versions of the track. The final recording combined two of those versions, which were entirely different in tempo, mood and musical key.

Strawberry Fields Forever was intended for inclusion on their forthcoming (as yet untitled) Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Instead, under pressure from their record company and management for new product, the group were forced to issue it as a single and they followed their usual practice of not including previously released singles on their albums. The double A-side peaked at number 2 on the Record Retailer chart, breaking the band’s four-year run of chart-topping singles in the UK. In the United States, Strawberry Fields Forever peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100. To the band’s displeasure, the song was later included on the US Magical Mystery Tour LP.

After returning to England in early November 1966 from Almeria, Spain – where Lennon did his first demo, Lennon added another verse and first mention of Strawberry Fields. The first verse on the released version was the last to be written, close to the time of the song’s recording. The first verse Lennon wrote became the second one in the released version of the song, and the second verse he wrote became the last.

The lyrics below from the 1:42 Demo version:

No one, I think, is in my tree
I mean, it must be high or low
That is, you can’t, you know, tune in, but it’s all right
That is, I think it’s not too bad

Always, no, sometimes, think it’s me
But you know, I know when it’s a dream
I think I know, I mean—er—yes, but it’s all wrong
That is, I think I disagree

Let me take you down, ’cause I’m going to
Strawberry Fields
Nothing is real
And nothing to get hung about
Strawberry Fields forever
Strawberry Fields forever
Strawberry Fields forever

References:
1. Strawberry Fields Forever – Wikipedia

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Daddy Rollin’ (In Your Arms) 1968 – Dion

Posted on February 26, 2025 by observationblogger — 5 Comments

We are well and truly a long way from the teenage heartthrob doo-wop song – Runaround Sue (1961). That same artist Dion Francis DiMucci – better known simply as Dion had by the late 1960s spent years battling heroin addiction, a struggle that nearly consumed him. In fact by the time of his first hit with the Belmonts he was eighteen years old and already taking heroin. His attempts to break free of his addiction could not have been helped by his being the only headline survivor of the 1959 Winter Dance Party tragedy in which the other stars, Buddy Holly, Ritchie (“La Bamba”) Valens and the Big Bopper all died.

At the age of nineteen, with no PTSD counselling available or even heard of, the burden on Dion must have been considerable, especially as he’d tossed a coin with Ritchie Valens for the final seat on the plane, won, and then, because of his qualms about spending so much money on a short flight and because Valens, used to the heat of homestate California, was really suffering from the sub-zero temperatures in their tour bus, let him have the seat anyway.

By 1968, still struggling with major heroin addiction, Laurie, his record label, was considering dropping him as his contract was due to end. They relented and renewed it, on condition he recorded “Abraham, Martin and John“. Issued as the B-side Dion released today’s featured song Daddy Rollin’ (In Your Arms) – a raw, hypnotic departure from his doo-wop roots. Dion’s showing us here he can do rock blues – a genre against which to express the torment of his heroin addiction. From the ominous guitar and subdued drum intro sounds like a subway train emerging from a tunnel…

Dion himself has described Daddy Rollin’ (In Your Arms) as “either a love song or a song about drugs. I recorded it in the back of a bowling alley with a bunch of Jamaicans. We were banging on cardboard boxes. I had my Gibson Birdland guitar, and we just let it roll.”

The result was an offbeat, almost primal track – driven by pulsing rhythms, reverb-soaked vocals, and an undercurrent of something dark and restless. The song’s ghostly atmosphere stood in stark contrast to the hopeful melancholy of its A-side. While Abraham, Martin and John mourned the loss of visionaries and peacemakers (in similar modus as Bob Dylan’s They Killed Him), Daddy Rollin’ (In Your Arms) felt like a late-night fever dream, tapping into something deeply personal and unfiltered.

Give it a listen – you might find yourself hypnotized by its strange, unpolished magic.

Can’t stand leave you, babe

[Verse 1]
I’m in the cold, flat one hundred babe
I’m awful down and bound to go
In the cold, flat one hundred babe
I’m awful down on my way
Gonna have your sweet lovin’, daddy rollin’ in your arms

[Verse 2]
Gonna jump on Mr. Barker’s ship
Skip ‘cross the ocean like a stone
Gonna jump on Mr. Barker’s ship
Skip ‘cross the ocean like a stone
Gonna have your sweet lovin’, daddy rollin’ in your arms

[Verse 3]
There’s a caravan that’s wingin’ me babe
Gonna fly me to your door
There’s a caravan gettin’ warm enough for me
And I feel baby, carry me to your door
Gonna have your sweet lovin, daddy rollin’ in your arms

