More music for you today! Today’s selections are all fabulous songs in their own right, but I’m particularly fond of the lyrics. Speaking of which… have you noticed that some people are definite lyrics people, while others don’t notice them at all? My sister Allison postulates that in couples there’s usually one of each. Has that been true for you?
Ditty Bops, “Sugar and Spice”
I won’t act like a lady as I’m told
I will have adventures
I’ll be scarred and bold
Will I be a sailor off to foreign lands
Will I fly an airplane cross the desert sands
These are the dreams of little girls
Who don’t want to grow up
Sugar and spice all things nice
So they say we’re made of
Is that true, is that true
I discovered the Ditty Bops while having a haircut; the stylist was playing one of their albums. I liked the songs but it wasn’t until “Sister Kate” came on that I made a mental note to look up the artists when I got home. What kind of people put a cover of a 1915 dance song on their 2004 album? My kind of people, clearly! “Sister Kate” is still my favorite Ditty Bops song, but I love “Sugar and Spice” for its poignant words and wistful feel.
Jolie Holland, “Old Fashioned Morphine”
Give me that old fashioned morphine
Give me that old fashioned morphine
Give me that old fashioned morphine
It’s good enough for me
It was good enough for Isabelle Eberhardt
It was good enough for Isabelle Eberhardt
It was good enough for Isabelle Eberhardt
It’s good enough for me
Yep, more Jolie Holland — I just love her voice. This song is a double whammy: it’s simple, clever, and memorable, and I learned something from it! Isabelle Eberhardt has quite the life story!
Dengue Fever, “Sober Driver”
You call me up because I’m sober and you wanted me to drive
I’m getting tired of being treated as just a free ride
I finally figured out that you’re just a thorn in my side
That’s withered dull and dry
I discovered Dengue Fever when I lived in LA (they’re from there), and I even got to hear them perform at UCLA, where Chhom Nimol’s amplified voice reverberated madly around Royce Hall. “Sober Driver”‘s chorus makes me smile, and I also love it because it mentions Echo Park and that’s where I led the adult literacy center.
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Old fashioned morphine, old time religion. Hmm, neither sound helpful to me, but I did like that sound.
I wouldn’t really like old fashioned morphine either, but I love the bad-ass feel of thinking “it’s good enough for me.” 😉
Oh wonderful! Some new music to look up and listen to. I love the ‘Sugar and Spice’ lyrics. I recently discovered Clanadonia and Albannach (think bagpipes and drums turned tribal and tattooed) and found they are great to exercise to. There’s something about tons of pounding drums.
Fun!! I love bagpipes. I know some people think they’re really annoying, but they make me happy. I love exercising to a good beat too. That was my favorite thing about capoeira, I think.
Have you ever been to a taiko performance? Talk about pounding drums. They get into your heartbeat.
I’m getting into Dengue Fever. Been listening to them here. The lyrics here are great too.
Jolie Holland reminds me of Madeleine Peyroux a little though I did find the “Mexico” song a bit hard to follow (!). TV on the Radio are enigmatic aren’t they. Black Keys, too.
And I’m off to find some more Ditty Bops. I just loved that.
I’ll have to look up Madeleine Peyroux! Yep, Jolie Holland is incomprehensible sometimes — when I play her songs for people they invariably ask, “Is that English?”
So glad you’re loving some of this music. 🙂
loved Ditty Bops – Thanks for the tips. I’m off to find more Ditty Bops!
Hooray! I love them too. I think their singing style is pretty rare these days — so pure and cleanly harmonized, but clever and fun.
[…] mentioned Holland before on this blog. Her opener, Jess Williamson, is also worth a […]