Last Christmas

Song: Last Christmas
Artist: Wham
Album: Music From the Edge of Heaven
Category: Holiday Music

Memorable Lyrics:

Last Christmas, I gave you my heart
But the very next day, You gave it away
This year, to save me from tears
I'll give it to someone special

Last Heard (other than in my head): 2 weeks ago...  and it's been going ever since!


Stickyness Factor (1-10):   8, unfortunately...


Thoughts:

Who is the first musical artist you think of when Christmas time is coming?  If you said Dean Martin, Madonna or the Chipmunks, you couldn't be more wrong.  The correct answer is Wham, with their timeless classic, Last Christmas.  Covered over 50 times (for real) by some of the greats - Whigfield, Billie, Ashley Tisdale, and Crazy Frog (i swear, i didn't make any of those up)  Apparently, this song ripped off an old Barry Manilow song and an out-of-court settlement was reached to resolve the issue.

 Buy this song on Amazon.com --> Last Christmas (Single Version)
Buy this Album on Amazon.com --> Music From the Edge of Heaven
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Niña Bonita

Song: Niña Bonita
Artist: Chino y Nacho
Album: Mi Niña Bonita
Category: Reggaeton

Memorable Lyrics:

Mi niña bonita mi dulce princesa
Me siento en las nubes cuando tú me besas
Y siento que vuelo más alto que el cielo 
Si tengo de cerca el olor de tú pelo

Last Heard (other than in my head): a week or two ago - i'm surprised its been so long...


Stickyness Factor (1-10): - 8 - quite the sticky


Thoughts:
You can't avoid this song if you're in Latin America - you hear it everywhere... always.  in the streets, in the shops, on the buses.  I discovered this song in Guatemala - it's really catchy, I was an instant fan.  Little did I know that this was only the first of hundreds of times hearing this.  It seemed to follow us as we traveled through Central America...


Buy this song on Amazon.com --> Niña Bonita
Buy this album on Amazon.com --> Mi Niña Bonita
Get 25 FREE MP3s at eMusic.com Choose from over 3.5 million songs!

Respect

Song: Respect
Artist: Aretha Franklin
Album: I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You
Category: R&B

Whaa?

Memorable Lyrics:

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Find out what it means to me

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Take care ... TCB

Last Heard (other than in my head): at least a year ago - who knows.


Stickyness Factor (1-10): - 4 - not very sticky, as far as sticky things go...


Thoughts:
Me to myself: "think of a song, any song, to get that damn Banana Pancakes song out of my head - it's been in there for two days and it's absolutely killing me with it's lameness --> R-E-S-P-E-C-T... what?  where did that come from?  oh well, no worries, lets roll with it..." (see last post for complete understanding of this).
I never realized that this was originally an Otis Redding song, from a man's point of view.  Aretha takes it, reverses the roles, and creates an international sensation.  It has been covered by Janis Joplin, Ike and Tina Turner, and (my personal favorite) Ashley Banks on the Fresh Prince of Bel-air... Will, you better stop treating her like a child...


Buy this song at Amazon.com --> Respect
Buy this album at Amazon.com --> I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You
Get 25 FREE MP3s at eMusic.com Choose from over 3.5 million songs!

Banana Pancakes

Song: Banana Pancakes
Artist: Jack Johnson
Album: In Between Dreams
Category: Acoustic Rock

Memorable Lyrics:


Can't you see that it's just raining
Ain't no need to go outside...
But baby, you hardly even notice
When I try to show you this
Song is meant to keep ya
From doing what you're supposed to
Like waking up too early
Maybe we can sleep in
I'll make you banana pancakes
Pretend like it's the weekend now

And we could pretend it all the time
Can't you see that it's just raining
Ain't no need to go outside


Last Heard (other than in my head): 1 month ago


Stickyness Factor (1-10): - 9 - all day and all night - get out of my head Jack Johnson!


Thoughts:
This one makes me lose my mind.  A great example of a song with a 'trigger' --> anytime banana pancakes are even mentioned, this song immediately starts a never-ending loop in my head.  I enjoy a lot of Jack Johnson's music - its chill and relaxing - but this is one of my least favorite songs of his.  It's a little cheesy and too 'cute' for me.  But that doesn't stop it from sticking with me (and this one really sticks).  


Buy this song at Amazon.com --> Banana Pancakes
Buy this album at Amazon.com --> In Between Dreams
Get 25 FREE MP3s at emusic.com!

Ooh La

Song: Ooh La
Artist: The Kooks
Album: Inside Tn The Inside Out
Category: English Indie Rock

original album art...

Memorable Lyrics:


Then you smiled, he got wild
You didn't understand that there's money to be made
Beauty is a card that must get played
By organisation

And ooh la, she was such a good girl to me
And ooh la, the world just chewed her up and spat her out


Last Heard (other than in my head): three days ago - this is classic case of 'song in your head based on recent listening of said song'


Stickyness Factor (1-10): - 7 - heard this three days ago, still in my head for hours today...


