Category: Music

Whatever Lola Wants

by khorhmin, posted in A-to-Z Challenge 2015, Music

In my 23rd post for the  Blogging A to Z Challenge, I decided to feature an old song, a golden hit called ‘Whatever Lola Wants’. I first heard it, of all places, in a Magnum ice cream commercial on TV. It’s currently running on TV in Malaysia now, especially during  prime time. The song seems to fit the commercial exceedingly well. Anyway, the song was striking to me, so I searched for it on Google and Youtube.

W for ‘Whatever Lola Wants’

‘Whatever Lola Wants’ is sometimes called ‘Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets’. According to Wikipedia (LOL), the song was written way back in 1955 by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross for a musical play called ‘Damn Yankees’. In the musical, the song is sung by Lola, the Devil’s assistant. ‘Whatever Lola Wants’ is track #8 on the album Golden Hits.

The lyrics made me laugh – Whatever Lola wants, Lola gets. So, it’s pointless to resist. Just give in. Ahahaahahah. You might as well just lie down (and die). Hahahahahah… You are a goner. 😉

The Lyrics

Whatever Lola wants

Whatever Lola wants, Lola gets
And little man, little Lola wants you
Make up your mind to have (make up your mind to have)
No regrets (no regrets)
Recline yourself, resign yourself, you’re through

I always get what I aim for
And your heart and soul is what I came for
Whatever Lola wants (Lola wants), Lola gets (Lola gets)
Take off your coat, don’t you know you can’t win
(Can’t win, you’ll never, never win)
You’re no exception to the rule
I’m irresistible you fool
Give in (Give in, you’ll never win)

Whatever Lola wants, Lola gets

I always get what I aim for
And your heart and soul is what I came for
Whatever Lola wants (Lola wants), Lola gets (Lola gets)
Take off your coat, don’t you know you can’t win
(Can’t win, you’ll never, never win)
You’re no exception to the rule
I’m irresistible you fool
Give in (give in, you’ll never win)
Give in (give in, you’ll never win)
Give in.

Songwriters
RICHARD ADLER, JERRY ROSS

Singer for the version featured in the following videos
Della Reese

The videos

Youtube video with original song:

Youtube video showing the ‘Celebrating 25 Years of Magnum’ commercial featuring the song:

Viva La Vida

by khorhmin, posted in A-to-Z Challenge 2015, Music

My 22nd post for the  Blogging A to Z Challenge is on a song by Coldplay called ‘Viva La Vida’.

V for Viva La Vida

In an interview with Rolling Stone, frontman Chris Martin explained that the song and album title ‘Viva La Vida’ came from a phrase he saw on a painting by Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. ‘Viva La Vida’ means ‘long live life’ or ‘the life lives’. He loved the boldness of the painting, which you can see here. Frida painted the piece in 1954, shortly before she died. The words ‘Sandías con leyenda: Viva la vida’ (literal translation: ‘Watermelons with legend: The life lives’) were part of the painting.

The song lyrics feature cavalries, missionaries and kings. According to Bassist Guy Berryman, “It’s a story about a king who’s lost his kingdom, and all the album’s artwork is based on the idea of revolutionaries and guerrillas. There’s this slightly anti-authoritarian viewpoint that’s crept into some of the lyrics and it’s some of the payoff between being surrounded by governments on one side, but also we’re human beings with emotions and we’re all going to die and the stupidity of what we have to put up with every day. Hence the album title.”

To read more about the facts and meanings behind the song, click here.

The Lyrics

Viva La Vida

I used to rule the world
Seas would rise when I gave the word
Now in the morning, I sleep alone
Sweep the streets I used to own

I used to roll the dice
Feel the fear in my enemy’s eyes
Listen as the crowd would sing
“Now the old king is dead! Long live the king!”

