Out of Reach (2001) – Gabrielle

Posted on December 10, 2023 by observationblogger — 5 Comments

I’m such a big fan of this song Out of Reach from English singer Gabrielle that it currently heads my blog. I can’t recall where I first heard it, but I knew it was a keeper. Gabrielle’s silky voice is pure therapy for the soul. It reminds me of two other songs, namely No One by Alicia Keys which featured here back in September and Life by Des’ree which should have already been here, but I’ll will make amends for that. All these tracks never get old.

Out of Reach was written by Gabrielle and frequent collaborator Jonathan Shorten for the soundtrack of Sharon Maguire’s 2001 romantic comedy film Bridget Jones’s Diary. The London Session Orchestra provides the string instruments on the track.

[Verse 1]
Knew the signs, wasn’t right
I was stupid for a while
Swept away by you
And now I feel like a fool

[Pre-Chorus]
So confused
My heart’s bruised
Was I ever loved by you?

[Chorus]
Out of reach, so far
I never had your heart
Out of reach, couldn’t see
We were never meant to be

[Verse 2]
Catch myself from despair
I could drown if I stay here
Keeping busy every day
I know I will be okay

The following was from sourced from the Wikipedia references below:
Released as the soundtrack’s lead single on 9 April 2001, Out of Reach peaked at number one in Portugal, number two in New Zealand, and number four on the UK Singles Chart. As of March 2021, the song had sold 645,000 copies in the UK as stated by the Official Charts Company, and became the 10th-most-successful single of 2001 in New Zealand.

Louise Gabrielle Bobb was born in Hackney, London on 19 July 1969 to parents from Dominica. Gabrielle credited her mother for her love of soul and reggae music. Gabrielle has had ptosis, the drooping of one eyelid, since childhood; in public, she covers her eye with sunglasses, an eyepatch, a hat or hair. In school, she suffered from depression and was sometimes suicidal. After finishing her A-levels, she abandoned an idea to study law and began singing in nightclubs. The rest they say is history.

References:
1. Out of Reach (Song) – Wikipedia
2. Gabrielle (singer) – Wikipedia

Tagged with: Gabrielle, Out of Reach
Posted in Music

Our Shangri-La (2004) – Mark Knopfler

Posted on December 9, 2023 by observationblogger — 25 Comments

Mark Knopfler has featured here a bunch not only as founder of Dire Straits, but as a solo artist. I think his track Going Home which ends the movie soundtrack Local Hero is one of the most powerful instrumental songs I’ve heard composed by any contemporary music artist. I remember back in the early nineties my guitarist friend Malcolm telling me when we were listening to this song – ‘Listen to Knopflers’ guitar zinging when the Saxophone is prancing‘. That’s a good ear.

Now onto to a softer and mellower later day track Our Shangri-La. I have been watching a lot of surfing videos of late and this song seems in harmony with my morbose fascination of big surf. This song just gives off a great vibe even more so after repeated listens.

Also how could I not think of the Frank Capra film Lost Horizon (1937) which I reviewed here where British diplomat Robert Conway and a small group of civilians crash land in the Himalayas, and are rescued by the people of the mysterious, Eden-like valley of Shangri-la. Protected by the mountains from the world outside, where the clouds of World War II are gathering, Shangri-la provides a seductive escape for the world-weary Conway. But is it the miraculous utopia it appears to be?

[Verse 1]
It’s the end of a perfect day
For all surfer boys and girls
The sun’s dropping down in the bay
And fallin’ off the world

[Chorus]
There’s a diamond in the sky
Our evening star
In our Shangri-La, oh

[Verse 2]
Get that fire burnin’ strong
Right here and right now
It’s here and then it’s gone
There’s no secret anyhow

[Chorus]
We may never love again
To the music of guitars
In our Shangri-La

Shangri-La is the fourth solo studio album by British singer-songwriter and guitarist Mark Knopfler, released on 28 September 2004 by Mercury Records. In March 2003, Knopfler was involved in a motorbike crash in Grosvenor Road, Belgravia, and suffered a broken collarbone, broken shoulder blade, and seven broken ribs. Knopfler spent seven months away from the guitar in physiotherapy, but eventually recovered and was able to return to the studio in 2004 for his fourth album and supporting tour the following year. Knopfler supported the release of Shangri-La with the Shangri-La Tour, which consisted of three legs: South Africa, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand; Europe; and North America.

The video below is Mark Knopfler performing “Our Shangri-La” from his solo album Shangri-La at the AVO Session in Basel, Switzerland on the 12th November, 2007.

