Thursday, April 19, 2012

Great Songs of the '80s: Sonic Youth's Shadow of a Doubt


Sonic Youth makes explicit the subterranean connections between Hitchcock's Shadow of A Doubt and Strangers on a Train. Both films feature trains, and have both have hauntingly disturbed and insinuating villains (Bruno, Uncle Charlie) who are also disturbing duals of their respective sympathetic leads (Guy, Young Charlie).

While much of the lyrical content of SY's song draws directly on SOAT (albeit straightened), Kim Gordon's breathy voice places the song's perspective behind the fearful eyes and tortured imaginings of SOAD's Young Charlie. It's as if Young Charlie has grown up to become Guy, but without leaving childhood behind. And what is childhood but a dream from a thousand years ago? asks Gordon. A flat-out spooky masterpiece.
_______________
Lyrics:
Met a stranger on a train
He bumped right into me
I swear I didn't mean it
I swear it wasn't meant to be 
Must a been a dream 
From a thousand years ago 
I swear I didn't mean it 
I swear it wasn't meant to be 
From the bottom of my heart 
He was looking all over me 
Together everafter 
He said "You take me and I'll be you"
"You kill him and I'll kill her"
Kiss me
I swear it wasn't meant to be
I swear I didn't mean it
Kiss me
Kiss me in the shadow of
Kiss me in the shadow of a doubt
Kiss me
Kiss me in the shadow
Kiss me in the shadow of a doubt
It's just a dream
It's just a dream i had
Nononoooooh
Swear it's just a dream
Just a dream
Dream i've had
No No No No
Take me to it
Take me to her
Maybe Maybe it's just a dream
It's a dream
It's just a
Just a 

No
Met a stranger on a train 

Bumped right into me 
Swear i didn't mean it 
Swear it wasn't meant to be 
Must've been a dream 
From a thousand years ago 
Kiss me 
Kiss me in the shadow of a doubt 
Kiss me

Sunday, April 01, 2012

Underrated Abba

10 excellent songs beyond Gold and More Gold (the embedded video below is a youtube playlist of these tracks):
  1. If It Wasn't For The Nights
  2. My Love, My Life
  3. Gonna Sing You My Love Song
  4. Disillusion
  5. Dance (While The Music Still Goes On)
  6. Like An Angel Passing Through My Room
  7. The Piper
  8. Dum Dum Diddle
  9. Hey Hey Helen
  10. I'm a Marionette