[Verse 4]
Listen, well the super Jesus bird
Carryin’ daddy rollin’ back home to you
You’re the sweetest little angel baby
Can’t stand leave you alone, oh yeah mama oh
You’re gonna have your sweet lovin’, daddy rollin’ in your arms

References:
1. Dion – Daddy Rollin’ (In Your Arms) – The Listenng Post Blog
2. Dion Week No 4: Daddy Rollin’ (in your Arms) – Dion – Uncle Stylus

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Telegraph Road (1982) – Dire Straits

Posted on February 25, 2025 by observationblogger — 8 Comments

I challenge you to read the lyrics of Telegraph Road as a standalone document and not be impressed by the vision and world-building in Mark Knopfler’s writing of this epic rock song. The music is amazing as well. Knopfler is in absolute control of mood and feel with nuanced chord progressions, textural changes and tempo changes, and amazing jams and solos. Telegraph Road first appeared as the opening track on Dire Straits‘ 1982 album Love over Gold and is the sixth song to appear here so far from the mega British rock group after their previous entry – Sultans of Swing.

Because today’s featured song is over 14 minutes long, most radio stations would have been reticent to play it despite it becoming one of the group’s most revered songs. The song was later cut down to 5:05 for a single release in 1983, with Twisting By The Pool as the B-side. While perhaps the big hits from the group’s catalogue like Walk of Life and Money For Nothing get less play from me over the years, Telegraph Road has definitely grown in my estimation where I much prefer to play it.

The following is from the Wikipedia reference below:
The Telegraph Road is a major north-south 70 mile thoroughfare in Michigan. Mark Knopfler was inspired to write this song while riding in the front of the tour bus, which made the journey down Telegraph Road. At the time, Knopfler was reading the novel The Growth Of the Soil by the Nobel Prize winning Norwegian author Knut Hamsun and he was inspired to put the 2 together and write a song about the beginning of the development along Telegraph Road and the changes over the ensuing decades. This was a metaphor for the development of America and the ruining of one man’s dreams in the wake of its decline, in particular focusing on unemployment.

Interestingly, the song was first played live at the opening concert of the band’s “Making Movies” Australian tour (Perth Entertainment Centre, 22 March 1981) as the final encore. It would later become a staple of Dire Straits and Mark Knopfler solo tours.

[Verse 1]
A long time ago came a man on a track
Walking thirty miles with a sack on his back
And he put down his load where he thought it was the best
He made a home in the wilderness
He built a cabin and a winter store
And he ploughed up the ground by the cold lake shore
And the other travellers came walking down the track
And they never went further, no, they never went back

[Chorus]
Then came the churches, then came the schools
Then came the lawyers, and then came the rules
Then came the trains and the trucks with their loads
And the dirty old track was the telegraph road

[Verse 2]
Then came the mines, then came the ore
Then there was the hard times, then there was a war
Telegraph sang a song about the world outside
Telegraph road got so deep and so wide
Like a rolling river

[Bridge]
And my radio says tonight it’s gonna freeze
People driving home from the factories
There’s six lanes of traffic
Three lanes moving slow

[Instrumental Break]

[Verse 3]
I used to like to go to work
But they shut it down
I’ve got a right to go to work
But there’s no work here to be found
Yes, and they say we’re gonna have
To pay what’s owed
We’re gonna have to reap
From some seed that’s been sowed

[Chorus]
And the birds up on the wires and the telegraph poles
They can always fly away from this rain and this cold
You can hear them singing out their telegraph code
All the way down the telegraph road

[Verse 4]
You know, I’d sooner forget
But I remember those nights
When life was just a bet on a race
Between the lights
You had your head on my shoulder
You had your hand in my hair
Now you act a little colder
Like you don’t seem to care

[Chorus]
But just believe in me, baby, and I’ll take you away
From out of this darkness and into the day
From these rivers of headlights, these rivers of rain
From the anger that lives on the streets with these names
Cause I’ve run every red light on memory lane
I’ve seen desperation explode into flames
And I don’t want to see it again
From all of these signs saying, “Sorry, but we’re closed”
All the way down the telegraph road

References:
1. Fang Bian on “Telegraph Road” by Dire Straits – Wikipedia
2. Telegraph Road (song) – Wikipedia

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17/2/25 – 23/2/25 – Swamp Creatures, English Football & A Thousand Years

Posted on February 24, 2025 by observationblogger — Leave a comment
news on the march

Welcome to Monday’s News on the March – The week that was in my digital world.

