CREAM: ANYONE FOR TENNIS?

Anyone for Tennis?

(Eric Clapton and Martin Sharp)
Twice upon a time in the valley of the tears
The auctioneer is bidding for a box of fading years
And the elephants are dancing on the graves of squealing mice.
Anyone for tennis, wouldn't that be nice?

And the ice creams are all melting on the streets of bloody beer
While the beggars stain the pavements with flourescent Christmas cheer
And the Bentley driving guru is putting up his price.
Anyone for tennis, wouldn't that be nice?

And the prophets in the boutiques give out messages of hope
With jingle bells and fairy tales and blind colliding scopes
And you can tell they're all the same underneath the pretty lies.
Anyone for tennis, wouldn't that be nice?

The yellow Buddhist monk is burning brightly at the zoo
You can bring a bowl of rice and then a glass of water too
And fate is setting up the chessboard while death rolls out the dice.
Anyone for tennis, wouldn't that be nice?

BRUCE COCKBURN: EACH ONE LOST

As troops finally begin to withdraw from Afghanistan, this song is quite fitting:

Each One Lost

(Bruce Cockburn)

Under the big lights

shadows stretching long

the ramp is lowered gently to the tarmac

and all of us, we wait

in this sea of gravity

for the precious cargo to appear

Here come the dead boys

moving slowly past

the pipes and prayers and strained commanding voices

and the tears in our hearts

make an ocean we're all in

all in this together don't you know

You can die on your sofa

safe inside your home

or die in a mess of flame and shrapnel

we all in our time go

you know you're not alone

you're in the hearts of everybody here

Each one lost

is everyone's loss you see

each one lost is a vital part of you and me

Some would have us bow

in bondage to their dreams

of little gods who lay down laws to live by

but all these inventions

arise from fear of love

and open-hearted tolerance and trust

Well screw the rule of law

we want the rule of love

enough to fight and die to keep it coming

if that sounds like confusion

brother think again

we know exactly what we chose

Each one lost

is everyone's loss you see

each one lost is a vital part of you and me

 

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND: BORN TO RUN

A Tribute to the Big Man, Clarence Clemens (RIP).

Born to Run

(Bruce Springsteen)

In the day we sweat it out in the streets

of a runaway American dream

At night we ride through mansions of glory

in suicide machines

Sprung from cages out on Highway 9

Chrome wheeled, fuel injected

And steppin' out over the line, oooh,

Baby this town rips the bones from your back

It's a death trap, it's a suicide rap

We gotta get out while we're young

'Cause tramps like us, baby we were born to run

Wendy let me in I wanna be your friend

I want to guard your dreams and visions

Just wrap your legs 'round these velvet rims

And strap your hands 'cross my engines

Together we could break this trap

We'll run till we drop, baby we'll never go back

Will you walk with me out on the wire

'Cause baby I'm just a scared and lonely rider

But I gotta know how it feels

I wanna know if your love is wild

Girl I want to know if love is real

Beyond the Palace hemi-powered drones

scream down the boulevard

The girls comb their hair in rearview mirrors

And the boys try to look so hard

The amusement park rises bold and stark

Kids are huddled on the beach in a mist

I wanna die with you Wendy on the streets tonight

In an everlasting kiss

The highway's jammed with broken heroes

On a last chance power drive

Everybody's out on the run tonight

And there's no place left to hide

Together Wendy we can live with the sadness

I'll love you with all the madness in my soul

Someday girl I don't know when

We're gonna get to that place

Where we really want to go

And we'll walk in the sun

But till then tramps like us

Baby we were born to run

ADELE: ROLLING IN THE DEEP

Check out (below) this excellent cover version of Adele's Rolling in the Deep by Dan Talevski. 

Plenty of people dream of stardom while singing along to their favorite songs in their bedroom. In most cases, that's as far as it goes. 

Dan Talevski has a different story, one that found him parlaying his hobby of posting YouTube clips of himself singing into a worldwide Internet following (Talevski's YouTube Channel has racked up 29 million views and over 107,000 subscribers) and a full-fledged career as a pop artist about to release his debut album on Zone4/Interscope Records.

