Song of the Day, 2/17/04

[Bob Schroeck]

I've got a dream 'bout an angel on the beach
And the perfect waves are starting to come
His hair is flying out in ribbons of gold
And his touch has got the power to stun
I've got a dream 'bout an angel in the forest
Enchanted by the edge of a lake
His body's flowing in the jewels of light
And the earth below is starting to shake
But I don't see any angels in the city
I don't hear any holy choirs sing
And if I can't get an angel
I can still get a boy
And a boy'd be the next best thing
The next best thing to an angel
A boy'd be the next best thing
I've got a dream 'bout a boy in a castle
And he's dancing like a cat on the stairs
He's got the fire of a prince in his eyes
And the thunder of a drum in his ears
I've got a dream 'bout a boy on a star
Lookin' down upon the rim of the world
He's there all alone and dreamin' of someone like me
I'm not an angel but at least I'm a girl
I've got a dream when the darkness is over
We'll be lyin' in the rays of the sun
But it's only a dream and tonight is for real
You'll never know what it means
But you'll know how it feels
It's gonna be over (over)
Before you know it's begun
(Before you know it's begun)
It's all we really got tonight
Stop your cryin' hold on (tonight)
Before you know it it's gone (tonight)
Tonight is what it means to be young
Tonight is what it means to be young
Let the revels begin
Let the fire be started
We're dancing for the restless and the broken-hearted
Let the revels begin
Let the fire be started
We're dancing for the desperate and the broken-hearted
Let the revels begin (Tonight is what it means to be young)
Let the fire be started (Before you know it it's gone)
We're dancing for the restless and the broken-hearted
Let the revels begin
Let the fire be started
We're dancing for the desperate and the broken-hearted
Say a prayer in the darkness for the magic to come
No matter what it seams
Tonight is what it means to be young
Before you know it it's gone
Tonight is what it means to be young
Before you know it it's gone
I've got a dream when the darkness is over
We'll be lyin' in the rays of the sun
But it's only a dream and tonight is for real
You'll never know what it means
But you'll know how it feels
It's gonna be over (over)
Before you know it's begun
It's all we really got tonight
Stop your cryin' hold on (tonight)
Before you know it it's gone (tonight)
Tonight is what it means to be young
Tonight is what it means to be young
The things they say
And then the things they do
Nothin's gonna stop us if our aim is true
The things they say
And then the things they do
Nothing's gonna stop us if our aim is true
The things they say
And then the things they do
Nothin's gonna stop us if our aim is true
Tonight is what it means to be young
-- Fire, Inc. (as "Ellen Aim and the Attackers"), Tonight Is What It Means To Be Young, from the motion picture "Streets of Fire"
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[mephron]

The movie itself is cheesy, but some of the music is magic.
(Says the guy that suggested having Dorothy sing 'Nowhere Fast' as her 'you thought you killed me, you were wrong' song...)Brazil has decided you're cute.

[The Wanderer]

Yow.
If that song sounds anything like the way it reads, I've got to get me one of those.

[mephron]

You do. You most certainly do.
Unfortunately, I don't have a way to get my MP3s to anyone. But you do.
Think seriously rip-roaring top-class Meat Loaf sung by a woman with pipes that could do opera if the urge caught her.
(And my Nomad just kicked it in. Well. I don't call it the 'Psychic Nomad' because it possesses people...)
(edit 2: and the reason it has that Meat Loaf sound? Written by Jim Steinman. You can even hear him singing background vocals in it if you listen carefully.)Brazil has decided you're cute.

[Bob Schroeck]

You beat me to it, Geoff. Just saying it's a Steinman song says it all -- the lush orchestration, the chorus in the background, it even has the occasional thunderdrum.
For those curious why it went up today, well, it happened to be playing on the CD in the car when I drove to work.
But it's also the antepenultimate song in my outline for DW1. Don't worry about how and why and what -- it was a silly idea and probably would have been scrapped had I written properly all the way to that point. But the thing is, I've been thinking about DW1 recently because I've been trying to write a good, concise, non-infringing summary of it for the protoFAQ, and then I happen to slip in the mix CD with this song on it... you get the picture.


-- Bob
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There is no spork.