One minute I held the key
Next the walls were closed on me
And I discovered that my castles stand
Upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand

I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror, my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can’t explain
Once you go there was never, never a honest word
And that was when I ruled the world

It was a wicked and wild wind
Blew down the doors to let me in
Shattered windows and the sound of drums
People couldn’t believe what I’d become

Revolutionaries wait
For my head on a silver plate
Just a puppet on a lonely string
Oh who would ever want to be king?

[Chorus]
I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing
Roman Calvary choirs are singing
Be my mirror, my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can’t explain
I know Saint Peter won’t call my name
Never rule this world
But that was when I ruled the world

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

[Chorus]

Writer/s: MARTIN, CHRISTOPHER ANTHONY JOHN / BERRYMAN, GUY RUPERT / BUCKLAND, JONATHAN MARK / CHAMPION, WILLIAM

The video

Use Somebody

by khorhmin, posted in A-to-Z Challenge 2015, Music

For my 21st post for the  Blogging A to Z Challenge, I wanted to put together a photo essay on the UNESCO World Heritage Site called Bao’an Temple in Taipei, but since my laptop has gone into the ICU and will only be out in a few days’ time and my photos are inside the hard disk, I looked around for an alternative idea. Then, I thought, why not do another piece on music?

U for Use Somebody

I decided to feature a rock song by Kings of Leon called ‘Use Somebody’. From the title alone, we might misunderstand that the song is about the selfish intention or action of using other people to achieve one’s own ends, but that’s not what the song is about at all.

Written by frontman Caleb Followill, the song is about being lonely on the road and longing for somebody to hold. He said on his band’s website, “It’s about being far from home.” In 2008, Caleb told Uncut magazine, “The meat of the song was written on tour. When I came up with ‘I could use somebody’, I didn’t know if I was talking about a person or home or God.”

The song highlights a part of human nature – people are social creatures that prefer to exist in social groups, building meaningful relationships with others, instead of being loners.

‘Use Somebody’ topped the Pop Songs/Mainstream Top 40, Alternative Songs Triple A and Adult Top 40 charts, and it was the first song to top all four airplay tallies since Green Day’s ‘Boulevard of Broken Dreams’ (2004-5). The song is track #4 on the album ‘Only By The Night’.

To see more facts about the song, click here.

The Lyrics

Use Somebody

I’ve been roaming around
Always looking down at all I see
Painted faces, fill the places I can’t reach

You know that I could use somebody
You know that I could use somebody

Someone like you, and all you know, and how you speak
Countless lovers under cover of the street

You know that I could use somebody
You know that I could use somebody
Someone like you

Off in the night, while you live it up, I’m off to sleep
Waging wars to shape the poet and the beat
I hope it’s gonna make you notice
I hope it’s gonna make you notice

Someone like me
Someone like me
Someone like me, somebody

Someone like you, somebody
Someone like you, somebody
Someone like you, somebody

I’ve been roaming around,
Always looking down at all I see

Songwriters
FOLLOWILL, JARED / FOLLOWILL, MATTHEW / FOLLOWILL, NATHAN / FOLLOWILL, CALEB

The video

Time After Time

by khorhmin, posted in A-to-Z Challenge 2015, Music

For my 20th post for the  Blogging A to Z Challenge, I would like to talk about a song I listened to growing up. 🙂

T is for ‘Time After Time’

‘Time After Time’ was released in 1984 by Sony BMG. It was the year my brother was born and I was in Standard 2. I still remember the first time I saw the singer Cyndi Lauper, with her red hair and riot of colours in her clothing and accessories. You could say she made an impression. LOL. But her hit became an enduring classic, which many singers later also sang and made covers of. Years later, I watched a movie called ‘Strictly Ballroom’ where the song was also featured.

