Still Discovering

I posted to my blog (here) soon after my favourite singer, Melanie, died. I am slowly adjusting to enjoyment of her music, but with her gone. There were many plans in the works for new releases prior to her death and that didn’t stop. Her manager updates the fans on Facebook regularly about that. There are many new collections available in various formats.

Older collections of songs and concerts continue to be shared by fans. Sadly, I never got to see Melanie perform live, but I recently enjoyed a collection of live concert recordings via YouTube that I hadn’t heard before. I have never been able to name my top favourite Melanie song when asked — how can there only be one? I could easily name my top five though. But since listening to this live concert from 1973, there is one song that stood out for me and it has been on a frequent repeat loop. It just may be my top favourite! I am not certain what her message was in the lyrics, but I have taken to it. The five minute song has many vocal and guitar strumming variations and the lyrics seem to represent some deep soul searching and a reflection on preserving oneself. It reminded me of when I have to work through difficult times in order to find “me” again.

Here it is! A great live recording of It’s Me Again:

I hope others might find it meaningful as well.

These Days

I do enjoy “covers” of many songs, but it bothers me when the original artist doesn’t get the deserved credit. Sometimes it is just an oversight, or sometimes a song just gets associated with a different musician when others hear it for the first time.

I recently discovered some songs by Rumer and a number of them were covers. I was listening to this one on YouTube and knew that it wasn’t the original, but there was no other credit given on that particular video.

Eventually it came to me… Hall & Oates:

I think Rumer’s version has grown on me.

The title of this blog post actually refers to another song. I have always associated These Days with a Jackson Browne song. That may have stuck with me as I knew he wrote it at the age of 16! I do enjoy a cover of it by Lucy Rose as well. Miley Cyrus also covered it. Then I heard it on a TV show with a credit to Nico. I recognized the song as soon as the music started, but then — a different voice. With further investigation, I learned something new. It is explained well in this video by Jackson Browne himself. He did write it, but Nico recorded it first. He tells a good story about his involvement in the song before Nico’s version starts to play.

I still prefer Jackson Browne singing it:

I suppose the lyrics written by a wise 16 year old appeal to many others:

Well, I’ve been out walking
I don’t do that much talking these days
These days

These days I seem to think a lot
About the things that I forgot to do for you
And all the times I had the chance to

And I had a lover
But it’s so hard to risk another, these days
These days

Now, if I seem to be afraid
To live the life that I have made in song
Well, it’s just that I’ve been losin’ for so long

Well, I’ll keep on movin’, movin’ on
Things are bound to be improving these days
One of these days

These days I’ll sit on corner stones
And count the time in quarter tones to ten, my friend
Don’t confront me with my failures
I had not forgotten them

My Musical Lifeline

I often worried about how sad I would be when Melanie died, and now I know. That’s not to say I didn’t wonder if she would outlive me, as one never knows! She addressed her fans as “Dear Ones” and now I am one of the many dear ones who are impacted by her death on Tuesday, January 23, 2024. There was no preparing for the message that her family posted to Facebook on January 24th. She was gone. She would have been 77 next week. (February 3rd).

It took a few days to see Canadian news sites mentioning her death. And as expected, she was noted for one of her top hits, Brand New Key. But that song cannot capture the breadth and depth of her musical talent and recordings.

I have lived 6 decades and the last 5 of them as a big Melanie fan. And she was still active in her musical career — performing online and in person. She just recently hired a new manager and was working on a new album. Two days after her death, one of the new recordings was posted to her official YouTube account. (**see post update below) It is a cover of Hurt. Most people might recall Johnny Cash’s cover of it. But like so many of Melanie’s cover songs, she made it her own. I think it served as a great comfort to her family and fans.

I have written a number of posts on this blog related to Melanie and what she meant to me. A number of my favourite songs of hers are contained within these posts here.

I thought this memoriam posted to YouTube captured how those who have met and loved Melanie feel right now. He emotionally struggles to get through it, but he suggests the albums that hooked me on Melanie for life.

And as my dear friend, Nancy, reminded me, “You will always have her music”. 

