"Musick has Charms to sooth a savage Breast,
To soften Rocks, or bend a knotted Oak.
I've read, that things inanimate have mov'd,
And, as with living Souls, have been inform'd,
By Magick Numbers and persuasive Sound."--William Congreve (1697)
Electric Light Orchestra's 1981 song Hold on Tight is a good example of a simple song with simple lyrics, that just sounds good.
The piano work in it has a strong 1950's style, reminiscent of Jerry Lee Lewis. But the synthesizers bring a definitive 1980's sound, giving it a cross-genre sound which works quite well.
Even though the song topped out at number 2 on the Billboard rock charts, and number 10 on the billboard Hot 100 pop chart, Hold on Tight has stood the test of time quite well, mostly thanks to the simple yet inspiring message of its lyrics (from Google):
Hold on tight to your dream Hold on tight to your dream When you see your ship go sailing When you feel your heart is breaking Hold on tight to your dream
Even the French lyrics included in the song are just translations of the English lyrics, so the song works in two languages:
Accroches-toi a ton reve Accroches-toi a ton reve Quand tu vois ton bateau partir Quand tu sents ton coeur se briser Accroches-toi a ton reve
Fortunately, the third trailer did feature a song from the 1990's:
You may not remember Connection by Elastica, but that is the song in the trailer. It was also Elastica's biggest hit, reaching number 2 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart in 1994.
If you aren't familiar with Elastica, don't sweat it. They formed in 1992, broke up in 2001, and had 2 albums in-between. Only their first album, the self-titled "Elastica", reached number 1 on the UK charts, but fared a miserable number 66 in the U.S. charts. Their second album, The Menace, never charted in the U.S. and only reached number 24 in the U.K.
As for Connection, songwriter (and Elastica's lead singer) Justine Frischmann got sued for lifting the intro riff from another song, Wire's Three Girl Rhumba, from 1977:
Frischmann lost in court, and lost some royalties in the process.
Ironically, the guitar riff in question is the most noticeable part of the song in the Captain Marvel trailer.
After taking a week off, I am back with my 2018 song of the year.
I tend to use Spotify for most of my music-listening. One of the intriguing features of Spotify is they can give you your own listening habits for the past year, including which song I listened to most. Considering the wide variety of songs I listen to (there are 1,466 songs on my main playlist alone, not counting the 9 other playlists I have for my own moods), any one song topping the others is an impressive feat, although probably not by a huge margin.
Aside from my main Spotify playlist, one of my favorites last year was my "Noir" playlist, which I describe as follows:
Noir honors all things "noir", including music from the classic film noir era, as well as more modern classics like "Body Heat", all the way up to tech noir like "Blade Runner". It even includes songs that it does not take any imagination to picture in a film noir scene.
One of the songs which is in both my main and my Noir playlists is Change My Mind, by The Motels. This is a song I have loved since I first heard it on The Motels "All Four One" album, from 1982.
Change My Mind has an oddly, yet beautiful, lounge jazz sound, which is even stranger when coming from one of the major 1980's new wave bands.
But even more interesting is the Change My Mind's lyrics. Like many of The Motels' early music, the lyrics display poetic brilliance. From AZLyrics:
I bet you guessed where I was some time ago And I bet that you really didn't know I don't need you I don't want you But I might change my mind
We could take off for Paris on a cruise You and me could make front page news But it don't mean nothing Don't mean a thing Cause I might change my mind
There was a time when it was good We laughed and danced all over the neighborhood You'd take my hand I apologize But I just might change my mind
I got to know if I've been or gone Need to know if it's worth hangin' on Time is mine What's mine is yours And I just might change my mind I just might change my mind I just might change my mind
Usually love songs are either crazy in love, or sadly rejected, or even occasionally unrequited, but Change My Mind displays a rare capriciousness. Lead singer Martha Davis goes back and forth throughout the whole song, in her finest chanteuse form, before finally ending with the line "What's mine is yours", only to pull back once more with three lines of "I just might change my mind".
Ultimately, Change My Mind is one of the greatest songs of flirtation ever written, offering everything while committing to nothing. Combining Change My Mind's lounge jazz sound with flirtatious lyrics allowed it to slip into one of my favorite playlists in 2018, and contributed to the song's standing as my song of the year for 2018.
