Category: My Sunday Song

My Sunday Song – “Headphones” by Matt Nathanson

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For My Sunday Song #48, I am going with my favorite Matt Nathanson song called “Headphones”.  The song features singer LOLO and is off Matt’s album ‘Show Me Your Fangs’ released in 2014.  It is one of his best albums, so check it out.

The song “Headphones” for me is about putting on my headphones, listening to music and escaping.  When you listen to music, it can take all your cares in the world and throw them out the window. With music, you can feel invincible (as the song states).  The song is everything I feel about music and how important it is in my life.  Heck, I even started a blog where all I talk about is music.  I have only known this song for 3 years now, but it is the soundtrack to my feelings on music.

The song is actually about a girl who moves to the big city to have a fresh start.  Where everyone around her is concerned with trivial things, she is out there being who she is.  Her escape is music and she is happy just sitting around listening to music and not getting caught up in the madness.  Matt is great at telling stories and he knocks another one out of the park with this one.  Matt is one of the best songwriters out there and I can’t get enough of his music.  If you want to hear what Matt Nathanson says about the song, go to USAToday.com and check this article out.

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My Sunday Song – “Life by The Drop” by Stevie Ray Vaughn

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My Sunday Song #47 is “Life By The Drop” performed by Stevie Ray Vaughn from his album ‘The Sky is Falling’.  The album came out in 1991, a year after Stevie’s death.  It was his final studio album.

I had always thought the song was about drinking, but I was wrong.  The song is about two old friends reunited after years apart.  One of the friends has gone on to make something of themselves while the other has not.  The song is basically saying to live life to the fullest and go after your dreams.  You don’t want to end up old and having tons of regrets.  When I discovered this was the meaning of the song years later, it made sense and I connected on another level with the song.

The song was written by an old friend of Stevie’s name Doyle Bramhall with the help of Barbara Logan.  Doyle wrote the song about Stevie and how his friend went off and succeeded in life, but he didn’t reach the same level of greatness.  He was proud of Stevie, but apparently had a lot of regret on his own success or lack thereof.  From what I have read about Doyle, he did finally release his own album in 1994 which was 3 years after his friend had passed away.  Doyle later died in 2011.

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My Sunday Song – “The Day The Ravens Left the Tower” by the Alarm

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For My Sunday Song #46, I have chosen “The Day The Ravens Left The Tower” by The Alarm.  The song is off the album, ‘Strength’, from 1985 and is one of my all time favorite albums from the 80’s.  They were never hugely popular in the States although MTV played them a lot.  The album did reach #39 on the Billboard 200 Chart.

“The Day The Ravens Left the Tower” is a very dark song and was a real jump in their songwriting lyrically.  They have always been political with their songs, but the maturity and growth in songwriting really shined on this song for me.  I know I read this somewhere that the song was inspired by a hallucination that Eddie MacDonald had when he was sick with the flu.  I think that is cool if that is true.

What I am fascinated with about the song is actually the story of the ravens.  For those that don’t know, there are ravens that live in the Tower of London.  There have been ravens living there since as far back as 1660 or so around the time of King Charles II.  It is believed that the ravens are there to protect the Crown. If they should ever leave the tower, the Crown and Britain would fall.  I know there is a lot more to the story, but I am not a historian and the site is about music so you can look it up further if you are interested…it is fascinating stuff (also any UK readers want to add anything, please leave a comment).

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My Sunday Song – “A Boy Named Sue” by Johnny Cash

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My Sunday Song #45 is the great Johnny Cash Song “A Boy Named Sue”.  The song was first recorded during the live concert ‘At San Quentin’ and is one of my favorite Johnny Cash songs.  It tells such an amazing story about a boy seeking revenge against his deadbeat dad who left him and his mom and who named him Sue.

The song was Johnny’s biggest charting song on the Billboard Hot 100 where it reached #2.  It was also his only Top 10 song which is amazing.  Why didn’t he make it to #1, well a little known band named the Rolling Stones held that position with “Honky Tonk Woman”.

“A Boy Named Sue” is a song only Johnny Cash could sing and pull off.  I don’t think the song would have been as successful with any other singer…at least to me it wouldn’t have been.  The grittiness of Cash’s voice and the way he sort of spoke it instead of singing it was absolutely perfect.  It gave a life and a charm to the song all its own.

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My Sunday Song – “Not That Cool” by Will Hoge

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My Sunday Song #44 is from one of my favorite artists, Will Hoge.  The song is called “Not That Cool” and is off his 2003 album, ‘Blackbird on a Lonely Wire’.  If you don’t know who Will Hoge is, you are missing out.  He is a singer/songwriter with a southern rock, alternative country and folk rock sound.  You have it to give him a listen.

“Not That Cool” was a song I heard on internet radio way back 2003.  It was one of those songs that immediately connected with me and I went out and bought the album.  Usually I have a 3 song rule before actually buying an album.  I have to like 3 songs on it before I spend the cash.  Buying “Blackbird on a Lonely Wire’ on only knowing ONE song is a strong indication on how much I loved this song.