Rolling in the Deep

(Adelle)

There's a fire starting in my heart,

Reaching a fever pitch and it's bringing me out the dark,

Finally, I can see you crystal clear,

Go ahead and sell me out and a I'll lay your ship bare,

See how I'll leave with every piece of you,

Don't underestimate the things that I will do,

There's a fire starting in my heart,

Reaching a fever pitch and it's bring me out the dark,

The scars of your love remind me of us,

They keep me thinking that we almost had it all,

The scars of your love, they leave me breathless,

I can't help feeling,

We could have had it all,

(You're gonna wish you never had met me),

Rolling in the deep,

(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep),

You had my heart inside your hand,

(You're gonna wish you never had met me),

And you played it to the beat,

(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep),

Baby, I have no story to be told,

But I've heard one on you and I'm gonna make your head burn,

Think of me in the depths of your despair,

Make a home down there as mine sure won't be shared,

The scars of your love remind me of us,

(You're gonna wish you never had met me),

They keep me thinking that we almost had it all,

(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep),

The scars of your love, they leave me breathless,

(You're gonna wish you never had met me),

I can't help feeling,

(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep),

We could have had it all,

(You're gonna wish you never had met me),

Rolling in the deep,

(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep),

You had my heart inside your hand,

(You're gonna wish you never had met me),

And you played it to the beat,

(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep),

Could have had it all,

Rolling in the deep,

You had my heart inside your hand,

But you played it with a beating,

Throw your soul through every open door,

Count your blessings to find what you look for,

Turn my sorrow into treasured gold,

You'll pay me back in kind and reap just what you've sown,

(You're gonna wish you never had met me),

We could have had it all,

(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep),

We could have had it all,

(You're gonna wish you never had met me),

It all, it all, it all,

(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep),

We could have had it all,

(You're gonna wish you never had met me),

Rolling in the deep,

(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep),

You had my heart inside your hand,

(You're gonna wish you never had met me),

And you played it to the beat,

(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep),

Could have had it all,

(You're gonna wish you never had met me),

Rolling in the deep,

(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep),

You had my heart inside your hand,

(You're gonna wish you never had met me),

But you played it,

You played it,

You played it,

You played it to the beat.

THE HOCKEY SONG (From the Streets of Vancouver!)

This is obviously from 2010 Olympics, not the recent Vancouver Canucks/Boston Bruins after game street riot.



Hello out there, we're on the air, it's 'Hockey Night' tonight.
Tension grows, the wistle blows, and the puck goes down the ice.
The goalie jumps, and the players bump, and the fans all go insane.
Someone roars, "Bobby Scores!", at the good ol' Hockey Game.

:: CHORUS ::
OH! The good ol' Hockey game, is the best game you can name.
And the best game you can name, is the good ol' Hockey game.

Second Period.

Where players dash, with skates aflash, the home team trails behind.
But they grab the puck, and go bursting up, and they're down across the line.
They storm the crease, like bumble bees, they travel like a burning flame.
We see them slide, the puck inside, it's a 1-1 hockey game.

(Chorus)

Third Period. Last game of the playoff too!

Oh take me where, the hockey players, face off down the rink.
And the Stanley Cup, is all filled up, for the champs who win the drink.
Now the final flick, of a hockey stick, and the one gigantic scream.
"The puck is in! The home team wins!", the good ol' hockey game.

(Chorus x3)

HIT SOMEBODY - WARREN ZEVON

He was born in Big Beaver by the borderline
He started playing hockey by the time he was nine
His dad took the hose and froze the back yard
And Little Buddy dreamed he was Rocket Richard
He grew up big and he grew up tough
He saw himself scoring for the Wings or Canucks
But he wasn't that good with a puck

Buddy's real talent was beating people up
His heart wasn't in it but the crowd ate it up
Through pee-wee's and juniors, midgets and mites
He must have racked up more than six hundred fights
A scout from the flames came down from Saskatoon
Said, "There's always room on our team for a goon
Son, we've always got room for a goon"

There were Swedes to the left of him
Russians to the right
A Czech at the blue line looking for a fight
Brains over brawn-that might work for you
But what's a Canadian farm boy to do
What else can a farm boy from Canada to do
But what's a Canadian farm boy to do
What else can a farm boy from Canada to do

Hit somebody! was what the crowd roared
When Buddy the goon came over the boards
"Coach," he'd say, "I wanna score goals"
The coach said, "Buddy, remember your role
The fast guys get paid, they shoot, they score
Protect them, Buddy, that's what you're here for

Protection is what you're here for
Protection-it's the stars that score
Protection-kick somebody's ass
Protection-don't put the biscuit in the basket just
Hit some, Buddy! it rang in his ears
Blood on the ice ran down through the years
The king of the goons with a box for a throne
A thousand stitches and broken bones
He never lost a fight on his icy patrol
But deep inside, Buddy only dreamed of a goal
He just wanted one damn goal