Swamp Creatures
Short Story by Bruce Goodman at Weave a Web

Fellow blogger Bruce Goodman and I go way back and I consider him a dear friend. His short stories at Weave a Web have appeared here a bunch at Monday’s ‘News on the March‘. He is my favourite ‘cuentista‘ (short-story writer) hands-down. So I present to you Bruce if you haven’t already had the pleasure:

‘(above) are some pictures to prove that pigeons can age one dramatically’ – Bruce Goodman

Today’s featurette is his recent short story called ‘Swamp Creatures‘. Before I indulge you, I have left y’all a video below Bruce’s story when my son and I got up close to a huge 4 metre Caiman alligator (nearly half a tonne) on our recent holidays. Thanks to wondrous timing and the generosity of a Zoologist, we were accompanied inside the ‘off limits’ part of the enclosure. I hope you all enjoy:

Swamp Creatures

They said the swamp was harmless. There would be a few harmless water snakes, but it was mainly the variety of water birds that Darren was there to see. There were all sorts of waders that he’d never seen in the real. Nor had he seen many species of fish-hunting birds. He was told “You will see it all”. By all means look at the water snakes, but try not to disturb them. This is a natural wildlife reserve. Humans are mere visitors.

So Darren began to wander the natural track around the lake, armed with a notebook and a camera. He had gone no further than quarter of an hour when he spied a flock of the most beautiful white herons preening themselves in a tree on the edge of the lake. He manoeuvred himself nearer the water to get a better picture. It was there that he spied an alligator.

He knew that the best way to avoid conflict was to stay well clear of alligators! He had no choice. He hadn’t been told there were alligators in this swamp. The fierce creature was only a few yards away. It was hissing and tail slapping and moving towards him. He knew from his reading that he had to back away slowly and not make any sudden movements or gestures.

Back he went. Back further. The pursuing alligator seemed more settled. It stopped moving towards him. Darren still backed slowly. There still wasn’t distance enough. He stepped back a little further. A little further. That was when he tripped backwards over another alligator.


Is this the worst stadium in English football?
Video presentations at StuntPegg

I am an unashamed English Football fan and watch matches galore on my Saturday and Sunday mornings, many times with my son who is also raving football nut. It was a refreshing change of pace from my daily BBC Sports read to find StuntPegg’s videos appear in my YT feed. Nieve Pegg, also known as StuntPegg on YouTube, is a British soccer enthusiast who gained success with her soccer-themed videos. She writes, hosts, and edits content for her channel, which has more than 420,000 subscribers.

The reason Nieve is so popular apart from being pretty, witty and humble is because she presents crafty and often ‘off the beaten track’ topics which amuse and titillate the English football enthusiast such as ‘yours truly’. You feel as a viewer that you are getting into the heart of where English football is at, but in a way that someone from across the ocean can feel privy to and enlightened by learning. I like what one astute viewer wrote about this featured presentation – Is this the worst stadium in English football?:

‘The 4th stand should just be a giant bouncy castle‘.

christina perri – a thousand years children’s book!!
Video presentation at Christina Perri

Recently Christina Perri my favourite female singer-songwriter after some hiatus in the family wilderness released a new video of her receiving a Children’s book ‘A Thousand Years‘ which she wrote about her daughters Pixie Rose and Camela Stanley. The last post where she appeared here was in my Top 10 Christmas countdown (2024) of Christmas Dream / Marshmallow World.

The music of Christina Perri has featured here more than twice as much as any other female music artist. I’ve always found her voice and music like a warm blanket. I never grow tired of listening to her and I listen ALOTT! If I go one day without a Perri song, a bit like how it is with Dylan, I feel in arrears and stagnant. Below I wrote in response to her beautiful video:

‘Christina looks as beautiful and radiant as I have ever seen her and I’m so thankful she shared this on her channel. By golly, I hope her next album isn’t too far away since ‘Lighter Shade of Blue‘ is easily the greatest ensemble of love ballads I have had the privilege to hear.

That is all. Thank you for reading.

news on the march the end
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Posted in News, Reading, Sport and Adventure

Tears of Rage (1967) – Bob Dylan & The Band

Posted on February 23, 2025 by observationblogger — 8 Comments

To me Tears of Rage always seemed one of the most haunting and lamenting songs Bob and The Band had recorded. It captures in both the sorrowful lyric and mournful melody – a deep sense of betrayal, disillusionment, and mourning over lost ideals. During the time this song was written and first recorded (1967), America was in a state of turmoil and rapid change. There seems a sense here that America, once guided by noble principles, had fallen under the spell of charlatans who preach unity and justice while advancing their own agendas. The song could also be registering the pain of betrayal felt by many of America’s Vietnam war veterans.

We carried you in our arms on Independence Day
And now you’d throw us all aside and put us on our way

It also could be seen as a critique of a society increasingly obsessed with material wealth. The post-war economic boom and the rise of credit culture in America enabled people to acquire possessions more easily, but at what cost?

And now the heart is filled with gold as if it was a purse
Oh, but what kind of love is this which goes from bad to worse?

