I never liked the Rolling Stones, but I do appreciate the darker side of life and art. My main man is John Prine. I guess Prine is upbeat in his way; his theme might be, "Life is meaningless and painful, and I am not equipped to handle the hardship that has been piled on me, I am just a poor schmoe who stumbles my way through and it's pathetic to watch, BUT still I can have fun sometimes, and love is a good thing (until your heart gets stomped)" Prine is a poet for the regular people. He was born in Kentucky, and raised in Chicago I think. He was in the Army and worked for the Postal Service. He's not very good looking and his voice is only fascinating, not lovely.
Here's a typical lyric:
"Take it back, take it back
Oh no, you can't say that
All of my friends are not dead
Or in jail..."
Here's one I really like:
"I got kicked off of Noah's Ark
(I turn my cheek to unkind remarks)
There was two of every thing, but one of me..."
Prine has a wicked sense of humor, and his songs make me smile even though there is always pain there too.
2 comments:
Was it Rolling Stones that sang "Paint it Black"? I like that song, but I can't ever remember who originally sang it. Though I know that MiG on Rock Star: INXS sang it really well this summer.
Yes, that was the Stones. I actually like that song, not enough to buy it but I appreciate it, "I SEE A RED DOOR AND I WANT TO PAINT IT BLACK......." (doomdoomdoom) About 10 years ago I saw the Stones on IMAX and that was the only song I really liked.
BTW, I heard Fiona Apple on NPR earlier in the week and she apparently has a song on her latest cd that uses complementary colors as a metaphor for relationships--this is kind of cute: she says, when you put complementary colors next to each other they each appear more intense, but if you mix them, the color gets muddy. The analogy is with relationships, two people who are "opposites" can highlight each other, so to speak, but if they try to maintain a relationship it might not work. I guess this metaphor will work, if the tune is good.
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