The Lyrics

“Time After Time”
By Cyndi Lauper

Lying in my bed I hear the clock tick,
And think of you
Caught up in circles confusion –
Is nothing new
Flashback – warm nights –
Almost left behind
Suitcases of memories,
Time after –

Sometimes you picture me –
I’m walking too far ahead
You’re calling to me, I can’t hear
What you’ve said –
Then you say – go slow –
I fall behind –
The second hand unwinds

[Chorus:]
If you’re lost you can look – and you will find me
Time after time
If you fall I will catch you – I’ll be waiting
Time after time

After my picture fades and darkness has
Turned to gray
Watching through windows – you’re wondering
If I’m OK
Secrets stolen from deep inside
The drum beats out of time –

[Chorus:]
If you’re lost…

You said go slow –
I fall behind
The second hand unwinds –

[Chorus:]
If you’re lost…
…Time after time
Time after time
Time after time
Time after time

The Video

Cyndi Lauper’s video:

Time After Time Cover by GLEE:

Q for Quirky Song

by khorhmin, posted in A-to-Z Challenge 2015, Music, Song, Video

For my 17th post for the  Blogging A to Z Challenge, I decided to do something I have not done before. I decided to write a piece on Sia’s Elastic Heart, her latest hit.

Q for Quirky Song

Sia’s Quirky Elastic Heart

The first time I listened to Elastic Heart was on YouTube. The song was quirky, just as the video was, but I felt everything came together nicely and the song worked. The video was something different, but I accepted it as purely performance art, just as I thought the song was a form of artistic expression.

The more I listened to the soaring ballad, the more it grew on me, especially after the song became a part of the BodyBalance new release at the gym. 😉

A collaboration between Australian singer-songwriter Sia, Toronto R&B singer The Weeknd, and Philadelphia producer Diplo, the song started as a track that Diplo sent to Sia. She took a liking to the track instantly and wrote the lyrics for it.

The lyrics are about finding love after enduring heartbreak and pain. Sia hoped that Katy Perry would record it, maybe for the Hunger Games Catching Fire soundtrack, but that did not happen. So, Sia sang the vocals herself. Eventually, the song did indeed get selected for the movie soundtrack. Sia was shown an early draft of the movie, after which she revised the lyrics to make the song fit the film (as shown below).

The lyrics

Elastic Heart
(feat. The Weeknd & Diplo)

And another one bites the dust
Oh why can I not conquer love?
And I might have thought that we were one
Wanted to fight this war without weapons

And I wanted it, I wanted it bad
But there were so many red flags
Now another one bites the dust
Yeah, let’s be clear, I’ll trust no one

You did not break me
I’m still fighting for peace

Well, I’ve got thick skin and an elastic heart,
But your blade—it might be too sharp
I’m like a rubber band until you pull too hard,
Yeah, I may snap and I move fast
But you won’t see me fall apart
‘Cause I’ve got an elastic heart

I’ve got an elastic heart
Yeah, I’ve got an elastic heart

And I will stay up through the night
Let’s be clear, won’t close my eyes
And I know that I can survive
I’ll walk through fire to save my life

And I want it, I want my life so bad
I’m doing everything I can
Then another one bites the dust
It’s hard to lose a chosen one

You did not break me
(you did not break me, no)
I’m still fighting for peace

[3x]
Well, I’ve got thick skin and an elastic heart,
But your blade—it might be too sharp
I’m like a rubber band until you pull too hard,
Yeah, I may snap and I move fast
But you won’t see me fall apart
‘Cause I’ve got an elastic heart

I’ve got an elastic heart

The song can be found on her latest 1000 Forms of Fear.

The video

Sia conceptualised the video as two warring ‘Sia’ self states, played by Maddie Ziegler and Shia LaBeouf. Controversy arose as some people were turned off or disgusted by the 12-year-old Maddie and 28-year-old Shia doing their interpretive dance in a giant bird cage dressed in skin-coloured leotards.

“I anticipated some ‘pedophilia!!!’ cries for this video,” Sia said on Twitter. “I apologize to those who feel triggered by Elastic Heart. My intention was to create some emotional content, not to upset anybody.”

Read more about the controversy surrounding the video in an article by Rolling Stone.