According to the Wikipedia article below: In an interview promoting the release of the complete Basement Tapes, Dylan cited the dropping of China’s first hydrogen bomb as an impetus for the song. Dylan further said: I looked for ideas and the TV would be on with “As the World Turns” and “Dark Shadows”. Any old thing would create a beginning to a song. These songs weren’t meant to be recorded by anybody. I just felt like writing”.

Tears of Rage with lyrics written by Bob Dylan and music by Richard Manuel was not released until 1975 on The Basement Tapes album.

Before his death, Robbie Robertson related what actually happened on a Facebook post. “When Bob Dylan typed out the words to ‘Tears of Rage,’ he handed it to Richard Manuel and said ‘See if you can do something with this.’ Richard nailed the perfect melody and chords to go with those heart-wrenching lyrics. He played it for Bob, who thought it sounded just right”

In 1968, the Band recorded it for their debut album Music from Big Pink. According to his official website, Dylan has played the song 81 times in concert total between 1989 and 2008. He also rehearsed the song for the Rolling Thunder Revue in 1975 but did not play it on the tour proper. 

We carried you in our arms on Independence Day
And now you’d throw us all aside and put us on our way
Oh, what dear daughter ‘neath the sun would treat a father so
To wait upon him hand and foot, yet always answer no?

Tears of rage, tears of grief
Why am I always the one who must be the thief?
Come to me now, you know we’re so alone
And life is brief

It was all pointed out the way to go and scratched your name in sand
Though you just thought that it was nothing more than a place for you to stand
Now I want you to know that while you were watched, discovered that there was no one true
That I myself really thought
It was just a childish thing to do

It was all very, very painless when you ran out to receive
All that false instruction which we never could believe
And now the heart is filled with gold as if it was a purse
Oh, but what kind of love is this which goes from bad to worse?

References:
1. Tears of Rage – Bob Dylan
2. For the Sake of the Song: Bob Dylan & The Band “Tears of Rage” (Bootleg Version) – Americana – UK

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Team (2013) – Lorde

Posted on February 22, 2025 by observationblogger — 2 Comments

I first heard snippets of Lorde’s song Team in ESPN commercials promoting women’s sports. Its rousing, hypnotic rhythm and beat amplified the energy and appeal to me of both the individuals and their given pursuit. I just had to find the whole song and I’m grateful I did since I enjoy it so much. This is the second song to feature here from Lorde after her previous entry Liability. The New Zealand popstar born Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O’Connor (born 7 November 1996) gained attention performing at a talent show in her early teens. She signed with Universal Music Group in 2009 and later rose to stardom as a 16 year-old with her breakthrough single Royals.  

Team was the third single from her Debut LP Pure Heroine. It is is a hybrid of alternative pop and electropop featuring synthesiser, bass and snare drum instrumentation over a handclap based beat. The song was produced using the software Pro Tools. Lyrically, the track is a tribute to her friends and country. “I’m kind of over getting told to throw my hands up in the air. So there,” a lyric from Lorde’s song Team these raw but relatable lyrics reiterates a smell like teen spirit dirt on your shoe and chip on your shoulder angst. Lorde’s music proves difficult to categorize but its sonically atmospheric like Lana Del Rey‘s music.

Team peaked at No. 6 in the US and No.19 in Australia and No. 3 in New Zealand. By December 2014, Team had sold 2.45 million copies in the USA. The music video below was filmed in the abandoned Red Hook Grain Terminal in Red Hook, Brooklyn, the video’s content was inspired by Lorde’s dream of teenagers in their own world. On 12 November 2013, Lorde performed several songs from Pure Heroine during the Late Show with David Letterman to promote the album, including Team.

Wait till you’re announced
We’ve not yet lost all our graces
The hounds will stay in chains
Look upon Your Greatness and she’ll
Send the call out, send the call out

[Verse 1]
Call all the ladies out
They’re in their finery
A hundred jewels on throats
A hundred jewels between teeth
Now bring my boys in
Their skin in craters like the moon
The moon we love like a brother
While he glows through the room

[Pre-Chorus]
Dancin’ around the lies we tell
Dancin’ around big eyes, as well
Even the comatose
They don’t dance and tell

[Chorus]
We live in cities you’ll never see on-screen
Not very pretty, but we sure know how to run things
Livin’ in ruins of a palace within my dreams
And you know, we’re on each other’s team

[Post-Chorus]
I’m kind of over gettin’ told to throw my hands up in the air
So there

[Verse 2]
So all the cups got broke
Shards beneath our feet
But it wasn’t my fault
And everyone’s competing
For a love they won’t receive
‘Cause what this palace wants is release

References:
1. Team (Lorde song) – Wikipedia
2. Team Lorde – The Rider Online

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