References:
1. Shangri-La (Mark Knopfler album) – Wikipedia

Tagged with: mark knopfler, Our Shangri-La, Shangri-La
Posted in Music

Our Lips Are Sealed (1981) – the Go-Go’s

Posted on December 8, 2023 by observationblogger — 3 Comments

I hadn’t heard Our Lips Are Sealed for years until friend Max at PowerPop featured it back in January 2020. It brought back good memories. It reminds of that neat song Young Hearts by Commuter in the Karate Kid soundtrack when Daniel-son gets his first car and enters the amusement park. That was a pretty cool song, but I profess Our Lips Are Sealed raises the bar on early 80’s infectious pop music. Lead singer Belinda Carlisle will again feature here with Heaven is a Place on Earth.

In Jr. High the Go Go’s broke out and got my attention. This song peaked at #20 in 1981 in the Billboard 100. It was on the album Beauty and the Beat that peaked at #1 in the Billboard Album Charts. The album had some good hooks and the songs were mostly written by the band members.

The Go-Go’s are the first all-girl band to write the songs and play the instruments on a #1 US album. The group formed in 1978 in Los Angeles, California. Frontwoman Belinda Carlisle was briefly a member (drummer) of the influential punk band The Germs, but Charlotte Caffey was the only member with much experience – she had been in a band called The Eyes. The group learned on the fly with constant gigs.
Read the remainder of Max’s post at PowerPop

[Verse 1]
Can you hear them?
They talk about us
Telling lies
Well, that’s no surprise
Can you see them?
See right through them
They have no shield
No secrets to reveal

[Chorus]
Doesn’t matter what they say
In the jealous games people play
Our lips are sealed

[Verse 2]
There’s a weapon
That we must use
In our defense
Silence
When you look at them
Look right through them
That’s when they’ll disappear
That’s when we’ll be feared

References:
1. Our Lips Are Sealed – Wikipedia

Tagged with: 1, 20, Our Lips Are Sealed, the Go-Go's
Posted in Music

Revisiting the Video – Ben Shapiro & Russell Brand Uncover Shocking Biblical Truths:

Posted on December 7, 2023 by observationblogger — Leave a comment

This video was relayed here on 17 April, 2023 and I would like to revisit it in response to recent events.
Ben Shapiro sits down with actor, comedian, and cultural thought leader, Russell Brand, to discuss the state of our culture today. They also analyze what the Bible says about slavery and the contrasts between Christian and Judeo beliefs.

As an accompaniment, the following are two videos of how some Jews think of non Jews and whether some Palestinians want to expel Jews:

Palestinians: Do you want to expel the Jews?

Israelis: Do you see non Jews as equal to you?

Tagged with: ben Shapiro, Israel, palestine, russell brand
Posted in News

Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95, B178 “From the New World” – Antonín Dvořák

Posted on December 7, 2023 by observationblogger — 1 Comment

It is said “From the New World” this is one of the all top time most popular symphonies. Astronaut Neil Armstrong took a tape recording of the New World Symphony along during the Apollo 11 mission, the first Moon landing, in 1969. By the way, the recent biopic about his life First Man will appear here at Friday’s Finest soon. I remember I became familiar with the Oboe sequence learning it on my little casio keyboard as a youngen’. There was another name under which it was titled in the book and it frustrates me I no longer remember it.

“From the New World” was written during the first year of the composer’s tenure in the United States. Dvořák was influenced not only by music he had heard, but by what he had seen, in America. He wrote that he would not have composed his American pieces as he had, if he had not seen America. It has been said that Dvořák was inspired by the American “wide open spaces” such as prairies he may have seen on his trip to Iowa in the summer of 1893. The symphony was completed in the building that now houses the Bily Clocks Museum in Spillville, Iowa.

In 1893, a newspaper interview quoted Dvořák as saying “I found that the music of the negroes and of the Indians was practically identical“, and that “the music of the two races bore a remarkable similarity to the music of Scotland”. Most historians agree that Dvořák is referring to the pentatonic scale, which is typical of each of these musical traditions.

References:
1. Symphony No. 9 (Dvořák) – Wikipedia

Tagged with: B178, Dvorak, Op. 95, Symphony No. 9 in E minor
Posted in Music

Three minutes of Ivy League heads refusing to condemn calls for genocide of Jews

Posted on December 6, 2023 by observationblogger — 13 Comments

This is unbelievable. They say ‘It depends on the context’. They are heads of the US’s biggest educational institutions. Now lets think of the following scenario: if the questions were asked about genocide of Blacks or Muslims. What do you think their responses would have been?