Thoughts:
If you've never listened to the Kooks, definitely check them out - but I can only recommend this album.  Their follow-up, Konk, was often repetitive and lacking in originality.  Inside in the Inside Out, however is pretty solid most of the way through. Most of the songs have enjoyable melodies and the album usually puts me in a good mood.  Apparently, this song was dedicated to deceased model Audrey Lindvall, whoever that is.  she died in a "bike accident" in 2006... (sounds suspicious)...


Buy this song at Amazon.com --> Ooh La
Buy the album at Amazon.com --> Inside In / Inside Out

Blowin' In The Wind

Song: Blowin' In The Wind
Artist: Bob Dylan
Album: The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
Category: Folk

original album art...

Memorable Lyrics: 
How many roads most a man walk down
Before you call him a man ?
How many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand ?
Yes, how many times must the cannon balls fly
Before they're forever banned ?
The answer my friend is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind.


Last Heard (other than in my head): 1 month ago - I try to take a good dose of Dylan at least once a month, for my health...


Stickyness Factor (1-10): - 5 - wish this one was a bit stickier...


Thoughts: 
I love it when this one stays with me throughout the day.  This is very often accompanied by the repetitive whistling of the melody for hours at a time.  It's a powerful song, regarded as an anthem of the civil rights movement in the 60's.  Yet another great example of a Dylan song that became world famous (and ruined) by another artist, in this case, Peter, Paul, and Mary.  There have been several other covers, including translations into Swedish, Romanian, German, Italian, French, and Bengali...


Download Blowin' In The Wind at Amazon.com --> Blowin' In The Wind
Buy The Freewheelin Bob Dylan at Amazon.com --> Freewheelin Bob Dylan

Mother and Child Reunion

This one's a killer - certainly seems a bit random, but this one pops into my skull quite often.  Apparently, he got the name for the song off of the menu of a Chinese Restaurant in downtown New York.  It was a chicken and egg dish...

Song: Mother and Child Reunion

Artist: Paul Simon

Album: Paul Simon

Category: Classic Rock

cover art for the single...

Memorable Lyrics:

No I would not give you false hope
On this strange and mournful day
But the mother and child reu-nion
Is only a motion away, oh, little darling of mine.

Last Heard (other than in my head): 3 months ago - every once in a while, I'll jam out to Paul Simon's Greatest Hits - nice!

Stickyness Factor (1-10): - 6 - this is a somewhat sticky one - the chorus, and maybe two other lines, will repeat in my noggin over and over and over for hours.

Thoughts:

No problems with this one ringing in my head - its a classic.  Part of a great album, including one of my favorites, "Me and Julio Down by the School Yard" (another song that will surely make an appearance on this page in the future).  A little bit of a reggae-ness to it, including guitar work by two of the members of 'Toots and the Maytals'.  Also featured on The Simpsons episode when Homer's mother dies - any song that has been on the Simpsons is OK in my book...

Hey Leonardo (She Likes Me For Me)

The song that started it all!  Upon hearing this song playing in my head just one too many times, I was inspired to start this little bloggy-blog up.  I was amazed because I hadn´t heard the actual song in so long, but it continued to come to me.  Maybe writing about it will make it stop...


Song: Hey Leonardo (She Likes Me For Me)
Artist: Blessid Union of Souls
Album: Walking Off The Buzz
Category: 90´s Rock

Memorable Lyrics:
She likes me for me
Not because I hang with Leonardo
Or that guy who played in "Fargo"
I think his name is Steve
 
Last Heard (other than in my head): late 90´s


Stickyness Factor (1-10): - 7 - this one tends to stay with me for a while.  I know way too many words of this song...


Thoughts:
This song, on the surface, is just plain bad.  Cheesy lyrics to match the simple, repetitive music.  However, something about this one brings a smile to my face.  Maybe it is the stupid references to pop culture and celebrities, maybe because its so bad that its good, maybe because it transports me back to a different time in my life...

Why do I have these songs in my head?

I have a gift, or a curse - I'm still trying to figure out which.  Here's the deal - every day, several times a day, a random song will pop into my head a play itself through my mind.  I may hear the whole song, but usually it's just the chorus, or some catchy lyrics that I remember.  Since I typically don't know the entire song, a few lines will generally keep repeating in my head.

The song may be something that is currently popular, making it hard to avoid on a daily basis.  However, more often than not, it's a song I haven´t heard in while, sometimes years.  It could be a song that I like, love, or loathe.  This is when I am truly baffled.  I think to myself, "self - why are you jamming out to 'Hey Leonardo (She Likes Me For Me)' by Blessid Union of Souls?  You haven't heard, or thought about, this song since the late 90´s..."

It always makes me wonder - where the hell did this song come from?  It seems to just appear out of nowhere - was it something I saw or heard that triggered this, or is this song simply lodged somewhere in my brain, occasionally making an appearance.

This blog is dedicated to the never-ending mix-tape that can be found in my head...