**post update: Her manager confirmed that it was her last recording.

Loveliest Rhyme

Being a member of a Melanie fans’ group on Facebook always ensures I revisit my beloved tunes from the past. I find it quite something when lyrics that appealed to 12 year old me can now appeal to me in a whole new way, if not even more so. Melanie’s lyrics are often melancholy and poetic at the same time, in my opinion. I have personally declared her as a poet in a previous post. Even her sad songs can cheer me out of a bad mood.

Recently, it was a song that I do have on a vinyl album in the house, but I haven’t spun it in some time. But apart from the lyrics, there is the loveliest guitar intro! Well again, in my opinion. But then I thought to myself: Even if a person isn’t interested in Melanie’s music or voice (or I post of mine about Melanie 🙂 ), they might still enjoy the chord progressions at the beginning, but might not ever take a chance to give it a try 🙂

So if readers are interested… enjoy the loveliest guitar intro or just enjoy reading the loveliest lyrics of Love in My Mind provided below:

“Love In My Mind”

When I get so lonely
That tears start to fall
I just sing it all in this little rhyme
That changes the time
From the pain of the world
To the love in my mind…

In the middle of the night
I thought I was sleepin’
I heard someone weepin’ so bitterly
“Well I knew it was me”…
So I hugged on my pillow
And I think it hugged me…

World world go away
Come again another day
When I can see I’m a pretty me
A pretty she
And I was made for the world
And the world was made for me…

Think I’ll get a moonbeam
That’s silver and shines
And that vows to be mine
For the rest of my time
In the loveliest rhyme
Change the pain of the world
For the love in my mind…

In the loveliest rhyme
Change the pain of the world
For the love in my mind…

In the loveliest rhyme.

Old Fashioned Love Songs

As the calendar turns to February I am usually “meh” at first about another Valentine’s Day. Our family celebrates it in a much quieter way now but we welcome it as an excuse to enjoy some treats and/or share some small gifts. As winter drags on, mid-February seems like the perfect time for some chocolate and visits to cheer us up. Also, how could I dismiss a day that is so much about love and kindness? And with all the love songs that start to circulate, it’s a perfect time to add a few more to playlists for listening at any time of the year. It’s like everything old is new again, as I get reminded of some older tunes — some I recall and some are new to me.

The recent and renewed attention to Linda Ronstadt’s, Long, Long Time, was also timely. I haven’t watched the HBO series that featured it in an episode, but it had me pulling out an old LP album by her that I still have: Mad Love. I love her cover of Neil Young’s Look Out for My Love on it.

I have written a post about Sandy Denny’s music before. Through recently discovering her music, I became hooked on her acoustic version of Learning the Game. I didn’t realize it was a Buddy Holly song until later, which is great too. Oh, the pain of unrequited love!

My husband recently revisited music by Joy Division and this one has been heard in our home a lot lately:

Unfortunately, sad young deaths and loss of talent associated with those last 3 mentions.

Another add to the playlist, of course, is An Old-Fashioned Love Song. I recalled it as a Three Dog Night song, but my return to it led me to listen to the Paul Williams original. I will link both:

It would be remiss of me not mention one by Melanie. Once again, a cover, but I love her version of Arrow (by Cheryl Wheeler):

Have you been listening to something old again, or new to you, during this “love month”?

Hometown

Photo by Sigmund on Unsplash

It often astounds me that I have now lived in my current city longer than in my “hometown”. It is getting close to twice the number of years! Although I only lived in my “birth town” for the first two years of my life, I often feel like I have two “hometowns” with the history and family stories associated with both. I have raised my children in the city I live in now and at times it can feel odd that it is their hometown, but not mine. I often wonder about moving back to my hometown for retirement years, but I know it would not be as I left it and I need to keep a perspective on that. I recognize that not everyone will have fond memories of their hometown, but I think we preserve a piece of ourselves in the places we grow up. It can mean so many things and involve many emotions. Maybe this is a needed thing. I have had a few very emotional reactions when I have returned to visit places that connect my past (self).