Posted in Uncategorized

The Oldest Surviving Book / Records of the Old and New Testament

Posted on December 6, 2023 by observationblogger — 3 Comments

First the Old and then the New:

The oldest copy of Scripture ever found! (Even older than the Dead Sea Scrolls):

The Codex Sinaiticus: The Oldest Surviving Christian New Testament – The Beauty of Books – BBC Four

For more information see this – Codex Sinaiticus: A journey in Biblical discovery:

Tagged with: New Testament, Old Testament, The Codex Sinaiticus
Posted in Science

Dreaming My Dreams (1994) – The Cranberries

Posted on December 6, 2023 by observationblogger — 2 Comments

We are backpedalling in the music library project to present another song from The Cranberries called Dreaming my Dreams not to be confused with their stellar song ‘Dreams‘ presented here in February. The Celtic vibes are strong with this one and the violin interludes in the Chorus tug at my heartstrings. Dolorus O’Riordan’s yearning and her heavy Irish accent and change in the form of words to express a special meaning (including ‘All the tings‘) and sincerity makes for a compelling listening experience. This is another song that comes from their magnificent album No Need to Argue which I listened to a great deal in my early twenties.

This version was never commercially released which just tells you how good their second album No Need to Argue was released on 3 October 1994. It is the band’s best-selling album and has sold 17 million copies worldwide as of 2014.

According to SongMeanings below: Dolorus O’Riordan said in a 1994 interview this song best represents her life today. She wrote this song for her new husband on Christmas. He had a baby from a previous relationship (Donny Burton) and that’s what the “you and your baby” lyric is means. She’s welcoming them into her personal faith. I don’t think it means anything religious. To me I feel like the “It’s out there” is a broad meaning of happiness, hope, love, faithfulness, all the things that come with a deep love.

[Verse]
All the things you said to me today
Changed my perspective in every way
These things count to mean so much to me
Into my faith you and your baby

[Pre-Chorus]
It’s out there, it’s out there, it’s out there
If you want me, I’ll be here
It’s out there, it’s out there, it’s out there
If you want me, I’ll be here

[Chorus]
I’ll be dreaming my dreams with you
I’ll be dreaming my dreams with you
And there’s no other place
That I’d lay down my face
I’ll be dreaming my dreams with you

eference:
1. Dreaming My Dreams (The Cranberries song) – Wikipedia
2. Dreaming My Dreams – SongMeanings

Tagged with: dreaming my dreams, no need to argue, the cranberries
Posted in Music

Ophelia (1975) – The Band (The Last Waltz)

Posted on December 5, 2023 by observationblogger — 14 Comments

Ophelia with Levon Helm at the helm as drummer is another standout in The Band’s legendary last concert The Last Waltz. Robbie Robertson in his recollection of Ophelia gave the accolades to Garth Hudson’s superior instrumental delivery working on synthesizer and multiple brass and woodwind instruments, which is said to have contributed significantly to the Dixieland flavor. Apart from Robbie Robertson’s magnificent guitar work through The Last Waltz, what stood out for me was Levon Helm’s vocal delivery. Having said that Rick Danko also shined. So it’s a matter of witnessing possibly the greatest Americana band in their prime do there thang. Thank you Martin Scorsese.

Boards on the window, mail by the door
What would anybody leave so quickly for?
Ophelia
Where have you gone?

The old neighborhood just ain’t the same
Nobody knows just what became of
Ophelia
Tell me, what went wrong

[Chorus]
Was it something that somebody said?
Mama, I know we broke the rules
Was somebody up against the law?
Honey, you know I’d die for you

Ashes of laughter, the ghost is clear
Why do the best things always disappear
Like Ophelia
Please darken my door

Ophelia was released by The Band on their 1975 album Northern Lights – Southern Cross. I’m not very familiar with the Band’s discography apart from their work with Dylan in his live tours and the Last Waltz concert, but from what I have seen and heard they are about as masterclass as age old folk-rock has begotten. Unforgettable, and this performance of Ophelia is testament to their technical wizardry as a band and individual instrumentalists. They remind me as something craftily woven in country fabric to form something akin to Granny’s finest garment and used as a cherished hand-me-down.

Ophelia is one of three songs on Northern Lights – Southern Cross, along with Acadian Driftwood and It Makes No Difference on which Robertson reclaims his reputation as one of rock’s great songwriters. I enjoy listening to It Makes No Difference but Ophelia‘s upbeat funky shuffle is captivating.

According to Band biographer Barney Hoskyns, the name Ophelia for the song did not come from Shakespeare’s Hamlet but rather from Minnie Pearl’s real name. But Shakespeare scholar Stephen M. Buhler sees some Shakespearean echoes in “Ophelia,” particularly related to Othello. In particular, Buhler sees hints that perhaps Ophelia is a black woman in a Southern town who was forced to flee because of Southern attitudes at the time towards interracial relationships with the white singer.

Reference:
1. Ophelia (The Band song) – Wikipedia