Farkakte title songs #10: artists V-Z

Van Halen, John Waite, Neil Young

mirror ballThis is the final group of farkakte title songs. The album name appears as a lyric, but it’s not the title song. There is no actual title song, but these can be farkakte title songs.

The Sphinx in the Face – Van der Graaf. Album: The Quiet Zone/The Pleasure Dome. Lyrics: “I got a steady vocation for the Quiet Zone, I just can’t wait for the song to be sung, I’m still possessed by the promise of the Pleasure Dome.”

Could This Be Magic? – Van Halen. Album: Women and Children First. Lyrics: “Better save the women and children first”
Mean Street – Van Halen. Album: Fair Warning. Lyrics: Somebody said fair warning. Lord (This is Mean Street) Lord strike that poor boy down”
Bullethead – Van Halen. Album: A Different Kind of Truth. Lyrics: “B-b-b-b-b-b-bullethead. Got a different kind of true”

Say What! – Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble. Album: Soul to Soul. Lyrics: “Say what! Soul to soul, soul to soul…”

Book of Dreams -Suzanne Vega. Album: Days Of Open Hand. Lyrics: “Pages made of days of open hand”

Falling Down – Vertical Horizon. Album: Running On Ice. Lyrics: “Spinning my wheels Standing still. It’s like running on ice”
I Believe In You AND Carrying On – Vertical Horizon. Album: Burning The Days. Lyrics: “Are you burning the days just to get through the nights?” ALSO “But I’ve been where you’re going And it’s not worth knowing Burning the days I’m just carrying on” respectively

Life’s A Beach – Kurt Vile. EP: So Outta Reach. Lyrics: “I’m out of reach. I’m so out of reach, yeah”

W

White Heat – John Waite. Album: Ignition. Lyrics: “White heat indiscrete ignition”
Downtown – John Waite. Album: Temple Bar. Lyrics: “You can find me in the usual place Inside the Temple Bar”
Masterpiece of Loneliness – John Waite. Album: Figure In A Landscape. Lyrics: “It’s a work of art, you’ll see. A figure in a landscape”

Let Me Live My Life Lovin’ You Babe – Barry White. Album: Just Another Way To Say I Love You. Spoken lyrics: “I guess you could even say it’s just another way, to say I love you. I need you. I want you.”

Denial – White Lies. Album: Five. Lyrics: “Four kids and a cat, might as well be called five”

Several songs -The Who. Album: Tommy. “And Tommy doesn’t know what day it is” (Christmas); “Tommy Can You Hear Me?
Can you feel me near you? Tommy, can you feel me? Can I help to cheer you? Tommy (Tommy Can You Hear Me); “She knew from the start Deep down in her heart That she and Tommy were worlds apart” (Sally Simpson); “I’m your Uncle Ernie And I’ll welcome you to Tommy’s Holiday Camp” (Tommy’s Holiday Camp)

Wi

Theologians – Wilco. Album: A Ghost is Born. Lyrics: “No one’s ever gonna take my life from me. I lay it down. A ghost is born”
Poor Places – Wilco. Album: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. “The album was named after a series of letters in the phonetic alphabet that [Jeff] Tweedy had heard on the Irdial box set The Conet Project: Recordings of Shortwave Numbers Stations. A clip from this Numbers Station transmission” was used in the song.

Fit It – Kim Wilde. Album: Teases and Dares. Lyrics: “And now I’m all alone And the telephone teases and dares”

Ambitious – Wire. Album: The Ideal Copy. Lyrics: When it’s cold I feel cold. When it’s hot I feel ambitious”

Jammin’ – Stevie Wonder. Album: Hotter Than July. Lyrics: “Everyone’s feeling pretty. It’s hotter than July”

XYZ

Hey Hey, My My – Neil Young. Album: Rust Never Sleeps. Lyrics: “It’s better to burn out ’cause rust never sleeps. The king is gone but he’s not forgotten”
Hangin’ On A Limb – Neil Young. Album: Freedom. Lyrics: “There was something about freedom he thought he didn’t know”
Downtown – Neil Young. Album: Mirror Ball. Lyrics: “Jimi’s playin’ in the back room, Led Zeppelin on stage, There’s a mirror ball twirlin’ And a note from Page”

Willie The Pimp – Frank Zappa. Album: Hot Rats. Lyrics: “Hot meat. Hot rats. Hot zits. Hot wrists”

Epilogue

I’ve written ten of these posts this year, and I STILL don’t know what you call a song that serves as a title song but is not. I’ve been obsessed with the topic since I noticed this phenomenon decades ago.

I had taken a cursory look at the topic back in 2013. But I didn’t realize there were so many examples. And there may be more, but I couldn’t decipher cryptic citations online that lacked some important detail.