There is no shortage of songs about hometowns, returning home, a love left behind, etc., and I have a number of favourites that I wanted to round up for my blog.

I really like the messages and lyrics in a recent new song and nostalgic video created by this musician:

I still love this music video about Thunder Bay:

I love this sentimental one by Snow Patrol:

I thought this video was cool too — not a song about a hometown, but an animation:

Do you have a favourite “hometown” song to share? Do you have a song about your own hometown or another place you like to visit? What hometowns might mean to each of us can be complex and personal but the frequent question often is, “Where are you from?”

Nothing Good Comes Easy

Somehow I was drawn to this song with the same title I have used for this post. (Also the first I had heard of this western Canadian band.)

Our family has often discussed how it has felt like “nothing has been easy” since and also separate from the pandemic lately. As we continue to encourage our adult children to keep plugging through challenges and their efforts to improve their lives, careers and relationships, I thought the lyrics of this song might be inspiring for them, or anyone really (lyrics are in text below the video). The lead singer of the band also talks about the song’s meaning here.

While I was looking more into this rock song, I discovered a number of different songs with this same title! This led me to more listening, inspiration, and certainly an interesting mix of artists and genres! Rock, rap, electronic, and country — Here are a few below in videos (with lyrics where available).

“It’s always music that I run to when my life gets confusin’ ..”

If you have had a listen to some, let me know what you have liked or which one is your favourite. All the musicians are from Canada, except for the McClymonts (Australia). Do you have a song that helps you when you wish things were easier? Does it help you push through to reach a good outcome? Do you believe that “nothing good comes easy”? Do you know any multiple songs with the same title?

‘Old School’ Christmas Playlist

I have a number of favourite Christmas music videos saved in emails. Yes, emails — a whole file of them and mostly YouTube links. Since I have a YouTube channel that I created to upload my “16 mm film archive project“, I thought I might as well make further use of that account. I don’t have Spotify or any other music sharing app, so I thought it made sense for (old school) me and I was excited to make my very own first public playlist online 🙂 At our house, we often like to have interesting or live music videos playing on the screen while we are doing other tasks nearby. My playlist is quite eclectic so I thought I would share on my blog as there might be something for everyone there: Christmas Favs. There are three that didn’t make the cut… yet. They poke fun at families at Christmas, but maybe there is one that might give you or your family a good chuckle or be needed at some point. Here they are as well:

Sampling

No, not in the food sense of sampling. I only recently learned that it is also a term used in the music industry. Not sure how I missed that. Whereas covers of songs don’t require permission from the copyright owner, sampling does. I found a full explanation here: How Music Sampling Works.

From the article,

Few deny that it takes talent to sample a classic song effectively and use it in a new, creative way. And the practice has played a major role in shaping the entire genre of hip hop. But sampling has had a longer history and more complex legal implications than many people realize.”

Why did I get so curious about this? A Melanie song that was “sampled”, of course! It started with a video shared to a Facebook group for Melanie fans. It was an Australian hip hop band, the Hilltop Hoods, performing a song live that sampled an original Melanie song (The People in the Front Row). From what I gathered, it might be their signature song. I have never been much into hip hop and maybe it is just the pandemic isolation, but I want to be on this boat at a dance party singing along with music that includes Melanie lyrics! 😀

Such fun!

About a name

I love stories about how people got their names. My mom told me she had a different name picked out for me, but my 3 older siblings liked Sheila better than her choice (Beverly). It hasn’t been confirmed, but I have a suspicion that this popular hit song in the early 60s influenced the choice of my siblings:

I recently listened to an older Tommy Roe singing it and I think I prefer his older voice (and some happy dancing here!):

I don’t meet many Sheilas, and if I do, the spelling is often different. I have learned that my name is of Irish origin and that a sheila means a woman in Australian slang (an internet search confirmed that it is not derogatory). It doesn’t seem like there are very many famous people with the name Sheila, but I remain fine with that. I like that there is a song of my name.

Readers, were you named after a song or a famous person? Your children? Do you have a good story about how you were named, or any good story about a name to share? How about a favourite song that is based on a name?