[The Wanderer]

Unfortunately, I'm not familiar with either Meat Loaf (except by name) or Jim Steinman. This one goes to the top of my music-to-acquire list, though - and may, in combination with some Eyrie rereading, inspire me to finally go back out there and *get* some of it.
As an aside, in addition to my UF crossovers list, I'm keeping soundtrack-listing files for every Eyrie story I read - and intend to put them together into a master listing, at some point; my last attempt at that is long since hopelessly cluttered with other things, but the individual stories' listings are clean, so there's hope yet. This has been a tangent.

[Bob Schroeck]

Jim Steinman is the rock'n'roll composer of the past 30 years. Odds are at least three of your 10 or 20 favorite songs are his compositions. The best way to describe him is it's as if the Beatles raised the love child of Beethoven and Wagner.

The only way to understand Steinman is to experience him -- which you probably have, you just don't know it. The following are the key albums you will need to find:

Bat out of Hell, Meat Loaf. Ye Originale Steinman album for most people.
Bad For Good, Jim Steinman. When Meat Loaf screwed up his voice in the late 70s/early 80s, Steinman recorded all the songs he wrote for him himself. He's not the strongest singer, but it's a damn fine album.
Original Sin, Pandora's Box. A "girl group" hand-assembled by Steinman. Imagine Metallica reincarnated as the Ronettes.

Singles you most assuredly know, but don't know are Steinman:

Holding Out For A Hero and Total Eclipse of the Heart by Bonnie Tyler
It's All Coming Back To Me Now by Celine Dion (a shorter remake of a song from Original Sin)
Making Love Out of Nothing At All by Air Supply
Read 'Em And Weep by Barry Manilow
I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That), Paradise By The Dashboard Light and Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad by Meat Loaf

For more on Steinman, go here.

-- Bob
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There is no spork.

[The Wanderer]

I've heard of "Bat out of Hell", but nothing more as far as I remember.
I know "Total Eclipse of the Heart", and recognize by title "Read 'Em And Weep" and "I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)", but do not recognize any of the others named. (Aside from random selections here and there and what I've picked up from my brothers, who mostly go for techno and similar fast-beat largely-instrumental pieces, my musical experience outside of the few groups I've specifically gone out looking for is mostly stuck back in the '70s.)
Apparently I've got quite a bit ahead of me...

[mephron]

Heh. Time for the joy of discovery.
Some of this stuff is damn near anthemic. You will appreciate it.Brazil has decided you're cute.

[Bob Schroeck]

---

I know "Total Eclipse of the Heart",

---

Then you know Steinman's style; that's pretty much the ultimate Steinman song in terms of lyrics, melody and orchestration. (He's a triple threat, you see -- composer, lyricist, and producer. And on Bad For Good he sang, too, and not too badly at that.)


-- Bob
---------
There is no spork.

[Bob Schroeck]

---

The movie itself is cheesy, but some of the music is magic.

---

Yup. And the actress who played the groupie "Babydoll" is Buttercup Utonium, to boot...
(Hm. Babydoll Utonium. The missing fourth Powerpuff girl? )

---

Says the guy that suggested having Dorothy sing 'Nowhere Fast'

---

Ah, so you're the one we bow down and chant "we're not worthy" to...


-- Bob
---------
There is no spork.

[mephron]

---

Ah, so you're the one we bow down and chant "we're not worthy" to...

---

I was listening to it, and quoted part of the song into the channel as we were working out the concert. And Gryph said, "Geoff, you're brilliant." We looked at the lyrics, and decided, yes, it would work.
It was Marty Rose who noted that right after that scene, we'd have to show a TV set geting mauled by a very angry R.D. Because, really, in a Batman-esque story like that, you do.Brazil has decided you're cute.

[Bob Schroeck]

But of course...


-- Bob
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There is no spork.

[classicdrogn]

Hmm. I appear to be a heretic... Of the songs directly named, the Bonnie Tyler and Air Supply ones are the only ones I down curse and change the radio station when they come on, and I'm not over fond of them... Oh well, stake burnings are held from seven to twelve thirty, queue forms on the left, bring your own marshmallows and hot dogs.
- CD, who stopped saying there was no artist that had never recorded at least one song he liked because of Meatloaf
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows

[Bob Schroeck]

Steinman seems to inspire that kind of polarity in people. Either they love him or hate him -- there's rarely anyone in the middle. Some people do find his Wagnerian rock'n'roll style way too bombastic, others think he hammers them over the head too much with musical and lyrical hooks, still others think his penchant for clever turns of phrase borders on the trite.
I'm not them, but I don't begrudge them their dislikes.


-- Bob
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There is no spork.