The last of the renewing hit single

The Spy Who Loved Me

Carly SimonHere is my last list of the renewing hit single. I define it as that pop single that lifts the artist to that place on the Billboard pop charts to where they had been in the past.

Upside Down – Diana Ross. In 1980, her first #1 since 1976’s Love Hangover.

Walk Away From Love – David Ruffin. He had two Top Ten songs, each reaching #9. This one from 1976, and his first solo hit, My Whole World Ended in 1969.

Winning – Santana. This track hit #17 in 1981. The previous Top 20 single was Everybody’s Everything, #12 in 1971.

Laughter In The Rain – Nel Sedaka. This song in 1975 was his first #1 since Breaking Up Is Hard To Do in 1962.

The Simons

Nobody Does It Better – Carly Simon. The song from the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me reached #2 in 1977. Her previous Top Five was Mockingbird in 1974, with James Taylor. Before that, You’re So Vain, #1 in 1973.

My Little Town – Simon and Garfunkel. This one-off reunion appeared on both Simon’s and Garfunkel’s solo albums as it went to #9 in 1975. Cecilia was their last Top Ten track, hitting #4 in 1970.

Strangers In The Night – Frank Sinatra. Went to #1 in 1966. His last Top Ten was Witchcraft, #6 in 1958. His previous #1, Learnin’ the Blues in 1955.

Working My Way Back To You/Forgive Me, Girl – the Spinners. It was #2 in 1980. The Rubberband Man was #2 in 1976.

Streets of Philadelphia – Bruce Springsteen. Before this #9 track from the movie Philadelphia, he most recently reached the Top Ten in 1988 with Tunnel of Love, which also got to #9.

She Works Hard For The Money – Donna Summer, With ten Top Five songs between 1976 and 1980, at least one a year, ending with the #3 The Wanderer in 1980, it wasn’t until 1983 before she got her next one, a #3 smash.

Tee to Zee

Her Town Too – James Taylor. His track with J D Souther reached #11. His previous Top 20 track was Your Smiling Face, #20 in 1977.

My Melody of Love – Bobby Vinton. the last Top Song for him was I Love How You Love Me, #9 in 1968. His last Top 20 hit reached #3 in 1974. It’s sung partially in Polish, and I have a great deal of affection for it. For years, almost every time I’d visit my hometown of Binghamton, I’d hear this song on the radio.

What Does It Take – Jr. Walker and the All-Stars. Like his big hit, Shotgun in 1965, this song too reached #1, in 1969. On one of those Motown compilations, Junior complained that the songwriter kept pitching it, but that Junior didn’t think it was his style. The voiceover: “But the songwriter won out.” That would have been Johnny Bristol, Vernon Bullock, or Harvey Fuqua.

Higher and Higher – Jackie Wilson. the #6 single in 1967 was his first Top Ten finish since Baby Workout, #5 in 1963.

Just the Two of Us – Bill Withers. The collaboration with Grover Washington, Jr. reached #2 in 1981, as did Use Me in 1972.

Smell Like Nirvana – Weird Al Yankovic. He was not a singles success in the 20th century, but this song got to #35 in 1992. Previously, Fat hit #99 in ’88, and Like A Surgeon, #47 in 1985.

Time of the Season – the Zombies. The group had its previous Top 10 hit with Tell Her No, #6 in 1965. It had to break up to get another one, #3 in 1969.

Nov. rambling: systemic oppression

Rebecca Jade touring with Dave Koz!

 

Big Bird immunization 1976
July 1976

Scientific American: People Who Jump to Conclusions Show Other Kinds of Thinking Errors; Belief in conspiracy theories and overconfidence are two tendencies linked to hasty thinking

Homelessness: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

Data Debunks Insidious Myths About Immigration

Freedom Isn’t What It Used To Be

In Re-Analysis, Ivermectin Benefits Disappeared as Trial Quality Increased; Andrew Hill, Ph.D., received death threats

Fox News host who told the audience to get COVID vaccine reads hate mail on the air

Ted Cruz Criticizes Big Bird for Getting Vaccinated and Satire from The Borowitz Report: Oscar the Grouch Cuts Ties with Ted Cruz

The high cost of living in a disabling world

A Brief Overview Of Systemic Oppression – Lynae Vanee

Ahmaud Arbery suspects’ trial defense taps a racist legal legacy

Ed Gainey, who will be Pittsburgh’s first Black mayor and Aftab Purevale, picked as Cincinnati’s first Asian mayor, and Michelle Wu, Boston’s first woman and first person of color elected mayor

Requirements for travel into the U.S.