Growing up, I was a pretty shy.  I didn’t have any smooth lines, I was average looking (still am) and I wasn’t cool (still ain’t cool).  I never would have had the courage to walk up to a beautiful girl in a bar and give her some line or even ask her out.  That wasn’t me.  That is exactly what the song is about.  The song could have been written about me!!  No joke!  That is why this song spoke to me and I connected with it so fast.  It was about ME!  How I ended up with such a beautiful wife is beyond me! I married so out of my league.

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My Sunday Song – “Tom Sawyer” by Rush

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For My Sunday Song #43, I had to choose one of the best Rush songs of all time…”Tom Sawyer”.  The song is the opening track of their top-selling album, ‘Moving Pictures’.  ‘Moving Pictures’ was my introduction to Rush.  When I first heard “Tom Sawyer” on MTV, I was blown away.

The sound of Geddy Lee’s synthesizer and that drum beat by Neil Peart throughout is spectacular.  And not to be out done, Alec Lifeson’s solo is perfect.  It is one of those songs that is unforgettable and for me is the defining song of Rush.  It was this song and the album ‘Moving Pictures’ that made me a Rush fan.  And one of the best concerts I have even been to was Rush!

All three members of the band were involved in writing the song along with Pye Dubois. Pye Dubois was the lyricist for another Canadian band called Max Webster.  For me that is interesting because one album I got in a box of vinyl from my brother-in-law was Max Webster.  I was completely unfamiliar with them and was going to start listening to it when I discovered the connection with Rush.  Now it really makes me want to check them out.  I really love when bands have these little connections between one another.

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My Sunday Song – “Champagne Supernova” by Oasis

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For My Sunday Song #42, I bring to you one of my favorite Oasis’ songs “Champagne Supernova”.  The song is off their album ‘(What’s the Story) Morning Glory’ that was released back in 1995.  The single was released in 1996 and went to #1 on the Modern Rock Tracks and actually to #20 on the Billboard Hot 100.

There is something about this epic 7 minute song that resonates with me and I do not know what it is.  The psychedelic sound of the song and the complete ridiculousness of the lyrics spoke to me for some odd reason.  Musically and sonically it was so rich and it sucked me in to its vortex.

And the lyrics…What the hell do those lyrics even mean?  What is a “Champagne Supernova”?  Does anybody know?  It turns out, NO!  Noel Gallagher was apparently really high when we wrote the song…duh!!…and he doesn’t even know.  He believes the lyrics can mean something different to everyone and I guess that is actually true.

For me, it is the story about how hard life is and how we get caught between the “landslide” of the heaviness of that life.  We think we are going to be and do great things, but it doesn’t really matter as we are going to die and the world will go on without us. We are just a blip in the universe, inconsequential.  Kind of sad actually.

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My Sunday Song – “Dream On” by Aerosmith

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This next batch of songs will be 10 of my favorite songs of all time.  They will be some very well known songs and maybe some that you don’t know, but either way, I think they are awesome.  I hope you enjoy them as well…

My Sunday Song #41 is “Dream On” by Aerosmith.  The song is off their debut album, ‘Aerosmith’ and was their first big hit.  When it was originally released, it only made it to #59 on the Billboard Charts.  When it was later re-released in 1976, it made it all the way up to #5, but for some reason never made it to #1.  It was that re-release and hit that saved Aerosmith from being dropped by their record company, Columbia.

At 17 or 18, Steven Tyler started writing “Dream On”.  It took him about six years to finish, but it is still amazing to me that someone so young could create something so amazing.  The lyrics seem to speak about life and aging and how you have to keep trying no matter what to make your dreams come true.

The opening two lines – “Every time I look in the mirror / All these lines on my face getting clearer”, he is being reflective on his life at 17 as he is snorting the cocaine off the mirror and thinking how fast time has already gone by.

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My Sunday Song – “Hard Love” by Needtobreathe

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For My Sunday Song #39, I chose “Hard Love” by Needtobreathe.  “Hard Love” is off their latest album of the same name that came out last year.  It is a phenomenal album and you can check out my review by clicking HARDLOVE.

The song has been everywhere lately.  It is on the soundtrack to the movie ‘The Shack’ and the song features Lauren Daigle.  They have several of the versions of the song featuring other female singers including Andra Day and Serena Ryder.  Their Facebook page has been highlighting what Hard Love means to you…the fans.  Some great stories so go check it out.

What does Hard Love mean to me?  Hard Love for me is marriage and raising your kids.  They both require so much work.  At times it is so hard, so painful, but at the same time it is so rewarding and so satisfying.  No body is perfect and we will never be, but we have to work Hard at it all the time.  My relationship with my wife is strong because of all the work we have put in to it and it definitely has been a Hard Love…but so worth it!!  Same can go with my kids.  No matter how hard it is, seeing them grow into the people they are makes it all so amazing and again…so worth it.

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