There were Swedes at the the blue line
Finns at the red
A Russian with a stick heading straight for his head
Brains over brawn-that might work for you
But what's a Canadian farm boy to do
What else can a farm boy from Canada to do
But what's a Canadian farm boy to do
What else can a farm boy from Canada to do

In his final season, on his final night
Buddy and a Finn goon were pegged for a fight
Thirty seconds left, the puck took a roll
And suddenly Buddy had a shot on goal

The goalie committed, Buddy picked his spot
Twenty years of waiting went into that shot
The fans jumped up, the Finn jumped too
And coldcocked Buddy on his follow through
The big man crumbled but he felt all right
'Cause the last thing he saw
was the flashing red light
He saw that heavenly light

There were Swedes to the left of him
Russians to the right
A Czech at the blue line looking for a fight
Take care of your teeth-that might work for you
But what's a Canadian farm boy to do
What else can a farm boy from Canada to do
But what's a Canadian farm boy to do
What else can a farm boy from Canada to do

GRATEFUL DEAD - DESOLATION ROW (Bob Dylan)

Song Factoids:
Bob Dylan said in '04 that The Dead somehow found deeper meaning in his own lyrics.
"And though her gaze is fixed upon Noah's great rainbow / She spends her time peaking into desolation row." This is an apocalyptic metaphoric epic. Give a listen:



They're selling postcards of the hanging
They're painting the passports brown
The beauty parlor is filled with sailors
The circus is in town
Here comes the blind commissioner
They've got him in a trance
One hand is tied to the tight-rope walker
The other is in his pants
And the riot squad they're restless
They need somewhere to go
As Lady and I look out tonight
From Desolation Row.

Cinderella, she seems so easy
"It takes one to know one," she smiles
And puts her hands in her back pockets
Bette Davis style
And in comes Romeo, he's moaning
"You belong to Me I Believe"
And someone says, "You're in the wrong place, my friend
You better leave"
And the only sound that's left
After the ambulances go
Is Cinderella sweeping up
On Desolation Row.

Now the moon is almost hidden
The stars are beginning to hide
The fortunetelling lady
Has even taken all her things inside
All except for Cain and Abel
And the hunchback of Notre Dame
Everybody is making love
Or else expecting rain
And the Good Samaritan, he's dressing
He's getting ready for the show
He's going to the carnival tonight
On Desolation Row.
Now Ophelia, she's 'neath the window
For her I feel so afraid
On her twenty-second birthday
She already is an old maid
To her, death is quite romantic
She wears an iron vest
Her profession's her religion
Her sin is her lifelessness
And though her eyes are fixed upon
Noah's great rainbow
She spends her time peeking
Into Desolation Row.

Einstein, disguised as Robin Hood
With his memories in a trunk
Passed this way an hour ago
With his friend, a jealous monk
He looked so immaculately frightful
As he bummed a cigarette
Then he went off sniffing drainpipes
And reciting the alphabet
You would not think to look at him
But he was famous long ago
For playing the electric violin
On Desolation Row.

Dr. Filth, he keeps his world
Inside of a leather cup
But all his sexless patients
They're trying to blow it up
Now his nurse, some local loser
She's in charge of the cyanide hole
And she also keeps the cards that read
"Have Mercy on His Soul"
They all play on penny whistles
You can hear them blow
If you lean your head out far enough
From Desolation Row.
Across the street they've nailed the curtains
They're getting ready for the feast
The Phantom of the Opera
In a perfect image of a priest
They're spoonfeeding Casanova
To get him to feel more assured
Then they'll kill him with self-confidence
After poisoning him with words
And the Phantom's shouting to skinny girls
"Get outa here if you don't know"
Casanova is just being punished for going
To Desolation Row.

At midnight all the agents
And the superhuman crew
Come out and round up everyone
That knows more than they do
Then they bring them to the factory
Where the heart-attack machine
Is strapped across their shoulders
And then the kerosene
Is brought down from the castles
By insurance men who go
Check to see that nobody is escaping
To Desolation Row.

Praise be to Nero's Neptune
The Titanic sails at dawn
Everybody's shouting
"Which side are you on ?"
And Ezra Pound and T. S. Eliot
Fighting in the captain's tower
While calypso singers laugh at them
And fishermen hold flowers
Between the windows of the sea
Where lovely mermaids flow
And nobody has to think too much
About Desolation Row.
Yes, I received your letter yesterday
About the time the door knob broke
When you asked me how I was doing
Was that some kind of joke ?
All these people that you mention
Yes, I know them, they're quite lame
I had to rearrange their faces
And give them all another name
Right now I can't read too good
Dont send me no more letters no
Not unless you mail them
From Desolation Row.