The Greatest Unsolved Heist in Irish History

A spite fence in Virginia Beach

Walking America part 5: Breezewood

Balance

Self-compassion can help build a more balanced, healthy perspective

Mispronunciation: why you should stop correcting people’s mistakes

How To Get Rid of Lots of Old Books

Now I Know: The Luggage Loophole That Isn’t and How to Brew an Economy and  The Swampy Loophole in the Georgia Constitution and The Costume That Was a Trick and The Odd Depths of Preserving Plutonium

Hiker lost for 24 hours ignored calls from rescuers because of an unknown number

Why Avocados Still Exist

Forbidden love.  A new comic strip, about corn. Sort of.

We fed the hungry with ONLY 7-Eleven Rewards points.

R.I.P.

Aaron Feuerstein, known for paying Malden Mills workers even after the factory burned down, has died at 95

The Rise and Fall of Mort Sahl, the Comedian Who Revolutionized Stand-Up

Former VA administrator and US Senator (D-GA) Max Cleland died at home. A savage political attack suggesting that he was “soft on the war on terror” caused him to lose his Senate seat in 2002. A  live grenade dropped by a fellow soldier in Vietnam had robbed him of three limbs.

I neglected to acknowledge the death of Diane Westwell, one of our loyal ABC Wednesday contributors, on 20 September 2021. She was a very sweet person.

Greg Hatcher, a founder of Atomic Junk Shop and Brianna’s Nerd-Dad has  died

The Weirdest Way The Earth Can Kill You

MUSIC

Nightbirde Sings Psalm 88

Music from The Lord Of The Rings, arranged for solo piano by Leiki Ueda

Coverville 1377: The Beastie Boys and Beasties Episode and 1378: Led Zeppelin IV: 50th Anniversary Album Cover to Cover

The Mighty Rio Grande – This Will Destroy You from the movie Moneyball.

The Ghost Rejoins The Living – Freezepop

 Rachmaninoff’s Isle of the Dead

Sara Lee – Liza Minelli

While You Wait For The Others – Grizzly Bear

I’m Looking Through You – MonaLisa Twins

When “Man of 10,000 Sound Effects” Blew The Audience Away With His Voice Guitar

Mozart Doesn’t Make You Smarter

Paul McCartney re: You Gave Me The Answer – ‘The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present’

Dave Koz and Friends Christmas Tour 2021 with Richard Elliot, Rick Braun, Jonathan Butler, and Rebecca Jade!

“I Can Be A Christian By Myself”

“Shut the door and I’m the people.”

christian churchIn the liturgy for the first Sunday in October, the New Testament scripture was  Ephesians 4:11-16. It begins, “The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors, and teachers.” And immediately, I thought of the song I Can Be A Christian By Myself.

There are lots of scripture that suggests that the church is comprised of parts. 1 Corinthians 12 is possibly the most famous. “Now the body is not made up of one part but of many.”

I Can Be A Christian By Myself was a sarcastic take about this understanding. Someone told me about the song maybe 35 years ago. This led me to a search. I couldn’t find a recording on YouTube. But I did discover this article from 2010.

“[Richard] Avery and [Donald] Marsh have an ironic song called I Can Be a Christian By Myself. The first verse goes:”

I can be a Christian by myself.
Leave my dusty Bible on the shelf.
I’ll sing a hymn and pray a bit.
God can do the rest of it.
My heart’s the church, my head’s the steeple.
Shut the door and I’m the people.
I can be a Christian by myself.

Wait there’s more!

I’ll break some bread and drink some wine.
Have myself a holy time.

I’ll take the off’ring then I’ll know
Where that money’s gonna go.

So please remember, Lord, when I die,
Give me my own cloud in the sky.

After this life with its labors
Don’t bug me with needy neighbors.

I discovered the song appears in  The Richard Avery and Donald Marsh Songbook, c. 1972. But instead of waiting to get an interlibrary loan page, I ordered a used copy of the collection.

This article quotes the exact same parts of the song. It then notes, “In John 17, Jesus prays about giving his love and glory to his disciples and to the community or church. It is not a prayer for the individual Christian but for the community.”

This has informed my understanding of the communal/communion/community sense of faith, as opposed to the individual sense of salvation.

Phony title songs #9: SL-U

Sloan, U2

U2.Boy-WithdrawnThese are more phony title songs. The album name appears as a lyric, but it’s not the title song. There is no actual title song, but these can be phony artificial title songs.

G Turns To D – Sloan. Album: One Chord to Another. Lyrics: “You can go from one chord to another.”
Sinking Ships – Sloan. Album: Navy Blues. Lyrics: “I want a special meeting too With Captain Everyday of Station Navy Blue.”
Flying High Again – Sloan. Album: Never Hear the End of It. Lyrics: “Keep in mind that you’ll never hear the end of it.”

Chocolate – Snow Patrol. Album: Final Straw. Lyrics: “This is the straw, final straw in the Roof of my mouth as I lie to you

Slave To This – Soft Cell. Album: This Last Night In Sodom. Lyrics: “Hey, is this the last night in Sodom?”

Trilogy– Sonic Youth. Album: Daydream Nation. Lyrics: “Day dreaming days in a daydream nation.”

Dusty – Soundgarden. Album: Down on the Upside. Lyrics: “I’m down on the upside”

Hasta Mañana, Monsieur – Sparks. Album: Kimono My House. Lyrics: “Kimono my house mon amour I am sure that this motion don’t need no accompanying words”

St

You and Me (Babe) – Ringo Starr. Album: Ringo. Spoken lyrics: “So it’s a big good night from your friend and mine, Ringo Starr.”

The Hounds of Winter AND Lithium Sunset  – Sting. Album: Mercury Falling. Lyrics: “Mercury falling I rise from my bed, collect my thoughts together, I have to hold my head” and “And I’ll ride the turning world Into another night See mercury falling” respectively

Curfew – The Stranglers. Album: Black and White. Lyrics: “Gray becomes black and white Is it true what they say? They turn the day into night Black and white becomes”

Reptilia – The Strokes. Album: Room on Fire. Lyrics: “The room is on fire as she’s fixing her hair”

Roll Up  – The Struts. Album:  Everybody Wants. Lyrics: “Everybody wants, Everybody needs So get up.” (and more)

Introducing the Band – Suede. Album:  Dog Man Star. Lyrics: “Dog man star took a suck on a pill”

This Fever – Suite 100. Album:  The Only Cure for Gravity.

How Heavy This Axe – The Sword. Album: – Gods of the Earth. Lyrics: “Wrought in Stygian visions  By the gods of the earth”

T

Mississippi Summer – June Tabor And The Oyster Band. Album: Freedom And Rain. Lyrics: “Lord send us freedom and rain.”

April 5th – Talk Talk. Album: The Colour of Spring.  Lyrics: Waiting for the colour of spring. Let me breathe. Let me breathe the colour of spring”

Creatures of Love -Talking Heads. Album:  Little Creatures. Lyrics: “Well, I’ve seen sex and I think it’s alright. It makes those little creatures come to life”
Totally Nude – Talking Heads. Album: Naked.  Lyrics: “Totally naked, baby. Totally nude”

Copperline – James Taylor. Album:  New Moon Shine.  Lyrics: “Sour mash and new moon shine”

The Gap – Thompson Twins. Album: Into The Gap. Lyrics: “We say break the line, chew the fat Keep moving out into the gap”
Future Days – Thompson Twins. Album: Here’s To Future Days.  Lyrics: Here’s to future days. Here’s to future ways”

Big Sur – The Thrills – So Much For the City.  Lyrics: “So much for the city. Tell me that you’ll dance to the end.”

Coming Up Close – ‘Til Tuesday. Album: Welcome Home. Lyrics: “Coming up close Everything sounds like welcome home”

Wild and Loose – The Time. Album: What Time is It? Lyrics: “Fellas? Yeah? What time is it? Time to get wild and loose”

Misunderstood – Pete Townshend. Compilation album: coolwalkingsmoothtalkingstraightsmokingfirestoking. Lyrics: “Coolwalkingsmoothtalkingstraightsmokingfirestoking. Coolwalkingsmoothtalking, yeah”

Progenitors – Treat. Album: Tunguska. Lyrics: “REMEMBERING TUNGUSKA. NO MORE EGOS, CRAVING WAR”

U

Communion With The Sun – Utopia. Album: RA. Lyrics: “Ra, climbing the horizon” et al.
The Marriage of Heaven and Hell – Utopia. Album: Oops! Wrong Planet. Lyrics: “It’s the wrong world. I must be on the wrong planet”

Walk On – U2. Album: All That You Can’t Leave Behind. Lyrics: “The only baggage you can bring Is all that you can’t leave behind”
Bullet The Blue Sky – U2. Live album: Rattle and Hum. Lyrics: “In the locust wind comes a rattle and hum”
Several songs by U2. Album: Boy. Lyrics: “Boy tries hard to be a man” (I Will Follow); “In the shadow, boy meets man” (Twilight); “Boys and girls go to school” (Out Of Control); “Stories for boys” (Stories For Boys); “Boy, stupid boy” (The Electric Co. )
The Refugee – U2. Album: War. Lyrics: “She’s the refugee. Her mama say one day she’s gonna Live in America”
New Year’s Day – U2. Live EP: Under a Blood Red Sky. Lyrics: “Under a blood red sky, A crowd has gathered in black and white”

Final Jeopardy! Round for Show #8438 – Wednesday, July 7, 2021
ROCK BANDS. In 2017 this band whose singer goes by a nickname became the first to have No.1 albums in the U.S. in the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s

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